Holidays in Hawaii

Over the holidays I had the chance to go home to Hawaii to spend time with my friends and family.  One of my favorite things about going home is being able to eat all the great food that the island has to offer.  Here is a recap of some of my favorites!  (Well the ones that I was able to take a picture of before eating). 

One of my favorite things to have in Hawaii, an Acai Bowl!  Somehow the ones I have found up in LA have never measured up to the ones in Hawaii! 

The other awesome thing about Hawaii is you can eat things like grilled fish salads or poke bowls which are totally delish.  But the best part is that you still have calories left to indulge in the awesome desserts.  Two of my all time favorites:  Sweet Potato Haupia Pie on the left and Lemon Crunch Cake on the right.  From Diamond Head Grill just down the street!  

Not food related, but this was my view after a quick “jog” down to the beach.  Amazing, makes me appreciate what I had growing up!

On Christmas Eve my mom and I were running errands on the other side of town and stopped by at one of my favorites while in high school.  Mitsuken!!  They have the best garlic fried chicken bento plates.  YUM!!!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Japanese/Hawaii style bentos they normally have a bunch of savory meats with rice.  This one had a hotdog, piece of spam, teri beef, egg omelet and garlic chicken.  So delish!

I also stopped by my classmates restaurant Pancake and Waffles.  This is one of my new favorites I love their breakfast plates and I am always torn between eating breakfast (love Hawaii style breakfast) or the Vinha D’alhos plate.  Tender pieces of pork marinated in spices and vinegar and cooked for hours.  This is on my list to try to recreate ASAP!!

My friends hubby didn’t let us leave without trying one of their famous pancake creations.  This was their seasonal Caramel Apple Pancake.  Pieces of caramel in the pancake batter, topped with cinnamon apples, graham cracker crumbs and a mound of whipped cream.  

Another place on my list that I had been wanting to try was Yogurstory, while they are definitely known for their brunch, I was only able to go for dinner.  My mom and I shared this ahi topped with crab and some kalbi ribs with kim chee fried rice. 

This is just part one of my Hawaii recap, I had an amazing omakase dinner at Nobu’s in Hawaii as well!