Oahu November 2015 Trip Report
 

Hi Everyone! We got back from our week-long Oahu trip late last week. I miss the warm ocean water, and beautiful sunsets. We actually got to spend an extra night there, which was both unexpected and awesome…as you’ll soon see. Here’s our trip report! (long and detailed – lots of food descriptions!). I’ll be posting some pictures on my blog soon as well (www.asplashofaloha.com) and I’ll post links when they are up.

Day 1:

Our vacation to Oahu was finally here! We departed early on a brisk Wednesday in November, this time flying United Airlines out of Newark airport. There is a daily non-stop flight to Honolulu and we took advantage of some mileage discounts to fly for free! Usually we travel with our beloved Hawaiian Airlines but we were not able to find cheap mileage flights in the past few months. Since Steve and I are both United Airlines Mileage Plus card members, we got a couple of free passes to the Red Carpet Lounge at Newark. It’s nothing to write home about but it was nice to get some coffee and breakfast before the 10.5 hour flight.

Pretty soon it was time to board. I have pretty low expectations when it comes to domestic airlines but I was relieved to find that this plane was equipped with individual entertainment units at each seat, and we were able to watch on-demand movies and charge our phones throughout the flight. It made the 10.5 hour flight to paradise that much more bearable! Also, when flying long distances, it's best to get a wide-body plane. (Hi ChiSue!) That way, when it's just the two us, we get seats to ourselves (plane was in a 2-4-2 configuration in coach). If we were to have a stopover, usually in California, it makes each leg about 5-6 hours, but then you'd have to factor in layover time, plus potential plane and gate switches which could just lead to more chance of your flight being delayed as well, in addition to the planes being a lot smaller, so we’d have a 3-3 configuration in coach. We got free blankets and pillows but food was extra so remember to pack something to eat if you don’t like any of the offerings on the plane!

About 4 movies and a short nap later, we were landing in Honolulu International Airport! The time was 3:15 pm so we still had some hours left to enjoy the day. We left in our mid-size car rented via Citi Thank You points from Thrifty. We were headed to our condo in Waikiki! But first, we were pretty hungry so we headed over to Neil Blaisdell Center for the weekly Wednesday Night Honolulu Farmer’s Market (4-7pm every Wed). It’s a small market, not as big as the KCC on Saturday, but they have some of the more popular food vendors there. This was our only Wednesday that we were scheduled to be on the island so I was happy our flight was on time so we could catch this.
We parked in the garage (parking is free for the farmer’s market) and perused the stalls. I saw my favorite, Pig and the Lady, so I knew we would definitely get something from there. We got a “Porchetta Bun Bo Hue” which is just a fancy type of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) that had slices of porchetta (Italian roast pork) in it. It was delicious! Lots of herbs and veggies were in the broth giving it a complex flavor. I was really excited to actually try the Pig and the Lady restaurant in Chinatown the next day of our trip. It was seriously at the top of my list of places to each when we arrived in HNL.

We also got some delicious ‘Nalo-Made Lemonade from Waimanalo Country Farms booth. They had different flavors and you could combine them – I got li hing and strawberry. If you buy the mason jar size, refills are only 4 dollars, so we got that and when we were done we got a refill of mango lemonade. They were both really good!

We also tried the ahi tuna sliders from Otsuji Farms. Pieces of tempura-fried kale topped with fresh ahi tuna, avocado, and various sauces. Was really tastly and a large portion. We were full so we just got a couple of fresh papayas and limes from one of the farm stands and headed out. There were many other food stalls I’d like to try one day too. Some were giving out free samples. If you go by the Hanalei Taro stall, try some of their taro hummus and kulolo! Freshly flown in from Kauai.

After the farmer’s market, we stopped by Don Quixote – I love that store because it sells both Asian and Western products and it’s exciting to see the different mix of stuff. We got some supplies for the week – water, wine, snacks, and we got a couple of bento for later that evening. We also tried the poke bowl. It was actually pretty good there and a great price.

After our supply run, we headed into Waikiki. We got caught in a little rush hour traffic, but that’s ok, we were in Hawaii! Soon we were pulling into the Waikiki Banyan where we rented a 1-BR unit. We were on the top floor of Tower 1 – floor 37. It is actually a pretty large complex. The only downside of being on the top floor was the number of times you have to stop at to let people on/off. Note that the first couple of floors (I think 1-7) are parking, so there’s always someone getting on/off.
We arrived at the unit and it was already dark out. We got an awesome nighttime view of Waikiki and Honolulu. There was an ocean view off to the side. The unit was quite spacious and looked just like the pictures – modern and cute.

For dinner we ate the bento and poke bowl we picked up from Don Quixote. It was an early night for us due to the 5-hour time difference and we were exhausted!

Coming up – Our first full day in Oahu!

Great start! Looking forward to hearing about your dinner at the Pig and the Lady. We still haven't made it to their brick and mortar.

Hi back at you, tfia! Gosh, wide-body aircraft and FREE too! haha Looking forward to the rest of your report. It's cool and rainy here north of Chicago today. Nice to have Maui in my back pocket for January.

Hi Patty - Thanks! I really loved Pig and the Lady. We ate their food items 3 times on this trip. It shows how much I really enjoy their food.

Hi ChiSue! Really glad to have that widebody plane! It's about 45 deg here in NYC today brrr. Lucky you have a place on Maui, that is always something to look forward to every year!

