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There IS an Asian market in Hilo (probably more than one). I can vouch for this because I stopped at one I thought was a convenience store in desperate need of POG (passion-orange-high-fructose-corn-syrup-guava). I opened the doors and BAM I was hit with the smell of overripe fish and god knows what else. I did not recognize a single thing, not one, that was on the shelf. I left completely befuddled, and decided that Hilo was the most Asian of any Hawaiian destination (although I have never been to Honolulu).
I saw two Thai restaurants in Meth-hoa but they were both closed when I went. I hear one of them is better than the other. I think it was called Sudoku...or maybe that is the game I played on Hawaiian Airlines.
I would like to know which of those two restaurants is the best....and when they are open...and when you would be available to come show me how to cook Thai food!
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Aloha Glen,
I usually enjoy reading your posts but I'm sorry to say that I took exception to your slur on Pahoa. If you are going to be a resident here I would hope that you come with an open mind and heart and can see Pahoa for the unique and wonderful place that it is. (And if you were just trying to be funny, please excuse this post.)
By the way, my favorite Thai place in Pahoa is Nings, as Punamom posted.
Aloha
PunaPaula
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Talk about lack of Aloha.
respect comes from understanding, giving and exceptence.
That is ALOHA
give and get
Wyatt
"Yearn to understand first and to be understood second."
-- Beca Lewis Allen
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I myself have to admit that when we first started hanging out in Puna on the weekends, it was scary for me. The people, the cashiers in the stores in Pahoa town etc... I'm sorry but it is true... now we love coming to Puna and sometimes I even joke about being the scary people of Puna. My lineage goes way back to Kalapana where my family is from and I'm sure they are not as scary as the people here now. So I can understand where Glenn is coming from. I promise, I'm not trying to write with no aloha. I didn't try Nings but I think I had lunch at the other place (can't remember the name) It was okay but not spectacular. It was a little crowded and busy (which may mean that it is a favorite of Pahoa people. My favorite place is the Maku`u Open Market for Thai food.
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Oh, and by the way... some Puna people don't know how to wait their turn for papaya salad... so there... I should bring a sign with me or something that says, "line starts here" so I don't have to resort to using my ESP which doesn't work well when I'm hungry. lol! (laughing out loud).
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Thanks for the great recipe. Yes, we can say there is a lack of aloha but I think not. Hawaiians have been coersed by other people using the word "aloha" (who don't really know the meaning) to gain things from the Hawaiians and they end up giving everything away and that is why many of us are landless. That day is gone now. Maybe I should have started a new thread on this. Aloha is a lifestyle (and I agree with Curly on most of his statement) which I think I saw in the book "Tales from the Nightrainbow". Aloha is definitley caring for the land and each other. The word should never be used for selfish reasons like gaining land or power because that is the opposite of aloha. Or even getting people to act a certain way. Being truthful to yourself is aloha and having aloha but there is so much to it. I agree that on this website part of the rules is to be nice but aloha is so deep to be using in that manner. Aloha, give and get. Hmmm... that can have a double meaning so speaking for myself, I wouldn't use it. If you give, do you expect to get? If you had a gift for someone would you expect a gift in return or is their friendship more aloha than any material gift? I respect all the comments here so don't take this wrong. Just stating me two cents for what it is worth.
A`ohe pau ka `ike i ka halau ho`okahi
Not all knowledge is learned in one school.
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methinks all this discussion boils down to taste is a matter of opinion... but one thing it appears we all agree upon is we love thai food. try sombats below where the old waiakea theatres used to be, and also the small place on the side street behind garden exchange in downtown hilo. from what i hear nings is run by the sister of the thai wahine who owns the royal thai restaurant on mamo street, which seems to cater more to the tourist. must be all in the ohana, as the brother tried his hand at a thai eatery as well at the site of what is now the emerald orchid (before that it was chinese, then thai, before that a german restaurant). also there is a second thai place in pahoa (across from first hawaiian bank next to the empty lot by punastyle) that makes the best green papaya salad i have ever tasted (and i tried the one at maku'u farmers market). if u order it see if the male waiter will make it as it is his specialty. as far as the diss on pahoa, we all know what the rest of the island thinks about puna, and for good reason, yet still i wouldn't live anyplace else. when i bailed oahu and bought my house in hawaiian shores in 1990 i knew i had found where i belonged. so ignore the druggies and assorted lowlifes sitting on the wall in lovely downtown pahoa, they will be gone with the next warrant sweep anyways. remember, "we're all here, because we're not all there (point at head).
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singha in waikiki is authentic thai if you make it over to oahu.
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Pahoa is great and I hope I am good enough to pass the entrance exam to live in its vicinity. Pahoa has not had the "Hawaii" stripped out of it. Pahoa is also the oddest "town" I have ever been to, ever. Having lived in the French Quarter in New Orleans, I believe I can say that with authority. The meth problem in Pahoa is severe and real though. So let's get that out in the open. I work with drug issues in San Diego County, one of the many meth capitals of the world, so I know this stuff when I see it (San Diego's meth problem is worse). I favor the legalization of all natural drugs, but meth is not natural and it destroys lives and communities. I am anti-meth, and pro-live and let live. All that being said, Pahoa has a rough charm, and a neat vibe. What I like about is is that you hardly feel like you are in the United States anymore when you walk through it. What I don't like about it is that the living dead like to stroll through it and hang around. I'm cool with that as long as they don't try to eat my brains.
And they shouldn't do that anyway, because there are two nice Thai restaurants in town (that always close up when they see me), and Thai food is more nutritious, although probably not as spicey as my brain.
So, aloha Pahoa. Can't wait for another liliquoi margarita...and some good Thai food.
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I liked Sombats and I once in awhile treat myself to the Royal Thai Cafe in Keauhou. It is very expensive because you pay for the location. So if you are ever on the Kona side Royal Thai is a good one. clean, nice, and good service if it is not busy. I guess they have one in Hilo? I think it is good to get things out on the table Glen. I had no idea that it was a meth town though. I don't really know what meth users look like cause I don't hang around with people like that. I am a true believer in the natural stuff though. Blame it on or thank my ethnobotany background for that.
