For those who may be going to Maui in the near future, or just for your own reference, I have links to the different restaurants I discussed in my post about the food on Maui.
Mama's Fish House - http://mamasfishouse.com/
It is recommended to make reservations in advance. The best time would be close to dusk and sunset. The restaurant is a beachfront open restaurant with the beach, ocean and palm trees as your view.
Once you are on the website, you can make your reservations from a link there to opentable.com. It is very easy to do.
Leilani's - http://www.leilanis.com/
It is on the beach, open air in Whalers Village - which is next door to the Westin Maui. Easily accessible via the beach path to the other hotels on K'annapali beach area. Great view, fish sandwiches and drinks.
Joe's Simply Delicious Food -http://bevgannonrestaurants.com/joes/
It was a bit hard to find. It is on the grounds of a condo area, and tennis club. Once you find it, it is a really great restaurant. Great atmosphere - open air facing the tennis courts, and the food it outstanding!
Cool Cat Cafe - http://coolcatcafe.com/
We didn't get there (ran out of meal times) but they were rated in the food guides as the best burgers on Maui. Friends told me that the "Don Ho" burger with Fries is a MUST.
Hula Grill - http://www.hulagrill.com/
Is also in Whalers Village - and the group that owns them, also owns Leilani's, as well as the Duke's chain.
The Plantation house - www.theplantationhouse.com
We had breakfast included at the Westin, but friends of mine said they ate breakfast there every day on the last trip to Maui.
Hali'imaile General Store - http://bevgannonrestaurants.com/haliimaile/
Again, ran out of time, but if you go - order the crab pizza, from other friends, if they could have eaten that everyday they were there, they would have.
A couple other ones that we didn't get to, but all were recommended:
Aloha Mixed Plate - http://www.alohamixedplate.com/
Roy's - http://www.roysrestaurant.com/
As you can see, the choices are endless and plentiful. My next trip = more time in Maui!!!
If you have been to Hawaii, I would love to hear where you went to eat, for the next time!
Mahalo!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Authentic Experiences
Last night I was at a friend's house for dinner. They, along with another family, have just recently returned from a vacation in Mexico. It was very interesting, one family is very well travelled, and the other family, this was the husband's first experience at an all inclusive resort.
After listening about their whole trip, one of the comments he made was that he wished that some of the experiences were more "authentic". He was in Mexico and he said he would have liked to hear more Mariachi music on the resort, at night, in the lobby, etc.
I can totally relate to what he was saying. It was something that we discussed after we went to the Luau in Maui. Since neither one of us had been to Hawaii before, we thought we should considering going to a Luau. We didn't really have a lot of time in Oahu, or Kona so Maui seemed like the place where we would have the most time.
I think that we both had an "idea" in our heads what the Luau would be like. I knew that there is a ceremony where they remove the ceremonial Kalua pig (Pua'a) from the Imu (underground oven). I had imaged that the Luau would be on the beach, and the show would be there in the sand as well. Maybe there are places that have it like that, but the ones that we saw flyers on, were not like that.
We decided on the Luau at the Hyatt Regency because it was a buffet style meal with a variety of food choices.
When we arrived at the Hyatt we were seated at a long table. There were rows and rows of long tables. Our seats were on an end and not that far from the stage, which would be good for the show.
When the show was about to start, they did have the removal of the Pua'a from the Imu and then it was carried off to be shredded for the buffet dinner. The food (once we ate) was very good.
The show itself was quite good. There were traditional dances from all the different areas of Samoa, Tongo, Hawaii, and so on. There was a fire dancer which was also quite good. The male dancers that had their faces painted like the Samoan warriors were quite entertaining and then of course the hula dancers. The audience had the chance to go and learn some hula moves, which of course I jumped at the chance....when in Rome as they say....
I did a lot of research for this trip, and I think I missed out on finding the right Luau for us. The one we would have liked to see, probably existed. It is one of those activities that you say "been there, done that"..... on my next visit to Hawaii (I will go back someday), I can leave the Luau off the list.
I did come acrooss this link (since I have been home) and I would advise, if you are planning to go to Hawaii, to take a look at these tips:
After listening about their whole trip, one of the comments he made was that he wished that some of the experiences were more "authentic". He was in Mexico and he said he would have liked to hear more Mariachi music on the resort, at night, in the lobby, etc.
I can totally relate to what he was saying. It was something that we discussed after we went to the Luau in Maui. Since neither one of us had been to Hawaii before, we thought we should considering going to a Luau. We didn't really have a lot of time in Oahu, or Kona so Maui seemed like the place where we would have the most time.
