Back on oahu eating some food
Elephant shack doing legit Thai food on north shore. Lots of wok hei and fish sauce flavors.
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7 brothers a mini chainlet started in laie.
Teri burger. Damn good Teri burger
Didn’t get their fries but they are good too
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Impossibles pizza serviceable pizza on the north shore the guy lives the life he only works thurs and fri from 230-6 takes phone orders and sells out.
Also had giovannis shrimp today pretty meh tastes like every other garlic butter shrimp out there.
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Paala Kai mini market. They make Hawaiian Korean Japanese mash up food and bentos. Spicy ebi musubi mixed with a go hh mayo. We also got the japchae and fried chicken. Run by a nice older Korean couple packed with locals.
Paala Kai bakery is right next door too!
We also went to the Waialua farmers market and got some Star fruit, dragon fruit, papayas and tangerines.
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Fresh pineapple so good. Tropical fruit in tropical locations is just different when ripe.
That’s one thing I wish LA had access to
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Koko head cafe moved to a new plaza but their skillet rices are still pretty good. The crispy rice puts many a paella to shame.
I think I still prefer over easy or mokes for brunch but the flavors are definitely more sophisticated at Koko head.
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Nami Kaze-
Excellent meal at honolulu magazines best new restaurant at 2023. All the dishes and flavor combinations were interesting but in harmony.
We had quite a few other dishes but posting just a couple of pics. Def worth checking out if you’re in Honolulu. Their veggie dishes might even be better than their cooked protein dishes
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Fresh Star fruit from farmers market probably grown in someone’s back yard. Tastes almost like citrusy licorice style belt candy almost.
Another trip to 7 bros got the paniolo burger
Shave ice from kamaiana they use real fruit in their syrups.
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Senia-imo still one of the best restaurants in the country. If this was in LA it’d be probably too 1 or 2 restaurant for me.
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Zigu great local spot for drinks and food in Waikiki with a Hawaiian spin on japanese style Izakaya. Our favorite casual resto in Waikiki.
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Off the hook poke in manoa. Filled with Asian tourists the ginger garlic poke reminiscent of white cut chicken is the go to
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Thanksgiving dinner catered by guava smoked one of my favorite casual options. Some of the best smoked black cod, salmon belly, and galbi anywhere.
Mildly smoked with guava wood.
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No pictures but the sushi sho bara chirashi for 40 dollars is an insane deal.
I think someone said it’s the best deal for chirashi and I would have to agree the price qpr is the best I’m aware of. To put it in perspective people rave about the qpr of the chirashi bowl at wadatsumi in Torrance and comparing the two is like little league vs pro baseball and they are both in the 40 price point area.
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Waikīkī: A Travelogue
The grown chowpups and grandpups talked us into joining them on a brief trip to Waikiki. Imagine how not hard it was to talk us into. It took about 90 seconds. We had a week to pull it together. I messaged @hungryhungryhippos who made sure we got some ono grindz in between chicken fingers, french fries & orange chicken, because little pups.
It’s long. Indulge me, it was my first trip to Hawaii.
A Room with a View
Walked to Duke’s for our first meal.
There were Mai Tais… of course
Coconut Shrimp + Lilikoi Chili Water Pickled Cucumbers & Carrots
Rib & Chicken Plate
Hit the spot for us hungry, weary travelers with pups. I enjoyed my coconut shrimp & pickled things.
Stopped at Banan after dinner.
Made from bananas. No dairy. No sugar.
Let the excursions begin…
Hiked Waimea botanical trail to the waterfall.
A refreshing stop…Guava Shaved Ice
A most refreshing stop…
They had to drag me and the littlest pup out.
Lunch & drinks onsite…
Musubi! 
Kalua Pork Plate… was adequate.
His royal highness goes wherever he pleases…
Dinner at Ginza Bairin Tonkatsu
Crab Cream Croquettes
Kurobuta Pork Loin Katsu Set
Chicken Katsu Set
Special Pork Tenderloin Katsu-don
Curry Sauce
One of the few local spots that take reservations. Thanks @hungryhungryhippos. When I told @PorkyBelly we were going to Waikiki he also insisted we put GBT on the list. I made a resy before leaving L.A.! The first thing we noticed walking thru the door was the aroma of curry! The food is so good we stopped talking. Not a sound except the occasional Mmmm. The pups loved it too and a 5 minute walk from our hotel.
Walking back to the hotel…
Didn’t get an icy as they were closed, but had to get a photo because we love Breaking Bad and for our cousin who won an Emmy working on the show.
