Oahu

September 11, 2015

After an afternoon at the beach, it was a short walk over the Modern Hotel for the Chopsitx and Cocktails.  I loved it, Susan Faulkner was someone who I had seen on TV over the years.  I was finally glad to see her in person and to try her food.  The are a lot of celebrity chefs that come from all over the world.  It is always fun to see them and more importantly, try there food.  Although the chefs come from all over, all of the food served is locally sourced.  With Hawaii as the backdrop, it makes for a great evening.  There was no shortage of food, wine and cocktails – all of it very good.

I left that night feeling very full – maybe a little bit too full.  Then again, there wasn’t a night I didn’t go home wondering if I hadn’t eaten just a little too much.  When the food is that good, it is hard to eat less of it.

Besides spotting famous chefs, we also spotted Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Parks from Hawaii Five O.  I have to admit, I don’t watch that show but I loved her in Battlestar Galatica and him in Lost. Continue reading →

September 9, 2015

Off to Honolulu for the Hawaii for the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival.  I attended the event last year and liked it so much that I decided to go again this year.  Unfortunately, things got off to a bumpy start.  Somewhere between Los Angeles TSA and the National Car Rental desk in Honolulu, I lost my driver’s license.  That also meant that I was not going to be able to rent a car and it was going to make checking into the hotel as well as my return trip back to Los Angeles a little more challenges.

As we boarded our taxi, I reminded myself that I had always wanted to try Uber.   Checking into the hotel wasn’t difficult and as we unpacked Sophon asked me where his backpack was.  I knew immediately, in the back of the taxi that we just got out of.  Where was that piece of paper they handed me as I got in the taxi? If I knew we were going to lose something, I would have lost the piece of paper.

I hate losing things – i absolutely hate it, I could hear that adult voice in my head saying “If you had been more careful…….”   Off to the front desk, a lot of phone calls while wondering if we were going to see the backpack and Macbook that was in it ever again.  Fortunately, the driver dropped it off at our hotel later in the evening.

The following morning, Cindy, Sophon and I  headed to the Koko Head Cafe’, Top Chef Lee Anne Wong’s restaurant.  It was the start of indulgence in Hawaii.  The three of us ordered enough for five people.  This was one serious brunch menu and everything sounded great.  We weren’t disappointed, everything was great. I commented that if I lived in Hawaii, I would probably be there too often and that would not be good thing.  Everything was very good.

Mid-way through a meal, an elderly Japanese couple sat down next to us.  She pointed over to Cindy’s Volcano eggs and said that is what she wanted.  Little did we know, we would run into the Japanese couple at the Hyatt while waiting for the brunch event, only to realize not only had we sat next to them at the KoKo head cafe, but we had sat next to them at the exact same event the year before.  What a small world!

After Breakfast was over, it was time to go back to the hotel.  I decided that it was time to try Uber.  I have a lot of friends that swear by it.   I know all the arguments against Uber and I am not sure I agree with any of them.  I have noticed a wide price range for the same company to take me the same airport at the same time of day.  Clearly, not all meters are equal.  How many times have I scheduled a pick up and they don’t show up?  How many times have I been asked for directions while the gps hangs on the windshield?  How many times when I go to pay for the taxi have I been told that the credit card machine is broken and the driver cannot make change?  How many times have I had to listen to an annoying LCD screen play infomercials my entire trip and when the credit card machine works, it asks if I would like to tip 20%, 25% or 30%.  Since when a tip a third of the service?  Uber was a dream, I pressed a button saying I needed a ride, the car showed up and google maps gave us the directions to my destination.  I was dropped off the driver pushed “End”,  my credit card was charged.  No tip no haggling, no awkward moments.  I like Uber!

September 7, 2014

It is the last night of the Hawaii Food and Wine festival.  Every event that I have been to has been a lot of fun with a lot of great food.  The grand finale did not disappoint! Held at Disney’s Aulani resort, we were out on the beach with tables and there was a stage over the water with live entertainment.  The night ended with fireworks which Disney always does a good job with.

I got to meet Iron Chef Cat Cora.  She is prettier in person than she is on TV.  There was no shortage of well-known chefs cooking for us.

I had noticed that there were a lot of press during the events.  I thought the festival was also taking footage to use for promoting future events.  One of the things I noticed, and was fascinated by was the use of Drones that were taking pictures and video of the events.  As the fireworks went off, I noticed a third drone lifting off.  I later found myself thinking about my hike to the waterfall.  Wouldn’t it be a bummer to arrive at the falls and have a bunch of personal drones zooming around the falls to get video of it?

