A little over a week ago Reid from 'Ono Kine Grindz tagged for this meme. He in turn had been tagged by Clare from Eat Stuff. So with sincere apologies for my tardiness in completing this I'll give it a shot here. This is all off-the-top-of-my-head, so I'm pretty sure this list would be different on every attempt.
The rules of this meme are simple. Write about five foods from your childhood that you miss...what's the catch? There is none, really. AND so that the people that started this darned thing can keep track of it, here's something else that you need to do:
Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross-pollination effect. Then tag three people and you're over and done with it all.
1. Do Or Do Not
3. eat stuff
5. mmm-yoso!!!
Ohhh-Kay let's get started!!!
1. For the faint of heart, time to leave. It's funny but from this humble beginning, I somehow ended up eating what I eat. Mayonnaise and Ketchup, yes, you heard me mayo and ketchup, mixed together. It had to be Best Foods Mayo and Del Monte Ketchup. So how did I enjoy this pseudo-Thousand Island dressing. On rice, of course! Yeah, yeah, yeah, you heard me right. Dressing on rice,very, very nice! Even before my kim chee and rice, there was ketchup and mayo on rice, french fries, plain macaroni, bread, basically any starch. But rice was #1! I hated the lumps though, so would have to smooth out the mayo before adding the ketchup, after all - Ya Gotta Have Standards!
2. Woolworth's Fried Chicken. This was love at first bite. Remember "You do the pickin' when you buy chicken at Woolworth's"? Mom & I used to catch the bus down to Fort Street Mall, and buy the chicken, which they put into a foil bag, than go and sit and eat it on one of the many benches along Fort Street Mall. Years later, before all the Woolworth's were closed down, I went in and ordered the fried chicken. Unfortunately it wasn't very good at all. Made me wonder if the recipe had changed, or maybe you can "never go back home again"?
3. Pork Chow Mein. I'm sure you're wondering, what about Pork Chow Mein? Well, as a youngster, I was a bit of a "pokey" eater, never really ate much. Then, when I hit the 3rd grade a strange thing happened; I developed an appetite, I mean an appetite! This coincided with our patronization of a certain Chinese Restaurant, whose name I can't remember. If anyone knows the name of this place, please let me know. It was located on corner on Waialae and 10th Avenue, on the Mauka side of the street (in other words it wasn't King's Garden - too "high maka-maka" for us). I'm sure the Pork Chow Mein here wasn't any great culinary masterpiece by any means, but I went from hardly being able to eat a few fork fulls, to eating an entire order in one sitting. I remember that one of the Waitresses would sit and watch me eat, totally amazed! Maybe I missed my true calling in life - Side Show Attraction? So when people would look at my Elementary School pictures and wonder how a sudden" growth spurt" occurred between 3rd and 4th grades, I'd always answer, "pork chow mein". 'Nuff said!
4. Chow Fun. I guess I have a thing about starch. But there's a particular Chow Fun I'm talking about. I've only had it about 4 times in my life, and again I don't remember the name of the place. But it was located on Front Street in Lahaina. My Mom, was born and raised on Maui, so we'd get to Maui every so often to visit. There used to be a place that had this wonderful chow fun - they used to wrap it in pink butcher paper. The Chow Fun had pieces of french fries in it, a carb-lover's dream! There was a 20-plus year gap between my last visit to Maui in the late 90's and my previous visit in the early 70's. It felt kind of sad, I didn't recognize a single thing except the old Banyan tree in Banyan Tree Park.
5. Vienna Sausage. I really can't stand the stuff anymore. But as a kid I loved to eat Vienna Sausage and musubi! I remember my Mother putting the Vienna Sausage into a thermos, pouring in hot water, than closing the thermos. When we hit our destination, she'd open the thermos and pour the water out; and viola! Hot Vienna Sausage, perfectly sized finger food.
So who am I tagging? A trio of fun, interesting, Food Bloggers - Pam from Daily Gluttony, Elmo from Monster Munching(Elmo - don't tell me you don't have any childhood memories, ok!), and another Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Rookie San Diego Food Blogger, Annie from Green Beans in San Diego. Have Fun......
Hi Kirk,
I have memories of the fried chicken at Woolworth's too. I used to go to the one at Ala Moana with my grandmother often. The chicken was so good. Years later, when I first started working downtown, I used to visit Woolworth's there, but the food wasn't as good. Sadly, it closed a year later.
The chow funn you mention sounds really interesting. I doubt that I've had anything like what you described because I never visited Maui until well into my 20s. Maybe I should try and make something like that sometime....
Posted by: Reid | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 02:12 AM
Kirk, the mayo and ketchup on rice sounds really intense! :) It sounds like something a European person would put on fries.
This is a great thread. I don't have an official blog, but a couple of my childhood favorites are:
-- Chicken in a Bizkit - It's like a Ritz cracker powdered with bouillon cubes.
-- Lil' Smokies Cocktail Weiners
-- Snoopy Snowcones - snowcones made with this plastic ice shaver in the form of Snoopy's doghouse.
-- Mom's lionshead meatballs and cabbage - this is still great.
