tifa2276

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!

Patty

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.

ChiSue

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.

tifa2276

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!

kona514

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

Songdoc

Sounds good so far!

ElendilPickle

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

Lee Ann

tifa2276

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.

tifa2276

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!

charsuzan

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

tifa2276

Thanks charsuzan! Hawaii is our favorite destination!

tifa2276

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!

ChiSue

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

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Songdoc

Sounds like a delicious trip ;-)

tifa2276

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!

stevelyon

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?

ChiSue

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.

tifa2276

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.

tifa2276

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

Patty

Breakfast at Koko Head looks great. Happy anniversary!