I always hear about how folks come to Maui and want to eat where the locals do. A lot of places boast this but Buzz’s Wharf Restaurant is a family-owned establishment that locals truly love. Jerry and Eileen McDonald opened Buzz’s in 1967; the place has been passed down through generations of their family.

The restaurant dining room’s most notable features are the huge glass windows through which you will watch the harbor action, the surf spot Freight Trains (when it’s breaking) or the current renovation construction. You can also see all of the Kihei shoreline as well as Molokini and Haleakala. Come before sunset to take it all in.

The Braun-Miller family that owns the restaurant also farms Markea Shrimp in New Caledonia, importing their own for their menu. The Markea Prawn is their own trademarked name for the mouthwatering Pacific Blue Shrimp that they raise there, free of hormones, antibiotics and food coloring. They are especially sweet, with an al dente bite to them. There are challenges to farming this species, such as the high quality sea water their ponds require, and  the added costs associated with their environmentally friendly approach. Later this year, Buzz’s will have them available to purchase for your home kitchen, too.

Their menu is all American steakhouse fare, with a few island-influenced touches. They start lunch at 11pm with a collaboration of house specialties like shrimp and chips, soups and salads, appetizers and sandwiches. The sandwiches are special: coconut shrimp, filet Diane, Ahi steak, fresh tuna salad and half pound burgers made with Maui Cattle Co. Beef and loaded with trimmings like two kinds of onions, sauteed mushrooms and blue cheese. The sandwiches and burgers cost between $11 and $18. Tasty words like cajun aioli, fruit salsa and red wine sauce embellish these carb and protein combos, and vegetarians have options, too.

At lunch you can also get their famous Markea Prawns. They’re served Tahitian-style with dill and parm or in shrimp poke or in cocktail form. Their prawns are good raw or cooked, but their poke preparation is lightly seared with tobiko lemongrass aioli. If you’re in the mood for soup, the clam chowder is made the New England way, so thick your spoon could stand up in it and full of great clam flavor. It is a meal unto itself, and their bread makes the perfect pillow to sup it up.

Pupu hour starts at 3pm and goes till the dinner hour at 5pm. This is a great time to enjoy cocktails and pupus, on your way to or from locations around the island. Their appetizer menu is full of quality seafood, and the steamers are astonishing in their white wine broth and garlic bread. Shiitake mushrooms are stuffed with crab and cheese, and fresh oysters, sashimi and fried calamari round out the pupus that will go perfect with their Mai Tai’s that feature their own Tahitian vanilla and other tropical drinks.

Dinner includes their hand-cut Angus beef steaks, and you can can have them prepared to your liking with choices like their Au Poivre (French for “pepper rub”), Diane’s sauce mushroom, Dijon and red wine), or bleu cheese-crusted. Entrees range around $20 to $50, and their portion size is generous. They are famous for the Hawaiian teriyaki steak, but this is no mere teri steak plate lunch. They have their own coveted family teriyaki recipe, and the steak is marinated and broiled, served with potato du jour, steamed vegetables and rolls and a green salad, if you wish.

You can get lobster tail but Surf and Turf is done here with Markea prawns Tahitian, and it is frankly better than lobster. These sweet prawns permeate all corners on the menu for good reason, you can’t get them anywhere else on Maui.

Another great dish with a twist is the Bouillabaisse, in which Markea prawns join scallops, clams and fish in a light white coconut lemongrass broth. The different seafoods melt in your mouth in this extraordinary soup, and it begs to be dabbed with their fresh rolls just like the steamer broth.

The fresh fish preparations are unique; the macadamia nut-crusted fresh fish with a coconut pineapple sauce was a sweet and savory delight. The macadamia crunch texture was great over the fish, and the sweet pineapple sauce was surprisingly dessertlike but still appropriate for the dish.

Speaking of sweets, you will find their Tahitian vanilla at play again alongside tropical fruit creations like their mango macadamia nut upside-down cake and mango creme brulee. Pele’s molten chocolate cake takes 20 minutes, so order it with dinner, but it’s a great value at just $10.

No matter what time you come to dine, be prepared for the detour. The harbor entrance that was next to the Lahaina side of Buzz’s has been closed. Instead, just turn at the stoplight next to the gas station and Carl’s Jr. and head right onto Maalaea Harbor Road and then drive into the familiar harbor. The Maalaea Harbor is getting a much needed pumping system for the boats, but don’t let these improvements stop you from enjoying Buzz’s Wharf.

