California roll with spicy tuna on top, sweet and sour sauce, tempura flakes. $18
Tokkuri Tei, Honolulu HI
Kilauea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii so they stacked this sushi roll to resemble it – pretty creative. The reddish spicy tuna on top even mimics flowing lava. It tasted pretty good but I’m not sure it was worth eighteen bucks. The spicy tuna had a slimy, squishy texture that I didn’t particularly enjoy.
Light-covered palm trees, Kapahulu Avenue.
“Bulgogi” beef, Hawaiian poke and Ka’lua pork. $16.95
Huggo’s on the Rocks, Kailua-Kona HI
Mmm, this was SO good and filling! I also liked the root vegetable chips that came with it. They were hearty and helped cut a lot of the saltiness from the proteins. I will say that my least favorite pupu was the Ka’lua pork. It was a bit on the dry side. Noms overall!
Huggo’s menu cover.
Oceanside view from our table.
Duke’s Mai Tai: Hawaiian juices with two different types of rum and orange curacao. $9
Duke’s Waikiki, Honolulu HI
Duke’s is super touristy, but it’s still nice to sit outside on Waikiki beach and enjoy the sunset. The food is middle of the road and the drinks are weak and sugary, but that’s OK because you’re on vacation, lol! The mai tai had good flavor though.
Mango-Rita: Jose Cuervo Gold tequila, mango, lime and triple sec. $8.50
This was more on the lime side than on the mango side and it could have used another shot of tequila. Oh well.
Sunset from the back patio at Duke’s Waikiki.
Scallop mixed with masago and spicy mayonnaise. Uramaki (inside-out) $9.50
Tokkuri Tei, Honolulu HI
Mmm! It’s a bit sad that one of the better rolls we had here was a simple spicy scallop roll. Some of the other items weren’t so fresh tasting, but maybe the spicy mayonnaise helped to cover up the old flavor. Who knows? I still enjoyed it.
Garbage container painted with Philodendron leaves, Waikiki Beach.
Grilled pork sausage. 4 pcs $4.50
Izakaya Takonoki, Honolulu HI
This was not the pork sausage I expected when I ordered this. I’ve had kurobuta sausage at other restaurants and they were always more substantial and meaty. The tiny sausages we received are the kind you find vacuum-packed at Asian markets looking pink and squishy. I didn’t enjoy this, and the mustard didn’t help very much.
Sausage tree (Kigelia africana, Bignoniaceae), Fort DeRussy Beach Park.
Double Decker! 1/2 pound of gourmet bacon and turkey breast with avocado, tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise on toasted sourdough. Served with macaroni salad. $16
Giovanni Pastrami, Honolulu HI
Another gigantic sandwich from Giovanni Pastrami. This one was less creative with the ingredients, but it still hit the stop. Actually, it more than hit the spot – it sat in my stomach for a long while afterward, hehe.
Fort DeRussy Beach Park.
Yellowtail over rice. 2 pcs $7
Sea urchin over rice and wrapped in seaweed. 2 pcs $12
Tokkuri Tei, Honolulu HI
I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. I felt that the service was nice, a bit slow, but the sushi wasn’t that good. I expected fresher sushi in Hawaii. The hamachi was good, but the uni didn’t taste good to me. I’m not an uni expert, but I’ve had it here and there. This sea urchin didn’t taste right though! Ew!
Kirin light beer. $3.75
Island signs, Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie.
With cabbage salad, rice, miso soup, Japanese pickle, and choice of special sauce. $19
Kimukatsu, Honolulu HI
This kimukatsu flavor was pretty good, but a little greasy again. I really enjoyed the dipping sauce and the Japanese pickles were delicious and totally assuaged my salt cravings. The miso soup also had strips of fried tofu in it which was tasty!
Cabbage salad.
Steamed rice.
Miso soup.
Japanese pickles.
Salt and spring onion sauce.
Tea. Complimentary
Lollipop plant or golden shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea, Acanthaceae), Ainahau Triangle Park.
Stir-fried shrimp in special sauce served with baby spinach. $12.95
Izakaya Takonoki, Honolulu HI
This tasted good, but was overpriced for what you got. It was flavorful but nothing special.
Beach along the West Shore, Oahu.
Carrot butter, wilted greens, oatmeal stout gravy. $13
Salt Kitchen and Tasting Bar, Honolulu HI
This was very tasty, but I wish the portion was a little bigger cause I wanted more! I guess that’s why it was only a thirteen dollar appetizer. Totally worth it though.
Coi pond, Ala Moana Center.
Double Decker! 1/2 pound of hot corned beef and pastrami with Swiss cheese, tomato and Russian dressing on rye bread. Served with macaroni salad. $16
Giovanni Pastrami, Honolulu HI
Geez, this sandwich was large! I love corned beef and pastrami so I was in heaven. I don’t think I really needed the macaroni salad, but I ate it for good measure, lol!
Sound box. We needed this to listen to an SF Giants baseball game! 🙂
Ala Wai Canal from Ala Moana Boulevard.
With cabbage salad, rice, miso soup, Japanese pickle, and choice of special sauce. $19
Kimukatsu, Honolulu HI
This was the first time I’d ever tried kimukatsu, and it was very tasty! It’s made with thinly sliced pork cutlet stacked into 25 layers, covered in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried for 8 minutes. It sounded intriguing so I had to try it. It thought it was really flavorful and tender, but it was a little on the greasy side probably because they fry it on a low temperature. The set is quite large so I was definitely full afterward.
Large bowl of cabbage salad for the table.
Steamed rice.
Miso soup.
Japanese pickles.
Ume shiso ponzu sauce.
Asahi draft. $5.50
Tahitian dancers, Canoe Pageant, Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie.
Vittle Monster 