Big Island Grinds » Ice Shave http://bigislandgrinds.com A food blog from da Big Island of Hawaii Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:52:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 13th Annual Ho’olaule’a http://bigislandgrinds.com/2006/10/13th-annual-ho%e2%80%99olaule%e2%80%99a/ http://bigislandgrinds.com/2006/10/13th-annual-ho%e2%80%99olaule%e2%80%99a/#comments Sun, 01 Oct 2006 11:15:36 +0000 James http://www.bigislandgrinds.com/?p=84 13th Annual Hoolaulea

Hilo town was rockin’ with the best Hawaiian music and sooo much food! It’s amazing how much people gather for this… I’m sure this is the largest event every year on the Big Island. See my last post for an aerial shot from last year. It felt like this year was even huger!

Last year, I had a sad experience: I was so indecisive about what to eat that I ended getting a generic BBQ chicken plate, and after, I had a very empty feeling deep down inside. This year, my strategy changed: walk around and just try a little bit of everything… plus, now that I have a wonderful wife, it’s easy to share portions… quality not quantity, right?

So here is our Ho’olaule’a food adventures!

First, we started off with some pupus.

Poke Your Way Truck Poke Your Way

1/4lb poke ($3.00) from Poke Your Way. What was really cool is that after you order your poke, you can add on what you like to your own poke from a nice tray of condiments (no additional cost). We added in some ogo seaweed, inamona (kukui nuts), green onions, and a chili pepper (this guy is hot!). The ahi was very fresh and nicely seasoned with crunchy hawaiian salt. It was good poke… melt in da mouth kine!

Next, we moved on to Nori’s tent for a bowl of…

Nori’s Saimin Nori’s Sign

Saimin! ($3.00) Man, Nori’s makes a really good bowl of saimin. Their noodles are so fresh tasting — they have a nice chewy texture to them. Their broth is also very flavorful and rich.

Ono Hawaiian Food Lau Lau

How about some lau lau ($4.00)? This was from Ka ‘Uhane Hemolele Ka Malamalama Church… some long da church name. These guys have a lunch wagon right off bayfront. I always wondered how their food is. So how was the lau lau? ONO BRAH! Everything was so moist and there was a nice piece of fat (very important). Nice size too… and good balance of luau leaf and pork. Recommended.

Pizza Hawaii Pizza

Pizza Hawaii had a stand, but I didn’t get to take a photo. We ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza ($4.00), and it was so yummy! I love thin crust pizzas and this one was very thin crust NY style. The crust at the end had a nice bubbly crust too. Excellent… best in Hilo maybe?

We wanted to get some malasadas from that place in Papaikou called Baker Tom’s since I’ve heard they have good malasadas, but they were out! :(

Baker Tom’s Malasadas

So we got some ice shave from Higa’s instead.
Higa’s Higa’s Ice Shave

Vanilla and Strawberry ($3.00). This was almost a great ice shave… the ice was very light, fine shaved, and the syrup was really tasty. But the guy pouring the syrup didn’t put enough syrup and the middle was just ice.

Ok, we are pretty satisfied.

We didn’t have room to try Aunty Peaches “Onolicious Poi Balls”. There was a huge line for this.

Poi Balls

That’s ok. We were so happy that we got to try a lot of different Hilo foods all in one place. So much better than just a BBQ chicken plate lunch!

Aerial shot of food lines

This is how packed it gets where the food is.

Oh yeah, and the music was awesome!

Kapena Kapena Kapena Ho’onua

Kapena and Ho’onua! They were both really fun.

Can’t wait for next year!

]]> http://bigislandgrinds.com/2006/10/13th-annual-ho%e2%80%99olaule%e2%80%99a/feed/ 9 Ice Shave and a Hot Dog http://bigislandgrinds.com/2006/06/ice-shave-and-a-hot-dog/ http://bigislandgrinds.com/2006/06/ice-shave-and-a-hot-dog/#comments Tue, 13 Jun 2006 07:01:17 +0000 James http://www.bigislandgrinds.com/?p=76 Brah, it was one scorcha of a day in Hilo Town today. Plus, I was off of work because it was Kamehameha day, so no air conditioned office. But I’m not complaining. I was able to enjoy one of the great pleasures in Hilo while getting some much needed sun! (I gotta be one of the whitest Filipinos)

Street next to Itsu’s

So what would you do if you were driving down this road at high noon? I’m sure you know the answer! :)

Itsu’s!

Itsu’s Ice Shave Menu

Mr. Itsu himself was there making ice shave for everybody. Bev and I ordered a Coconut Deluxe Bowl. Deluxe means that the ice shave comes with vanilla ice cream and azuki beans (made as a sweet red yummy paste). I’ll let the photos explain…

A nice scoop of vanilla ice cream is put on the bottom of the bowl/cup.
Itsu scooping some ice cream

Next, the azuki bean paste is layered over.
Azuki beans

Then shaved ice is put on top and formed into a nice big ball.
Itsu making ice shave

Pour some a generous amount of coconut syrup, and you get the bestest ice shave on the Island!
Itsu’s Ice Shave Itsu’s Ice Shave half

It was perfect and so refreshing. The shaved ice was really fluffy and the syrup was really tasty, and the azuki bean paste adds a nice tangy texture. Bev really liked the ice cream too.

Itsu’s is also famous for their $0.95 hot dogs, and now I know why. They are so good.

Itsu’s hot dog Itsu’s hot dog closeup

You can choose what to put on the hot dog. Get “da yellow sauce” (they’ll know what you mean) — it seems to be a combination of mayo, mustard, and maybe relish. The bun was served very soft and moist. The hot dog is the red kine (redondos?) — really juicy. It all just melts in da mouth and everything tasted so good together. Especially with an ice shave in the other hand. Highly recommended. :)

Other Posts on Itsu’s:

Itsu’s Fishing Supplies Inc
810 Piilani St Hilo
(808) 935-8082

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