mmm-yoso!!!

Honolulu - Kim Chee II, Hanauma Bay, and Musubi Cafe Iyasume

After our wonderful dinner at Izakaya Uosan and our walk along Ala Moana Park, we took a stroll thru Ala Moana Center up to Kapiolani and proceeded to head back to the hotel. I had a moment of nostalgia when we passed the corner of Kapiolani and Ke’eaumoku. And no, it wasn't because there used to be a KFC on this corner forever. Close to the corner was a favorite stop of mine; Tower Records. And even before that was a place near that corner that in my mind changed the music scene in Hawaii. A club named Toppe Ada Shoppe.

Of course, locals from my generation will either quickly say C&K or Kalapana, whom we saw there. But, on one of the times my friend's brother sneaked us in, I saw a certain band. I still remember the lyrics - "I wish upon a Summer moonbeam....."

Oh-kay.......that got to me. I had to play the song. I still have the CD in one of my boxes too!

Just in case you like listen:

Anyway, the Missus noticed that it was almost 615...so She said we needed to head to the Lanai in Ala Moana Center. You see, around 630-645 Musubi Cafe Iyasume in the Lanai which I've posted on before will sometimes have discounts on their musubi, which I'll have for breakfast. And on this evening....

Yep, 50% off....so I had breakfast for the next morning!

Ah yes, breakfast with a view.....

Musubi Cafe Iyasume (In the Lanai - Ala Moana Center)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814

We'd be heading back to Ewa Beach on this day, but the Missus told me She wanted to go to Hanauma Bay first in the morning. Sigh. I don't know what it is, but on the last couple trips, the Missus has been wanting to do some tourist kind of stuffs. And like many of those "activities", I hadn't been to Hanauma Bay in like 30 years? Back in those days we used to take frozen peas to feed the parrotfish! Of course things have changed a lot since then; nowadays if you don't have a local or military ID, you need to make reservations, there's an admission fee of $25 per person and $3 parking for the small lot. The reservations are actually for the 9 minute orientation video which you need to view before heading down to the beach.

We found some good parking and got into the line at our appointed time for the video before heading down to the beach.

It still looks quite pretty on the walk down.

We had brought our own snorkeling gear. Once in the water....well, it was kinda sad, while there were fish in abundance, the coral looked bleached. The coral must really be under stress. I immediately wanted to leave to not contribute to this.

Seeing this made me glad that there are limited hours and visitors for Hanauma Bay..... I remember it being so beautiful.

On the way back, we decided to stop for lunch. It seems that the Missus is starting to take to more local kine places these days. So, I asked if She wanted to try Meat Jun? She asked "Meat Jun, what's that?" Well, I explained that it is basically a take on Jeon (seen it spelled jyun as well) in which marinated beef is dredged in an egg and flour batter before frying. Much like Soegogi-Jeon which I've had before. You can find a nice recipe on Maangchi's blog. I'm not sure of the exact history origins of Meat Jun in the islands and was shocked when I first moved away and couldn't find the dish at Korean restaurants in SoCal. I did see it at different plate lunch places, I think Homestyle Hawaiian might still serve it. I tried it twice after moving to the mainland and it was terrible, so I just gave up. But now, driving back to town on Kalanianaʻole Highway opportunity struck as the Missus said "ok, let's try it!" This meant an instant detour to Waialae Avenue and a place that I had gone to when growing up in Kaimuki. I know ex-pat Kama'aina's and longtime "FOYs" Kyle, James, and Alan are smiling and nodding their heads now. Of course it's Kim Chee II, which has been around since...like the sign says 1977! Ho' am I old or what?

We parked in the back lot. There's a back entrance to the restaurant, but I just wanted to thru the front of the place. It was just after 11 and the place was already pretty busy with a lot of hungry "bruddah's" waiting to eat!

Of course I went with the "lunch special"; heck at $14.90 it's cheaper than a sandwich I had here last week!

I told the Missus that I think the portion might be pretty big so She decided just to get some tofu. I also told Her that "KC2" is really a local kine Korean place, so set your sights low with regards to any panchan. Which ended up being regular cabbage slightly pickled, not fermented. It actually goes ok with the BBQ.

The Tofu with "veggies" was fine; though the shoyu sauce tasted kinda watered down.

But of course, I was just waiting for what I had ordered. Which was enough for the Missus and I to share for lunch

 Ok, the beef in the meat jun was nicely marinated, if a bit on the chewier side; sweet-salty-hint of garlic, very bulgogi-ish, the batter was a bit thicker and gritty than I prefer and it had been over-fried a bit. But, the Missus enjoyed the mild eggy-ness and the combination of flavors. She liked the meat jun dipping sauce which also had a hint of vinegar, some spice, balanced sweetness.

She also enjoyed the chicken, nice soy-sweet and hint of pungency. She told me "this is like the chicken you make...way better than the terrible 'Hawaiian BBQ' stuff in San Diego!"

