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).

Baked brie

Eggplant rolls

Enjoying my seafood soup while Matt eats the fresh catch of the day.

Lilikoi cheesecake for dessert

We also had some drinks at On the Rocks later that night – overall a busy first day to our long weekend! Next up, my first trip to see a volcano!

How I Established Feast Friday at Work

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015Leave a comment

Since I’m saving up for a couple of trips this year, I’ve established Friday as a “treat yourself” state of mind AKA creating a google spreadsheet of all the lunch places nearby and seeing how many I can cross off with my co-workers.

The spicy ahi bowl from Mama-ya downtown.

And because you can never turn down any family friend gathering and the buffet that they provide, I had my first taste of the famous coco puffs from Liliha Bakery

Most recently (since it’s been kind of rainy here in Honolulu) we visited Pho to Chau – a super delicious Pho place with the signature, authentic Chinatown experience.

Feast Friday was later followed by half-and-half pizza from JJ Dolan’s and a surprise grand prize raffle win from Civil Beat’s 5th anniversary celebration!

And of course, no weekend is complete with a little bit of staycationing.

One Day, I Will Post Regularly. . . One Day.

May 4, 2015May 4, 2015Leave a comment

Things have been a bit crazy lately, but I am trying to stay committed to updating as often as possible! Since I last blogged, there have been a lot of eatings and events (including deciding to dye my hair again!).

Well, per usual, a lot, a lot of food has been the center of basically everything I take a picture of.

Finally crossed of Marukame Udon from my bucketlist (the onion bomb and the fish cake were pretty delicious)

I also had my first try at some fried rice spam musubi

I also tried out a new zucchini boat recipe. Super easy and yummy, and I drowned it in as much cheese as possible.

The start of feast Fridays at work with this pesto chicken sandwich from OEC Cafe

Matt also had these tickets for a booze cruise that we never went on, so we spent one Saturday afternoon eating, drinking and watching the sunset.

Eh, the view was pretty nice 😉

Crazy delicious lunch at Pho My Lan in downtown Honolulu

Our friend Jason was performing at the Mission Houses Museum and they had pretty delicious, fresh food also. Check out the colors in the fresh beet and taro sides!

2weeks ago we visited Kailua, so of course we had to spend some time at my favorite beach , Lanikai.

Fresh potato gnocchi with

Bacon baked bean pork chops

Shepherd’s pie

Crab cakes

Dessert with Bailey’s affogato and homemade oreo mint ice cream

And since we took the east side way back to town, we also stopped by my favorite shave ice place – Uncle Clay’s Pure House of Aloha

And no weekend in Hawaii is complete without a gorgeous sunset

Because my best friend had friends in town, we shared a massive meal from Side Street Inn – complete with kalbi beef, pan fried island pork chops, spicy chicken, fried rice, “big ass steak,” and yaki soba.

Also got to spend another Feast Friday knocking off another restaurant from my bucketlist – here’s the Cochon de Lait Po’Boy from Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop – Puerto Rican roasted pork, romaine, pickled trinity, creole mayo, demi baguette, and buttermilk-herb roasted potato salad.

And since it was the last Friday of the month last week, we went to the Filipino-themed Eat the Street! Here’s the pork adobo french fries topped with crispy chicharones.

Bisteak pizza

Oh, and if you were paying attention to the beginning of this post, I actually did dye my hair! Thanks Tabby Magic.

Okay, okay, I promise to update this on a regular basis – just so my mom doesn’t go crazy when she’s trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life from 5,000 miles away 😉

Staycation Weekends.

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015Leave a comment

One day I’ll run out of weekend adventures on this island. . . .nah. 🙂

The Kaiwi Shoreline Trail leading up to the Makapu’u Tidepools

Makapu’u Tidepools

My favorite shave ice place and favorite reward after hiking – Uncle Clay’s Pure House of Aloha

Date night noms – oxtail poutine, lazy luau dip, ahi poke cupcakes, haupia bread pudding, and sweet potato crunch from Off the Wall Craft Kitchen

If you ever find yourself on the last Friday of the month of Honolulu, check out Eat the Street for a bit! Tons of food and lots of options, but get there early to try and avoid as many long lines as possible.

