Beat of Hawaii and Beyond: Travel Deals, Tips, Events, Culture

If you’re looking for that completely unique gift to bring home with you from your Hawaii vacation, look no further.

Hamakua mushrooms are a gourmet treat from Hawaii and some of the best mushrooms I’ve tasted. They have both a wonderful flavor and texture. You can legally import them to the mainland, inasmuch as they are not a plant or a vegetable, but a fungus.

Available at supermarkets state-wide, these local delicacies have been grown in the town of Laupahoehoe on Big Island since 2003.

Hamakua mushrooms are produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones or chemicals. They are cultivated Japanese style and harvested by hand. The eucalyptus trees along the Hamakua Coast provide the necessary wood for them to grow.

Be sure to check out the Hamakua Mushroom recipes and let us know how you like them. For the best deal, try Costco where $3.99 buys you an eight-ounce container.

July 4th is the opening day for this year’s Methley plum season. It’s a day I look forward to each year.

Methley plums are delicious, small, sweet-tart plums which grow in Koke’e State Park. Falsely believed to be a Japanese cultivar, they originated in China and have been grown there for thousands of years. Methley plums were introduced to Japan 200-400 years ago and have now spread around the world, including to Kauai.

We use a small pole with a fishing net attached to catch the plums. With a permit, each person is entitled to pick up to 5 pounds per day. No commercial sale is permitted.

Be forewarned that this year’s crop isn’t very good. If you want further information, you can call State Parks in Lihue at (808) 274-3445.

Hawaii’s banana industry may be well-positioned for a serious comeback. They are certainly growing well in our backyard. This photo shows our latest crop growing amidst Blue Ginger.

Prices of Hawaii bananas have never been competitive with Central America in the past due to the high cost of land and labor. The scale is starting to tip in favor of Hawaii bananas for two important reasons:

1. Price of bananas from Central America is up 36% compared with this time last year.

With escalating fuel costs, banana prices of $1 a pound and more are or will soon be standard on the mainland. Fuel prices impact not only transporting the bananas, but the cost of fertilizer used to grow them as well.

Hawaii is the same distance to the West Coast as is Central America. There’s the potential of shipping bananas cost effectively to the mainland from Hawaii.

2. Most commercial bananas could soon face extinction due to BBTV (Banana Bunchy Top Virus).

Hawaii bananas are not immune from BBTV. However, research at University of Hawaii at Manoa, in concert with USDA, is yielding positive results. It appear that BBTV may be controllable in Hawaii bananas, and new varieties currently in development could be completely immune.

Virtually all commercially grown bananas (not including those from Hawaii) are of the Cavendish variety. While there are over 1,000 banana varieties, standardization on this one variety occurred in order to assure even ripening in shipping, among other things.

As last week’s banana article in the NY Times pointed out, when all bananas come from the same genetic pool (one variety), they are extremely vulnerable to disease. This wiped out commercial bananas in the first half of the 1900’s.

The Chinese Cavendish variety, while considered inferior in taste, was grown because it was immune to the infection. Now, however, a more virulent virus to which the Cavendish is not immune is spreading and is expected to affect Central America within the next 5-10 years.

Banana Production in Hawaii

Hawaii has a long way to go in banana production. Last year Hawaii raised only 20 million pounds compared with the 7.9 billion pounds the U.S. imported, primarily from Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Earlier this year, one of our state’s largest banana producers, Mauna Kea Banana Company was set to shut down operations after 30 years.

Since then we’ve learned that they have changed plans, and will be remaining open. The company will primarily grow Williams variety bananas, and will invest $1 million in hydro-electric power and a bio-diesel (cooking grease) to fuel plant.

The future looks bright for Hawaii bananas.

The Kauai Museum continues their Traditional Hawaiian Quilt exhibit through July 25. I toured the exhibit recently and was quite partial to the pink quilt in this picture. There’s a reason why: I’m the proud owner!

There are many historic quilts on display and each one has a unique history. The placard next to this quilt made by my Great-Grandmother tells its story.

Starting August 1, the museum begins its Non-Hawaiian Quilt exhibit through October 1. The second half of the exhibit features the modern expression of quilt making from the the people of Kauai.

If you happen to be on Kauai, and see my Great-Grandmother’s quilt, be sure to let me know.

Kauai Museum Details

Admission: $10 for adults; discounts available for seniors, students and children. First Saturday of the month free!

Hours: Monday-Friday from 9-4; Saturday 10-4.

Location: Corner of Rice and Eiwa Streets in Lihue.

Special Workshop: Hawaiian Quilt Design, Saturday, July 19, 1pm.

Photo Courtesy of Kauai Museum and Chris Faye, Curator

The first Chinese organized tour of the United States began today with 250 visitors arriving from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. Each person paid approximately $4,000 to be part of the tour.

Chinese visitors have previously been able to visit independently. An agreement signed last year which made the United States an approved destination, however, is expected to significantly increase Chinese travel here, possibly to the tune of billions of dollars. Chinese tour operators can now market packages to U.S. destinations and the United States can advertise travel directly in China.

Surprisingly, according to U.S. Department of Commerce, Chinese travelers on average spend $6,000 per visit to the United States; the highest per capita from any country.

This first tour group is spending 12 days in Washington D. C., New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, and in Hawaii. Special events honoring them will take place in various cities including Honolulu.

The United States is China’s fifth largest tourist destination, and last year more than 700,000 Chinese visited our country.

I usually view museum art behind glass, on one side of a rope and under the watchful eye of a guard.

Not so at the Hawaii State Art Museum (HiSAM). Dubbed the “People’s Art Museum,” HiSAM deserves a place on everyone’s Honolulu activity list.

First you take a historic building with Italian scrollwork and architectural details modeled after the Davanzatti Palace in Florence. Next you showcase incredible Hawaii art from the past 40 years on the building’s second floor with its grand lobby and high ceilings. Finally, you open the doors to the public and not charge a cent to enter.

Result: You’ve got HiSAM.

Even though the museum has been open for 6 years, we toured for our first time last week. I was immediately struck with its emphasis on contemporary Hawaiian folk art and the accessibility of art to the public.

At HiSAM you can view an extensive selection of the State’s Art in Public Places Collection. Hawaii was the first state in the nation back in 1967 to pass an Art Law. This set aside one percent of the cost of state buildings for the acquisition and commission of art.

In addition to the museum, the Downtown Cafe is located on the first floor next to the museum gift shop.

Downtown Cafe features two dining options. There’s a take-out deli with a lot of interesting salads. We opted for their informal dining room and lunched on Ahi club sandwiches. At $10 each it was a fair price. The fish was cooked perfectly, seared and rare in the middle. A wasabi dressing accompanied the sandwich. It needed more wasabi and less mayo.

Our overall rating for food and service: B. HiSAM gets an A.

HiSAM Details:

Parking: Bring quarters for the street parking meters. Each quarter buys 10 minutes. I’d allow 90 minutes for museum and lunch.

Location: No 1 Capitol District Building, 250 South Hotel Street, Floor 2, across the street from the State Capitol (towards downtown).

Hours: 10-4 Tuesday to Saturday. The Downtown Cafe is open Monday to Friday until 2pm. and Saturday, 11-2.

Special Public Programs: First Friday Concert 5-9pm, Second Saturday Family Activities 11-3, Art Lunch Lecture last Tuesday from 12-1.

Bus: Route 2 or 13 will take you there from Waikiki.