Who is Champuru? 
Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
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More Champuru
Dot-Com Days
In the days before dot-net.
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Posing outside Shirokiya (Ala Moana Shoping Center)
with my snow ice dessert from The Juice Factory
Whenever possible, Hubby and I try to have a “date day.” This past Friday, we decided to go to Ala Moana Shopping Center for window shopping which, of course, invariably results in unplanned purchases — like the Adidas hat I’m wearing. (Purchased at Lids and embroidered on the back with “champuru.”)
Our last stop is always Shirokiya, where I pick up bentos and Japanese confections (mochi, dorayaki, etc.) to go. If Hubby is with me, we also hit The Juice Factory stand just before we exit so that he can get his favorite coffee boba (bubble drink). I noticed that they had “snow ice” on the menu. Hula Boba also had an offering called snow ice and I wondered if it was the same thing. So, I ordered one with azuki topping and found that it’s very similar. So, now I have my own favorite thing to get on my way out of Shirokiya!
Since having my baby in October 2008, I’ve started seeing things a little differently. Due to the down economy, so many companies have gone out of business and it makes me wonder if the establishments that I’ve grown up with will be around when my baby is old enough to enjoy them as well. It’s sparked an appreciation for the things that I’ve once took for granted. They say that familiarity breeds contempt and that’s certainly true. Having lived in Hawaii all my life, it’s easy to overlook the things that make it truly a great place to live. I’ve decided to start a “best of Hawaii” series on my blog, beginning with the entry on Sunnyside (Wahiawa, Hawaii). The “best of” ranking is completely biased and arbitrary — based on my own opinions of my favorite go-to places as a lifelong resident of this wonderful place.
Take a poll of Hawaii residents and ask them to name their favorite plate lunch place and you’ll likely get a ton of votes for Rainbow Drive-in. For over 45 years, Rainbow Drive-in has been serving up a variety of dishes, all with two scoops rice and mac salad. After all, a plate lunch just wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory carb-overload.
Pictured above covered in brown gravy goodness is the Boneless Chicken plate. When you order it, say “gravy all over” and this is what you get. Literally gravy all over — even the macaroni salad is doused with the gravy! (I never knew how sinfully delicious brown gravy on mac salad tastes.) This is Hubby’s favorite plate, which makes him nostalgic for his high school days when a stop at Rainbows was always on the agenda after a surf session in Waikiki.
Aside from the great food and low prices, Rainbow Drive-in has such a neat history. The founder, Seiju Ifuku learned how to cook during his tour of duty with the famed 100th Battalion during World War II! I love the philosophy of the founders (as told on their website):
Seiju and Ayako’s philosophy was to serve plates with generous portions of hearty, simple food, with two scoops of rice and a side of macaroni salad at a reasonable price.
What a simple, yet effective philosophy for business. No wonder they’ve been around for nearly half a century. I hope they’ll be around at least another 50 years. Go visit them next time you’re in town!
Rainbow Drive-In
3308 Kanaina Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 737-0177
On the web: rainbowdrivein.com
Kabocha is the Japanese winter squash. It’s one of my favorite vegetables and it’s next on my list of foods to introduce to baby. I make a new batch of baby food once a week on Saturdays (when Aunty Joni visits), so I went to Foodland today to pick two: one for baby and the other for the big people in the house.
For kabocha-lovers, I found it on sale at Foodland for $0.99/pound, which I assume is a pretty decent deal because I later saw a Marukai ad for kabocha listing it at $1.99/pound. I’m not sure if there’s anything special about the Marukai kabocha, but that’s a pretty significant difference to me!
Kabocha, Japanese Winter Squash
I’ll share my Japanese style simmered kabocha recipe (for big people) today. Kabocha makes a great side dish. It’s extremely simple with very few ingredients — my favorite kind of recipe. The hardest part of preparing the kabocha is cutting it because the skin is so hard. A video and entry will be forthcoming on the kabocha babyfood endeavors this weekend.
Ingredients
1 lb kabocha (my kabocha was nearly 4 lbs., so I just adjusted the measurements accordingly)
3/4 cup dashi stock
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Directions
- Wash kabocha skin with a vegetable brush because we will leave the skin on. Although the skin is very hard when uncooked, it becomes tender and lends a nice texture after being simmered.