I always look forward to your trip reports!!! You really capture the essence of Hawaii in every report.

Sounds good so far!

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your report!

Lee Ann

Just wanted to share the link to the condo we stayed in.

http://evrhi.com/nalu-lani

It's in the Waikiki Banyan which is on the zoo end of Waikiki, right near the Marriott Waikiki and the Hyatt Place. It was a very short walk to the beach. The beach is the protected end of Waikiki which is nice for novice swimmers.

The buildings were ok, there are two towers and they had many units each so the elevators can get congested. However, tall buildings meant we had a great view of Waikiki, Honolulu, Manoa, and the ocean off to the side. The views were lovely and the unit was nicely renovated and spacious. It came with all the amenities, as well as beach chairs, and towels. There is no dishwasher or washer/dryer in this unit. There is a shared coin-operated laundry machine (1 washer and 1 dryer) down the hall but they were old and didn't work very well.

The pool was on the 6th floor deck, but note that it often seemed really breezy during the afternoon-evening hours. There also were 2 hot tubs and a snack bar, BBQ grills and lots of open space.

In the lobby of the complex there is a small convenience store and a coffee bar.

Parking is in a common lot and if you rent a condo that comes with one, a parking pass will be supplied to you which you hang from your rear view mirror.

Hope this helps with anyone who has questions with the Waikiki Banyan! It was our first time staying there.

Thanks kona514, Songdoc and LeeAnn! Your encouragement keeps me writing these reports!

Oahu Day 2 Part 1

The next day we were up early...like 4 am early. We just spent the early hours getting settled, made a pot of kona coffee which we had picked up from Don Quijote, and watched the rest of Hawaii come awake from the view on our balcony. When it looked like the sun was about to rise (around 6:20am), we got ready to go get some breakfast!

We drove over to Kaimuki (about 15 minutes away) so we could try Koko Head cafe. Koko Head cafe is run by former Top Chef contestant, Lee Anne Wong. I'm a big fan and I've seen her on the Food Network, so I was happy she had opened up a place in Hawaii. Koko Head is is primarily a breakfast/brunch spot; she later opened Hale Ohuna (a noodle bar open for dinner) just a few months ago and we were excited to try that as well during our trip!

The weather was warm but a small drizzle was coming down and the skies were cloudy. I hoped the sun came out soon! We got to Koko Head Cafe and found parking in the lot around the corner. The cafe is actually smaller than I expected it to be, so I can now understand the waits during prime brunch hours. It's cute though, with a vintage surfing vibe meets downtown cool.

We both started with coffees, and I got the Breakfast Bibimabab which is a take on the ubiquitous Korean dish, and DH got the Ohayo Eggs skillet, which is a version of baked eggs with a Dashi Parmesan Cream sauce, topped with Bonito flakes and Nori.

My Bibimbap was served on a skillet too so the rice on the bottom got crispy which really added to the texture of the dish. The rice was topped with various vegetables, bacon, homemade kimchi, and a sunny side up egg. I mixed it all together with their gojuchang (spicy Korean chili paste) and it was all very good. The ohayo eggs were delicious too, It's like baked eggs in a savory cream sauce and served with toasted baguette. Two very great starts to our day!

After brunch we saw it had started to rain but by the time we drove back to the condo, it was sunny again! Off to the beach we go! We headed to the protected part of Waikiki Beach, think it is called Kuhio beach park. Even though the skies were blue and the sun was out, the water was a little cold and it was a little windy overall but it was nice to be at the beach again and to feel my toes in the sand! The surfers and boogie boarders were having a great time though. There was a huge swell when we were there so they were taking advantage of the water conditions! In the distance we even saw a rainbow, I guess from all the rain earlier in the day. But I think the rain discouraged some people from coming to the beach early because it wasn’t that crowded at all.

Closer to lunch time we left the beach and decided to drive around Honolulu and get different “snacks” to eat. Get ready for a lot of eating:

First stop was an acai bowl! We went to Diamond Head Cove Health Bar where we shared a “Da Cove” bowl. It’s an acai bowl topped with fruit and a scoop of Pa’I’ai – which is just mashed taro before it gets pounded into poi. It didn’t have much flavor which is characteristic of most taro, but it added a nice creamy texture and another component to the delicious acai bowl. Taro also is high in fiber and other nutrients so win-win!

After the acai bowl we drove over to Chinatown. We wanted to go to Maguro Brothers, which is a seafood market and purveyor located in one of the indoor marketplaces in Chinatown. It was a bit hard to find, but we eventually ended up there. They sell fresh fish as well as poke and sushi bowls. I opted for a fresh maguro, chutoro, ikura, and uni bowl, and DH got a king salmon bowl. My bowl was pretty expensive but that’s because I opted for all the priciest things (about 16 dollars). Both were delicious! The fish was so fresh and clean tasting, and lightly seasoned over rice. It’s mostly a take-out place but they have a few table and chairs and they were nice enough to bring us water too. You’ll have to get over eating inside a marketplace though where they sell fresh cut meats, fish and veggies in the stalls next to you.

Seafood craving satisfied, we were in search of dessert! I had always wanted to go to the new Aloha Tofu Town in the Dole Cannery mall. Aloha Tofu is one of the few remaining Hawaiian manufacturers of tofu and soybean products. They opened this little storefront/takeout window to serve plate lunches to-go as well as many of their tofu products. I was really interested in trying their tofu mousse and okara creampuffs. Note that they close at 3pm and we got there right at 2. Some of the items were almost sold out! I managed to grab a container of tofu mousse and a package of the okara cream puffs. (The cream puffs are only made on Mondays and Thursdays I believe.) What’s special about these puffs is that the choux pastry is made with a by-product from the tofu making, called okara. It’s really just like a soybean meal.

