Monday, June 21, 2010

Mrs. Cheng's Tofu

Aloha,
Summery FRIEND




remember to click on pics
Field Trip!


Tucked away in Honolulu's light industrial, residential,
catch-all neighborhood of Kalihi

you can find one of our little gems: Mrs. Cheng's Tofu Factory.

Our town has long imported and manufactured the ethnic foods
that our island population enjoys. There are other tofu factors in town.
We also produce
Aloha Shoyu (soy sauce) Portuguese bread, halo-halo and adobo (Filipino treats).
We have several little and big noodle factories,

and even enjoyed our own local sake brewery. . . once upon a time.




Let's go inside to buy some fresh tofu, shall we?




"Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger,
but a heart as soft as tofu."

strange Chinese Proverb



All very basic but sanitary.



"Run, they're handing out tofu again!"
Panic scream of child trick-or treating on Halloween
'America's Food' by Harvey Blatt (2008)






Check out the Chinese instructions
on that super-special tofu machine!




"The method of making doufu dates back to Liu An (179-122B.C.), the Prince of Huainan.
It is made of soya beans,
either the black or the yellow variety."



Ancient Chinese work on medicinal herbs







Here is the prey we seek fresh from the oven:
Tofu Cheese, a baked specialty of Mrs. Cheng.




"Traditionally in the U.S., tofu was eaten by vegetarians as a protein substitute for meat. It was generally served plain, in large chunks completely devoid of flavor."

Brita Housez





Here it is packaged and at home, ready to eat!


" I like tofu cheese
and soy milk in my coffee and cereal."

~ Grace Slick quotes


Ah, Bertrand Russel was right:
"There is much pleasure to be gained
from useless information."


Thanks for visiting us here in Waikiki today!

Summer Memories

Aloha Friend!


"One of the greatest victories
you can gain over someone
is to beat him
at politeness."

Josh Billings





"Vision without execution
is hallucination."

Edison






This guy is a surf board shaper.
He must use a lightening-bolt motif on some of his boards.





"One of the greatest things
about the sport of surfing
is that you need only three things:
your body, a surf-board, and a wave."

NAIMA GREEN



><>



What a weekend!
I was invited
to carry the Hawaii flag
at the head of
Honolulu's PRIDE festival.


I always wanted to lead my own parade!


Then we attended the retirement party
of our friend Chuck
who served 30 years
in the US Army.




Years ago,
during the challenging times of my younger days,
I used to say to my dear friend, Labig:
"Some day things will be better."




"Cloudi,"
he'd say,
"These ARE the good old days."




My life is more settled now.
Somehow it all worked out for the best.



But thinking back on my dear friend,
gone these many years,
I remember long Summer days
at the ball park,
and dinners to which
he picked up the check
time and time again.


Once I told him that being with him
was just as relaxing as being alone.
And he understood just what I meant.



As I recall those days long ago
I realize that he was right;
Those were golden days indeed.

And though I miss him,
plus so many others gone,
I look back with gratitude
and much aloha.

I thought of them all
as I led the parade through Waikiki.
"This one's for you guys."



THESE are the good times too.


I understand that now.


Don't waste your time
dreaming of
"some day."


That's a fool's
or a child's
game.


Drink today all the way down!


It is the nectar.


Don't wait to look back
to realize it!


Fondly,
cloudia