My family's Oahu and Big Island Trip Report
Dec 20th, 2012, 12:13 PM
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My family's Oahu and Big Island Trip Report
Because the wait is too long until my next trip is not until March 2013...thought i'd pass the time by writing about our last trip...please bear with me. 
My husband, sister, and parents traveled to Oahu (4 nights) and Big Island (Kona, 6 nights) this past June. Here’s our Trip Report! Background: me and the hubs are both 36 with no kids and we travel to Hawaii at least once a year, staying on different islands. My sister, 30 and parents in their 60s have not been to Hawaii for about 15 years, and never to the Big Island. They are not really “beach” people, but they do like local culture, and we are a huge FOODIE family. We love to eat and try local cuisines! I wrote these in “parts” consisting of days…and I’ve done 3 so far…enjoy!
Day 1: Oahu
We arrived in HNL around 3pm, direct flights from New York on Hawaiian Air. We all liked the airline and although we were in coach, we thought the included meal service was nice (meh food, but considering it was a 10+ hour flight, more than welcome). In-flight entertainment only had a few free videos playing on loop, and the rest you had to purchase. We prepared by storing movies on our ipad/laptop. Service was great, and definitely lots of “Aloha” to get us in vacation mode. We all drank POG (passion orange guava) because I told everyone that they should.
Arrival at HNL – it was hot and humid, and my husband went to get our rental car. We got a full sized car, as that was what our budget would allow, and lemme tell you, it was a little hard to squish 5 adults and our luggage but we made it, with some of the luggage on our laps. LOL.
Our hotel was the Hyatt Place Waikiki – modern and newly renovated, and quite lovely, at a good price. We booked two rooms, and my sister would be sharing with my parents. Check in was easy. They gave us rooms only a few doors down from each other which was nice.
We went for our first meal at Da Kitchen, a short drive away, and got a taste of local food, We got some saimin (noodle soup), a Hawaiian plate with kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, and chicken long rice, and some local style fried opakapaka with ginger and scallion. Ono! After that, dessert was at Bubbies, only a few minutes away for some mochi ice cream (ice cream covered in pounded rice dough, and frozen.). This is one of my sister’s favorite things to eat of all time, so we had fun trying different flavors. I recommend the Green Tea and Lychee.
Parking at the Hyatt Place though is 25 a night. My dad balked at how much everything is here. My husband decided he’ll look for someplace cheaper the next day. I head over to the ABC store, the closet one which is half a block away (and it’s a nice one too). My mom and sister love to shop, like me, and they had a lot of fun browsing all the knick knacks and souvenirs. My mom fell in love with the koa wood plates. I don’t know if she bought any right then but let me tell you she had a suitcase of koa wood stuff when she left Hawaii. My sister fawns over the Hello Kitty Hawaii merchandise. Since we’re all on east coast time, we’re all pretty tired at this point so we call it a night.
Day 2: Oahu
Up super early, my husband and I decide to get a workout in, because knowing my family we’ll be eating non-stop. The gym is small but has new equipment, and is located on the same floor as the small pool and the breakfast buffet. We were done with our workout right when breakfast buffet opened and we met my family there. The buffet is included with the price of your stay, and it was great! Best FREE breakfast I’ve had in a while! 2 different hot breakfast sandwiches, pancakes or waffles, oatmeal, yogurt bar, fruit, pastrires, breads, even an Asian station with miso soup, rice, pickles and kimchee. My parents loved this (we’re Chinese) as we never usually see this on the mainland.
And because we’re such a foodie family, after breakfast we did a short drive through Waikiki, then back up towards Leonard’s, because I thought we should all have some malasadas. We all split a few malasadas, and took some pictures. After that, since we were only a few blocks from Ono Seafood, I had to get a few boxes of fresh poke bowls for my family to try. Sitting out on the picnic table outside the small take out shopped, we indulged in some super fresh fish. We got the spicy ahi, shoyu ahi, and wasabi take (octopus) for my sister who doesn’t eat raw fish. We all admit poke is one of the greatest things ever. We vow to eat here again before we depart Oahu.
At this point, I think we’re (finally) full, so we headed up the Pali Highway to the Pali lookout where we take the customary “hair blowing in the wind” pictures. After that – we headed on over to Kailua for a look around. My mom wanted to visit a Whole Foods because she likes to see what local produce is for sale. We also got some Ono pops, because, well, we’ve never had any before. They were yummy!
We drove around some more, visiting the “Chinaman’s hat” aka “lizard’s tail” formations and taking pictures. Oh my family does love to take pictures.
We continued our journey towards the north shore. We stopped at Romy’s for some shrimp. It takes 20 minutes to order, and another 40 minutes to get our food. Was it worth the long wait? A reluctant YES. We got an order of the garlic shrimp, the fried sunfish, and steamed shrimp. Everything was delicious. The sunfish was fried perfectly golden – for all those squeamish about fish with their heads on, well then don’t get this. Shrimp were huge and plump with great flavor. The dipping sauces were great, instead of regular shoyu, their shoyu has a little kick to it, and they also had a sweet red chili dipping sauce. Yum. I wish the wait wasn’t so long. I’d come here again if I weren’t too hungry and was willing to wait.
Heading on up the North shore, we stop at Turtle Beach where we saw 2 giant sea turtles resting, and then to Waimea Bay Beach park for more pictures. It’s so beautiful up here, and my family thought the turtle sighting was super fun.
Heading into Haleiwa, we made the obligatory stop at Matsumoto’s. I got my usual: lillikoi, li hing mui, and lychee flavors with ice cream and azuki bean. I always get the plastic holder or else I’ll be a dripping mess. The wait wasn’t too bad, maybe 15 minutes. I’ve seen it worse. We all enjoy our shave ice and walked around Haleiwa a bit.
Heading back down, we stopped by the Dole Plantation, because my sister loves dole whip. Yes you can have shave ice and dole whip on the same day. My dad liked the pineapple cutting demonstration with the free sample of pineapple with li hing powder. My mom wanted to buy the pineapple cutter/corer that the lady was using in the demo, but they didn’t sell the exact same one in the gift store, it was made of a completely different material. You’d think they would sell what they were using but I guess not. We walked around the gardens outside a bit, but we didn’t go on the tours or the maze (was too hot). We were happy just hanging out in the gift store.
We drove back down the island and into downtown Honolulu – we stopped at a few places including Don Quixote, which is a huge Walmart-type store but with a lot more Asian products and food. My parents really enjoyed it as they saw a lot of Asian foods that weren’t readily available to us back home. My sister and I bought some Asian snacks and my dad bought 5 dollar bottles of wine which he enjoyed back at the hotel.
We also stopped at Ala Moana shopping center for a quick walk through. We also took a quick look at Shirokiya, which is a Japanese department store. We almost always pick up some stuff to eat here, either take out or eat-in. The 2nd floor is a foodie’s paradise.
Dinner was back near the hotel, at Tenkaippin Ramen. One long U-shaoped counter with a few other tables. We were lucky to find space at the counter. I tried the specialty, kotteri ramen, which is ramen noodles in a rich and very thick broth which is supposedly boiled for a long time and full of collagen. It was good, the soup takes a bit getting used to because it’s so thick, but they have this wonderful chili garlic paste condiment which really brightens the whole dish up and gave it a kick. I really loved that stuff and will go back there on another trip just for that chili paste.
After a long day of sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel for the night. I wish the hotel had a hot tub or Jacuzzi. It would have been fun to use at night. The pool was just too cold and the area windy. It’s ok, we were going to hit the beach tomorrow.
Day 3:
We woke up early again, which is really nice as we get to enjoy more daylight this way. After a quick bite at the breakfast buffet we head on out to the KCC farmer’s market. It was my first time here but I’ve always wanted to visit but never made it before. Nowadays they have another weekday farmer’s market in the evenings. I thought it would be a great place for my foodie family to visit and it didn’t disappoint.
The farmers market was wonderful, lots of fresh fresh produce, prepared food, and local products. It’s all about farm to table here. We sampled a lot of things, including local honey, juices, and fresh grilled small abalone from the Big Island. I think a plate of 3 costs about 10 bucks. They simply grill it and you can season it with anything from salt, lemon juice, to spicy sauces and butter at their fixin’ bar. Abalone looks like a giant oyster in its shell but tastes like conch/escargot. It can get tough and chewy if not prepared properly but let me tell you these were the most tender I’ve ever had! In Asian cultures, abalone is an expensive and rare delicacy so it was a real treat for us to have it so fresh and for such a great price.
Another favorite was the prepared foods at The Pig and the Lady stall. Southeast Asian cuisine prepared with fresh island ingredients. I got some stuff for my family to try: the curry loco moco, which was a delicious vegetable curry over rice, topped with a grilled island beef burger patty and a fresh island sunny side up egg. Sooo good! Also got the chicken with rice, which is boneless roasted chicken tossed with fresh herbs and sauce and served over chicken broth-cooked rice, it was outstanding. I loved them both. I hope the Pig and the Lady opens a restaurant, as that would be a real treat, although I don’t mind heading over to the farmers market and eating their food.
My mom bought some fresh mango and papaya (the golden flesh kind, my favorite), which we enjoyed as snacks later. Definitely will be returning to the KCC farmer’s market on a subsequent trip.
After the farmers market we decided to chill and (finally) head to Waikiki beach. So back to the hotel we go, and changed into our swimsuits. I did however, have to make a stop at the Diamond Head Bakery for a blueberry cream cheese scone. Delicious. And since we were driving anyways, we made a stop for some take out at Ono Seafood so we could enjoy some poke later. We just don’t stop eating.
We head to the stretch of beach closest to the Hyatt Place, which turns out to be a nice protected area with the beach wall. Swimming here was very easy. I enjoy swimming laps and the Hyatt pool just didn’t cut it so it was nice to be able to swim my laps here as there weren’t any waves. Even my parents went swimming and they are not beach people. There was also a parade going on that day down Kalakaua ave. My dad had a good time watching the parade and the floats.
After frolicking in the sun, we all did our own thing, I did a little shopping down Kalakaua with my sister in the heart of Waikki. My parents did the same thing but we walked in different directions. A lot of souvenirs and t-shirts were bought, and plenty of pictures taken. I think the hubs was napping through the afternoon and managed to polish off most of the poke from Ono seafood.
Our dinner was at one of my favorite places we ate at on our last trip to Oahu, Side Street Inn. We didn’t go to the original one but we headed to the one in Kaimuki. It is modern and comfortable. Note that the valet parking is 5 bucks but that the lot across the street is also 5 bucks so you might as well valet if you can’t find cheaper street parking.
