PIzza Hut's latest mutant pizza idea - seems cheese injected into a hollow tube crust wasn't pushing the envelope far enough. Now we have StarzBites! I haven't seen one of these abominations in person, but apparently its a crust with 18 individual 'bites' attached like spokes, each stuffed with a 2-tone cheese stick (note the z-shaped flourish on top - nice touch - very starzy). The actual pizza is topped with scallops, peaches, pineapple, 'embedded' sausage slices, 'intertwining' mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, and 'innovative' miracle island sauce (thousand island dressing being a common alternative to tomato sauce here in HK and in Japan). Hell who wouldn't want to partake of such a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional treat, if only to be a part of history? I'm feeling more starzy just by looking at it. As for the name, what else are you going to call it? Spokeybites? Sporez?

Tags: food, oddity, super english force

I was asked today what a 'plate lunch' is, which I mentioned in my last post. Plate lunches are an institution in Hawaii; there is no US mainland equivalent that I'm aware of. Anyway its a generic term, but the basics are the same: usually a styrofoam container containing one scoop white rice, one scoop macaroni salad (dressed only in mayo - you are expected to dash tobasco on this to liven it up), and at least one main item. Pictured below is one of my favorites, chicken katsu, based on the Japanese dish (I'd usually hit this with some tobasco as well). My other preferred sins: the chili dog plate (the best came from the Rainbow Drive-in; a hot dog drowned in chili, no bun); pork gisantes' (a portuguese tomato sauce based stew), and huli huli (spit roasted) chicken or kalua (roasted) pork.

Most plate lunch places give you more than enough to eat, and most locals take pride in polishing it all off. In fact one place had a great tag line, 'eat til you sleep'. Our favorite place was Keneke's, on the way to Waimanalo beach on Oahu. They have a bizarre mix of local and Christian weight lifting decor (really), and arguably the best pork gisantes in Hawaii. I used to order what I called the 'tri-pork' plate: pork adobo, kalua pork, and pork gisantes together; nothing like it. And yes I would definitely have to sleep it off afterwards...

Tags: food, best

I've decided to write about a few of the things I truly enjoy about living here, and one cannot write about HK without first mentioning its greatest asset - the food. Of course as (arguably) the most international city in Asia, almost every cuisine is well represented here (even authentic Mexican & texmex - not American 'pseudo-mexican' where everything's buried under a 1/2 inch of cheddar). Due to its colonial and economically diverse past, HK also has its own unique creations and traditions; and one of the best is milk tea. Milk tea - and its hot weather incarnation, ice milk tea - is based on English breakfast (oolong) tea, but much stronger, usually strained through mesh, with heavy infusions of condensed milk and sugar. The result is similar to Vietnamese coffee (itself based on strong, espresso-like french roast coffee) not as strong but just as addictive. Hong Kong 'diners' and tea shops can be found throughout the city, and many locals start the day with a milk tea and sweet bun - or vaguely english breakfast of eggs and toast, though with HK additions like ramen with satay beef. Like 'plate lunch' in Hawaii, milk tea is one of those unique HK things I know I'll miss if/when we leave, as its just not the same anywhere else...

Tags: food, beverages, best