I must admit, you all are a sharp bunch. Yes, it is Maui, and yes, that was a really nice little cup of Guri-Guri(2 scoops/$1). And on Maui, the "only" place for Guri-Guri is Tasaka Guri-Guri.
Located in, of all places, the Maui Mall in Kahului, the Tasaka Family claims that Jokichi Tasaka invented Guri-Guri somewhere around 1920, way back in plantation days. Guri-Guri and I go back a long way...from what I remember my Mom told me that Guri-Guri(called Goodie Goodie in Honolulu) was one of the two items She craved while pregnant with me. Being a good Maui Girl, I have no doubt that She craved Guri-Guri. If you really want to know, the other item She craved was Saimin....a yes, I wuz a noodle head, from da' beginning!
The Missus first had a version of Guri-Guri, called Goodie-Good at Cafe 100, during one of our many visits to Hilo when we had friends living there. I had always told Her that it was nothing compared to the "real thing" at Tasaka. So of course our first stop after picking up our rental car was Maui Mall and Tasaka Guri-Guri, which was quite busy, even during a mid-afternoon during a weekday.
After standing in line, the Missus got Her Guri-Guri(there are 2 flavors, Strawberry and Pineapple - I think Strawberry is the better flava'), and I can truly say after having a spoonful, or two, that it tasted exactly the same as I remembered, one of the few items that still tastes the same from waaay back in hanabaddah days. So very "clean" and refreshing.......
So what is Guri-Guri? Well, it's sort of a Sherbet. The flavor is sweet, and slightly milky. In fact Reid of Ono Kine Grindz even has a recipe, located here. The Tasaka Family recipe is a closely guarded secret.
If you want Guri-Guri, you'll have to go to Maui, you won't find it in Honolulu. In fact, I've heard of people taking the 2 Quart "Cold Pack"($10) all the way back to the Mainland.
I'm sure many of you are wondering, "what's the big deal, it's a sherbet". But it's not only a a frozen confection, it's a part of my childhood, part of a simpler time, and many generations of Kama'aina's are addicted to it. Hey, former President Clinton even stopped at Tasaka on His visit to Maui. Which I think would have been a quite interesting event.
Tasaka Guri Guri
At the Maui Mall in Kahului. You really can't miss the mall......
So why Maui? Well, it seemed that everyone was going to, or had gone to Maui, from our favorite Newlywed, Pam, who got married there, to other Friends. By this time, the Missus decided that She really wanted to visit Maui. Though, my Mother was born and raised on Maui, I had last visited Maui once in the last 30(yes "3-0") years, and on that visit, I barely recognized the place. Of course no mo' Liberty Restaurant, wit da' Chow Fun served in a butcher paper cones, or real Maui Hot Dogs.....
But of course the scenery is still beautiful....
One last side note: In what almost ruined our vacation, during our visit to Maui Mall, probably during our shopping at Long's Drugs, some miscreants broke into our rental car, and stole everything that looked like a backpack. Which meant all of the Missus's stuff, and some of my stuff. So suddenly our vacation took a turn, we had to wait for the Police to file a report, we had to go shopping to find clothes, and other personal items, including a charger for my camera, and a bunch of other stuff. But after the shock and anger wore off, and a high stress afternoon, we decided to make the best of things.....
To be continued.......
Kirk good post of one of Maui's specialty snacks. Sorry to hear about your incident but unfortunately it's been happening frequently. 'Paradise' has changed alot huh?
Posted by: kyle | Saturday, 21 October 2006 at 12:12 AM
Hi Kirk! Mmmmmm, I wish we would have tried this!!! (And we passed by the Maui Mall a couple times too!) That's exactly why we want to go back...so we can go eat at all the places we missed on this last trip! =)
Sorry to hear about the break-in! Yeah, it seems as if there's alot of that, huh? Right after leaving OGG, we saw a couple filing a police report for the same thing on our 1st stop. That sucks, but I'm glad you & your Missus didn't let it ruin your vacation.
Posted by: Pam | Saturday, 21 October 2006 at 07:05 AM
Hi Kirk,
Welcome back! I think many people have the misconception that Hawaii is a paradise and there is no crime there. Having visited the islands quite of times; that is definitely not the case!
At least you still had the camera and you probably needed new clothes anyway.
Posted by: Jim | Saturday, 21 October 2006 at 11:18 AM
Kirk,
I'm sorry about what happened to you on Maui. I've heard that there's been an increase in crime there lately.
I hope you still had a good time though. How long were you there?