There are a few seats inside the store so we sat down and enjoyed our sweets. The cream puffs were small but there were 4 to a package. They taste great and you cannot tell it apart from a regular cream puff, no tofu taste at all. The tofu mousse comes in different flavors and we opted for green tea. It definitely has a tofu flavor but was creamy, light and airy. I thought it was delicious. If you like soy milk or silken tofu you will like this dessert. In addition to desserts you can also get hot food: tofu loco moco, tofu steaks, katsu, etc. I can’t remember if everything was vegetarian but I know they all contained a bit of tofu in it. The specials change daily so you can always call them to find out what they are serving. Since it was late in the lunch hour, they were giving away free servings of oboro tofu. It is freshly made soft tofu, served hot, that you help yourself from a crockpot. It is served savory, with condiments like green onion, grated ginger, and a special soy sauce that comes from Japan. The soy sauce was very good and definitely made the tofu. I always try to seek out food items made locally and I was excited to try all the offerings at Aloha Tofu Town. Next time we may pick up some plate lunch!

After Aloha Tofu Town we headed to another local company nearby - the Hawaiian Chip Company - to grab a couple of bags of freshly fried taro chips. Their storefront has been renovated since we were last there (2013) so instead of operating out of the front of the factory they have a dedicated space that is air-conditioned. Inside you can find bags of their various chips (taro, purple sweet potato, and regular sweet potato) as well as hot sauces and spices, but we were there to get the made-to-order chips! I think it was 8 dollars a bag and you can choose which kind of tuber you want or a mix of anything. We both really like taro so we got 2 bags. It took about 15 minutes to fry them up. After you get the bag piping hot, you can season them with various spices they have set up at a counter. Salt, garlic powder, nori, spicy seasoning…lots of stuff available, even cinnamon and sugar if you have a sweet craving! This is a great snack to have and we noshed on it throughout our trip.

In my next post I’ll finish up the rest of the day!

Enjoying your report. We hope to visit Hawaii next year.

Thanks charsuzan! Hawaii is our favorite destination!

Oahu Day 2 Part 2

By the time we had finished all our “snacking” it was close to 3:30 pm. We had 5:30pm reservations at the Pig and the Lady so we didn’t bother to return to the condo. Instead we drove to Ala Moana mall.

Let me tell you, I come from mall capital of the tri-state area. I live next to 3 malls, one which is the biggest mall in the state. I can’t stand them! But when in Hawaii I must go to Ala Moana. There is something about it which I absolutely love. I don’t know if it’s just the plethora of Japanese products at Shirokiya, the open-air concept, the stores I can’t find on the mainland, or the local food in the food court, but I love it. Even if I don’t buy anything, I just love walking around soaking it up.

We visited Shirokiya which is the Japanese department store – I love looking at all their stuff! If we didn’t have to eat dinner in a few hours I’d certainly be noshing my way through the second floor. The new Ewa Wing of the mall was not open yet. Bummed we were to miss it by 2 days – but from the pictures I’ve seen online, it looks like a gorgeous & bright new addition. Oh and did you know Shirokiya is slated to open a brand new huge Japan Food town in the new Ewa wing June of 2016? Count me in…

At around 5 we headed back to Chinatown. Parking can be a pain in the area so you want to give yourself ample time, we circled around for a bit before we found parking 5 blocks from the restaurant.

The interior of The Pig and the Lady looks like a shabby-chic opium den: Exposed brick walls, open kitchen, and birdcage lamps dangling from the ceiling. We were handed menus and I was happy to see that the offerings at the restaurant menu differ slightly from what is offered at the farmers markets so that we’d have a unique experience. I ordered a cocktail called the Cobra Commander. It had a sriracha ice cube in it! It was interesting but it got a little too spicy as the ice melted. DH got one called All the Reflexes which is a little more tropical in vibe.

We started off with some appetizers: Oysters fresh from Kualoa Ranch on the north shore, served with a special kaffir lime mignonette. Something called “THE WORKS”: escargot and bone marrow, sautéed with fresh betel leaves and turmeric, served with grilled baguette. The oysters were great! I didn’t know Kualoa ranch farmed oysters but apparently it’s a recent development. It’s slightly brinier than traditional west coast oysters but I prefer that anyways. The mignonette was really good! The bone marrow…let me say when they brought it to our table our jaws dropped. We were not expecting the huge roasted shank bone they set in front of us….about the size of my head. The bone marrow was already scooped out and prepared, but the bone was there for us scrape of all the roasted meat on the outside. It was huge! And filling! I think this would be better shared with a group of people as it was very rich and decadent and probably a bit overkill for 2 people. It was so big the neighboring table took pictures as well!

Our main course was a pho French Dip, a banh mi style roast beef sandwich with a clam broth “jus”. It was very good, but I was honestly getting full at this point. The broth was so delicious, it was bright and tangy, and you wouldn’t think it would go with a roast beef sandwich but it worked really well.

