And last weekend was exactly that when on a little trip to visit Jenney and Chad.
And as with most vacations, there was lots (and lots) of eating involved!
We (Brent, Jenney, Chad and I) first went to Indigo, which is this cute little bar/restaurant in town and whose claim to fame is their $4 martini specials. Because there were 4 of us, we were able to sample just about every one of the 12-15 or so martinis on the list. I'm not a huge martini fan, but these were quite tasty. I really enjoyed the orange blossom cosmo...but Jenney and I decidely did not enjoy the en fuego, complete with pepperoncini water and tabasco. Yuck and confusing.
We then explored the local art galleries in celebration of First Friday. And look who we ran into...
Me, Mufi Hannemann (aka Mayor of Honolulu) and Jenney. Truth be told, we were looking for him because we heard he would be out and about for his inaguration party. We just ran up to him and asked him for a picture...see what a few martinis can do for your self-confidence?
Mufi is a regular celeb in the islands...so there wasn't much that could top this experience. Except perhaps breakfast at Rainbows Drive In.
Is there anything better than barbecue beef, rice and mac salad at 10:30am? Is there?
Maybe a malasada for dessert?
Especially if said malasada is from Leonard's! I've been coming here since I was little, and the malasadas are always warm, light, crispy on the outside and sugary. Malasadas are a Portugese donut...but it's much lighter, and slightly more chewy in the center.
To re-build our appetites, we took a very nice (but lengthy) drive to Kahuku on Oahu's north shore. It was very scenic going through the H3 and Kaneohe Bay...and Kaaawa and Hauula...and Laie...and everything else along Kamehameha Hwy. But it was worth it for the most part. Romy's was sooooo yummy!
Butter and Garlic Kahuku shrimp on rice, of course.
Romy's is also farms their shrimp in these ponds.
On the way back, we drove past some more well-known spots, like Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Turtle Bay and Waimea Bay. Even though it was super windy/choppy/overcast, there were quite a few beachers...and people in trees.
In keeping with the hole-in-the-wall theme for eating, we visited Choon Chun Chicken for dinner. I like saying it. Choon Chun. Anyway, this little Korean places serves up, what else? Chicken, and lots of it.
Honey Barbecue Chicken.
Choon Chun Chicken. They prepare it for you tableside. I enjoyed the plethora of veggies and yummy sauce.
And after all that spicy food, Bubbies was a must. Bubbies is a cute, gourmet ice cream shop specializing in mochi ice cream. But they are equally well-known for their salacious naming conventions on their menu. Check it out.
I just had the mochi ice cream...lychee, guava and sakura. I believe the others pictured are gingerbread (yuck...think straight ginger), chocolate eggnog (sounds yuck...but Chad liked it), strawberry, green tea and vanilla.
Mochi ice cream mountain.
We didn't wake up early enough for breakfast this morning...which was fine because this allowed me to watch the Baltimore/Miami game...equally satisfying. But, we did venture over to Chinatown for some dim sum at Wonkee.
I love the little steamed manapuas the best. The bread is so light and fluffy!
We then went for a brief tour of some unsavory sections of Honolulu...I believe near Aala Park. At least it was broad daylight...and there were several cops speeding around...in Camry's no less. Tinted windows, too. Hmph. Figures.
And of course, no trip to Honolulu is complete without a trip to Waiola Shave Ice. The ice shavings are incredibly light and fine, such that they absorb the syrup soooo perfectly. No chewing necessary.
This is Jenney's rainbow shave ice. I had the same thing, but with condensed milk...so my colors weren't as vibrant.
And now, back to Maui.
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