It’s kendama-orama!

By • December 10, 2013 • Musings, The Daily Dish

kendama

The most popular Christmas gift this year won’t have a battery pack or controller.

Kids are crazy about kendamas, an old-school Japanese ball-and-cup toy most often made of wood. And it’s so popular that schools in Hawaii are even banning it.

But how in the world did this thing blow up?

It’s an old-fashioned toy, one that kids in Japan don’t even play with anymore. And I didn’t grow up twirling them around, either. So what happened?

Turns out, the craze isn’t just in Hawaii. Kids from Sacramento to Michigan are mastering the various tricks you can do with the wooden cup and ball.

Here’s how it works: the “ken” in kendama refers to the body of the toy, which is made of wood or plastic. The “ken” houses two cups — one bigger, one smaller — with another cup on the bottom, called the “base.” The ball, or “tams,” is attached to a piece of string. The idea is to swing the ball into one of the cups or land it on the “spike,” which is located at the top of the “ken.”

Oh, it’s not easy. I’ve been playing around with a kendama for about a week now, and all I can do is catch the ball in the three different cups. Forget the spike.


Watch these tricks.

So where did trend come from? Some point to Europe, where kendamas have been popular for years. The toy is similar to France’s bilboquet, which dates back to the 1500s. And in Latin American there’s a version of the toy known as balero.

But the kendama as we see it today hails from Japan near the turn of the 20th century. The Japan Kendama Association was founded in 1975 to establish rules and standardize the size. But its popularity has waned in recent years, at least in Japan, but for some reason, it’s really caught on in other parts of the world.

Now there are kendama clubs, professional teams and YouTube videos galore.

Toys cost anywhere from $15 for a entry-level model to the Kendama USA Pro Model — yes, pro model — made of cherry wood for $27.99. And there are even specialty kendamas that cost more than $150 each. (Here’s a secret: you can get them for about $1 in Japan at the 100-yen stores. Don’t tell anyone.)

I can see the toy’s appeal. I tend to get very distracted trying to master the simplest of tricks. But I’m pretty surprised by its widespread appeal with today’s kids who seem so attached to game consoles and iPads.

On one hand, that’s great they’re interested in old-fashioned wooden toys instead of mind-numbing video games. But on the other, it’s not as exciting as “Madden NFL 25.” So what’s up?

Anyone can explain this kendama trend to me?

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#BucketList: Marathon, check. Sort of.

By • December 8, 2013 • Musings

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Confession: I have signed up for the Honolulu Marathon three times.

The first year I hurt my back.

The second year I fractured my ankle.

The third year, well, I just didn’t want to do it.

I really have no desire to run a marathon. It’s 26.2 miles of pain and repetitive motion. I prefer triathlons, where you are doing something different every 30 minutes. (At least the ones I do.)

But there has always been a little of intrigue surrounding the marathon.

Mostly because I never, ever believed I could do it.

Yes, I run fairly often, maybe about three times a week. But I hate every step. The best part about running is stopping, and it would take more than six hours before I would be doing that in a marathon.

Still, I’ve signed up for the past three years.

This year, however, I told too many people about my registration — and they bugged me about for months.

I’m not kidding when I say this: I didn’t decide to run the marathon until the night before. I pulled out my Body Glide, blister bandages, Advil, lip balm, sunscreen and Luna bars. I drank a glass of water — hey, you gotta start hydrating sometime! — and went to bed at 7:30 p.m. I figured if I didn’t feel like finishing, I could stop at anytime, even walk home. (I live on the marathon route.) There’s no shame in quitting.

So I met up with my two much younger friends, Hisae and AJ, who were doing their second marathon. They had a plan: to run two miles and walk one for the entire distance. At 15 miles per hour, you can cover the 26.2 miles in six and a half hours. That means we could finish the race before noon.

“C’mon, Cat, you can do it!” said the peppier one of the pair — and with a little gig.

“But I haven’t trained.”

“Neither have we!”

“Yes, but you’re 10 years younger than me. You could do this hungover. I can’t.”

Yet, they were so positive and almost convincing, I decided to run as far as I could.

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We got to Ala Moana Beach Park at around 4:45 a.m. for the 5 a.m. start. There were long lines at the Porta Potties and we waited for about 15 minutes to empty our bladders one last time.

The fireworks went off, the announcers started yelling at everyone to run, and the Kenyans were gone.

The marathon had started.

We didn’t actually cross the starting line until more than half an hour after the official start of the race. I mean, there were 30,000 of us, and we all can’t cross the line at the same time.

