Kauai Lifestyles Archives - Tasting Kauai
 

Top Navigation

Navigation

Archive | Kauai Lifestyles

North Shore: Teaching Food as Medicine

By on February 18, 2019 in Culinary Tour, From Seed, Kauai Lifestyles, Kauai Restaurant Guide, Launches, Travel Tips, Uncategorized

North Shore Kauai: Food As Medicine Tour

 

Traditional Diet

Traditional Hawaiian diets are considered to be some of the healthiest in the world. Living on a protein, vitamin and mineral rich diet that consisted mainly of poi (pounded taro root), fresh fish along with fruits and vegetables such as banana, coconut, breadfruit and sweet potato made for a clean and nourishing foundation. Even Hawaiian sea salt that was harvested in large amounts held minerals and rich health benefits. We aim to teach you about a variety of the beautiful canoe crops that the Polynesians brought to the Hawaiian islands over 1,000 years ago and how they are still being used today. 

Modern Food Practices

Fast forward to modern day Hawaii – you do not see this traditional health based diet by any means. Yes, you can still find fresh poi and poke with a variety of local fish, but much of the vegetable and fruit base has changed to fried food, rice and less healthy starches than taro or breadfruit. Of course, with modern influences come imports of all kinds of foods. We do have a beautiful and intricate cuisine here that has been influenced through the Plantation Era by Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan and Filipino food culture. Through all of these cultural influences, we want to share with you the foods with the best health benefits for your body, mind and spirit.

Balance the Ancient with the Modern

Here at Tasting Kauai we want to honor the healthy traditional foods and practices, while also sharing with you the modern health foods and techniques that locals are using to make new traditions here on our beautiful island. Come with us to a medicinal herb farm, visit a local juice company to try fresh fruits in a new way and to learn about and try for yourself some of the traditional Polynesian foods still being utilized in modern Hawaii. Let us share the education and fresh flavors of Kauai with you on our Food as Medicine Tour! And don’t worry, we still sneak in a few decadent tastings for all of your hard work learning.  We can promise that you will not leave hungry 🙂 Life is after all, about balance. 

Hale Puna Farm fresh Market

By on November 28, 2018 in Culture, Farmers Markets, From Seed, Kauai Life, Kauai Lifestyles, Travel Tips, Uncategorized

The Market

Our foodie staff at Tasting Kauai loves to check out new restaurants and stay up to date on new chef innovations & creations  here on island, and while there are few things that excite us more than the search for a heavenly meal, they do exist! I recently had the pleasure of visiting Hale Puna in the town of Waimea. Hale Puna, or the historic Gulick Rowell Mission House, is a burgeoning small scale food forest. This community focused farm is a project we can really get behind. Every Thursday afternoon from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Hale Puna, 9567 Huakai Road you can stop by and visit their farm market and purchase your produce for a good cause. (If this time doesn’t work for you, you can also reach out to set up pickup time for a CSA basket)

Community Involvement

Working closely with farm school interns from Ke Kula Niʻihau o Kekaha, they not only have a beautiful flourishing garden, but also strive to provide hands on training to get kids on the west side involved in organic permaculture style farming. They want to show them this is a viable outlet for future employment that can benefit them, their health and their community.

Hale Puna is a 501(c)3. All proceeds from the Farmers Market go towards restoring the historic Gulick Rowell Mission House and to paying these farm school interns (middle and high school students from the west side!).

Getting the next generation to care & get involved is going to shape what the future of food security will look like on our lovely island. Creating more food growth, protecting and honoring the culture, and helping to create economically resilient jobs are all imperative goals for Kauai. They are striving for all of the above with this foundation.  Jim Ballantine, a 4th generation West side resident, owns and operates the Kōkeʻe lodge along with Hale Puna. His daughter Fanny runs the market and farm project and is the driving force behind getting this project flourishing. 

The Food

Here at the farm the students have already planted over 75 fruit trees and many other crops including papaya, ulu(breadfuit), avocado, banana, liliko’i, ‘olena(turmeric), sweet potato, sugar cane and kabocha. The traditional forest garden will focus on presenting classes and workshops around food, sustainability, permaculture and the history of West Kauai agriculture. Any food that isn’t sold at the market on Tuesdays or in CSA baskets, is taken up to be utilized at Kōkeʻe Lodge, so no food goes to waste! 

History

Whether you are a foodie, a history buff, a cultural guru or just a curious visitor – there is something for everyone at Hale Puna. Inquire about a donation based guided tour of the oldest house in Hawaii and their surrounding food forest. This home was built in 1829 and has been majorly renovated only once in 1927. The original wood floors are still inside! They hope to use the house once it is restored as a community center for events and performances that contribute to the cultural richness of West Kauai life. It is so cool to see the home being brought into the modern world with this food focused non profit!

 

You can find out more about this incredible project and all of the dedicated local people behind it on their website at http://www.halepuna.org/ and be sure not to miss their farmer’s market on your way down from the canyon!

Hualani’s at Timbers Kauai – A Multi Sensory Experience

By on November 4, 2018 in Culture, From Seed, Kauai Life, Kauai Lifestyles, Kauai Restaurant Guide, Launches, Menus, Travel Tips

The Spot

We here at Tasting Kauai are always delighted when a new spot opens up for us to explore and taste test. This is especially true when it is a breathtaking oceanfront dining location with fabulous food. I have been hearing from friends all over the island for weeks, that we must go and try out Kauai’s newest spot. Eventually, we made it and we were not disappointed!

