Thursday, June 11, 2009

the food of the garden island



We have been on Kauai now for almost two weeks, and we have been having so much fun I haven't had time to post! Our friends M. and L. from Australia met us 'halfway' for a vacation and reunion. We spent our first week on the North shore, and moved to the South shore at the beginning of this week. Apparently, locals from both sides are fiercely dedicated to their side of the island. Northern locals say, "Oh, don't go south, it never rains there," and southern locals say, "Don't go north, you'll always get wet!"

Personally, I loved the North Shore. We stayed in Princeville, but spent most of our time in and around Hanalei, an irrevocably laid-back surfer town. The main strip of town is easily walkable, with cute shops that managed to be only slightly touristy, because they were so rustic and authentic. On our first day, though, I got a taste of what life in Hanalei might be like... there are weekly farmers' markets all over the island, and we managed to roll into the Hanalei market on the Waipa Ranch just as the gates opened. I was so enthralled I completely forgot to take a photo of the place, but here is some of the beauty we picked up there: 



Fresh pineapple, papayas, limes, lemons, lychee, and apple bananas (the sweet tart kind) all freshly picked that day. We also got lettuce, basil, green onions, tomatoes, red peppers, fresh lemonade, and coffee blossom honey (sooo dark and intense). 

However, we had our priorities straight... even before thinking about the Farmer's Market, we picked up a huge plate of coconut shrimp:





And then topped it off with fried ice cream, lovingly prepared in what our side-of-the-road-van-chef guy called "The Big Hawaiian". 


It was the perfect way to kick off our visit to Kauai. 

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