Blog Archives

E Komo Mai With Shave Ice And Halekulani Hula

4/29/2022

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

E KOMO MAI WITH SHAVE ICE AND HALEKULANI HULA

...Continued from yesterday:

Stanley and Romaine,

...arrived in Honolulu after a five-and-a-half-hour plane trip from Portland, Oregon still feeling like they were on Oregon time, that is, feeling three hours later than Honolulu time.
Still, they say the best way to acclimate your biorhythms to a time-zone change is to step off the plane and jump right into doing the local things according to the local time.
So when dinner time - Honolulu time - rolled around Tom and I brought Romaine and Stanley to the Bibas Grill, which opened into the courtyard of the Hale Koa,

...from where we had a nice view of Gus, the strange but wonderful tree in the middle of the courtyard.

After dinner we decided that a nice e komo mai - welcome - to Hawaii would be a shave ice from the Island Vintage Shave Ice stand in front of the Royal Hawaiian Center in downtown Waikiki,

...where people line up to snag a heavenly confection of powdered ice flavored with multiple fruit syrups over a mound of ice cream and garnished with tropical fruits.

The previous week my daughter Theresa and I were regular patrons of the Vintage Shave Ice stand, where our favorite was the heavenly Lilikoi.

And so, as the sun was setting over Waikiki Beach,

..Tom, Romaine, Stanley and I walked along the beach,

...to downtown Waikiki, which was busy with usual Saturday night crowd,

...to the Island Vintage Shave Ice stand.

...where the line was long,

...but worth it for a Heavenly Lilikoi,

...which we ate in the Royal Hawaiian Center park, which is was also crowded with folks enjoying their shave ices and the beautiful Honolulu night.

The following evening, Sunday evening, I was hoping we might have dinner at the Halekulani, a hotel a couple of blocks down the beach from the Hale Koa,

...where in the evenings at the beachside restaurant/bar called House Without A Key there were traditional Hawaiian musicians and a hula dancer.

However, as we arrived at dinner time without a reservation, the friendly hostess sympathetically informed us that we'd have an hour wait for a beachside table from where we could see the hula dancing. She suggested we try coming back in an hour.
We thanked her and said that we would try that.
In the meantime we now needed to find a place for dinner. As it turned out, there was a Denny's across the street from the Halekulani, so we went there for dinner,

...where we found the food to be quite good.

After dinner we returned to the Halekulani where the friendly hostess remembered us and found us a table at the beachside area.

...from where we could see the musicians and dancer.

The singing was beautiful and the hula graceful and mesmerizing.

Tom and I ordered slices of coconut cake. Out of this world delicious!

We stayed until the musicians left at 8 pm. Then we headed back to our hale,

...the Halekoa.

0 Comments

A Tale Of Two Alohas

4/28/2022

2 Comments

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

A TALE OF TWO ALOHAS

...Continued from yesterday:
On Friday, the last day before our children and grandchildren all left the Hale Koa and flew back to the different places and time zones they'd travelled from, we gathered in the courtyard,

...beneath the massive, fascinating topical tree known by the Hale Koa community as "Gus,"

...for a family picture.

Then most of the group went down to the beach for a final day of sand, sea,

....and snorkeling, which, they tell me, is actually pretty good in the calm reef waters off Waikiki.

One of our little wahinis even tried some surfing.

Tom and I decided to walk into downtown Waikiki by way of the beach.

...then down Kalakaua Avenue, past the high-fashion stores,

...and the ABC stores,

...to the Royal Hawaiian Center, a shopping mall and cultural center,

...with a pretty public square,

...that leads to the grounds of the famous Royal Hawaiian hotel, one of he most luxurious and oldest hotels in Waikiki.

We continued up the avenue, past the International Market Place, another high-end-ish shopping center,

...to the Moana Surfrider,

...another of Waikiki's classic luxury hotels.

...where we took a stroll around the lobby.

We decided to walk back to the Hale Koa via streets that ran perpendicular and parallel to Kalakaua Ave.

On a street called Royal Hawaiian Avenue we passed a Korean Bibimbop restaurant called Topped that looked kind of interesting,

...should we ever be so lucky as to return to the island.
However, that night we returned to our new favorite dinner spot, the food court of the Ala Moana mall,

...where some of our group discovered a crèperie that took desserts to new level:

Strawberry and banananShortcake Crèpe

Nutella and Almond Shortcake Crèpe.

And though these crèpes received high reviews, somehow I was more in the mood that night for Häagen-Dazs.

