pat's island delights

gourmet hawaiian treat basket

whenever we go to the waiau zippy's, the pat's island delights shop across the way always beckons me but i never stopped in because i assumed it was just a snack shop. and since my aunty's pantry is always stocked with treats the last thing we need are more snacks in the house.

then, before the last trip home, i discovered via kat of our adventures in japan that pat's is really more of a gourmet snack shop so i finally explored their website and with a few clicks discovered volcano island honey, hawaiian kine taro chips, foodstuff from maui culinary academy & so much more stocked online.

intrigued and in need of omiyage gifts to bring back to the mainland, i paid a visit to the shop and was delighted to find all the foodie treats on my wish list in one convenient location. you could easily drop a lot of money here and it was difficult to restrain myself since everywhere i turned there was something to tempt my taste buds. this is definitely a good place to go if you need a nice hostess gift or want to shake things up and give mainland ohana something a little different.

and a nice bonus for folks outside hawaii is that instead of racking up shipping charges at various websites you can hit pat's for one stop shopping and add a few more goodies to your cart with the money you saved.

pat's is located in town (ground floor of the davies pacific center at queen street) and at the waiau shopping center in pearl city.

{update | jan 2010: pat's pc outpost has been shuttered since a fire a few years ago so find your way to the town shop to scoop up 'ono island delights}

a wee bit of zen

baby tanks + angel dress

lily lotus recently introduced a small keiki line featuring the same hand dyed and embellished style that has made the women's collection a favorite at island yoga studios. the wee tanks have a bit of baby bling and a playful edge not typically found on the playground.

if the tanks are a tad too fashion forward for your little one, these handmade toddler dresses (sewn by a woman's co-op in bolivia) are made even sweeter once they go through the lily lotus treatment.

shanti + enlighten notes

and, if you want to spread a little zen, take a peek at the yoga inspired note cards from local artist miu lang harumi kahalehau of miu artworks which are only available online at the lily lotus website.

p.s. don't forget the secret code to score free shipping!

ani's bake shop

apple sweetbread . . . yum!

one of our traditions when we go home is to buy a loaf of ani's apple sweetbread to enjoy at the beach after my fella's dawn patrol sessions. it is so ono and i like to tell myself that the apple filling counts as a serving of fruit. the only problem is that even though ani's is stocked at stores like longs and foodland there is never any guarantee that the apple bread will be on the shelf.

so before we headed to the airport, we stopped by ani's bake shop in the halawa industrial park (adjacent to mauna loa hq) to pick up a few loaves to send to a friend. the bake shop is sweetbread heaven with every flavor ani's makes available and freshly baked to boot. in addition to apple, you can grab loaves of sweetbread with coconut, guava & more fruit fillings as well as taro bread and our friend's favorite mac nut cinnamon bread.

one thing i learned during my visit is that ani's is a sweet local success story of a mom & pop business that makes over a million dollars a year in revenue . . . that's a lot of bread! read more and get inspired at the star-bulletin.

another surprise was the small case at the register filled with a variety of donuts which are quite satisfying if you have a sweet tooth. the donuts are not available online but you can take your pick of ani's sweetbreads on their website.

map it!

mauka makai excursions

pu'u o mahuka heiau

locals know there is so much more to oahu than the postcard scenes depicting waikiki so if you are a traveler ready to discover the real hawaii (beyond the glossy brochures and package bus tours) you will definitely want to hook up with mauka makai excursions. the small native hawaiian owned eco-tour company offers intimate cultural walking tours taking guests off the beaten path to parts of the island many visitors never see.

while exploring the 'aina (land), guides share stories and legends of the people of old (ka po'e o kahiko), the history and rituals of the native hawaiians, and the cultural significance of the plants and flowers found on the island. tours are available to different parts of oahu and mauka makai also offers custom shoreline fishing tours for those who would like to learn how to throw a fishing net hawaiian style, spend an evening torch fishing, or go tide pooling with your keiki.

take a peek at the star-bulletin to learn more about the company's mission to protect the 'aina while preserving and sharing the culture of hawaii.

{update | jan 2010: company website has been taken down}

kicks/hi x sig zane = (red)

the most anticipated island collaboration of the year is finally making its debut tomorrow. yep, after all the waiting kicks/hi + sig zane release their spin for the (converse) red collection on saturday. it's so cool to see local designers getting involved in the (product) red campaign and getting some well deserved exposure and a little media love.

in case you didn't catch bono kicking off the campaign on oprah last year, red is all about raising funds to help fight the aids epidemic in africa by giving you, the consumer, a painless way to shop a tad more consciously.

basically, whenever you choose to snap up limited edition red chuck taylors/ipods/razrs/etc over the standard issue, the participating company donates a portion of sales from that product to the global fund which is fighting the good fight by purchasing life saving medication that our fellow world citizens would otherwise not be able to afford.

the kicks/sz converse design features a handprinted 'uluwehi keaukaha print (in honor of the tree planted on son kuhao's first birthday) and is only available in men's sizes 5-13 (including half sizes; fyi - for the uninitiated, chucks are a unisex style so refer to the size chart to determine the corresponding w's size). there will also be a baseball cap in the same colorway.

no doubt these are going to be very popular considering there will be competition between sneaker collectors, converse fans, and folks who want to support local designers so remember that they will only be stocked at the following locations (in addition to the sz online shop):

• hilo: sz shop & the cutlery | honolulu: kicks/hi - makaloa shop | wailuku: sz shop
• chicago: saint alfred