Merrie Monarch - Ho'olaulea and Hō'ike

This year I was lucky enough to go to the 49th Merrie Monarch, but first I attended all the events around MM.  First up on Sunday was the Ho'olaulea where local groups performed and it's kind of like a big recital. (If I can find the newspaper insert - I'll update with the actual names of the groups)

There's always some Tahitian:

I loved this little guy.  He really seemed to love what he was doing, traveled well across the (huge) floor and has so much energy and charm while dancing all by himself!

The 2nd girl from the bottom is a student at my school and the daughter of a colleague.  She's a sweet, talented girl.  I laughed when I reviewed the pictures because the girl to her left looked MISERABLE the whole time.  Once I saw those pictures, I just wanted to say...didn't any one tell her "Mino aka!!!" (Smile!!!!)

This is a group of students from Kamehameha Schools.  Kamehameha Schools is a private school in Hawai'i that is for students who are part Hawaiian.  They have campuses all over the state and the kids are always crazy talented and smart.  You probably can't see her, but the girl in the second row from the right, five girls up is my friend's niece.  She's a spectacular volleyball player (and crazy tall) and even traveled this year to Colorado for a youth national team.

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOL

This little one was just SO cute! She was so tiny, but definitely loved dancing.  The first keiki number was these little girls that were probably all under four dancing a hula with their baby dolls (although one girl had a stuffed bunny). 

Then there's the Hō'ike or Free Night on Wednesday.  This year it was not as great as last year (which would be a recurring theme I'd utter all week).

First up was a dynamite local hālau: Hālau o Kekuhi.  A little background...Merrie Monarch is held at the Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium...this is her hālau as it is now run by the hālau is now helmed by her daughters and granddaughters.  They specialize in hula kahiko (a traditional hula). 

HĀLAU O KEKUHI

Next there was a hālau whose kumu hula (hula teacher) has hālau in Hawai'i and Japan.  Hālau Hula O Lima Nani performed their first dance in a beautiful red number...unfortunately I can't say any of them were very beautiful. Mean. I know.  When someone (not from Hawai'i) asked me what kind of hula this was, I responded, "Haole Hula."  When they looked confused I said, "This is the hula you see at hotel luaus and on cruise ships."  I was very bored during their performance.

HĀLAU HULA O LIMA NANI

The ladies of Hālau Hula O Lima Nani then came out in their green dresses and their kumu hula - Nani Lim Yap sat on the stage and sang.  The whole time I kept thinking, "This is so dumb - no one can hear her!" I will give them credit though because while I didn't understand why they did this during the show, later I found out that the sound system failed. As they say in show business, the show must go on and the ladies never looked rattled.

   HĀLAU

HULA O LIMA NANI WITH KUMU HULA NANI LIM YAP SITTING

I enlarged this next picture of Hālau Hula O Lima Nani so you could better see this monstrosity of gold lamé.  Like all annoying things...this hālau's performance never seemed to end.

GOLD LAMÉ...LAME!

Kumu Hula Nani Lim Yap also has a hālau in Kohala (on the Big Island).  Nā Lei O Kaholokū came out next.  First they brought out their pahu (drums) - including one of the biggest ones I had ever seen! Then they did a purification ceremony which I thought was really nice.

PAHU & THE PURIFICATION RITUAL

 Then the wahine (ladies)of  Nā Lei O Kaholokū and stormed the stage with a spectacular performance. I LOVED them! They were so sassy and really just rocked it out.

WAHINE OF NĀ LEI O KAHOLOKŪ

WAHINE OF NĀ LEI O KAHOLOKŪ

They did this dance with some long grasses (I don't know what they were) and it was even SASSIER than their first number!

GRASS DANCE

 They also did some auana (a hula style that derived from influence of post-missionary/Christian/Western ideas) and had this little girl come up and dance with them.  It was really cute and she was pretty good.

