Entries Tagged as 'ala moana'

The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong

June 18th, 2009 · 1 Comment

In 1992 Alan Wong cofounded what is known as Hawaii Regional Cuisine. Wong is a James Beard Award winner and I’ve always wanted to visit one of his restaurants. A friend clued me in to the fact that The Pineapple Room in Ala Moana Shopping Center is an affordable lunch option and a good way to taste Wong’s food without spending a lot of money, so after I shook off the paparazzi, I decided to get lunch there.

The entrance to The Pineapple room is kind of strange because the restaurant it located on the 3rd floor of Macy’s. So you’re browsing yellow tank tops and then a foot over you’re sitting down and eating lunch.

the_pineapple_room_entrance

Once you’re inside, The Pineapple Room looks like any other restaurant.

the_pineapple_room_inside

I looked at the menu and was interested in the kalua pig BLT. Then I noticed that there is something called the Express Lunch where you could get your choice of soup, a half Caesar salad, the kalua pig BLT, chocolate macadamia nut brownies with vanilla ice cream, and your choice of coffee or tea for only a few bucks more (something like $22 vs. $14.50). I thought this would be a good way to sample more from the menu. I noticed that there were some desserts on the menu that seemed more local and included things like lilikoi and haupia so I asked the waiter if I could sub out the dessert in the Express Lunch. He said usually it’s not done, but he let me pick another anyway.

the_pineapple_room_menu

First up, everyone gets a bread basket with a side of chili pepper aoli.

the_pineapple_room_bread_basket

For my soup I picked the chilled Hamakua Springs tomato soup with avocado salsa and chilled shrimp. The avocado and shrimp were on the bottom of the bowl hanging out like a tasty surprise when you dipped your spoon in.

the_pineapple_room_tomato_soup

The kalua pig BLT came on an onion bun with a half Caesar salad.

the_pineapple_room_kalua_pig_blt

I ate this sandwich with my eyes and my camera before I ate it with my mouth. A little too much so that my camera battery died as I was taking this last one. But it was so worth it. Look at that pork on pork.

the_pineapple_room_kalua_pig_blt_close

Luckily I had my cell phone’s camera. The photo quality on my phone is pretty horrible, but I still shot this alright photo of my lilikoi cheesecake with lilikoi and guava sauces.

the_pineapple_room_lilikoi_cheesecake

Everything was super delicious, but I was so stuffed! I wandered around Ala Moana for the rest of the day with my stomach protruding over my waistband, not wanting to try any clothes on. Also, a stomach full of pork on a sweltering day is not exactly a good feeling, but it was so worth it!

[Read more →]

Tags:·······

Waikiki Trolley

June 17th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Dallas went golfing, so I decided to go shopping at Ala Moana. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea because I’m not a major shopper and Ala Moana is a major mall. After about 4 hours of shopping I’d only purchased a $14 pair of slippers and wished I’d just spent the time on the beach! Still, it was an interesting day. I had a great lunch and a funny ride over.

trolley_blue_close

So, you cant just walk to Ala Moana from Waikiki. The mall is about 2 miles away from our hotel. I guess you could walk it, but I didn’t know the way and if you bought things then you might be stuck. Dallas had our car so I decided to take the Waikiki Trolley. The pink line goes all around Waikiki and picks up at different stops and hotels then drives to Ala Moana. Plus the fare was only $2 each way, not that anyone was really paying attention enough to make sure you put the money in the box behind the driver.

trolley_blue_far1

What I quickly discovered was that only the Japanese tourists take the Waikiki Trolley. I think I was the only person on the trolley that wasn’t a Japanese tourist. No biggie. Oh, and not to propagate the stereotype, but the Japanese tourists like to take photos and video of everything.

inside_trolley_1

I might be a little bit Japanese.

inside_trolley_2

Then something funny happened. This is a horrible photo of me, but see the lady over my shoulder?

rachelle_camera_lady

She and her husband and teenaged daughter got on the trolley and she was taking a TON of photos of her family riding the trolley. And having them take photos of her. Taking a million photos in all different configurations. She asked me to take a photo of her family. By “ask” I mean a lot of pointing. She couldn’t speak any English and I don’t speak Japanese but “please take a photo of me and my family” is pretty easy to pantomime. Then she saw my camera out and insisted on taking a photo of me. And then one with her camera.

trolley_rachelle

And then another with my camera. And another with hers.

rachelle_trolley

Basically, she couldn’t stop. All the while she was speaking in Japanese and giving me the thumbs up sign. The only thing I could understand her saying, and possibly the only thing she knew how to say in Enlglish, was “beautiful.” And when she said “beautiful” she made this sweeping motion with her hands at the sides of her head, which I think was meant to represent my hair blowing around in the open-air trolley. It was nice.. but I’m not used to having the paparazzi stalking me, so when we got to Ala Moana, I just bee lined it off the trolley!

