Pounders Restaurant now serves island plate meals

As one of her first innovations, our new Pounders Restaurant manager has started showcasing one of our PCC islands during each Friday dinner time, starting with a Hawaiian plate — along with the proviso: “While supplies last.”

Losa Moors, who was recently promoted to head our new à la carte Pounders Restaurant in the Hukilau Marketplace, knows from long experience how popular Samoan and other island plate meals can be, especially among local people, so she suggests coming early. She also said Pounders will serve the new item to-go, for those heading out to a Kahuku High football game.

Asked what is the most popular dishes at Pounders, besides the unique pizzas, Moors said it’s a loco-moco burger. “Loco-moco is traditionally meat, egg and gravy over rice, but we’ve created our loco-moco burger on a bun, and it’s great. My own favorite, however, is the blue cheese and bacon salad.”

“What excites me about my new position is marketing the various food items and knowing we can change things. For example, I tested the new island meals with a Hawaiian plate. We hope our local people will particularly enjoy these new meals, and that some of our regular guests will try them.”

Taste of Polynesia opens a Hukilau Marketplace roulotte

…and speaking of food: For some time Polynesian Cultural Center concession stands in the villages have served various island treats that have now been brought together in one location, Taste of Polynesia, in a Hukilau Marketplace roulette, or Tahitian-style food truck.

Taste of Polynesia serves New Zealand-style fish and chips as well as meat pies, Fijian curry and rice, Samoan half-moon pineapple pies and Tongan otai — a sweet cold drink that combines mango, crushed pineapple and coconut milk.

Shanya Fonoimoana, who works in the roulotte, said while she’s been there the Fijian chicken curry over white rice, and fish and chips have been the most popular items.

The PCC’s Fijian curry — inspired by the large East Indian population first brought into Fiji as indentured sugar cane workers starting in 1879, for those who haven’t tried it yet, is delicious and relatively mild. The deep-fried fish and chips, which are still a staple in New Zealand, are popular simply because they’re soooo good; and think of another New Zealand-inspired item — meat pies, consisting of a stew of minced meat and other ingredients baked in a flaky shell, as a great substitute for a hamburger. In fact, in New Zealand little shops traditionally bring the pies out early in the morning, like fresh-baked bread, and they sell out quickly — for a good reason: They’re great, too!

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Story by Mike Foley

Hawaiian plate image by Tonu Apelu

Roulotte image by Mike Foley

Mike Foley, who has worked off-and-on

at the Polynesian Cultural Center since

1968,  has been a full-time freelance

writer and digital media specialist since

2002, and had a long career in marketing

communications and PR before that. He

learned to speak fluent Samoan as a

Mormon missionary before moving to Laie

in 1967 — still does, and he has traveled

extensively over the years throughout

Polynesia and other Pacific islands. Foley

is mostly retired now, but continues to

contribute to various PCC and other media.