Chinatown, Honolulu, Jun.23, 2023
Chinatown and Chinese BBQ
I like Chinatown in Honolulu, one of the oldest neighborhoods. Smell of Chinese spices, meat and fresh produces, lively conversations… I like those smell and the atmosphere of the town very much. It is just a few blocks away from Hawaii State Art Museum and the statue of father Damien which stands in front of the state government building. It is my routine to go to Chinatown after seeing the statue and watching an exhibition at the museum. My father, who passed away in 2022, would often go to Chinatown to buy grilled belly pork for his snack at his hotel room in the evening. My mother, who died in 2018, would visit there to buy a Hawaiian lei for weddings of her nieces and nephews. Many of my cousins preferred to holding a wedding in the island. My parents would attend them happily. They visited the islands countless times. I first visited Honolulu to attend my young brother’s wedding. Then I began to visit the Islands frequently and I have visited Chinatown almost every time I came to Oahu.
Chinatown is one of the shooting places for “Hawaii Five O”, a police drama aired on CBS network from 2010 till 2020. The town was used in many episodes. It looks peaceful place for ordinary people to do shopping for grocery. However, in the drama, it is described as a nest of criminal gangs, a place of conspiracy, etc. Wo Fat, Asian crime boss, the enemy of Steve McGarrett and his task force “Hawaii Five O”, appears on many episodes. I learned during this stay here the iconic white building with an Asian roof on the corner of the town is called Wo Fat Chop Suey House. Wait a minute.. Wo Fat ? Has the name Wo Fat come from that building? To tell you the truth, I like Wo Fat on the drama although it is the character I most hate. So it thrilled me with the idea I am standing in front of the building.
The pandemic is over. It is almost four years since I visited Honolulu last time. I am very glad to see people are living almost the same as before the pandemic. The BBQ shop my dad used to visit is still in the market. I bought a half pound of grilled belly pork in there to bring my hotel room to eat with cold beer later tonight. I love the texture of fatty meat with salty crispy skin. It goes well with cold beer to wash down.
I remember I had din sum with my parents at a Cantonese restaurant, went to a Vietnamese restaurant to have Pho, a rice noodle dish, walked around to buy food for snack at the hotel room back in June, 2011. That was my last trip with them. Those are my precious memories I could not forget now.