Aloha!

 Just came back from a great 5 day vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii. Gil & I had a wonderful time eating & shopping (craft things, ie, rubber stamps, stencils, die cuts, etc) with our friends, Lisa & Kelly & Wendy & Ray.
Our 1st night we had dinner with the Nihei's at Gyu-Kaku, 1221 Kapiolani Blvd...a wonderful Japanese BBQ place where the food is grilled over coals, not gas. For starters, we had a wrap your own spicy ahi rolls...delish!

Here's Gavin wrapping a roll for me

Grilling rice musubi, zucchini & eggplant

 A visit to Hawaii isn't complete without Leonard's malasada!

 Another night we had dinner at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room, located at Macy's, Ala Moana Shopping mall, 3rd floor. Gil & both opted for the Loco Moco prixe-fixe menu and I had the wine pairing, which was fun & good!!!

1st course: Poke/Sashimi
Local style with chili & sesame oil, Kahuku  Sea asparagus, Shiso
Wine: Pinot Blanc/Pinot Gris 

The "Loco Moco"
Kiawe-Grilled Kuahiwi Ranch Hamburger Patty on rice with
2 Petersons' farm eggs & veal jus
Wine: Merlot, Vita Nova

Dessert: House made Chocolate Brownies with
vanilla ice cream, macadamia nuts & chocolate ganache sauce
Wine: Justin Obtuse

 We ventured out to Boots & Kimo's in Kailua to try their famous mac nut pancakes. It was delish, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it. After waiting 1 hour to be seated, we ended waiting another 1 hour for our food to arrive...so, when it finally came, we were all so hungry we jumped right into our food & I completely forgot about my camera...the special mac sauce on the pancake was the best thing I ever tasted, but truthfully, it wasn't worth the wait...if you want to try it, my advice to you is to get there when the doors open at 7am otherwise you might faint from hunger!

How about eating in a bowling alley? One of our best meal was at "The Alley" at Aiea Bowl, 99-115 Aiea Heights Dr. After our disappointment in the morning at Boots & Kimo's, this place was a pleasant  delightful find & surprise!!!

 Alley Mix Plate: Fried Saimin,Sesame Salmon

Loco Moco & Garlic shrimp

Another Alley Mix: Spicy Shrimp, Sesame Ahi

Oxtail Soup

Saimin

Pizza!

The Desserts: Tiramisu, Momma Mia Chocolate Cake & Lemon Crunch Cake

 We had to go back to Kailua because the craft store that we had wanted to go to was closed. This time we tried Willow Tree Korean Restaurant, 25 Kaneohe Bay Dr. After eating here, I thought, why did I waste my precious time waiting at Boots & Kimo's??? The food & service here was excellent & the wait was minimal!

Meat Juhn, Spicy Wings

Fried Saimin

Butterfish

Back home now...I always have fun in Hawaii & look forward to trying new eateries in addition to going back to old faithfuls on my next visit(s)...

Yours truly, Karen!