FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Tasty new Hawai'i items worth trying

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

More notes from the recent Hawai'i Lodging, Hospitality & Foodservice Expo, a trade show not open to the public:

• Tea, tea, tea. Purveyors of dried teas, canned teas, gourmet teas and locally mixed teas were all over. Especially in evidence: Hawai'i-grown mamaki "tea," a caffeine-free infusion used as a tonic by Hawaiians. I especially liked the organically grown whole leaves and tea mixes (mamaki is rather bitter, so the best introduction is in combinations, such as with mint) from the Kamiyama family of Hawaiian Mamaki Tea Plantation near Hilo. (887) 959-8185.
• Coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk. This is the refreshing, cholesterol-free water in the center of a young coconut. Canned and bottled coconut water is popular wherever Brazilians and other South Americans live. Robert Oram of SinPari Co. was touting Sococo brand, packaged in juice boxes to prevent the off flavors cans can produce. He called it the next "energy drink," but natural. Not yet in markets. Check www.SinPari.com.
• Surfing Goat Dairy cream cheese and soft cheese from Kula, Maui. Oh, yum! Thomas and Eva-Maria Kafsack, operators of this new dairy, stepped in when a chevre operation on the Big Island closed down, buying the goats and shipping them to the Valley Isle. Their 1,000 square-foot factory received approval to begin selling cheese in April, and they are swiftly finding their markets. The cheeses aren't available on O'ahu yet but are on Maui at Kihei Wine & Spirit, Cafe Ciao Deli at the Kea Lani Hotel in Wailea, the Rodeo General Store in Makawao, at farmer's markets in Kahului on both Wednesdays and Fridays, and at the dairy. Send e-mail to surfinggoatdiary@aol.com; phone (808) 878-2870.
• Tropical fruit curds from Randy and Donna Nakamoto of Planted by the River in Mililani. These are thick spreads made from fruit and egg yolks, and they've become quite fashionable lately, with a number of companies making them from local fruits. This line has both the most beautiful packaging (very Laura Ashley country-ish) and the most sophisticated and deep flavors of any I've seen and tasted (guava; kiwi/passion; lilikoi with li hing mui; mango/peach; passion/orange/guava; raspberry/panini; poha in season). At Native Books and Beautiful Things, Pat's Island Delights, R. Field Wine Co., Compleat Kitchen and Strawberry Connection.
• Mango pasta from Sun Noodle Co. Sounds odd but Susan Morita of Menehune Mac, which includes the pasta in some of its Hawaiian-themed gift baskets, suggests you think of these delicately flavored, sunset-colored noodles as fancy soba — serve them cooked and cold in a somen-style sauce. Sun Noodle, 1933 Colburn St., 841-5808, www.sunnoodle.com.