The rice was fine. The mandu wrapper was a bit thicker and chewier than I recalled; though the filling was nicely flavored.

And so, based on this meal we have a Meat Jun convert! Of course, the Missus now wants me to make this at home!!! 

Kim Chee II Restaurant
3569 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

This was a nice blast from the past for me! I also recalled a Korean restaurant that used to be near Monsarrat that I used to go to. Perhaps my "FOYs" will remember that place?

Speaking of "FOYs", I'd like to thank Kyle, James, and Alan for keeping Kim Chee II on my mind all these years!

And thanks so much to all of you for dropping by and allowing me to share a place from my hanabuddah days with you!

Honolulu - Izakaya Uosan

There was a reason we didn't go overboard at SXY Szechuan. I had made dinner reservations at a restaurant in walking distance from the Ala Moana Hotel. Of course, this was yet another place I read about on Kathy's awesome website Onolicious Hawaii. Having read Kathy's posts for almost two decades now, I've learned to trust her recommendations. Plus, the photos, and the menu at Izakaya Uosan just seemed right for us. It was interesting to note that the restaurant doesn't do online reservations; I had to call to book us two seats.

Izakaya Uosan is located right on Kapiolani Boulevard, between Piikoi and Pensacola. It was a nice little walk to the somewhat discreet location.

We were instantly greeted upon entering. The small place is quite low-keyed, but filled up quickly. One of the gentleman working; I believe his name is Daniel was awesome.

Looking at the photo of the menu on Kathy's post, I just got the feeling that this be a meal the Missus and I would enjoy.

A quick look at the menu and I was rain' to go. But first things first.....we need to start the meal on the right foot. Which meant an ice cold and refreshing Asahi. Heck, even the Missus enjoyed Her “biru(s)”. Yes, She actually had more than one!

We placed our orders and food started arriving. 

You know if there's Foie Gras on the menu....well, how about Foie Gras with O-toro ($13.50/each).

My goodness, the texture! Rich, decadent, the tare wasn't over-powering and really complimented the dish. The sweet-offaly foie gras was wonderfully creamy. The rice was prepared decently, the shari not too strong.

The next item to arrive is the restaurant's version of Shirasu Chips; basically Baby Sardine Chips ($9).

Crisp, light, very savory!

The Kani, Kani Miso Gunkan Maki ($13.50) was slightly sweet, umami bomb.

For some reason; the rice here seemed a bit drier and harder.

Our least favorite dish of the evening was the Gyutan ($14.50).

It hadn't been grilled to our preference and was rubbery and lacking in the smokiness that we associate with binchotan. The flavor had a bit of a metallic "edge" to it as well.

Of course we had to get the Braised Daikon with Foie Gras ($19.50), right?

 Think of this as Daikon no Nimono crowned with a sizeable piece of seared foie gras and caramelized onions. As Kathy noted in her post, this skewed toward the saltier side, even though the onions tried to bring a hint of sweetness to balance out the flavors, it was not up to the task. This might be a case of "too much of a good thing"?

We didn't have much time to dwell on things because the next item to arrive was the Uni - Truffle Butter - Egg Yolk -Rice ($24). Oh my goodness!

One could imagine that a dish like this could get a bit "out of hand"; but in this case the preparation was so balanced! From the soft and tender rice, which had a nice gave off that wonderful aroma of truffle. The truffle added a earthy-mushroomy-floral component and didn't overwhelm the dish. Ah yes, the egg yolk, one of the Missus's favorite food items; when mixed in added another layer buttery-creamy texture. Speaking of creamy; good lord, the Hokkaido Uni, the oceany-sweetness took me to a very happy place! We loved this dish!

Wanting to actually get some fish; we asked Daniel what he would recommend. He told us that the Sumagatsuo (Mackerel Tuna) was super fresh, wild caught, so we went with the Tataki ($28). Oh man, I know folks who used to diss Kawakawa, which is what we called the fish growing up, but man, this was delici-yoso!!!!

This must have been a good sized one; the fish was firm, yet yieldingly tender. Quite refreshing with the onions and shoyu!

The Missus loves Her Chawan Mushi; so when She saw a version with Uni ($19.50), She had to order it.

My goodness, the delicate-velvety texture; the creamy-umami chawan mushi, crowned by that oceany-sweet-savory uni. That says it all.

After this we were done for the evening! We liked the laid-back, friendly Service. And guess whatthe tab was with our drinks and food....$190 for two! Can you imagine what this would cost in San Diego? This was our favorite meal of the trip. We can't wait to return!

Izakaya Uosan
1221 Kapiolani Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 200-5077

It was still fairly early, so we walked down Piikoi and then along Ala Moana Park back to the hotel.

Which gave me time to contemplate how lucky I was. To be able to have such a wonderful meal, to call Hawai'i my "home", to be able to travel, and to be able to "share" this wonderful meal with you all!