Food was great, and service was super friendly. The place was PACKED even thought it was only 5:30pm. It is definitely a place for groups as the portions are large and sharing is the way to go if you want to try different things. We got the regular fried rice (yum), oxtail soup (special that day), fried pork chops, an upcountry salad which was sooo good, a tofu dish, and other little tidbits which we all ate. We polished off everything, even though I thought the portions were huge. We all gave dinner 2 thumbs up.
Back at the hotel, some of us split up for some night time shopping, and my sister went to Tiki’s around the corner to meet up with a friend who was living in Honolulu. We didn’t have too late of a night though since we were set for an early morning at Pearl Harbour.
Stay tuned.
My husband, sister, and parents traveled to Oahu (4 nights) and Big Island (Kona, 6 nights) this past June. Here’s our Trip Report! Background: me and the hubs are both 36 with no kids and we travel to Hawaii at least once a year, staying on different islands. My sister, 30 and parents in their 60s have not been to Hawaii for about 15 years, and never to the Big Island. They are not really “beach” people, but they do like local culture, and we are a huge FOODIE family. We love to eat and try local cuisines! I wrote these in “parts” consisting of days…and I’ve done 3 so far…enjoy!
Day 1: Oahu
We arrived in HNL around 3pm, direct flights from New York on Hawaiian Air. We all liked the airline and although we were in coach, we thought the included meal service was nice (meh food, but considering it was a 10+ hour flight, more than welcome). In-flight entertainment only had a few free videos playing on loop, and the rest you had to purchase. We prepared by storing movies on our ipad/laptop. Service was great, and definitely lots of “Aloha” to get us in vacation mode. We all drank POG (passion orange guava) because I told everyone that they should.
Arrival at HNL – it was hot and humid, and my husband went to get our rental car. We got a full sized car, as that was what our budget would allow, and lemme tell you, it was a little hard to squish 5 adults and our luggage but we made it, with some of the luggage on our laps. LOL.
Our hotel was the Hyatt Place Waikiki – modern and newly renovated, and quite lovely, at a good price. We booked two rooms, and my sister would be sharing with my parents. Check in was easy. They gave us rooms only a few doors down from each other which was nice.
We went for our first meal at Da Kitchen, a short drive away, and got a taste of local food, We got some saimin (noodle soup), a Hawaiian plate with kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, and chicken long rice, and some local style fried opakapaka with ginger and scallion. Ono! After that, dessert was at Bubbies, only a few minutes away for some mochi ice cream (ice cream covered in pounded rice dough, and frozen.). This is one of my sister’s favorite things to eat of all time, so we had fun trying different flavors. I recommend the Green Tea and Lychee.
Parking at the Hyatt Place though is 25 a night. My dad balked at how much everything is here. My husband decided he’ll look for someplace cheaper the next day. I head over to the ABC store, the closet one which is half a block away (and it’s a nice one too). My mom and sister love to shop, like me, and they had a lot of fun browsing all the knick knacks and souvenirs. My mom fell in love with the koa wood plates. I don’t know if she bought any right then but let me tell you she had a suitcase of koa wood stuff when she left Hawaii. My sister fawns over the Hello Kitty Hawaii merchandise. Since we’re all on east coast time, we’re all pretty tired at this point so we call it a night.
Day 2: Oahu
Up super early, my husband and I decide to get a workout in, because knowing my family we’ll be eating non-stop. The gym is small but has new equipment, and is located on the same floor as the small pool and the breakfast buffet. We were done with our workout right when breakfast buffet opened and we met my family there. The buffet is included with the price of your stay, and it was great! Best FREE breakfast I’ve had in a while! 2 different hot breakfast sandwiches, pancakes or waffles, oatmeal, yogurt bar, fruit, pastrires, breads, even an Asian station with miso soup, rice, pickles and kimchee. My parents loved this (we’re Chinese) as we never usually see this on the mainland.
And because we’re such a foodie family, after breakfast we did a short drive through Waikiki, then back up towards Leonard’s, because I thought we should all have some malasadas. We all split a few malasadas, and took some pictures. After that, since we were only a few blocks from Ono Seafood, I had to get a few boxes of fresh poke bowls for my family to try. Sitting out on the picnic table outside the small take out shopped, we indulged in some super fresh fish. We got the spicy ahi, shoyu ahi, and wasabi take (octopus) for my sister who doesn’t eat raw fish. We all admit poke is one of the greatest things ever. We vow to eat here again before we depart Oahu.
At this point, I think we’re (finally) full, so we headed up the Pali Highway to the Pali lookout where we take the customary “hair blowing in the wind” pictures. After that – we headed on over to Kailua for a look around. My mom wanted to visit a Whole Foods because she likes to see what local produce is for sale. We also got some Ono pops, because, well, we’ve never had any before. They were yummy!
We drove around some more, visiting the “Chinaman’s hat” aka “lizard’s tail” formations and taking pictures. Oh my family does love to take pictures.
We continued our journey towards the north shore. We stopped at Romy’s for some shrimp. It takes 20 minutes to order, and another 40 minutes to get our food. Was it worth the long wait? A reluctant YES. We got an order of the garlic shrimp, the fried sunfish, and steamed shrimp. Everything was delicious. The sunfish was fried perfectly golden – for all those squeamish about fish with their heads on, well then don’t get this. Shrimp were huge and plump with great flavor. The dipping sauces were great, instead of regular shoyu, their shoyu has a little kick to it, and they also had a sweet red chili dipping sauce. Yum. I wish the wait wasn’t so long. I’d come here again if I weren’t too hungry and was willing to wait.
Heading on up the North shore, we stop at Turtle Beach where we saw 2 giant sea turtles resting, and then to Waimea Bay Beach park for more pictures. It’s so beautiful up here, and my family thought the turtle sighting was super fun.
Heading into Haleiwa, we made the obligatory stop at Matsumoto’s. I got my usual: lillikoi, li hing mui, and lychee flavors with ice cream and azuki bean. I always get the plastic holder or else I’ll be a dripping mess. The wait wasn’t too bad, maybe 15 minutes. I’ve seen it worse. We all enjoy our shave ice and walked around Haleiwa a bit.
Heading back down, we stopped by the Dole Plantation, because my sister loves dole whip. Yes you can have shave ice and dole whip on the same day. My dad liked the pineapple cutting demonstration with the free sample of pineapple with li hing powder. My mom wanted to buy the pineapple cutter/corer that the lady was using in the demo, but they didn’t sell the exact same one in the gift store, it was made of a completely different material. You’d think they would sell what they were using but I guess not. We walked around the gardens outside a bit, but we didn’t go on the tours or the maze (was too hot). We were happy just hanging out in the gift store.
We drove back down the island and into downtown Honolulu – we stopped at a few places including Don Quixote, which is a huge Walmart-type store but with a lot more Asian products and food. My parents really enjoyed it as they saw a lot of Asian foods that weren’t readily available to us back home. My sister and I bought some Asian snacks and my dad bought 5 dollar bottles of wine which he enjoyed back at the hotel.
We also stopped at Ala Moana shopping center for a quick walk through. We also took a quick look at Shirokiya, which is a Japanese department store. We almost always pick up some stuff to eat here, either take out or eat-in. The 2nd floor is a foodie’s paradise.
Dinner was back near the hotel, at Tenkaippin Ramen. One long U-shaoped counter with a few other tables. We were lucky to find space at the counter. I tried the specialty, kotteri ramen, which is ramen noodles in a rich and very thick broth which is supposedly boiled for a long time and full of collagen. It was good, the soup takes a bit getting used to because it’s so thick, but they have this wonderful chili garlic paste condiment which really brightens the whole dish up and gave it a kick. I really loved that stuff and will go back there on another trip just for that chili paste.
After a long day of sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel for the night. I wish the hotel had a hot tub or Jacuzzi. It would have been fun to use at night. The pool was just too cold and the area windy. It’s ok, we were going to hit the beach tomorrow.
Day 3:
We woke up early again, which is really nice as we get to enjoy more daylight this way. After a quick bite at the breakfast buffet we head on out to the KCC farmer’s market. It was my first time here but I’ve always wanted to visit but never made it before. Nowadays they have another weekday farmer’s market in the evenings. I thought it would be a great place for my foodie family to visit and it didn’t disappoint.
The farmers market was wonderful, lots of fresh fresh produce, prepared food, and local products. It’s all about farm to table here. We sampled a lot of things, including local honey, juices, and fresh grilled small abalone from the Big Island. I think a plate of 3 costs about 10 bucks. They simply grill it and you can season it with anything from salt, lemon juice, to spicy sauces and butter at their fixin’ bar. Abalone looks like a giant oyster in its shell but tastes like conch/escargot. It can get tough and chewy if not prepared properly but let me tell you these were the most tender I’ve ever had! In Asian cultures, abalone is an expensive and rare delicacy so it was a real treat for us to have it so fresh and for such a great price.
Another favorite was the prepared foods at The Pig and the Lady stall. Southeast Asian cuisine prepared with fresh island ingredients. I got some stuff for my family to try: the curry loco moco, which was a delicious vegetable curry over rice, topped with a grilled island beef burger patty and a fresh island sunny side up egg. Sooo good! Also got the chicken with rice, which is boneless roasted chicken tossed with fresh herbs and sauce and served over chicken broth-cooked rice, it was outstanding. I loved them both. I hope the Pig and the Lady opens a restaurant, as that would be a real treat, although I don’t mind heading over to the farmers market and eating their food.
My mom bought some fresh mango and papaya (the golden flesh kind, my favorite), which we enjoyed as snacks later. Definitely will be returning to the KCC farmer’s market on a subsequent trip.
After the farmers market we decided to chill and (finally) head to Waikiki beach. So back to the hotel we go, and changed into our swimsuits. I did however, have to make a stop at the Diamond Head Bakery for a blueberry cream cheese scone. Delicious. And since we were driving anyways, we made a stop for some take out at Ono Seafood so we could enjoy some poke later. We just don’t stop eating.
We head to the stretch of beach closest to the Hyatt Place, which turns out to be a nice protected area with the beach wall. Swimming here was very easy. I enjoy swimming laps and the Hyatt pool just didn’t cut it so it was nice to be able to swim my laps here as there weren’t any waves. Even my parents went swimming and they are not beach people. There was also a parade going on that day down Kalakaua ave. My dad had a good time watching the parade and the floats.
After frolicking in the sun, we all did our own thing, I did a little shopping down Kalakaua with my sister in the heart of Waikki. My parents did the same thing but we walked in different directions. A lot of souvenirs and t-shirts were bought, and plenty of pictures taken. I think the hubs was napping through the afternoon and managed to polish off most of the poke from Ono seafood.
Our dinner was at one of my favorite places we ate at on our last trip to Oahu, Side Street Inn. We didn’t go to the original one but we headed to the one in Kaimuki. It is modern and comfortable. Note that the valet parking is 5 bucks but that the lot across the street is also 5 bucks so you might as well valet if you can’t find cheaper street parking.
