A huge thanks to Ted and Bethany over at Two Oregonians, who are hosting Eaman and I at their second {Digital} Dinner Party, an ingenious idea in which fellow RTW travel bloggers get together — virtually, of course — to mingle, “dine” and chat about the foods we miss, the foods we’ve discovered along the way and stories from the road.
Meet & Mingle
Hello and Hola! We find it most fitting to greet you in the two languages we’ve used along the road so far in our RTW trip. In August 2011, Eaman (an Oklahoma-bred Iranian guy) and I (a New Jersey-bred Indian girl) left our jobs in finance (him) and magazine journalism (me) to pursue our dream to travel the world. We began in Peru, continued on through Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Colombia before spending a week with friends in Panama. We’re now in Honolulu, Hawaii, where we’ll be living for a few months in search of sun, surf, sand and a little break from all the moving around. We love intimate dinners, long walks on the beach and…oh, wait, wrong dinner invite.
Dinner Specialty
We’ve sampled an insane amount of delicious food in our travels — quinoa soup in Peru, steak in Buenos Aires, obleas in Colombia — but we thought it’d be best to bring a food from our current locale, Honolulu, which isn’t the typical backpacker pit-stop. I give you…the OnoPop.
Started in Hawaii by two brothers, Ono’s popsicles are local, organic and reflect Hawaiian ingredients as well as the Mexican paletas, an ice pop from the brothers’ Mexican homeland. Plus, they have the zaniest flavors: Rambutan Kaffir, Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato, Kalamansi Coriander — need I say more?
I’m more of a traditionalist, so I went with the strawberry lemonade at a recent Honolulu street food festival, called “Eat the Street,” which is held the last Friday of every month. The flavor was so tart, so natural so juicy. And just look at these strawberry seeds!
Table Talk
We’d love to talk about what 4.5 months traveling through South America looks like, regale everyone with tales from our three days in paradise in the San Blas Islands and talk about what it was like to travel 15 hours to Honolulu from Panama, attend my cousin’s three-day Indian wedding extravaganza, reconnect with family, deal with the very first nasty cold of my travels, find an apartment, get a job and find a place to crash for a week before our apartment lease began — all at the same time. (Post on that last, multi-layered one to come next!)
Check out the rest of the dishes and travel tales at http://www.twoOregonians.com/rtwdinnerparty.
Oh my word! Those pops look amazing. Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato? Sign me up, please!! There are a few artisan popsicle makers at home in Portland, but…I have to admit, the idea of eating amazing flavors in the Hawaiian sunshine is much more appealing.
I had fun checking out your Buenos Aires food post, too…we’re here right now, and you’re so right: walking around this city *is* an exercise in will power.
Great job on enjoying the past several months of travel and now pausing for a new pace in Hawaii. Can’t wait to watch as your story unfolds… Thanks for coming to the party! Cheers~
We still daydream about BsAs food! It was hard to break free from the 5pm merienda habit
Yum! That looks so fresh and delicious – I always go for fruit pops over ice cream bars. So refreshing! You’ve been up to some fantastic adventures lately…we’re about to deal with all that (finding a place, starting a new job, etc) as we prepare to move to Norway. Great to meet you and good luck with your next chapter =)
Thanks, Andrea! Good luck in starting YOUR new chapter. What an awesome adventure!
Even though we are in the midst of a snow storm tonight, there is nothing more than I would like right now then an OnoPop. I’ve never had one, but they just look so darn refreshing!
Refreshing indeed!
We are big fans of Hawaii and have never heard of OnoPops, nor have we heard of “Eat the Street” in Honolulu! We’re definitely stopping by there next time we’re in town!
It is raining/snowing in Seattle right now and your post about San Blas Islands and South America experience makes me wish I was there right NOW! I can’t imagine what it’s like on your Honolulu to Panama trip with all those things going on! Looking forward to reading about it!
It was nice to “meet” you at dinner today. Good luck in your next chapter of travels!
Nice to meet you guys, too! i love daydreaming through the internet, and I hope you guys do go to San Blas one day. It’s incredible!
Just read that Eaman is an OU fan. One word. TEXAS!!!!
He says: Just remember — 55 to 17, October 2011. Boomer Sooner!!!!!!