The Missus and I were looking at some of my old photo albums and flipped the page to my third grade class photo. I started cracking up and the Missus gave me a quizzical look. I then pointed something out to Her. All the boys were wearing long pants (no shorts were allowed in those days), Aloha Shirts (after all, it as class photo day), the girls Mumu's, but…….most of us were barefoot! I explained to the Missus that until the fifth grade, many of us actually did walk to school barefoot (though not uphill both ways). I mean this was the late 60's, early 70's, and things were different then. Plus, as I mentioned in my post on my "old neighborhood", Ali'iolani Elementary was just a block away from where we lived.
And this kinda brings me forward to this post. On our last trip back "home", the Missus asked me when I first remember having poke. We had just finished doing some stuffs at Ala Moana and I decided to show Her. Way back, when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, my Mom had an appointment in the Fort Ruger area. I was raised by a single parent and my Mom never ever drove, so we had to catch the Ruger bus and I waited while my Mom did her thing. After the appointment, we walked over to Ruger Market, and that's where I first remember having poke I really liked, over 50 years ago! I'd probably had it before; of course during the holidays there was sashimi and stuff, but I remembered the poke from Ruger Market clearly. Later, when I was older, my friends and I would drive on over after going to Cromwell's (I can't believe the cove is still around, though maybe not for long) and grab some poke, then go for a drive around Diamond Head Road and eat at the lookout or hele on over to Kapiolani Park or Paki Park and grind there.
So, we drove on over….and heck, I hadn't been to Ruger Market since before I left the islands; which would be over 25 years, but the place looks pretty much the same.
Though it's more of a seafood- Filipino/Hawaiian restaurant these days. When I was growing up, this was the neighborhood grocery for the area.
Different grades of Ahi is available, you can get poke made with pre-frozen Ahi (nah) or with fresh Ahi, what is called "Auction Fresh Ahi" on the sign.
You know what we got, right?
We'd already had some small stuffs to eat at Foodland Farms and this was a kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we didn't go too crazy. We got one poke bowl, with brown rice, the chicharrons looked really good, so we got that, and also some boiled peanuts.
And then we headed off…..just like those hanabuddah days, I drove around Diamond Head Road to the lookout.
You can find the Amelia Earhart Plaque here as well.
As well as the "best seat in the house"….at least on this day.
And the local "security detail".
We headed on down and found parking and a table at Kapiolani Park and proceeded to dig in.
I was surprised to find that the kimchi was decent; not overly fermented, but still quite refreshing. The brown rice added a nice nuttiness to the bowl. The quality of the fish was good; tender and buttery in texture without connective tissue. We preferred the restrained, classic, soy-saltiness, with a hint of oceany sweetness of the Local Style Ahi. The Spicy Shoyu wasn't very spicy and was a bit on the salty side. Still, the quality and prep was way above anything here in San Diego.
The Chicharron was as good as it looked.
Crisp, with a slight crunch; porky and savory, which just enough salt. Talk about a guilty pleasure.
As for the boiled peanuts, well, the Missus was saving them for later. Though this little fella tried to make a move on the legume.
The Missus loves Her boiled peanuts, so he didn't stand a chance!
It was good to know that Ruger Market still makes decent poke.
The older I get, the more I treasure and appreciate those times and the chances I get to reflect on them. And it was wonderful to share a bowl of memories with the Missus.
Fort Ruger Market
3585 Alohea Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
And I also want to thank you for sharing in those memories with me! Thanks for stopping by!
was our opportunity. So, we walked to Xinyi, and got to the original DTF on Xinyi Road.
The Missus loved the rich "thickness" of the broth. Which, She brought up to Her preference in flavor with the provided lime, cilantro, onions, and the fairly picante salsas. The richness of the broth had accents of boviney-offal tones. There were various type of tripe provided; really buttery honeycomb tripe, firm book tripe, and blanket tripe.
The sauce for the mushrooms were wonderfully flavored, but very gloppy and pasty in texture. The veal sweetbread was massive, dry, tough, and very metallic.
The plate of sprouts, greens, and herbs were fresh, the bun slippery and nicely textured. For some reason, the broth seemed more spicy than usual; or perhaps I'm just getting wimpy in my old age. That combined with an assertive lemongrass flavor and singeing heat really set my lips on fire.