And also, to have gotten to know folks like Kathy over the years, whose opinion and recommendations I can trust!

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Honolulu - Lunch at SXY Szechuan and the Honolulu Coffee Experience Center

After an evening of revisits, we awoke the next morning with...well, no major plans other than doing a bunch of shopping. We had reservations for dinner and needed to get the usual...you know Lupicia, Hawaii Cookie Company, a couple of stuffs we needed for this trip, etc. We had thought of driving to a couple of places but ended up not using the car at all during our stay at the Ala Moana Hotel! We just had fun walking around.

We started off needing some caffeine to start the day. There are a couple of places really close, but instead, I wanted to walk the couple of blocks over to the corner of Kapiolani and Kalakaua. This is where the  "main" location of Honolulu Coffee, which I used to have when my office was located in downtown. I hadn't had their coffee in ages and I guess now they are a major chain!

Another reason I wanted to visit was that old timers like me will remember when this was the location of Coco's Coffee House (before that it was Kau Kau Corner - but I'm not that old!), which closed and was replaced by the Hard Rock Cafe in 1987.

So, that's what it kinda looks like now. We crossed on over and walked on in.

It's a pretty nice space. It's in a circular design, with a coffee roasting machine at the center.

At the front is where you place your order. The folks working are really friendly.

The Missus ordered a Peaberry Pour Over, I got a Cold Brew, and was a bit hungry, but didn't want anything too sweet. The young man recommended the Elote Scone, toasted, with a friendly warning of "it might be too salty, though." The drill goes this way, all basic coffee drinks and pastries are served at the counter. They call your name and you pick up your order. Cold Brew is specially made at this counter in the back by the area you can buy coffee beans.

You are given a number and they'll deliver the pour over to your table.

Also, all the pastries for the chain in HNL are made here.

Of course my order was ready first.

   The Cold Brew was ok, on the milder side. The scone was pretty good, not overly dense, nice chunks of corn, and not too sweet. I did not find it to be overly salty. Quite filling to be sure.

The Missus's pour over was delivered on a tray with two cups on the side.

The Missus said it seem to lack "character", She is also more into natural processed African beans and this was washed process and fairly mild.

Still, we liked the "vibe" of the place; think of it as a local version of a Starbucks Reserve Roastery.

Honolulu Coffee Experience Center
1800 Kalakaua Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815

After our coffee we headed up Kalakaua. I showed the Missus where we lived for a short time. It was a cheap apartment, I had to support my Mom by those days. It cracks me up that it is now a parking lot....probably makes more money than the apartment did?

I then took the Missus to Don Quijote because most other places weren't open yet. Of course, you might remember it as Holiday Mart and then Daiei? Mega chain "Donki" owns many markets you might know, like Marukai, Times, Big Save, and even Gelson's. Anyway, this location of Don Quijote is open 24 hours It's huge; think of it like a huge Asian Grocery combined with Daiso on steroids. It kept the Missus busy for over an hour!

At which time we could head to Ala Moana to do our shopping. By the time we were done we decided to drop off our bags to our room and get some lunch. It was quite hot and we wanted to walk to lunch. I mentioned a place I'd read about on Kathy's wonderful Onolicious Hawaii, with the interesting name of SXY Szechuan. It's got an interesting location facing the parking lot on the second floor of the Kona Street side of Ala Moana, right where the ramp comes up from Piikoi. San Diego has been quite the wasteland for Sichuan in recent years and some Liang Cai and a veggie sounded good.

It was just after opening time for lunch; 11am and we were the first customers served.

The place isn't very big, though it also wasn't too busy on this day. There was only one other party eating during our entire meal.

We ordered two liang cai and some ong choy.

First up was the veggie. Man, this was so tender!

Even the stems! Great garlic tones; just enough salt and pepper, the Missus loved it.

We also got the Fuqi Fei Pian a favorite of hours. 

This had a lot more slices of beef than tripe; but the tripe was so tender as was the beef, which in this case seemed to be brisket. The seasoning had decent spice, good ma-la (numbing hot) with a balance of sweet and sour flavors. It wasn't overly salty and could have perhaps used more garlicky-pungent tones, but this was pretty good overall.

The last item was something I saw on Kathy's post on SXY; the Pork Belly with Garlic.

   Slices of pork belly wrapped around cucumber; looking at it, we were reminded of what we'd had Mountain House. There was a good amount of garlic, but the pork belly was too thick which really made it gummier than we like. While the cucumber did add a nice palate cleansing refreshing note, the overall flavor seemed a bit off balance. It needed more spicy, sweet, and savory. Funny thing, we dumped all the drippings from the Fuqi Fei Pian on the remainder of this dish and we enjoyed it much more. Still, the version at Mountain House is a step above this. Though, we did enjoy our meal. If we weren't staying in a hotel and unafraid to have leftovers, we definitely would have ordered more.