Food was great, and service was super friendly. The place was PACKED even thought it was only 5:30pm. It is definitely a place for groups as the portions are large and sharing is the way to go if you want to try different things. We got the regular fried rice (yum), oxtail soup (special that day), fried pork chops, an upcountry salad which was sooo good, a tofu dish, and other little tidbits which we all ate. We polished off everything, even though I thought the portions were huge. We all gave dinner 2 thumbs up.
Back at the hotel, some of us split up for some night time shopping, and my sister went to Tiki’s around the corner to meet up with a friend who was living in Honolulu. We didn’t have too late of a night though since we were set for an early morning at Pearl Harbour.
Stay tuned.
Dec 20th, 2012, 08:26 PM
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I'm enjoying your report. Glad I ate before i read it, or else i would be starving now!
I like the walled in swimming areas too, and i think this is the "best" end of Waikiki.
How were the hotel rooms?
I like the walled in swimming areas too, and i think this is the "best" end of Waikiki.
How were the hotel rooms?
Dec 21st, 2012, 06:52 AM
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tifa, you're back with a trip report! I love it so far and can't wait to read more!
Just yesterday I reread your Maui Wowee trip report! I was thinking about our upcoming plans to go back to Kauai and wondering when we will make it over to Maui.
As I commented on your previous report my husband & I have been to Oahu (honeymoon, Aug 05) and Kauai four times (May & Aug 07; May 2011; Sept 2012). Kauai is our go to place and we can't stop going back! We are going back to Kauai in May 2013 along with my brother and his fiancee. It will be their first time to Hawaii. My husband and my brother's fiancee share the same birthday so we will be there to celebrate.
We are thinking that we will go to Kauai, again, in 2014 and go to Maui for our 10 year anniversary in Aug 2015. When we go to Maui I really want to stay here: http://www.maui.cc/BabyBeach.html I thought I would share the link in case you are interested for one of your return trips to Maui. I feel the same way about Hawaii as you do! I have a list of other places I would like to see but we can't stop going to Hawaii! We are also close in age as you and your hubs, we are 31 and we have no kids. For now, we want to continue going to Hawaii and we can get to the other places eventually!
Enjoying your report!
Just yesterday I reread your Maui Wowee trip report! I was thinking about our upcoming plans to go back to Kauai and wondering when we will make it over to Maui.
As I commented on your previous report my husband & I have been to Oahu (honeymoon, Aug 05) and Kauai four times (May & Aug 07; May 2011; Sept 2012). Kauai is our go to place and we can't stop going back! We are going back to Kauai in May 2013 along with my brother and his fiancee. It will be their first time to Hawaii. My husband and my brother's fiancee share the same birthday so we will be there to celebrate.
We are thinking that we will go to Kauai, again, in 2014 and go to Maui for our 10 year anniversary in Aug 2015. When we go to Maui I really want to stay here: http://www.maui.cc/BabyBeach.html I thought I would share the link in case you are interested for one of your return trips to Maui. I feel the same way about Hawaii as you do! I have a list of other places I would like to see but we can't stop going to Hawaii! We are also close in age as you and your hubs, we are 31 and we have no kids. For now, we want to continue going to Hawaii and we can get to the other places eventually!
Enjoying your report!
Dec 21st, 2012, 01:29 PM
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OMG: Mouth watered at the thought of Opakapaka, and then the stomach growled while reading the rest of your food adventure.
My favorite poke place is at Sam Choy's - the one on the way to the airport - http://tinyurl.com/d25fe3f - and even learned to make it from a fishing company rep - here in San Diego at Day of the Docks. So Ono!!!!
And haven't had Abolone in years - and didn't know they have it over on Big Island. We used to free dive for it north of San Francisco, but that's another story.
My favorite poke place is at Sam Choy's - the one on the way to the airport - http://tinyurl.com/d25fe3f - and even learned to make it from a fishing company rep - here in San Diego at Day of the Docks. So Ono!!!!
And haven't had Abolone in years - and didn't know they have it over on Big Island. We used to free dive for it north of San Francisco, but that's another story.
Dec 21st, 2012, 01:52 PM
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And here is a page including Tomashiro's market - which first visited back in the 70's. Was blown away with something like 9 (yes nine) different grades of Ahi - from a couple of $ up to $12 or some such. Just like different cuts of beef.
Much more expensive now.
http://tinyurl.com/cpkuw75
Much more expensive now.
http://tinyurl.com/cpkuw75
Dec 21st, 2012, 04:41 PM
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Nice trip report.
And a side note about parking near Hyatt Place:
Anyone can park at Aston Waikiki Banyan for $12/day or $72/week. You do not have to stay at the Banyan to get that rate.
Waikiki Banyan is #70 on this map. Almost right across the street from Hyatt Place.
http://www.discounthotelshawaii.com/waikikimap.html
And on the opposite end of Waikiki, there is alternative inexpensive parking at King Kalakaua Plaza for $15/day.
See this thread for info:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...hu_Hawaii.html
On the discounthotelshawaii link above, King Kalakaua Plaza is just to the right of Gateway Hotel #16 and across Kalakaua Ave from Luana Hotel & Post Office at Ft. DeRussy.
And a side note about parking near Hyatt Place:
Anyone can park at Aston Waikiki Banyan for $12/day or $72/week. You do not have to stay at the Banyan to get that rate.
Waikiki Banyan is #70 on this map. Almost right across the street from Hyatt Place.
http://www.discounthotelshawaii.com/waikikimap.html
And on the opposite end of Waikiki, there is alternative inexpensive parking at King Kalakaua Plaza for $15/day.
See this thread for info:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...hu_Hawaii.html
On the discounthotelshawaii link above, King Kalakaua Plaza is just to the right of Gateway Hotel #16 and across Kalakaua Ave from Luana Hotel & Post Office at Ft. DeRussy.
Dec 22nd, 2012, 11:10 AM
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Thanks everyone!
@aloha - the hyatt place waikiki rooms were very nice, all new and renovated. A note, the bathroom only had showers, no tubs. My parent's double-double room was pretty big compared to our king bed room. There is a fridge and coffee maker and decent closet space. I enjoyed it and would stay there again, if I don't do a condo.
@louistraveler5 - Great to hear from you again! Wow Kauai ...sounds like a great trip! I will eventually make it back there again. Thanks for the link! The condo looks fantastic! I will keep it in mind for our next trip to Maui.
@elburr - thanks! Glad to have provided some new info. I try to look outside of the normal touristy places so we headed outside of Waikiki for a lot of our meals.
@Tomsd - thank you! I have been to Sam Choy's before and enjoyed it. We did go to the new Sam Choy's on the Big Island on this trip so you'll have to stay tuned to find out what we thought. The Big Island actually has an abalone company that offers tours. We didn't go but I may do so on another trip. Thanks for the link on poke! I will have to check out some of those places! We've always gravitated back to Ono's seafood because it's sooo good but I like to try new places as well.
@dusty56438 - Thank you, and thanks for the parking tips. We did actually park at the banyan but they had some strange 12-hour rule, where we had to pick up our car within a certain time frame, or else they charged us again for another night. We ended up paying 25 bucks there one day because of their strange rules.
@aloha - the hyatt place waikiki rooms were very nice, all new and renovated. A note, the bathroom only had showers, no tubs. My parent's double-double room was pretty big compared to our king bed room. There is a fridge and coffee maker and decent closet space. I enjoyed it and would stay there again, if I don't do a condo.
@louistraveler5 - Great to hear from you again! Wow Kauai ...sounds like a great trip! I will eventually make it back there again. Thanks for the link! The condo looks fantastic! I will keep it in mind for our next trip to Maui.
@elburr - thanks! Glad to have provided some new info. I try to look outside of the normal touristy places so we headed outside of Waikiki for a lot of our meals.
@Tomsd - thank you! I have been to Sam Choy's before and enjoyed it. We did go to the new Sam Choy's on the Big Island on this trip so you'll have to stay tuned to find out what we thought. The Big Island actually has an abalone company that offers tours. We didn't go but I may do so on another trip. Thanks for the link on poke! I will have to check out some of those places! We've always gravitated back to Ono's seafood because it's sooo good but I like to try new places as well.
@dusty56438 - Thank you, and thanks for the parking tips. We did actually park at the banyan but they had some strange 12-hour rule, where we had to pick up our car within a certain time frame, or else they charged us again for another night. We ended up paying 25 bucks there one day because of their strange rules.
Dec 23rd, 2012, 03:07 AM
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Hey - thank you. Definitely waiting for your ongoing trip report - and future ones too.
Always love hearing about the good "local" places to dine, explore.
Also liked staying in Waikiki - just one building up/toward Kalakaua ave - from the Outrigger, but think it has gone more upscale now. Was on a business trip when I working for the Govt - and watched a NFL playoff game from the balcony (looking into the room) - while also enjoying the great view of the beach in front of Ft. DeRussey - and working on a "winter" tan. It used to be easier to park on the street back then (even overnight - when the meters were not in effect) - and take the car during the day to where you were going, but guess it's all more difficult now.
And once saw the end of a ocean canoe race - coming from Molokai - which ended in a big reception party - near the front of the Rainbow Hilton Tower.
Talk about Ohana from all the families and friends of the competitors. They take canoe (Polynesian style) racing very seriously over there.
Always love hearing about the good "local" places to dine, explore.
Also liked staying in Waikiki - just one building up/toward Kalakaua ave - from the Outrigger, but think it has gone more upscale now. Was on a business trip when I working for the Govt - and watched a NFL playoff game from the balcony (looking into the room) - while also enjoying the great view of the beach in front of Ft. DeRussey - and working on a "winter" tan.
It used to be easier to park on the street back then (even overnight - when the meters were not in effect) - and take the car during the day to where you were going, but guess it's all more difficult now. And once saw the end of a ocean canoe race - coming from Molokai - which ended in a big reception party - near the front of the Rainbow Hilton Tower.
Talk about Ohana from all the families and friends of the competitors. They take canoe (Polynesian style) racing very seriously over there.
Dec 24th, 2012, 06:54 AM
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Day 4:
We woke up early for our morning at Pearl Harbor. I had made reservations for the 5 of us via the recreation.gov website. Reserving tickets online has a fee of 1.50 per person. If you don’t reserve, it’s free but you have to go there and wait. It’s well worth it to reserve in advance IMO. We remembered to not take too much with us today since they do not allow bags and we didn’t want to leave valuables in the car. We all ended up wearing clothes with a lot of pockets (break out those cargo shorts). You are allowed a camera and a small camera case though. After our gluttonous morning breakfast buffet we headed out towards Pearl Harbor. The drive is about 25 minutes. There is no traffic. My parents eye Costco on the way there and want to visit after.
