I woke up early for our flight and was lucky to see a little bit of the sunrise. There was a major downpour the night before and I was worried for our friends’ wedding. Who wants to get married in Hawaii when it's raining?!

Soon, the sun was shining and slowly working its way through the clouds. Phew...

We took a taxi to the airport and almost missed our flight to Maui (inter-island terminal, my friends!).

But got there right when they were boarding the little plane.

Aloha!

As we landed, Maui immediately looked very different from Oahu—fewer buildings, more land and a whole of lot ocean.

We had 3 full hours before the wedding and we were starving. Our friend recommended Koiso Sushi, but they were unfortunately closed. I didn’t have enough time to research Maui before our trip, so we didn’t have many other restaurant suggestions.

We drove around the island, in our cool bright blue convertible (yes a convertible again, "THE place for a convertible!"), and ended up at Jawz. Yes, Jawz with a Z.

Known for their fish tacos, we ordered two, ono and ahi.  The fish was barely there, considering the tacos were mostly made of cabbage, cheese and a 1000 island-like sauce. They were nothing special and I’ve definitely had way better fish tacos before.

We saw an interesting pineapple fried rice on the menu, but it ended up being not-so-interesting. I could barely taste the pineapple and the rice was overcooked.

Maui’s food was not off to a good start, but that wasn’t our main concern. We had a wedding to get to!

Next on my list was Waiola Shave Ice. Fortunately, it was very close to Leonard’s, only three or so blocks away. Unfortunately, it closed about an hour before we arrived.

Bummed, we walked back to our car, knowing we were THIS close to trying Waiola’s famous shave ice. We're talking about interesting toppings like mochi, condensed milk and red beans; exactly what my co-worker was saying about Ice Garden. We could have even had it after Rainbow Drive Inn, everything’s that close to each other, without us realizing it!

At least I got to try shave ice just a few days ago...and if I really still wanted shave ice, I can probably get some in Maui.

Jason and I walked around the downtown Waikiki strip a little bit and then grabbed a drink at Hula Grill. Remember the very first day we were trying to find a specific beach-side bar in the heat and couldn’t? Well, THIS was it. The Hula Grill, right on the beach. But, sadly, we couldn’t sit at the tables right on the beach because they were reserved for diners only. At least I was no longer in jeans and sweating my ass off.

Beach-side or not, the ambiance inside was nice and it still felt as though we were outside, only several yards away from the beach. We ordered cocktails, a mai tai and lava flow, highly recommended by Jason’s co-worker.

The lava flow was delicious yet very girly.  It was a blend of their pina colada with an “explosion of strawberry puree.” Good, but I would only order one of these and move on to the next drink.

Jason’s fresh squeezed mai tai came with fresh pineapple, guava, orange and passion fruit juices, orange curacao and Diamond Head dark rum. The one we had back at Turtle Bay was so much better, but at least this one came in a really cute cup—one side had a smile and the other, a frown.

Puka Dog (Hawaiian style hot dogs) was on my list, but we savored our mediocre drinks way too long and realized it was just about to close. We were only blocks away, but Puka will have to wait until next time.

We ventured onto Duke’s, a bar right below Hula Grill and this time, right on the beach. The night was perfect, not too hot or cold.

I found a satisfying cocktail, ambassador, a concoction of lychee vodka, coconut rum, passion fruit juice and raspberry puree. It had a nice kick to it, but also a slight sweetness. I’ll have to try to make this back home, seems easy.

As we walked back to our hotel through the Waikiki beach, we couldn’t believe it was our last night in Oahu. We’ve been having so much fun and enjoying the local flavors. Our vacation was already half over and we didn’t want to leave. But, if Maui’s as cool as Oahu, we’ll be in for a treat.

Even though we were stuffed, this was our last night in Oahu and we had a few more places to go. Who knows when we’ll ever come back to this beautiful state? Jason did joke about moving here, but that’d have to wait several more years.

Malasadas.