Posted by: Howie | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 07:08 AM
Haha! This one is easy and fun! I can probably list 10 items, but I'll follow the rules!
Posted by: elmomonster | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 07:12 AM
LOL yum...mayo and ketchup...vienna sausages. I have several cotainers of vienna sausages. *sigh* Oh with hot rice and vienna sausages. My Korean grandmother loved then and passed it on to me. LOL
Posted by: milgwimper | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 08:52 AM
Hi Reid - Yeas, that chicken from Woolworth's was something wasn't it. The chow fun was really good - too bad I don't remember the name of the place.
Hi Howie - Thanks for your listing - but you need one more! :)
Hi Elmo - Somehow I knew you'd have no problem with this one! I could have easily listed a bunch more too.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 08:54 AM
Hi Mills - Somewhere down the line I lost my taste for Vienna sausages - I really don't care much for them at all anymore, I really don't know why.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 08:55 AM
Hmmm...one more item... How about Pop Rocks? This was one of my favorite candies and I haven't had some in the longest time. As a kid, eating Pop Rocks while drinking soda was my form of living on the edge. It's a miracle I'm still alive...
I just remembered this story about my best friend growing up. He told me that he was mad at one of his neighborhood friends, so he invited him over and prepared him a Ritz cracker surprise. He chewed up some Ritz crackers and then baked them until golden again. His friend ate a bunch of them and said they were delicious. Ewwww!!! I'm not sure why I thought of this.
Posted by: Howie | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 10:36 AM
Hi Howie - The pop rocks of urban legends, huh? As for the "Ritz Surprise", I don't know why you added it here either - ick! That could probably be the subject of it's very own meme! :)
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 11:40 AM
Now that I think about it, the reason why I thought about that story is because of the Pop Rocks. My friend was mad at his friend for stealing his Pop Rocks, so the Ritz surprise was his revenge :)
Posted by: howie | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 01:36 PM
Waikiki Woolworths was arguable the best of the Woolworths fine dining establishments on the island where to buy fried chicken, of which the fried chicken breast was the largest in size to be found anywhere in Honolulu.
Plus at the Waikiki Woolworths, you had one of the best seats in town to people watch, albeit, the counter itself that you plopped your okole on at the take out food section, next to, but separate from the Woolworths' restaurant itself, was only a whole 6-inches width of formica and the chairs were high stools. But there was a certain kind of ambience along with the utilitarian setup. And, yes, they always put the fried chicken in a foil package.
Posted by: RONW | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 08:09 PM
Hi Howie - ohhhhh-kay! Nice friends you have there!!!!!
RONW - I woulda' picked you, but I know how much you LOVE memes! I'm glad you think that Woolworth's chicken was worth the few lines I had to give it....I do miss it!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 09 August 2005 at 08:56 PM
kirk,
How bout mayo and shoyu as a dressing/dip for tofu or salads? My bachan used to make us vienna sausage or bolagna fried in a shoyu sugar mixture with rice.
Posted by: kyle | Wednesday, 10 August 2005 at 05:10 AM
Hi Kyle - Thanks for stopping by! I've used (and still use) shoyu and mayo as a dip for watercress and ika. We used to call shoyu-sugar, "sato-shoyu", and used it in the same manner, or to dip green mango in. Great memories!!!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 10 August 2005 at 06:52 AM
You've lived your whole life there haven't you Ron? How amazing to have such memories. Mike is the same. I with I could say that but I've never lived more than 11 years in one space. My dad was born in the same room that his father was born in, and his father before him... now THERE is some family history. I've always envied that "stability".
Posted by: Jo | Wednesday, 10 August 2005 at 09:08 AM
Hi Jo - I think it works either way, actually. I'm waiting for Mills to do hers, I think it'll be really interesting and fun!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 10 August 2005 at 12:17 PM
Ooo...mayo and shoyu! Yum! I use it with almost every kind of vegetable. And yes, my grandma used to make Oscar Mayer bologna with onions in a shoyu sugar base over gohan.
My dad's side of family's from the Big Island so I'm not so familiar with all the Oahu references. I personally love Sam Choy's and the Huli Huli chicken made for the local school's fundraisers. ;)
Posted by: Kristy | Monday, 15 August 2005 at 03:03 PM
Hi Kristy - Yep shoyu and mayo - good stuff! Sounds like your relatives are on Kona side? Thanks for stopping by and taking the time out to comment. Huli Huli chicken is a whole 'nother (delici - yoso) story!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 15 August 2005 at 07:21 PM
Yup, family's from the Kona side. It's been a few years since I've been though. Need to plan a visit soon!
Posted by: Kristy | Monday, 15 August 2005 at 08:10 PM
Hi Kristy - I'm sure I'll read all about your visit! BTW, another thing I enjoyed as a child was Vienna sausage fried with shoyu and sugar!!!!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 15 August 2005 at 08:52 PM
I wish someone has the old Woolworth chicken recipe....it was the best fried chicken in Hawaii.
Posted by: Lon Luna | Sunday, 06 April 2008 at 11:16 PM