Lobster mac and cheese and spinach and artichoke poppers, avocado toast, sushi sliders, deconstructed musubis, and butter mochi kona coffee sundaes.

Double rainbows over the city

At the end of the Waimano Falls Trail

Rope swing at the end of the Waimano Falls Trail

Sauteed shrimp from Papa Ole‘s on the North Shore

Delicious peanut butter rolls from Papa Ole’s

Sunset Beach

Post-beach chocolate haupia pie from Ted’s Bakery

Saturday mornings at the KCC Farmer’s Market – King Kong Dog for lunch

Lagoon 1 at Ko’Olina

Beach bums

Caramel macadamia nut iand Hawaiian mud pie ice cream from Two Scoops

Easter Brunch from Sweet E’s

I need to keep up with this better, but more eats and exploring to come!

Kailua Weekends and More Hawaii Eats (You Know, the Usual)

March 15, 2015March 15, 2015Leave a comment

I think I’m finally getting into a normal schedule after moving to Hawaii fa month ago. I’ve reinstated treat yourself Fridays (AKA my excuse to only buy lunch on Fridays to save the $$$), and have made sure to take advantage of the Jessicalohakitchen as much as possible (name still pending).

Lunch bentos with an assortment of sushi, poke, and black rice from Ahi Lovers in Downtown.

This past weekend we visited Kailua – just a bus ride away if you’re coming from town. We usual go to Cinnamon’s for their guava chiffon pancakes, but this time we tried somewhere new:

Lilikoi pancakes from Moke’s Bread and Breakfast

After Moke’s, we walked around Kailua for a bit and decided to stop by Island Snow (Obama’s favorite shave ice place) for a quick snack before we visited the beach.

(It was very cold, and we did not go swimming. I just did this for the gram haha).

The Jessicalohakitchen and my eating adventures around the island have been very busy though! I made this “healthy” burrito bowl alternatives (because there is no Chipotle here on the island :() while we watched Chef last Sunday night.

Cauliflower fried rice, soy garlic chicken and beef, lettuce from the Big Island, roasted chick peas, avocado, greek yogurt, and a dash of sriracha mayo.

Speaking of Chef, I immediately had a Cuban sandwich craving afterward, so we went and got Cuban sandwiches during our lunch breaks this week.

And because we didn’t get a chance to use our Groupon for Sarento’s the last time I was here, we used them this past Thursday. A definite must-go if you want some awesome views of the city with some delicious food (you must get the escargot!)

View from the glass elevator at Sarento’s

The delicious cheesy, buttery, escargot

Australian rack of lamb, fig caponata, roasted fennel jus, & cocoa raisin glaze.

Sarento’s signature #ossobuco with braised veal shank, saffron risotto, & citrus gremolata.

And because I saw we had these cans of tuna lying around in our cupboards that I thought we should make edible, I grabbed an egg, breadcrumbs, some shrimp, and cheese and made some tuna and shrimp lettuce burgers with fresh homemade guacamole, greek yogurt, mushrooms, and sriracha mayo with a side of baked zucchini fries.

And, because it’s still Sunday funday here in Honolulu, we grabbed an acai bowl from my favorite place Diamond Head Health Cove Bar before we went to the coffee shop this morning.

#Jessicalohakitchen – Cooking for Two & Everything Else You Can Chew

March 3, 2015March 3, 2015Leave a comment

Let’s get it straight, I am not eating for two (and plan on not eating for two for A WHILE) but I am now cooking for two. Hawaii grocery prices ($5 for a pack of mushrooms, really?) has caused this Trader Joe’s loyalist (uggh, I miss you $1.99 mushrooms) to get creative with the meals I’ve come up with.