The route took us out of Ala Moana Beach Park, through downtown Honolulu, past Honolulu Hale and the Christmas displays, through Waikiki and up Diamond Head — where we saw the marathon leaders returning to Kapiolani Park to the finish line. That was a bit depressing since the leaders were finishing — in about two and a half hours — and we hadn’t even hit Kalanianaole Highway yet.

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Hisae (left), AJ (right) and me felt pretty good by Mile 6. One had injured her knee earlier in the week from playing volleyball, but she powered through. The other said her ankles were hurting after a few miles of running but thought the pain would go away.

Well, it didn’t.

By the time we hit the halfway mark on Kalanianaole Highway, she was in pain. Serious pain. She kept running, but you could tell she was overcompensating for the pain that was shooting down the back of her leg. And she was starting to get a migraine.

By Mile 15, I told her we should stop and walk. But walking wasn’t helping, either. In fact, she said it hurt more when she walked.

So I made the executive decision. Though she wanted to power through and finish the marathon, I decided walking for another 11 miles might cause serious injury and, frankly, wasn’t worth it. So in between Mile 15 and 16, we bowed out and went to 7-Eleven, where we both got Slurpees and pain relievers.

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I’ll be honest: 15 miles was a lot farther than I had anticipated doing ever in my life. I really thought I was going to drop out after six miles and walk back to my car, which was strategically parked at Rainbow Drive-In. But I felt good, I felt stronger than I had expected, and I think I could have finished the marathon despite the lack of training.

But I didn’t complain about ditching it, either.

Though I didn’t officially finish the race, it was still a great experience. It was fun running with tens of thousands of other people, many of them dressed in costumes or running for causes. People were snapping photos and taking selfies and documenting their journey, much like I was. There were couples — some holding hands — and groups of friends. There were families and men wearing fatigues and full packs on their backs.

It was fun to be part of the spectacle.

I learned a lot, too. People who live along the route are awesome, sitting in beach chairs to cheer you on or passing out pretzels and candies to runners. There were enough portable toilets along the way, water and Gatorade stations, and even volunteers handing out globs of Vaseline on popsicle sticks. (They were also holding signs that said, “Do Not Eat This.”)

And at the finish line at Kapiolani Park, you can pick up one of the best malasadas I’ve had in a long time, made by the students of Kaiser High School.

That was definitely worth the registration cost.

Would I do this again?

Actually, yes, now that I know what to expect and how my body will feel at different parts of the run.

But will I do it again?

We’ll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

***

Thanks to everyone who tweeted, left comments on Instagram and posted messages on Facebook, cheering me on or making me laugh. It was fun sharing this journey, albeit a painful and abbreviated one, with you all!

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#FUUD: Dagon in Moiliili

By • December 6, 2013 • Food

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I have a group of friends who primarily — if not exclusively — eat at restaurants with a BYOB policy.

And they don’t care that much about the food, either.

But one of the women in the group does — and she wanted to scout out a new Burmese restaurant in Moiliili before booking it for an upcoming group dinner.

(Yes, it’s BYOB.)

It’s called Dagon, a new eatery highlighting the flavorful food of Burma in the space vacated by 4Kings Kitchen on King Street near Spices and Kokua Market.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Burmese cuisine. (Turns out, not many Americans have experienced it, either.) But I quickly learned about the rich, savory/salty flavors it’s known for, the influences from southeast Asia and an interesting array of ingredients like ngapi, fermented fish or shrimp paste, and the fruit da nyin thee. (The now-closed Lemongrass Cafe in downtown Honolulu was the only other Burmese restaurant I had tried before. And I still couldn’t properly explain it.)

And let me just say, Myanmar just might be my new favorite cuisine.

Here’s what our evening looked like:

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Dagon is in the space vacated by 4Kings Kitchen in Moiliili. There’s parking down a small side street/alley next to the restaurant. It’s small but quaint inside, and the artwork on the walls really adds to the ambiance.

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The green tea salad, shown at the top of the page, is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes. It combines chopped lettuce, peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, green and yellow split peas, deep-fried garlic chips, tomatoes and sunflower seeds topped with a paste made from fermented tea leaves imported directly from Burma. The salad is then mixed together table side. Simply delicious.

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Here’s the platha, an Indian-style multi-layered bread that was both crispy and soft. It’s served with a pumpkin curry — either with meat or vegetarian. I swear, I could have eaten this whole plate as my meal.

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Here’s the mango chicken, a fairly safe dish for those hesitant to try Burmese food. It came with a savory-sweet — not spicy — sauce and onions, carrots, bell peppers and cilantro. Great over rice.

