The “sunrise from above the clouds” one is in Maui, not Oahu. Diamond Head is probably best as a morning event (parking, climbing, seeing, going back down) – these days its all up a lot of stairs & not a trail climb. I’d give the entire thing a 3-4 hour allotment. Bring water: Division of State Parks | Diamond Head State Monument
And, while we’re at it, I’ll recommend Duke’s in Waikiki. No, its not an above average food place but it cant be beat for the overall experience, especially with kids. Get a seat outdoors by the beach, or near it. And buy a t-shirt or hat for me – I wore mine out.
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I don’t think you need to do it at sunrise but go early before it gets hot and crowded. We took the bus from our hotel then went to the KCC Farmers Market on Saturday. You could probably Uber but we decided to use local transportation. Make sure to get the pineapple at the truck at Diamond Head. Best pineapple I’ve ever had - better than at Dole Plantation.
The places on our list dovetail with most of your choices
Kokohead Cafe
Kono Coffee Purveyors
Maguro Bros - if you can’t make it to Ahi Assasins
Helena’s
Leonard’s
Modo Donuts
Side Street - make sure you come very hungry, portions are large and you’ll want to order a lot of things
Inu Island Ales - best brewery in Hawaii but a bit out of the way
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if you’re in the mood for some cocktails and can ditch the kids, leather apron was fun and pretty well recognized. you’ll just need a reservation.
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Bar Leather Apron is on the list.
Ditching the kids is an easier sell than ditching the entire family.
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I went to Alan Wong in 2019. Amazing.
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Reservations are no joke hard to make on the island. Before I left town, I was only able to get a reservation for Roy’s…which @hungryhungryhippos recommended we try since it is better here than on the mainland.
It was an amazing dinner to enjoy on the island after a long day of travel. Each dish was thoughtfully prepared and the cookery was spot on. The prawns dish was a huge hit because the heads were left on…and they prepped them enough so it was easy to eat the whole thing up to the tail itself. They had a Kung pao tempura shemeji mushroom dish that we loved…and y’all know how I adore a good vegetable dish.
Hit Malawa Market after an early morning excursion (shark cages) in Haleiwa based on a tip from our guides…the grocery store poké is leagues better than what we can get at home. Ray’s Kiawe Chicken was opening up at the same time…so bang-bang, it was!
No joke. @hungryhungryhippos it was the best grilled/rotisserie half chicken ever! Crispy skin, flavorful and perfectly cooked chicken. The fam loved it. We tried another chicken stand during our drive along the coast, and it couldn’t hold a candle to Ray’s.
Also hit Matsumoto for shaved ice because we had to. For $3-3.50 a pop, it’s a great deal and a nice way to end “breakfast.”
Dinner tonight was takeout from Rainbow Drive-In and Five Star Poke across the street from Blue Ocean Seafood. The poke was perfect. Rainbow Drive-In was the perfect amount of carbs after a jam packed day.
I will need vegetables and fruit tomorrow.
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Glad you were able to have Ray’s Kiawe! So good!
If you’re looking for veggies and fruit check out the manoa farmers market on Tuesday. It’s not a big farmers market just like a neighborhood type. Lots of fruit and veggies which is hard to find at restaurants on the island lol. If it’s mango season eat like 20, they are so good when in season, search around there are different varieties which taste different. While in Manoa go to Off the Hook poke, imho the best poke on Oahu. Skip the sampler plate instead go with the ginger garlic, spicy, and regular poke. They have many different flavors but ginger garlic is their signature. If you’re there until next weekend check out the Kakaako farmers market
Or you could go to chinatown during the day any day, it’s reminiscent of open air asian markets lots of vendors. Also lots of places to eat nearby, depending on the time of day maguro bros chinatown is open and they cook fish (they don’t cook at the waikiki location) and do sliced sashimi which is awesome. If you need any more recs for chinatown area let me know.
Were you able to snag a rezzie at sushi sho? If you’re not able to always call them and place your name on standby, you’d be surprised how often ppl cancel. That’s how we got our first reservation there years ago.