At the Memorial, we enter and pick up our tickets with no wait at all. It is about an hour until our requested time, so we take the time to view the exhibits and take pictures. It is very somber yet enriching to read about the history of WWII. There was a lot to see and the exhibits are all in newly refurbished areas. The last time I was here about 9 years ago, I remember waiting a long time to get on the ferry to the Arizonal Memorial.
At our designated time, we are able to enter the movie theatre where we watch a short film about the attacks and then we head on the boat to the Arizona Memorial. My parents and sister had never been to Pearl Harbor so they found it extremely interesting. This is a must do for anyone visiting and is a sobering experience that is not to be missed.
After our visit to the memorial, we decided to go to the Aloha Swap meet. I was kind of against it because it was close to midday and getting very hot but my sister really wanted to go. The swap meet is at Aloha stadium and is basically a giant flea market. I thought there would be more food vendors, kind of like the farmer’s market but there wasn’t really anything other than a few snack vendors. Souvenirs however, were abundant and really cheap there so definitely head there if you have a lot of non-picky people back home who are expecting something. We did end up getting a few fresh coconuts and sipped that while we were walking around to stay cool and hydrated. If you like fruit with li hing powder (preserved plum powder) this is also a good place to get them.
A funny story: my dad, who is extremely thrifty, refused to let us buy him a Hawaiian shirt to get him into “vacation” mode. We tried to get him one at the ABC store on the first day, and we picked one out. “Too bright” was his feedback. Another one was “Too expensive” he said. We found another one on the street for 12.99. “It’s not made in Hawaii” he insisted. We told him that it’s going to be a challenge for him to find a Made in Hawaii shirt for cheap. That was fine with him. He’d rather go without the shirt.
At the swap meet we all split up, so I was walking by myself, and lo and behold I run into my dad wearing the loudest and brightest robin egg blue Hawaiian shirt with huge bright pink flowers. He found a shirt that was made in Hawaii and for only 10 bucks! He said he negotiated the price down with the vendor because they spoke a similar dialect of Chinese. My dad was so proud of himself. He really loved the shirt and wore it every other day while we were on the islands. Too cute. Anyways, a lot of souvenirs were bought, and a lot of bargaining done. We did eventually make it to Costco, but it was more of a look-see than buying anything. We were set to go to the Big Island the next day and they have Costco there too, where my parents can buy as much chocolate covered mac nuts as they’d like. (it’s a fave of my moms).
We head to Shirokiya for lunch in the Ala Moana mall – up on the 2nd floor, where there are stalls for all sorts of Japanese food: ramen, okonomiyaki (savory pancakes with lots of fillings), takoyaki (octopus fritters), sushi, katsu (breaded cutlets), all sorts of musubi (rice balls), bento filled with local and traditional favorites…it was just amazing. I wish I had a place like this to eat near work because I’d eat here every day and not get bored. So many take-out and eat in options. Some of us had the ramen, I opted for a sushi special which had different types of poke over rice served in mini bowls, my husband got a curry pork katsu over rice, and we also got an assortment of bento to share. Some of the bento were to pretty to eat. Prices are very reasonable and it was a great lunch. We ate in the store itself, in the area that is a designated Biergarten – during happy hour, beer is only 1 dollar! They were doing renovations on the 1st floor – but a lot of things were still open, and they were selling a lot of traditional Japanese pickles and snacks. We got to try some different things. It was fun.
Back at the hotel, we rested for the afternoon, some of us opted to walk around Waikiki again. Later that night we headed for dinner at at Izakaya Nonbei, a traditional Japanese pub/restaurant in Kaimuki. I had purchased a deal from one of those groupon sites, which got us $25 for $50. I was a little late in booking a reservation so we were only able to get an 8:30pon one, but that was ok. The food there is very nicely prepared, and very good quality. The fish was super fresh, and we ordered a few sashimi sets, a wafu steak, fried flounder, and an octopus dish, amongst others. It was definitely the priciest meal we had so far. Good thing we had the coupon! It was a very nice semi-splurge meal.
That night we packed up as we were getting ready for another island adventure…the Big Island for 6 days! Stay tuned…
We woke up early for our morning at Pearl Harbor. I had made reservations for the 5 of us via the recreation.gov website. Reserving tickets online has a fee of 1.50 per person. If you don’t reserve, it’s free but you have to go there and wait. It’s well worth it to reserve in advance IMO. We remembered to not take too much with us today since they do not allow bags and we didn’t want to leave valuables in the car. We all ended up wearing clothes with a lot of pockets (break out those cargo shorts). You are allowed a camera and a small camera case though. After our gluttonous morning breakfast buffet we headed out towards Pearl Harbor. The drive is about 25 minutes. There is no traffic. My parents eye Costco on the way there and want to visit after.
At the Memorial, we enter and pick up our tickets with no wait at all. It is about an hour until our requested time, so we take the time to view the exhibits and take pictures. It is very somber yet enriching to read about the history of WWII. There was a lot to see and the exhibits are all in newly refurbished areas. The last time I was here about 9 years ago, I remember waiting a long time to get on the ferry to the Arizonal Memorial.
At our designated time, we are able to enter the movie theatre where we watch a short film about the attacks and then we head on the boat to the Arizona Memorial. My parents and sister had never been to Pearl Harbor so they found it extremely interesting. This is a must do for anyone visiting and is a sobering experience that is not to be missed.
After our visit to the memorial, we decided to go to the Aloha Swap meet. I was kind of against it because it was close to midday and getting very hot but my sister really wanted to go. The swap meet is at Aloha stadium and is basically a giant flea market. I thought there would be more food vendors, kind of like the farmer’s market but there wasn’t really anything other than a few snack vendors. Souvenirs however, were abundant and really cheap there so definitely head there if you have a lot of non-picky people back home who are expecting something. We did end up getting a few fresh coconuts and sipped that while we were walking around to stay cool and hydrated. If you like fruit with li hing powder (preserved plum powder) this is also a good place to get them.
A funny story: my dad, who is extremely thrifty, refused to let us buy him a Hawaiian shirt to get him into “vacation” mode. We tried to get him one at the ABC store on the first day, and we picked one out. “Too bright” was his feedback. Another one was “Too expensive” he said. We found another one on the street for 12.99. “It’s not made in Hawaii” he insisted. We told him that it’s going to be a challenge for him to find a Made in Hawaii shirt for cheap. That was fine with him. He’d rather go without the shirt.
At the swap meet we all split up, so I was walking by myself, and lo and behold I run into my dad wearing the loudest and brightest robin egg blue Hawaiian shirt with huge bright pink flowers. He found a shirt that was made in Hawaii and for only 10 bucks! He said he negotiated the price down with the vendor because they spoke a similar dialect of Chinese. My dad was so proud of himself. He really loved the shirt and wore it every other day while we were on the islands. Too cute. Anyways, a lot of souvenirs were bought, and a lot of bargaining done. We did eventually make it to Costco, but it was more of a look-see than buying anything. We were set to go to the Big Island the next day and they have Costco there too, where my parents can buy as much chocolate covered mac nuts as they’d like. (it’s a fave of my moms).
We head to Shirokiya for lunch in the Ala Moana mall – up on the 2nd floor, where there are stalls for all sorts of Japanese food: ramen, okonomiyaki (savory pancakes with lots of fillings), takoyaki (octopus fritters), sushi, katsu (breaded cutlets), all sorts of musubi (rice balls), bento filled with local and traditional favorites…it was just amazing. I wish I had a place like this to eat near work because I’d eat here every day and not get bored. So many take-out and eat in options. Some of us had the ramen, I opted for a sushi special which had different types of poke over rice served in mini bowls, my husband got a curry pork katsu over rice, and we also got an assortment of bento to share. Some of the bento were to pretty to eat. Prices are very reasonable and it was a great lunch. We ate in the store itself, in the area that is a designated Biergarten – during happy hour, beer is only 1 dollar! They were doing renovations on the 1st floor – but a lot of things were still open, and they were selling a lot of traditional Japanese pickles and snacks. We got to try some different things. It was fun.
Back at the hotel, we rested for the afternoon, some of us opted to walk around Waikiki again. Later that night we headed for dinner at at Izakaya Nonbei, a traditional Japanese pub/restaurant in Kaimuki. I had purchased a deal from one of those groupon sites, which got us $25 for $50. I was a little late in booking a reservation so we were only able to get an 8:30pon one, but that was ok. The food there is very nicely prepared, and very good quality. The fish was super fresh, and we ordered a few sashimi sets, a wafu steak, fried flounder, and an octopus dish, amongst others. It was definitely the priciest meal we had so far. Good thing we had the coupon! It was a very nice semi-splurge meal.
That night we packed up as we were getting ready for another island adventure…the Big Island for 6 days! Stay tuned…
Jan 2nd, 2013, 08:48 AM
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Hope everyone had a lovely New Years! I spent the holidays in California just relaxing with family and managed to write more of my TR. I tried adding some links to the places we went to and stayed at so it’ll make the TR more informative. Enjoy!
@Tomsd - my dad thanks you for your kind words!
Day 5: Leaving for Big Island
All packed and ready to go, we enjoyed our last breakfast buffet. I was really going to miss having breakfast readily available every morning! We checked out of the hotel and piled (squished) back into the car with our luggage for the drive to the airport. We had an 11am flight to Kona Int’l Airport. Note that for inter-island flights on Hawaiian Airlines the cost of checked bags is 17 each. Since we had purchased Economy+ on our flights from the mainland our 2 checked bags were included when flying to and from JFK. The inter-island flights didn’t have that option at least when I booked. The flight itself was only about 40 minutes and we got to see Molokai and Maui on the way there. What a beautiful sight!
We landed in KOA, and this time we had rented a mini-van so we were much more comfortable this time. I figured I would splurge on the minivan on the Big Island since we’d be spending so much time driving. The drive to our condo in the Waikoloa Beach resort was about 45 minutes. Since we had time before our check-in at 3pm, we made a stop at Costco where we stocked up on drinks, necessities and food for the week. My mom was really taken with all the fresh island fruit and big island beef sold at Costco. One thing that I didn’t see was the poke counter…the last time we were in Kona, in 2010, they were selling poke and we got tubs of it to go. You could also taste the different flavors. It wasn’t there this time, anyone know why? Did they stop selling poke at Costco? I thought it was good!
My family was very interested to see how the landscape of the Big Island differs greatly from Oahu. It’s very empty on the stretch of road to Waikoloa, just massive plains of black lava rock and no greenery in sight. They thought all the messages written with the white stones/sand on the black lava rock were very interesting.