The following morning, Saturday morning, we shared our last wonderful Hale Koa breakfast together,

Soon after we met up in the lobby,

...to say "Aloha" before we left for the airport,

...or to just get a hug from Mom.

But for Tom and I, this was not our final "Aloha" of the day; for we were staying at the Hale Koa for another week, and later that afternoon we would be saying "Aloha" - which means both good-bye and hello - for our second time of the day to my sister Romaine and her friend Stanley, who came to Honolulu to spend our second week with us.

2 Comments

Hawaiian Culture By Day, Honolulu Salsa By Night

4/26/2022

0 Comments

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

HAWAIIAN CULTURE BY DAY, HONOLULU SALSA BY NIGHT

...Continued from yesterday:
On Thursday we went to the Bishop Museum, Hawaii's largest museum of the culture and natural history of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands.

That evening while the adults (minus the grandparents) went into Waikiki for a grown-up's dinner at a place called the Yard House,

...the children and grandparents stayed behind and had a nice dinner together at Happy's.

After the grown-up dinner some of the grown-ups went out for salsa dancing, which is apparently quite popular in Honolulu.

...while the children and the grandparents went down for a walk along the beach.

0 Comments

Beautiful Lanikai Beach

4/25/2022

0 Comments

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

BEAUTIFUL LANIKAI BEACH

...Continued from yesterday:
On Wednesday we all rose at oh-dark-thirty and at 5:50 am we met in the lobby of the Hale Koa,

…which was already a busy place.

Our destination at that hour was Lanikai Beach located on the east coast of the island, about a forty-five minute drive from Honolulu,

…and purported to be not only one of the most beautiful beaches in all the Hawaiian islands, but also a most excellent snorkeling site.
Though we arrived at the town of Kailua, where Lanakai Beach is located, at around 6:45 am, finding a parking spot was nonetheless a bit tricky as the beach runs along the margin of a residential neighborhood and there are no public parking lots. We managed to find parking spots for our two vehicles a few blocks from the beach, so we walked through the beautiful but parked-up neighborhood,

...my grand daughters picking up fallen plumeria blossoms from the ground along the way,

We came to the pathway between some houses that led to the beach,

...where the sea came right up to the back yards of some of the houses.

Lanakai Beach has no life guards or rest rooms or facilities whatsoever. it's just beach.

Not far from shore the sea was full of coral reefs, which were visible through the clear water.

...and which made for wonderful snorkeling.

As for me, I preferred to leave the snorkeling to the others while I stayed in the shallow water closer to shore or walked along the beach snapping pictures.

I asked one of my daughters how the snorkeling was. "It was like swimming in an aquarium," she replied.
Along with the great snorkeling, the sand was also light and fluffy and excellent for sculpting, as attested to by my daughter, who made this sand shark.

Just before we left Lanakai Beach a rainbow appeared above the mountain.

And so we were gifted with a rainbow in the Rainbow State.

0 Comments

Fifth Avenue With Palm Trees And ABC's

4/23/2022

0 Comments

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

FIFTH AVENUE WITH PALM TREES AND ABC's

...Continued from yesterday:
The following day, Tuesday, was our grand daughter's birthday,

...and so after breakfast we had a little celebration in her family's hotel room, which was not in fact a room but a suite with two spacious double bedrooms,

...a living room with a sofa bed,

...a kitchen.

...and a nice view of Honolulu.

It was not by plan that that family was placed in The Castle, which was what my grand daughters called these quarters. I - who made all the Hale Koa reservations - had reserved for my daughter and her family the same standard-style room as I had reserved for the rest of us.

But as it turned out, they were accidentally assigned a single room which in no way could comfortably accommodate four people. And so the hotel rectified the mistake by giving them this unoccupied suite. This was definitely some good hotel karma.
Anyway, it was a good venue for the birthday party, which consisted of the birthday girl opening her presents,

...then entertaining us with jokes from one of her presents.

Her sister, the un-birthday girl also received a gift.

Later most of our group went off for an afternoon of banana-boating, a water sport in which the participants are seated on a long, banana-esque floatie attached by rope to a motor boat which whisks it and its passengers around in the ocean.

Theresa and I, however, stayed behind and walked into downtown Waikiki,

...to Kalakaua Avenue,

...which one might mistake for Fifth Avenue,

...if not for all the palm trees,

...the mountains off in the distance on one side,

...and the beach on the other.

However, among the boutiques of the haute couturiers could be found the ABC Stores.

The ABC Store is a Honolulu-based convenience chain that sells sundries, souvenirs, Hawaiian clothes, snacks, necessities,

...lunch,

...dinner,

...and just about anything else one might find oneself in need of.
One can scarcely walk a block without coming upon an ABC store, nor does one have to wonder where the closest ABC store is; wherever one is in Honolulu, one is not far from an ABC store, one need only keep walking in any direction.

