Hawaii: Everything you Must know

There are a few things that Kaitlin recommends to eat if you are traveling to Hawaii this season. They all sound so delicious I just don’t know where to start.

Pass on the hotel luau and go to Helena’s Hawaiian Food. Pretty much everything here is a must try, but if I have to be specific get the squid luau, butterfish collar, pipkaula (short ribs), poi (pounded taro), lomilomi salmon (diced salmon, tomatoes and onions) and some haupia (coconut dessert).

 1240 N. School St. Honolulu HI 96817

 Another must try is poke, pronounced poh-keh, which is raw fish diced up and typically dressed with shoyu, green onions, Hawaiian sea salt, chili pepper flakes and ogo. Try The Poke Bowl or a local grocery store.

 

 

 

 

 

 Snack on this: li hing mui manoges, kakimochi, dried squid and rock salt plum. Get this and more at Wholesale Unlimited.

 Malasadas, originally a Portuguese dessert, has become a mainstay in our local culture and a huge crowd pleaser. Balls of dough are fried, which make them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and then covered with sugar. My top pick is Champion Malasadas. 

This is a fantastic guide for shopping in Oahu.

Hawaii

 

 

 

 

Amuse Wine Bar | 1250 Kapi‘olani Boulevard Honolulu HI 96814 |

 

 

Amuse Wine Bar

Remember when you would go crazy at the self-serve soda fountains when you were a kid?  Well, this time around your older and it involves wine!  At Amuse Wine Bar, located in the stylish Honolulu Design Center, you receive a card that keeps track of your drinking, browse through their selection of over 80 wines and fill your glasses up yourself, ounce by ounce. Aren’t we all grown up and fancy now?

 

 

 

Mai Tais | 1450 Ala Moana Boulevard #3247 Honolulu HI 98814 | (808) 947-2900

Mai Tais

Mai Tais, an island style, open-air bar, is conveniently located in Ala Moana Shopping Center, the world’s largest outdoor mall.  This makes for a great pit stop in between all your shopping or a laidback pau hana (after work) hangout that features live local musicians every night.

 

 

 Jewel or Juice | 3619 Wai‘alae Avenue Honolulu HI 96819 |

 

 

 

 

My favorite smoothie here is the green tea azuki, which has azuki beans, green tea powder, organic soymilk, nonfat frozen yogurt and honey.  A few of Jewel or Juice’s other unique combinations include peach lychee and coconut ginger.  The one really worth trying that you probably won’t find anywhere else though, is the li hing mui pineapple smoothie.  Li hing mui is made from dried plums and is salty, sweet and sour all at once – it’ll get your saliva flowing!

 

 

Oh, and did I mention they also sell beads here?

Hawaii: Must Pack

There are some obvious choices to pack when going to Hawaii for vacation, but here are a few that just can’t be missed.

Packing:

Slippers

Sunscreen

Bathing suit

Shorts

Good walking shoes

Slipper Options:

J Crew Patent Knotted Capri Sandals

Swimwear:

Missoni: Cadence Bathing Suit

Salt Swimwer: Sienna One Piece

Shorts:

With Hearts in my Eyes: Denim High Waisted Shorts

Surface to Air: Belt Short

Johnson: Silk Shorts

Good Walking Shoes:

Built by Wendy: Dressage Boots

See by Chloe: Patent Woven Sandals

Hawaii

Catherine’s Closet | 2733 E. Mānoa Road, Suite 204, Honolulu HI, 96822 |

You never know what you’ll uncover at Catherine’s Closet, and that’s exactly why I love this authentic vintage boutique so much – I come out with something I never knew I needed and absolutely adore!

Her hat collection is particularly drool worthy. My all time favorite purchase from Catherine was a vintage derby by New York Hat Co. Who knew you’d find such amazingness in Hawai‘i?

Cottage by the Sea | Ward Warehouse 1015 Ala Moana Blvd. #4, Honolulu, HI, 96814 |

This quaint boutique has a great selection of silver jewelry made by smaller designers that work closely with their own creations.  They also carry cotton jersey pieces, perfect for our warm weather, from brands like Velvet and Ella Moss, along with doggie accessories, colorful tote bags, and cook books.

This is my most recent piece of jewelry, a Christmas present, from their boutique.

Kapi‘olani Community College Farmer’s Market | Kapi‘olani Community College 4303 Diamond Head Road Honolulu HI 96816 | Saturdays 7:30-11:00am |

This once a week farmer’s market is my favorite place to buy produce from and the best way to spend a Saturday morning.  You can start off with a cup of fresh Kona coffee, conveniently located at the entrance, and then walk through the rows of over 50 vendors.

