Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 6, 1 June 2010 — Hawaiian food for the soul [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian food for the soul

Haili's turns 60 in 2010

By Lisa Asato KaWai Ola

For many of us, the term soul food conjures up images of southern cuisine or of good old and-wanting-to-come-back-for-more comfort food. The latter is what I found at Haili's Hawaiian Foods at its new home on the corner of Kapahulu and Palani avenues. Waiting for you there is an extensive menu based on family recipes, comfy booths to sit and eat in, and a friendly staff who take your order at the counter, bring your food to the table and acknowledge you with "Hi," "Goodbye" and "First time you been here?" The find was a niee surprise - for although Haili's celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it was my first visit there ever - either at this loeation or at its original home for 59 years, in Ward Centers. "People are just starting to find us again. Some people thought we went out of business," says owner Rachel Haili, who runs the eatery on the outskirts of Waiklkl with her sister Lorrain Alo. Two other surviving sisters, Donna Pang and Roberta Ah Nee, as well as nieces and nephews, help out for big events, like lū'au. Six sisters in all grew up working in the restaurant started by their parents, Peter and Rachel, in 1950. Besides producing six Kamehameha Schools graduates, this marriage of a pure Hawaiian man and a pure Chinese woman also began a culinary legacy whose success rests on the pure joy that comes from feeding hungry Hawaiian souls. "We started out helping our parents and that's how we learned," says daughter Rachel. "We used to have to go piek our own limu, husk and

grate our own coconut, and elean our own fish. Everything was done from scratch in those days." The restaurant's additions of more modern fare, like the $7 wrap of grilled 'ahi and sauteed vegetables that comes wrapped in a tortilla served with mango salsa and chips, are a hit - it's even a favorite of Rachel's. But the No. 1 seller is the $13 Big Kahuna, "because it's a little sampling of everything" - kālua pig, pork or ehieken laulau, ehieken long rice, lomi salmon, poke, haupia and rice or poi. This is a

plate for the big boys; everyone else, be prepared to take home leftovers. Neighbor Islanders and folks from the country tend to favor the dried aku and raw ake, a dish of raw cow's liver (with the blood flushed out and the veins and skin removed) mixed with kukui nut, salt and limu. "We're one of the few places that still make things like that," Rachel says. For other non-mainstream fare, try the na'au or even the loko, a dish of boiled intestines, stomach and liver

of pigs. "It's very good," she says. When my friend and I visited for dinner on a Tuesday night, we opted for traditional plates. She had the $9.50 kālua pig and a side order of mango haupia and I had the Big Kahuna and squid lū'au. I had many firsts at Haili's, including enjoying eating poi for the first time - plain. (I usually mix lomi salmon in for taste.) "It's creamy," is how my friend described the poi. We also enjoyed the haupia, with its ever-so-subtle coconut flavor that appeals to even begrudging fans of coconut like me. The mango haupia eame in a clear plastic container and looked like a hloek of cheese. It tastedlike biting into a mango, whieh was "winners" for me but not so mueh for my friend. I enjoyed all the dishes, in fact, even the ehieken long rice, whieh was just a little too salty. At one point over dinner, we looked up and noticed that every booth was taken and people were standing in line as more patrons steadily walked in. At times, the restaurant was as busy as the sidewalk on the other side of the 5-foot high windows that line the walls, whieh allow for the early evening light to pour in and for peo-ple-watching. (You'U see lots of folks on mopeds, skateboards and parents with strollers roll by.) Before we left, my friend noticed a crystal hanging from a ceiling fan, a tell-tale sign of feng shui. She asked Rachel about it, and it turns out that we were surrounded by feng-shui elements in the form of natural air purifiers made of ancient salt crystals. One purifier, glowing orange light, sat on our tabletop, whieh I had earlier dismissed as a strange-looking lamp. (If you're curious, ask Rachel. She runs a side business.) As we drove away, my friend remarked that her stress from the workday had melted away. Her stomach full and her burgeoning interest in feng shui stoked, she left with one of the best feelings we ean all relate to, saying, that on this Tuesday night the feeling was so sublime, "It feels like a Friday." ■

Haili's Hawaiian Foods 760 Palani Ave., where Palani meets Kapahulu Avenue $40 dinnerfortwo, including sides, sodas and tip in the tip jar Newextended hours: Mon-Thurs., 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free parking in lot in rearon Winam Avenue Catering available byordering 24 hours ahead 735-8019 Also has a luneh wagon 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Sat. "underthe hala tree" across the street from Ward theatres. The food is made at the Kapahulu restaurant and served at the wagon fortake out or al fresco dining. mybackyardluau.com

< • - • fūūd & drink na mea ai me na mea īnu

Rachel Haili shows a eomhinahon plate, whieh includes kālua pig, pork or ehieken laulau, lomi salmon, poke, haupia and rice or poi for $1 1 . - Photo: LisaAsato