Posted by: Reid | Saturday, 21 October 2006 at 03:57 PM
license plates on most rental cars start or end with set-numbers or letters (I'm sure they still do), which are the cars thieves target. Old rule was that if you've a rental car, local person or not, don't leave anything visible locked inside, with the possible exception of an IED (would not bother me at all).
Posted by: RONW | Saturday, 21 October 2006 at 05:33 PM
Bummer about the car. I've heard that the Maui Mall and the Ka'ahumanu (sp?) mall is a favorite area for break-ins.
Missed having guri-guri last year when we were in Maui for a couple of days. Sounding great right now in this warm spell.
Posted by: Jack | Saturday, 21 October 2006 at 05:41 PM
Hey Kirk!
I'm sorry about the theft - that's so lame, and clearly something that should have never happened :( Bachi man, bachi, whoever stole your stuff will get what they deserve!
Can you believe I've never had Guri-Guri? Man, what kinda islander am I - you make me feel so guilty (and hungry!) :)
Posted by: Kathy | Sunday, 22 October 2006 at 02:30 AM
That sucks about the break-in. I'm going to the Big Island in a week, I will definitely be extra careful. But still I'm sad, because you say that Guri Guri can only be had in Maui. I wonder if the Big Island has some of its own specialities.
Posted by: elmomonster | Sunday, 22 October 2006 at 08:13 AM
Oh man, i'm sorry about the break-in! Those people make me sick to my stomach. But i agree that what goes around comes around, so one of these days those people are gonna get it!
But your trip is looking great despite of this, and i can't wait to see more!
Posted by: Christine D. | Sunday, 22 October 2006 at 02:10 PM
Hi Kyle - Well, the guri-guri was as good as I remember.
Hi Pam - I'd heard alot about break-ins at the beaches, but not at a small busy shopping mall.
Hi Jim - Any high tourist destination will have these types of problems. What surprised me was that the people who did this broke in, stole, and got out in 15 minutes, in a busy parking lot.
Hi Reid - We stayed for 5 nights, and are ever so thankful that we had a condo with a washer/dryer.
Hi RONW - I thought that the rental agencies had stopped doing that in the early 90's? That's not an old rule...it's the rule, we had an SUV, so I guess they really scoped us out.
Hi Jack - I had been told to watch the beaches and the parking lot's in the Lahaina area, but this was a fast one.
Hi Kathy - There used to be a few places that made Goodie-Goodie on Oahu, but they are long gone, probably before your time. Still, if you're ever on Maui.....
Hi Elmo - Cafe 100, serves a version called Goodie-Good, that's not quite as good, but you'll get an idea of the flavor. I've been to the Big Island over a dozen times, and have never had problems...in fact, I rarely ever have had anything like this happen.
Hi Christine - Stay tuned, there's more coming up!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 22 October 2006 at 02:38 PM
Re: thieves targeting rental cars by recognizing their different license plates....
Maybe the rent-a-car companies indeed did do away with the give-away-license plates. Car break-ins in broad daylight are really a symptom of an ice problem in Hawaii. When they eradicated illegal pakalolo (grass) patches with helicopters, ice became more common place. Curing one vice contributed to a bigger one. Let's instead talk about food : )
Posted by: RONW | Monday, 23 October 2006 at 01:30 AM
Good god. Every tourist's worst nightmare. That's one of the reasons I don't take much of value with me on vacations. Cat and my general rule of thumb is to only pack things that can be easily replaced if stolen. The only exceptions are my work cell phone, camera, and work laptop, which I carry with me at all times.
- Chubbypanda
Posted by: Chubbypanda | Monday, 23 October 2006 at 05:06 PM
Hi RONW - Yes, let's talk about food......
Hi CP - We really didn't lose anything of real value, we left the laptop home, and the rest of the stuff we carried with us....but the feeling of violation lives on!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 23 October 2006 at 07:59 PM
I had Maui Hot Dogs when I was there in June 2005. Was what I had fake?
Posted by: Christian | Sunday, 05 November 2006 at 10:20 PM
Hi Christian - If what you had was a "bright red", than it was probably a Redondo Hawaiian "Winner"(local made), I don't quite recall who made the original Maui Hot Dog, but it was bright red, and the dye came off on the bun(or rice) and they were attached link style. If I can remember I'll let you know.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 05 November 2006 at 10:31 PM
guri guri is always the first stop.
Posted by: d | Friday, 19 December 2008 at 01:47 PM
Hi d - As it should be......
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 19 December 2008 at 02:19 PM
anyone have a good recipe for guri-guri?
Posted by: Diane | Friday, 18 February 2011 at 09:17 AM
Hi Deiane - You can try this one:
http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2005/02/emguri_guriem.html
Good Luck!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 18 February 2011 at 09:39 AM