Still, this was a nice meal, the spice really had an almost cooling effect on us as we walked back to our room.

SXY Szechuan (Ala Moana Center)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814

We decided to have nice nap in air-conditioned comfort, then do a bit more shopping before heading off to dinner!

Thanks for stopping by!

Honolulu - Revisits to 8 Fat Fat 8 and Agave & Vine

In case you noticed; it's been kinda quiet here the last couple of days...... We're back "home" on Oahu enroute to another destination. We're spending a few days on each leg of the trip. Usually, Cathy will take over the posting duties, but she is quite busy this time around. So, I'll try to do posts when I am able to.

We flew out on HAL again. It's a fairly long flight so we enjoy the lie flat first class seats; though the planes are looking a bit worn with chips and stains, and such.

And we do wish that HAL had a lounge at SAN, but perhaps things will change with the recent merger with Alaska.

We do like the crew on HAL, very nice and friendly. And while having a 930am flight means it's just to early to "partake" in certain liquid refreshments......though we were amazed to see others just going for it! I mean, like four mai tais going for it....and that's only what I colunted before taking my nap!

And on this flight, we enjoyed the Mushroom Frittata, which also featured tender broccoli.

And the Honey Dew Melon was so sweet and refreshing.

And since "FOY" Peter really enjoyed the photo of the "Aloha Shirt" salt and pepper packet on our last HAL post, here's what it looked like this time! This one is for you Peter!

I managed about an hour nap while the Missus got in a good 2-3 hours.

We always love the views when arriving.....

This time around we again decided to spend a couple of nights in town.....again at the Ala Moana Hotel. When I asked the Missus what She wanted for Her first meal....I had the next night's dinner planned....She said 8 Fat! So, my apologies, I realize I just recently did a post on 8 Fat Fat 8 and hope you don't mind another? I know it's pretty late on a Saturday night, so I'll keep it short.

Of course, I got my usual.

This time, in anticipation of what we were ordering; the Missus went with a Tsingtao.

As for the food; well it's been really hot and humid so we decided to skip the Crispy Gau Gee this time around. And replace it with something more refreshing. I know I've mentioned how much I enjoy Cold Ginger Chicken, which is quite similar to Kwai Fei Ji. While the Missus doesn't like those type of cold chicken dishes; She does love the sauce. There was Cold Ginger Tofu on the menu, so we decided to try that.

First off, the tofu was nice and "beany". The pungent-aromatic-"spicy" ginger was really refreshing and savory. This was quite enjoyable....the Missus has now directed me to make this when we get back home.

The other two dishes, the Ong Choi and the Fat Fat Chicken were every bit as good as on our previous visit.

It's really fun to note that after all of these years; the Missus is really enjoying the "local flavors".....it's not just about poke anymore. 

As an awesome bonus, we chatted a bit with one of the Servers and mentioned that I had been a customer from the opening of 8 Fat back in the mid-80's. It just so happened that Mary was working. She is the daughter of the original owner of 8 Fat, Sai. She took over when he passed on in 2003 and has run it ever since....now longer than even Sai did! I had spoken to her a couple of time way back when, but of course that was so long ago. We had a wonderful time chatting about her dad; the "old regulars", many iof whom have passed on or are just too old for "Pau Hana" time. She also now has a 14v year old son. These days, she usually works until 5 or 6, then has to head home, but on this evening she happened to be inhouse. She told us that a Japanese series was coming by to do a short piece on 8 Fat! That sounded so awesome.

We talked about what kept me coming to 8 Fat, the vibe, the folks, and of course the food and she left us with something her dad always told her:

"You can get Bud Light everywhere....but you cannot get good Chinese food everywhere!"

8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille
1327 S Beretania St
Honolulu, HI 96814

After dinner we walked back to the hotel....but like the last time, we decided to stop by Lanai in Ala Moana Center for a nightcap. It was Thursday, so I got $2 off the cocktail I had there the last time; the smoky - citrusy Bad Decisions ($12 - $10 on Thursdays).

We had a fun time talking to the woman who runs the place. She loves Tequila, so we chatted about our visit there!

Agave & Vine (In the Lanai - Ala Moana Center)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814

Yes, I know it's kind of a rerun...but it just goes to show how much we enjoyed things previously.

And we'd just like to let you know; because of our travels, things might be kinda sporadic here over the next few weeks! I'll try my best to get some posts done!

So, as always, thanks so much for dropping by!

Honolulu - Off the Hook Poke Market (Manoa) and Heading Home

On the way back from doing Manoa Falls, there was a poke shop I had heard about and wanted to check out. Right on East Manoa Road, across the street from the parking for Manoa Marketplace resides Off the Hook Poke Market. 

It's in the same building as a place I used to go to once in a while Andy's Sandwiches. The place looked fairly bustling when we arrived, but the line moved quickly. And like many local poke shops, you walk to the counter and order. 