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This is the shrimp and eggplant dish with a red sauce that wasn’t spicy at all. The restaurant also has a pumpkin shrimp stew that we almost got but opted for this instead.

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Here’s the garlic noodles dish made with wide noodles and topped with crispy bites of chicken. The garlic was not overpowering, though it might have been too subtle for garlic lovers.

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Burmese cuisine is riddled with noodle dishes, and here’s another one with chunks of meat, broccoli and bell peppers in a not-so-spicy curry sauce.

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We tried the fried rice that’s made with a bean that takes two days to prepare. This dish would probably be the most familiar to local palettes with its soy and garlic base, onions, carrots and edamame.

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And here’s the Indian-Burmese rice, worth trying. It a Jasmine-style rice with cardamon and cinnamon topped with slices of tomatoes and cucumbers, nuts and raisins. So interesting and different.

In all, we had a great meal with flavorful dishes that cost about $12 per person. (Gotta love BYOB!)

The only downsides are parking and limited dining space. By the time we had left at 7 p.m., there were already about five people waiting for tables outside.

My suggestion: make reservations, get there early for parking and bring a nice moscato. You won’t leave disappointed — or hungry.

Dagon, 2671 S. King St. in Moiliili near Spices. Hours: 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays, closed Tuesdays. Phone: (808) 947-0088.

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Got leftover pumpkin? Make cupcakes!

By • December 4, 2013 • Food, Weekend Dish

pumpkincupcakes

It seems like the only time of the year I make anything with canned pumpkin is Thanksgiving.

This year was exceptional, too, since, in addition to a pumpkin cheesecake, I made pumpkin soup with apples, carrots and onions.

And then I was stuck with half a can of pumpkin puree.

What now?

Turns out, you can whip up a pretty nice cupcake with just half a cup of the pureed squash.

So if you’ve got some canned pumpkin to spare, here’s a great recipe to use those leftovers — after Thanksgiving and, really, all year long:

Pumpkin Cupcakes
Adopted from The Neelys

Ingredients

Pumpkin cupcakes:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. canned pure pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Maple cream cheese frosting:
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese
2 T. butter, at room temperature
2 T. pure maple syrup
2 c. powdered sugar
Chopped toasted pecans, for topping, optional

Directions:

For the pumpkin cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 (12-cup) muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter and the sugar. Beat with a hand-held mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and the vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting .

For the cream cheese frosting: Add the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, and salt to a large bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar until thoroughly combined.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting and chopped pecans, if you want.

Makes 12 cupcakes

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#TheGreatDebate: Is Cookie Butter really that great?

By • December 3, 2013 • Food

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Every time I hear a conversation between someone going to the Mainland and someone who isn’t, it goes something like this:

“You’re going to Vegas?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“I’m leaving next week.”

“You going to Trader Joe’s?”

“I guess. Why? What you want?”

“Cookie Butter. Have you heard of it? OHMYGOD you HAVE to bring me back some. Maybe three. I think there’s a limit. Anyway. Whatever you can. I’ll pay you. I’ll pay you extra.”

So it was the other week when two of my friends were heading to the Mainland. One to Vegas, the other to Los Angeles. People — even some they didn’t know — were putting in orders for the fanatically popular gingerbread spread by the Holland company Speculoos.

And when I say, “fanatically popular,” I’m not kidding.

Trader Joe’s, which sells three different versions — creamy, crunchy and cocoa swirl — of this spread, is frantically trying to keep up with demand. Already, its Las Vegas stores have had to set limits on how many customers could purchase. And back in April, Trader Joe’s reported a shortage of the Speculoos products in its stores across the country, with some stores reporting the spread completely out of stock.

So what’s with this Cookie Butter craze?

To be honest, when I first tried it earlier this year, I thought it was good. Better than OK but not so mind-blowingly good that I’d bid for it on eBay or pay to check-in a suitcase just to lug the stuff home.

And I love gingerbread.

Turns out, I’m not the only one wondering about the cult following for this bottle spread.

I posted a photo of a jar of the Cookie & Cocoa Swirl, the latest flavor (and craze) in the line, and I got a few mixed reviews.

Some, like my Facebook friend Jeff, who picked up a bottle a year ago in Arizona, referred to Cookie Butter as crack: “I just want to keep eating it!”

But others, like David, tried it and wasn’t impressed: “I don’t know what all the hype is about.”

So I’m throwing it out there: what’s with this fascination over Cookie Butter? What am I missing? Or do you think it really lives up to its hype?

Let the debate begin!

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