Buzz’s Wharf Restaurant 1540 Honoapiilani Hwy, Wailuku, HI 96793(808) 244-5426 ‎buzzswharf.com

•  Map of Buzz’s Wharf

The ceasar wrap looks pretty good too.

Sent from my iPhone

Wilson Wu photos courtesy of Sean Hower, Hower Photo

Ramen-Ya

275 West Kaahumanu Ave., Kahului, HI 96732

808-873-9688

MauiTime listing

Going to Ramen Ya in Kaahumanu Center is the closest you can come to being transported to Japan for a bowl of noodles. There is a little bar you can sit at that overlooks the action in the kitchen, where you will see Ramen-Ya’s Wilson Wu at the helm. Wu is a young veteran of the noodle shop. Yet he never looks ruffled by the the hundreds of bowls of soup coming out of out this small shop that often has a line out the door for a seat. I caught up with him to see how he keeps his cool.

JR: How does Ramen differ from Saimin?
Wilson Wu: A good Ramen chef will take pride in creation of their unique broth, fresh
noodles and ingredients. Saimin, on the other hand, has a pre-packed
powdered seasoning. Their noodles are deep fried, frozen or dried and is
pre-made and packaged. Good Ramen noodles and broth are fresh made and
have good nutritious value.

JR: What other kinds of food are on your menu? Do you serve Japanese food?
WW: Ramen-ya’s aim is to serve healthy, good quality “comfort food” with
excellent value in a nice clean modern atmosphere . Our menu covers a
broad range of traditional as well as local favorites with a Japanese
flair. Other than Ramen soup-style noodle, you will find seafood, katsu,
curry as well as rice dishes.

JR: I can’t eat here without making a loud mess. Is there a special noodle shop etiquette diners should follow?
WW:In a noodle shop in Japan you find that people make “loud noises” when
slurping the noodles and hold the bowl to drink the broth. This is normal
to show that the customer is enjoying the food…so, you can Slurp and
Make Loud Noises to your hearts content at Ramen-ya.

JR: How do you make your rich and tasty broth? What is in it?
WW: As mentioned, good ramen chefs take pride in a creation of their both. We
use a combination of pork bone, bone marrow, chicken, mixed vegetable and
our chef’s secret ingredients. Each pot of broth is cooked for over 12
hours.

JR: Oooh, I love secret ingredients apparently. Another favorite on the menu are are your gyoza. How do you make them? Can you reveal any gyoza secrets?
WW: We make our own filling from scratch and it is freshly cooked to order.
Our gyoza fryer from Japan is of authentic qualilty. It creates gyoza
with a crisp, golden brown bottom and a soft top and yet juicy filling.

Were you born into the life of a soup noodle king like kung fu panda, or did you work your way into it? What kind of training do you undergo to make noodles this good?
WW: I have always been in the restaurant business from the time I came to Hawaii. Cooking is my passion. When I had an opportunity to run a ramenshop for my relative about 10 years ago, I took this opportunity. I was able to fine tune my ramen concept while learning the business side of running a restaurant. Ramen-ya is has been a result of my “on the job training”.

JR: How do my steaming bowls of food arrive so quickly? What is your secret to handling the pressure in a fast paced kitchen?

WW: All it takes is a well planned structure for the day for things to work and
fall in place. You need to be properly staffed, have all the necessary
prep work done, ingredients ordered, ready and on hand. Even thought it
looks busy and hectic, with all the ingredients in place we can produce
good, fresh food at a rapid pace for our customers. We also have to have
good communication with our great team up front to meet our customer’s
demands.

JR: Right. A good plan equal a good bowl. If you were eating at a Ramen shop what would you be looking for in a great bowl of Ramen?
WW:A great bowl of Ramen has three elements a) noodles that are fresh and
cooked to the right consistency b) broth that is tasty: slow and long
cooked for full-flavor and nutrition and c) a well garnished appealing
presentation. Due to our Hawaii’s diversity of age and tastes, Ramen-ya
also provides a selection of table condiments to meet ones personal taste buds.

JR: Who is your Most Valuable Player at team Ramen Ya?
WW:We have a very good group of workers. The “Back” of the house (Kitchen
crew) all fully trained on our ramen menu. They have an understanding of
each department (wok area, gyoza, noodle) work, so when it comes to
production they can work together as a team. Our “Front” end (waiters and
servers) are fully aware of the pace: seating the customers, submitting
orders, production and bringing our product out to the customer in an
efficient manner. These two teams are in constant communication at all
times to give our customer a consistently satisfying and enjoyable
experience. Also, we always express our appreciation before customer’s
leave.

JR: Gratitude from the staff! that is an excellent bonus here. Is there a perfect time of day to have a bowl of ramen?

