My trip to Hawaii earlier this month was a blur. Good thing I took pictures to prove I wasn't dreaming. I traveled over eleven hours in less than 3 days but it was okay because I spent time with great friends and ate to my heart's content. Best of all, I witnessed my friend wed her high school sweetheart after 14 long years. Congratulations to the both of them and I wish them a lifetime of happiness! It was an honor.
Needless to say, I was in a time crunch so as soon as I arrived, my friends picked me up and headed straight to the North Shore. We had a late lunch at Grass Skirt Grill in Haleiwa and ate their signature ahi burger and teriyaki cheese fries. No pictures here except for the fries. Guess I was hungry.
The burger was very fresh and healthy. The ahi was cooked well since I shared it with my friend who is pregnant and amazingly, the fish was not dry at all. The fries taste just like it is with teriyaki sauce and cheese. Nothing to write home about.
Matsumoto Shave Ice is a very popular place for shave ice in the North Shore. There's always a line no matter what day of the week or time of day you go. We shared a large cone with li hing, guava, and lychee flavors with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and read beans on the bottom. So refreshing!
After lunch, we drove around in search of Laniakea Beach but we passed many beaches along the way but was unable to find it. Laniakea, aka Turtle Beach, is well known for Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles or "Honu" sightings. Our last stop was Dole Plantation before heading back to town. This is a very popular tourist attraction in Wahiawa. There are many activities to do including the pineapple express and the world's largest maze. I don't know if it is still the world's largest however, but the Dole Whip is a must try if you like ice cream and pineapples. I added li hing powder to mine. Yummy!
It was already dinner time after our galavanting adventure on the north side so we opted for a late dinner at Sweet Home Cafe. My friend highly recommended this place which specialized in Taiwanese Hot Pot. We arrived around 9 p.m. and waited for at least 40 minutes to get a table. I heard that hot pot restaurants are getting increasingly popular in Hawaii and Sweet Home Cafe was one of them. The menu consisted of a list of broths you can choose from as well as a variety of sliced meats. The other hot pot ingredients including vegetables and seafoods are in the refrigerated section in the back of the restaurant. All you do is walk up to the fridge and grab what you want to eat. There was an incredible variety of items and sauces to choose from. The items are priced by plates based on the color just like a kaiten sushi restaurant.
We ordered a clear beef based broth and a healthy herb broth. I liked the herb based broth a lot. It was very tasty which made every item cooked in it very flavorful. After dinner, they served a complimentary bowl of tapioca shave ice. It was so good! I would go back again just to have their dessert. It was a very fun experience.
Saturday was the wedding so we started our day early to maximize my time in Hawaii. I always stop by Diamond Head Market to grab a blueberry cream cheese scone when I visit. I love it because the scone is moist and fluffy like a hybrid between a scone and a biscuit.
It's been a while since I went to Diamond Head State Monument. I remember going there a lot when I was a kid. Maybe because they started charging entrance fees to pedestrians and cars that we stopped going there. I always wanted to revisit this historic place so we made the trek over to Diamond Head after my "morning snack". The hike is an easy 0.8 mile trail with some stairs leading to the summit. At the top, you can see the crater and the eastern coastline of O'ahu.
After an hour hike, we went to the KCC Farmers' Market. I've been to the Saturday market the past two times I went back to visit. Many locals and tourists alike visit here to patronize the the many food and produce vendors selling unique products of Hawaii. I wanted to gobble up everything in sight!
I had planned to eat ramen for lunch but we were stuffed from the farmers' market. Since the wedding was still hours away, we went to Genki Sushi in Aina Haina to kill some time. Yes, we have Genki Sushi in Seattle now but the spicy tuna in Hawaii is so much better.
Next door to Genki's was Cake Couture Cupcakes. I was too full to eat but I picked up a red velvet cupcake anyway for later.
The wedding was held at Ko'olau Golf Club in Kaneohe later that evening. The venue and atmosphere was just beautiful.
The couple treated their guests to a buffet spread for dinner after the ceremony. Delish!
We went to Tenkaippin for lunch the next day for my last meal before heading to the airport. This ramen shop has won a following for their delicious Kotteri ramen being their top seller. The Kotteri is a chicken based broth thickened with chicken collagen. The broth is very thick and almost gravy-ish in texture. I prefer the Assari Ramen with a lighter shoyu chicken broth. Speaking of ramen, I miss Taishoken. This used to be my favorite ramen place until they closed down over a year ago.
Thanks for reading!