Anyway we got two half pound containers of poke. We were actually going to just go to Kaimuki Park and grind; but ended up eating at Oahu Grill instead. Good thing we had a cooler with us.

We ended up having it with our last dinner (along with jiaozi of course) before leaving the islands.

We thought that the Cold Ginger Ahi was the better of the two.

The ahi was good quality and tender. The sauce, in the spirit of local kine ginger-scallion sauce; you know, to make cold ginger chicken, was pretty strong and kind of dominated the dish. 

We also got the Hawaiian Style Ahi. Basically Ahi Limu Poke.

This one was very salty; couldn't make out the inamona, and the fish, while decent, wasn't as good as what was used in the cold ginger ahi.

Well, maybe we should have just gone back to Ono Seafood or the new location of Fresh Catch in Kaimuki (where they've moved). But what the heck, still better then what we get here in SD and it's good to try, right?

Off the Hook Poke Market
2908 East Manoa Rd.
Honolulu, HI 96822

We were flying HAL First Class again. The Premier Lounge at Daniel K. Inouye Airport is nothing to write home about. There are some standard drinks and the snacks are the stuffs you get in-flight; pretzels, peanuts....you get it.

Still, we enjoyed that the seats for HAL first are lie-flat; that's the main things for us.

Dinner was an ok beef brisket.

Strangely, my favorite thing was the Rainbow Cake; which reminded me of small kid time!

So, there you go. Another trip home in the books. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Honolulu - Oahu Grill (Kaimuki) and Manoa Falls Trail

The day after returning to the Ewa side, the Missus wanted to do more stuff. She also wanted to restock on the Li Hing Mango from the Crack Seed Store. After thinking a bit, I came up with another easy hike walk in an area the Missus wasn't too familiar with. Another place I hadn't been to in decades; Manoa Falls. So, I drove on up H-1, got out on University and drove into the valley. Man, how long since I'd been here? There was a point in time when I used to go to the long defunct Contemporary Cafe to listen to the Guitar Monster do his thing. Another long  story that perhaps I'll get to one day.

Anyway, the drive to the parking lot brought back major memories. Here's one for the old timers; remember Paradise Park; all the birds, the duck show, the maze? I know it closed in 1994, it kinda looks haunted now! I also recall scenes from Lost were filmed here as well. Anyway, all those memories came back as I parked the car in the lot that used to be for Paradise Park ($7). And of course, I instantly saw the parking lot "manager" walking over!

I guess my "papers" must have been in order were allowed to pass. And we headed off to the trailhead. But not before seeing this....

Yes, that young lady had a cat on a leash! She was heading off the trail, so I'm guessing the two of them went hiking ?!?!? You never know what you'll see.....

Once past the shipping container entrance; the trail was quite lush, cool, and even though we ran into folks along the way, quite peaceful.

It's a super easy hike to the falls; which was just a trickle on this visit.

I could tell the Missus was a bit underwhelmed by this hike, but I enjoyed it.

After our hike, we headed on over to the crack seed shop. We did make one stop in Manoa with the intent of having what we got there for lunch, but we ended up keeping it in the cooler and having it with dinner. More on that in a future post.

Getting to Kaimuki, parking was hard to come by on this day. I ended up finding a spot in the lot between 11th and 12th avenue and we walked on up to the Crack Seed Store. Mission accomplished, we walked back to the car. Just as we were about to leave I noticed a place I had read about several yards away.

You know, I've been quite sad since my go-to Ono Hawaiian Food closed. I had also been wanting to get some lau lau and I found out the Missus was craving it as well. So, here was our opportunity.

The restaurant is fairly small; like a single hallway. They were somewhat busy, but we had no problem finding a table.

There seemed to be only two women working; one doing the front of house, the other cooking.

We got some lau lau ($16) and an a la carte Tripe Stew ($15).

 The Missus enjoyed the poi, it was nice and thick but not too sour. The lomi salmon was interesting; the Missus liked it, but I think it's because it was mostly tomatoes, there was hardly any salmon in this.

As for the lau lau, well there was a good amount of smoky-chlorophyllic-savory luau leaf. The pork was on the dryer side, but not bad. Overall pretty good and much better than what we can get here in San Diego. The Missus enjoyed the haupia.

As for the Tripe Stew.

There was a nice offal-ly funkiness, good acidity, the tripe was a bit on the chewy side, but the savory tones did well.

This was a nice local meal; which is something we were looking forward to.

Oahu Grill
1137 11th Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

After lunch we took a stroll down Waialae. It was interesting to see the new businesses and yet it was finding the places that had been there since "small kid" time that brought a smile to my face.

And Jade Building is still the tallest in the area.

There's a part of me that will always be from Kaimuki.......

Thanks for stopping by!