I think that we both had an "idea" in our heads what the Luau would be like. I knew that there is a ceremony where they remove the ceremonial Kalua pig (Pua'a) from the Imu (underground oven). I had imaged that the Luau would be on the beach, and the show would be there in the sand as well. Maybe there are places that have it like that, but the ones that we saw flyers on, were not like that.
We decided on the Luau at the Hyatt Regency because it was a buffet style meal with a variety of food choices.When we arrived at the Hyatt we were seated at a long table. There were rows and rows of long tables. Our seats were on an end and not that far from the stage, which would be good for the show.
When the show was about to start, they did have the removal of the Pua'a from the Imu and then it was carried off to be shredded for the buffet dinner. The food (once we ate) was very good.
The show itself was quite good. There were traditional dances from all the different areas of Samoa, Tongo, Hawaii, and so on. There was a fire dancer which was also quite good. The male dancers that had their faces painted like the Samoan warriors were quite entertaining and then of course the hula dancers. The audience had the chance to go and learn some hula moves, which of course I jumped at the chance....when in Rome as they say....
I did a lot of research for this trip, and I think I missed out on finding the right Luau for us. The one we would have liked to see, probably existed. It is one of those activities that you say "been there, done that"..... on my next visit to Hawaii (I will go back someday), I can leave the Luau off the list.
I did come acrooss this link (since I have been home) and I would advise, if you are planning to go to Hawaii, to take a look at these tips:
I wish I had!!!
Mahalo - thanks for reading....if you have been to Hawaii and went to a Luau - leave your comments below - where did you go and what did you think???
Friday, May 4, 2012
Food Glorious Food
If you are a regular facebook user, you know that if you want to know anything about anything these days you put it in the form of a status update, right? Of course you do. Which is exactly what I did when I was looking for restaurant options in Hawaii. I received so many recommendations, and of course there were more recommendations than there were number of days I was going to be there.
Of all the suggestions provided, there were many multiple suggestions, but Mama's fish house in Maui was the ONE option that everyone said was their best meal on the island. One friend of mine told me to ensure that I made a reservation in advance from the website. I am not sure if she thought that five months in advance was a bit crazy, but I knew I wanted it for our last night there, and wanted to go there. On the website it takes to to opentable.com and you make your reservation. I had never done that before, but registered, and reserved and dinner was organized.
I had decided that I was going to make this trip my Hawaii Seafood Fiesta. I wanted to choose fish as many times as I could. And I did.
Our first full day in Waikiki we were on the beach and walked right past Dukes on the beach. That was on the list of recommendations, so that is where lunch was.I had already looked at the menu on line and decided since I had never had a fish taco before, that was what I would have.
I am not sure how they are served in the US or other parts, but these was basically like a fish 'fajita', and they were REALLY good!!! What a great start to our week!
After a couple of days in Waikiki we moved to the Big Island of Hawaii. We arrived late at night so we ate our hotel the first night. The second day we went to the volcano, and it wasn't until our last night in Kona that we had an amazing meal in Kailua Kona town at a great restaurant called Fish Hoppers.
Another great idea when travelling other than speaking to your friends is to speak to the conceirge desk at the hotel, or locals that you strike up a conversation with. You will be told about local places to go where the tourists may not always know about , but the locals will tell you about. Think about your 'local' place where you live. If you love it, you would recommend it to someone. It is the same thing while you are travelling.
She recommended two places in Kailua town, Fish Hoppers and Ruggos on the beach. The first place we saw was Fish Hoppers and that was where we decided to go.
Macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi, Molokini sweet potato with mango papaya salsa. WOW!!!! As you can see from the pictures on the right, the potato was PURPLE! It was really good. I would say sweeter than
an orange sweet potato that we are used to eating. It was a great meal, followed up by a great dessert.
And then we arrived in Maui. What can I say about Maui. It is really a "foodie haven". There are a lot of different areas in Maui, and two of the main ones are Lahaina and Wailea. At the Westin Maui, they have two brochures available at the concerige, aptly titled - Lahaina dining and Wailea dining. When I say brochures - I do mean like a travel book. Outlining resturants, menus, etc.
I had many recommendations for Maui, but it is always nice to try your own as well. We did that when we went to Leilanis in Whalers Village beside our hotel. The Hula Grill was right beside (on my list) but we decided on Leilanis, and of course I ordered a fish sandwich was made with a local fish called Ono. Sweet potato fries (not purple) were also on my plate.
I think you get the idea that I really enjoyed the food in Hawaii. Because we ate a really great breakfast at the hotel, we didn't always eat lunch, which was a bit disappointed - only because that meant we couldn't experience MORE amazing restaurants!
Mahalo and stay tuned for more!!!