[Read more →]

Tags:······

Last Day in Hawaii

March 31st, 2007 · No Comments

2007_03_spa_olakino.jpg
Spa Olakino, Waikiki, Honolulu

The last day of our trip I got a massage at the spa in our hotel, Spa Olakino. It was a nice spa and everything, but I enjoyed my first massage at Luxe Salon much more. At Spa Olakino, my massage therapist was just doing it too hard and I had to keep telling her lighter and then I felt like a wuss, but the rest of the time I just kept thinking “ow! ow! ow! ow!” and couldn’t relax that much.

2007_03_leonards.jpg
Leonard’s Bakery

2007_03_malasadas.jpg
Leonard’s Bakery Malasadas

2007_03_malasada_drive.jpg
Leonard’s Bakery Malasada

Our main focus for the rest of the day was spending time with Dallas’ grandma and family before leaving. We checked out of the hotel, stopped to get malasadas at Leonard’s (the best!), and then drove up to Dallas’ aunt & uncle’s house. Dallas’ grandma said she hadn’t had malasadas for a very long time, so I was glad we stopped for them, although we couldn’t resist digging into them in the car when they were super-hot and fresh. We hung out at the house for a while, then went out for lunch at CoCo Ishibanya Curry House. Dallas cousin, Kala, needed to be dropped off for her basketball game, so Dallas took the opportunity to drive through his old school, Kamehameha, to show me what the campus looks like before going to lunch.

2007_03_curry_house.jpg
CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

CoCo Ishibanya Curry House is a national chain in Japan and has 5 locations on Oahu. It was strange, because their menu was in English, but there were certain things still only in Japanese. And there were posters on the wall that were all in Japanese too. Because Dallas’ grandma is Japanese, we asked her what they said, but the only word she could make out for sure was “curry.” Great help grandma! She’s so cute.

2007_03_curry_house_chicken.jpg
Chicken Cutlet Curry With Cheese, CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

2007_03_grandma_dallas.jpg
Grandma & Dallas, CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

Ordering is pretty easy. I remember there were a lot of photos on the menu so you could see what you were getting. Basically, all they have is curry. An you can choose whether you want it hot or mild. Then you pick what sort of curry you want – pork cutlet, seafood, ahi cutlet, chicken cutlet, beef, etc. (photo of the menu here). Finally, choose if you want any add-ins. Gyoza, kimchi, and other meats and vegetables were some of the add-ins available.

2007_03_quincy_jessica_grandma_dallas.jpg
Quincy, Jessica, Grandma, Dallas :: Alewa Heights, Honolulu

After lunch we went back to the house and hung out for a while with Dallas’ cousin Quincy and his girlfriend, his grandma, and his aunt’s father who lives there too. And his cousin Jessica dropped by, so we had to take a photo together with their grandma. When we left, we stopped to do a bit of shopping at Ala Moana and then headed off to the airport.

[Read more →]

Tags:···················

Bishop Museum, Ala Moana, Family Dinner

July 23rd, 2005 · 4 Comments


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


Kamehameha


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu


SNAKE!


L&L Drive Inn


Aunty Lauren & Seth


Handmade wash clothes from Aunty Myrtle


Puppy!


Puppy!


Seth


Rachel & Carissa


Channon, Rachel, Danny, Carissa, Danae :: Aina Haina, Oahu


Puppy!


Seth

Last week Friday Dallas and I went to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last decendant of the royal Kamehameha family. The museum houses extensive collections of Hawaiian and Pacific Island artifacts, documents and photographs. Bishop Museum is the largest museum in Hawaii. My favorite exhibit was the one where they showed how so many different cultures came together in Hawaii. From other Pacific Islanders in the beginning, to Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Portuegese, Phillippino, Korean, etc.

After the museum we went to Ala Moana Shopping Center, this huge-ass mall that has like 300 stores. I did a little shopping. Dallas was hungry for chicken katsu so we went to L&L Drive-Inn for lunch.

That night we went to Kathy’s Aunty Kitty’s house in Aina Haina for dinner. All of Kathy’s good friends and family in Oahu were there. Many of them hadn’t gotten together for quite a while so it was a family reunion of sorts. Someone must have felt Dallas’ earlier craving for chicken katsu because there was a TON of it for dinner.. along with many other traditional Korean and Hawaiian dishes.

[Read more →]

Tags:······················