Kauai Luau
December 14, 2017
The luau was back near Lihue. We arrived, had pictures made, were issued drink tickets, and then were seated for drinks and the buffet dinner. (I didn't choose to buy my photos back on the ship, so sorry, you won't see me with a hula dancer here.) I chose for my drink an authentic Hawaiian drink, the Mai Tai (from the Tahitian word for “good”). It was invented by Trader Vic in Oakland, California, or Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood in the thirties or forties, depending upon whom you believe. It became associated with Hawaii apparently because of Elvis's movie Blue Hawaii. There seems to be no agreement on what the real recipe should be. I saw them put both white and dark rum in mine, so it was authentic in that regard. Otherwise, fruity ingredients and garnishes are typical. I had two coupons, but stuck to just one. I wasn't driving or anything, but I figured with a big buffet and dessert, I would be pushing my luck with my blood sugar. (It behaved quite well throughout the trip. Thanks for asking.)
The buffet had quite a variety, including the obligatory roast pork. I tried the poi. It is made from taro root. A better use for the taro would be to make it into cards to tell the future. Tarot cards, however would have a better taste and texture than poi. Imagine purple grits with all the taste removed and with the consistency of wallpaper paste. Come to think of it, I suggest you try the wallpaper paste instead. Poi is very nutritious, and supposedly Gerber uses taro root in their baby food for that reason. If so, it is not hard to imagine why babies spit out their food. But anyhow, the mai tai and poi ticked off two of the three boxes on my list of food I had to have in Hawaii. The rest of the buffet was fine. Before the show, there was the obligatory hula lesson. Fortunately, I didn't get drafted for that. (I was still eating.) My hula lesson would wait for the next day.
The general word is that all the luaus are good. Many of them deal with the various cultures from different islands that came to Hawaii. This luau instead dealt with the earliest settlers. It was of course colorful and entertaining. I snapped a few pictures and shot some video as long as the battery in the camera held out. I had shot about 300 pictures that day already, so it was no surprise for the video to use up the remaining charge rather rapidly.
The band:
You may also watch the high definition version of the luau video by clicking here.