Of all the suggestions provided, there were many multiple suggestions, but Mama's fish house in Maui was the ONE option that everyone said was their best meal on the island. One friend of mine told me to ensure that I made a reservation in advance from the website. I am not sure if she thought that five months in advance was a bit crazy, but I knew I wanted it for our last night there, and wanted to go there. On the website it takes to to opentable.com and you make your reservation. I had never done that before, but registered, and reserved and dinner was organized.
I had decided that I was going to make this trip my Hawaii Seafood Fiesta. I wanted to choose fish as many times as I could. And I did.
Our first full day in Waikiki we were on the beach and walked right past Dukes on the beach. That was on the list of recommendations, so that is where lunch was.I had already looked at the menu on line and decided since I had never had a fish taco before, that was what I would have.
I am not sure how they are served in the US or other parts, but these was basically like a fish 'fajita', and they were REALLY good!!! What a great start to our week!
Another great idea when travelling other than speaking to your friends is to speak to the conceirge desk at the hotel, or locals that you strike up a conversation with. You will be told about local places to go where the tourists may not always know about , but the locals will tell you about. Think about your 'local' place where you live. If you love it, you would recommend it to someone. It is the same thing while you are travelling. 
She recommended two places in Kailua town, Fish Hoppers and Ruggos on the beach. The first place we saw was Fish Hoppers and that was where we decided to go.
Macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi, Molokini sweet potato with mango papaya salsa. WOW!!!! As you can see from the pictures on the right, the potato was PURPLE! It was really good. I would say sweeter than
And then we arrived in Maui. What can I say about Maui. It is really a "foodie haven". There are a lot of different areas in Maui, and two of the main ones are Lahaina and Wailea. At the Westin Maui, they have two brochures available at the concerige, aptly titled - Lahaina dining and Wailea dining. When I say brochures - I do mean like a travel book. Outlining resturants, menus, etc.
I had many recommendations for Maui, but it is always nice to try your own as well. We did that when we went to Leilanis in Whalers Village beside our hotel. The Hula Grill was right beside (on my list) but we decided on Leilanis, and of course I ordered a fish sandwich was made with a local fish called Ono. Sweet potato fries (not purple) were also on my plate.
I think you get the idea that I really enjoyed the food in Hawaii. Because we ate a really great breakfast at the hotel, we didn't always eat lunch, which was a bit disappointed - only because that meant we couldn't experience MORE amazing restaurants!
Mahalo and stay tuned for more!!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
First Class
Why Hawaii? Why now, you may ask. Well, because my travelling companion lives in LA and only had a limited amount of travel time, I was at the office one day last summer and picked up a brochure on Hawaii, and thought - I could fly to LA, meet up and we could go to Hawaii. Threw out the idea and it was born.
After eight months of planning, and waiting, the departure date was here! My parents dropped me off at the airport, and off I went. While checking in at the machine, I noticed that there was a first class upgrade on the portion from LAX to Honolulu - WOW - we should do this. It was only 7:30am in LA and I knew that B wouldn't be up yet, so I frantically sent him a 'whatsapp' message with the details. I told him that if wanted to do the upgrade I was in! I told him I would check my phone again in Chicago (my first connection stop).
I couldn't use my phone in Chicago (another story, another post), so I hoped that the message was conveyed and I would see him in LAX.
When I arrived in LAX my gate was in an area that I have been in before, in the American Airlines wing of the airport. I was on my way to the bathroom and B was arriving to the departure area. It was great to see him (it had been almost a year). We quickly said our hellos and then headed off to try to upgrade our seats.
We went to the American Airlines customer service area and went to the machines, and low and behold, there were still two seats available. Two credit card transactions later, and there we were - first class to Honolulu! After changing planes in Chicago and then in LAX, I was happy to be able to enjoy the third leg of my journey this way.
When our flight was called, of course we were the first to board. We arrived at our seats and there was a blanket and pillow on each seat. Once we were seated, we were greeted by name by the flight attendant, and a glass of champagne! We toasted to our adventure and sat back and relaxed and waited for the flight to depart.
Once we were in the air, we had a drink, and then were shown the dinner menu selection. Yes, the menu selection. A three course meal - which was Hawaiian inspired - and now come to think of it, my first of three macadamia nut crusted main courses - a chicken dish. Table cloths over the tray table, real cutlery, something you don't get on charter flights or in coach.
The flight was at night, so it was time to get some sleep. This was a first for me - able to lie flat, with a blanket and pillow on a flight. We both put on our Ipods and it was quiet for a couple of hours.
The staff in the first class cabin was amazing. It was clear that they are comfortable with this LAX - Honolulu route - and the personal touches in this part of the plane were not lost on me. When the attendant asked me "what would you like for dinner tonight Ms. Silver?" I liked that.
It was a great experience and I am sure that the next time I see an opportunity like that on a long journey in my future - I will consider it again!
Stay tuned for more of my Hawaiian adventure!
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