this and that

Almost always on my first day in Hawaii, I visit Mom & Dad

Went to Waipio Big City Diner with Aunty...had a loco moco "for Satoshi"

The hamburger patty was a little hard, but I was glad the portion was on the smaller size 

BFF found a can of Hello Kitty Spam for me at Longs

FYI a can in Japan is close to 800 yen?!

saw See's dark chocolate scotchmallow on Instagram and wanted to try

A little too sweet but still glad I got to try this

Oceanside Bakery's banana bread...super huge & moist

Had about three breakfasts from this

shrinkflation at Liliha Bakery

Their cornbread has turned into corn muffin and is now sliced then grilled, actually only one piece was grilled

$6 kalua bowl at Foodland...delicious! and reasonable but too much rice (for me)

Uncle's Ube ice cream sandwich...1/2 is one serving!

made the petit block that Ms V gave me...this one was hard and so teeny! the head and tail can move!

Lunch with the Aunties, W & BFF

could've been more tender BBQ ribs! baked beans and really dry mac & cheese

Was nice to be able to spend time with them

Pad Thai with Greg at King of Thai Boat Noodles

Always nice to catch up with him!

Dinner with Steph and BFF at Olive Garden

We "braved" having salad...during this trip there was the scary ED (explosive d-thingy) I usually eat more salads when I am in Hawaii but this time I didn’t want to chance it...

omiyage from Steph! Thank you!

catch up with Gaye at Oh My Grill

Their bbq beef sandwich and fries were delicious, plus you can ask them to fry the fries super crispy!

Thank you for today Gaye! and for the omiyage!

made this mini building block sea otter for BFF...the whiskers were a challenge! had to bust out tools!

I think she has now put me in charge of making all the different sets that she has

El Charro's pork tamale with mole sauce...1st time having mole sauce (I think)…mouth.on.fire! 

1st time having The Alley's chocolate insanity cake! so rich 

My IG algorithm had chocolate cake in it so had to nix the craving!

Tried the mango sticky rice bowl from Down to Earth

I don't think there was actually sticky rice in there, just tapioca

Still, this was refreshing and delicious!

Flight was delayed coming to Hawaii as well as going back to Japan

Apparently no one submitted the paperwork for us to take off from Honolulu, so we drove around the runways for almost 1 hour?! while they waited for approval…I think I saw Diamond Head 2 or 3 times in between naps...

Lucky I had this venison stick and some snacks because it was way past my lunch time and I was kinda hangry

This trip was kinda short.

Thankful Satoshi let me go on vacation and for BFF who let me stay with her and drove me around.

Saw many rainbows, friends and some family

Thankful for everyone who made time to meet up, who drove me to and from Pearl  City and for all the omiyage!

Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

new and old

got to check out the new stations for the Skyline

This was the one at Middle Street, it is called Kahauiki 

Thought there were more riders especially with bicycles than when the rail first started running

This is the bus station at Middle Street that connects to the rail

Here on the sign are the upcoming stations that they plan to build

The Bus seemed to be better coordinated with Skyline. I only had to wait about 5 minutes for a bus instead of 20.

During this trip there were many new condos being built, sad that it is getting so crowded with these high rises

It was also sad seeing Aloha Stadium being torn down.

so much changes...

reconnect

got to reconnect with Audrey & Michael on this trip

We’ve kept in touch but it had been 19 years! since we last met up

So glad we were able to see each other again.

also reconnected with the International Marketplace.

The last time we visited this shopping area was when it first was renovated 9 years ago!

was kind of bummed that Target is a part of it though...

It was 9 years since the Ka Makana Ali'i shopping mall opened and was also the last time I had been here...

Family friend D & Aunty took me to Koa Pancake House there, the fried rice with egg and portuguese sausage was so delicious

And it was nice catching up with them

Afterwards we ran some errands at City Mill

was cool to see different Hawaiian plants in their garden area

And Uncle gave me a koa iPad stand that he made and D gave me an ornament...

It was so nice to reconnect this trip

Thanks for today!

lady elaine

Met up with friend Mineko at Manoa Marketplace to try Lady Elaine

Apparently this restaurant is inspired by Mister Roger's neighborhood, so some of the foods and drinks have names from the show

So happy I was able to see this street art too.

