Oahu July 2021 Day 6 and Day 7

Food and more food..

Last 2 days before surfacing to the world.. Bill and I are working hard to maximize our chill time. 

Today we decide to check out Nico's at pier 38 based on recommendation from the bus guide.

Its an interesting place and got crowded by 11.30am. I got the sword fish and bill got deep fry tuna belly. Both are good and fresh. Coupled with pesto shrimp, happy campers.

Nico's at Pier 38 

Chilled the whole day before going to get souvenirs at Hilton Hawaiian. After that we had a quick and easy dinner with some store bought salad and rotisserie chicken. 

View: priceless.. meal: $6 each with wine included

MW restaurant

MW menu and location

Our foodie splurge for the trip. 

I picked mw as it's a 30 mins walk away and also the dessert chef won a James beard award for her dessert. 

We did the tasting menu and bill added wine pairing and I added the truffle foie Gras loco moto. 

Summary pictures for the food

It feels like this restaurant is still trying to find its path to Michelin star, but not quite there yet. 

Also, it feels they are struggling to keep up with the tables both at kitchen and front staff. So it might be worth a return visit if things return to normal. 

Started with a cold curry soup that's flavourful 

Amuse Bouche of curry soup

The five small bites are interesting although Bill felt they could have toasted the lobster roll as it needs a crunch

5 small bites (poke nacho, tatami, oyster rockefeller, musubi twist and lobster roll)

The Hawaiian yellow tail is very tasty but the banchan does not seems to fit with the fish. And Bill drizzled all his sauce and it turns out to be too much 

Signature Mochi with Hawaiian yellow tail 

Scallops and this is a very successful dish. Enjoyed it.. with the Nege wasabi sauce *nege = japanese green onion*

Nege Wasabi sauce with Scallops

Foie Loco Moto with truffle

With the above combination, easily my favorite dish of the night. Very rich and creamy and medium rare foie. Perfectly executed

Heaven in a bite

Steak Tenderloin 

Very tender and flavourful. My only issue is nobody serve steak in a bowl as it's too difficult to cut the steak 

Beef Tenderloin with vegetable medley

Passion fruit Creme Brulee 

A very lovely dessert and well executed. 

Passion fruit Creme Brulee

Oahu July 2021 Day 5

Oahu Island Tour Day

Beautiful beach in Oahu

Usually we avoid the big tour bus but this time it's the easiest to see most of Oahu in the Circle Island tour.  The tour brought us up the east side up to the north before coming down south again. Our guide is call Bk and he's pretty nice and informative.

Tour details

Took a total of 9 hours, leaving at 7am and coming back at 430pm. Fortunately it's a well sync group and well organized tour so we enjoyed it.

Tour details with wait at Hilton village bus depot

Blow hole

They provided a poi malasada for breakfast that they hand out at the blow hole. 

First stop: Blow hole with poi malasada

We bypassed the Hanauma Bay as it's closed to big tours now and went to 2nd stop. 

Nu'uanu Pass  

Very windy and great view here at the pass. The guide pointed out the importance of the war at this pass to uniting the islands under one king. 

Nu'uanu Pass sights

Chinaman's hat along the way (imagination required)

Byodo-In temple

This is easily my favorite spot on the whole trip. 

Love the mountain and the temple tucked in the trees. It's not big but i certainly enjoyed the ambience

Spot the temple!

Japanese temple in the mountains

Different corners of the temple

Haleiwa

The tour then went to a macadamia farm but it's so crazy that we didn't stay too long. And after that we stop at Haleiwa which is a beach town near north shore. 

Camaron: Garlic shrimp food truck at Haleiwa.. Yum

We had fun poking our heads into art galleries in the little town and shopping before heading back to Waikiki

cute sightings in Haleiwa

Dole plantation

Yes, tourist trap and we had dole whip. Bill say pineapple ice cream is better  =)

Dole whip in the cheesy dole plantation

Waikiki downtown 

BK gave us a tour of the Iolani palace where the coronation of the first king and queen took place. The palace is now supreme court. 

And there's a church that's a miniature size west minister abbey and missionary quarters. 

We didn't have a chance to go back to visit the places but maybe next trip. 

Waikiki downtown iconic places

How many picture-perfect beach photos can u take in Hawaii???!!! 

