Hawaii Day 3: Down to Earth, Waiola Shave Ice and the Honolulu Farmer's Market

After two days of delicious but HEAVY food, we were all craving something a bit lighter when we woke up. 

Down to Earth fit the bill. 

I visited their hot bar for a non-breakfasty but still quite delicious serving of veggie curry, rice and tofu. 

Joe chowed down on a Blueberry Cream Cheese Scone.

Inga had an acai bowl. 

After breakfast we strolled around the neighborhood looking for some caffeine. Are you noticing a pattern? :)

Glazer's Coffee served us iced lattes in place of iced coffee, but we got cute Betty Boop glasses so we didn't mind. 

We worked up a sweat on our way home, so we stopped to cool down a few blocks from Inga's apartment. 

Waiola Shave Ice is a staple in Honolulu.

A close cousin to the snow cone, shave ice has a decidedly more delicate texture and a significantly more interesting flavor selection!

Joe went with the Blue Hawaiian and POG (Passionfruit, Orange and Guava). 

Inga opted for Banana Cream and Cotton Candy.

I jammed on some lilikoi (passion fruit) and haupia (coconut). Holy. Moly. 

Waiola also houses an interesting little shop with a pretty decent selection of Chinese-influenced sweets and snacks.

We took our snacks outside and enjoyed them at the kiddie table. 

Shave ice is surprisingly filling, and not too terrible, nutrition wise- it's essentially just water, with a bit of sugar in whatever flavoring you choose. 

Later that evening, we headed to Ono's Hawaiian Food for some island-style deliciousness.

"Ono" means 'delicious' in Hawaiian, which is why there are SO MANY restaurants named Ono! 

Kalua pig is a really juicy, slightly smokey shredded pork. 

Poi- is the traditional starch in Hawaiian cuisine. It's mashed taro root, and you can dip ANYTHING in it. 

The Lomi Salmon tasted a lot like a salsa ceviche. 

And then... there was laulau. Holy. Crap. DELICIOUS. Pork wrapped and steamed in taro leaves. 

Pipikaula tastes like jerky!

The combination plate was DEFINITELY enough food to share. 

We finished with some haupia- sort of like coconut Jello Jigglers with a slightly more dense and less slippery texture. These tasted like coconut rice pudding! Delicious!

Later that evening, Inga and I strolled down to the Waikiki Farmer's Market. 

We picked up some gorgeous local produce!