"Eat Tofu... It's Good For You!"
(808) 845-2669 • 961 Akepo Lane, Honolulu, HI 96817 (Map)
We had the fantastic opportunity to work with two of Mid-Pac Institute’s finest sophomores, Travis and Bailey, to put together a short feature about Aloha Tofu. “Hiki No” features student produced content on PBS (Oceanic Cable – Ch. 10). If you can take time out of your busy Thursday night schedules, skip on over at 7:30 pm…
They asked a number of tough questions and I hope my answers were adequate, but take a look and give us your thoughts!
Today, June 23, 2014, Senator Mike Gabbard honored and commended Aloha Tofu Factory as an Innovate Hawaii Manufacturer of the Year Finalist (Small Company) in the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association’s inaugural TASTE Awards 2014. He presented Paul Uyehara, President of Aloha Tofu, with a framed certificate from The State of Hawaii Senate. Aloha Tofu Factory was selected for displaying innovation and growth in the last year through increased hiring, sales growth, and investments in the food manufacturing industry. Aloha Tofu Factory was commended for striving to manufacture and distribute products that represent the spirit of Hawaii.
We at Aloha Tofu are humbled and greatly appreciate the honor bestowed upon us. Mahalo to Senator Gabbard for sponsoring this commendation and his continued support! Mahalo to our customers…we will strive to provide the freshest tofu for many years to come!
We went to a special Natto Dinner. All dishes are made with NATTO!!!!!????? This incredible event was put on by Chef Le and his family (and good friends!). We’re pretty traditional when it comes to natto, eating it with egg, green onions and shoyu on hot rice so we really weren’t sure what to expect. The pop-up restaurant concept certainly works well when introducing new, exploratory cuisine and this was no different. Please take a look at the dishes we were able to enjoy and experience! You might want to try making some of these yourself! As we ate, I jotted down some notes about the different dishes. Does it make you want to eat natto?
1. Natto Vichyssoise
Hint of Natto, sweet, like melted ice cream, different layers of flavor- crunchy Natto bits…
2. Oyster – Natto froth, green apple, guava kombucha.
Very light flavor that played with the oyster well!
3. Burny Shallots, tofu, black garlic, duck fat, tarragon, Natto jus.
Interesting combination – slightly sweet, salty, mellow flavored – shallots were a wonderful compliment
4. Caramelized Pork Belly
So many different textures and flavors! Crunchy, sweet, tender, smooth!
5. Confit Egg Yolk
Never tried a gouda mousseline before! Great combi with the egg yolk and Natto/seaweed brioche!
6. Mango-Natto granite, yogurt!
That,,,Was,,, different. Interestingly enough, however, all the components worked well!
7. Natto Andagi – Guiness anglaise, fig, Natto brittle
Good combination for the Irish/Okinawans out there! TIL natto can be made into a dessert!
A sincere MAHALO to Chef Andrew Le and his brother, Alex, for inviting us to the special meal! We certainly wish them the best of luck as they share their passion for culinary creativity with more people in Hawaii!
This week, Aloha Tofu Mousse began selling at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider!
They have Aloha Tofu’s Chocolate Cheesecake Tofu Mousse, Strawberry Tofu Mousse & Oboro Tofu!
I visited Lawson at the Sheraton Waikiki too!
To find it, just walk toward Waikiki Beach from the main entrance.
Cheesecake Tofu Mousse & Pineapple Tofu Mousse will be delivered tomorrow!
Please check them out!
11 Students from Ms. Tokuda’s Japanese class toured Aloha Tofu Factory. They learned about Tofu manufacturing and the company’s history. Of course, they enjoyed sampling our products.
As part of their Japanese class assignment, Ms. Tokuda instructed them to describe tofu in Japanese. (i.e. “Tofu is white and soft” or ” Tofu is delicious and cube-shaped.”) They tried to speak in Japanese and all were very positive and cheerful. We hope to see them again!
They sent us wonderful thank you cards!!!
If you were born in Japan, you probably shopped at Lawson, the famous convenience store in Japan.
This is Lawson at the Sheraton Waikiki.
You can buy delicious Japanese foods…such as Musubi, Sushi, Sandwiches, and more!!!
I found our good friend Sun Noodle’s cold Udon & Soba too!!!
Sweets from Panya!!!
And then… Of course….
ALOHA TOFU MOUSSE!!!
Today was the debut of our Mousse in Waikiki!
Please check them out!
We went to the Children’s House on Friday, April 19, 2013 and taught the kids about Tofu!
Paul, a former Preschool teacher, shared his hand-made story boards.
After listening to Paul talk about Tofu, the children sampled Yudofu, Soy Milk, and Strawberry Tofu Mousse.
…of course they like the mousse the best!!!
Our newest flavor…Blueberry Tofu Mousse. Call the factory at 845-2669 for availability. Or stop by and try our other tofu mousse flavors – Chocolate, Cheesecake, Strawberry, Coffee Caramel, Green Tea and Pineapple!
A CAGE OF FIREFLIES closed Sunday, March 3rd after an extended run of entirely sold-out performances. Congratulations to playwright Daniel Akiyama, director Phyllis Look, props team Monica Cho Coldwell and Squire Coldwell (who initially contacted Aloha Tofu), and the entire company. Many thanks to everyone at Kumu Kahua Theatre and a Cage of Fireflies for using our humble product as a prop in your production. We appreciate your support.
Above is a photo of the company, plus State House Rep. Marcus Oshiro, whose family was also a benefactor for the production. (Monica and Squire are at far left, front and back row.)
Above is a photo from a scene in the play of the tofu (in box) about to be made into champuru!
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JAL 60th Anniversary Commemorative Flight
Misa and I had a wonderful opportunity to fly for free! JAL (Japan Airlines) has been celebrating its 60th year of operations in Hawaii in 2014. We were invited to board a flight that took us from Oahu to the Big Island and back. Thanks to the great weather, we had clear views of Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Kahoolawe and Hawaii! It was like taking a chauffeured limousine ride around the island, but this was a little bigger…and OVER the state!
Apparently there are a lot of people who like to dress up in airline uniforms so they had these available…Misa almost looks like a pilot, but they said I couldn’t make it as a flight attendant (something about not having the “right look”…!)
We joined approximately 200+ lucky guests and enjoyed JAL’s great hospitality. Members from the Miyazaki and Okinawa Kenjinkais, the Lanakila Senior Center, media and other, various organizations all got to participate. The JAL staff really went out of their way to make this a successful event. Although it may have seemed like a simple event to celebrate JAL’s special anniversary, the logistics to utilize airport facilities and even to fly around the state must have been a tremendous challen
At the pre-boarding at Gate 34, there was lots of food and drinks and…Aloha Tofu Mousse and our special Soymilk Pudding! JAL was kind enough to ask us to provide these desserts (chocolate, strawberry, pineapple, and green tea mousse, Soymilk pudding with either caramel or strawberry topping)!
Special Guest and newly elected Governor Ige got to try our Soymilk Pudding!
Misa seems to believe I was sleeping when she took this photo, but I was either reading something or contemplating life’s deeper meaning…really!
A great big ARIGATOUFU to Mr. Murayama, Keiko, Mike, Dan and the JAL staff for a wonderful time! I can’t wait to see how they do their 70th anniversary!