Going to the beach! 

Oahu July 2021 Day 3 and Day 4

Chilling in Hawaii

Waikiki Yc Transpac Party 2021

Day 3 is the day that bill and crew got Juno to the boat yard. Our vacation officially started when the boat is dropped off .

We walked to a place that has good musubi take out and enjoyed it at the alcove in Royal Hawaiian hotel. 

If you haven't had a good musubi, find one in Hawaii. It's spam with teriyaki sauce, filled with good Japanese sushi rice and a crunchy seaweed wrap. Comes with other toppings like egg or kimchi etc. 

Good musubi and view from Royal Hawaiian alcove

Its tough to get a good picture of the hotel but the salmon pink is certainly iconic! It's the 2nd hotel to be built on Waikiki, after the SurfRider. 

Then we trek our way through the beach to go back to the hotel. Tons of people along Waikiki  and saw a group of surfers students. Brings back memories! 

Surfing class at Waikiki 

Waikiki YC Party for Transpac

Men of Juno

The Waikiki YC and Hawaii YC both took turns hosting a party for Transpac crew. We only attended the one for Waikiki as we have other plans for Thur night. 

The food at Waikiki is great.. Free flow of appetizers (poke, caprese, cerviche and beef wellington) . And had a good surf and turf dinner with cream sauce Mahi Mahi and prime rib.

Waikiki YC party for Transpac

Night View from Waikiki YC

 

Day 4 with more food =) 

Started day 4 with breakfast at Aloha Kitchen with Marnie and Charlie.

Very crowded place with no reservations allowed. So be prepared to wait for an hour. 

Aloha kitchen kalua pork and souffle pancake

Finally got to try souffle pancake. Heard about it last year but didn't find it easily in San Diego. I got the coconut Macadamia pancake. It's good but I feel like the skin on the pancake gets rubbery with the slow cooking to get the bubbles to stabilize. So i'm not decided if i like pancake made this way yet. 

Bill has a good egg Benedict although the kailia pork is a little too salty. 

That night we walked to mud Hen Water restaurant with a friend and had a really good time. About an hour walk to the restaurant (about an hour) but it's certainly out of the touristy zone and a cute corner of Honolulu! 

We had to rehydrate Dave at the restaurant after the walk =) 

Well executed local dishes by the restaurant

Oahu July 2021 Day 1 and Day 2

Transpac 2021

Juno is the boat that enabled this trip

Another transpac! Bill is sailing again to Hawaii from Los Angeles 10 years later. 

It is our first flight after covid shutdown. We had discussed it for almost a year, between the boat readiness, covid situation and finally we decided to go for it.

Oahu! we are back!

After the trip, my advice to folks is be prepared that people are stir crazy after 1 year of confinment. There will be lines, crowds, airport shuttle that don't even bother to reply. Roll with the tide and know you have to adjust from the "norm". Make reservations early for places that you really want to visit. 

Hawaii does not require quarantine if proof of vaccination is shown. You need to fill out online forms and finish a questionnaire 24 hours before departure. You will receive a QR code that's required to be validated. You get a wrist band if you validate at the departure gate or this piece of paper at arrival gate.

My pass to Hawaii

Bill got in at 1am the day that I flew in. So I was not able to meet him at the dock. But Marnie, Charlie & his sister Jackie were able to do it. 

Juno at the finish line

 And yes, they changed for team shirt to take picture 😁

Our room at Ilikai Hotel that is quite cozy and functional, with a great view.

Room in Ilikai Hotel

Great view from the balcony which we made great use

Spent a lot of time drinking rum at the balcony (sunset included)

As Charlie sailed to Hawaii too on Nereid, Marnie is in town too. So we all met up for lunch and dinner on Tuesday

Lunch at the Hawaiian village with poke bowl and calamari 

Royal Hawaiian Tropics bar Poke bowl and calamari

Uncle Bo's pupu bar is an interesting find by Jackie. Had pulled pork with taro buns, greasy noodles, Steak with cheese bread & mushroom sauce and shrimp dynamite. They also have a great dessert that's similar to beignet with vanilla ice cream and a creamy sauce. yum. 

Family dinner at Uncle Bo Pupu bar 

Canal near Uncle Bo

Trophy presentation at Hawaii yacht club