Honolulu - The Kaka'ako Farmers Market, Leʻahi (Diamond Head) Summit Trail, and Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden (Kaneohe)

**** No food in this one. But we did go to a wonderful Farmer's Market and did a couple of hikes walks......

After our rather disappointing dinner at XO, we decided to take a short stroll. The Missus really enjoyed the shops on our previous visits to Kaimuki and we noticed that this shop was open.

It was one of those "zero waste" shops....ok, now we're really talking hipster, right? We had actually visited Origins Grocer when we did our Staycation at the Lafayette, so we were a bit familiar with places like this. 

This place however, had kinds of "stuffs", and the Missus got a couple of things. The service was so friendly.

We'll probably return when we're in the area!

Keep it Simple Honolulu Zero Waste
3466 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

We then "wen hele" back to the hotel and got back in time to see this lovely sunset.

We got up fairly early the next morning. 

Funny thing, in the comments of my post on XO "Mar", a fellow ex-pat Kama'aina, mentioned the changes to various neighborhoods and made special mention of Kaka'ako. And man, is she right! So many developments! I remember when John Dominis was the fancy place and really stood out off Ahui street. In fact, I got a really funny story about JD's, but I think I'll save that for another day. I had first read about the Kaka'ako Farmers Market on Onolicious Hawaii, Kathy's fabulous blog....so much good info!

Anyway, it was Saturday morning and we didn't have to check out until 11, so we decided to walk on over. Man, so many changes in what used to be the Ward Warehouse/Ward Center area!

Things were just getting started and were pretty mellow when we arrived.

Some interesting booths.....

It was after Lunar New Year, so there was the "mini" Dragon thing going on.....

And of course, there were the pooches!

This one really cracked me up....

This is a literal definition of "doggy bag", right?

The Missus was intrigued with the bowls at this stand.

We ended up buying two wooden bowls. The woman running the stand was so enthusiastic and spent a good amount of time going over the curing and maintenance of the bowls. She even gave us paper instructions. 

Unfortunately, we really didn't find anything we wanted to eat. So, we headed on back to the hotel.

Still, we had a fun time.

Kaka'ako Farmers Market
919 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814
Saturdays 8am - 12pm

We walked on back to the hotel, stopping to pick up some coffee. After checking out, we got some stuffs to eat from Foodland Farms....we had a cooler which came in handy.

And then we headed to our next stop before driving back to Ewa Beach. Among all the places the Missus wanted to check out, the Diamond Head Summit was one of them. Like I mentioned in my posts on visiting Dole Plantation and doing the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail, these are places I hadn't been to in over a quarter of a century at least. In fact, the last time I did DHC was maybe more like over 30 years ago? Back in those days you didn't have to make reservations nor pay to visit. These days you do. Anyway, we arrived at the assigned time.

Of course the Missus thought of this as being a mere walk. All I could recall about my previous visits were the stairs......

Which weren't too bad. And of course the views are quite nice.

It was a lovely clear day.

After descending back into the crater we had a nice, light picnic lunch. Then headed on back to Ewa Beach...except....the Missus still wanted to do "something". As we headed past Moanalua I had an idea. There was a place I hadn't been to since the mid-80's. Some good friends took me there, just to check it out. Now, like 40 years later, I was interested to see how things were. So we drove up H-3, then over to Kam Highway, turning on Luluku Road. The Missus was wondering what the heck we were doing in what seemed to be a residential neighborhood. Eventually, the road becomes the access road to Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden, established in 1982.

There was ample parking and heck, I don't even remember there being a visitors center here when I last visited?

We enjoyed the displays and stories.

Especially this. And no, it's not what just entered your mind......

It's the seed of the Coco de Mer!

We decided to take one of the loop walks, which was fun and interesting.

The gardens have specific areas with different regions represented.

And the views of the Ko'olau is wonderful.

If I recall, the gardens sprouted (pun intended) from a project of the Army Corps of Engineers. To prevent flooding a dam was built and the gardens were created surrounding the reservoir. Which is named Loko Waimaluhia ("Lake of Tranquil Waters"). This is my favorite part of the gardens.

It is indeed quite tranquil. We were pretty much the only folks in the place. Well, except for the ducks who ran the place.

While this might not be a destination if you're just on Oahu for a couple of days unless you're a plant lover. If you want some relaxing views of the Ko'olau Range, this might be the place for you!

Plus, admission is free!

Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden
45-680 Luluku Rd.
Kaneohe, HI 96744
Open Daily (Except for major holidays)
9am - 4pm

After our nice relaxing walk, it was time to head back to Ewa Beach!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO Restaurant (Honolulu)

During our last stay back "home", while staying in town we wanted to have a nice meal. I had really enjoyed spending time in my old neighborhood. Having grown up in Kaimuki, it was crazy to see all of the changes. The place is kinda "hipster" now.

