The View From Space

Even after witnessing @Geewhy’s disastrous attempt at buying a candy bar from our work vending machine, my thirst for adventure (well actually my craving for chocolate and sugar) drove me to roll the dice and buy a chocolate bar from the same machine.

The results?  A partially melted and crumbly Almond Snickers bar.  Either we’ve got the worst luck at buying candy, or we need to get the folks who stock these to put in fresh items.  

Oh and unlike @Geewhy, I ate mine! 

While celebrating our 26th Anniversary at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (@hawaiianvillage) we were treated to dinner at Bali by the sea by our friends Ed and Kiki Kaanehe.  Ed is known affectionately and respectfully as “Chief” to everyone here at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

We had no idea what they had planned for us.  Turned out it wasn’t just dinner, it was a wonderful culinary experience.   Meal preparation was under the direction of Sous-Chef David Shue and consisted of 3 appetizers with the main course of our choosing.

Naturally we started off with drinks.  This one’s called a Hawaii 5-O and was created by one of Hilton’s in-house bartenders (notice that I started on it before I thought to take a pic of the drink).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first course was an oyster with a host of great ingredients that I didn’t catch during Chef Shue’s presentation (You were expecting some sort of food critic write-up?  I was overwhelmed by the experience and savoring the moment).  All I can tell you, and this is coming from someone who NEVER eats oysters, is that this dish was absolutely delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second course was Beef Carpaccio.   Again Chef Shue provided a running commentary on the exact ingredients and preparation, and again I sat there in awe of the artistic culinary delight placed before me.  (That means don’t ask me what all the other stuff was on the plate because I don’t have a clue).  All I can say is that this dish too was wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the third course I was actually paying attention.  This one consisted of lightly seared Tombo on a sliver of pineapple with 5-spice and some sort of wasabi sauce (Okay so I wasn’t REALLY paying attention).  What can I say?  The fish was nicely done with a slightly cooked outer ring and an oh-so-tender sashimi interior.  The slightly spicy wasabi was nicely balanced with the pineapple and 5-spice.  This was my favorite of the 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s on to the main course.  I chose the Pepper Seared Sashimi Grade Ahi.  While similar to the above appetizer it presented a totally different taste adventure.  This was much more spicy with the pepper seared into the outer ring of the fish.  One thing that did remain the same was the quality of the fish used.  It was outstanding, firm yet tender and vibrant with color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And after all that, Chef Shue graced us with dessert.  A Pineapple Tart (topped with an Almond Creme and Macadamia Nut ice cream), a Chocolate-Chocolate cake (ok that was my description, I couldn’t find it on the menu), and finally what I think is the Waialua Farms Chocolate cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least was the Green Tea Creme Brulee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Big Mahalo goes out to our friends Ed and Kiki Kaanehe for such a great evening out.  Special thanks to Bali Sous-Chef David Shue for treating us to such a wonderful culinary experience.  Finally, the night wouldn’t have been such a wonderful experience without the efforts of the staff at Bali’s.  Our waiter Andreas even took the extra effort in getting my wife Laurie and her friend Kiki a front row spot on the lanai to watch the Friday night fireworks.  Mahalo and Aloha to all that made it such a special night.

Oh and just to let you know, the appetizers weren’t on the menu.  So don’t spend too much time looking for them.

 

 

Okay I don’t get out much, this was my first visit to Side Street Inn EVER! All I can say is WOW! Talk about great tasting food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pork Chops were my Favorite!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Snow Crab legs weren’t bad either

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lup Cheong fried rice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old standby Teriyaki Chicken

 

Now on to Dessert:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Crunch ala mode

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bread Pudding ala mode of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but certainly not least …. Creme Brule!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it possible to take a great candy such as the Whopper malted milk ball and make it even better? You betcha! Reeses Peanut Butter Whoppers, what better combo could there possibly be?

Having been a steady customer since it opened, I finally decided it was time to blog about the dining experience at one of my favorite Ramen shops, Ichiben.

Located in Waimalu, this slightly hidden ramen shop offers a cozy nook where you can have a nice lunch or dinner. 

The staff there is wonderful, they are attentive and very accomodating.   In fact the owner/cook makes it a point to come out and talk with the customers on a regular basis.  They make you feel welcome and very comfortable eating there.

The food is, quite simply, very good.  The ramen is simple but delicious and is offered with 3 different types of broths (shoyu, miso, paitan).   The other offerings (Chicken, Kal bi, fried rice) are tasty without being overly salty or “over spiced”.   The best way to describe the food is clean and fresh with natural tastiness (is that even a word?).

Here’s my review on Yelp.  You can also see others there too.  They rate a 4 out of 5 stars.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ichiben-pearl-city#hrid:O3ywz2x3fy7VOL3GExYTQQ

I admit, I’m a fan of those strange Kit-Kat flavors coming out of Japan.  Here’s a couple that I picked up during my recent trip there.  Strawberry cheesecake (ok not so strange) and Wasabi (gotta admit, just plain weird).  Although that chocolate wasabi cheescake in Guam ran a close second.

 

Found these at the Kmart on Guam.  Although I’ve seen dried mango before, I’ve never encountered dried GREEN mangoes.

Here’s an interesting cake from a place called Sweet Relief.

Now I like chocolate and I like wasabi, but ….