I remember way back, in either elementary or middle school, my best friend told me about these amazing Hawaiian doughnuts called malasadas. She said it was the best thing in the world and she always looked forward to it whenever she went to Hawaii (she’s a veteran when it comes to Hawaii, visiting almost every summer).

Fifteen plus years later, I still remember her telling me about them, so I was really excited when we pulled up to Leonard’s, THE place to get malasadas.

At only 90 cents each, I got two, knowing I’ll save one for tomorrow morning.

Jason got the original, white sugar, while I got cinnamon and the flavor of the month, lilikoi (passion fruit). The malasadas were warm and doughy, like big doughnuts back home, but without the hole in the middle. Delicious.

The lilikoi filled one had a bright yellow gooey mixture, a little bit too sweet for my liking and it tasted artificial. I also didn’t like how there was so much filling. Each small bite came with a big ooze of custard, too messy for me.

Leonard’s malasadas lived up to my standards, from hearing my friend’s story just once. If only there was a Leonard’s across the street back home, they would be the perfect start to any morning.

While heading over to Boots and Kimo’s, we drove through the mountains and passed a scenic point. We backtracked a bit and went there after our tummies were filled with mac nut pancakes.

Wild chicken greeted us as we walked towards the Nu’uanu Pali. The northeast view of Oahu was beautiful, but we only enjoyed it for about five minutes, considering it was super windy and cold.

Eat. Beach. Repeat.

That’s become the routine during our vacation. No complains here! I’ve been appreciating every relaxing minute.

We picked a random beach, Kailua Beach Park, and enjoyed the sun, soft sand and even jumped into the warm ocean. It was mostly overcast and the frequency of rain picked up, so we grabbed our things and continued our driving adventure around Oahu.

Dinner was approaching and I wanted to try Ono Hawaiian Foods, but they were unfortunately closed. We headed over to Helena’s Hawaiian Food only a few blocks away.

Helena’s looked like a local joint, although it’s been featured by Andrew Zimmerman and is also on most tourists’ lists. Both Ono and Helena are known for their authentic Hawaiian cuisine. There are many great debates on who’s better (Bourdain featured Ono), but I was excited to try some genuine kalua pig, not caring which place it came from.

Jason and I ordered menu C, which included the kalua pig, lomi salmon, and pipikalua short ribs with small poi ($14.95). The waitress also recommended the laulau ($4). The dishes came quickly in small bowls, each offering several bites of their delicacy.

The lomi salmon was like a ceviche, served cold and had a mixture of tomatoes, raw salmon and onions. It had way more tomatoes than salmon, which reminded me of salsa. I felt like I needed chips with this dish.

The pipikalua short ribs reminded me of the ribs we had The Alley, but these had way more meat and fat. The smokiness was delicious and had a crunchy sweet char.

The kalua pig was one of my favorites out of the set menu, which was cooked in an imu, an underground oven. The shredded pork meat was tender, moist and also smoky, with just the right balance of salt. I could eat this in a sandwich any day.

The recommended laulau, a ball of pork wrapped in leaves and also cooked in an imu. The meat was juicier than the kalua, but I preferred the latter for its extra smokiness.

The Polynesian staple, poi, was our least favorite. It’s made out of taro plant and has the consistency of yogurt. I’ve only had poi once and was expecting a sweet taste, but was shocked by its tartness. Tables around us were gobbling this dish up. I guess this is where the enjoyment of authentic Hawaiian cuisine stops for me. I managed only a couple of spoonfuls when I simply had to focus on the dishes I actually liked.

Lastly, complementary, haupia, the highlight of the entire meal for me. This was the best haupia I’ve ever had, incomparable to the one I had back home or even the Chinese versions they serve at dim sum restaurants. The haupia were thick blocks of rich coconut pudding, but soft and melting in your mouth. They were so good; we had to order another serving ($2.25). I wished I could have taken this home with me. I’ll have to try to make it one day!