Our 6 nights were spent at the Hali’I Kai in the Waikoloa Beach Resort. If you haven’t been there yet, it’s a vast complex of condos, hotels like the Marriott and Hilton, and flanked by the Queens and Kings shopping areas, filled with high-end boutiques (like LV and Tommy Bahamas) and restaurants like Roy’s, Sansei, and Merriman’s Grill. There is also a huge Island Market, which is the same thing as the ABC store (same company, different name) but once you enter, you will be impressed at how much is sold at this ABC store. You can get groceries, sundries, and lots of souvenirs and products here. There is much more variety here than at any other ABC store I’ve seen on any island.
I rented this condo via VRBO. Since I started our search fairly early (about 7 months before our trip), I managed to get a large condo at a great price. If I had waited any longer, I would not have been able to get a comparable condo at the Hali’i Kai and we’d probably have to squeeze into a 2 bedroom or have to stay in a different condo complex. I was really adamant about staying at the Hali’i Kai since we had such an amazing time there before so I was glad I was able to get the condo for my family to enjoy as well.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...sort/halii-kai
Our condo was located in building 17. We had a lovely ground floor 3 bedroom 2 bath space. It was great to have everyone under the same roof with their own bedrooms. My sister was glad she didn’t have to sleep on a pullout couch! Our condo was equipped with everything – high end kitchen appliances, beach towels, beach chairs, boogie boards, washer dryer, wi-fi, flat screen TVs. It was great. Our location was also walking distance from the pool area. The only drawback was the location didn’t get that much sun into the living area so it was always rather dark indoors. Not a big deal as we had a nice patio and sun was only a few steps away.
Upon unpacking we decided to chill for a bit and enjoy time at the condo before an early dinner. Since it was Monday, we took advantage of the 50% off dinner from 5pm-6pm at Sansei Sushi which is located in the Queen’s shops (or was it Kings? Can’t remember). It opens at 5pm and all your orders are 50% off until 6pm. But beware as you have to get on line much earlier than it opens in order to secure a table. They do not take reservations for this deal. We got on line at around 4:20pm and we were about the 6th party in line. The line grew really long after us. My husband was nice enough to hold our spot as some of us went shopping. At 5pm, the doors to Sansei still did not open. It was not until 5:15pm did they actually open the doors to seat us, but after that, service was very quick. We managed to place and receive our entire order before the 6pm cut off time. I was not sure if they extended the time since there was a delay in their opening but I think they did make an exception since we ordered additional food and it was all 50% off. Dinner was good. This is the sort of place to order fancy sushi rolls and try fusion dishes. Some of our favorites included the deep fried ahi and arugula roll in a soy butter sauce, and the fried shrimp cake with the delicious sauce that we all kept mopping up with other things. We got lots of other dishes and it was all very funky looking and delicious. I think the wait is definitely worth it especially when you love sushi and fusion pacific rim cuisine as much as my family does and the 50% off makes a huge difference.
http://www.sanseihawaii.com/location_waikoloa.html
Full from dinner, back at the condo some of us decided to go to the Jacuzzi. It was nice as the pool area overlooked the ocean. Even though it was dark, it was well lit and there were some nice ocean breezes. Great first day on the Big Island!
@Tomsd - my dad thanks you for your kind words!
Day 5: Leaving for Big Island
All packed and ready to go, we enjoyed our last breakfast buffet. I was really going to miss having breakfast readily available every morning! We checked out of the hotel and piled (squished) back into the car with our luggage for the drive to the airport. We had an 11am flight to Kona Int’l Airport. Note that for inter-island flights on Hawaiian Airlines the cost of checked bags is 17 each. Since we had purchased Economy+ on our flights from the mainland our 2 checked bags were included when flying to and from JFK. The inter-island flights didn’t have that option at least when I booked. The flight itself was only about 40 minutes and we got to see Molokai and Maui on the way there. What a beautiful sight!
We landed in KOA, and this time we had rented a mini-van so we were much more comfortable this time. I figured I would splurge on the minivan on the Big Island since we’d be spending so much time driving. The drive to our condo in the Waikoloa Beach resort was about 45 minutes. Since we had time before our check-in at 3pm, we made a stop at Costco where we stocked up on drinks, necessities and food for the week. My mom was really taken with all the fresh island fruit and big island beef sold at Costco. One thing that I didn’t see was the poke counter…the last time we were in Kona, in 2010, they were selling poke and we got tubs of it to go. You could also taste the different flavors. It wasn’t there this time, anyone know why? Did they stop selling poke at Costco? I thought it was good!
My family was very interested to see how the landscape of the Big Island differs greatly from Oahu. It’s very empty on the stretch of road to Waikoloa, just massive plains of black lava rock and no greenery in sight. They thought all the messages written with the white stones/sand on the black lava rock were very interesting.
Our 6 nights were spent at the Hali’I Kai in the Waikoloa Beach Resort. If you haven’t been there yet, it’s a vast complex of condos, hotels like the Marriott and Hilton, and flanked by the Queens and Kings shopping areas, filled with high-end boutiques (like LV and Tommy Bahamas) and restaurants like Roy’s, Sansei, and Merriman’s Grill. There is also a huge Island Market, which is the same thing as the ABC store (same company, different name) but once you enter, you will be impressed at how much is sold at this ABC store. You can get groceries, sundries, and lots of souvenirs and products here. There is much more variety here than at any other ABC store I’ve seen on any island.
I rented this condo via VRBO. Since I started our search fairly early (about 7 months before our trip), I managed to get a large condo at a great price. If I had waited any longer, I would not have been able to get a comparable condo at the Hali’i Kai and we’d probably have to squeeze into a 2 bedroom or have to stay in a different condo complex. I was really adamant about staying at the Hali’i Kai since we had such an amazing time there before so I was glad I was able to get the condo for my family to enjoy as well.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...sort/halii-kai
Our condo was located in building 17. We had a lovely ground floor 3 bedroom 2 bath space. It was great to have everyone under the same roof with their own bedrooms. My sister was glad she didn’t have to sleep on a pullout couch! Our condo was equipped with everything – high end kitchen appliances, beach towels, beach chairs, boogie boards, washer dryer, wi-fi, flat screen TVs. It was great. Our location was also walking distance from the pool area. The only drawback was the location didn’t get that much sun into the living area so it was always rather dark indoors. Not a big deal as we had a nice patio and sun was only a few steps away.
Upon unpacking we decided to chill for a bit and enjoy time at the condo before an early dinner. Since it was Monday, we took advantage of the 50% off dinner from 5pm-6pm at Sansei Sushi which is located in the Queen’s shops (or was it Kings? Can’t remember). It opens at 5pm and all your orders are 50% off until 6pm. But beware as you have to get on line much earlier than it opens in order to secure a table. They do not take reservations for this deal. We got on line at around 4:20pm and we were about the 6th party in line. The line grew really long after us. My husband was nice enough to hold our spot as some of us went shopping. At 5pm, the doors to Sansei still did not open. It was not until 5:15pm did they actually open the doors to seat us, but after that, service was very quick. We managed to place and receive our entire order before the 6pm cut off time. I was not sure if they extended the time since there was a delay in their opening but I think they did make an exception since we ordered additional food and it was all 50% off. Dinner was good. This is the sort of place to order fancy sushi rolls and try fusion dishes. Some of our favorites included the deep fried ahi and arugula roll in a soy butter sauce, and the fried shrimp cake with the delicious sauce that we all kept mopping up with other things. We got lots of other dishes and it was all very funky looking and delicious. I think the wait is definitely worth it especially when you love sushi and fusion pacific rim cuisine as much as my family does and the 50% off makes a huge difference.
http://www.sanseihawaii.com/location_waikoloa.html
Full from dinner, back at the condo some of us decided to go to the Jacuzzi. It was nice as the pool area overlooked the ocean. Even though it was dark, it was well lit and there were some nice ocean breezes. Great first day on the Big Island!
Jan 3rd, 2013, 05:57 AM
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Day 6: Big Island
We woke early and after some kona coffee at the condo which we bought from Costco, we headed up to Waimea for some of the best breakfast on the Big Island…at Hawaiian Style Café. It was about 8am when we entered the cafe, and it was bustling. We managed to get a table for the 5 of us. Here’s some of what we ordered: kalua pork hash with eggs and rice, mac nut pancakes, Portuguese sausage and eggs, and something called Da Tita Mok: fried rice topped with spam, katsu, a burger patty, smothered with gravy and topped with fried eggs. A loco moco on steroids! My husband got this the last time we were here and couldn’t stop talking about it. So of course that was the first thing he thought of when we got to the Big Island. Great first breakfast, although a lot of it had to be wrapped up – the portions are huge!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hawaiian-style-cafe-kamuela-2
Stuffed from breakfast, we took the opportunity to walk around Waimea for a bit. It was nice and cool in the mountains. We went by the Parker Ranch store which was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Definitely check out the sale rack for some interesting Paniolo-style shirts at a good price. There is also a Foodland and a KTA supermarket here so we picked up more food including some fresh produce, spicy Portuguese sausage, tubs of poke, and I couldn’t leave without a frozen Holy Bakery apple pie. Holy Bakery is on the Big Island and they specialize in their fruit pies made with A LOT of butter. They are sold frozen in plain cardboard boxes. I’ve only had the apple but they have other flavors including coconut, peach etc. Thank goodness for the large cooler that the condo had equipped us which kept the pie frozen until we got back.
Article on Holy’s Bakery: http://archives.starbulletin.com/200...s/story01.html
On the way back to the condo we made a slight detour after coming down from Waimea. We stopped by the Hamakua Mac Nut factory in Kawaihae to buy some gifts and, of course, to taste mac nuts. We really like this factory, it’s less crowded than Mauna Loa, it’s huge, and they have free samples of raw mac nuts still in their shell which you can crack on a special apparatus and enjoy at your own leisure. There were also tons of already roasted flavored mac nuts to sample as well as flavored Kona coffees. We definitely enjoyed ourselves here and bought lots of products because we have a lot of family and friends who enjoy mac nuts. I preferred this over Mauna Loa in Hilo so I’d recommend this over that.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hamakua-maca...mpany-kawaihae
The rest of the day was spent back at the resort, chilling. Lots of pool time – eating leftovers, poke and fresh fruit for lunch. We had a fantastic time at the pool here. The adjacent open air “gym” also overlooks the ocean, and I took a picture on my phone of my view from the treadmill and sent it to friends back home who of course became jealous. I loved the pool loungers – lying in the warm sun with the cool water beneath me, listening to my ipod with a Hawaiian Sun lillikoi drink. It was a great afternoon. Although there were groups of people there, it was never crowded and still had the intimate feel of a private facility as opposed to a large sprawling resort. I will really miss it when we’re gone!
