This recipe has no name that we know of, but it brings back all those memories of growing up. We lived across from the Hongwanji on Nuuanu Avenue and shopped at Chun Hoon’s. Our mother worked hard to make the money stretch. Canned goods were a source of quick and inexpensive meals. This was ideal because canned goods had a longer shelf life than produce. This is a recipe that you can make, even if you get your canned goods at a food bank. It helps to stretch the soup for a family.
I am not totally sure, but this might’ve been from Auntie Harriet. There are only three canned foods you need and cooked rice to pour it on when you are ready to eat.
Canned Spam, diced.
Campbell’s Vegetable Soup, get the one with the alphabets in it.
Canned Spaghetti, Campbell’s is the best.
Make the vegetable soup the same way the directions indicate, with a one to one ratio of water. Then put in the diced Spam and the Canned Spaghetti. You can leave it on a low boil. You don’t have to wait to eat, but it is best done while hot. Pour it over white, short grain cooked rice and it is heaven.
Lupe and I grew up with every Friday night being a mother-daughters outing of Chinese food and a movie. For those that grew up in the Nuuanu-Chinatown area in the seventies might remember Liberty Theatre, Empress Theatre, and the Four Seasons restaurant on Nuuanu and Pauahi. So many childhood memories wrapped up in food and Run Run Shaw movies. The idols I loved were Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, and Bruce Lee.
With the passing of our mother, Manumalo, we thought of those things that brought us together – our love for food and sharing a meal together. Even if we wanted to kill each other during the week, Friday was the day that we could enjoy each other and forget our troubles. Now we think about the dishes that we loved from our childhood: saimin, crispy gau gee mein, kau yuk, and beef tofu. The joy from these memories built in each spoonful of these dishes made me want to cry. There is a true connection between our physical experiences and the memories bound to them.
It is difficult to find a Chinese restaurant with the exact taste from the past. Many of the restaurants stopped using MSG for health-related issues. Even the menus changed and some of these dishes cannot be ordered. But when I think about restaurants that come close, Happy Days Restaurant on Waialae Avenue is the first one I want to go to. Our mom was able to eat at the restaurant.
The noodles used in the won ton mein and crispy gau gee mein were perfect in texture, size, and taste. The skinny noodles are lighter and allows for the taste of the ingredients to shine through. A great balance of noodles and ingredients.
The soup base for the won ton mein had a lot of flavor and was not oily. The actual won ton were tasty, although I would’ve loved more filling.
Lupe ate the mapo tofu and had to drink water because it was hotter than expected. But she found it tasty. I felt the heat from the peppers overpowered the other flavors in the dish. My preference is beef or pork tofu, but that was not on the menu.
Lupe mentioned before we started to eat it, she rather have this color of the kau yuk than the red dye that we grew up with. Lupe was happy to see that the pieces had a good ratio of meat to fat.
The one flaw at Happy Days was the service. Although the food came out at a good pace, the waitress rarely checked in on us, even to the point where we had to go to them. The food still made the visit worth it.
Crisy Gau Gee MeinMapo Tofu Kau YukWon Ton Mein Happy Days on Kaimuki
Saimin Kau Yuk Beef Tofu Crispy Gau Gee MeinStuffed Bitter Melon Aiea Chop Suey
Aiea Chop Suey is an old staple for those in both the Central and Leeward/Westside of the Oahu. My mother would regularly go to the restaurant. Granted the restaurant has seen better days, which didn’t matter considering we grew up eating at Tin Tin in Chinatown. My mother would always know the best places to eat, even the “hole in wall” restaurants. For the area of Oahu I live in, this is the closest to what I grew up with; other than that, I would have to go to town.
The saimin was good, but the noodles got soggy quick. The soup base was a little bland, but this is the best place on the Central and Leeward side when it comes to Chinese style saimin, since Bo’s Kitchen closed.
The crispy gau gee was good and to get the noodles I love; I needed to order cake noodles or crispy noodles. I know some people would think this is picky, but my noodles for saimin and noodles dishes must be thin. They put more meat and vegetables than Happy Days. The gravy was thicker than Happy Days. Alex, who normally doesn’t like Chinese food, enjoyed the stuffed bitter melon.
The one item that brought back memories of eating meals with our mom was the beef tofu. It is rare to find now; even rarer to find one that taste as good as this. The gravy was just right and the beef was tender. I love to add this to a bowl of white rice and we are not talking about Uncle Ben’s.
When I think of service, Aiea Chop Suey was great because they were fast and the food was hot. The server checked in on us, refilled our drinks on time. Although good service cannot replace good food, it can make the experience unbearable.
I love both Aiea Chop Suey and Happy Days. I know that everyone has their own memories triggered by restaurants. I wish the side of the island I live on had more Chinese restaurants that remind me of those Fridays with the two most important women in my life.
Kau Kau Sistahs 