Haleiwa Bowls
Our transition to Waikiki happens today. In the morning we began packing and getting ready for the trip down to the city. After packing, we stopped at a Acai bowl shop called Haleiwa Bowls to get our Acai fix before heading onward to Waikiki.
Alicia’s Market
The drive down to Honolulu was quick and easy. On the way we found a suggestion for a poke place called Alicia’s Market. Since its on the way from our airBnB on the North Shore we stopped for lunch. Alicia’s Market is a small store in a nondescript two story building east of Honolulu . Upon entering there is a cooler with about 12 different trays of poke available on the left and a cash register on the right. There is little room for anything else. You let the staff know the amount of poke you want and they package it for you while you pay. There is no place to sit but we ended up eating it in our cars. Since this is my first time in Hawaii, I can’t really speak to how this poke compares to many others, but I personally think its the best Poke I’ve had.
Halona Blowhole & Lanai Lookout
From Alicias we drove to Halona Blowhole and then to Lanai Lookout. This is on the East coast of Hawaii overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its a beautiful area of Hawaii with volcanic rock formations and holes that blow out water when there is an incoming tide.
We spent some time exploring the cliff side and taking photos. Its amazing what years of ocean current will do against volcanic rock.
Leonard’s Bakery. (Food Truck)
On the way back back from the lookout we scoped out a food truck advertising Leornard’s donuts. I’d heard these were famous so we pulled over and ordered a few. I’m not the biggest fan of donuts and these were very deep fried. So while it isn’t my favourite thing to eat, I can definitely understand the appeal.
Dinner at Ramen Nakamura
From Leanord’s we checked into our AirBnB and took some time to get settled. After that we set out to explore Waikiki. We did some shopping a few stores, before setting our sights on dinner. Antetokounmpo recommended a Ramen Nakamura, so we all headed over, spent a brief few minutes in line before being seated. Ramen Nakamura is known for its Oxtail Ramen so that’s what I ordered. When it arrived the soup was flavorful and the noodles were done perfectly. It was a long day of transition and this meal for sure hit the spot.
Once we finished with Ramen we retreated back to our airBnb. While we didn’t have set plans for the next day. Funky Cat and Cactoose planned to go on a day hike while the rest of us wanted to explore Waikiki.
Masubi Cafe
The next day FunkyCat and Cactoose arranged to do an all day hike, while the rest of us chose to remain in the city. Our first stop was to Masubi Cafe for Breakfast. There are so many different kinds of masubi and onigiri. I had to try more than one and ordered a salmon onigiri, a eel and spam masubi and a kona iced coffee. I think I’m hooked, what can be better than spam, egg rice and seafood?!
Honolulu
For the rest of the day the four of us decided to explore Waikiki until FunkyCat and Cactoose returned from their hike. We popped in and out of different indoor department stores and somewhat open air malls. All the while we took note of interesting restaurants for our next meal.
One such place that we stumbled into is this Japanese marketplace called Mitsuwa Market. It looks to be a regular market but the catch is that everything is Japanese. We spent a lot of time browsing the different food items, and we came out with something new to all of us: breaded deep fried spam. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. First off, Spam in its own right is already extremely tasty. Now, bread with panko and deep fry it and you only make it better. Alternatively, I can’t think of anything that will likely clog your arteries as quickly!
What’s the verdict? While its very flavorful (bordering on too salty) I will give this a miss. It just brings about too much guilt after consumption and you do feel just a little bit slower afterwards!
Gyu-Kaku
After a little bit more walking and shopping we started looking for a lunch spot in the early afternoon. We walked by a place that many of our friends including my sister visit regularly when they are in Waikiki called Gyu-Kaku. Since it was a little after lunch time we got in just in time for Happy Hour. Gyu-Kaku is a popular yakiniku restaurant that has a Japanese/Korean BBQ mix to it.
We ordered an assortment of BBQ meats and veggies and stuffed our faces! There are Gyu-Kaku’s in Canada, but the prices do seem to be cheaper in Hawaii, especially during happy hour. All in all it was a satisfying meal.
Nana’s Green Tea
With lunch in our belly, we started our walk back to the AirBnB. Along the way we stumbled upon Nana’s Green Tea. This is a popular desert restaurant in Japan and has been slowly making its way west. One of the things on their menu that is quite popular is the Hojicha flavoured items. Its hard to come by in Canada so when we passed by we needed to try it. I ended up with a Hojicha soft serve and was not disappointed.
From Nana’s we eventually returned to our AirBnb where we rested and watched a little Netflix while we waited for Cactoose and FunkyCat to get back from their hike. Once everyone was accounted for and had showered, rested and recharged. We headed out for dinner.
MaruKame Udon
Dinner tonight is at Marukame Udon. It was on a lot of our lists and seeing the lunch crowd lining up earlier in the day made it even more imperative that we try it out! When we arrived the line wasn’t super long. (It only snaked once). We only waited around 10-15 minutes and soon enough we were in the doors. The way that Marukame Udon works is you go through like a cafeteria line, picking and choosing the type and style of noodle you want. Once that’s made for you, you have the option to pick any or none of the tempura or deep fried options. Once you’ve picked everything, then you pay at the cashier and find an open table. Its interesting that the store holds the line until a majority of the patrons have finished and left so that the intake is a large group each time. (Almost like multiple mini seatings).
For my first sampling, I got a dipping noodle style udon along with a variety of deep fried goodies like shrimp, fishcake and chicken. I love udon and will always choose it over ramen. For Marukame, I really enjoyed it and am happy to say this will probably be my favourite meal of the trip! If you’re ever in Waikiki, I’d say its worth the wait.
After dinner, we walked around a little more, returned to Masubi Cafe to pick up some breakfast for the next day. But ultimately, went home because it was Sunday and all of us wanted to watch the second to last episode of Game of Thrones! Sufficed to say its been a rather relaxing day.
Tomorrow though would be a bit busier as our plan was to visit and walk up Diamond Head.