I thought we wouldn’t be able to do dessert but I’m glad we did as it’s one of my favorite things we ate on the trip. The “Flava Fatality” features their homemade soft serves which changes every week. We decided on a twist of the day's flavors: matcha green tea with raspberry sorbet (which just so happens to be our favorite ice cream/sorbet flavors!). The swirl is served with a large black sesame shortbread cookie, and a glass of dark molasses flavored milk. They even wrote Happy Anniversary with icing on the plate (yes it was our 7th anniversary!). OMG everything was so yummy we ate the entire dessert!

We really enjoyed The Pig and The Lady and I highly recommend it for some unique spins on SE Asian/Vietnamese cuisine. Note the place is busy and hoppin’, it is pretty loud too. Reservations are highly recommended…they were packed on a Thursday night. (Oh and pay a visit to the bathroom if you like campy 80's films).

That’s the end of Day 2! Coming up on Day 3…I go on a solo photography tour at sunrise!

An I'm supposed to start making dinner after reading about all this food? I'm *stuffed*!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Sounds like a delicious trip ;-)

Thanks ChiSue! Songdoc - indeed it was!

Day 3 Part 1:

It’s a good thing we were still on east coast time because this morning I had a very early appointment with Oahu Photography Tours! I signed up for the Sunrise Walking Tour and the pickup time was 5:30am. At around 4 am we were awake so we went to one of the few places that was open for breakfast – Wailana Coffee house, an old stand-by located near the Hilton Hawaiian Village end of Waikiki. They are open 24 hours only from Fri – Sun I believe.
I got my usual cup of delicious creamy muesli and side of Portugese sausage, and DH got his usual “Irish” breakfast – a massive breakfast platter complete with a grilled pineapple! DH was not coming on the photo tour – he was going to take a surfing lesson instead!

I had brought a compact Canon DSLR on this trip. Just to know, you don’t need to have a good camera or know photography to go on this tour. It’s more about touring the picturesque spots on the East side and learning a bit of technical knowledge on shooting landscapes, especially the sunrise. At around 5:40am I was picked up in the tour van…it was a brand new van and we were the first people to tour in it! There were about 8 of us on the tour plus our instructor, who was super friendly and very knowledgeable about Hawaiian history and photography.

Our first stop was Sandy Beach! Since this is a sunrise tour, all our stops were on the windward side of Oahu. It was right before sunrise and we were told the lay of the land, and the best spots on the beach to set up for the sunrise. We were all given tripods although you didn’t have to use it if you didn’t want to (although I highly recommend one so your shot's aren't blurry). Also know they have tripod adapters for those with smart phones and small cameras. I would say half of us had DSLRs and the other half were just using their point and shoots and phones!

The sunrise was just amazing! I used a wide angle lens. I didn’t have any special filters for my lenses except a circular polarizer but I took it off for the sunrise pics. According to our instructor the sun’s reflection is what you want in the sunrise pic and I agree (the circular polarizer reduces glare from water). After the sun was up, we spent an additional 10 minutes around the beach taking various shots. It’s been a while since I’ve done landscape photography so I got in a lot of practice trying to get the right exposure and settings.

Then, it was off to Makapu’u Point! It was very pretty there but very windy. We got shots of the bay, the little island off to the side (think it’s called Rabbit Island). It’s hard to get a nice exposure because it was so sunny, and the rocks surrounding the bay are dark, but I managed to get a couple of nice shots. After that we went down to where the beach was and spent some time getting shots there.

Then, it was off to Waimanalo Beach Park – a beautiful wide open beach with a huge stretch of golden sand and tall palm trees in the background. There are bathroom facilities here as well. This was fun – although it was getting really hot, we got some nice shade in the trees.

After some time on the beach it was time for our “breakfast break” – we stopped in the town of Kailua at the Kalapawai Market. It was your simple grocery/deli counter where you can get some breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and coffee. Since I already had breakfast I just got a yogurt parfait but I must say it was very lackluster. Some others who got a breakfast burrito said it was just ok too. Not sure if this place is better for lunch - but to me it was just ok. A good place to stop for supplies and a sandwich before hitting the beach in Kailua maybe, but nowhere I’d go out of the way for.

After our break it was time to head to the Pali Lookout! On the way there we stopped on the side of the road for some shots of the majestic mountains. Since it was misty it is hard to get some detail on the mountains but we waited a little bit and we did eventually get some light.

At Pali Lookout we traveled off the beaten path, down a side trail and went past a blockade that said “Road Closed” (we had special permission to go there though). The views of windward Oahu were magnificent as usual. Throughout the trip our instructor was also going through the history of some of the locations, including the bloody history of the Pali Lookout.

Pali was our last stop, and so we headed back to Waikiki. It was probably a 5.5 hour total experience. I got back to the Banyan at around 11am. The tour was a lot of fun and I was glad I got to take some pictures on my nice camera, although after that day I got really lazy and didn’t bring out the DSLR again.

When I got to the condo, DH was walking back from his surfing lesson. He surfed down by the Royal Hawaiian. He had fun and managed to get up on the board a few times! (It was his first lesson).

Coming up…some lunch!

Very interesting trip report which I am following intently, we go to Hawaii for our first time next year. We haven't chosen our airline yet, and air miles don't come into it, for us. Why is Hawaiian airlines so beloved?