We shared this Romaine Salad : anchovy vinaigrette, parmigiano and herbed breadcrumbs

I tried their Prince Friday : lilikoi, basil-honey, lemon, soda...super refreshing

Their food has Mediterranean flavors 

I tried their turmeric chicken wrap : lemon vinaigrette, olives, garlic aioli

super flavorful and the pita/wrap was so soft!

the shawarma fries were super flavorful & delicious too! 

Mineko had their 1-4-3 burger : this had a harrissa tomato jam, parsley yogurt and shawarma fries

It was nice catching up with Mineko

Thanks for today Mineko and thank you for the omiyage!

Lady Elaine

2756 Woodlawn Drive

Honolulu, Hawaii

Closed: Sundays

Hours: 11:00-14:00 (lunch), 17:00-21:00 (dinner)

et al

Met up with friend Leonard 

Since we didn't know where to eat at, Leonard suggested we go to Et Al, Foodland's restaurant

Leonard had their burger : Honolulu Meat Co. beef patty, La Tour sesame bun, fontina, Maui onion bacon jam, gochujang aioli, fries 

He enjoyed this but wished they hadn't over cooked this

I had their Greens & Grains Bowl : MA'O sassy mix, forbidden rice, crispy fried egg, roasted Lualualei veg, carrot-ginger purée 

This was delicious but the forbidden rice was a little hard in spots

It was nice catching up with Leonard 

Thanks for today Leonard!

Et Al

Kahala Mkt

Honolulu, Hawaii

Open daily: 7:30-22:00

the local general store

Had an errand in Downtown and wasn't going to meet up with a friend until later in the day, so after my errand I got back on the bus and then got off in Kaimuki

Wanted to see this street art

And checked out The Local General Store to have a little something until I met up with my friend

I tried their everything twist: creamed leeks, herbs & cheddar schmear topped with everything seasoning (their menu says it is a “croissant - style with a bagel soul”) and their housemade mango ice tea (mostly mango puree!) love!

I'm glad they have seats inside, it was so blazing!

will definitely check them out again whenever I am nearby

The Local General Store

3458 Waialae Avenue

Honolulu, Hawaii

Closed: Tuesdays & Wednesdays

Hours: Bakery: 8:00-17:00, Butcher: 9:00-17:00

le’s banh mi & ry’s poke

Before meeting up with Jenny and Chan, Jenny asked me what was on my “to try” list

So we tried Le’s Saigon Special and Ry’s Poke

The Saigon Special is delicious. (Pickled daikon and carrot, pate, mayo, steamed pork roll, charsiu, headcheese, cucumber, jalapeno and cilantro) 

this also had super crispy pork rinds inside but were a little too hard for my teeth! ha!

Ry’s poke.

Their main shop is on the North Shore and they have some shops in California.

If I'm not mistaken, they just opened this one in Honolulu.

We tried all their Honolulu exclusive pokes & their Tsunami Nachos

(tsunami style poke, crab salad, cucumber namasu, furikake, tobiko, drizzled with unagi sauce, chili mayo, with housemade wonton chips fried in beef tallow)

The chips are super crispy!

The pokes are unique delicious combinations of flavors

(top) tropic thunda (yuzu kosho, mayo, citrusc, onion, green onion, pear, chili crisp, fried shallots), (top right)shiso chimichurri (shiso, garlic, gochugaru, ogo, green onion, onion), (bottom right) shoyu (ry’s signature blend shoyu, onion, green onion, toasted sesame oil), (bottom left) foodxjitsu (ginger, green onion, cilantro, onion, garlic, shoyu blend, chili flake, ikura)

Everything was so ono!

They also bought all sorts of pastries from Paris Baguette, but I was too full

Thanks Chan for letting us eat at your condo’s terrace area.

so much omiyage AND Jenny was so nice to drive me back to Pearl City!

Thanks for today Jenny & Chan! always nice catching up with you two.

Le's Banh Mi

808 Sheridan Street

Honolulu, Hawaii

Closed: Mondays

Hours: 7:00-16:00

Ry's Poke Shack

1232 Waimanu Street

Honolulu, Hawaii

Closed: Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 11:30-17:00