The Missus and I were so excited about heading to the Big Island. We both love the amazing environmental diversity, the warmth of the people, and just the relaxed vibe on the Big Island. I had good friends who had resided in Hilo for almost a decade and another good friend whose family used to own property in Kamuela that we'd check on, so we had visited many times in the pre-blogging days. So when the Missus asked me when was the last time we were on the Big Island, I gasped; it had been a decade! Even though we had only a couple of nights, we felt comfortable with the Big Island and had seen much of it before, so we'd spend our time focused on a couple of things and just enjoy ourselves.
It was interesting flying First Class on HAL, the Premier Lounge is quite comfortable, but only has coffee, tea, soft drinks, and those little bag of snacks they give you on flights.
Still, things were quite mellow here and it was right next to the gate for our flight to Hilo. The first place the Missus wanted to hit when we landed in Hilo was Suisan. Sadly, this was a Wednesday and I had to break the news to Her that Suisan is closed on Wednesdays. Which led to the question, "where are we going to get poke?" Luckily, I had a back up plan. I'd read about a little shop on Waianuenue Avenue simply called the Poke Market. We lucked out and found parking in the lot on the corner of Waianuenue and Keawe Street. The place was across the street. Ordering was done at a simple window and your food brought out from the door.
There was one young lady waiting to order at the window when we arrived and one rather disheveled old timer standing with his bike by the door. The young man running the place came out and handed the gentleman a poke bowl and simply told him, "you come back later and pay, okay?" I'm guessing this guy had no money and the owner of this place was really displaying true "Aloha".
Anyway, two of the six featured poke were sold out by the time we ordered. Because we had a rather substantial breakfast, we decided to just get three 1/4 pound portions of poke. The Hawaiian Style, Ginger Sesame Soy, and one that I would usually never order, the Shiitake Salmon. I'm not a big fan of salmon in poke.
We then walked down Waianuenue and then onto Kamehameha and sat on the stone wall in front of the Tsunami Museum, which looked like it was closed and had our poke.
The Hawaiian was our favorite, though it was on the salty side. The fish was tender and of good quality. Could have used more ogo, but this as much better than what we'd had the day before.
The Ginger Sesame Soy also had good quality fish.
We were surprised at the Shiitake Salmon, the salmon was tender, it had a nice savoriness and umami. I'm still not a fan of mayo on my poke though. I think it detracts form the texture of the fish….but since this was salmon…..
This was a nice start to our stay on the Big Island. And the Missus was to even get Her "Suisan fix" over the following days as well.
Poke Market
41 Waianuenue Ave.
Hilo, HI 96720
We decided to head on over to the Hilo Farmers, a place that we both love.
It was good to see that the place hasn't changed much. The Missus got some rambutan which She enjoyed over the next couple of days.
It was comforting to see that things haven't changed much since our last visit.
Hilo Farmer's Market
Corner of Kamehameha Ave. and Mamo St.
Hilo, HI 96720
We dropped by a couple of shops as we wandered back to the car.
As we sauntered over to the vehicle, the Missus and I looked at each other and laughed. It was so good to be back on the Big Island. All the craziness of life on the mainland had been paused and we had settled into "island time" quite quickly. Something that usually takes a couple of days. It was a great feeling.
We smiled and looked forward to our next stop. Volcano Village and Volcanoes National Park!
In some ways this really represented the neighborhood, bright colors and varying textures. The poached eggs were cooked to perfection, just wonderfully runny, with no off flavors. I really got to appreciate the peppery-minty-anise tones of hoya santa. The hoya santa rellena was filled with mildly milky and sharp queso menonita and even more tasty beans. Didn't care much for the "salsa" which was watery and weak. The plantains was an interesting addition, though perhaps it made things a bit too sweet for me.
Walk up and you can read the menu in the front window. The weekly specials are on the White Board at the bottom; each is $1 less than the menu price. Walk in, order, pay and find a seat. Beverages will be brought to your table. 
Bento A ($13.50)-Baked salmon, chicken teriyaki, fried seafood, California roll. Rice, salad and
this really wonderful miso soup are included. (You can order a bowl for $1.75 if it's not included with your meal; worth it) 
The Ginger Seafood Bento ($11.25). One salmon piece, one squid piece, two fish
and two shrimp. All cooked well and coated in a really refreshing ginger sauce. Edamame, chilled noodles, rice and salad are included.
I have found myself ordering the Vegetable Delight Bento ($11.50) quite often. Eight pieces of tempura, eight pieces of Garden Roll, edamame, salad and rice. Of course, everything is properly fried and so very fresh.
Hot tea ($1) is a good quality green and the cup is kept refilled. 
The chicken katsu salad ($8.50) can be a meal. The chicken is plump and juicy with a crunchy-light fried coating.
The fried calamari ($7.50) serving is now only four pieces, but each is quite large. Again, expertly fried crunch batter and the squid is so tender.
The vegetable tempura appetizer (or side order, as the case may be) ($7.50) has eight pieces and light, non-greasy fry.
I can't believe we had never tried the mix yakisoba ($10.50) until 2022! Shrimp, chicken, beef, veggies and quality eggy noodles. This is served with rice or salad. A really nice meal. 
Walking the door, the area to the left is where you order To-Go; the original 'footprint' of Lucky. The restaurant expanded to having Sit-Down in 2014.
Wonton crisps along with house-made sweet and sour sauce are brought out while you peruse the menu. A pot of hot tea (choice of jasmine, oolong or green) is $4.50.
