Aloha again! Thanks, TikiMel for the welcome home. Let's continue with some more highlights:
Snacks:
Donut lovers pay attention here!
Leonard's Bakery - Honolulu, HI
933 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
808-737-5591 http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Review_Writeup.asp?Review_ID=1022
This place serves 'em fresh and hot all day. Kind of like jelly donuts without the jelly. They have two varieties to warm your cockels: plain sugar or cinnamon sugar. A great pre-Hanauma Bay-snorkeling quick energy fix.
Of course, shave ice the snack of the islands. In Honolulu check out Waiola Shave Ice 525 Kapahulu Ave. Honolulu, HI 96815 (808)734-3485. This is one of their two locations. The shave ice here is the finest(as in consistency)I've ever had. It almost tastes creamy. Along with the many flavors, you can also get your treat with sweet azuki beans, condensed milk, and other exotic toppings.
The most famous shave ice on Oahu is Matsumoto's in the north shore town of Haleiwa. http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com/
This stuff is da kine! More flavors than you can shake a poi ball at and several exotic toppings as well. Be prepared to wait in line and watch out for the swarms of bees that buzz the trash cans outside looking to sip up the discarded sweet stuff. If you're a souvenir junkie, Matsumoto's is a t-shirt clearing house.
Drinks:
All the major hotels on Waikiki beach offer live entertainment every evening while you sip your cocktails. Check to see what type of music/dance is being offered where. The Mai-Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian may not make drinks with all the subtleties of taste sensations as Tiki Ti, but the setting is beautiful. A beachside patio with tiki torches and a spectacular view of Diamond Head, this is a fab sunset stop.
For the elegant Chinese vibe, check out House of Hong. Here's a little blurb: http://www.hiohwy.com/h/houshong.htm
Drinks here come in very cool ceramic "jade" mugs and scorpion bowls. Sadly, they no longer sell the drinkware. If you want a mid-day fix, wander in and hopefully you'll get Cheryll behind the bar. She was a great character and liked to talk story. She had some great ghost stories and tales of Hawaii's supernatural. Some of her paranormal experiences had occurred right there in the restaurant! She let us in on the secret that the reason happy hour drinks are so cheap along the beach is that the bars use NON-ALCOHOLIC curacao, triple sec, blue curacao, etc. in the drinks with only the legal minimun of 1 oz. of booze in each cocktail. She was gracious, and poured us the real stuff at the nice price. Their happy hour runs almost all day with $1.95 mai tais and blue hawaiis.
DO NOT MISS La Mariana Sailing Club! http://www.opinionatedtraveler.com/reviews/USAHAWAIIHONOJNT952.html
Gecko met us there and introduced us to Annette, the owner. What a delightful woman. She has assembled this magnificent tiki establishment from the remnants of long-gone establishments such as Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber's. Gorgeous interior with all the trimmings! Great drinks from Tony the bartender and lovely melodies from the house piano player. Gecko says that Friday nights really go off there, with the locals coming in to sing along with the piano. I'll put that in the "Next Time" file. Do yourself a favor and get mapquest or dvery specific directions from someone who can really explain how to get there. It's an easy place to miss, but don't!
The night after La Mariana, Gecko and his most lovely lady met us at Hale Noa http://www.halenoa.com/ for our infamous night of the kava! The details have already been recounted in other threads, but let me just say that if you're looking to mellow out and smile for awhile, this'll make your evening. Let Gecko know if you're heading there and he'll pass on the Tiki Central kava ceremony we began that night. These guys will ship their kava to you if you e-mail 'em. Check the website.
The Pacific Beach Hotel has a pleasant bar/restaurant next to the Oceanarium and above the buffet. It's called Neptune's Garden. http://www.pacificbeachhotel.com/din.cfm#neptune
The drinks were well made, greatly garnished and presented by one of the friendliest bartenders I've encountered. The highlight of the evening was that Herb Ohta, jr. was playing there with his trio. He is a fabulous ukulele player and the son of Herb Ohta aka Ohta-San, the legendary uke musician. The tunes were played with a supreme grace and style I'd not encountered in any previous ukulele adventure. That coupled with the musician's good humor and friendliness made for a great vibe and the best night of music for the week. Both he and his father play there with some regularity, so check them out.
That's plenty from me for now. Pictures are forthcoming.
-Weird Uncle Tiki
