Honolulu, Hawaii, Jan.22 – 25, 2025
Honolulu Museum of Art, Chinatown and Roast pork belly at Mei Mei
I never thought I could see the paintings of Modigliani or Monet in Honolulu. But I was standing in front of those paintings there at the Honolulu Modern Museum of Art. I went to the central area to visit Hawaii state museum of Modern art. But I found the museum was closed temporarily at the door. I googled the Honolulu Modern Museum of Art, which is also in the center of the Honolulu and I decided to visit the following day. It is located a few stops from S Hotel St + Richards St. It is just about 10minutes by walk. The picture above was painted by Georgia O’Keeffe when she travelled to Hawaii for three months in 1939 by Doll company’s invitation. I can feel the stay in the islands were comfortable for her as far as I can see from this paint. Actually she visited the islands again in 1951. The Museum has vast collections of Asian artifact: China, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia and India. They have a section for modern art as well as those for old artifacts. They have a movie theater. “Chongking express”, a Hong Kong movie in 1994 by Wong Kar Wai, was scheduled to show at the theater. I skipped some of the sections as I wanted to have lunch at Chinatown. One day is not enough to see the museum. I want to visit again especially to see the China, India and Japan sections well.
Chinatown is a few block away from Iolani Palace. I walked down to Chinatown. I could see the iconic building Woo Fat building ahead of me in some ten minutes. I wanted to buy some roasted port belly at Mei Mei, Chinese BBQ shop at Maunakea Market, where my dad used to buy for night snack. Mei Mei is a Hong Kong style shop that sells Roast duck, Ginger Chiken,BBQ pork, Roast Pork Belly, etc., in the food court. A couple, I guess in their 50’s or 60’s run the shop. The woman is handling customers. She looks unfriendly type for non regulars. She would not smile when I ordered something. But she handles order professionally. The Roast pork belly’s skin got crispy and it taste tender and moderately salted. It goes well with cold beer. I bought a half pounds to go the first day. I visited the other two days for lunch. I ate a combo of Roast duck and BBQ pork with rice, lunch special of US$7.00 and a combo #6 of Ginger Chicken and Roast pork bell with rice for US$14.00.