Dinner was at the condo, cooking the food we bought from Costco, including making our own teriyaki beef served on soft Hawaiian sweet rolls, a tossed salad of fresh island greens, and indulging in bags of Maui onion chips and garlic taro chips. Cooking was definitely challenging when you don’t really have a lot of ingredients on hand – but we bought the basics of teriyaki sauce: shoyu and sugar. It was all good. Dessert was lots of fresh pineapple and papaya and I went ahead and baked the Holy Bakery apple pie. It took about an hour to get it the perfect crisp crust. There is definitely tons of butter in it that it overflowed from the pie. How was the pie? Yummy! The bottom crust could use a few more minutes as it was still soft, but it was a delicious pie. The filling is just canned apple filling so I think it’s more or less the crust and the butter that make this pie. Definitely have to work off the calories on the treadmill again. More Kona coffee was enjoyed after dinner on the patio. We also watched movies on the DVD player. I tried to bring movies that were made in Hawaii like Jurassic Park and 50 First Dates. Good ole family time.
We woke early and after some kona coffee at the condo which we bought from Costco, we headed up to Waimea for some of the best breakfast on the Big Island…at Hawaiian Style Café. It was about 8am when we entered the cafe, and it was bustling. We managed to get a table for the 5 of us. Here’s some of what we ordered: kalua pork hash with eggs and rice, mac nut pancakes, Portuguese sausage and eggs, and something called Da Tita Mok: fried rice topped with spam, katsu, a burger patty, smothered with gravy and topped with fried eggs. A loco moco on steroids! My husband got this the last time we were here and couldn’t stop talking about it. So of course that was the first thing he thought of when we got to the Big Island. Great first breakfast, although a lot of it had to be wrapped up – the portions are huge!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hawaiian-style-cafe-kamuela-2
Stuffed from breakfast, we took the opportunity to walk around Waimea for a bit. It was nice and cool in the mountains. We went by the Parker Ranch store which was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Definitely check out the sale rack for some interesting Paniolo-style shirts at a good price. There is also a Foodland and a KTA supermarket here so we picked up more food including some fresh produce, spicy Portuguese sausage, tubs of poke, and I couldn’t leave without a frozen Holy Bakery apple pie. Holy Bakery is on the Big Island and they specialize in their fruit pies made with A LOT of butter. They are sold frozen in plain cardboard boxes. I’ve only had the apple but they have other flavors including coconut, peach etc. Thank goodness for the large cooler that the condo had equipped us which kept the pie frozen until we got back.
Article on Holy’s Bakery: http://archives.starbulletin.com/200...s/story01.html
On the way back to the condo we made a slight detour after coming down from Waimea. We stopped by the Hamakua Mac Nut factory in Kawaihae to buy some gifts and, of course, to taste mac nuts. We really like this factory, it’s less crowded than Mauna Loa, it’s huge, and they have free samples of raw mac nuts still in their shell which you can crack on a special apparatus and enjoy at your own leisure. There were also tons of already roasted flavored mac nuts to sample as well as flavored Kona coffees. We definitely enjoyed ourselves here and bought lots of products because we have a lot of family and friends who enjoy mac nuts. I preferred this over Mauna Loa in Hilo so I’d recommend this over that.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hamakua-maca...mpany-kawaihae
The rest of the day was spent back at the resort, chilling. Lots of pool time – eating leftovers, poke and fresh fruit for lunch. We had a fantastic time at the pool here. The adjacent open air “gym” also overlooks the ocean, and I took a picture on my phone of my view from the treadmill and sent it to friends back home who of course became jealous. I loved the pool loungers – lying in the warm sun with the cool water beneath me, listening to my ipod with a Hawaiian Sun lillikoi drink. It was a great afternoon. Although there were groups of people there, it was never crowded and still had the intimate feel of a private facility as opposed to a large sprawling resort. I will really miss it when we’re gone!
Dinner was at the condo, cooking the food we bought from Costco, including making our own teriyaki beef served on soft Hawaiian sweet rolls, a tossed salad of fresh island greens, and indulging in bags of Maui onion chips and garlic taro chips. Cooking was definitely challenging when you don’t really have a lot of ingredients on hand – but we bought the basics of teriyaki sauce: shoyu and sugar. It was all good. Dessert was lots of fresh pineapple and papaya and I went ahead and baked the Holy Bakery apple pie. It took about an hour to get it the perfect crisp crust. There is definitely tons of butter in it that it overflowed from the pie. How was the pie? Yummy! The bottom crust could use a few more minutes as it was still soft, but it was a delicious pie. The filling is just canned apple filling so I think it’s more or less the crust and the butter that make this pie. Definitely have to work off the calories on the treadmill again. More Kona coffee was enjoyed after dinner on the patio. We also watched movies on the DVD player. I tried to bring movies that were made in Hawaii like Jurassic Park and 50 First Dates. Good ole family time.
Jan 7th, 2013, 12:13 PM
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Day 7: Hilo
Breakfast was at the condo, lots of chilled papaya with a squeeze of lime…I love it! I had brought a travel mug with me so filled up with Kona Coffee and stocked the car up with beverages and snacks for our drive to Hilo. We found a radio station that played all Hawaiian music. It was great for the long drive. Halfway to Hilo, we stopped by Tex Drive Inn to get some malasadas, and we couldn’t resist getting some mini meals too: saimin, portugese bean soup, and curry beef stew served in small Styrofoam cups over rice. We all had a taste of everything, and it hit the spot especially on the cool misty morning. The malasadas are larger and fluffier than Leonard’s on Oahu. To me they taste like fresh jelly donuts. You can get them filled or without. I think they are plenty sweet without the filling so I can’t imagine how much sweeter they can get when filled.
http://www.texdriveinhawaii.com
The landscape slowly changes as you travel east, we saw the dry black volcanic rock turn into misty hills as we headed up the mountain, and as we got closer east, it was varying shades of green. By the time we got to Hilo, it was really hot, very humid, and it looked like it was going to rain at any minute. Luckily, it did not rain while we were there. Our first stop was Rainbow Falls. It was really easy to get to, you just drive up…and the falls are there! No hiking involved which was great for my parents. A very pretty and easy photo op.
Our next stop was Two Ladies Kitchen where I ordered a half dozen fresh strawberry and azuki bean mochi. This is a specialty of theirs, and it’s a fresh island grown strawberry, husked, and covered with a laver of sweet red bean paste, and then covered in fresh mochi (pounded glutinous rice dough). This was one of my favorite things I ate on our last trip to the Big Island and I knew my family would love it too. This time the strawberries were huge! The whole mochi was about the size of my fist. They are pretty pricy though, at around 3.50 – 4 bucks per piece. Well worth it though. They surprisingly keep well in the fridge so you can buy a few to go too. Their other mocha look so pretty, in various shades of pastel. I have not tried them since I am usually so full from the fresh strawberry mochi.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/two-ladies-kitchen-hilo
Our next stop was the Hilo Farmer’s market. Lots of locally grown produce, and some prepared foods (although not as much as the KCC farmer’s market on Oahu). My mom bought a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables. I told her not to get too much since I wasn’t sure when she’ll be able to cook/eat them all, but she was so excited at all the fresh vegetables, some that are fairly rare and/or expensive in NY, she still bought them all. I bought a couple of fresh juices from a stall, towards the back end. I had a nice coconut drink, which wasn’t coconut water, but tasted like a creamy coconut milk concoction, whatever it was, it was great! We walked around the market area a bit, but it was super hot during the afternoon and we were all a little craggy and sweaty, so we decided to do a bit of indoor shopping. We drove to the super walmart where my mom was able to pick up even more Koa wood items, and at a great price too. I loaded up on the local snacks, including some li hing sour patch kids and li hing mango.
We hit up the Moana Loa Mac nut factory, and although the drive in was really pretty, with the mac nut trees flanking the drive, we all agreed that Hamakua was much better in terms of sampling. There were too many tour buses unloading people here so we only stayed for a bit before heading to another touristy spot, Big Island Candies. I don’t mind the crowds here because the cookies are just so damn good and the space is larger! They are pretty pricey, but make such great gifts. Everyone I know loves the chocolate dipped mac nut cookies. We loaded up on boxes of assorted cookies, then headed out to dinner…at Ken’s House of Pancakes.
http://www.bigislandcandies.com
I had never been to Ken’s before, and really wanted to try it. Just a warning, there is no air conditioning, just a bunch of ceiling fans. It was fine though after a few minutes. Another warning: portions are HUGE! My parents split the oxtail stew, my sister got the Sumo-sized saimin, I got a special pot pie of the day – curry turkey, and my husband got the prime rib dinner. Everything was good – not great, but solid enough that I’d return. Maybe I should have tried a namesake pancake. Every time you order something sumo-size, when it comes out of the kitchen the servers hit a gong and yell out “Sumo!” It was really funny when my sister got her saimin which was served in a bowl that was larger than my head. Prices are cheap and we left feeling very full with leftovers to boot.
http://www.kenshouseofpancakes.com/
Our drive back to the Kohala Coast felt longer than the drive to Hilo, but maybe it’s because we didn’t stop anywhere. We were tired upon returning to our condo, but didn’t stop us from watching more Made in Hawaii movies on the dvd player and indulging in fresh mango and lychees. Yum!
Stay tuned for our adventures the next day…at the Kona coffee farms!
Breakfast was at the condo, lots of chilled papaya with a squeeze of lime…I love it! I had brought a travel mug with me so filled up with Kona Coffee and stocked the car up with beverages and snacks for our drive to Hilo. We found a radio station that played all Hawaiian music. It was great for the long drive. Halfway to Hilo, we stopped by Tex Drive Inn to get some malasadas, and we couldn’t resist getting some mini meals too: saimin, portugese bean soup, and curry beef stew served in small Styrofoam cups over rice. We all had a taste of everything, and it hit the spot especially on the cool misty morning. The malasadas are larger and fluffier than Leonard’s on Oahu. To me they taste like fresh jelly donuts. You can get them filled or without. I think they are plenty sweet without the filling so I can’t imagine how much sweeter they can get when filled.
http://www.texdriveinhawaii.com
The landscape slowly changes as you travel east, we saw the dry black volcanic rock turn into misty hills as we headed up the mountain, and as we got closer east, it was varying shades of green. By the time we got to Hilo, it was really hot, very humid, and it looked like it was going to rain at any minute. Luckily, it did not rain while we were there. Our first stop was Rainbow Falls. It was really easy to get to, you just drive up…and the falls are there! No hiking involved which was great for my parents. A very pretty and easy photo op.
