This trip I discovered haupia, a coconut jelly/pudding snack. It is made with fresh coconuts and is just amazing. We had haupia cheesecake, a tart/sweet cheesecake topped with the thick, rich and creamy haupia. They also sell it in bricks at the farmers market.
Some of the best Thai food I have ever had came from a restaurant truck at the Hilo farmer's market. I had some fabulous chicken satay, basil chicken and pepper pork.
Our favorite Hawaiian BBQ was at the Pahoa farmer's market. We had the usual smokey/sweet BBQ pork and some spicy grilled Hawaiian sausage--ono grinds!
Fish and his wife, Faith, fired up the imu (BBQ pit) and grilled ham and turkey with taro and breadfruit. I'm still not sold on taro, but the breadfruit was okay when eaten with ham. Both are very dense starches with very little flavor on their own.
We've gotten over the novelty of hibiscus growing everywhere--even the Wal-Mart parking lot. But there is still something magnificent about wild white ginger, anthurium and orchids growing unchecked in our backyard. Sitting at Pohoiki--Isaac Hale--beach and watching the waves is awe inspiring, not just for the surfers but for the crystal blue of the water. The coastline bears many similarities to Northern California in that it is mostly rocky with little beach. Remember, Big Island is the newest and is still growing, so there hasn't been enough time to break it all down into sand. But most of the beaches you visit (on the East side, anyway) are black sand.
Our favorite ocean activity is to snorkle, and our favorite place to go it the tide pools at Vacationland. It is like swimming in a giant aquarium. The water is clear blue and the fish are relatively undisturbed as the area is a nature preserve, so there are huge tropical fish everywhere. There is also coral, a whole rainbow of it in greens, pinks, blues and electric purple. Another favorite spot, Richardson Center in Hilo, gave us a solid half hour swimming with two honu--green sea turtles. We got
some great photos.
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