The one item we always ordered to-go are these lettuce cups ($10.79). Minced chicken, water chestnuts, carrot, white and green onion, toasted almonds served with a half head of lettuce, hot mustard and hoisin sauce. This appetizer can stay in the refrigerator and still tastes good later in the day. It was our Covid-19 staple.
The wonton soup ($9.99) has a rich, deep flavored, chicken-pork broth and is filled with chicken, shrimp, vegetables and large pork filled wontons. As you can see, more fillings than broth- a meal all by itself.
Spicy pork ($14.79). The pork is stir-fried with bell pepper, bamboo shoots, zucchini, carrot, celery and onions in a house-made Kung Pao sauce. The pork is tender, the vegetables are still crisp; this is such a perfect melding of flavors and texture. (Entrees are served with a choice of steamed rice, brown rice, chow mein or (as above) Singapore noodle).
Sesame chicken ($15.79) is properly fried so the batter remains light and crisp even on the bottom pieces of the serving dish. The sweet and spicy sauce has a bit of heat (not too much; you can taste the batter as well as the chicken with each bite).
The 2023 Tournament of Roses with the theme "Turning The Corner" has concluded. The Rose Parade was held on January 2 (the Parade is never on a Sunday; the first parades in the 1800s had floats that were horses pulling carriages and horses were needed for church on Sunday; the tradition stands). Following the Parade, the floats line up at the end of the five mile Parade route, end to end, and are displayed after the Parade and the next day. This year, I drove up with my friend, 
The Sweepstakes Award, for the most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment, went to the float sponsored by Donate Life, "Lifting Each Other Up". A spectacular asian street dragon is the centerpiece of the float. There were 44 memorial floragraphs representing those who had given the gift of life. Those were removed before the rain, so the families could have a memory. 
You can see the empty circles, where the floragraphs had been, in this photo. 
Trader Joe's entry, "Onward" won the Wrigley Legacy Award for most outstanding display of floral presentation, float design and entertainment. The three piece float was magnificent and whimsical. 
Walking along the floats: an alligator, a shark and crested birds were some of the many details not seen during the television broadcast. 
The Kiwanis entry, "Catching the Wave of Service" was so beautiful.
The City of Alhambra entry, "Together We Rise" received the Tournament Volunteer award. 
Elks U.S.A entered "Elks Investing in Our Communities"- a magnificent float. 
More details- hummingbirds, snails and bees might have gone unnoticed during the quick TV viewing. Yet so much work was put into the design and decoration of each and every one of the 39 floats in the 2023 Parade. (I have photos of all the floats if you want any specific pictures).
"Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language". The float designs are being submitted and construction will begin. As an aside, each float always has recorded music while it drives down the Parade Route. This theme will have the floats designed and coordinated with the music. It should be fun. 
cc was looking forward to going to Portos after our morning of walking. 
She and I needed lunch. A cubano sandwich, cuban style black bean soup, turkey and cheese croissant and (to go, for The Mister) a rustic chopped chicken salad (which includes house candied bacon-yum!). There were, of course a few bakery items. However, we were here on January 3-just before Epiphany, the 12th night after Christmas and the 'end' of the holiday season. 
Traditional celebratory sweets to celebrate Three Kings Day were for sale; however the Rosca de Reyes was already sold out. We each purchased a Galette des Rois.
Puff pastry filled with a layer of almond frangipane cream as well as a touch of guava jam (for a Cuban twist). The 'baby' could be hidden into a slice by us (if there were more than two of us sharing this tart) and whoever found it could wear the crown. The Mister and I shared wearing the crown. 
There were no Roscas, but the seasonal Rosquitas, a sweet bread topped with dried, candied fruits made some nice bites for us this year. 
Honda is a Sponsor of the Tournament and their float is not judged; that's why it is not completely covered in organic materials.
The former movie theater, now a Vietnamese Market, with the Cantonese restaurant in the former lobby has survived Covid-19. 
From the small Dim Sum menu, we ordered XLB-soup dumplings ($6.38). A nice bite and, as you can see, not quite perfect, but no soup was actually lost because of the creative steaming system.
From the 'appetizer' portion of the menu, we ordered the 'Double Delicacy' ($19.95) because we couldn't decide on roasted pork or roasted duck and this was a way to get both (there were leftovers) (both of these meats are really good; tender meat, crisp skin, not too salty.).
Lately, Chow Fun fulfills the craving I've been having for noodles. The wide, flat, rice noodles, stir fried to get that smoky 'wok hei' flavor always seems perfect. (This order was shredded pork with preserved vegetable chow fun ($14.95). I enjoy the briny 'pickle-ness' of preserved vegetables in any dish and combined with the smoked noodles, each bite was delightful).
Hot tea is always free. We did have to ask for chopsticks.
In the far corner, the former Sinjeon Food Sys (prior it was CDD Tofu and Grill) has turned into Krab Bros- a boiled seafood restaurant. 
A simple menu is always appreciated. 
The lunch shrimp platter ($14.99) with chosen flavors of original butter, garlic parmesan and Bros Cajun was an excellent choice. This platter has ten shrimp, a boiled egg, sausage, corn and tiny whole potatoes, all coated in the chosen flavors. The shrimp were quite large, very plump and had good flavor when I tasted a bit without any flavor coating. I liked the sausage, egg and corn and especially the small, skin-on potatoes; it was a well balanced meal and quite enough to share.
I walked over to Boba Bar and ordered a mango slush ($5) for us to share. We had already shopped inside the Zion Grocery store.
Now, the piano as well as the teddy bear are gone from the Food Court platform. Damn Covid-19!