The Cuisine

My husband and I recently had the chance to visit Hualani’s on a Sunday evening. We arrived in time to catch sunset and enjoy the beautiful view. Ha’upu Mountain Range & Kauai’s southeast coast with historic Ninini Lighthouse (built 1906!) bookend your splendid view. Even as island locals, we were feeling 100% on vacation here.

Executive Chef Jafet Tellez has a different take on how to use local ingredients.  Before coming to the island of Kauai to head up the team at Hualani’s, he was working in Dubai and calls Mexico City home. You see these touches pop up in their hyper local, farm driven menu. This makes for some exciting and exotic flavor profiles you won’t find at just any Kauai joint. Menu items are still focused on embodying Hawaii regional cuisine, just with a little added flair!

Sunday nights they are offering a fun special for visitors and locals alike – Pineapple Marinated Fried Chicken with Chili-koi (yes that’s spicy AND lilikoi) sauce and jalapeno, bacon and cheddar waffles for just $7. For a price that wouldn’t even buy you a beer in a lot of Hawaii locales you get a full plate of food to grind on. Go with a friend or spouse and you can have one chicken plate and one beautiful seafood or local meat entrée to share and have the perfect, affordable oceanfront meal! We had the delicate Hamachi sashimi and a local shrimp salad with watermelon, napa cabbage and house ‘fire and ice’ dressing to start. For entrees we tried the Sunday Special (of course!) as well as the Catch of the Day with avocado poblano puree and yucca frites. Yum!

Farm Fresh

Hokuala has a farm on site that is still a young project, but will most certainly continue to crank out more food in the coming months and years. Farmer Cody who runs the food growth magic going on over there is working alongside the protected bird species there, working with the land and the animals who call the natural habitat home. Permaculture style growing is utilized and every week brings new crops and exciting projects. As we focus on island food production and sustainability through Tasting Kauai we are very stoked this is all going on here. Be sure not to miss out on their Thursday Farm Dinner menu – $40 for multiple courses of fresh, local garden to table food either from their farm, or nearby farms on the island!

All of the staff here takes such great care of you, with the true spirit of effortless Aloha. Delicious farm fresh food, beautiful Pacific Ocean and historic lighthouse views and wildlife conservation area are just a few of the reasons you should not miss out on Kauai’s newest, relaxed fine dining locale. Next time you are passing through Lihue, make a pit stop to see the crew at Hualani’s, you will not regret it!

Check out their website for monthly specials and book your reservation here

Thank you to the Timbers team for a couple of high res photos above, as mine did not do your space full justice!

Tasting Kauai – The Vision

By on July 17, 2018 in Advocacy, Culinary Tour, Kauai Life, Kauai Lifestyles

Aloha Tasting Kauai Family!

I’m Dr. Addison Bulosan, the new owner of Tasting Kauai. It’s been quite a journey with Tasting Kauai the last 4 years since meeting Marta and Dan. I moved back home to Kauai in 2014 and I’ve been following @TastingKauai since 2013 on Instagram in awe of all the amazing food and collaboration happening. I made it a point to go out of my way to try and meet the person behind it all as I wanted to eat tasty food and learn more about how our food is made here on Kauai.

My dear cousin, Wes Perreira is good friends with Marta and setup a lunch with us so we could meet. Since day one I have been in awe of all the things Marta and Dan does for our island, Kauai.  As the Tasting tours began to ramp up I followed it closely and in our once a month lunch gatherings I fell in love of the vision of Tasting Kauai.

Imagine Kauai, with its bountiful opportunity to grow year round with inspired farmers and ranchers producing quality products, moving each item from their farms to their local food spots. Imagine tasting the freshness, the unique quality that can be found nowhere else in the world.

Less than 10% of the experiences on Kauai looks like that. The vision of Tasting Kauai is to highlight the farmers, ranchers, restaurants, and everyone in between that intricate relationship in hopes of increasing this experience for everyone.

By providing these educational tours we are able to bridge the knowledge and experiential gap. This in turn empowers everyone involved to continue this path until one day it is our social norm. The effects of this vision translates into reducing carbon emissions, reducing cost of food, increasing food productivity, and growth in the local economy. But it doesn’t stop there. This then translates to more local families able to afford a life here on Kauai, healthier outcomes for both local families and tourists, and most importantly a better relationship with mother Earth.

This is the legacy of Marta and Dan, and will be forever continued. With that said, I ask for your help and support. Share this opportunity with your friends and family to take a tour. Not only will they enjoy amazing food, connect with local chefs, and make new friends, they’ll also contribute to making the world, especially Kauai, a better place for all.

Sam Choy’s Travel Tips

By on October 27, 2017 in Kauai Lifestyles
Sam Choy in his home kitchen with a bowl of poke and grape tomatoes. Photo courtesy of Sam Choy.

Sam Choy in his home kitchen with a bowl of poke and grape tomatoes. Photo courtesy of Sam Choy.

When I interviewed Sam Choy over the phone for an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, he graciously answered a few questions for Tasting Kauai’s readers. As a regional legend, it’s simpler to link to Sam Choy’s bio, than list his lengthy accomplishments. We discussed food and travel, then Sam shared tips on finding the tastiest bite of culture.  Continue Reading →

Join Our Mailing List

hvcbmemberbig