A Long Weekend in Hawaii!

May 15, 2016May 14, 2016Leave a comment

I was lucky enough to go back to Hawaii to not only pick up the rest of my stuff, but to also do some of my favorite things while I was there!

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First stop at my favorite food place! Poke for days! 🐟 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #hawaiisbestkitchens

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First stop: Ono Seafood for their half miso and half spicy tuna poke bowl!

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That bone marrow though. 😍 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats

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I won a free voucher for Grondin when I still lived there so we put it to good use!

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We came here for the cocoa puffs. #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #hawaiisbestkitchens

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We also got cocoa puffs from Liliha Bakery because why not?

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Brunch with the #bae = mochiko chicken and mochi waffles. 😛🍗🍴#foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #hawaiisbestkitchens

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We then had my favorite chicken and waffles from The Nook

And then we did the Pillboxes Hike in Lanikai

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You need a #valentine or nah? #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #hawaiisbestkitchens

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And rewarded ourselves with my favorite shave ice from Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha

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Happy #ValentinesDay! May your #valentine make you feel as special (and fatten you up with 8 course dinners with wine pairings) as much as mine has. I don't think we had enough glasses though. 😅 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #mostexpensivemealofmylife

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Matt treated me to probably the best meal of my life with the 8 course Valentine’s Day dinner at Chef Mavro

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Can't stop won't stop eating. Eating all the poke/eggs benedict/prime rib/lechon for #ValentinesDay brunch at #Orchids! ❤🍴🌺 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #grammasters3

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And we somehow managed to go to brunch at Orchids the next day

It was seriously AMAZING.

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Jeez, don't all these people have #valentines they need to go home to?! 🐋🌊💕 #happyvalentinesday #Waikiki #hawaii #beach #hilife #travel #wanderlust

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And hung out in Waikiki for the rest of the day.

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An #epic last breakfast at my favorite place! Crab cakes eggs benedict, shoyu pork loco moco, & guava chiffon pancakes. 😍🍳🌈 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #hawaiieats #hawaiisbestkitchens

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And for one last meal we ate at my favorite brunch spot Cinnamon’s and had crab cakes eggs benedict, guava chiffon pancakes, and shoyu pork loco moco.

And then it was back to LA 😢

Day 5 in South Africa -Getting Good Use Out of the Selfie Stick

May 5, 2016May 2, 2016Leave a comment

We booked a tour that would take us around the coast/areas that the red bus didn’t cover. Below is a view of the 12 Apostles in South Africa.

And then we were taken to places where we could take more fun selfies & see more pretty ocean.

On the way to the Cape of Good Hope there are a ton of baboons.

It was a pretty foggy day.

And then we went to Boulders Beach to see the penguins!

And then we had lunch in Kalk Bay

I’ve never had so much hake fish in my life

There’s a seal down there!

We then went wine tasting afterward and visited Bo Kaap afterward!

Didn’t take too many other photos afterward, but we ended our last night in Cape Town over looking the entire city and watching the fireworks on New Year’s Eve!

And that finishes our trip and continent 5/7 to South Africa!

Day 4 in South Africa – Elephant Butt Selfies & Table Dancing During Dinner

May 3, 2016May 3, 2016Leave a comment

The safari was about 2 hours away, so we stopped at a rest stop – how fun are these Simba chips?!

When you first arrive, you’re greeted with champagne & breakfast buffet (my kinda place ;))

And there are peacocks walking around during breakfast

Killing time before the safari

Elephants!

Rhino!

And then we stopped for another champagne break 😅

The lions were not having it.

And then we saw some zebras & giraffes!

And then they fed us again afterward! Just in time as it started raining.

We attempted to go to Table Mountain again, and I got a little grumpy so Matt got me an ice cream cone. He knows the perfect way to cheer me up.

We had dinner at this really cool place called Stardust! We were able to snag last minute reservations and sat on scooters.

The food was delicious and we had such a fun time seeing all the different musical numbers! Oh, and seeing everyone start dancing on tables towards the end of the night.

