20170110 Honolulu – Good Eats!

With our friends headed to Oahu this month I thought I’d compile some of our favorite places to eat and visit on the island for them and for you who might stumble upon this site looking for some Hawaiian style adventure! So here’s part one covering the most important part of any great vacation… the food!

Poke
Ono Seafood – 747 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu

Ono Seafood

Poke is available at a lot of places in Honolulu and I advise trying them all, but that’s just me as I love poke when I’m on the islands. Poke here in Los Angeles can run the gamut of chewy and tasteless to the highest compliment, “almost Hawaiian”. In fact, so far we really can only recommend Pokinometry located in Anaheim, although our friends have recommended a place in Chino Hills that we’ll have to try out. Anyway… there are a lot of places that sell poke, and there are many places that have been touted as the best. But really the best in our book is Ono Seafood. The real difference here is the fresh fish and the fresh preparation. Most places have their poke made in advance and so if you don’t get it immediately after it’s made the marinade tends to toughen up the raw fish. Eventually, the moisture in the fish is drawn out by the salt in the sauce and dilutes the flavor. Ono Seafood is a hole-in-the-wall store located immediately next to a non-descript apartment building on Kapahulu Avenue. Easily confused with Ono Hawaiian Food which is just a block away towards Waikiki on the same street. Upon entering you’ll notice that the place is very small, in fact, it’s downright tiny! To your left is a refrigerator variably stocked with dried and smoked seafood pupus but ignore that for now. First check out the menu and select your fish and then choose one or all of the following to mix in: white or green onion, hawaiian salt, chili pepper, kukui nut, sesame oil, ogo or shoyu. The last time we were there I went simple with the Ahi, green onion, sesame oil and shoyu while Irene went with the Tako, hawaiian salt, chili and kukui nut. You really can’t go wrong, try a few different combinations! Forget trying to eat it there, take it to go but remember that this stuff definitely has a limited shelf life so enjoy quickly!

Malasadas
Leonard’s – 933 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu

Leonard’s Bakery

Although Malasadas arrived with Portuguese immigrants in the late 19th century, the doughy treats didn’t gain popularity until 1946, when Leonard Rego began selling his Portuguese Doughnuts in Honolulu. Deep fried and rolled in sugar and either left plain or filled with your choice of cream, haupia (coconut), guava or dobash (chocolate). They are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside and when you can get them warm, they are heavenly…

 

 

Breakfast
Goofy Cafe and Dine – 1831 Ala Moana Boulevard, Suite 201, Honolulu

Goofy Cafe and Dine

The wooden paneled walls, ceiling fans and racked surfboards make you feel like you’re hanging out at a beach house so you really start to get the feel for the islands here. They offer both healthy and hearty breakfast options and feature locally grown and sourced menu items. I loved their loco moco which is a local dish of a ground beef patty on top of rice topped with gravy and a fried egg. The French toast here was definitely Instagram worthy! Parking is tough here just like anywhere else in Waikiki so be prepared to walk a little.

 

 

Loco Moco
Hazelnut and chocolate banana french toast

 

Eggs N’ Things – 2464 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

Macadamia nut pancakes
Acai Bowl

The pancakes here are not to be missed and when you are on the islands you really only have the one choice, macadamia nut everything! The other item we tried was the acai bowl, very popular here on the islands. Its basically a super tick acai berry smoothie topped with a generous amount of fruit and granola and are very refreshing! This location has an upper seating area that provided an excellent morning view above the street if you are lucky enough to grab a window table. This place is busy so be prepared for a wait even at off times.

 

Fast Food
Zippy’s – 22 locations on Oahu
Offering local comfort foods like the loco moco and teriyaki cheeseburgers, alongside staples like their famous chili, as well as a Zip Pac bento, filled with your choice of teriyaki beef, Spam, fried chicken, or mahi mahi on rice, sprinkled with furikake and a slice of daikon. These stores are found throughout Oahu and are a much better choice than your typical fast food. While the smaller mom and pop lunch places can have better food, Zippy’s offers convenience and consistency and some nice local plates.

Katsu Curry Plate

Musubi
Musubi Cafe Iyasume – 5 locations on Oahu
Spam Musubi can be found at almost every Hawaiian plate lunch restaurant on the islands. Consisting of pan fried slice of spam on top of rice with a wrap of roasted seaweed. These little handheld snacks are perfect for a quick bite on the go! Musubi Cafe features more than 35 types of musubis including 10 different kinds of spam musubi! They have more on their menu than just musubi, including bentos, beef, curry and salmon bowls, miso soup and more. Don’t wait for one of their few tables, take your order to go and eat at the beach!

 

Shiso and Spam Musubi and Sour Plum Onigiri

Noodles
Marukame Udon – 2310 Kuhio Ave #124, Honolulu
There is almost always a line out the door but this casual self-service style restaurant is well worth the wait. These aren’t your typical udon noodles either, prepared in the Sanuki-style known for its backbreaking process that results in a delicious noodle with a great tooth. As you wait, watch the cooks prepare the fresh dough into thick noodles. Pick from an assortment of unique dishes, including curry, niku, kamaage, or zaru udon.  Once you’ve ordered your udon pick from an array of tempura and find a spot to quickly slurp down your noodles!

 

 

So this is just a start of the many awesome eats you can experience in Oahu, I’ll be posting the next part that covers some activities and sights soon!