Helena’s is a bit hole-in-the-wall, but that’s what I also liked about it. No frills. The focus is on the onolicious yet affordable food. I’ll have to try Ono, if I ever come back, and compare the two.

Bright and early, we returned our awesome convertible for a rugged Jeep at the rental car agency. We originally wanted a much smaller car, but a huge convention was in town (Obama too), so all the small cars were already reserved. We decided to switch it up, considering the Sebring was a bit embarrassing (“how to spot a tourist!”).

This was our last full day in Oahu and a flight to Maui was scheduled for the next morning, so everything we wanted to eat in Oahu had to be accomplished in the next 24 hours.

First off the list, the famous macadamia nut pancakes at Boots and Kimo’s in Kailua, 30 minutes away from Waikiki.

It was an hour wait, but as we finally entered the sports memorabilia filled restaurant, I was excited yet very hungry.

During the wait, I was debating on whether I should try the French toast or pancakes with the mac nut sauce. I typically don’t like pancakes that much because I get tired of the batter-filled taste (law of diminishing returns, no?). Plus, I’m not a huge fan of super sweet things.

I saw the pancake plate on almost everyone’s table and it reminded me of pancakes I had back in Chicago. The ones I had in Chicago were over-the-top sweet and these Hawaiian ones were completely smothered with sauce too. Chocolate and mac nut sauces are very different, I know, but just the image of white sweet sauce covered pancakes was enough similarity.

I’m only in Hawaii once, right? I HAD to try THE dish that everyone recommends. I even asked the waiter if the mac nut sauce was really sweet and he said no. I ordered the pancakes and got the mac nut sauce on the side, just in case.

Three big pancakes quickly arrived at our table and I tried just a small taste of the macadamia nut sauce.

Whoa. That’s good. 

And not overly sweet at all.

I kept spooning my side of mac nut sauce onto my pancakes, slowly enjoying each bite of fluffy pancake and creamy mac nut sauce. I enjoyed the chopped mac nuts that were sprinkled throughout, giving each bite a crunchy texture. The sauce had the perfect thick consistency and balance of sweetness.

I didn’t finish my pancakes (I never do), but I wished I had a little bag to take the rest of the mac nut sauce home. Jason was very satisfied with his pancakes too (as you can see. Haha). He finished everything and was practically licking the plate.

Mac nut pancakes, check.

With the “cool” convertible, we drove around the island and admired the vast landscape, but it quickly became uninteresting as night fell and everything became black.

We weren’t even that hungry, but knew we’d have to eat dinner at some point, so we went to Shiro’s Saimin, a recommendation by Jason’s sister-in-law. Have you started to notice almost every single place is recommended by someone? Seems like everyone but us have been to Hawaii, but we were fortunate to have our friends tell us exactly where the best places are.

The only thing I knew about Shiro’s is they serve handmade saimin, wheat egg noodles. Other than that, I didn’t know what to get and didn’t realize they had over 50 toppings to serve with your saimin. The menu was international, something for everyone, from spam, lumpia, teriyaki beef, kim chee to oxtail. Jason and I were both dumbfounded by the sheer number of options.

We asked the waitress for some recommendations and she noted that saimin plus hamburger, literally means that: a bowl of saimin and a hamburger to accompany it. I was a little surprised, thinking it was a hamburger patty in the saimin (like loco moco), not two separate meals!

I chose something that seemed original and basic, #2, old-fashioned saimin with vegetables and garnishes (won tons, egg and sliced pork). The soft noodles were fresh and the broth tasty. It reminded me a lot of Chinese egg noodle soups, which heavily influenced Shiro’s.

Looking at Wiki, saimin is actually influenced by Japanese udon, Chinese mein and Filipino pancit, no wonder Shiro’s menu is all over the place.

The walls of the restaurants were decorated with quotes from the man himself. Each one starting with “Dear Hearts” and ending with his signature; they are quite uplifting, I might add:

At times I believe
We should act like a dog
For a dog has nothing to give but love and affection
Somehow we’re losing that lovely devotion
Of giving with love, our thanks, and appreciation.