People love HA because it feels as though you've started your vacation when you board these aloha-filled planes. Now...HA doesn't service Chicago, and I've only used their very mundane interisland flights, so no personal experience here. Our miles are on AA, and I'm just looking for a nonstop on the long leg on a 767 so I can use my miles to upgrade to first class. We can do ORD-DFW-either OGG or HNL. I avoid 757's and most west coast connections for our routing.

stevelyon - the reason we love HA is the reason ChiSue mentioned - the feeling of being on vacation the moment when you step on board. It's the little things, like great service, flight attendants saying "Aloha", the fact that they serve POG (passion, orange, guava juice), and the complimentary meal from the mainland (ok food but really when do you ever get included meals on an airline nowadays?).

In all honestly we have braved some really mediocre flights on other airlines to get to Hawaii, but being on Hawaiian Air really makes a difference, like icing on a cake. In addition, the routing is ideal for us, because like United Airlines, Hawaiian Air operates a non-stop flight to Honolulu from the tri-state area and in a wide body plane. Definitely more comfortable for a long flight like ours.

Just wanted to post my blog links with pictures for the first 2 days of our trip:

Day 1: Flying to HNL and HNL Farmer's Market
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1590

Day 2: Koko Head Cafe, Waikiki Beach, Snacking around Honolulu
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1598

Breakfast at Koko Head looks great. Happy anniversary!

I want to see you two at the END of this trip to compare the 'before' and 'after'. I want to see you both looking rested. (OK, OK, so I'm a Grandma.)

Thanks Patty! Koko Head was yummy. I'd definitely like to reutrn. There were a lot of things I'd like to try on the menu.

ChiSue - haha don't you know by now that we are always on the move? I can take a few hours on the beach but anything more and we get antsy. A successful Hawaiian vacation for us is when we've been able to see and eat everything under the sun. :)

Day 3 Part 2:

After our pretty active morning, we headed out to grab some lunch. We went to Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens, which is a takeout spot right next to Rainbow Drive-In (it is operated by the same people). It is a combination of Honolulu’s most beloved old-school diner favorites all under one roof. Inside, there is one counter that sells popular items: KC Drive-In’s waffle hotdog, Poke Stop’s tasty poke bowls, and of course, Rainbow Drive-In’s plate lunch (called Rainbowls). In addition they have an outpost of Shimazu Shave Ice. This was really nice because I didn’t have to go to different places to get my poke and shave ice fix and it is very close to Waikiki. They also have a parking lot which it shares with Rainbow Drive In.

The space is new and bright and seating is indoors, unlike Rainbow next door. We wanted a large poke bowl and we did a half and half of the spicy garlic ahi with edamame, and the creamy spicy poke. It was delicious! I really loved the spicy garlic with edamame. It was a really tasty combination. After the poke bowl I got a Shimazu Shave ice. It’s great that you can get one right there without having to drive to Kalihi, although the original one I think is a little better; still I was happy to get my shave ice fix!

A few doors down, we got yet another poke bowl (this time, to-go) at Ono Seafoods, which was our personal favorite for a long time. However, I keep thinking about that spicy garlic ahi poke from Poke Stop so that may be my new favorite going forward. :)

The afternoon breeze picked up after lunch. We wanted to check out the 6th floor pool at the Waikiki Banyan but it was a little too windy to lay out. We did get to use the hot tub though, which was nice. After resting up in the condo we headed out that evening for dinner at Hale Ohuna, Chef Lee Anne Wong’s new noodle bar in Kaimuki.

Hale Ohuna is located on the main drag of Kaimuki and is close by to Koko Head Café where we had breakfast the day before. The new place is a modern two story restaurant with a large bar area. We sat in the upstairs seating area. To start, we ordered the kawa dumplings, a fried lotus root appetizer special, and I ordered a cocktail with beet juice in it. There is a pretty extensive cocktail/liquor menu and the cocktails all feature hand crafted ingredients and fresh juices - thought that was pretty cool.

The appetizers were tasty – kawa dumplings uses chicken skin as the dumpling wrapper of the meat filling and the whole thing is deep fried, sort of like fried chicken meets potsticker. The lotus roots were good, but not as exciting compared to the dumplings.

As entrees, we split two noodle dishes, a ramen called “‘Elima pua’a ramen: Shinsato pork bone broth, miso braised belly, kalua pig, chicharron, black garlic kotteri, onsen egg, tokyo negi, benishoga, wakame, heart of palm, sapporo style noodles” and a dry-style braised lamb neck curry udon which was a special of the day. The ramen was really delicious and flavorful. It sounds like a lot of ingredients in a dish but they all really worked well together. The lamb neck curry was very nice but could have used a bit more sauce as it got a bit too dry when we mixed everything up.

For dessert we got a tofu panna cotta with fresh passionfruit. It was really good! Oh and we met chef Lee Anne! I follow her Instagram and I thought she was traveling at that time but fortunately she was there that evening. I told her I was a big fan and we came all the way from New York to eat her food (she’s from New York). She’s very sweet and I really liked how she checked on each and every table dining there – sometimes chefs stay behind the scenes but I like it when I get to meet them. I definitely enjoyed Hale Ohuna and would love to return on our next visit. Reservations are available (unlike at Koko Head) and I would suggest making them.

Tomorrow (Day 4), we work off all the food we’ve been eating by climbing up KoKo Head Crater!

Day 2 Part 2 is now on the blog! You have to see the picture of the huge beef bone that was part of our appetizer at The Pig & The Lady:

http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1606

Day 4:

Today it was Saturday and on every Oahu vacation we always go to the KCC Farmer’s market first thing Saturday morning. We enjoy the vendors and stalls there and going around sampling all the foods. I remembered to bring my mason jar from Waimanalo Country Farms so I could get a refill of lemonade for 4 bucks.