Jurassic World Tour at Kualoa Ranch
Grandpa & I begrudgingly agreed to this excursion. The tour was on the back of a big, bumpy, pickup truck fitted with seats… and it was so fun! 
I think the grownups had even more fun than the little ones! It’s just so beautiful! Our guide, “Precious”, who grew up on this working ranch was a gem.
Do you mind? I’m just trying to eat some grass here and live out the rest of my life in peace.
These 4,000 acres have been in the same family for about 140 years (unfortunately, not the Hawaiian family who originally owned the land.) There’s a lot of history with a couple of original dwellings, a few replicas and multiple WWII bunkers from when the U.S. military briefly occupied the land. Now it’s a working farm and tourist adventure park.
And of course dinosaurs…
I bought a few food gifts at the shop, but didn’t eat at the cafe because I was saving room for Laulau at Waiahole Poi Factory down the street.
Laulau - Pork, Butterfish Cooked in Taro Leaves
I didn’t know what to expect, just knew I wanted to eat laulau. One of my best bites of the trip!
Poi
I can say I’ve tried poi now.
Food Halls worked as everyone could get what they wanted including the little chowpups.
BBQ 5-Spice Marinated sliced Pork, Fried Egg
Everyone was satisfied. 
Waikiki Food Hall at Royal Hawaiin Center
Potama - Fried Shrimp, Tamago, Spam Onigiri
May I have another one please?!
5-Star Shrimp - Lemon Garlic Shrimp
Can I borrow a machete?
Sushi Sho To-go
Hitakami Nakadori Black Junmai Daiginjo
Sushi Sho is a $350 pp,10-seat counter inside the modern, uber-swanky Ritz Carlton. Their low-key, pre-order only, Sushi Sho To-go offers incredible Bara Chirashi & Futomaki for $40.00 each. $40.00! We mostly ate at local mom & pops but had to get these @hungryhungryhippos recommended, @PorkyBelly approved jewel boxes. We let the chowpups go off in search of orange chicken and had a sushi picnic on the bed.
Sweet E’s Cafe
Last meal with the pups before they boarded a plane back home.
Hawaiian Omelette - Portuguese Sausage, Spam, Scallions, Onions, Cheddar
They kindly split this for two. I love the “Portuguese sausage” (linguica) served in Hawaiian restaurants. Reminds me of the linguica I grew up eating in Massachusetts - salty, tangy, like pepperoni.
Leonard’s is a short walk from Sweet E’s but we didn’t get anything. We wanted to spend our last day at the beach not in a very long line, so I just took a photo of the cool sign.
Plus we were saving room for Guava Smoked.
Beer Lab & Longboard
Smoked Kalbi Short Rib Plate
Smoked Chicken Plate
Everything is “cold-smoked” over strawberry guava wood (wai’awi). Nice selection of self-serve sauces. I had a little buyer’s remorse not going with smoked fish but the smoked chicken is great - tender, smokey, hint of sweet. My favorite macaroni salad of the trip. Hubs loved his short ribs. Glad we didn’t sleep on this @hungryhungryhippos!
That concludes the eating portion of our trip. You may notice one Hawaiian specialty missing from the lineup and I’m pretty sure we committed some kind of felony by not seeking it out. POKE! I mean, I ate a small bowl from an ABC Store across from our hotel but I don’t think that counts. We planned on going to one of the good spots outside town but regretfully didn’t make it. We managed some mighty fine eating for 5 days though!
Popped in the Honolulu Cookie Co. for gifts…
Time to go… wait.
It gave me pleasure to see roosters roaming free considering what we humans typically do to them. I was kinda bummed I didn’t get a photo of one then the universe sent this homie right in front of the car as we were leaving for the airport. Serendipity.
Hang Loose Baby!
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Looks so great! Glad you guys had such a great time.
Makes me want to go back asap!
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Thanks again @hungryhungryhippos!
Your recs and insider tips are the bomb!
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I miss Hawaii. Looks like a fun trip. We took the kids to Kualoa Ranch for an ATV tour. It was beautiful and so much fun. The ATV had a sign that said 10 mph speed limit. To this day my kids both tell me how much I was speeding. I went to 11 or 12 mph maybe a dozen times.
Now you have a reason to go back. Have to try some fresh Leonard’s. So bomb.
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I had poi I liked twice. I think it was super-fresh and had not fermented.
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That’s funny! We looked into the ATV tour but had one child under 5 yrs. I think the older one would’ve had more fun on the ATV.
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