Day 2 in South Africa – Robben Island, Kirstenbosch, & the Rest of the Red Bus Tour

April 30, 2016April 29, 2016Leave a comment

The next day we woke up bright and early to head over to Robben Island

Once you’re there, you’re lead on a tour by one of the ex-politcal prisoners who spent time there.

Nelson Mandela’s jail cell

View from around the island

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Robben island! 🌊 #travel #wanderlust #capetown #southafrica #jessicafrica #smhatthepeopletakingprisonselfies

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Matt somehow managed to deal with all the pictures I took.

And because I like to jam pack our days with activities, I made us get on one of those hop on hop off tour buses.

And we got off at Kirstenbosch since I really wanted to go on the tree canopy walkway

I was really excited to finally walk on that bridge!

And we toured the gardens as well!

The bus was super nice to just sit down on and have them take you around the Cape Town area.

And then we had a super delicious dinner at Kalfi’s Restaurant in Frranschoek. I had so much hake fish and shrimp when I was there. 😅

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That time I ate most of our seafood platter for two. 😅 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous #jessicafrica

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A Very Late Recap of Day 1 in Cape Town

April 28, 2016April 28, 2016Leave a comment

After a 19 hour flight from NYC, we finally arrived in Capetown, South Africa!

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Knocking off continent 5 out of 7. 🌎 #travel #wanderlust #jessicafrica #bucketlist #capetown #7before30

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I was so excited to land in Cape Town I took these pictures that I didn’t know what I took pictures of on the taxi ride over.

One of the menus at the food market at the waterfront

The view from where we ate was really cool and we shared a kebab with a bunch of different meat on the stick (believe it or not there’s alligator and wild boar on there!)

We also decided to ride that giant ferris wheel. And we put my selfie stick to good use.

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I can't believe I bought a selfie stick. #worthit #tablemointain #Africa #capetown #jessicafrica #7before30

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This was pretty much the view at 7pm!

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Everything the light touches . . .is still touched at 7PM?! Love #summer in #capetown. 🌞🎡🌄 #GETIT #travel #wanderlust #bucketlist #7before30 #jessicafrica

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And I found my first elephant!

And we had this really epic dinner at Dash Restaurant

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Sometimes you order the #foiegras as an appetizer. . .sometimes it comes with a candy apple with a sugar sword. 😅 #foodporn #instafood #foodstagram #eeeeeats #myfab5 #f52grams #eatfamous

A post shared by Jess Samson (@jann_bam) on Dec 27, 2015 at 2:02pm PST

And that concludes day 1 in Cape Town!

Ending Summer in Vegas.

January 24, 2016January 24, 2016Leave a comment

Because I am still catching up to when I last blogged, we are still in summertime 2015 mode :).

After visiting Hawaii for a week, I was off to visit Las Vegas with my grandma for a trip we promised each other we’d go on in case Celine Dion ever came back to Las Vegas (which she did!)

Our huge reunion meal at Hash House a Go Go

Sharing a drink before the concert

Her concert was AMAZING!

It was also very, very hot there.

And there was always time for some late night eats with your best friend at Burgr.

And even managed to eat at a seafood buffet the next night.

But it was all in preparation to see Diplo later that night!

We later drove back to LA and went to Six Flags. Apparently the only picture I took was of our funnel cake and the sunset.

And of course, any great vacation ends with brunch.

Next up – some LA eats!

Life’s Short, Eat Dessert First.

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015Leave a comment

A quick summary of all that was tasty and delicious over the past few weeks. Including that time we had Bubbie’s ice cream before dinner.

Chili moco from Downbeat Diner

Spicy tuna with uni from Maguro Bros.

Sweet chili chicken chicken from Kaka’ako Kitchen

The “What the Pho?” sandwich from Kaka’ako Kitchen: Wagyu beef brisket, swiss cheese, sriracha aioli, on a taro hoagie with pho dipping sauce: “an ode to the Philly cheesesteak, French dip and pho.

French toast with cinnamon apples from Cafe Kaila

Took a quick hike up Diamond Head – starting with the little hikes per my sprained ankle.

And got the ritual shave ice afterward.