WW: Remember to take advantage of our DAILY HAPPY HOUR from 2 to 5
p.m. where we give away free Gyoza with a regular meal purchase. Hey by the way our Gift
Certificates can be used all year round – for an anniversary or birthday
or to award your employee, or show appreciation for that special person or
family, so its always a good time to eat ramen. The management team would also like to say BIG Mahalo! to our RAMEN-YA FANS for all your support!

JR: There you go with the gratitude thing again. I hear you guys throw an awesome party. What is that all about?
WW:Tecnically we don’t throw the party, but we can certainly provide the food. We can cater any item on our menu (except for soup style noodle). We can go with appetizers to entrees like the Gyoza, or entree dishes like Mochiko Chicken or Chicken Katsu. Other favorites are Fried rice and Noodle dishes. All of these can be special made to order, and put together in party pans to fit any size party or budget. Let us make the food for your next tail gate party , pot-luck or shower.

No more drive through white coffee hook ups! The Folks at Big Wave Espresso were real nice, but it was a tough go at it and they decided to close.

If you need your caffeine but cant leave the car try Akamai Coffee down Dairy road in front of Maui’s Home Depot

What does Coconut Lilikoi Tapioca Pudding and Hiking Trails have in common? They’re both mood enhancers and fun to experience with friends.  Mix in the super foods and this vegan dessert becomes a yes brainer!

My girlfriend and I have made a ritual of getting together on Saturday mornings for hikes through the mossy, green forests of Maui, Hawai’i.  Our favorite hiking trail is Iao Valley, a lush stream cut valley in West Maui.

I am starting to get the sense that a certain aspect of the Valley’s history is symbolic to our lives. Once the location of the bloodiest battles in Hawai’i, it eventually became a burial ground for Hawaiian royalty. Besides the physical benefits we receive, my friend and I use the nature reserve as a burial ground for the stressful thoughts we accumulate over the week.  We dig them deep into the ground as we talk story, obsess over our jobs, and talk giddily about the men in our lives. Occasionally, we hug the trees.

As we ended last week’s excursion, ravenous for something healthy and hardy, we headed to Kahului’s Alive and Well health food store for lunch.

I browsed the glass countertop displays, anxious to get everything in my mouth – from the Vegan Enchiladas to the Arugula Cranberry Salad.  I grabbed a lunch plate and a bottle of Coconut Water and just as I was about to check out, I felt something peering at me from the corner of my eye, pulling me into its delectable arms.  Within a small, dessert container laid the creamy contents of Coconut Lilikoi Tapioca, a sweet pudding made with tapioca pearls and other natural ingredients.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I grabbed the dessert and rushed to the checkout aisle.

Since that memorable day, I have been attempting to make Coconut Lilikoi Tapioca at home, but it hasn’t quite matched health food store standards. I pulled up a few recipes from the Internet and they all vary in ingredients and measurements; some are vegan, some use egg yolk and dairy products (there’s even a famous Rachel Ray Tapioca Pudding).

After sampling the recipe on a few friends and receiving compliments as fake as Snooki’s tan, I decided to make a trip to Alive and Well.  I noticed the ingredients posted on the countertop display, so I jotted them down on a piece of paper and went home to try to them out.

Here is the recipe I came up with, using their ingredients:

- – - -

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of tapioca pearls
1 ¼ cup of coconut milk
1/2  cup of almond milk
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of lilikoi (passionfruit) juice
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp of agave syrup
1 tsp of sea salt

*I used all organic ingredients.

Instructions:

Soak tapioca pearls with coconut milk for 15-20 minutes
Simmer for 5 minutes
Add almond milk, sugar, agave syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt
Stir contents and bring to a boil
Add lilikoi juice
Pour in a bowl and refrigerate
Allow it to sit for a couple of hours and serve.

- – - -

I must say, it was worth the extra trip to the store, as my latest attempt proved successful.  How could  I tell?  No more pity stares from friends, only quiet, authentic smiles were shared.

Photo Credits go to: Kyle Pattison (724-448-5712)

I haven’t been able to figure out the exact hours when the balloon guy is in, but almost all weekends and Friday evenings he seems to be at Ruby’s Diner. My kids totally adore him, and they love trying to out do eachother with the requests. In my video below he is making an Ariel mermaid. For boys there are fishing poles and swords.

He just comes up to the table to see if you want anything for your kids. It doesn’t cost anything, but the idea is to tip him. We give him a few bucks and the kids are very entertained. The trick is trying to keep them from popping the balloons within five minutes.

Click here to view the embedded video.