kahiki food story

20 miles in the cold and wind, I trekked bravely to the BULK FOOD WAREHOUSEEEE!!! Upon arriving I found myself surround by restless natives. They all scurried about, bumping into each other. They were mostly white, and mostly trashy. Wild ratty blond haired women ran about me as I trembled in fear, screaming at their "children." Unfettered, I continuted my journey, through the valley of clothing that had brand names that no one has EVVVERRR heard of. Past the AILSE OF DOOM!!! (Known as the place where they sell massive dangerous power tools to the nascar natives) Behind a massive plastic red and white light up tiki statue of some kind surround by other light up animals with horns, I could see the icy tundra of THE FROZEN SECTION. As i walked steathily through the jungle of steel and bulk size, a crafty old witchdoctor offered me one of her "samples." I refused, knowing that it was just a trick to lure me from the prize. A massive frozen glass door stood in my way, which I opened with ease, by repeating the chant "Mecca lecka hai, mecca heiney ho," and using the handle. There it stood, the treasure I had stumbled upon was Kahiki brand General Tso's Chicken, only $8.99. I thought it too good to be true, and took it home to cook. Upon tasting the Kahiki chicken, I knew my trek was not in vain, for the chicken was AMAZING.

My sincerest apologies for the narrative. I was bored after dinner. So for those of you that don't know, SAM's Club, and I'm sure other retailers carry Kahiki brand General Tso's Chicken. It was really good. I was impressed. It was better than most chinese restaurants. So, I'm sure everyone knows this by now, but like I said, I was bored. Hope my story could entertain you, and if you didn't know about Kahiki brand food, now you do.

ALOHA!
Lucky

Thanks for the tip on Sam's. I love General Tso's chicken, always order when I go for Chinese food. I have only had the Kahiki eggrolls from the regular grocery stores. We have a Sam's here in Florida too, so I will definitely pick some up.

Tell me more about the "massive plastic red and white light up tiki statue"!

I couldn't think of a better way to write plastic light up santa statue. Though I do have a giant light up orange maoi guarding my bar.

I've had General Tso's in about 25 different states. The two best places I've ever had were outside of Pittsburgh, PA, and the Honolulu, may it rest in peace. The Kahiki stuff comes pretty close, considering it's frozen stuff you buy at the store.

Hey Hale Tiki,
I'm curious, where outside of Pittsburgh are you talking about for the great General Tsos? Pittsburgh is my home town.

Anyone else here from Pittsburgh? I miss Chin's Polynesian Garden in Monroeville (suburb). My parents used to take me there all the time when I was little. I remember so well the bamboo door curtains and the cool sound they'd make when you'd walk through them, and the puffer fish lamps over the bar, and the Fu Manchu mugs, and the little tiki paradise they had in the foyer, complete with waterfall, pond, and koi (and turtles). That must have been where my tiki fascination started...

Deery Luau

It's in a small township called Hopewell, right next to Aliquippa. It's 5min from the intl airport. It's called Empire Palace. It was started about 18 years ago by a family that moved from China. I went to school with their son, he still works there. Other side of the city. Really amazing General Tso's though. I lived in DC for awhile and wasn't impresed with any places, and there's 1 in Philly that makes my top 10.

My mom was raised in Aliquippa! How crazy is that?
Sadly, Baltimore/DC does not have any good tiki spots, BUT we do have Vera's White Sands about an hour or so south of Baltimore. I have been reading the posts of people who live in California and Florida and am green with envy over all the cool tiki places they have at their disposal.
In Pittsburgh, there is a good tiki bar, creatively called the Tiki Lounge. It opened a few years ago on East Carson Street in the South Side. You walk through a giant tiki mouth to get in the place! Great overall decor, too.

By the way, Hale, where is this Top Ten tiki place in Philly?! Since my boyfriend is from there, we go up quite often (only a 90-minute drive). We'd LOVE to check it out!

I couldn't tell you the address for the life of me. It's in Chinatown, around arch, or Vine, or something. It's called HONG KONG PEKING DUCK PALACE. I haven't been there in a few weeks, but I get in when I can. They're waiting on a liquor license, but the first page of the menu is actually a bunch of tiki drinks (fog cutter, navy grog, mai tai) and i'm dying to try them. It's not bad, 10.95 for a HUGE platter of general tso's. The portion seems to change depending on the night, as does the quality of the food. Never get takeout, always eat in, slow nights are best, and don't woryr that you're the only roundeye that eats there. The clientel is 90% asian. Aloha!

We'll definitely have to check it out! Mahalo for the info!

Not to be annoying, but how do they have a tiki drink menu without a liquor license? Are they served "virgin"?

[ Edited by: Deery Luau on 2004-10-29 13:55 ]

On 2004-10-27 19:38, Hale Tiki wrote:
So for those of you that don't know, SAM's Club, and I'm sure other retailers carry Kahiki brand General Tso's Chicken.

Hmmm... I'd be interested to compare this thread with the other one going on recently that is TRASHING Wal-Mart (with good reason).

Boycott the evil empire, or get our Kahiki brand foods BY ANY MEANS NESCESSARY?

A real ethical conundrum for midestern Tikiphiles!

That it is. I wonder if the brand has any association with the restaurant.

Oh, and they have the menu, because getting a liquor license in philly is a long, arduous, and sometimes impossible process. it can take anywehre from 6 months to 2 years. it's rediculous. they plan on having the drinks, and just haven't gotten the license yet. since they planned on serving them, they jut had it done when their menus were printed up. some of them are even pitures in traditional tiki mugs.

ALOHA

So, what you are saying is that the HONG KONG PEKING DUCK PALA-tians are just a horrible tease...traditional drink mugs and all! Humph!

On 2004-10-31 10:51, Hale Tiki wrote:
That it is. I wonder if the brand has any association with the restaurant.

Yup, it does. Check out this link to the Kahiki's Web site. http://www.kahiki.com/supermarketfrozen.php

On 2004-10-31 18:29, Deery Luau wrote:

On 2004-10-31 10:51, Hale Tiki wrote:
That it is. I wonder if the brand has any association with the restaurant.

Yup, it does. Check out this link to the Kahiki's Web site. http://www.kahiki.com/supermarketfrozen.php

I'm afraid that the association is in name only. Kahiki brand frozen processed foods do not taste anything like the Kahiki restaurant. I was suprised that someone liked the General Tsos chicken, I find it inedible.