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20161026 – Fungwaii Part One

The Fungs go to Hawai’i… Part ONE

20161026_150832My wife’s family have never really traveled much together and we decided about a year ago to try to have a family trip to Hawaii. So after much planning and waiting we were finally ready to go! Quick shuttle ride to LAX, breeze through security thanks to TSA PreCheck and we sat down for a nice lunch at Skewers, right next to our gate. Just a note about the TSA PreCheck, earlier this year we had decided to sign up for GlobalStar as we had a trip to Paris planned for May. Included in the GlobalStar program is enrollment into the TSA PreCheck program as well. The application requires a thorough background check, interview and a $100 fee. The ease of returning from France, going through immigration and customs was well worth the effort. The ability to use the TSA PreCheck lines through the airport security is a nice perk as well. Going and returning to LAX we only one person in front of us in line at the security checkpoint. I just wish that people would read the TSA PreCheck instructions and familiarize themselves with the process. Both times the people in front of us had no clue what to do, which is frustrating as the short wait would have been halved if they knew what they were doing… oh well, what can you do?

Getting through security so quickly gave us plenty of time to find our gate and settle in for a leisurely lunch. We found some seat with good view of the gate and waited for them to call our zone. I wish that all of the gates would designate areas for each zone rather than allow passengers to stand around the gates blocking the entrance. For our international flights, it was nice that they had organized queues for each zone. So, after an unexplained one hour delay with Delta having to switch planes at the last minute (slightly worrisome!), we finally arrived at Kailua Kona airport, tired but happy to finally be on the Big island again!20161027_002458

Day One -Kailua Kona

Our first day would be getting some supplies and checking into the house that we rented through Home Away but first we needed some food and coffee to get us started on the right track! We had read reviews that Daylight Mind Coffee Company had great views of Kailua Kona and so we headed down Ali’i Drive to check it out. We decided to share the braised short rib loco moco for breakfast and it really hit the spot, it was a great version of the local specialty. If you’ve never had a loco moco, you’ll have to try one the next time you come to the islands. Usually it is a hamburger patty served over rice and a fried egg, topped with brown gravy. We’ve had a few versions of the loco moco over the years and this one ranked among the best. the views here were also excellent and we would highly recommend this place if you are in Kailua Kona!

Short Rib Loco Moco
Short Rib Loco Moco
View from DLMCC
View from DLMCC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we headed over to the Farmer’s Market across the street and picked up some fresh fruit and some vegetables for the house. The selection here is nice and there are lots of local vendors selling other trinkets, souvenirs and jewelry as well. Our friends were also staying in Kona nearby so we called them up and offered to drop off some fruit. We hung out at their nice beachfront house for awhile before deciding to grab some lunch at a local favorite, Broke Da Mouth Grindz. Broke Da Mouth is located in the northern industrial area of Kona, definitely away from where most of the tourists hang out. We had read some reviews of the place and so we had to come check it out. We ended up ordering two combination plates to share with us and my wife’s parents who arrived just in time for lunch. Broke Da Mouth is hawaiian slang meaning that the flavor or taste is so good that your mouth will be broken and they are accurate with that description. They specialize in Filipino cuisine like adobo and lechon kawali but also Hawaiian lunch plate items. Adobo is a slightly sweet and vinegary sour braised dish and they prepare it very well here. Lechon Kawali is also pork and it is roasted with the crispy rind left on the fatty meat, also very well made and goes great with the housemade sweet chili sauce that is bottled in tequila bottles on every table. The braised short rib was tender and flavorful but the real star of the show was the Garlic Furikake Chicken! Garlic chicken can be found at many Hawaiian food joints and furikake is the seasoned seaweed and sesame seed flavoring that’s found on top of almost everything here on the Big Island. But Broke Da Mouth is known for the Furikake Chicken and the reputation is well deserved! Crispy without greasiness, garlicky but not overpowering, slightly sweet capturing that ultimate in umami flavoring. We devoured it all and were left wanting more!

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Combo #1 with Furikake Chicken and Pork Adobo
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Combo #2 with Short Rib and Lechon Kawali

Overall, the food and service were great and it kept us coming back, in fact we visited three times over the week we were in Hawaii! The place is small and it is in a hard to find plaza just off Kaiwi and Luhia, just south of Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. I think the only downside is the pricing, it is not cheap but we thought that the quality and flavor of the food was worth the price. Our family and friends tried quite a few things on the menu and enjoyed it all!

After the great lunch with friends it was time to hit up Costco and then on to check in at the house that we rented for the week. Located in Holualoa which is mauka (uphill) from Kona about 15 – 20 minutes, the home is located in the famous Kona Coffee belt, away from the tourists and crowds of Kona. Located on the mountainside it definitely felt like we were escaping. Situated on a few acres of a small ranch with goats, sheep and even a cow it was a great environment for relaxation and a different experience for the young kids in our group. With 11 adults and 3 children we needed a place with plenty of space and this place was the perfect fit, however we would probably not stay so far away next time as it was inconvenient if we needed to “run down the hill” for supplies or breakfast.

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Keopu Mauka Hale

That evening my wife and I went down into Kona for a late dinner at Huggo’s on the Rocks where we sat in chairs on the sand, next to the bay where we could see the fire dances of the luau’s across the water. Not to be confused with the nicer Huggo’s next door, this place was the perfect end to a long day, with a pina colada, live music and the lights reflecting off the water! This was just the start to our Hawaiian adventure we were calling Fungwaii2016! Thanks for reading and Part Two will be up soon!

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