oahu 03
november 17, 2005
the ahi katsu @ 3660 on the
rise is da best - sashimi grade ahi in nori, deep fried medium rare with
wasabi ginger sauce.
i should've known better than to go make reservations at a nice restaurant on the first night in town. in my previous experiences with traveling to hawaii, the first evening is the hardest as jet lag and time difference kicks in right around dinner time. i am usually grumpy, tired, dying for sleep and just am not in the mood for fine dining really. BUT with limited time on this trip for food, i made reservations at 3660 the first night in town. needless to say, this favorite of mine, turned out to be not so great. i am sure it's because i was too exhausted to taste anything on the menu. i would have thoroughly enjoyed it if i wasn't as sick as i was when i embarked on this trip.
2 weeks prior to the trip, i actually started getting an ear infection which led to a sinus infection. after a week on antibiotics, it still didn't go away so i got put on another week's worth. the pain in my face was excruciating and on top of that i was so heavily involved with work that i couldn't get any down time to rest. then on the monday before the trip, i got stung by a bee while waiting for my eyebrow threading!! wtf!? i felt a sharp pain on my neck and sure enough, it's a bee. with the stinger lodged in my neck, i started to panic. knowing how bad my allergies are to nearly everything else on this planet - i must surely be allergic to bees! so i took a benadryl and then got my epi pen ready. the staff at ziba were kind enough clean the area with alcohol and then apply antibiotic ointment after removing the stinger. the damn bee just fell by the wayside waiting to die. the good news is that i didn't get anaphylaxis, the bad news was that the lymph nodes on my entire neck area swelled up like rocks. painful shit.
so on wednesday morning, i boarded the plane with an ear infection and sinus infection still raging along with a nasty bee sting on my neck. if i could have cancelled the trip, i would have. flying with these conditions sucked royally.
anyway...
this is why i didn't enjoy my meal as much as i normally would have.
that was a friggin long story.
chilled pacific oyster - topped with ginger vinaigrette and tobiko caviar
fish of the day special - steamed opakapaka chinese style with a shoyu ginger
glaze and chinese veggies.
3660 medley - Pan Seared Ginger Crusted Ahi, Spinach and Shiitake Mushroom,
Yuzu Butter Sauce; Grilled Medallion of Beef Tenderloin, Seafood Mousse, Whiskey
Demi Glaze, Smoked Tomato Hollandaise; Shichimi Seared Chicken Breast, Soy
Citrus Sauce
i even skipped dessert. you know i must have been tired & sick.
:: ::
after dinner on thursday night oceanarium, i went over to the beach bar at the sheraton moana surfrider to meet up with stef and mike for a quick drink. as their last night before husband and wife, i was really honored that they took the time out of their busy schedule to meet with me. it's always good to meet up with good friends over drinks while listening to the waves and hawaiian music. unfortunately i couldn't partake in their famous mai tais due to the meds and we had to call it an early evening due to a lost room key.
friday morning came before i knew it. first stop was to fukuya to pick up okazuya items for the beach trip to waimanalo. as i was leaving fukuya, i couldn't help but notice a buxom blonde in front of me along with two keikis in tow.
i knew immediatey it was beth - dog the bounty hunter's wife! so i followed them into the orchid shop next to the 7-11 (as that's where i was parked at) and pretended to look at the leis. i seriously was going to take a photo but when she looked up at me (without makeup as it was 9am only), i said "i'm a big fan of your show" and she just said "thanks" and turned away. the look on her face made me reconsider taking her photo. the last thing i need is for her to haul me to jail. she certainly wasn't very receptive to fans that early in the morning. but i suppose as mom, she was protective of her children and of their privacy - even though their life is splattered all over tv every wednesday night.
i thought better of it and left -- all the time saying to myself that i'm sure dog would have been nicer if i told him that his show is set as the the #1 spot on my season pass list on tivo. :p in fact, i think he would have taken a photo with me. but oh well.
and there's my celebrity moment during the trip. coming from la, we're somewhat jaded by celebs. but since i am a big fan of the show, i was somewhat disappointed truth be told.
vista point before halona blowhole
so i made my way through kaimuki, kahala, aina haina, hawaii kai and wounded my way into the country of the windward (east) side of oahu. time seems to stand still in this place. the vistas are breathtaking, especially on a sunny blue skied day. i pulled over at several locations and snapped photos. i passed by sandy beach, makapu'u point, halona blowhole and eventually made my way to waimanalo beach. there are two waimanalo beaches here but i like the larger one called waimanalo beach beach park. this has to be one of my utmost favorite beaches on oahu. the beach is pristine, sand is powdery fine and the view stretches for miles and miles. it's generally a beach known to locals and very few tourists come here. one some days, it's virtually deserted but even on the holidays, it's still sparse.
halona blowhole - with the water spouting from the center blowhole
view of sandy beach
view of rabbit island
makapu'u beach
waimanalo beach
it's not hard to see why this is my favorite beach. this one along with kailua is at the top of my list. how can one not fall in love with a sight like this? the temps were perfect, sunny with cool breezes. i sat there thinking and contemplating about life for a bit all the while just staring out into the ocean. i can never get tired of looking at the ocean. it's so powerful yet serene. i think it has to do with me being a pisces.
iron wood trees border the beach landscape
straight out into the horizon
okazuya overload
there's nothing like eating local okazuya food while looking out at the perfect beach. fukuya really still has one of the best selections of okazuya items. some of the items on the menu in my styrofoam bento boxes:
teri meatball, teri beef, nori chicken, ume musubi, nishime, miso butterfish, potato croquette, cone suzhi, kabocha, hijiki, garlic chicken, egg omelette, tofu croquette.
i think each okazuya has their own specialties. some okazuyas are better at certain things than others. the teri beef here wasn't as good as north shore okazuya but their miso butterfish was mighty good. finger licking good in fact.
wishing i was still there.
currently listening to: kill bill vol 2, urami bushi
