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KCC Farmers Market, a closer look
Aloha!
7/1/09 - I think it's pretty unbelievable how huge these farmer's markets are getting. I mean, just about every day of the week you'll find one, whether at the Restaurant Row, Fort St. Mall, Waianae Health Center, the Blaisdell, Waimanalo Beach Park, Hawaii Kai Town Center, or right here at the Kapiolani Community College Campus.
Like the sign says, if you wanna find out where the various markets are, just go to www.hfbf.org for complete listings of the many vendors, along with a bunch more info. It's always a good thing buying local - helps the environment, is usually healthier, promotes small business, and you get to see all kinds of vendors with interesting and unique products, oftentimes found nowhere else. As far as prices go, that all depends - they do vary greatly between vendors and fairs, but as a general rule, while sale prices at grocery stores may be cheaper, fruits and veggies are usually better than regular store prices - no need for clipping coupons and selective shopping! Just make sure you bring cash, as not everyone takes cards.
The market at KCC, held every Saturday morning from 7:30am-11am, is one of the larger ones, and attracts three long aisles of vendors and huge crowds, as you can see from these next few shots, the first at the entrance area, and the next two from various places within. If you have small children, make sure to keep them close, as I'd hate to see the look on mom or child if that dreaded circumstance ever occured! Even at 7:30am, it's still packed, but we were lucky enough to find a parking space at about 9:30, only steps from the entrance. I wish there would have been a bird's-eye view of the entire area, and you'd see more clearly just how thick the crowds were.
Kukui Sausage Co. is just one of about 70 vendors out on this particular week, some proven names like Le Guignol and Ba-le restaurants, Mao and Aloun Farms, and the North Shore Cattle Co., while others are start-up's you've probably never heard of before, such as the healthy desserts of Latitude 22, healthy foods from Xotic Eats, lumpia and beignets from Country Comfort, kettle-cooked popcorn from Paniolo Popcorn, breakfast and mochiko chicken plates from Grandma G's, and sooo much more.
Sorry to some vendors for not mentioning their particular names on some of the following pics, as I wasn't even expecting to make a story out of the day - I just started taking shots, and by the time I got home, there were so many I figure I may as well throw them up! My purpose on this particularly fine morning was actually just to sample an Egyptian chicken plate from the new Egyptian/Mediterranean spot called, well... Da Spot! Owners Ahmad and Ako-san are super-cool, having already met them before at their Pumehana St. location. One of their most popular dishes is the Egyptian baked chicken, but the two times I visited, it wasn't available, and the KCC Farmers market is one place where I knew it would be - just don't come too late!
How was the chicken? Awesome, lemme tell ya! But you'll see the actual dish and more from Da Spot on a coming Closer Look soon enough. For now, here's a shot of their stand:
Of course, the one thing you expect to see most is fresh produce. I didn't take any veggie shots, but there was no shortage, for sure, from soft greens like Manoa lettuce, Chinese parsley, choi sum, green onions, and baby bak choy to hard vegetables like zucchini, bell's, squash varieties, okra, and bittermelon, to name just a few.
As for fruits, yes, all shapes, sizes, and varieties can be found. One interesting thing I should mention, just so you know that I'm not just an advertising outlet for restaurants and companies, and not just relegated to painting bright, rosy pictures out of everything no matter how good or bad, is that not all products at all farmers market fairs are necessarily island-grown! Why, I've seen some farms, particularly at the smaller fairs, selling their fresh-grown stuff right next to the same fruits sold at the supermarkets, which could be from Peru, Bolivia, or Timbuktu! I know, because I worked in produce for many years, and those boxes come from the same middle-men, like Otani, Fred's, and Matson, all huge, that bring products in from overseas. No worries, though. Most things are local, and you can always ask if that concerns you any. As for the next shots, they all look local to me, except I'm not so sure about the pineapples - don't think that just because they're from Dole, they're necessarily Hawaii-grown!
Besides produce, there are lots of other farms, raising such items as flowers, seafoods, honey, cattle, and dairy products. Blue Lotus Farm specializes in free-range chicken eggs, as well as okra, organic beans, and a few healthy lunch plates. Wifey is used to fresh chicken eggs back in Kyushu, Japan, literally still-warm from under mom's rear end, where they'd eat them completely raw, mixed-in with hot white rice and a bit of shoyu - mmm-yoso!!! They are a expensive, but worth it once-in-a-while.
The Hawaii Beekeeper's Association actually has a stand of their own, with a colorful line-up of locally-grown honey. Who knew there could be so many varieties?
