I have my friends at the Kauai TripAdvisor Forum to thank for the tip about the Anahola Farmer’s Market as this is one place not to miss. Good thing I knew that the market was off of Highway 56 and that we needed to turn toward the mountains (mauka) on Hokualele Road. Even knowing that we almost missed it. Coming from the north this was the turn.

If you are coming from the south look for these signs:

When we were on the island (Sept to Oct 2010) the market was open on Saturday and Sunday from about 10 AM until about 5 PM but just know that it is a tiny market compared to the others on the island. The day we were there had a small amount of fruit and veggies as well as two other booths with food products. From what I read on tripadvisor there are a variety of other booths that show up from time to time.

These were the BBQ tents. There were also tables available for eating on site.

One of the booths was selling Auntie Lillikoi products but since I have tried these before I didn’t check it out. Then this lady at the other booth told us to come over for desert when we were done with our BBQ. Well that lady was Barbara Oki. I had seen her the week before at the Coconut Festival in Kapa’a giving out samples. Turns out Barbara had a diner called the Oki Diner for 14 years on Kauai and was known for her coconut syrup that she served there. She said now that she is in her 80′s her kids told her she needed to retire. She has come up with this product which is a dried powdered version of her coconut syrup. You just add water to it and you have a very tasty coconut syrup. We tried the syrup and it has a wonderful concentrated coconut flavor without the flakes of coconut. You can also use the powder to make Haupia Tapioca Pudding, pina colada, smoothies, and Haupia Pudding Squares just to name a few things. We tried the tapioca pudding she had there, one with banana and another with sweet potato and that was it we were hooked. The packages were just thing to bring home for a touch of the island back on the mainland. You can check out her product on her website Kauai Tropical Syrup.

Barbara Oki, her son and daughter-in-law giving out samples.

Now the real reason to come to this market is for the BBQ. The day we were there this was the menu:

I had read on the forum that the wild boar was good and that you got almost a pound of meat so we only ordered one plate for the two of us to share. Boy were they right. It was more than enough meat for two.

There was more meat piled under all of the veggies!

First lets talk about the wild boar. It was not what I expected. It was hands down AMAZING. By far the best pork I have ever had. You heard me, better than any pork I have had in any restaurant or anyone’s home. It was cooked just perfect, moist, tender, falling apart, not fatty with a sauce that was not overpowering with extra on the side for dipping. I would have never guessed that this was wild boar. I’ve had many different types of wild game and this even beat out the tamed venison I had in New Zealand. They also served this with corn on the cob. We had picked up some the week before at a sunshine market and it was not very good. This corn was roasted and had some spices and butter on it that took it to the next level. Then there were those roasted red potatoes. They also were amazing and we were fighting over the last one. All of this for $10!! I just had to go over and tell them how much I enjoyed the meal and after introducing myself to Reggie he agreed to pose for the blog.

Reggie cooking at the grill.

While we were talking story he explained that they didn’t shoot the boars but actually trapped  them. Then he took me by surprise when he asked me if I’d like to see a wild boar. I’m always one for a new experience so I took him up on his offer. He got his son Eric to take us across the street to their home. Eric explained that they are totally self sufficient and live off of the land growing whatever they need. He and I talked gardening while he showed me some of the trees they grow.

Breadfruit on one of their trees.

Just one of the banana trees on the property.

Then we came to this small cage and there they were, the three little pigs.

Ok, so they are not exactly the three little pigs, they are the three little boars. But it was a surprise to see the small version of where lunch had come from. Turns out they found these three after their mother had been trapped and are now raising them until they get bigger. Have to say even after meeting these little guys face to face I’d go back in a second to have another plate of that amazing wild boar. I just don’t need to see them again.