Farmer's Market at HMSA

I enjoy going to farmer's markets....especially when they have goodies I can instantly shove in my mouth!I was across the street at Walmart during lunchtime, and I noticed the Pig and the Lady sign. I was like...'YES!!!'....I know what I am having for lunch. I finished my errands and walked across the street. There were not a lot of booths set up, but I walked the whole thing just to see what they had. It looked like they were mostly feeding people from the building....so lines were not long.Thank goodness I walked the whole thing instead of eating my usual pho french dip at the Pig and the Lady, because there was a food booth called BUTA. They were doing porchetta sandwiches and that was a moral imperative!The sandwich was very, very good. The bread was warm and soft...mainly because they griddle the bread with the juices from the porchetta as the butter. They also warmed up a slice of porchetta on the griddle as well so everything was nice and toasty. There was fresh greens on the sandwich and what looked like large slices of onions, but turned out to be slow cooked potato slices.....money!The porchetta itself was very juicy and full of herbs.....normally when I have had it, it tends to have a saltier taste, and this didn't.For those of you that haven't had porchetta before, it is normally pork belly, stuffed with herbs and the pork loin, and slow cooked....sort of a pork on pork turducken....I will be going back here for another porchetta sandwich...and I think there was a vendor selling smoke aku and pa'i'ai....yummy....

The farmers market at HMSA is very small with limited options. They are located right across the street from the Walmart parking lot. The great thing is that it is very close to where I live, only about 2 blocks away so it's super convenient for me. There are also open only on Fridays from 11am to 2 pm but it's great to have fresh vegetables for the weekend. In addition to fresh vegetables, there are a couple of other vendors selling things like organic vinegar and plate lunches. It's great to think that a health insurance company would be thoughtful enough to host a farmers market for their employees and the nearby public. It's definitely recommended if you live nearby but because it's so small I really wouldn't go out of my way to make it to this location if you are not close.

My sister works at HMSA and told me about this farmer's market. I was visiting last week (May 15th) so the timing was great to check it out! After a quick pit stop at Walmart and Sam's club, we walked across to the front of HMSA. It's a small farmer's market but I think it is just right, considering the lack of space to set up booths, etc... All the vendors were so friendly and offered quite a few samples...I loved the quinoa edamame spread, homemade salsa, pao de queijo (Portugese cheese bread)! Deeelish! The only gripe I had was with the Kaloman booth, one buggah (the tall fair-skinned guy) was not friendly, no aloha spirit in giving fair share of samples. My sister knew one of the things I wanted to do was buy kulolo during my visit. The other guy with dark hair (maybe the owner? He was super friendly, made conversation, genuine aloha spirit.) They announced to him I was VISITING from the mainland. Anyways, it was my moddah on the right of me, my sister on da left and they both got spoon samples, like he bypassed me? So I grabbed the sample out of my mom's hand and gave da tall buggah da stink eye. Now it was delish like no other but cause of dat buggah, I could NOT fork my money over to support local products. Not this time. Sorry. Now I didn't want to cause a scene, but I caught that rudeness. I just prayed for this buggah's spirit really hard cause I couldn't believe how he was super rude. He got lucky. I could've been the (learned) mainland bitch and shown my LB hood side, which is loud and ugly. Next time I visit, he will remember I'm kama'aina.

HMSA's farmers market was organized by their employees of the Well-Being program and it is one of the things they're doing to make HMSA a happier and healthier place to work and to serve the community. They are located on the cross streets of Roycroft and Keeaumoku St. and is open every Friday, from 11am-2pm. Vendors do vary and will not always be the same. This is a simple and small neighborhood market with fresh produce from Waimanalo Farms. If you're feeling tired of everything else, G-Town Catering has been pretty consistent and are always at the market. They are one of my favorites for local style lunch. Some of their lunch plates range from $5-$15. Nani Kore will satisfy your stomach with their yakisoba and pork belly kimchi as well. Recently The Stick and the Ball just joined the force providing the public with their parfait. This is made fresh as you order them and is pretty tasty. There are days when I just don't feel hungry but rather feel dehydrated. Instapressed has quenched that thirst with my favorite drink flavor, Fruitburst. The Hibachi was also delicious with their flavorful selection of Ahi Poke. A nice new addition is Taste Yum with their tasty Indian food. They are a bit pricey for the amount of food they give. However, their chicken masala is very tasty with fresh naan. Some Vendors also worth trying are:-Not Just Desserts (sinful pastries, cakes and desserts)-Gourmet Island Breads (pastas, calzones, sandwhiches and hot meat plates)-Kaloman Products (pa'i'ai, taro, vegan)-Pressed for Thyme (Thai Food)-Cold Fyyre (delicious ice cream)-Vixayvong Farms)-Bistro Blends (food oils, spices)Street parking is limited or you can make your way to the market after shopping at Walmart.