It’s best to go early (like at 7am when they open) so you can get a decent parking spot close to the market. The morning had some sun showers and it was off and on rain. We didn’t mind though. We started out by getting 2 orders of the grilled Big Island Abalone (4 minis to an order) – I added some soy sauce, lemon juice and butter. The abalone is very tender which is pretty rare to find since it is a naturally tough sea creature. It made for a very tasty start to our morning!

We went around and sampled some locally made products…breads, cookies, jams, honey, dressings and dips. I got my refill of li hing lemonade and happily sipped it throughout the morning. We got an order of these huge grilled shrimp (more like a prawn). They were head-on and shell on so they were pretty hard to eat, especially standing up, but they were really good. Then we sat down to share a bowl of noodles at our favorite, The Pig & The Lady (third time on the trip we're eating at a Pig & The Lady establishment!) We shared an order of the chicken pho. As we were sitting, we had a lovely chat with some locals who were talking about their recent trip to NYC and we were sharing stories about Hawaii. Someone told me about a takeout spot called Your Kitchen which I had heard of before. She said it was her favorite bento/lunch place. Sadly we never made it there on our trip but we will next time!

After our satisfying breakfast at the KCC, we drove towards Hawaii Kai and headed to Koko Head Crater. We were going to attempt this hike again. It’s more than 1000 steps to the top on an old railroad track. We first did it in 2013 – and it was hard, really hard. It’s like climbing flights and flights of stairs in the heat. It was probably a tad better this time but still pretty hard. I wore trail shoes which I think helped get some traction as I remember the first time I wore regular sneakers and slipped a few times. Definitely bring lots of water! The views as you get higher and higher are amazing. Definitely worth the hike. Lot's of people were doing this hike, both local and visitors. Luckily for us it was still overcast as we went up so we didn’t have the sun blazing down our backs. The sun came back up as we headed back down though so by the time we got back to the parking lot we were sweating buckets. I guess we needed this after all that we’ve been eating!

We decided to get a treat nearby at Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha, which is a shave ice/ice cream spot specializing in natural ingredients. We came here after the first time we climbed Koko Head so I guess now it is tradition. :) We got the green tea shave ice with azuki bean, ice cream, and mochi. It was really yummy and refreshing - the perfect treat after a strenuous hike.

Later that afternoon we had lunch nearby the condo at the Marriott Waikiki – Arancino. Delicious Japanese-inspired Italian food. I had the pasta with uni (sea urchin) with a garlic, butter, white wine sauce. It was really good but you have to like uni to appreciate this dish (I do). DH got a pasta with calamari and tobiko which is just a flying fish roe. I really like Arancino and would one day like to try their fancier restaurant at the Kahala Resort.

We spent the afternoon walking around Waikiki beach. It was raining on and off and the sun would peep through every so often. It was definitely prime rainbow weather though!

Dinner was at a new and popular place downtown: MW Restaurant. It’s sort of a more casual fine dining concept. The chefs trained at French Laundry, Alan Wong’s and Per Se. There is an open kitchen and the space is bright and modern. There was valet parking but I can’t remember if it was free. We may have had to pay 5 bucks. But it was a welcome relief to not have to look for parking in the area.

DH got the tasting menu which included about 5 courses but I wanted to try specific things so I got a la carte. I got a local Greek salad to start, which was actually really large. The greens were really fresh and the dressing was great. It got it’s local flavor by the addition of some shiso leaves which are a type of Japanese spice, similar to basil. DH got a multitude of appetizers on a plate. I spied some Korean fried chicken, mini kobe slider, and pork belly bao. I also got Ahi tuna tartare with uni and ikura – the presentation was beautiful and everything was really fresh and bright. I really do love uni.

DH’s next course was a seared foie gras, which was delicious. His next three courses were fish, lobster, and short rib. He enjoyed everything he got. I got the mochiko-crusted opakapaka, a pink snapper crusted with sweet rice flour and deep fried, served with 3 types of picked vegetables and a dipping sauce. It was very good. I love opakapaka and I order it whenever I see it on a menu and MW’s version didn’t disappoint. I still do have a soft spot for Alan Wong’s pork hash-crusted opakapaka though.

Our dinner was really fantastic but dessert blew me away. I wanted to try the Kula Strawberry shave ice and it was just as good as it sounded. Frozen kula strawberries were “shaved” onto a coconut tapioca base with fresh mochi. I loved this dessert! I don’t know which one I liked better – The Pig and The Lady’s Flava Fatality or this. I must admit I have lost some of my sweet tooth over the years but these desserts have really brought it out again. DH also got a passion fruit panna cotta, a chocolate bar, and mini malasadas as part of his meal. All were very good but the shave ice was the favorite.

I would highly recommend MW restaurant. The prices are in line with Alan Wong’s but I thought the food was more modern and innovative whereas AW was more classic pacific rim. I think this could be our new favorite “fine dining” in Hawaii!

Coming up the next day, we head windward!

Still reading... little time to comment though.

Thanks ChiSue! The holidays are always a busy time. I have to keep on top of this TR though just so I can write everything down while it's still fresh.

Here's my blog post on the Oahu Sunrise Photography Tour with pictures!
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1614

GORGEOUS pix!
I would do that tour in a heartbeat. But I might have to take my breakfast with me and eat after the sun had risen!