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Cindy, Adam Richman and me!

September 7th, 2014

What a way to start a Sunday morning – Brunch cooked by a lot of well-known chefs along with brunch drinks.  I started with a bloody mary started with a spicy salt mix on the rim and the Pepar vodka and spicy bloody mary mix which I added a little srichacha sauce and from the condiment table, a few pieces of shrimp.  It was off too Michelle Bernstein’s table where she made fish tacos with ceviche.

I had an impression about Michelle which wasn’t bad but she wasn’t on my top list of chefs to meet.  After tasting her food, I had a completely different about her cooking and when I went to talk to her about it I was blown away about how she was so nice. She was a sweetheart and walked away with a whole new repsect for her and her food. I got the impression she was a down to earth good person!  She may be tough on the cooking shows, she is an a big sweetheart.

Adam Rich hosted the brunch show down and talk about an approachable nice guy.  Cindy and I approached him for a picture and we were there for a 1/2 hour chatting with him and his mom.  I had so much fun chatting to him and his mom.  His mom was a gem and he was so personable.  You never know what to expect when you meet TV personalities and Adam was so cool and I could have dinner with his Mom and would have loved it.  At one point she went to take a picture of her son and she said, “I don’t have any pictures of him and yet he is on TV!”  Definitely a lovable mom!

Lee Anne Wong was another personality!  She was rocked it.  She was up for it, fun, full of energy and personable.  Le Anne brought the energy to the event.  This girl is 100 percent energy!  She won the brunch showdown even though I liked Michelle’s dish a little better but it was claer Lee Anne knew hot to work the crowd!

The only thing left to do at the end of the brunch was to go get ready for dinner!

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September 6, 2014

Another great Food and Wine event!  Plenty of well known chefs serving great food on the rooftop of the Honolulu convention center. There was a nice breeze making it a little cooler from the last event.  Besides the food, there was wine and from what I was told extraordinary wine which is hard to find and buy.  People were really impressed.  As much as I like wine, I am not a collector. My range is that $20-$30 bottle and pretty much stick to California wines.   The last thing I need to develop is a taste for rare wine.

The food was again outstanding and I wish I had a second stomach, there was so much of it.  I didn’t get to try everything, but not from a lack of trying, there was to many booths.

It was another who’s who food crowd.  Even the “Chariman” of Iron Chef was seen walking around.  (I had no idea the guy is so short!).

The favorite drink of the night was made by Tony Abou Ganim who made the Happy Mario! I also liked his drink that he made at the Lucky Modern Buddha Belly as well.  I will have to look for him at Sunday’s event!

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September 6, 2014

Cindy and I wanted to check out a botanical garden.  I googled it and what we found was the Manoa Falls Trail.  As we drove to that part of the Island, it was clear that we were entering a much wetter part of the island.  We were exploring and didn’t have any expectations of what were going to see.

We found our destination, paid our parking fee and set out to take a hike.  We chose the Manoa Falls Trail – it seemed to be where everyone else was going.  I noticed that people coming of the trail looked quite muddy.  They must have gone off the trail…

The hike was almost was almost a mile long hike going up along wet and muddy trails.  The scenery was pretty but it was not an easy hike. I really had to pay attention to my footing and wondered if I was going end up slide down the path.  It was also exhausting and so much for staying clean.

We finally made it to the falls which created a nice breeze and a bit of a cool mist which was a refreshing.  I thought, it was getting close to lunchtime and going down should be a lot easier and quicker than coming up.

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Fried Hapu with tri-colored herbed poato salad

September 5, 2014

Cindy and I found the 12 Ave Grill on Yelp.com.  It had very good ratings and just looking at the site made me hungry.  We ordered Smoked Ahi Bruschetta and Coriander-Lime Seared Big Island Kampachi Crudo.  As the main course, Cindy ordered Smoked Maple leaf farms Duck and Fresh Pink Peppercorn Tagliatelle while I ordered Fried Hapu with herbed potato salad – an upscale Hawaiian version of fish and chips!

We were both satisfied with our meal.

Later that night, Cindy and I found a balcony restaurant/bar that overlooked Waikiki Beach.  We again commented on how places like Waikiki attract a variety of people from all places.  Looking around the room, could see young and old, rich and poor with the majority of people being Asian.  Next to us was a wedding party going on next to us with 20 people from Australia and the bride still in her wedding dress.

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