Lemon lime and POG shave ice with condensed milk from Waiola Shave Ice

Stuffed salmon

Steak burrito from Oahu Mexican Grill

And because we had some friends in town, we took them to drinks at House Without a Key

Green spaghetti from Goofy Cafe & Dine

Dim Sum overload at Mei Sum Dim Sum

Beer flight and mac and cheese from Honolulu Beer Works

Crab cakes eggs benedict from Cinnamon’s

Shave ice from Island Snow

The view of Kailua on our way back home

Homemade fried rice stuffed chicken and Asian noodles

What a view from Outback Steakhouse (yes, one of my favorite chains) at Hawaii Kai

Cookie butter macaron from Bubbie’s

Mochi ice cream assortment and “Multiple Orgasm” ice cream cake from Bubbie’s

The crazy delicious dinner from Mud Hen Water: yaki o pa’i’ai, grilled he’e (octopus) in luau leaves, cold ginger rabbit and puffed rice, oxtail risotto, and egg white topped kitchen cocktail.

Mochiko chicken and mochi waffles from The Nook

And with that, I am finally caught up!

Kona Adventures!

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015Leave a comment

Our last day in Kona started off at Island Lava Java for brunch. Probably one of the busiest beach side brunches in town (and for good reason). Live music, delicious food, and a view of the ocean – can’t beat that!

Delicious (and huge) cinnamon roll

Beachside breakfast

Matt and I shared the famous cinnamon rolls. I had macadamia nut banana pancakes with Portuguese sausage and he had a kalua pork omelette. Both of us had humongous coffees because #Konacoffee.

We did lots of sightseeing afterwards, but mostly I just wanted to lay out on a beach after driving 7+ hours this whole trip.

Our historic stops included Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park and the Painted Church.

While we did stop by Kahaluu Beach Park to spend the rest of the day, we decided instead to go up a bit more north to avoid the crowds. We made a pit stop at Umeke’s to share a poke lunch plate and then enjoyed most of the afternoon at Mani’owali Beach (Kua Bay).

Avocado poke, special garlic aioli poke, crab salad, lomi salmon, and furikake brown rice.

Fresh catch being prepared right behind the counter

And because we need to kill an hour before our flight, we stopped by Kona Brewing Co. to try a couple of the beers we can’t get in Oahu.

: Beer flight

: Cubano slow-roasted kalua pork, canadian bacon, provolone, sliced pickles and cuban mustard. baked on our house-made herbed flatbread

: Special Greek pizza and caesar salad

And that’s it! Maybe next time I’ll get to check out the Hilo side of the island, but I probably need to go on a few other adventures before then 🙂

I Saw a Volcano!

June 1, 2015June 1, 20152 Comments

The Big Island is. . . big.

It takes us about 2 hours to get down to the Volcano area from where we were staying, so we planned ahead, grabbed some to-go Kona coffee and cranberry macadamia nut scones and started our road trip down there.

Our first stop was Punalu’u Beach – a beautiful black sand beach which was a big mix of Asian tourists and locals camping out for the weekend. You can’t really go in the water because the ground is so rocky in the water, but it’s nice that the sand wasn’t sticky and you wouldn’t find it in weird places later (I promise it wasn’t dirt).

We also knew we wanted to stop by the farmer’s market over in Maku’u (driving passed the Volcano) which was huge and had a crazy assortment of things for sale. We grabbed $2.50 bags of lychee and rambutan (my favorite! one bag in Oahu is about double that price and you can’t even find rambutan on the mainland), a bbq smoked meat plate, corned beef and coconut milk wrapped in tea leaves, a haupia cheesecake, poi balls, and macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies. We kind of have a sweet tooth.

Poi balls

Red bean cake

Smoked Meat Plate

This looks like poop, but it’s corned beef, coconut milk, in taro leaves!

After stuffing our faces at the farmer’s market, Matt and I met up with his family who took us around the Volcano National Park. We checked out Volcano house (it was a pretty rainy and foggy day unfortunately), walked through the lava tubes (which reminded me a lot of the caves we checked out when I was in Australia), and even checked out some of the lava trees – which is a pretty interesting concept in itself if you look up what a lava tree is!

