US

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?

Continue reading →

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!

Continue reading →

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!

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

Sept 5, 2014

Cindy and I headed out in the morning to see more of the Island we didn’t get to the day before.  We had set out to see the Island the day before but needed to come back for lunch and to get ready for the Food and Wine event in the evening.  Today, we had the old day, so we went back to where we left off and drove.  I know I have done this drive before and there were things that I remembered and then there were things I didn’t.

All in all, a great day with many great sites.  I was glad that we got out of Waikiki, it isn’t representative of Hawaii’s.  Paradise Island doesn’t but Hawaii’s natural beauty makes you think if it did, it would look like this.

Continue reading →

Sept 4th, 2014

Me and Cindy in Honolulu magazine

What a night of eating, not to mention drinking and people watching.  It got a little surreal coming face to face with big name chefs who I have seen on TV time and time again including Top Chef, Iron Chef and various cooking shows.  I saw Ming Tsai, Roy Yamaguchi, Alan Wong, Nancy Sliverton, Tom Doublass, Chef Thieery Rautureau, Charles Phan, Iron Chef Morimoto, Top Chef Master’s Art Smith.

Chef Roy Yamguchi saw me and “You are hot?”  I was surprised he said that and then he repeated it.  I laughed and said Very Hot.  He meant it literally, we had walked to the event and it was quite warm, I was sweaty.  FunfortunateI found the Ichiban beer with frozen foam and a corner that had AC.  I was  cool in no time!

Cindy and I were photographed by the local press and appeared in the Honolulu Magazine!

Continue reading →

Pork Belly Bao

September 4, 2014

My friend Cindy and I didn’t want to spend the entire day driving, we had a Food and Wine event at 5PM so we decided to find a lunch place.  I had found a place on Yelp called the Lucky Belly.  It was located in Honolulu’s Chinatown.

We went for lunch and loved it.  The place was small, cozy, trendy and the food and service were excellent.

We ordered Pork Belly Bao, Chicken Karaage Sandwich and Shrimp Gyoza.  Both Cindy and I were very impressed!  Maybe we will sneak in another meal there.

Afterwards we walked around the Chinatown local market.

We returned to the same place two days later after hiking.  We again ordered Pork Belly Bao and then we followed that up with Kim Chi and Shrimp ramen.  The restaurant is as good as it was the first time.

Continue reading →

September 4, 2014

I woke up early in the morning and took a long walk.  Last time I was in Waikiki was around 1990. when I took my parents to Hawaii using Frequent Flyer points.  I was doing a lot of travelling in the late 80’s and had been to Hawaii many times on business.  Waikiki has changed a lot since my last visit. The International market which sold tacky Hawaiian tourist gifts is gone (making room for a SACS fifth avenue) and there is a significant increase in upscale retail and chain restaurants.

After my walk, it was off to drive around the Island.   A few scenic stops before and after Hanauma Bay.  This was a change that was for the better, they have implemented educational videos which make it clear not to disturb the coral reefs and marine life.

Continue reading →