Oahu

Hawaiian Dancers

October 27th, 2018

The Decadence event is located in Ko Olina at the Aulani and Four Seasons resort.  Ko Olina is a good 40 miles from Waikiki.  Cindy had arranged for a car knowing that we wanted to eat and drink and not have to worry about the designated driver.   What showed up was a party bus complete with flashing lights, a bar (not stocked) and TVs.  It could have seated 10 or more people so there was more than enough room to spread out.  Off to Decadence!

We arrived and after have a few drinks and talking with a few of the Chefs, we were seated in the back corner.   A few very looking familiar people approached the table and as I tried to place how I knew them, Sophon told me they were on our trip to Japan with Roy and Denise.  How could I have not known that?  Michael and Anna and they had brought along Anna’s Mom (who was not on the Japan Trip).   It was good to see Michael and Anna again.

Of all the events, we struggle with this one, we like having a place to sit down and eat.  The food is awesome but we also like to walk to the stands and interacting with the Chefs and trying the food they are preparing and we always debate if we are going to do VIP seating with a menu or if we are going to go and visit the various stands.   Either way, it is a great event!

Our party van picked us up and took us back to our hotel in Waikiki.  Our driver was cranking Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston with a complete light show with disco ball.   The ride back to the other side of the Island few by. Continue reading →

October 26, 2018

Started the day by going to have brunch and Lee Anne Wong’s restaurant, Koko Head Cafe. I had Korean fried chicken with mac and cheese. I love every bit and wondered if I had time to go back there a second time during this trip.  Unfortunately, there are more places that I want to try than there are meals.

Today’s Hawaii Food and Wine event is Winederland presented by Hawaiian Airlines.   It was on top of the Hawaii Convention center.   The weather was rainy and it went from nice to drizzle to rainy back to drizzle.  We were pretty much done eating when it started raining and there was plenty of room under the tents.  It forced everyone under the tents.  One of the things that I like about the event is that there is plenty of space yet when we were all under the tents, there was a lot more socializing going on with other people. Continue reading →

October 25, 2018

We rented a care and drove around the Island.   I found a driving tour on on the Internet that started in and looped around the Island.   We left Waikiki and headed to the Pali lookout. I have been there before and love going there.   As we were leaving, it started to pour and suddenly, a couple of groups of students along with fellow tourists running to their cars.

We then headed to the Byodo-In Temple.  I was trying to remember if I went to that temple with my parents or not.  I know I have seen that temple on TV.  It is worth a visit, the setting alone is beautiful.

Continue reading →

October 25, 2018

As with previous years, this event was held at the Modern Hotel in Waikiki. Out of all the events, I thought this event had one of the best lineups of Chefs.   Earlier in the year, I had been working in the Chicago area and got to eat at Top Chef winner Stepahe Izard’s restaurants and loved them.  I was excited to see what she prepared.  She was right next to Chris Consentino.  I have not been to his restaurants but they are on my list!  I was not disappointed with either of their dishes.

I thought the best dish of the night were the empanadas from Jose Garces.   There was also a very good dessert that Lincoln Carson.  I noticed Lincoln had a sign saying his restaurant  “Bon Temps” from Los Angeles but I had never heard of it, so I asked him about it and he said it would be opening next year.  I am definitely going to have to check that out. Continue reading →

Blood Mary Bar

Affacado

Sunday November 5th, 2017

One of my favorite events is the brunch event.  This year it was called Food Fight & Bloody Marys.  I love a brunch food and I love bloody marys.  What is not to love about this event?  There were two teams and you pick your favorite team and vote.   This year this was a men’s team vs a women’s team.   In my opinion sex has nothing to do with ;s how well a chef can make good food.

There were a lot of good dishes on both sides.  The women’s team had more sweet dishes and the men’s team had more savory dishes.  I am about savory but it wasn’t that easy.  There was the chef of Republique, a couple of blocks away from me in Los Angeles who made Brioche that was really good.   There was a Kouign-amann with Maui Onion and Bacon that was really good.   i think it was the Island Breakfast sandwich made by the men’s team  that won me over, eggs, spam, cheese between  two pancakes, it was a Hawaiian take on a McMuffin.  It wasn’t an easy vote but if I am wanting to have to go back for seconds then I have to vote for that team!

Adam Richman

November 4th, 2017

This is event took place outside of Waikiki in Ko Olina,  the Aulani and the Four Seasons share a man-made lagoon where the event takes place.  There is no shortage of really good food and drinks and the night ends with Fireworks.

I sat next to Adam Richman who has been in a few  shows related to food and travel, Man vs. food is probably his most notable ones.   He was hosting the Master o f Ceremonies.  We had met him and his Mom once before at another Food and Wine Event.  It was fun talking to him and what projects he is working on.  He seems like a really nice guy and I noticed that every time they served a dish, someone was walking up to him to talk or he was needed on stage.

At the end of event, I realized that I hadn’t taken but a few not so good pictures.  The problem with events like these is choosing between enjoying it or trying to get decent pictures.   Oh well, there is always next year! Continue reading →

Malasadas

Saturday November 4th, 2017

This vacation is flying by, I cannot believe it is just about over.   There are just a couple of Hawaii Food and Wine Events left and back on a plane to Los Angeles.  How time flies!

This morning, Cindy, Sophon and I decided to get our steps in.   It was the least we could do since we were headed to Leonard’s Bakery.  This bakery has been on my list of places to try for a long time but every time I visit, I realize that there are more places that I want to eat than there are meals.

Leonard’s serve malasadas – a fried Portuguese doughnut without the hole, stuffed with custard or jellies and then rolled in sugar.   At Leonard’s, malasadas aren’t sitting in the case, waiting for people to purchase them.  You order them and 10 minutes later, they hand you box filled with hot, just out of the fryer malasadas stuffed with the filling you requested.   I am not a big fan of doughnuts but this was worth the stop.

Afterwards we stopped at Safeway to pick up a few items and saw there were almost a dozen different flavors of SPAM, we had to pick up a few to try.  We were actually looking for Garlic flavored SPAM but they were sold out.   We also stopped at Mike’s Huli Huli Chicken and I have to say, I wasn’t impressed.  The food wasn’t bad but the people there didn’t like working there.

Leonard’s Bakery

Saturday November 3rd, 2017

Tonight’s event was “Uncorked” sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines.  If you are a crafsty person who cannot figure out what to do with extra wine corks, the picture below should inspire you.  “Uncorked” takes place on top of the Hawaiian Convention Center in Waikiki.   The lineup of chefs was impressive with a lot of recognizable names from “Top Chef. I also noticed that there were quite a few chefs from Los Angeles.

As I mentioned before,  we tend to run into people that we have met in earlier Hawaii Food and Wine Festivals previous years.  i have noticed that there is a group of us that keeps ending up at the same table. Who knows, maybe they simply assign the tables in alphabetical order.