- Cut in half and remove seeds. Cut kabocha into 1-1/2″ cubes. Be careful ~ kabocha skin is very tough and you could easily lose a finger if you’re not careful!
- Put dashi soup stock, sugar, shoyu, and kabocha chunks in a pan, placing on HIGH heat and bringing to a boil.
- Turn heat down to LOW and allow to simmer until liquid is nearly gone.
- You may serve kabocha warm or cold. (I prefer it warm.)
Uncooked Kabocha
Simmered Kabocha – tender and delicious!
Sunnyside is one of the great things about Hawaii, synonymous with scrumptious cream pies and down home local cooking. This little restaurant in Wahiawa has been a favorite of island residents for decades.
Sunnyside does not specialize in fancy-shmancy pies, covered with flourishes of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. It’s the kind of pie you would expect your grandma to make: no frills, just delicious in its simplicity. It doesn’t overwhelm your taste buds, but utterly satisfies your sweet tooth. Of course, there’s the nostalgia factor as well. While the original owners have retired and sold the business, the pies remain wonderfully unchanged.
Sunnyside pies are my trademark token of appreciation, because I know I would feel loved if someone gifted me with such a delicious treat. Aside from that, it gives me an excuse to get one for myself at the same time — but don’t tell anyone about that!
For your reference (and mine), here’s Sunnyside’s pie menu. All pies are $8.50. As I am not affiliated with Sunnyside, I cannot guarantee that this information will be accurate forever, so please call them directly at (808) 621-7188 for current pricing and to place your order. It’s highly recommended to call a day in advance to place an order for pies, as they do run out rather quickly — especially the always popular cream pies.
Peach Cream Pie
Monday
Chocolate Cream, Blueberry Cream, Apple, Banana, Apricot or Peach
Tuesday
Chocolate Cream, Peach Cream, Apple, Banana, Custard, Pear~Peach Combo
Wednesday
Chocolate Cream, Blueberry Cream, Apple, Banana, Apricot or Peach
Thursday
Chocolate Cream, Cherry Cream, Apple, Banana, Pumpkin, Pear~Peach Combo
Friday
Chocolate Cream, Blueberry Cream, Apple, Banana, Pear~Peach Combo
Saturday
Chocolate Cream, Blueberry Cream, Apple, Banana, Apricot or Peach
Sunnyside
1017 Kilani Ave.
Wahiawa, HI 96786
Phone: (808) 621-7188
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday, 6 am – 5 pm
Saturday, 6 am – 4 pm
Sunday, 7 am – 1 pm
For a great review of Sunnyside (with pictures of the pies), visit Tasty Island.
For safety reasons, I asked Hubby to convert Baby Champuru’s co-sleeper into the playard position today. Now that she’s so mobile, I’m afraid that she will soon be able to climb over the bar and onto our bed. Not only that, the (padded) bar was in perfect position for her to bump her head when she rolls from tummy to back position — head first, of course. Having her sleep in a playard is not ideal, but it’s safer than the co-sleeper and I’m not ready to put her in the crib yet.
I’m hoping that this will serve as a step toward transitioning her to the crib in her own room. In the co-sleeper, it was as good as having her sleep in bed with me — without actually being in the bed. She could turn her head and see me, and vice versa. Now that we converted the co-sleeper to a playard, it essentially drops the mattress almost two feet. She’s now about five inches off the ground and she can’t see me unless I’m hovering over the top of it. Maybe this will give her the feeling that I’m not right there even though I am right there.
Next on the Honey-Do List is having Hubby install the baby monitor in her room. Then, I have to evict all of her toys and stuffed animals from the crib. Lastly, a crazy cleaning frenzy is in order to get the nursery ready for her. Maybe we’ll have her in her crib by her 6 month birthday (April 4), which is just around the corner.
Currently, baby is comfortably sleeping in the playard for the first time. As per our evening routine, I nursed her and put her down while she was sleeping. I left one of her favorite dolls in the corner of the playpen so when she wakes up, she’ll see something familiar and hopefully won’t freak out that I’m not her in direct line of sight.
We’ll see how it goes!
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