Thank you Songdoc!
It was a really fun tour. There were also full day and sunset tours but I was really tired after the sunrise so I can't imagine how exhausting the full day tour would be. You'd probably get some incredible shots though.

Great trip report! Thanks!

One comment though! Old Pali highway (hike from Pali Lookout) is not closed to hikers! It is only closed to vehicles! I've done this hike many times!

dusty56438 - Thank you!

Oh I didn't know it was only closed to vehicles. There was just a big sign saying road closed...I didn't realize that it didn't apply to people. Our guide said, don't worry, they know that we are here when we all pointed to the sign. LOL.

Thank you for such an in-depth trip report with lots of helpful tips. With this TR and Suze's helpful tips from many trips, we've got some great info for a future visit to Oahu. (Our goal is to rent a condo at the Landmark for a month and then explore leisurely without a car through buses, guided tours, etc). This one from the site you used looks perfect: http://evrhi.com/honua

WeisserTee - thank you for reading! Wow a month on Oahu! You're gonna have a great time! I'm jealous. The landmark looks awesome and the condo looks beautiful, I especially love the pool area, such a rarity in Waikiki to have a large pool.

Yes, that's why we picked it. Lots of room to swim and no jellyfish ;-) The Landmark requires a 30-day minimum rental period; apparently some people don't stay the whole time, but if we're splashing out that much for a vacation rental, we're going to make sure we spend every night there.

It will also be nice to stay in a building that appears in soooo many Hawaii 5-0 overhead location shots...

Of course, if I spend money on a condo I'd want to stay and enjoy the entire time!

That's really cool. You can say that you stayed there while pointing to the TV. I've always wanted to say at the Ilikai for that reason. :)

Hooray! Thanks so much for posting such a detailed report about your trip. Really enjoyable reading and excellent information.

aloha, suze

Thanks suze! Appreciate it!

Day 5:

This morning we had breakfast at Bogart’s Café near Diamond Head. I had heard good things about the acai bowl here so wanted to check it out. You order at the counter and then find a seat. The place is small and fills up fast but we managed to get a table for two. We ordered the acai bowl and the crab and avocado omelet. We’ve had the omelet before and it was just as good as we remembered it. The acai bowl on the other hand was pretty standard. It was rather boring. It was just acai with some basic fruit and granola that tasted store-bought. I think because I have had such great acai bowls with many unique toppings on previous trips to Hawaii that I just expected more. Many people like the acai here though, maybe because of its simplicity.

After breakfast we headed east! We were off to Lanikai beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Hawaii IMO. We found parking on the side of a road. Note, Lanikai does not have a dedicated parking area nor facilities but neighboring Kailua beach does. We walked through the access path to the beach in between stately beach homes. It’s such a pretty sight to see the blue water and white sand as you get closer. Finally we see the beach and the Mokuloa islands in the distance. Then we realized it was probably the windiest day of the trip today, and we were on the windward coast. Holy wind tunnel batman! Boy, was it gusty on the beach! Hair and towels flying everywhere. We had to weight down each end of our towels with something because it was crazy windy. It was still very beautiful though, but I felt bad for the kayakers who were doing everything possible to stay on their boats. Despite the breezy morning we managed to have a lot of fun. At least it was sunny!

After battling the wind we left the beach and stopped by the Kailua Farmer’s Market. It was winding down when we got there but I recognize many of the vendors from the Saturday KCC farmer’s market and Wednesday’s Honolulu market. We headed back to Waikiki but we drove down the scenic route and stopped at the Halona Blowhole and Halona Beach Cove. Very beautiful views (still windy though) and Halona cove you will recognize as the beach from the movie “From Here to Eternity”. You can climb down some rocks to access it too. A very nice picture spot!

Back in Waikiki we had lunch at the Waikiki Shoreline Hotel – at a newish café called Heavenly. We walked there from the Banyan and took us about 20 minutes. I had not heard too much about this place but everything I saw on it has been favorable. The restaurant has a chic beach-y ambiance and the food is organic and sourced locally where possible. The menu looked great, lots of interesting, healthy options with an ethnic twist. DH got the shrimp pho noodle soup, and I got the Hainanese chicken rice, which is something I grew up eating (I’m from Singapore). I also got a green smoothie which was really good. The shrimp pho was very surprising. It was hearty and quite complex. It exceeded my expectations because I have not had good pho outside of a dedicated Vietnamese restaurant. My chicken rice was slightly different than what I was used to but it was quite tasty! Brined and poached chicken breast is served chilled with rice cooked in chicken broth, and some condiments on the side. It also came with a bowl of broth. I thought the flavors were well balanced. I would definitely return to Heavenly, maybe to try breakfast one day.

After lunch we wanted to walk around that end of Waikiki a bit but then it started to pour! We ducked into a dept store and waited it out for about half an hour, then it got sunny again. We walked around then went back to the Banyan. We were heading to the North shore the next day and needed to get some gas so we drove over to Costco to fill up.

Gas filled, but not hungry enough for dinner, we spent our evening at the movies at Ward Center (Spectre, which had just opened). I like theatres in Hawaii because you can get local snacks like fruit with li hing, and popcorn with mochi crunch.

We had a late night dinner at one of our favorites, 678 Hawaii, a Korean BBQ joint. Really yummy Korean barbeque they cook in front of you. Service is always on point here too.

