Honolulu: Pau Hana Time at 8 Fat Fat 8

After lunch at Mitch's I was off on a mission for the Missus at Ala Moana Center. Man, when I was first back here after being gone for almost a decade I was totally....well, overwhelmed might be the word. Ala Moana had grown into a multi-level, multi-building, multi (terrible)-parking, monster. Now two visits later, I've kinda relaxed and grown easy with the place.

It being a beautiful, if a bit muggy day, made things a lot easier. Still, I couldn't believe how hard it was to find parking at 130 in the afternoon.

After picking up gifts and omiyagi, I still had a great deal of time on my hands, so I decided to take one of my favorite drives..... I'm a "townie" at heart and I've always had a fondness for Mount Tantalus and Round Top Drive. Of course, it's been maybe almost fifteen years since I've been here. I wondered what had changed....well some things have changed, like, I don't remember the viewing platform at Puu Ualakaa State Wayside. You still can't beat the views from here.

I could see some rain moving in from Manoa Valley to my left.......

If you look down to the grassy area in front of the platform.....you can still imagine scenes from a certain well known movie filmed in Hawaii.

I used come up here once in a while when I lived here......though many times during the later part of the evenings....ummmm.....to...well...look at the city lights...yeah, to look at the city lights.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around, just checking things out......until I went to meet my friends for Pau Hana time, at a place where I've spent many of my evenings for over a decade.

 I've kinda gone through this before, but from the day 8 Fat Fat 8 opened, we....I was a regular customer until I left Honolulu. In fact, even after I left, the Missus and I would return as the owner, Sy (RIP) adored the Missus. He knew the Missus as that quiet young lady who never understood what my friends and I were talking about (it's pidgin after all) but loved his black-bean ginger crab. In fact, I'd return there to meet friends and Sy would ask me, "when your wife come....tell me....I go buy crab!" So I'd tell him....the Missus and I would get there and have a seat at the table reserved by my friends. Sy would bring out this bucket and place a couple of live crab on the table! They'd be scuttling around....he'd tell the Missus, "which one you want....you pick!" Man, those were good times......much happened behind those seedy looking doors in the joint next to Midas on Beretania.

It was quite interesting....I hadn't been here since Sy passed away. There's a pool table now, fewer dart boards....still karaoke though. And to my joy, the place is still hopping, at least on a Friday night. Much has changed, different folks, different kinds of drinks, everybody texts, or tweets, or whatever....but pau hana time endures.

I ordered my usual drink.....which will make those craft beer lovers in San Diego cringe. But when I'm back home; it's "Bud light, bucket ice".....you don't buck tradition.

It was nice to know that Sy's daughter, I believe her name is Mary....I only remember Sy telling me when she was going to school in Beijing, is now running the place. It's been modernized a bit, business seems more formal, but it's still totally local.

And in my opinion, some of the best "stick to your ribs" local kind grindz are found at places like these. The best example would be Side Street Inn......

So here's what we had as pupus......I hadn't had Crispy Gau Gee, since before the millennium....

Crispy, salty, shrimpy, porky, dipped in a mildly spicy-shoyu sauce.....it took me back to my childhood when "Chinese Food" (notice the quotes) was something we had on special occasions.

"L" wanted the calamari, which, to me was over battered and gummy....though it was decent drinking food.

We ended by getting "Fat Fat Chicken", which was my favorite menu item here. It was the signature item that set 8 Fat Fat 8 apart when they first opened.

Basically salt and pepper chicken, flavored with five-spice, deep fried. This is still pretty good...crisp skin, nice flavor, great with beer, not as dry as I recalled.

Beyond the food; it was nice seeing my "old friends"....and we are getting older. I'm hoping we'll be meeting up again soon...... 2 Filipino's from Kalihi, 1 dude from Cleveland, and me....how we ever got to be life-long friends, I'll never know.....and that really doesn't matter, does it?

 8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille
1327 S Beretania St
Honolulu, HI 96814

 Thanks for reading!

Comments

[kat]

great nostalgic post :)

[Jenn]

Do u know kin wah chop suey in kaneohe? His fam grew up eating there. We always have to stop there for the gaugee when visit HI

[Jenn]

* my dads fam

[Kirk]

Thanks Kat....it was a very nice time for us!

Hi Jenn - Of course I know Kin Wah....my friends live on the windward side. If I recall, I really like their almond duck!

[Dennis]

Nice post Kirk! It's making me missing home too. Slated to be back not till Christmas of '13 (my lucky number!). Anyway thanks for sharing as always..

[caninecologne]

Nice story about Sy and the crabs!

hmmm...."to look at the city lights", eh? hawaii's version of "inspiration point".

i remember seeing those 'we accept yen' signs at the ABC stores.

@dennis - 13 is also my lucky number!

[Kyle]

You are not kidding when you say seedy. Went there once two years ago with a buddy. We also ordered the fatfat chix. Its a nice change of pace. I love Side Street but its gotten expensive. Will be going home in November. Haven't been back in two years and curious what kind of omiyagi you picked up. Anything new besides the usual coffee and mac nuts?

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - 13 is a wonderful number! I'm sure there are many things you miss.

Hi CC - Yeah, he really liked the Missus.

Hi Kyle - Nowadays it's mostly Honolulu Cookie Company, Big Isle Candy, Hamakua flavored mac nuts, honey roasted mac nuts, coffee, stuff like that.....

[Janfrederick]

Great post. And back in San Jose, we used to go see the "lights" too on Sierra rd. Oh, and don't sweat the Bud Light. My guilty pleasure/nostalgia beer is the Champagne of Beers.

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - Funny you should mention "Sierra"...we have Sierra Drive in Honolulu...another nice place to check out "the sights".

[Hulacook]

My family back home has been on the hunt for Salt & Pepper wings but haven't found any yet. I'll have to ask if they have been here. Have you had the Crispy Gau Gee from Waimalu Chop Suey? Now those are huge!!!

[Kirk]

Hey Hulacook - No S&P wings at 8Fat.....don't really recall seeing it anywhere. I hadn't had gau gee in forever.....