Yay I finally made it to this farmers market that is literally a 5-minute drive from my place!Since I was in the area (needed to get something from WalMart), I decided to peruse through the farmers market at HMSA for a takeout lunch.Mmmmm something cooking definitely smelled good. It may have been the woodfired pizza. However, I opted to get a plate lunch from the neighboring tent (G-Town Catering, I believe, was the name of the vendor). The menu selection looked good: Garlicky Fried Rice, Kalua Pig, Salmon, Shoyu Chicken to name a few. I also stopped by a table that sold prune mui, mango mui, lemon mango & li hing pineapple. After a few samples I had to purchase some to take home. There was also another vendor with some yummy desserts and another vendor that had clam chowder and other small lunch items, which I can't seem to recall. Steps away on the other side of the building (Keeaumoku) there were vendors with fresh produce. Luckily it wasn't crowded so it made it pleasant to walk through. However, they seemed to attract a reasonable amount of people and a good mix of workers and people (like me) exploring the neighborhood. The only thing that was weird was the flow of the market since it was scattered around the front and side of the building. Very small selection of vendors as compared to the other farmers markets that I've been to. If I'm in the neighborhood again during lunch, I may stop by again. However, not something I'd go out of my way to go to.

During the tropical storm Iselle build-up, I was at Wal-Mart buying water... along with 1.2 of the 1.3 million people in Hawaii. I parked in the back of the garage and I saw a sign to the effect of "HMSA Farmer's Market is cancelled this Friday." Wait, what? Farmer's Market at HMSA. I had to check it out, so I went back the following Friday... and sure enough, it was a farmer's market. Now - some people like a "traditional" farmer's market... ya know, where you barter with actual farmers for bushels or corn and fresh-out-the-ground carrots. Personally, I like the KCC-esque type of farmer's market that is actually more "eat-the-street" than "farmer's market." This one has a little bit of both (and I emphasize "little bit" because it's a pretty small farmer's market... but hey, it's on a damn sidewalk; whattaya expect). Anyways, I'm assuming the food vendors in the immediate area hate when Friday's roll around... because none of the people in the area have any reason to go anywhere else for lunch. And here's a Pro-Tip - you can thank me later... NOWHERE else will you find The Pig and the Lady without a line... yes "that" Pig and the Lady... the one with pho french dip and crystal meth meatballs (totally not what they're called... I only say that because they're so damn addicting... I'm pretty sure they're pork... but ya get what I'm saying). Also there's this rolled up porky-herby-spiced-up amazing thing that one of the other vendors has and makes a sandwich out of. I couldn't pass on it (and I'm like two sandwiches in at this point - the french dip and the meatball). Well, I sure am glad I didn't pass on this sandwich... even after pigging out on the Lady (ha ha... see what I did there), I still made room for one of these sandwiches... best decision of the day! Washed it down with a li-hing lemonade served in the cliche mason jar. The only thing missing was live music and a beer garden (but you do have homeless people talking to themselves... and they smell like alcohol... kinda the same!)

**** HMSA FARMER'S MARKET NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OFF LIFE SUPPORT ****.Passing by the Hawaii Medical Service Association and saw the banners for a "Farmer's Market." had some time to kill so I took a look around. Total waste of time. About 10 stalls, mostly grease wagon food billed as "gourmet." Yeah right gourmet kimchi cooked in a parking lot..The "farmers" stalls were stocked out of Costco crates. The bags of shallots were labeled "product of China"..You're better off buying at the Walmart across the street. Cheaper, better quality, and no exhaust fumes.

The selection is diverse each week but they normally have something for everyone. And the best part, it's all healthy.

This market is still in its infancy with limited space because it uses HMSA's sidewalk, looping from Keeaumoku to Rycroft, but definitely worth checking out.Fresh produce? CheckKimchi-based soups and sandwiches? CheckProbiotic local yoghurt? CheckSmoke meats? CheckLemonade stand? CheckLocal honey, nut butter, poi, aku, the best of vietnam's cuisine, porchetta sandwiches, and more? Check, check, check and check!! Nalo farms, Waimanalo farm, The Pig and The Lady, Happy Heifer, and Nani Kore are some of the few vendors you will find here, with variants from one Friday to another at times. Its size works for those who don't have the time to browse through a full-on market and the elders who come to shop and just want to pick up a thing or two. It's not overwhelming and very manageable and makes for a great alternative to what's in the area.Not sure who saw grease wagons there but that review sounded more like somebody has beef with HMSA than an actual review of the market itself. As for buying at Walmart, so much for complaining about produce from China, Dude!! There is one vendor HMSA could and should do without and that's Vixayvong Farms. They're not pleasant and some of their produce does look fishy with labels from retail or wholesale stores indeed. I've tried looking them up but it seems their "farm" was shut down so not sure what kind of operation they run. I've asked them questions about chemical use and they're very dodgy. Buy the stuff that naturally requires little to no pesticide to be safe and stay away from the rest (i.e. citrus fruit).Members get to use the HMSA center and stop for lunch at some of the tables set up for them to grab a bite.Also, HSMA's security staff stands by to ensure the safety of the elders coming to either shop or visit the center, which is a nice feature, me thinks.