Once a month, Daniel Anthony lays down his farming hoe, puts on a malo, loads his five kids into his car and makes the trek from his green Kaneohe farm into the concrete jungle of Waikiki.
Destination: poolside at the sleek, contemporary Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach hotel. For four hours, his kids enjoy the outdoor amenities while dad connects with tourists gathered for an authentic Hawaii experience.
The experience: laulau making.
Guests pick their own stack of luau leaves from a long poolside garden filled with an abundance of kalo, initially planted for its beauty. All the while, Anthony talks about the significance of the kalo plant to Hawaiian culture.
At a nearby table, wrapping follows. Meats packed in the leaves vary from month to month. Sometimes there’s hamburger, sometimes pork or beef. Last month was a treat, with a pork-belly filling.
“Fold the two sides in, then fold over the other ends,” he said, demonstrating. Rather than tying up ti leaves, as is traditional, the whole bundle is quickly wrapped in foil. Soon a tray is filled with a heaping pile of laulau ready to be cooked in the hotel’s kitchen.
“This is just enough of an experience for the guests to be inquisitive,” said Anthony. “At this level, you can get people to appreciate our culture. Most visitors want this kind of experience.”
The free program began after Pamela Davis-Lee of Hokupaa, a cultural tour company, noticed the kalo and told hotel general manager Charles Young just what was growing in the garden. She suggested creating a program around the plant, and later brought Young and Anthony together.
“After finding out we have taro growing here and learning the significance of it, I wanted to bring an authentic experience to the hotel,” said Young, originally from Australia. “Food is always a bridge. Everyone can fill their bellies and talk about food and culture, and what it means to themselves.”
Back on the lanai, teacher and students waited patiently for the laulau to cook, getting to know one another as Anthony pounded kalo from the garden on his wooden board with his stone.
“This is the type of environment where I actually make friends,” he said. “There are some people with whom I’ve kept a relationship afterward, because this is something authentic where we both have something to give. I teach them something, I get a little bit of their vacation time.”
By the time the laulau was finally ready, Margaret Ma and Sani Reyes, visitors from Orange County, Calif., had developed an appetite. They unwrapped their morsels and dug in, then gave a thumbs up.
Both said the dish reminded them of foods from their own traditions. Ma thought laulau was similar to Chinese joong, stuffed rice wrapped in aromatic leaves, bound with string and steamed. Reyes said it reminded her of tamales, masa dough stuffed with meat filling, wrapped in corn husk or banana leaves, and steamed.
“I notice that lots of different cultures have food like this with a similar cooking method,” said Ma.
The women said they had already checked out of the hotel but returned for Anthony’s event.
“I want to do anything that has to do with culture,” said Reyes. “I love learning about other cultures.”
Join Daniel Anthony at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach hotel, 349 Seaside Ave., from 2 to 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday monthly for an afternoon of kalo education, laulau making — and eating — and lots of talk story. The event is free.
