The Missus and I were so excited about heading to the Big Island. We both love the amazing environmental diversity, the warmth of the people, and just the relaxed vibe on the Big Island. I had good friends who had resided in Hilo for almost a decade and another good friend whose family used to own property in Kamuela that we'd check on, so we had visited many times in the pre-blogging days. So when the Missus asked me when was the last time we were on the Big Island, I gasped; it had been a decade! Even though we had only a couple of nights, we felt comfortable with the Big Island and had seen much of it before, so we'd spend our time focused on a couple of things and just enjoy ourselves.
It was interesting flying First Class on HAL, the Premier Lounge is quite comfortable, but only has coffee, tea, soft drinks, and those little bag of snacks they give you on flights.
Still, things were quite mellow here and it was right next to the gate for our flight to Hilo. The first place the Missus wanted to hit when we landed in Hilo was Suisan. Sadly, this was a Wednesday and I had to break the news to Her that Suisan is closed on Wednesdays. Which led to the question, "where are we going to get poke?" Luckily, I had a back up plan. I'd read about a little shop on Waianuenue Avenue simply called the Poke Market. We lucked out and found parking in the lot on the corner of Waianuenue and Keawe Street. The place was across the street. Ordering was done at a simple window and your food brought out from the door.
There was one young lady waiting to order at the window when we arrived and one rather disheveled old timer standing with his bike by the door. The young man running the place came out and handed the gentleman a poke bowl and simply told him, "you come back later and pay, okay?" I'm guessing this guy had no money and the owner of this place was really displaying true "Aloha".
Anyway, two of the six featured poke were sold out by the time we ordered. Because we had a rather substantial breakfast, we decided to just get three 1/4 pound portions of poke. The Hawaiian Style, Ginger Sesame Soy, and one that I would usually never order, the Shiitake Salmon. I'm not a big fan of salmon in poke.
We then walked down Waianuenue and then onto Kamehameha and sat on the stone wall in front of the Tsunami Museum, which looked like it was closed and had our poke.
The Hawaiian was our favorite, though it was on the salty side. The fish was tender and of good quality. Could have used more ogo, but this as much better than what we'd had the day before.
The Ginger Sesame Soy also had good quality fish.
We were surprised at the Shiitake Salmon, the salmon was tender, it had a nice savoriness and umami. I'm still not a fan of mayo on my poke though. I think it detracts form the texture of the fish....but since this was salmon.....
This was a nice start to our stay on the Big Island. And the Missus was to even get Her "Suisan fix" over the following days as well.
Poke Market
41 Waianuenue Ave.
Hilo, HI 96720
We decided to head on over to the Hilo Farmers, a place that we both love.
It was good to see that the place hasn't changed much. The Missus got some rambutan which She enjoyed over the next couple of days.
It was comforting to see that things haven't changed much since our last visit.
Hilo Farmer's Market
Corner of Kamehameha Ave. and Mamo St.
Hilo, HI 96720
We dropped by a couple of shops as we wandered back to the car.
As we sauntered over to the vehicle, the Missus and I looked at each other and laughed. It was so good to be back on the Big Island. All the craziness of life on the mainland had been paused and we had settled into "island time" quite quickly. Something that usually takes a couple of days. It was a great feeling.
We smiled and looked forward to our next stop. Volcano Village and Volcanoes National Park!
nice!
Posted by: kat | Monday, 30 January 2023 at 07:59 PM
BIG fan of the Big Island and LOVE Suisan! Last visit we swam at Pohoiki, Ahalanui hot ponds, and the Kapoho tide pools. Madame Pele gives and she takes... Looking forward to your next stop!
Posted by: Peter | Tuesday, 31 January 2023 at 12:07 AM
We loved it Kat!
Madame Pele never ceases to amaze Peter! We had really missed the Big Island!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 31 January 2023 at 09:44 AM
Nice selection at the market!
Posted by: Soo | Wednesday, 01 February 2023 at 08:52 AM
They have an amazing selection there Soo! And the papayas are amazing!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 01 February 2023 at 03:30 PM
Perfect! We planned our next, next holiday while we were on vacation and will be going to the Big Island in August for my birthday. We haven't been in decades...
Posted by: Jack | Thursday, 09 February 2023 at 10:44 PM
I think you'll have an awesome time Jack!
Posted by: KIrk | Friday, 10 February 2023 at 10:29 AM