It was a pretty foggy day unfortunately =(

In front of the lava tube entrance

Inside the lava tubes

Lava tree!

Make a wish in a . . . steam vent?

I forgot what weather was under 70 degrees

Matt’s aunt and uncle own Village Teapot in the area (if you’re ever in the area, you should consider staying there!) which is just a very cool, cute, and comfortable property.

How cute is this place?!

His aunt even hides teapots and teacups throughout the property!

We snacked on some lilikoi cheesecake before dinner (cause life is short. Eat dessert first) and then headed over to the Crater Rim Cafe in the Kilauea Military Camp for dinner. Forgot to snap some pictures of this meal, but it was super delicious and was a great deal! I highly recommend if you get hungry in the Volcano area.

Lilikoi cheesecake. . . our appetizer?

After dinner, we headed up to the Jaggar Museum to finally see the volcano! It was super crowded, cold, and muggy, but we did get to catch the reflection of the lava in the sky. We didn’t stay too long because we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us, but I’m pretty proud to say that I’ve finally seen a volcano!

Very faint outline, but you can see it from afar + the reflection in the sky

Up next – eating our way through our last day in Kona!

Big Island Adventures – Day 1 – Up North on the Kohala Coast, Waimea, & Eating All the Things

May 31, 2015May 31, 2015Leave a comment

This Memorial Day Weekend, Matt and I took a trip over to one of the neighbor islands (my first neighbor island trip ever!) With 3 days, a full tank of rental car gas, and a Google Doc planned itinerary we started out our first day up north on the island.

Oh! But first here are some pictures from Matt’s birthday dinner at Roy’s. He was a good sport and let me take the pictures of him in the birthday hat they provided (thanks Roy’s!)

Round 1 of Matt’s birthday dinner! Roy’s Beachwalk Canoe: Szechuan Baby Back Ribs, Shrimp Sticks, Crispy Mini Crab Cakes, Chicken Spring Rolls & Spicy Tuna Roll.

Our entrees for the night: Beach Walk Trio: Hibachi Salmon, Macadamia Nut Crusted Monchong, Misoyaki Butterfish & Rice Crusted Hapuu’puu with Tomato Raviolis.

Happy Birthday Matt!

Also had a sushi-ritto from Up Roll Cafe in Kaka’ako for lunch on the day of our flight.

Salmon roll from Up Roll Cafe

Okay! Now for Big Island adventures. 🙂

The first place we visited was Hapuna Beach – white sand, lots of space (and convenient parking!), but because it was the first stop of the day it was a bit too cold to enjoy the water. Afterwards we visited Pu’ukohala Heiau (Temple of the Hill of the Whale) where King Kamehameha I built one of these last major Ancient Hawaiian Temples.

We even saw that there were a few newer offerings left at the site.

Since we hadn’t eaten anything since dinner on Oahu, we appropriately decided that our first real meal on Big Island should be the best burgers up north in Waimea.

Kahua Ranch wagyu beef burger with avocado and an egg, goop parmesan fries, and part of Matt’s chipotle goat cheese veal burger.

We also stopped by Waimea Coffee Company to load on caffeine before we hit the road again. I had a really yummy iced dirty chai, and Matt had the special of the day – a hand crafted spicy espresso beverage spiced up with cayenne pepper! We also shared a macaroon cause they were basically calling our name through the glass case.

The drive up the Kohala coast was beautiful – very different than driving on Oahu (we were pretty much the only ones on the road for most of the drive). We stopped by the original King Kamehameha statue (the one that was lost at sea) and drove all the way to the end of the highway at Pololu lookout.

After exploring Hawi for a bit, we rushed back to try Da Poke Shack before they closed – the #1 place on Yelp!

Wet Hawaiian poke, sesame baby octopus, & teriyaki calamari over furikake rice.

And because Matt knows I love eating al fresco, we booked dinner at Cafe Keei to watch the sunset and enjoy a really tasty dinner (although, my appetite was cut short from all the burgers and poke in one day).