HULA AUANA WITH NĀ LEI O KAHOLOKŪ

I had read in the paper that the first group even from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) was performing at Merrie Monarch and that's primarily why I made myself go to the stadium. A sidebar: because it's so hard to get tickets for Merrie Monarch, the Hō'ike is really popular and people start lining up for the 5:30pm doors opening before noon. Luckily some friends of mine stood in line for me so I just needed to waltz in!

The group was called, "Rangi Moana."

RANGI MOANA

The dancers looked pretty young and they basically did one dance that was same moves.  The girls shook their hips and did some ami (hip swivels) and the two guys basically jumped around vigorously.  I was pretty disappointed with the group's performance (It was pretty weak), but glad to support their first time at Merrie Monarch.

RANGI MOANA JAZZ HANDS!

 The two dudes (particularly the guy on the left with the headgear) worked themselves up into a lather and were actually kind of red from their exertion.

RANGI MOANA MEN

Then they did the first of THREE "let's grab an audience member and drag them on stage to dance" dance.  It was SO OBNOXIOUS.  One is bad enough, but when two-thirds of your performance is this, it smacks of Polynesian Cultural Center (which don't get me wrong, I enjoy).  It's just too touristy. However for the first grab, this elderly gentleman hopped on stage and shook what his mama gave him! It was awesome and I hope that when I'm his age I'll be as cool and adventurous.  Or as my sister says about my nana: "I can't wait until I'm older and not give a damn." :)

PUTTING THE YOUNGENS TO SHAME

HOW HAPPY IS THIS GUY?

AND STILL FLIRTIN' WITH PRETTY LADIES

The last group came on (it had to be like 11pm by this point) and it was a Tahitian group from California: Nonosina.  They were pretty modern - still got the hip shaking, but definitely had some different moves and a full on Tahitian rock band backing them.

NONOSINA MUSICIAN ROCKING A MASSIVE NECKLACE

 The dancers came on and were led by this massive mountain of a man with a big paddle.

NONOSINA FIRST NUMBER

SEE? BIG MAN WITH A PADDLE!

 I liked them, but I think I prefer traditional Tahitian.  Some of the dance moves they were pulling really confused me.

NONOSINA

 Hō'ike was a fun (although I was a little disappointed by most of the groups) and LONG night.  The real fun begins with the actual hula on Thursday and Friday nights!

Alien Invasion

This morning I woke up and put on my hearing aids after my shower.  I went downstairs and was playing on the computer when I felt a sharp pain in my ear.  I ignored it and kept working but a few seconds later it happened again.  PANIC! It was one of my fears...there was a bug stuck in my ear!

Always calm under pressure, I totally shrieked, ripped out my hearing aid and ran upstairs, banging my head and tilting it to the side repeatedly.  All this commotion merely served to aggravate this bug apparently since the pain kept occurring.  I used a Q-Tip as the directions say never to use (I've always been such a rebel) and promptly pulled out an...

Ew. Ew. Ew. EW! I learned through a helpful Google search that a) Ant bite and b) Ants have hooks/claws on their feet.  I'm guessing one of the reasons is why it hurt so much to have this "alien invasion." 

Needless to say, when I saw it was an ant, I promptly VICIOUSLY SMUSHED IT. Now I'm totally traumatized by the actual experience of having a bug in my ear...which I'm sorry to say I can speak from experience that I'd rather inhale (via nose or mouth - I have managed to do both) a bug than have one fly in my ear.  I'd even rather have a bee stuck in my hoodie and sting me repeatedly in the face and neck (as happened ON MY WAY TO A FRIEND'S WEDDING - Hi Kate!) than have a bug in my ear.

JUST. GROSS.

Ludo Bites Pop Up

My friends on the Mainland are always getting to go to these really neat Top Chef events so I was REALLY excited when I read in the paper that not only was Ludo Lefebvre of Top Chef Masters opening up one of his pop up restaurants in Hawai'i, but on the BIG ISLAND. Of course it was on the other side of the island in the resort-y area of Waikoloa (because who's really going to do a fancy pop up in Hilo???). Chris and I promptly headed over to the other side for the day. (Ludo's website: http://www.ludolefebvre.com/ludobites)

The plan was actually to use my snorkel trip I had won at the chocolate festival silent auction, but they were booked up. Then we were going to spend the night and go diving with my new dive camera housing, but then I was coming down with a cold. So most of the day was a minor bust haha. We spent the day at my favorite beach ever - Hapuna and then we did manage to snag a seat at the Ludo Bites Pop Up 9!