It's said that ABC stands for "All Blocks Covered." That's accurate.

0 Comments

Shark's Cove, O'ahu

4/21/2022

0 Comments

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

SHARK'S COVE, O'AHU

...Continued from yesterday:
On Monday morning after breakfasting on sublime breakfast burritos from Kono's in Waikiki (see yesterday's post),

...we headed to the north end of the island to Shark's Cove, a tide pool beach that's a prime spot for sea critter-watching among the shallows,

...and taking in the panoramic views.

I waded into the tide pool but stayed closed to the shore and by just looking down into the crystal clear water I was able to see among the rocks a number of striking tropical fish, including some striped varieties and a bright blue and yellow one that looked something like this:

The others in our group who swam out into the deeper water to do some snorkeling near the reef that surrounds the tide pool were treated to the sight of more wonderful sea creatures, among them interesting and unusual fish, schools of colorful fish, sea turtles and sea urchins. One of my daughters spent some time watching an octopus playing among the rocks.
As for me, being neither a strong swimmer nor a great water aficionado in general, after a having a look at the fish and a brief swim I was happy to recover my land legs,

...and stay on shore snapping pictures.

Across the highway from the beach there was a food truck park where we went for lunch.

There were as many chickens in the park as humans.

I had lemon shrimp over rice with greens. It looked lovely but actually wasn't all that great.

In truth the food there in general wasn't all that great. Except for the shave ice.

However it was sufficient to hold us over for another round of fish-watching,

...and picture-taking.

0 Comments

Finding The Best Breakfast Burrito On The Planet In Honolulu At Kono's

4/20/2022

1 Comment

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon
"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888

FINDING THE BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO ON THE PLANET IN HONOLULU AT KONO'S

...Continued from yesterday:

My son-in-law had heard from a friend that the best breakfast burrito he'd ever had was at a downtown Waikiki carry-out called Kono's.

Much as we loved our Hale Koa breakfast buffet,

...there was no turning down the opportunity to have what might in fact be the best breakfast burrito one would ever have.
So at 7 am on Monday morning we met up in the lobby of the Hale Koa,

...then set out for Kono's,

...which, along with the rest of Waikiki, was already hopping by 7:30 am.

For being in the middle of a busy city, Kono's had a nice location, opening off the street onto a cute courtyard with tables and chairs.

And for what appeared to be a small operation, there were quite a number of choices.

...including several vegetarian options.

And though there were eleven of us, we didn't have to wait terribly long either to place our order or for our order to be filled.

One imagined quite an efficient assembly line going on behind that small counter. (Or else it was just our good Honolulu food Karma kicking in again - see previous post, https://www.ailantha.com/blog/good-food-karma-or-the-keys-to-the-honolulu-food-kingdom-at-the-ala-moana-food-court ).
As to whether this was the best breakfast burrito we all had ever had: Most of us agreed that it was. Some of us held that our Kono's burrito exceeded even our highest expectations.

As for me, I had an item called the Wendy's Bomber, which was a warm flour tortilla loaded with seasoned potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese, a strip of bacon, and roasted seasoned vegetables.

I fell in with the group whose highest expectations had been exceeded. In fact, I'm willing to put it out there that Kono's might well be the best breakfast burritos on the planet.

1 Comment

Good Food Karma; Or, The Keys To The Honolulu Food Kingdom At The Ala Moana Food Court

4/18/2022

0 Comments

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon
"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888

GOOD FOOD KARMA; OR, THE KEYS TO THE HONOLULU FOOD KINGDOM AT THE ALA MOANA FOOD COURT

...Continued From Yesterday:
My greatest worry over our Hawaii trip - besides the worry that it might not happen at all if the latest COVID variant should go nuclear in the spring – was what we would do about dinner.
Breakfast, I knew, would be no problem as we could - and in fact did - meet mornings,

...at the Koko at Kalia, one of the Hale Koa eateries and plenty spacious enough to seat our party of eleven,

...and where we would dig into the awesome breakfast buffet.

The Omelet Station

So breakfast was always a breeze to manage and hands down the best meal of the day.

Nor, I assumed, would lunch be an issue, as our group would, I figured, break up during the course of the day and if people got hungry they could fend for themselves at one of the on-post eating spots such as Happy's,

...or the pool snack bar,

...or venture off-post to one of the many eateries in Waikiki within walking distance of the Hale Koa.
But it was dinner time that I feared would be a hassle of major proportions.
Last time we came as a group to the Hale Koa in 2019 the Koko served not only a great breakfast buffet but a great dinner buffet as well, and at the end of the day we could all once again just pile into the restaurant and go for the buffet.

