suze

Sharing fantastic places we found in Waikiki last week:

"World Famous North Shore - Blue Water Shrimp & Seafood Co." has a truck parked between Launiu and Kaiolu on Kuhio. $10.95 for an amazing plate of food (shrimp or ahi, etc.) Listen for the generator & look for the red carpet running in over a gravel lot from the sidewalk. Picnic table seating or to-go.

Arancino Italian 255 Beachwalk, excellent food, fun setting, $60 for 2 people included two drinks each, one shared appetizer, two pasta entrees. Arrive early to avoid waiting in line.

Barefoot Bar at Hale Koa Hotel - stunning tropical drinks for $5.95! Great service, setting, sunset view.

suze

Two we didn't make it to but came well recommended by others:

Irifune, 563 Kapahulu Ave.
Ono Hawaiian Foods, 726 Kapahulu Ave.

w/ aloha and mahalo to everyone who helped me with my trip!

colombiana

Suze:
Thanks for sharing, can we look for a trip report?
Gina

suze

Gina~ nope (but i mean that in the nicest way) no trip reports from me -cuz all i do is hang around... there's really nothing to tell -lol!!

trippinkpj

I 2nd the barefoot bar at the Hale Koa. I was there in 2002, and we had $4.95 mai tai's back then. They were yummy and potent! A buck more is no problemo. ;-)

mark99

Don't tell me you didn't get to Alan Wong's !!!!

The best restaurant in the Islands!

Better do it next time.

suze

Mark99- Perhaps I should have included the word "budget" in the title of my post


Alan Wong's was on our list of recommendations from people at home but we got mixed reviews from a local, and decided not to drop big bucks when we were having such fun with the much less expensive local places. AND we only had 1 week, so ran out of nights long before we ran out of restaurants!

suze

And Tiki Bar was great for drinks at sunset, live music, nice view (thanks MelissaHI).

ABC continues to rock for cheap sandwiches to eat on the beach at lunchtime.

trippinkpj

Hey Suze- I know what you mean about no trip report, as I decided not to do one on my road trip to Austin in December. It was mostly driving and hanging with relatives/ friends. ;-)

suze

OK, now I'm tempted, here is my 1st trip report ever:

Arrive Honolulu airport, soak in the warmth and fragrant air, feel extremely happy, catch a taxi which turns out to be a fabulously funky stretch limo to the Hawaiian King hotel.

Check in and admire lovely condo (one of the units managed by Pat Winston's Waikiki Condos within the Hawaiian King). Go to beach. Have cocktails and watch sunset at Barefoot Bar. Have delicious dinner at Arancino's. Stroll home.

Next day. Get up. Make coffee & get pastries from St Germaine. Go to beach. Have lunch from the ABC. Time for cocktails. Walk all over Waikiki. Have dinner. Stroll home.

Rest & repeat each day for duration of vacation with slight modifications including one stop at a neighborhood farmers market, buy boogie board, various shopping, walk all over, Food Pantry for groceries, people watching, more shopping, cook dinner in one evening, grab a little nightlife, do the laundry, listen to lots of Hawaiian music, walk all over, sit by the pool, eat some ice cream, take lots of photos.

That's it! Any questions?
suze

prewitt25

Having been to Hawaii a number of times myself, it seems to me that you have it down pretty well!

aloha

Aloha Suze! Thank you for the report. The shrimp truck sounds great; have not seen one in Waikiki before that I can recall. I remembered you had said you were staying in a condo and I was wondering how it turned out---sounds like it was satisfactory. I can see you strolling and relaxing, and I am glad I am planning to be in Waikiki later this year, otherwise I'd be so jealous!

suze

for aloha~ re condo you can see where we stayed www.winstonswaikikicondos.com

we loved it!! it would not be to everyone's taste perhaps, as it is part of an older 1-star hotel and on the "bad" side of Waikiki off Kuhio. but condo was spanky clean, well equipped, and very functional for us. a bit of a hike to the beach tho. if anyone's interested, you can read a detailed report specifically about the apartment ammenities for someone who's staying there this summer, that i posted over on the Waikiki forum at Trip Advisor under screen name Suze2you.

I'm guessing the shrimp truck may be new & likely temporary. It appears that it drove in, parked & set up. It's in an empty lot, where I'm guessing the new Trump Tower will soon be built -lol!

carolyn

Suze, we found Germaine's patisserie last summer and enjoyed it very much. We had been to Paris earlier in the year for our 25th anniversary and walked around the St. Germaine area, so it was fun to go into the Hawaii shop.

Am I the only person ever who didn't like the Forum-famous Leonard's masaladas? I didn't know to get the cream filled ones, though, and just got sugar ones. None of us liked them much, and we had walked forever to find them.

MelissaHI

How did I miss this TR? Glad you had a good time...sorry no GTG.....

mark99

if buget is an issue try his other restaurant...The Pineapple Room...it is casual and the food is still amazing.

Not sure what you mean by budget...but the meny is very flxible to accomodate amny budgets and you can easily dine with a cocktail for under 90$ with tip.

It is without a doubt the best restaurant on the Island...so if you are a foodie and can do it...I highly recommend it.

trippinkpj

Oh Suze, I called Pat Winston once, as we were planning on staying there in 2002. Then my Dad got DH and I a room at the Hale Koa (next to my parents).
Glad that you checked them out.

trippinkpj

Oh, I see you actually stayed there Suze. Cool!

suze

Mark99~~ by "budget" I mean $10.95 for dinner (LOL) like at the shrimp truck I recommended above or $5.00 for lunch (includes sandwich & mini bottle of wine from the ABC)!! Our restaurant meals ran about $60 total for 2 people (plus tip) and included several cocktails. Money is not an "issue" for us, just that we have more fun at the funky joints, are not "foodies", simply enjoy a good time in casual places with decent food which we found.

MelissaHI- I only wrote it just this morning!! I thought kindly of you when we looked at the map and I noticed the various spots around where you work. We never did make it out of Waikiki central.

Trippinkpj- How was the Hale Koa? My parents want to take a trip and my Dad's ex-Navy. Would that get us in? I sure enjoyed their beach bar and the hotel looked very very nice.

And for anyone seeking reasonably priced condos, I would certainly recommend checking out Pat's. He only manages 7 of them at the moment but used to have a lot more & has been doing it for years and really has his act together.

Quite honestly I'm ready to buy a condo myself at the Hawaiian King. There are several up for sale!

mark99

Yikes!!! OK then may I suggest the Seven Eleve On Kuhio Ave. No kidding, the Manapua buns are great in the morning. Also you cannot beat the sushi at ABC for a light snack....so there I fixed the hole in your budget!