Our next stop was Two Ladies Kitchen where I ordered a half dozen fresh strawberry and azuki bean mochi. This is a specialty of theirs, and it’s a fresh island grown strawberry, husked, and covered with a laver of sweet red bean paste, and then covered in fresh mochi (pounded glutinous rice dough). This was one of my favorite things I ate on our last trip to the Big Island and I knew my family would love it too. This time the strawberries were huge! The whole mochi was about the size of my fist. They are pretty pricy though, at around 3.50 – 4 bucks per piece. Well worth it though. They surprisingly keep well in the fridge so you can buy a few to go too. Their other mocha look so pretty, in various shades of pastel. I have not tried them since I am usually so full from the fresh strawberry mochi.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/two-ladies-kitchen-hilo
Our next stop was the Hilo Farmer’s market. Lots of locally grown produce, and some prepared foods (although not as much as the KCC farmer’s market on Oahu). My mom bought a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables. I told her not to get too much since I wasn’t sure when she’ll be able to cook/eat them all, but she was so excited at all the fresh vegetables, some that are fairly rare and/or expensive in NY, she still bought them all. I bought a couple of fresh juices from a stall, towards the back end. I had a nice coconut drink, which wasn’t coconut water, but tasted like a creamy coconut milk concoction, whatever it was, it was great! We walked around the market area a bit, but it was super hot during the afternoon and we were all a little craggy and sweaty, so we decided to do a bit of indoor shopping. We drove to the super walmart where my mom was able to pick up even more Koa wood items, and at a great price too. I loaded up on the local snacks, including some li hing sour patch kids and li hing mango.
We hit up the Moana Loa Mac nut factory, and although the drive in was really pretty, with the mac nut trees flanking the drive, we all agreed that Hamakua was much better in terms of sampling. There were too many tour buses unloading people here so we only stayed for a bit before heading to another touristy spot, Big Island Candies. I don’t mind the crowds here because the cookies are just so damn good and the space is larger! They are pretty pricey, but make such great gifts. Everyone I know loves the chocolate dipped mac nut cookies. We loaded up on boxes of assorted cookies, then headed out to dinner…at Ken’s House of Pancakes.
http://www.bigislandcandies.com
I had never been to Ken’s before, and really wanted to try it. Just a warning, there is no air conditioning, just a bunch of ceiling fans. It was fine though after a few minutes. Another warning: portions are HUGE! My parents split the oxtail stew, my sister got the Sumo-sized saimin, I got a special pot pie of the day – curry turkey, and my husband got the prime rib dinner. Everything was good – not great, but solid enough that I’d return. Maybe I should have tried a namesake pancake. Every time you order something sumo-size, when it comes out of the kitchen the servers hit a gong and yell out “Sumo!” It was really funny when my sister got her saimin which was served in a bowl that was larger than my head. Prices are cheap and we left feeling very full with leftovers to boot.
http://www.kenshouseofpancakes.com/
Our drive back to the Kohala Coast felt longer than the drive to Hilo, but maybe it’s because we didn’t stop anywhere. We were tired upon returning to our condo, but didn’t stop us from watching more Made in Hawaii movies on the dvd player and indulging in fresh mango and lychees. Yum!
Stay tuned for our adventures the next day…at the Kona coffee farms!
Jan 8th, 2013, 08:07 AM
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Day 8: Kona Coffee Farms and Kailua Kona
Breakfast was again at the condo, eating all the delicious fruit we bought at the farmer’s market. After breakfast, we hopped back in the minivan for our series of stops through the Kona Coffee belt. We didn’t make reservations at any location but basically stopped whenever we saw a sign offering free samples or tours. Some places we went to were: Greenwell, Bayview, UCC to name a few. Greenwell had a nice informative tour. We saw how the coffee beans were harvested from the “cherry” stage all the way to the cup. There were a ton of samples to try from too. If you have a chance, try some kona red, which is an antioxidant juice made with the coffee cherry fruit that surrounds the bean. It’s similar to cranberry mixed with prune juice. It’s supposedly super healthy. My sister liked this because well, she doesn’t drink coffee like the rest of us! So needless to say, she didn’t really care for the tastings, but she liked the tours and spent her time taking pictures of us tasting coffee.
http://www.greenwellfarms.com/
We stopped at a few places in Holualoa, Kealakekua, and Captain Cook, including the Donkey Balls store, which sells gourmet chocolate covered mac nuts with clever names such as Dirty Balls (rolled in cocoa), Salty Balls (rolled in sea salt), and Blue Balls (in blue colored white chocolate)…you catch my drift. A little gimmicky, but lots of different flavors and combinations and they also make great gifts. I work in a team full of guys and brought back a few bags, and they all got a kick out of the names…and the chocolate is damn good too.
http://www.alohahawaiianstore.com/
A surprising find was UCC Coffee’s tasting room. It’s small, and the tours aren’t too exciting, but the tasting room is new and has fabulous views. Also the tasting is served on real china cups, and not paper or Styrofoam cups which made it all the more special. Oh yeah and the coffee is really great too. This is where picking up those touristy magazines pay off, as we got a coupon for a free cup of homemade kona coffee ice cream that was just out of this world. It was a great treat that day. Even my coffee-hating sister liked the ice cream.
http://www.ucc-hawaii.com/
We also stopped at the Painted Church, which is a small little church where the interior has been painted with colorful murals. It was cute, yet a bit eerie…maybe because the skies were darkening. It was going to rain soon!
http://www.thepaintedchurch.org/
We passed by the Kona Historical society and my mom was kind of bummed we missed out on the portugese bread baking event (happens every Thursday), but I told her how it would pretty much be a half day event and we’d have missed out on a lot of coffee tasting so she didn’t seem too sad after that. Next to the historical society there was another tasting room which seemed to have the most samples, I can’t remember the name of it though, but it’s a red building where you go upstairs and there is a large gift store and a coffee “museum”. Lots of coffee samples out back, and also samples of rum cake which was yummy. It was raining at this point so it was nice to just chill with a hot cup of coffee.
http://www.konahistorical.org/
At this point it was almost sunset and all the coffee farms were closing for the day. Wow – couldn’t believe coffee tasting took up an entire day! I guess all the coffee meant we were still wired. No worries, it was off to Sam Choy’s new restaurant in Keauhou for dinner. Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai is located on a hill next to a strip mall and the view is amazing. Luckily it stopped raining at this point so we could get a glimpse of the water during sunset. I can’t believe this used to be a former Wendy’s location…it had 5-star views! We started with a free soup and salad appetizer and coconut bread. The soup looked like paste, but it had great flavor. I can’t really describe it, but it was maybe a potato/turnip bisque? The salad was great, mixed field greens and a zesty dressing. We got a seared ahi tuna poke appetizer for the table, which was good, but I prefer my poke to be raw. We each got an entrée that was beautifully presented, complete with fresh island flower garnishes. Some highlights were the mahi mahi, and the Ono served on Okinawan blue potato gnocchi. Oh and the ribeye is pretty good, but note that it’s served in a creamy mushroom sauce. I thought the food was pretty good although not the best pacific rim we’ve had, but the presentation is really pretty. Service was excellent. I’d return on another trip.
http://www.samchoy.com/
After dinner, my sister wanted to go shopping – so we headed to Kailua Kona to walk around. It was fun, glad the stores were open late so we’d have something to do. Plus we had so much coffee…we couldn’t sleep! Although we certainly needed it as we were looking at a looong drive down south tomorrow…to the volcano!
Breakfast was again at the condo, eating all the delicious fruit we bought at the farmer’s market. After breakfast, we hopped back in the minivan for our series of stops through the Kona Coffee belt. We didn’t make reservations at any location but basically stopped whenever we saw a sign offering free samples or tours. Some places we went to were: Greenwell, Bayview, UCC to name a few. Greenwell had a nice informative tour. We saw how the coffee beans were harvested from the “cherry” stage all the way to the cup. There were a ton of samples to try from too. If you have a chance, try some kona red, which is an antioxidant juice made with the coffee cherry fruit that surrounds the bean. It’s similar to cranberry mixed with prune juice. It’s supposedly super healthy. My sister liked this because well, she doesn’t drink coffee like the rest of us! So needless to say, she didn’t really care for the tastings, but she liked the tours and spent her time taking pictures of us tasting coffee.
http://www.greenwellfarms.com/
We stopped at a few places in Holualoa, Kealakekua, and Captain Cook, including the Donkey Balls store, which sells gourmet chocolate covered mac nuts with clever names such as Dirty Balls (rolled in cocoa), Salty Balls (rolled in sea salt), and Blue Balls (in blue colored white chocolate)…you catch my drift. A little gimmicky, but lots of different flavors and combinations and they also make great gifts. I work in a team full of guys and brought back a few bags, and they all got a kick out of the names…and the chocolate is damn good too.
http://www.alohahawaiianstore.com/
A surprising find was UCC Coffee’s tasting room. It’s small, and the tours aren’t too exciting, but the tasting room is new and has fabulous views. Also the tasting is served on real china cups, and not paper or Styrofoam cups which made it all the more special. Oh yeah and the coffee is really great too. This is where picking up those touristy magazines pay off, as we got a coupon for a free cup of homemade kona coffee ice cream that was just out of this world. It was a great treat that day. Even my coffee-hating sister liked the ice cream.
http://www.ucc-hawaii.com/
We also stopped at the Painted Church, which is a small little church where the interior has been painted with colorful murals. It was cute, yet a bit eerie…maybe because the skies were darkening. It was going to rain soon!
http://www.thepaintedchurch.org/
We passed by the Kona Historical society and my mom was kind of bummed we missed out on the portugese bread baking event (happens every Thursday), but I told her how it would pretty much be a half day event and we’d have missed out on a lot of coffee tasting so she didn’t seem too sad after that. Next to the historical society there was another tasting room which seemed to have the most samples, I can’t remember the name of it though, but it’s a red building where you go upstairs and there is a large gift store and a coffee “museum”. Lots of coffee samples out back, and also samples of rum cake which was yummy. It was raining at this point so it was nice to just chill with a hot cup of coffee.
http://www.konahistorical.org/
At this point it was almost sunset and all the coffee farms were closing for the day. Wow – couldn’t believe coffee tasting took up an entire day! I guess all the coffee meant we were still wired. No worries, it was off to Sam Choy’s new restaurant in Keauhou for dinner. Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai is located on a hill next to a strip mall and the view is amazing. Luckily it stopped raining at this point so we could get a glimpse of the water during sunset. I can’t believe this used to be a former Wendy’s location…it had 5-star views! We started with a free soup and salad appetizer and coconut bread. The soup looked like paste, but it had great flavor. I can’t really describe it, but it was maybe a potato/turnip bisque? The salad was great, mixed field greens and a zesty dressing. We got a seared ahi tuna poke appetizer for the table, which was good, but I prefer my poke to be raw. We each got an entrée that was beautifully presented, complete with fresh island flower garnishes. Some highlights were the mahi mahi, and the Ono served on Okinawan blue potato gnocchi. Oh and the ribeye is pretty good, but note that it’s served in a creamy mushroom sauce. I thought the food was pretty good although not the best pacific rim we’ve had, but the presentation is really pretty. Service was excellent. I’d return on another trip.
http://www.samchoy.com/
After dinner, my sister wanted to go shopping – so we headed to Kailua Kona to walk around. It was fun, glad the stores were open late so we’d have something to do. Plus we had so much coffee…we couldn’t sleep! Although we certainly needed it as we were looking at a looong drive down south tomorrow…to the volcano!