However, alas, the Hale Koa has not yet fully recovered from the COVID downturn, and guest numbers still have not picked up enough to warrant re-opening the Koko dinner buffet.
(The Warrior's Lounge, a bar where one used to able to grab bar-type food, has likewise not re-opened since COVID).

So I wondered what we would do about dinner. I imagined trying every night to find a reasonably-priced restaurant in tourist-crowded Waikiki that could accommodate a party of eleven,

...with several vegetarians among us. I envisioned us waiting an hour and a half every night to get seated and then another hour and a half to be served.
I frankly thought we'd likely end up eating dinner at Happy's, chowing down every night on combo meals with fries,

...or personal pizzas,

...or deli wraps and salads.

But it turned out that on this trip we were gifted with some exceptionally good food Karma.
Our first night there – that is to say, our second night there but the first night that we would need dinner – the group expressed a general craving for pizza. We knew from our previous trip of a pizzeria called Round Table Pizza located in the mall of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which was the resort next door to the Hale Koa.
So around 6 pm we walked next door,

…to the Hilton Hawaiian Village mall,

…and to the Round Table Pizza, where we asked for a table for eleven. Much to our surprise, we were seated immediately.

However soon after we were seated the place began to fill up and by the time we left there was a line of folks at the door waiting for seats.
But for us the service was fast and we shared some yummy pizzas.

After dinner we walked around the mall for a bit,

…then some of us walked down to the beach then back to the Hale Koa,

…where we stopped at Happy’s for ice cream,

…before calling it a night.

The following evening, Monday evening, we were kind of at loose ends so I suggested we try to get a dinner reservation at the Bibas Courtyard Grill, which is a restaurant conveniently located off the courtyard of the Hale Koa that we’d never tried, it being a weence on the upscale-ish side. However we needed to eat and I figured it was either this, another round of Round Table Pizza or Happy’s.
I called the Bibas at 5 pm and asked if we could possibly have a table for eleven people at 5:45.
“Yes, you can,” the friendly hostess assured me.
And so forty-five minutes later we met up at the Bibas.

…where we were given a table with a lovely view.

We all agreed that the food was not only terrific but really nicely color-coordinated..

I ordered a burger that arrived just the way I like a burger: as rare as is legally permitted. Not only was my burger perfect and my fries exceptional,

...but the bun was fun.

After dinner we lingered in the courtyard and pow-wowed over what to do next,

..before deciding to head over to Happy’s for ice cream.

Afterwards we walked down to the beach,

...and joined the other strollers along the Waikiki strand.

The strand along the beach was lined with enterprising merchants selling little rubber-band-propelled light-up rockets .

And so the beach was bright with whimsical shooting blue lights.

The next day, Tuesday was our grand daughter’s birthday. She requested dinner at Olive Garden. By good fortune there was an Olive Garden about a mile away at a shopping mall called The Ala Moana Center. I called the restaurant to find out if I could make a reservation but was told the best I could do was to call half an hour before our arrival to check if a table might be available for us. So I called at 5:45 pm and asked if we might have a table at 6:15. The answer was a positive.
As soon as we arrived we were seated at a nice table in an almost empty back room,

…with a lovely harbor view.

It was on Wednesday that our food-finding karma, which had been holding steady so far, took a great fortuitous turn thanks to a tip from a friend of our son-in-law.
This friend, who used to live in Honolulu, shared with our son-in-law that the place where the locals eat is the food court at the Ala Moana Center. Once we discovered it, the Ala Moana food court became our nightly go-to-dinner place.
The mile from the Hale Koa to the Ala Moana Center made for a nice before-dinner walk each evening.

...through town,

...and across a scenic canal,

...on the other side of which was the Ala Moana Center,

...inside of which we'd head for the Makai Market food court,

...where everyone, whether vegetarian, carnivore, or health-food aficionado, could find something they'd like.

Thus were we given the keys to the Honolulu food kingdom.

0 Comments

Rooms With A View

4/13/2022

0 Comments

- Amazon review of "Equal and Opposite Reactions"

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon
"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

...Continued from yesterday:
Tom's and my third floor room at the Hale Koa was the standard issue: basic, but perfectly comfortable and more than adequate.

But the view from the balcony was five-star.

The other members of our group were also on the third floor, but they were located across the hall from us so that, rather than the ocean views, the balconies of their three rooms offered the panoramic land views,

Of course if one happened not to have a room with a view, one need not go wanting, as beautiful outdoor views abound at all the portals of the the Hale Koa.