I made reservations at a place I'd heard good things about. I was really interested because growing up, this was the location of Kwok's Chop Suey. I actually went to school with one of owner's sons whom my my old friend from "small kid" time that I ran into at Ala Moana Park told me still lives in the old family home in Kaimuki!

The shop is now home to XO Restaurant.

Having grown up here, being exposed to the blending of cuisines, and then the heyday of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, I'm a bit cautious about the food being more "con-fusion" than fusion at these places. And yet, we'd had good meals at at Senia and more recently at Merriman's in Kamuela. So, I thought it would fun checking out XO.

We easily found parking in the tiny lot, but that was probably because we had early reservations. Upon entering I cracked up as I had the mental image of old Kwok's Chop Suey floating thru my head. Of course it no longer looks like that place.....

Our Server was very friendly (of course) and we ended up getting the Tasting menu along with extra "shooters".

Things started out with the Hamachi & Fake Crab Cannoli.

 Not sure why a place of this caliber would be serving surimi in one of their dishes. But whatever. We enjoyed the crisp "scorza", but the filling was too sour and salty. We really couldn't make out much. So, I guess having fake crab in this really didn't matter, eh?

Next up was the Hamachi Crudo.

The fish was of decent quality, but all the "stuffs" really didn't elevate the dish. That's shishito, not a serrano, so no spice, the dollops of aioli had no flavor...the slices of orange added just a slight hint of citrus and there was a sour flavor to this that we didn't enjoy. We would have enjoyed a nice savory touch, a bit of pungency, or decent acidity. 

The Thai Beef Larb Salad was mostly iceberg lettuce and mayo.

It was like having a few pieces of bulgogi on lettuce squirted with Kewpie mayo.

The Buttermilk Fried Chicken was more on the crunchy side, than crisp. The sauces, especially the sourish tzatziki really detracted from the overall flavor of the chicken.

The Shrimp and Calamari Seafood Pancake, obviously a take on Pajeon was texturally nice.

 The exterior was nice and crisp, but the calamari was super tough, the glaze salty which over-powered the entire dish.

The Grilled Pork Belly Ssam was one of the better dishes of the evening.

The pork was nicely grilled, good seasoning, the Gochujang sauce was on the salty side, but not too bad as the lettuce could calm things down.

One "shooter" per person was included in the meal. You could add shooter for $11 each. Since there was A-5 Wagyu and Foie Gras on the list, how could we just get one each? We both got an additional "shooter". Which was basically said protein item on slightly seasoned rice.

 The A-5 Wagyu was fine, if a bit overcooked, quite beefy in flavor. And you know me, if there's foie gras on the menu...... The foie gras was also a bit overcooked, but at least it wasn't what we call "dog food". It was pleasantly livery and sweet. I'm thinking it could have been elevated even higher with a nice glaze.

The desserts presented a funny moment, the Missus did enjoy the "Bunny Butter Mochi".

It's the Wagyu Fat Caramels that kind of freaked Her out; She got flashbacks to beef tallow butter and other versions in the past. Actually, it was perfectly fine.

As for the meal? Well, it was quite disappointing. More "con-fusion" than fusion. Kind of sad since we were looking forward to this dinner, especially since the location has a special place in my heart. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. 

XO Restaurant
3434 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

Oahu - Bean About Town (Kaimuki), the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail, and Revisiting Ono Seafood

After having a wonderful evening in town, I woke to this view in the morning.

Of course the Missus wanted to go "holo-holo" right away, but I needed some nourishment to keep up with Her. I had picked up some extra musubi from Iyasume the day before and had that for breakfast. And then we headed out. Of course we needed to get our caffeine fix on the way.

I'd read about a place named Bean About Town in Kathy's page about dining in Kaimuki and it seemed like the perfect spot. They have two shops; one in Waikiki and the other on Waialae avenue. Old timers would recognize the location as it is in the same building as where Tanoue's (which I wrote about in my post on visiting the old Neighborhood) used to be. It's a small shop, there looks to be like 5 parking spaces, so street parking is likely. If I recall, this used to be a barbershop when I was growing up.

Right across the street is Kaimuki Park where I wasted spent a good amount of time as a kid.

The Missus ordered a pour over, which She loved, and I got a nice, fairly stiff Cold Brew.

We had a nice seat on the little two top facing Waialae avenue. The Missus liked the design on my cup so much that She sent me back in the shop to see if they had some merch with the same design.

Sadly they did not.

Well, it looks like we've got a place to get some coffee next time we're in the area.

Bean About Town
3538 Waialae Ave. Suite 101
Honolulu, HI 96816

From here we headed up Waialae to H-1, then Kalanianaole, past Hawaii Kai and Sandy's to our destination; to the gate that says Kaiwi Scenic Shoreline. Since we were fairly early we found parking. I had the Missus pick out some hiking (for Her this was all "walking") spots for this trip. She chose the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail. Man, I don't remember the last time I was here.