Slow cooker beer battered Jack Daniels BBQ wings and stir fried veggies with a fried egg.

Steak night with grilled onions and shrimp with a side of veggies

Loco moco cauliflower fried rice

Italian meatball, shrimp, chicken, veggies pesto zucchini pasta

Filipino adobo with veggies

I’ve also gotten to experience old and new places after living in Hawaii for a month. One of our favorite places to eat (especially when we celebrate liking each other’s company for two years ;)) is Town in Kaimuki. The ingredients are local and the menu changes everyday. I highly recommend this place in case you’re in town for a few days (haha, get it).

Bruschetta, coppa di testa, collard greens, pecorino

Mahi mahi, local veggies, lim, meyer lemon

Bowl o’ polenta

Chicken leg, tatsoi, grapes, pancetta, torn bread, macadamia nuts

We normally get one of their delicious fruit sorbets, but I had picked us up something a little special from Cake Envy. An assortment of creme brulee, salted caramel, lilikoi, blueberry, white chocolate raspberry, and #jackdaniels double chocolate.

Ahi & Vegetable has a really great poke bento combo for whenever I’m treating myself to lunch at work.

Fresh catch of the day and furikake tempura catfish from Kaka’ako Kitchen were really delicious. Huge portions, fresh fish. Maybe 50% of the reason why I moved to Hawaii.

We also live near one of these great cafe/brunch/lunch places called Kaimana Farm Cafe. It was our second time going there and their muffins were fresh out of the oven (the one below is their cinnamon muffin but if they ever have their chocolate ones, you have to eat at least 3 of those!). They also have really delicious iced mochas and they serve them in mason jars — an easy way to win me over.

I think we’re at a good balance of home cooked meals for the work week and treating ourselves on the weekends, but I am still trying to think of tasty, healthy meals to cook during the work week. Any suggestions? =)

#SilverYearGoldenState – Coronado Island and The Last Round of Tacos

February 26, 2015March 3, 2015Leave a comment

After back-to-back nights in the Gaslamp District, my friends and I were looking forwarded to our relaxing day in Coronado Island. Because it was the weekend before President’s Day, the Sun Deck Bar was serving up a Mardi Gras themed menu (probably an ode to us not being able to celebrate in NOLA this year) – so we stuffed our faces with beignets and shrimp and grits.

We then headed over to the beach, played a couple rounds of frisbee, and enjoyed the San Diego sun!

Kind of embarrassed to admit that we watched 50 Shades of Grey afterward (we were TOO POOPED to do anything else), but then we celebrated the last night appropriately with In-N-Out and tacos.

Lobster lumpia and an assortment of tacos from Pacific Beach Fish Shop

And that’s it! Sad to say I’m not sure when I’ll see my east coast friends again, but I’m excited to plan our next trip with all of them. Hey, maybe they’ll even visit me in Honolulu. 😉

#SilverYearGoldenState – Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo

February 24, 2015February 24, 2015Leave a comment

The next day of our trip to San Diego was spent at Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo – which are both HUGE landmarks to visit in one day. I would definitely recommend spacing this out for another day as there are so many free things to do at Balboa Park. First we started with brunch at Panama 66.

Croque Madame

Special frittata

Side veggies

One of the prettiest places in Balboa Park

I haven’t been to a zoo in a few years, and since this was the San Diego Zoo, couldn’t miss the opportunity to check it out. Most of the animals were sleeping, but it was fun to walk around and experience one of the largest zoos in the country – especially on Valentine’s Day!

The Botanical Gardens at the Park

The girls and the animals we could touch!

Jessica = “The Queen”

Waiting in line for the pandas

Panda!

We even caught the sunset at Sunset Cliffs that day. #Romantic

We celebrated Valentine’s Day appropriately

Later that evening Matt treated me to a delicious sushi and tapas dinner for Valentine’s Day and we celebrated downtown in the Gaslamp District again.

Sushi on the West Coast is so good.