If we has lost the love to love
It’s pure tragedy
For without love, we cannot dissolve
Lies and pains to make life
Meaningful with ecstasy.

I don’t like the expression
“I don’t have time”
“I’m too busy”
“Let’s make it tomorrow” and tomorrow never comes.
If you want to accomplish anything,
You must make time and time is now.

A visitor can quickly see that Shiro is an interesting man, has the power to inspire thousands and even revolutionize the way saimin is eaten. I liked Shiro’s, the local ambiance was a nice change of pace from touristy Waikiki and I felt like I was a local myself.

After the salty and garlicky madness, we all needed to cool off and something refreshing (those coconuts obviously didn’t alleviate that). My co-worker’s friend, a native of Hawaii, recommended shave ice. Perfect! Another thing to check off my food list.

Instead of Matsumoto, which is on every tourists’ list, we headed next door to Aoki’s. She told us she preferred Aoki’s over Matsumoto’s. Figuring she's a local, why not. I'll follow her advice.

Wanting to get something original and somewhat unique, I ordered the Hawaiian local flavor: pineapple, mango and li hing.

Before leaving on my trip, I kept hearing about this thing called li hing. There’s powder form and also a salty dried plum version. My mom used to always buy the plum version and I would rarely eat it as a kid because it was extra tart and sour. My friend also introduced me to dropping the same dried plum into beer, a Taiwanese favorite, but it didn’t change the beer flavor too much.

So back to Aoki’s, I was intrigued to taste this powder form. The li hing was generously sprinkled throughout my tall shave ice.

The finely shave ice had the texture of powdered snow and was so light and airy. The pineapple and mango syrup was sweet and tasted like candy, while the li hing added a touch of saltiness. Delicious. I could eat this every day and understood why all the locals would grab shave ice after a long day at the beach.

My co-worker and his friends highly recommended another shave ice place, Ice Garden, back in Aiea. They said it was better, different (because of the toppings) and operated by two old, interesting Asian ladies.

Darn! We were JUST there this morning and could have tried this amazing place. It was at the bowling alley shopping center, so we were so close, but had no idea. Jason and I tried going back later in the day, but missed it by an hour (they close at 5). It’d definitely be added on my restaurant list, for when we come back to Oahu.

Again, having no plans and playing by ear, we went back to Turtle Bay Resort for a drink on the beach and to relax a bit more.

Every single cocktail menu we saw in Hawaii listed mai tai. We both figured we should give it a shot, eat and drink authentic Hawaiian things, even though the mai tai’s back home never tasted that good.

The best mai tai we’ve both ever had! According to Wiki, a mai tai is made of rum, curaçao liqueur, lime juice and associated with “Polynesian-style” settings. I was upholding all the requirements, especially the latter: beachside, sunset, palm trees and sand in between my toes. I was certainly in the Hawaiian tropics and no longer in busy San Francisco.

 

Jason and I headed up towards North Shore for some beach time. The drive up was beautiful, miles of green scenery and small patches of uninhabited land. I was happy to not see tall buildings or a McDonald’s. This was how I imagined Hawaii. Waikiki was too touristy and over developed. It’s nice for a little bit, but I’m glad we got to experience the other side of Oahu, the more natural side.

We didn’t have any idea which beach to go to and ended up at Turtle Bay Resort. This resort was incomparable to the luxurious Kahala Resort, but they had a large golf course, if you’re into that thing.

We laid out on the beach to kill time before our next meal. Didn’t I tell you everything is revolved around food?

My co-worker was also in Oahu (what are the chances!), so we met at Giovanni's shrimp truck.

I ordered their popular dish, shrimp scampi—a dozen shrimp sautéed in olive oil and garlic. It’s as simple as that. The large shellfish was extremely fresh and meaty. Very garlicky, if you can’t tell. Loved it.

Right next to Giovanni’s truck was another truck selling smoothies and guess what, fresh coconuts! I was ready to check my second must-get in Hawaii off of my list.

