food lover's guide to honolulu

surprise, surprise . . . people from hawaii love to eat. you only need to click on the hawaii blog links over on the left sidebar to confirm that islanders *love* food (even in the ether that is cyberspace). if you ever get stumped by all the choices in town at kaukau time, pick up a copy of food lover's guide to honolulu by island food writer (and one time head foodie at the advertiser) joan namkoong.

this is the ultimate local resource for honolulu-bound foodies detailing everything from fancy eats to hole-in-the-walls. there's even a shopping guide so you always know where to go when it's time to procure those hard to find ingredients before the big family potluck.

hawaiian vanilla company

it's the secret ingredient at some of the most notable restaurants in the islands so, if you love to bake, you may want to stock up on premium vanilla beans & extract from the big island's hawaiian vanilla company which has the distinction of being the one and only vanilla farm in the states.

even if you're not into cooking, hawaiian vanilla has partnered up with other local companies so your tastebuds will be the happy recipient of estate grown 100% hawaiian vanilla coffee, roselani ice cream, and other goodies.

you can even take a culinary tour and discover all things vanilla at an upcountry tea, luncheon or tasting (reservations required) at hawaiian vanilla's vineyard on the hamakua coast.

who is h. maloha?

i stumbled upon this website the other day and am loving the brilliant marketing strategy and beautiful packaging of maloha and the story of its mysterious founder, a purveyor of foodie treats from hawaii à la j.peterman.

if you have been searching for a fresh take on island goodies then check out maloha's selection of teas (palaunu sounds delish - a coconut/chocolate/vanilla/rooibos black tea blend) and flavored macadamia nuts (waikiki cajun, anyone?). and, yes, they also stock 100% kona coffee.

ocean vodka

one of the things on my "to do" list while i was home was to check out first friday in chinatown. we didn't get far when my mom spotted the hasr wine co. and drifted into their courtyard to check out the wine tasting going on inside.

while my mom was off investigating the wines, i spotted bottles of maui-based ocean vodka (which was launched earlier this summer) being poured. since a strong cup of tea is as hard as i go, i nudged my other half who was game to sample the first vodka made in hawaii (his review: smooth!).

unfortunately, the faa ban on liquids prohibited us from picking up anything larger than a trial size bottle to stash in our suitcase so hopefully ocean vodka will be stocked on the mainland soon.

here are a few cool things about the company for those of you thinking of adding a bottle of ocean vodka to your home bar:

1. the vodka is organic
2. it's made from actual ocean water (courtesy of the folks behind mahalo deep water)
3. they have pledged to donate a portion of profits to environmental groups working to save the ocean

as for me, i managed to score a few bottles of pineapple & mango soda from waialua soda works before the night was over (review: refreshing!).

roselani ice cream

back on the mainland after yet another too short visit home. one of the highlights was sampling roselani ice cream which was super onolicious. today we stopped by the grocery store to stock the pantry and i spent far too long in the freezer section searching for something . . . anything that could compare to roselani's luscious kona mud pie.

instead i came home disappointed and empty handed (a first for me, the self proclaimed ice cream addict). even b+j's failed to make it into the basket so i'll just have to wait for my next visit to scoop up more kona mud pie (yep, it is that good). maui-based roselani does not ship to the mainland but you can find flavors like banana mac crunch, haupia, mango 'n cream & more all over the islands.