LUDO BITES - HUALALAI

We sat down and actually while we were looking at our menu Ludo came out and was chatting up the people in the table right next to us! I was too chicken to go over and talk to him. Plus we had just dragged ourselves out of Hapuna and were sandy and salty...not really fine dining resort restaurant ready!

THE MENU

We ended up ordering the Kampachi-Vietnamese Style, Seared Foie Gras Pina Colada and the Confit Pork Belly. Basically the menu is composed of these little "bites" (duh) not really full entrees. However these were pretty expensive bites...so while most people were ordering the full menu...we could NOT afford that! Nor the $18 specialty cocktails.

The first plate was our Kampachi which was surprisingly refreshing. It had a nice acidic palm sugar vinaigrette and had fried lotus root, green banana, Tahitian limes, (really yummy) pickled Maui unions, and a whole mess of other stuff I had never tried all julienned over the kampachi. It was really good. I liked, but didn't love kampachi...but I'm really not a seafood fan.

"KAMPACHI - VIETNAMESE STYLE"

I had always wanted to try foie gras and here was my chance to have some nice fatty liver :) Ludo had a Seared Foie Gras Pina Colada on his menu. When it came out it was not at all what we were expecting...but once we started eating it - it was like something straight out of a Top Chef episode! It was deconstructed and had a foam :) Everything was cannelled (I may not cook, but I know the techniques!). There was like a coconut ice cream, a pineapple foam and of course the foie gras. The plate was also sprinkled with mac nuts....the verdict? I do not like foie gras...bleghhh. Chris on the other hand LOVES it. I will say that the combination all together was really really good and actually really like a pina colada with foie gras. Needless to say I was pretty good with the foam + ice cream - the foie gras. Still impressive since I hate the flavor of coconut.

"SEARED FOIE GRAS PINA COLADA"

I have also always wanted to try pork belly since everyone always raves about it on the cooking shows. I've also never had risotto which is seemingly the downfall of at least a few Top Chef contestants every season. This was probably my favorite dish. There was a furikake (it's a seaweed/dried fish/etc seasoning) risotto which I absolutely loved. First I LOVE furikake and it's one of my favorite things I've discovered in Hawaii and I loved the risotto. It's not what I expected since I always thought risotto was supposed to be creamy...hmmm perhaps Ludo is guilty of another Top Chef mistake - misnaming a plate item (Actually this is a bigger problem on Chopped)! Needless to say, his "risotto" might have been pretty toothsome, but I loved the texture and the taste. The pork belly is basically fatty pork bacon...I kept thinking of Anthony Bourdain while I ate it (Can you tell I love cooking shows?). It went great with the other elements on the plate. I'm not sure what the green puree was, but it tasted really fresh and I liked it. The squash was good, but I could've done without the Kona coffee "ash."

"CONFIT PORK BELLY"

I didn't get great pictures since I'm not a food stylist and we were hungry. But we left feeling very pleased and pretty full (although I would be hungry by the time we pulled into our driveway) we drove back to Keaau.

Here's some random tester pictures Chris took at Hapuna...it was really choppy so he barely stayed out there...but the casing works! Can't wait to go diving with it and especially since I got some of those great seasickness patches...although I had to go through a pretty kooky Punatic doctor at the walk-in clinic for the prescription.

Here are some random pictures Chris took at Hapuna with the new camera and underwater casing. It was crazy choppy out there so he really didn't stay out long enough, but everything works and we can't wait to go diving with it. Especially since I have those seasickness patches...although I had to go through this crazy kooky Punatic doctor at the Pahoa walk in clinic to get the prescription. (Even the Target pharmacists were agreeing with me how kooky he was!)