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.