pat's island delights

gourmet hawaiian treat basket

whenever we go to the waiau zippy's, the pat's island delights shop across the way always beckons me but i never stopped in because i assumed it was just a snack shop. and since my aunty's pantry is always stocked with treats the last thing we need are more snacks in the house.

then, before the last trip home, i discovered via kat of our adventures in japan that pat's is really more of a gourmet snack shop so i finally explored their website and with a few clicks discovered volcano island honey, hawaiian kine taro chips, foodstuff from maui culinary academy & so much more stocked online.

intrigued and in need of omiyage gifts to bring back to the mainland, i paid a visit to the shop and was delighted to find all the foodie treats on my wish list in one convenient location. you could easily drop a lot of money here and it was difficult to restrain myself since everywhere i turned there was something to tempt my taste buds. this is definitely a good place to go if you need a nice hostess gift or want to shake things up and give mainland ohana something a little different.

and a nice bonus for folks outside hawaii is that instead of racking up shipping charges at various websites you can hit pat's for one stop shopping and add a few more goodies to your cart with the money you saved.

pat's is located in town (ground floor of the davies pacific center at queen street) and at the waiau shopping center in pearl city.

{update | jan 2010: pat's pc outpost has been shuttered since a fire a few years ago so find your way to the town shop to scoop up 'ono island delights}

ani's bake shop

apple sweetbread . . . yum!

one of our traditions when we go home is to buy a loaf of ani's apple sweetbread to enjoy at the beach after my fella's dawn patrol sessions. it is so ono and i like to tell myself that the apple filling counts as a serving of fruit. the only problem is that even though ani's is stocked at stores like longs and foodland there is never any guarantee that the apple bread will be on the shelf.

so before we headed to the airport, we stopped by ani's bake shop in the halawa industrial park (adjacent to mauna loa hq) to pick up a few loaves to send to a friend. the bake shop is sweetbread heaven with every flavor ani's makes available and freshly baked to boot. in addition to apple, you can grab loaves of sweetbread with coconut, guava & more fruit fillings as well as taro bread and our friend's favorite mac nut cinnamon bread.

one thing i learned during my visit is that ani's is a sweet local success story of a mom & pop business that makes over a million dollars a year in revenue . . . that's a lot of bread! read more and get inspired at the star-bulletin.

another surprise was the small case at the register filled with a variety of donuts which are quite satisfying if you have a sweet tooth. the donuts are not available online but you can take your pick of ani's sweetbreads on their website.

map it!

nico's at the pier

loco moco nico's style

on this last trip home, we finally made it to nico's pier 38 not just once but twice because the food was so onolicious. i heard about nico's sometime last year and became intrigued by the description of the menu being local style plate lunches with a french twist. ooh la la! 

located on the harbor, you know the fish is as fresh as it gets since every morning chef nico (who cooked at michel's and, at the opposite end of the dining spectrum, the kaka'ako kitchen) goes next door to the honolulu fish auction to stock the restaurant for the day's menu. our first visit was to meet my s-i-l for lunch and by 11:30am the place was packed with worker bees getting some midday sustenance.

alas, i had waited so long to dine at nico's that when our lunch was ready i dove right in and forgot to snap photos of our picks, however our party of three ordered up nico's furikake pan seared ahi, beer battered fish and chips and, from the dessert case, a chocolate mousse cake. i am happy to report that all our food was tasty and delicious.

in fact, everything was so ono that we decided to hit nico's for breakfast with the family that weekend. this time around the loco moco and fried rice were our favorites. the quality of the food for the price can't be beat and the somewhat industrial harbor front is a surprisingly pleasant nosh spot . . . especially on a quiet weekend morning.

the next day the star-bulletin had a nice feature on nico's in the sunday paper with a good tip to sign up for nico's mailing list to receive the day's specials via email.

nico's has invested in a handy dandy banner to point newbies in the right direction so be on the lookout for it (across from the eagle café) when you are on nimitz or just map it!

honolulu design center

hello fat boy!

if you have been anywhere near kapiolani boulevard in the last year you could not help but notice the huge construction site for the future home of the honolulu design center. lucky me, the 80,000 square foot showroom opened its doors a few weeks before we arrived home and, since my aunty is just starting the hunt for a new sofa, we stopped by to see if anything would catch her fancy.

my fella and i had a lot of fun on the first floor which is touted as the hdc's high end showroom filled with furniture from cattelan arredamenti, de sede of switzerland, molteni & c & natuzzi on one side and bo concept on the other (indeed we had so much fun that i forgot to snap any photos). many of the minimal designs found on the natuzzi side have luxe prices to match and would be at home in the million dollar condos that keep popping up in the honolulu skyline.

ever one to find the most expensive piece of furniture whenever we go shopping, my fella's radar plopped him down on the leather fendi casa sofa until i pulled him off and fiercely whispered the price in his ear ($42k!). we then hit the escalator up to the second floor where my aunty recognized many pieces from inspiration, but the best thing was lounging in the fat boy section (which is more in line with our budget) since i had spent many months lobbying for them in vain as extra seating in our cozy apartment.

the honolulu design center also has a few things planned for island foodies with the a*muse wine bar scheduled to open in march. it's a 21st century take on the traditional enoteca where customers will use a smart card to purchase tastes at an automated wine dispensing machine. how very jetsons.

you'll also be able to nosh at stage, the on site restaurant opening in april manned by chef jon matsubara, and enjoy everything from film screenings to fashion shows at cupola which is the hdc's performance space (potential wedding site for island design junkies, perhaps?). and, if you go now, the crema cafe is already open in the lobby which is a nice sunlit space to take a break and sip on pop from waialua soda works.

mac 24/7 diner

modern diner . . . be still my heart!

there's still a wee bit of jet lag to shake off but i rolled out of bed this a.m. to contribute to the island foodie scene with my take on mac 24/7. it's a modern diner which recently opened its doors at the soon to be hilton waikiki prince kuhio hotel and after reading a few reviews before we left i knew my fella and i would have to stop by and check it out.

the design is definitely not what you would expect to find in waikiki . . . chilewich placemats adorn the tables, modernist lighting fixtures add subdued warmth, and plasma televisions hang on the wall behind the bar. the menu is all about [m]odern [a]merican [c]ooking available 24 hours a day. many of the reviews have mentioned pancakes fit for andre the giant and i admit i was tempted, but i couldn't resist the biscuits and gravy once i spotted it on the menu.

biscuits + country gravy

the photo doesn't really do it justice but these were definitely the most artfully arranged biscuits & gravy that i have ever had the pleasure of being served. it looked like an entry in top chef. just the right amount of cheesy gravy goodness topped the biscuits which managed to stay crisp & soft.

my fella opted to try the pulled kalua pork sandwich. it was definitely delish but tasted more bbq-y to me. the most surprising item on the plate was a deep fried dill pickle. the portions of our dishes were just the right size to leave room for dessert which ended up being a warm macadamia nut bread pudding cupcake with vanilla custard sauce.

pulled kalua pork sandwich

all in all, we really enjoyed our meal and would definitely return. the ambiance delights my modernist heart, the wait staff was friendly, and, most important, mac 24/7's fancy diner food hit the spot.

mac 24/7 is three blocks from the zoo and, if you go, take note that the hotel offers free valet parking with validation from the restaurant.

bon appétit!