Teshima Restaurant- Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Teshima Restaurant (located at 79-7251 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kealakekua, HI 96750) is a family restaurant, with 3 generations currently working in the Japanese-style joint. Shizu-Obaachan, who recently turned 107, is still running the place as cheerfully as ever. It's a little in the middle of nowhere on the Kailua-Kona-side of the Big Island, but if you're in the area and want a nice lunch or dinner, stop here!

Price: $$

Overall Experience: 4 stars/5 stars

Teshima is best known for their tenpura/tempura, or Japanese battered and deep fried foods dipped in a brothy-sauce, so naturally I had to sample this on my first trip to the restaurant. ("What the Big Island Likes to Eat" highly recommends the kettle-cooked tofu dish and I can say that was also fantastic--my huge family ordered basically half the menu, so I had a good go at everything.) I ordered the Thursday lunch special, which comes with a cup of miso soup, a tray of pickled veg, a bowl of rice, barley tea, a side of really tasty and well-marinated spare ribs and gorgeous platter of golden tenpura. The tenpura was traditionally done and perfect--not over or undercooked, not too oily, great colour, etc... Teshima served up these things in my tenpura: ahi, yam, zucchini, eggplant, green bean and a lovely surprise of purple potato! Look at that colour!:

The dipping sauce was also great, not overly salty, with a nice sweetness. The spareribs were magnificent (I'd just gotten my wisdom teeth done, so a bit tough to eat for me still) and soo well-marinated! Just the smell of them would do a number on you! It sat on a bed of lettuce, which I was really yearning for (local Hawaiian food does not generally serve up much veg, just a lot of meat, starch and gravy). The tenpura was definitely the star of my plate and I would order this again when revisiting Teshima Restaurant.

Don't worry, eat happy!

-Raechel

Loco Motion

Loco moco is a Hawaiian food that is just about as local as you can get; it's got the basics of what I define to be Hawaiian food (starch + meat + gravy). The classic loco moco is comprised a hamburger patty on top of a bed of white sticky rice which is topped by an egg (usually done sunny side up, although most places will ask you how you want it done). Lastly, and nearly most importantly, is the gravy. Certain joints will home-cook their own gravy and others will use instant gravy from the package. Though quite primitive in concept, every loco moco is different and my brothers and I have been on the hunt for the perfect loco. Maybe I'll ask them to guest blog about their legend of the loco sometime. ;)

It's definitely comfort food, but something that everyone should try at least once. It's really simple, but the quality of the different components can alter the overall experience enormously! If you live in Hawaii or are making a trip there, I recommend a few places for this local delight. Though many people have disputes over the originators of the loco moco, I give the claim to a place I grew up with: Cafe 100 in Hilo, Hawaii.

Cafe 100 offers the original loco in addition to different takes on the original, using spam, smokies, Portuguese sausage, tempura salmon, cutlet (battered and deep fried chicken fillet), shoyu pork (pork marinated and cooked in soy sauce), etc... The Kilauea loco has just about ALL of these in one loco platter. Cafe 100 also offers a slew of other popular plate lunches, soups, teriyaki bowls and grinds for the keiki (kids' meals). To top it all off, all of these are offered at extremely affordable prices! Doesn't get any better!

Tex's, which is nearly smack in between Hilo and Waikoloa on the Big Island, is one of the best loco's I've had locally. Tex's is the home of the malasada, a local favourite. A malasada is a pastry, much like a doughnut, covered in sugar and with the option of a creme or jelly filling (chocolate, bavarian creme, mango, guava, apple, lemon, etc...). Best eaten hot. Back to the subject at hand. The loco moco at Tex's has an awesome gravy and a great patty (Tex's also does burgers pretty really well, so this is expected, I suppose).

Ken's Pancake House, also in Hilo, has a mean loco moco too; it's a nicer place for a meal and is a bit more expensive, but the quality of the loco is also true to the tastiness of the original. My brother recommends the teri beef loco. Also recommended: oxtail stew and tripe stew.

Now, on the mainland, there are two Hawaiian restaurants I recommend in LA. Both staffed by Hawaiian natives, TNT's and Bruddah's serve up large locos to their customers with plenty of aloha! Other dishes at these restaurants that I recommend are Bruddah's beef/oxtail stew and their lau lau platter (if they haven't run out) and TNT's fried rice, the stir fried saimin and the Aloha Royale.

For my next quest, I'm off to hit the Hilo Farmer's Market (another childhood haunt of mine) and the new and much heard-of Puff City. See you witty slickers soon!