Waikiki Trip Update

I'm back! Traveling back was a very long day. Thank goodness I had the portable DVD player with me. I watched 3 movies, none of which I care to review (they were eh, so-so). So back to work I went. Uh-huh, you say. Right! Someone in another department is leaving the company and somehow, somewhere, the powers that be has decided that half the responsibilities of this person will be transferred to me and my group. Hmm...but on to a happier topic, my long weekend in Waikiki.

Let's start with the Aloha Parade. The Mister and I only caught the tail end of the parade. Here are a couple of the schools. There were quite a few high school bands there too, Milani, Kaiser, just to name a couple.

We followed the last band down Kalakaua Blvd. and popped into the International Market just to tool around for a bit, see what's new. As we started to head out, I saw an eatery that I hadn't noticed before. The name of the place struck me funny because of a review Kirk did on Pucca Chocolate. Hmm, a Puka Dog. Notice the veggie dog?? Having experienced a veggie burger before, I think a veggie dog would live up to place's name. But what we found really interesting was the different "garlic lemon secret" sauces you can get on a dog. Also check out the various relishes. I've got to have relish on my dogs so they all sound really interesting. Also notice the "traditional" condiments. I never realized that there was Hawaiian mustard and that lilikoi (passion fruit) and guava were typical island condiments. Okay, maybe next time I'll have to try one just to see what it's like and so I can try some of those relishes.

On Sunday, we went over to the Aloha Swap Meet in the parking lot of the Aloha Stadium. There were a couple of vendors selling plumeria cuttings and would you believe I bought none? Yes, I swear I did not. The Mister was in shock when I kept walking. He thought it was because there wasn't anything there that I wanted. Actually, it was the thought of dragging out my heating mat and rooting tubes and having to monitor the cuttings until next Spring that stopped me. Don't feel like doing that this year. Anyway, here's a picture of the inside of Aloha Stadium. I've never been inside.

So now let's get to Hy's Steak House. The Mister and I were determined to have room for Banana Foster so we decided not to order any appetizers, soup or salads. We did munch on a couple of the garlic bread (yummy). Sorry, the picture of the garlic bread was all fuzzy. But here's a picture of my Scampi Sicilian over tri-colored linguine. The presentation was pretty good and the sauce was very nice. However, the shrimp was too salty and I had to eat it with the pasta. The pasta was fresh and it was quite good. Too bad the scampi was so salty. No salt would have been nice since the sauce was very flavorful. A disappointment. I was only able to eat about half of this before I started to get stuffed anyway. Had to stop, banana foster!

The Mister had the Steak special: fillet mignon and scampi. The Mister said it was really good. Notice the 3 large mushrooms at the bottom of the picture. That was the sauteed mushroom and onion side that we ordered. Very nice but could have used a pinch more salt. I like to add salt to my sauteed mushrooms because I feel it enhances the woodsy taste of good fresh mushroom. But overall, it was a nice side.




So for the finale...drum roll, please....

Banana Foster! There is a special way to prepare the rum sauce for this dessert and if it's not done properly, it's not worth having. Our waiter (I forgot his name) and I agreed on that point. We both have had it where everything was prepared in the kitchen and then just assembled at the table. Blah. Just doesn't taste the same.

This picture was after he caramelized the sugar, orange juice, and 3 kinds of rum. Weeeee! You can really feel the heat.

And this is the final product. Yummy! The bananas have to be on the firm side, maybe even slightly green or else it won't hold up to the cooking. The best is when the bananas are just soft on the outside and still have a firm bite to it. Mushy bananas are not good. The sauce on this was perfect. A nice way to end the evening.

So that's about it for this trip. Oh yeah. Since my plans for the weekend was kind of shot due to a variety of things, and after that huge meal at Hy's, we decided to do a light dinner my last night there and decided to go back to Chiba-Ken's for dinner (sorry, no pictures again). We did order the chu torro this time and it was heaven! Just melted in your mouth! I also ordered the aji nigiri and it was served with a little bit of grated radish on top. I haven't had it this way before and was taken back a bit at first because of the radish. But it was really good. The aji almost had a slight sweet flavor to it. I don't know if the radish had anything to do with it. Quite enjoyable. The Mister enjoyed both. We got the cucumber/seaweed/octopus salad again but it wasn't as good as the first time. It was a tad too vinegary, couldn't quite make out the sweetness that made it so wonderful the first time. But it didn't keep us from eating the whole thing, the octopus was tender and delicious as the first time.

So that was the trip in a nut shell. Can't wait for the October trip. That one includes a stay in Kauai! Have a wonderful rest of the week. Now go and eat well.