Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Hawaiian Holiday

So far all of my blogs have been on restaurants and that's where I am going to stay, however I have had some comments that I do not blog all the restaurants I go to and also about some of the other experiences I have like I have just got back from 5 days in Hawaii. What restaurants did I go to and maybe some other information to help you if you ever decide to go to Hawaii. So here goes.

Hawaii is such a nice place and this is our third visit and we will definitely go back. The temperature is the same every day around 28-30 degrees. The main place to go of course is Waikiki and why not they have a great beach, great restaurants and shopping, did I say shopping.

Firstly, to my first love, food. With so many restaurants its hard to say whats best etc but let me tell you about the ones I visited by type. For an informal dinner or just a bit of fun with some good music I found a Margaretaville restaurant which is the country singer Jimmy Buffets chain, great for a burger or steak while enjoying the music. For Japanese  I would not go pass Japengo it was lovely serving up traditional Japanese with a modern twist. By the way there are more Japanese people in Hawaii than in Japan, ha ha. For a more upmarket steak go to Wolfgang's and for Italian don't miss out on dinning atTaormina where I had the best bolognese ever, Spinach Fettuccine with Meat and Foie Gras, simply the best.

For lunch at this wonderful city there is so much to do but we were recommended to go to the Helacalarnie hotel ( on the beach ) and have a crab sandwich. Which we did and it was pretty sensational, loads of Alaskan king crab with avocado and crispy bacon served on wholemeal bread cut into soldiers. We ate this whilst sitting in their outdoor area watching the beach and all that goes with it. heaven.

I could not have left Hawaii without a fine dinning experience so after some research we ended up at Chef Mavro which is not on the beach but located in the city. Chef Mavro is an old french chef from Provence and the food was excellent without being over the top. (See separate Blog for more ).

So apart from food there are many places to stay depending on your economic circumstances however if you can afford it stay on the beach at either The Royal Hawaiian, Helacalarnie, Moana Surfrider or the Sheraton. All are great but my favourite is the surfrider as it has a great outside setting, pool, music and you can go to the beach and use their facilities even if you dont stay there. 5 star so it wont be cheap. There are many other cheaper hotels like the Waikiki Gateway which is about 500m from the beach.

So lastly, shopping wow we spent heaps on shoes in particular as they are so cheap, plus good polos shirts, jeans and I even bought a sports jacket. These are best bought at the shopping factory outlet which you can get there by shuttle bus but beware you will spend.

All in all a great 5 days in one of the worlds best destinations and I could write much more but that would be boring. So hope you liked my short travel blog.

Remember you need to book at most good restaurants otherwise you will be disappointed plus if you would like more information on anything just write a comment and I will respond.