Jan 8th, 2013, 12:31 PM
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@iceeu2 - Thank you! You will love the Big Island! So much to do and the scenery is amazing. We're going to Oahu in March for 10 days - a week in Waikiki and a few days on the North Shore. Oahu is my "foodie" destination in Hawaii. Looking forward to visiting my favorites restaurants and trying some new places too. Which reminds me...I need to make a list!
Jan 8th, 2013, 04:35 PM
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@joethebear - thank you! I think Hawaii is great to go at any time. I have been during January, June, October and November. This will be my first time going in March. I look forward to leaving the cold behind in New York. My favorite time was actually Oct/Nov because the crowds are low (if you go pre-thanksgiving) and lodging was cheaper. Will you be visiting the big island and/or another island?
Jan 9th, 2013, 07:02 AM
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Day 9: Traveling to the Volcano
We woke up early to get a good start to the day. I knew we would need a hearty breakfast so we drove down to Kailua-Kona to dine at the Big Island Grill, another place known for their large comforting plates of food. I got a spam moco, which was really good. Basically fried spam instead of the burger patty, served on a bed or rice topped with brown gravy and a fried egg. Only in Hawaii. Everyone was very happy with their food and agreed it was a tasty, filling breakfast. I still have to give the edge to Hawaiian Style Café in Waimea though. With our bellies full, we made our way south towards the the Volcano
http://www.yelp.com/biz/big-island-grill-kailua-kona-2
On the way down, the highway passes the Kona Coffee belt that we drove the day before. We did stop at Kona Joe’s Coffee to get a taste of their iced coffee, which was yummy. My sister was conned into trying one of their chocolate covered coffee beans, and she said it was gross. I guess if you don’t like coffee, no amount of chocolate will help. The view from Kona Joe was lovely. Their tours were expensive though, about 15 dollars, but you do get a souvenir cup to take with you. We skipped the tour and hopped back in the minivan and continued our journey south.
http://www.konajoe.com
After driving for what seemed like forever, we arrived near the turn off for the southernmost point of the US…Ka Le or “south point” as most people call it. I had been there before with my husband on a previous trip…but we opted not to go on this trip, as the drive would have probably taken us for an hour and a half detour and we didn’t want to miss the volcano. However, I do recommend visiting it as it is amazing! There is a huge steep cliff there and we saw very brave people cliff diving. Not sure if it was legal or not but the distance down…it was far. So no cliff diving for my family, but we did however stop by the Punalu’u Bake Shop, which is the southernmost bakery in the United States! We all got to sample the different breads, and they also have a bakery selling malasadas, cream puffs, turnovers, etc, as well as some burgers and plate lunches. I was not too impressed by the bakery items. I have been to better bakeries in Hawaii (like Liliha on Oahu and Homemaid on Maui). I did however enjoy their taro bread samples (the purple bread), and it’s a nice place to stop and stretch your legs, use the facilities etc.
http://www.bakeshophawaii.com/
We then drove to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach which wasn’t too far away, where we witnessed 2 giant sea turtles lounging on the sand. This doesn’t compare to the last time I was here where me and my husband saw as many as 9 of them scattered all over the beach. For my family though, it was a marvelous sight. They have never seen a black sand beach before! Lots of pictures were taken. I highly recommend a visit here. We saw only a few people trying to surf. The waves there look really rough. Does anyone know why it always seems cloudy here though (or at least when we were there both times)? Is it the vog from the volcano?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/punaluu-blac...each-naalehu-3
We continued on and finally reached Volcanoes National Park. Hooray! We were going to see the volcano for the first time! My mom, however, was kind of freaked out. She didn’t know that Kilauea was an “active” volcano. And although I tried to explain to her that the lava flows through tubes to the ocean, she seemed to think that the land we were walking on was going to blow up at any minute with a fiery eruption. I think she was slightly nervous the whole time. The rest of my family though, was super excited. We went to the visitors center where we watched the movie and read up on the latest happenings at the site. We weren’t going to be spending long here since we still had to make the drive back to Kohala (much to the relief of my mom), but we were able to walk through the Thurston Lava tube, visit the steam vents, and view the smoky Calderon from different vantage points. Lots of pictures were taken here including some “trick” shots where it looked like steam was coming out of our hands and ears. Yeah we are a corny bunch sometimes.
After walking through the observatory building looking at the exhibits, we left the Volcano for our long drive home. My mom was very happy the volcano didn’t erupt while we were on it. I think we spent about 2.5 hours there total, although I could have spent more. Maybe if it was just me and the husband we’ll stay in Volcano the next time to do more exploring.
http://www.nps.gov/havo/
On the drive back home, we stopped at a popular local establishment for traditional Japanese dinner… Teshima’s! It’s located around the Captain Cook/Keleakekua area. I had eaten here before and really enjoyed it. It is homey Japanese comfort food, nothing fancy but everything they make is prepared with care. We all liked the lived-in comfortable atmosphere. The interior and much of the menu looks like it hasn’t changed in decades. Prices are great too. When we were there they did not have sushi (only ahi sashimi, which was very fresh I might add) but I see that they are serving sushi now. I had the miso butterfish, which was good, although the butterfish had a lot of bones. Another thing we really enjoyed here was their tea. You can actually purchase bags of it to take with you. It is loose leaf green tea, and it looks like it’s mixed with toasted rice, and get this…popcorn! I think combined it gave the tea a nice nutty roasted flavor. It’s 5 bucks a bag and the bag lasts about a month. I really enjoy this tea and I have it every day! I think it also makes a wonderful and unique gift, so I bought a few additional bags as well.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/teshima-restaurant-kealakekua
Back at the condo, we were pooped. Wow we sure did a lot today. Looking forward to some R&R tomorrow!
We woke up early to get a good start to the day. I knew we would need a hearty breakfast so we drove down to Kailua-Kona to dine at the Big Island Grill, another place known for their large comforting plates of food. I got a spam moco, which was really good. Basically fried spam instead of the burger patty, served on a bed or rice topped with brown gravy and a fried egg. Only in Hawaii. Everyone was very happy with their food and agreed it was a tasty, filling breakfast. I still have to give the edge to Hawaiian Style Café in Waimea though. With our bellies full, we made our way south towards the the Volcano
http://www.yelp.com/biz/big-island-grill-kailua-kona-2
On the way down, the highway passes the Kona Coffee belt that we drove the day before. We did stop at Kona Joe’s Coffee to get a taste of their iced coffee, which was yummy. My sister was conned into trying one of their chocolate covered coffee beans, and she said it was gross. I guess if you don’t like coffee, no amount of chocolate will help. The view from Kona Joe was lovely. Their tours were expensive though, about 15 dollars, but you do get a souvenir cup to take with you. We skipped the tour and hopped back in the minivan and continued our journey south.
http://www.konajoe.com
After driving for what seemed like forever, we arrived near the turn off for the southernmost point of the US…Ka Le or “south point” as most people call it. I had been there before with my husband on a previous trip…but we opted not to go on this trip, as the drive would have probably taken us for an hour and a half detour and we didn’t want to miss the volcano. However, I do recommend visiting it as it is amazing! There is a huge steep cliff there and we saw very brave people cliff diving. Not sure if it was legal or not but the distance down…it was far. So no cliff diving for my family, but we did however stop by the Punalu’u Bake Shop, which is the southernmost bakery in the United States! We all got to sample the different breads, and they also have a bakery selling malasadas, cream puffs, turnovers, etc, as well as some burgers and plate lunches. I was not too impressed by the bakery items. I have been to better bakeries in Hawaii (like Liliha on Oahu and Homemaid on Maui). I did however enjoy their taro bread samples (the purple bread), and it’s a nice place to stop and stretch your legs, use the facilities etc.
http://www.bakeshophawaii.com/
We then drove to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach which wasn’t too far away, where we witnessed 2 giant sea turtles lounging on the sand. This doesn’t compare to the last time I was here where me and my husband saw as many as 9 of them scattered all over the beach. For my family though, it was a marvelous sight. They have never seen a black sand beach before! Lots of pictures were taken. I highly recommend a visit here. We saw only a few people trying to surf. The waves there look really rough. Does anyone know why it always seems cloudy here though (or at least when we were there both times)? Is it the vog from the volcano?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/punaluu-blac...each-naalehu-3
We continued on and finally reached Volcanoes National Park. Hooray! We were going to see the volcano for the first time! My mom, however, was kind of freaked out. She didn’t know that Kilauea was an “active” volcano. And although I tried to explain to her that the lava flows through tubes to the ocean, she seemed to think that the land we were walking on was going to blow up at any minute with a fiery eruption. I think she was slightly nervous the whole time. The rest of my family though, was super excited. We went to the visitors center where we watched the movie and read up on the latest happenings at the site. We weren’t going to be spending long here since we still had to make the drive back to Kohala (much to the relief of my mom), but we were able to walk through the Thurston Lava tube, visit the steam vents, and view the smoky Calderon from different vantage points. Lots of pictures were taken here including some “trick” shots where it looked like steam was coming out of our hands and ears. Yeah we are a corny bunch sometimes.
After walking through the observatory building looking at the exhibits, we left the Volcano for our long drive home. My mom was very happy the volcano didn’t erupt while we were on it. I think we spent about 2.5 hours there total, although I could have spent more. Maybe if it was just me and the husband we’ll stay in Volcano the next time to do more exploring.
http://www.nps.gov/havo/
On the drive back home, we stopped at a popular local establishment for traditional Japanese dinner… Teshima’s! It’s located around the Captain Cook/Keleakekua area. I had eaten here before and really enjoyed it. It is homey Japanese comfort food, nothing fancy but everything they make is prepared with care. We all liked the lived-in comfortable atmosphere. The interior and much of the menu looks like it hasn’t changed in decades. Prices are great too. When we were there they did not have sushi (only ahi sashimi, which was very fresh I might add) but I see that they are serving sushi now. I had the miso butterfish, which was good, although the butterfish had a lot of bones. Another thing we really enjoyed here was their tea. You can actually purchase bags of it to take with you. It is loose leaf green tea, and it looks like it’s mixed with toasted rice, and get this…popcorn! I think combined it gave the tea a nice nutty roasted flavor. It’s 5 bucks a bag and the bag lasts about a month. I really enjoy this tea and I have it every day! I think it also makes a wonderful and unique gift, so I bought a few additional bags as well.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/teshima-restaurant-kealakekua
Back at the condo, we were pooped. Wow we sure did a lot today. Looking forward to some R&R tomorrow!