Anyway, it's a paved trail, that goes a bit over the mile each way, with a 500 foot elevation gain. I actually enjoyed myself. I even saw Pele's Chair on the path up!

And of course, this is Hawaii, so you will see rainbows.

You can see inside Koko Crater too.

Of course the Lighthouse is not accessible for folks and is off limits, but you do get glimpses of it.

There's a lookout at the top.

And of course, there's Rabbit Island.

It's a wonderful panoramic view.

I heard that you'll often see whales, but none for us on this day.

Still, it was a fun activity for us. I was having fun "playing tourist".

Afterwards we headed back; stopping in Aina Haina for a short break. On our way back to the hotel, the Missus said, "can we go to Ono Seafood, I want more poke!" Man, we hadn't been to Ono Seafood since 2019! It's long been a favorite of the Missus since we first visited in 2011. So, we headed on over and easily found parking in the lot for the apartment building the shop occupies.

We got a poke bowl with brown rice and shoyu poke. Then headed back to the hotel to eat.

Though it seemed a bit more "sauced" than  I recall, this was ono! Good shoyu, we enjoyed the limu, which adds a nice oceany-crunch. The fish was tender without the chewy connective tissue that permeates poke here in San Diego. Still one of our favorites for sure.

Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Ave. Apt 4
Honolulu, HI 96816 

After lunch, we headed back on "footmobile" (when's the last time you heard that one?), walking to Don Quijote on Kaheka, then returning to Ala Moana to do a bit more shopping, before returning to our room for a nap.

Looking out at the lanai, I noticed that I wasn't the only one enjoying the view.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Honolulu - Returning to 8 Fat Fat 8 and a Nightcap at Agave & Vine

After our stroll and my interesting encounter at Ala Moana Park we headed off to dinner. We had reservations for a more hip and popular place the following night, so when I asked the Missus what She wanted for dinner, She said "8 Fat Fat 8"! Really! I think She was thinking of me since, as I noted in my post from 12 years ago, I had been a customer from when the place opened in 1985. And even after I moved away, I would still drop by for Pau Hana Time when I was "home". And as I noted in that earlier post, even the Missus enjoyed Her visits there. Still, it had been almost 12 years since my last visit, so this was going to be interesting. We walked on over from the Ala Moana Hotel.

I was quite happy to see that the Midas Muffler is still next door, Times and Grace's across the street. Sometimes, things like that bring on nice memories and a feeling of comfort.

It was a Thursday around 430 and the place was very quiet. The nice guy working told me that Mary, the daughter of the late owner Sy wasn't working this evening.

As I mentioned before, when I'm here, it's full "local mode" for me and I'll be getting a Bud Light "bucket ice". You don't mess with tradition.

In case you're wondering what a Bud Light is going for at 8 Fat, these days......

Yep, it's a whole four bucks! The Missus had a glass of the House White ($6), which She said wasn't bad.

I just had to get some Crispy Gau Gee ($10).

Well, this was even better than what I'd had the last time. Perfectly fried and crisp, the filling was moist, with great pork and shrimp tones. The Missus has never been a fan of this dish; but it's the style of Chinese Food I grew up with, so it was a nice taste down memory lane.

The Missus wanted some veggies so we ordered the Ong Choy ($10).

Man, talk about the generous portion! Stir fried nicely, still crisp, great chlorophyllic flavors, the garlic added a nice pungent counter point.

And of course we had to get the signature Fat Fat Chicken ($15).

The Missus loved this. It was one of Her favorites way back when and I guess it still is. Crispy skin, good salt and pepper (and probably msg), tender meat. I'd forgotten how good this is!

We talked to I believe his name is Reagan and I mentioned some of the regulars from back in the day. Many have passed and he told me that most of those regulars stopped coming after Covid. Kinda sad, but then I started seeing folks arriving, so it looks like a whole new generation of folks have adopted the place.

Yes, it's divey, but for me it feels like home! And I was happy to finally be back here; and apparently the Missus was too. Because according to the Missus, this was Her favorite meal of the trip!

8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille
1327 S Beretania St
Honolulu, HI 96814

We took our after dinner "walk" back to the hotel. Once there, we decided to get a nightcap. Earlier that day, when we picked up lunch at the Lanai in Ala Moana Center, we noticed a bar in that food court. We decided to check it out. It's named Agave & Vine and they were pretty busy on this Thursday evening.

The bartender seemed to know quite a few of the customers. There were folks bringing food from other stalls and restaurants over to eat, have a drink, and perhaps watch some sports.

I decided to try the Bad Decisions ($12).

Not bad, not watered down, nice citrusy tones, the Blanco came thru nicely. The Missus enjoyed Her glass of wine.

It was a nice little stop right across the bridge from the hotel.

Agave & Vine (In the Lanai - Ala Moana Center)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814

Once in our room, I sat on the patio, just enjoying the city lights.

It was great to be "home"!

Thanks for stopping by!