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@hungryhungryhippos Thank you for all of your recs!
Our trip was an immense success because of them.
Waiola Shaved Ice > Matsumoto’s by leagues! We went back every day and didn’t have a chance to go to Uncle Clay’s. Towards the end of the trip, the kids were ordering jumbos.
Maguro Brothers was indeed fantastic. It was the best fish we had on the island hands down.
Ono Seafood has a great miso and traditional poke close to Waikiki, but the parking lot is a clusterf@*k. Line runs real fast since the shop is very efficient. Their garlic edamame is a nice snack.
KoKo Head Cafe is outstanding. I choose to go on a weekday right before opening and while there was a line, I would have gotten a table had I needed one. I popped in after a sunrise hike at the Lighthouse and grabbed takeout. My husband said his applewood bacon pancakes with maple bourbon glaze were the lightest and fluffiest pancakes he has ever had. My KoKo Moco and the cheeseburger dumplings were also a hit. Chef Lee Anne Wong can cook!
My cousin told me that L&L Barbecue in Hawaii is better than at home. I’ll just take her word for it.
Shout out to Waimea Market for having a large poke selection. Great for a post-dolphin swim excursion. Also in the area is Kai’s Barbecue. The chowpups grabbed bacon fried rice and garlic shrimp and loved it…but they were also pretty hungry after a 3 hour trip which involved waking up 2 hours before the adventure.
Takeout was pretty hard on this trip. The best way to secure it was to just have it delivered through an app. Because they were prioritizing in-house diners and with staffing issues, takeout orders were often last on the list. We had Kamituko delivered…beef-based ramen and the kids said it was better than home. They devoured their bowls. No reservation to the Pig and Lady? No problem, DoorDash will deliver. The pho dip, papaya salad, chicken wings and pho were quite delicious. I’m sad we weren’t able to eat it fresh from the kitchen.
Sadly, no Sushi Sho because I wasn’t able to ditch the fam or try the takeout (which is now available for pre-order on Tock).
With oncoming COVID restrictions, I’m not sure what the future holds for this very wonderful and magical place. The hardworking folks that fuel the service industry are busting their chops to keep up with demand and they need tourism to support their own livelihoods.
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Sounds like you and your family had an awesome trip! Sushi sho next time!
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Was able to secure a booking for Sushi Sho in September, but got seated at the smaller table with 6 seats. Does anyone know if there’s a difference? Should I try to see if another day has the main seating?
I’ve only eaten at the main bar where nakazawa-san serves with two other itamaes. For me it’s definitely part of the experience, to have nakazawa-san or his apprentices explain the dish, watch them prepare, and chat with them, especially since the price is not cheap.
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That table is Siberia. For that type of money you’ll be dishing out, I would prefer insist on dining at the counter.
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Some last notes:
If you’re at Waiola Shaved Ice, and have a hankering for birria pho or birria banh mi or just birria tacos, Casa De Rojas is about 3 minutes away and worth a stop. We hit shaved ice and then wanted a bite before hitting the airport. Shaved ice is solid…with most of the fam getting jumbos (one last hurrah) and then being worried about a late lunch.
The consommé at Casa De Rojas is pho-inspired, so there are hits of cinnamon, clove, anise, and ginger. It’s not very red like birria consommé, either. But it smells like a birria consommé. I had bites of things because I was too full to have lunch. The tacos were crispy and the birria itself was pretty tasty. Dipping it into the pho-y consommé and drinking the consommé straight was…nice. The chowpup with the banh mi said his was great and wanted to find the LA equivalent. Casa De Rojas is run by a Vietnamese family.
The poke craving has been knocked out of me. Nothing compares to Hawaiian poke. This allows me to divert the poke money to other foods.
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Nothing compares to Hawaiian poke . Hands down .
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Some items found at Costco…
paging @beefnoguy
There was tons more stuff. We were on limited time so I couldn’t go through the store like a tourist. I probably could have spent 2 hours in there by myself walking the aisles.
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