Coming up, our escape to the North Shore!

Day 3 Part 2: Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens and dinner at Hale Ohuna is on the blog!

http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1625

Day 6 Part 1:

Today was Monday and we thought it was a good time to go on our North Shore adventure! We figured we’d avoid some of the weekend traffic by heading north on a weekday. We usually do the North Shore at least once on each trip. We enjoy it a lot and we always have a meal at a shrimp truck and end with a Matsumoto’s Shave ice (and maybe a pie from Ted’s Bakery, oh and Dole whip too).

This morning we had breakfast at Cream Pot, it’s a cute little place in the Hawaiian Monarch hotel. It had quite a vintage vibe…think antique lace and vintage dinnerware. However, the restaurant was nice and bright in the morning light! I ordered one of their specialties…soufflé pancakes with strawberries, and DH got a special of that day, scrambled eggs with brie and smoked salmon. The food was very tasty. The soufflé pancakes were very light and airy and the eggs were scrambled very well. I would say the portion size is on the small side though. I would return here as I think the place is cute and there were some other things I’d try on the menu.

Before our trip I had booked us a little farm tour of Kahuku Farms. It was called the Smoothie Tour and it is a tractor ride through their farm followed by a serving of their fresh fruit smoothies. The whole tour only takes 30 minutes so I thought it would be a nice stop that didn’t require a huge time commitment (there are longer farm tours as well). The smoothie tour was at 1pm so we had plenty of time to explore on the drive up!

We drove up north stopping at a place I’ve want to go to for a long time, the Byodo-In Temple. I had never been here before but I’ve always recognized it from movies and TV shows such as LOST and Hawaii 5-0 (I actually think it was in the last episode of H50!). The drive into the temple grounds was so peaceful and serene. You pay a small fee to enter. The temple itself is quite small but it’s beautiful and majestic, especially in the early daylight with the mist in the background. There are some black and white swans roaming the property as well, and a huge koi pond. You can visit the inside of the temple but you have to take off your shoes to see the Buddha. There is a small gift shop on the grounds as well.

Continuing up north on the Kamehameha Highway, we stopped at Kualoa National Park for a view of Chinaman’s Hat…the little island called Mokoli’I Island. It was still windy today…in fact I think most of November was windy on the islands. We couldn’t escape the wind!

Continuing up north, we visited one of our favorite chocolate stores, Fine Ass Chocolates. If you check in on yelp and like them on Facebook they give you a discount! It’s a great place to get really nice gifts as their chocolate covered mac nut balls are made with premium chocolate (and they have funny names like Fire Balls, Salty Balls, Flaky Balls, etc.). They make great gifts!

Further up we stopped at North Shore Taco Co because DH wanted a quick snack. The fish tacos were not bad…but I would not go out of my way for this. Then we came upon Hukilau Beach and decided to spend some time there. Yes it was windy but it was beautiful! Such a pretty beach and barely a handful of people were there. There are no facilities on this beach though but I’d definitely come back again.

It was time for our smoothie tour at Kahuku Farms! It’s a family-owned farm, and they actually have many acres of commercially-grown produce, but the farm itself that is available for public viewing in Kahuku is their organic and sustainable farm. The produce is mainly used in their on-site café (including in those smoothies!). Our tractor tour was done by the owner himself (his wife mans the café and his mom creates all the recipes). It was a short tour, but it was fun since my husband has been growing vegetables and fruit in our own organic garden in New Jersey so he’s been really interested in anything that sparks his green thumb.

After the ride, we went to the café and each received our smoothies which was perfect since it was really hot at this point in the day. The included smoothie is the papaya smoothie, and it was really good, possibly one of the best smoothies I’ve had! It was thick yet refreshing with the flavors of papaya and coconut. I was contemplating ordering another one but something else caught my eye. I saw other people order the grilled veggie pesto pizza and it looked really good so we had to get one to share. I don’t normally go for grilled veggies and pesto but let me tell, you their version is awesome! The fresh veggies and pesto made from farm-grown basil with cheese on a thick yet crisp crust…delicious. It’s served with a side salad with homemade dressing. They also have other salads and sandwiches on their menu, all produce sourced from the farm, of course. They even have a pretty neat hydroponic section where they grow lettuces. In addition they sell homemade skincare products made from honey. I definitely think Kahuku Farms is worth a stop, especially for a bite to eat in their café!

Not quite satiated yet, we wanted to hit up a shrimp truck because no visit to the north shore would be complete without one. Our usual go-to is Romy’s but we had heard great things about Fumi’s so that’s where we went on this trip. It wasn’t that crowded which is great as once we had to wait 45 minutes for food at Romy’s. I got the spicy garlic shrimp and DH got the lemon pepper. It’s served with 2 scoops of rice, side salad and slice of pineapple. I liked my spicy shrimp more than the lemon pepper, which tasted like store-bought seasoning. But the shrimp were good and tender, and the addition of salad and pineapple were nice. I’d probably go back to Romy’s next time but I’d recommend either place.

Coming up…more North Shore beach going, we find a new spot for turtle viewing, and we end the day with a shave ice!

Updated the blog with Day 4 Part 1: KCC Farmers Market, Koko Head and Uncle Clay's.
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1632


and Day 4 Part 2: Arancino and MW Restaurant
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1638

Had too many pictures so I broke Day 4 up into two parts. Enjoy and Happy New Year to all!