There's also a bunch of tents specializing in ornamental flowers, such as Harada Orchids, Olomana Tropicals, Mari's Garden, and more, selling everything from bromeliads and anthuriums to orchids and mini-flowers.
As for the grindz, there's surely no shortage. Ba-le, that semi-fast-food Vietnamese eatery where the dishes are comparable to any Vietnamese restaurant out there, has fresh-baked breads, pastries, and grindz like these very photogenic, deep-fried shrimp rolls:
And then there's local-style plates galore, like this particular vendor, featuring kalua pig, a chili locomoco, garlic shrimp, seared ahi, and more:
I found one particular vendor quite interesting. Ever heard of taro poke? Taro Delight specializes in the purplish, ancient Hawaiian staple, and uses them to create various spreads like a veggie delight, wood-smoked, and shiitake mushroom, all of which are very hummus-like, and a taro/limu poke that's not bad at all, if you happen to be the health-conscious type.
But one stand located close to the entrance seemed to always be busy, as you can see:
Anyone ever been to that huge research and commercial aquaculture/energy facility in Kona? That's where these guys grow their abalone and ship 'em off to places all over the world, even back to Japan, where this particular strain of abalone, called Ezo abalone, comes from in the first place!
That facility in Kona is pretty impressive, as there are huge underwater pipes that pump-in cold, nutrient-rich seawater from 3,000 feet down! Because of that, along with other State and Federally-sponsored activities in the area, a wide variety of companies have begun operations specializing in a wide range of products, from spirulina algae, ogo seaweed, and pure deep-sea water (what a gimmick!), to Kona Kampachi, moi, lobster, and even seahorses! Last year wifey and I visited the Big Island and brought back a few lobsters from one of the farms there, but guess what? Since the prices weren't all that great, I asked if they were even grown there at all, and the guy was honest enough to say that they were actually from the East Coast! What's the deal? Just another wholesaler doing some side retail business, was all! Oh, well. It was still fun to visit and carry them back to Oahu, despite the fact that I could have just went to Tamashiro Market or Chinatown!
But getting back to our abalone stand, and the KCC Farmer's Market, we ended up picking up just three large pieces, which sold for $17 - not bad at all, me thinks. I just wanted to try them first, and I'd get the chance that very night as everyone came over for a weekend hibachi again. I couldn't help but close the hibachi cover after placing them on the grill, as they were all still live, the slippery mass of writhing sea meat instantly reacting to the heat by protruding out of their shells, attempting to climb out of the very calcium-laden housing that gave them life in their short-lived time on earth. I just read the other day about a guy who purchases animals live, then has his children help in killing and preparing them for consumption, just so they can know the process that goes into every tray of beautiful red steak or opaque chicken breast we find at the store! Keeps them more grounded, he says. Hey, makes sense, right? Somebody has to do it! We are sooo soft these days, I tell you! This coming fourth of July, we're gonna hibachi again, so we'll pick more up and try some as sashimi - which means they'll still be moving when we sample them!
Here's the three pieces we bought, and also a following shot of the little hibachi they had going at the Market - looks good, ey?
And finally, in parting, I'll leave you with D. Shoji Nakamoto, a one-man band who got the rapt attention of this cute-little tot, along with a small crowd of gatherers. It's great to see musicians having enough balls to do what they love to do, in front of total strangers, following their dreams. Gambatte, Nakamoto-san!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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Comments:
Cliff K. (7/12/09) - I haven't been there for a few years but I believe the purpose of bringing in Maine Lobsters and Dungeness Crabs are twofold. The first being that when they are stored in the cold water tanks they purge themselves of their wastes and they are staged in adjoining tanks with the crabs in the lower one feeding on the lobster detritus (giving them an even richer flavor/texture). I was told that the crustaceans were sold to the Hotel restaraunts first then to the public. I don't know if this is still true or not.
Aku (7/12/09) - Thanks for mentioning about the lobs in Kailua! Do the crabs really eat the detritus? Do you mean the ones in the lower tanks eat the lobs that die or do they eat the lobster droppings, or do they eat organisms grown from the lobster droppings, or... all of the above?
Cliff K. (7/13/09) - I don't remember if the bugs were in the upper tank or the crabs. But the animals in the lower tank eat the droppings. I believe the crabs are in the lower tank and that crabs are scavengers. If there is no viable food they will eat whatever is available.
Aku (7/13/09) - Interesting... Had no idea any animals could actually eat droppings! I thought that was strictly the job of bacteria and other simple organisms.
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