The Hale Koa main entrance/exit:

In truth, views abound in Honolulu,

...and the whole island is rich with them.

Mayhaps one could say that all of O'ahu is a room with a view.

0 Comments

Sleepless And Maskless In Honolulu

4/11/2022

1 Comment

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon
"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888

SLEEPLESS AND MASKLESS IN HONOLULU

...Continued from Yesterday:

I made a reservation for the next morning, Sunday morning, for breakfast at the Koko at Kalia, a restaurant located at the Hale Koa,

...which opens all around to the outdoors and beautiful ocean views,

...and which offers the most sublime breakfast buffet on the planet,

... at least in the opinion of this family of food critics.

On this first morning only nine of the eleven of us were present for breakfast, as Tommy and Emily arrived in Honolulu a day later than the rest of us.

As it turned out, when I made a reservation the previous day for breakfast at 9 am my brain had forgotten about the time differences between Hawaiian-Aleutian Time and all the other time zones we’d traveled from: there was a six-hour difference for those of us coming from Columbus, Ohio,

...a five-hour difference for the Chicagoans,

...and a three-hour difference for the L.A. crowd.

Subsequently most of us were up by four am. A few of us had been up since two am. By 9 am some of us were ready for lunch and others of us were three-quarters of the way to dinner. I made a note that I would make future breakfast reservations at the Koko for 7 am, which I did and which worked out well, as within a few days most of us were managing to stay awake until 9 or 10 pm and to sleep until 5 or 6 am, though every morning the first question to go around the breakfast table was, “How did everyone sleep?” The answers varied from day to day and person to person, generally skewing more favorably as the week progressed.
Besides the time zone changes, there was something else we found ourselves having to acclimate to: going maskless.
The Hawaii mask mandate had been lifted, the COVID numbers were low on the islands, and we were all at least triple vaxxed, so we decided to cautiously ease into masklessness.
We also felt encouraged by the fact that the Hale Koa is mostly an outdoorsy venue.
The lobby is a vast, breezy, meandering open-air terrace,

...that overlooks a garden courtyard.

...in the center of which is a massive tree known as Gus,

...which at night glows with a beautiful blue light.

The courtyard leads to a path that rambles through a botanical garden,

...past a small restaurant called Happy's

...where we enjoyed quite a few noshes,

...including some most excellent soft-serve cones.

The path also passed a pool,

...an outdoor bar,

...and a little further on a much larger pool area,

...that included a snack bar,

... a children's splash pad,

...and an infinity pool that looked out over the beach.

The path ended at Waikiki Beach.

And where the beach began was where the Fort Derussy-Hale Koa property line ended; For in Hawaii all beaches are open to the public, even the beaches attached to the hotels.
Here no one owns the sand and the sea,

...which is how it should be.

1 Comment

<<Previous

Books By Patti Liszkay​Available On Amazon

​​E KOMO MAI WITH SHAVE ICE AND HALEKULANI HULA

​A TALE OF TWO ALOHAS

​HAWAIIAN CULTURE BY DAY, HONOLULU SALSA BY NIGHT

Books By Patti Liszkay ​Available On Amazon

​​BEAUTIFUL LANIKAI BEACH

Books By Patti Liszkay ​Available On Amazon

​​FIFTH AVENUE WITH PALM TREES AND ABC's

Books By Patti Liszkay​Available On Amazon

​SHARK'S COVE, O'AHU

​FINDING THE BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO ON THE PLANET IN HONOLULU AT KONO'S

​​GOOD FOOD KARMA; OR, THE KEYS TO THE HONOLULU FOOD KINGDOM AT THE ALA MOANA FOOD COURT

​ROOMS WITH A VIEW

​SLEEPLESS AND MASKLESS IN HONOLULU

Archives

Categories

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

E KOMO MAI WITH SHAVE ICE AND HALEKULANI HULA

A TALE OF TWO ALOHAS

HAWAIIAN CULTURE BY DAY, HONOLULU SALSA BY NIGHT

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

BEAUTIFUL LANIKAI BEACH

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

FIFTH AVENUE WITH PALM TREES AND ABC's

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

SHARK'S COVE, O'AHU

FINDING THE BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO ON THE PLANET IN HONOLULU AT KONO'S

GOOD FOOD KARMA; OR, THE KEYS TO THE HONOLULU FOOD KINGDOM AT THE ALA MOANA FOOD COURT

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

SLEEPLESS AND MASKLESS IN HONOLULU