After supporting our local farmers, the next best thing about this farmer’s market is the variety of snacks and meals – fresh strawberry mochi, kālua pork nachos, paniolo popcorn, and my two personal favorites: smoked salmon fried rice from ‘Ohana Seafood and smoked taro limu poke from Taro Delights.  Yum, or as we say in Hawai‘i – ‘ono!

Hawaii

Well Bento | 2750 S. Beretania, Suite 204, Honolulu, HI 96826 |

Avoid all the heart clogging plate lunches Hawai‘i has to offer and head straight to Well Bento.  The owners Todd, an Iron Chef Hawai‘i winner, and Kristine Brown, a certified nutritionist, cook up the freshest and healthiest plate lunches you’ll ever eat. I’m a creature of habit and always get the Zen Macrobiotic, packed with brown rice, tahini gravy, fresh veggies, beans, potatoes, mayo-free macaroni salad and coleslaw.  And vegetarian isn’t all they do – my meat loving friends crave their steaks!

Delicious and filling to the very last bite!

 

 JJ Bistro and French Pastry | 3447 Wai‘alae Avenue Honolulu HI 96816 |

 

 

The decor of this French-Laotian restaurant – an Eiffel Tower archway, Asian trinkets and Egyptian figures – is only a hint of what’s to come from its kitchen. 

 

Their set four course meals for $24.70 is the perfect way to plan your dinner out. My favorite option comes with asparagus soup, baked lobster on French bread and their Fisherman Potpie, which includes salmon, bamboo shoots and zucchini in a green curry sauce.

 

And last, but definitely not least here, is dessert! The aforementioned portions aren’t huge, so don’t worry you’ll still have room – if not your stomach will make room once you set your eyes on their dessert case.  Highly recommended are their chocolate pyramid and chocolate liliko‘i desserts!

Hawaii

Ka‘iwi Scenic Shoreline | Kalani‘anaole Highway

Sure there’s the marked trail that takes you on a hike to some spectacular aerial views. But what most people won’t tell you is that there is another path that leads you to a secret beach. At the request of many of my local friends, I won’t give away too much besides these two pictures and two tips.

Tip 1: The trail is off to the right of the parking lot.

Tip 2: If you get to the black sand, you’re almost there.

Diamond Head Lookout | Diamond Head Road

Diamond Head

After a run around Kapi‘olani Park, I love walking up to this lookout to catch my breath. The seemingly endless Pacific Ocean paired with the gentle tradewinds is incredibly soothing – I could sit here for hours!

Beautiful!

The lookout at sunset is also not to be missed. And this place isn’t hard to find, if you’re coming from Waikiki, just drive up Diamond Head Road and look for people gawking.

Pipeline

If you visit Hawai‘i during the winter, when the waves on the North Shore reach its peak, be sure to drive down to Pipeline and check it out!

There are lots of places to see, eat and shop at in this surf town, so stay the whole day!

Hawaii

Hawai‘i Prince Hotel | 100 Holomoana Street Honolulu HI 96815 |

Hawaii Prince Hotel

If you don’t want to get caught in the middle of busy Waikīkī, the luxurious Hawai‘i Prince is a great option because of its location at the entrance of Waikīkī.

Their spacious two bedroom Prince suites are ideal for larger parties. And when I say parties, I mean it. I’ve had friends rent out these suites to have a bunch of people over and it can fit a lot of people! Anyways, parties aside, this hotel is a classy choice!

Sheraton Waikīkī | 2255 Kalākaua Avenue Honolulu HI 96815 |

Sherton Waikiki

This past July, my family stayed at the Sheraton Waikīkī where my stepsister’s wedding was held. I’ve been to the hotel’s ballroom for many other occasions, including my senior prom, but this was my first time as a guest in their rooms and I was really impressed!

Room at Sheraton

The rooms had clean lines, modern touches and weren’t too stuffy. The best part was the shutters in the bathroom that opened up to the living room – awkward, yet highly entertaining! The hotel is also close to lots of hip eateries Doraku Sushi and stores In4mation that you can cool off in after a long day in the sun

Hawaii

I am very pleased to be back after a long and hard week of being sick and working way too much. This week we will be visiting HAWAII!!

I am so thrilled to have Katlin from Urple giving us the low down on what there is to do while traveling in Honolulu, Hawaii

Aloha, folks! My name is Katlin and as you can tell by my photo, I get really excited about good food and even better company! I was born and raised in Hawai’i – on the island of ‘Oahu to be more exact – and am very fortunate to call this place home. Currently, I am a student at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and have my own blog, Urple. I’m a lover of shorts, sushi and smiles and I’m stoked to be sharing the island of ‘Oahu with you!

Kaitlin