I was surprised to see a slightly older, light brown colored coconut appear from the truck. I was expecting a large, green young coconut. These small brown ones are usually older and not as sweet. I didn’t let the breed of coconut deter me as I took a sip.

Eh. Not exactly what I expected. The coconut juice had a slight sour taste to it. I’ve had fresh coconuts before and this did not taste as good. I was slightly disappointed, but figured I had four more days to find the perfect fresh coconut.

When I was packing for Hawaii, the weather report mentioned rain during our weeklong stay. I was annoyed that it would rain, but everyone assured me that the rain is light and passes quickly. Plus, it’s humid, so it’s never cold rain.

Day three, I woke up to warm rain and was slightly bummed that it was raining at all. At least I had a full can of POG (passion fruit, orange and guava juice) to remind me of the tropics. This juice quickly became one of my favorites. Wish we had this in California!

We were tired of touristy Waikiki and wanted to venture out to explore the rest of Oahu. So, we rented a convertible (“Hawaii is THE place to drive a convertible!” Jason said, but we quickly realized locals do not drive flashy Sebring convertibles. haha).

The sky was cloudy as we headed onto the main highway (55mph speed limit!) and the next thing we knew, it started to drizzle. As my friends had assured me, the rain was light and even with the convertible top down, the rain didn’t bother me.

We drove to Aiea, 20 minutes away from Waikiki and ate at Aiea Bowl aka "The Alley."

Yes, a bowling alley.

Highly recommended by Jason’s co-worker, we were with the locals as we dined in the small restaurant.

There were two dishes that we had to get, Tasty Chicken and Boneless Marinated Kalbi.

I typically don’t like fried food and carb dishes, so I opted for the Kalbi (short ribs), but both dishes were very satisfying. I could have gone either way.

I was thankful that the short ribs were boneless (you know how much I hate eating off the bone), full of flavor and had a delicious sweet yet salty grilled crust.

The Tasty Chicken was battered, deep fried and tossed in a secret “Alley” sauce. It reminded me a lot of the Korean fried chicken back home.

The portions were also perfect—just the right amount to leave you satisfied, but not full. And you had the option of brown rice! I appreciated that very much, especially after all the heavy food we’ve been eating.

There were a lot of tasty treats (pumpkin crunch cake, lemon bars, strawberry scones, peanut butter cupcakes...) to top off my lunch, but I didn't want to overstuff myself.

I loved hearing the bowling pins as we finished our meal. I was definitely in a bowling alley, and this little restaurant put all other bowling alley restaurants to shame.

Not having other plans, we went back to the hotel and killed some time before heading out for a late night snack and drink. Didn’t I already tell you my entire vacation revolves around food? Haha.

Jason and I still had our mopeds, so we rode around Waikiki and headed to a popular mall, Ala Moana. Unfortunately, it was already closed by the time we got there.

Shokudo Japanese restaurant, at the Ala Moana, was recommended by another friend and seemed like a perfect place for small bites and drinks.

Their menu was huge! It took over the entire table.

Still full from the Loco Moco, we ordered just a few items.

To start, a strawberry flavored slushy-like vodka drink.

Ahi tataki with garlic chips. It was a little disappointing considering the fish didn’t look or taste fresh. I’m in Hawaii right?! Aren’t they supposed to have fresh fish? Second time I’ve been duped with fish dishes.
Ramen noodles with a spicy (and oily) miso paste broth topped with pork and Chinese chives. I’ve had WAY better ramen before.

And lastly, high on every Yelp review, honey toast. Thick Japanese white toast that was cutout, cubed and bathed in butter. To up the calories, it was also drizzled with honey and topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. It was so freaking thick and dense! Delicious for the first several bites, nevertheless.
The restaurant is hip with clever design. I loved how the interior was decorated with very basic materials (s-hooks and small wooden slabs strung together to create a barrier).
Overall, Shokudo is great for drinks, but not for food.