Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2010 — HELENA'S -- A HAWAIIAN FOOD TRADITION [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HELENA'S -- A HAWAIIAN FOOD TRADITION

By Zach Villanueva

Before I dive right into the food at Helena's restaurant, let me give this plaee the respeet it deserves by giving you a brief history lesson about Helena's Hawaiian Food. The year is 1946, and on North King Street on the island of O'ahu, Aunty Helen Kwoek Chock founded her namesake restaurant with a humhle beginning of homemade recipes. She went from serving her children one pieee of pipi kaula, a bowl of poi, and stew gravy for luneh, to sharing her love of Hawaiian food and feeding thousands of customers every year. Those who go to Helena's go for one reason - eating great authentic Hawaiian cuisine. Since opening up shop 64 years ago, Helena's restaurant has relocated to North School Street and founder Helen Chock has since passed on. Today, Helena's Hawaiian Food is owned and managed by Chock's daughter and grandson. Chock has left her legacy with her family, a legacy in whieh she gained recognition not only in Hawai'i but also around the world. In 2000, she received the Regional Classic Award from the James Beard Foundation, whieh is to food what the Grammy Awards are to music. Helena's has also been featured on the TV show Man v. Food. While waiting in line, I ran into a eouple fromOhio who said that the TV show compelled them to visit Helena's to get a taste of authentic Hawaiian food. One thing I have to say to those tourists is, "Good ehoiee." While I was deciding what to order, I struck up a conversation with Helena regular Lynn Vasquez of Kalihi. She suggested the pipi kaula short ribs because they were what she described as, "The best in town." With her knowledge and the help of my waitress, I selected the dishes that

I thought would give me the full Helena's experience. Helena's menu is ala carte with prices ranging between $3 to $5. There is also the ehoiee of various combination platters, whieh ean easily feed two people. But if you're hungry, I'd go with a eomho platter and a eouple of extra side orders; prices per eomhinahon platters hover around $9 to $18. I ordered Combo D, whieh comes with kālua pig, lomi salmon, pipi kaula short ribs and squid lū'au, served with a big bowl of poi. On the side I ordered fried butterfish, lau lau and poke with 'opihi. Haupia and onions are also served to all customers free of charge. Eating here was a ehoiee I would not regret. The kālua pig was ono; it was nicely moist and not too salty. Too mueh salt is something that some places tend to do when it comes to kālua pig, but not here. The lomi salmon was good, but it was great when I mixed it with the poi and lau lau all in one bite. I also recommend that if you like poke, make a side order of their poke with 'opihi. Its freshness cannot be beat. Now you're probably asking yourself, "Why haven't you talked about the fried butterfish? Or the pipi kaula short ribs?" The reason is because if you try either of these dishes you might never want to leave this plaee. The pipi kaula short ribs are most customers' favorite dish. Eaeh rib is hung above the stove, left to marinate until a hungry customer summons its presence into their belly. Like most good food, the pipi kaula is crispy on the outside while tender on the inside, with a pineh of fat to give you that extra flavor of goodness. Now for the fried butterfish. I have to admit that this was probably my favorite dish of the meal, as it was oily but very crispy and moist in eaeh and every bite. My

taste buds were definitely thanking me for eating the butterfish and pipi kaula. But I've got to say that the overall meal on a scale of 1 to 10 was at least a 9. (The only meal rated a 10 will be my last meal on Earth.) After an awesome luneh for two, my wallet was still intact with my final bill only at $33. When I first started researching Helena's, I was afraid that my high expectations might lead me to disappointment. But in the end, the combination of wonderful food, a friendly staff and even meeting a few customers had far exceeded my expectations and made for a day of great food and great times. ■

Helena's Hawaiian Food 1240 N. School St„ Honolulu Open Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Cash only Take-out friendly (808) 845-8044 www.helenashawaiian food.com orsearch for Helena's on Facebook. Small parking lot in front and street parking available.

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At left: the pipi kaula short ribs and fried bufterfish, at middle right and top right, were the author's favorites.

Pipi kaula short ribs marinate as they hang above the stove in the kitchen of Helena's. - Photos: laeh ViHanueva