Kona 2013

it was another great time in Kona! we sure ate a lot & we went to a couple new places, so here's the update! 

we arrived so early, not many places were open for breakfast. i searched my Open Table app, not many places to choose from at 6am. we decided to try our usual omiyage place off Palani. Buns in the Sun is a small bakery with fresh bread, pastries & loaf cakes in the same shopping center as Sack N Save in Kona. We usually just pick up a few thing to take home, but this time we went for breakfast. 

that's my breakfast, biscuits & sausage gravy. not bad! i loved the frest biscuits. i also tried the fried rice with egg (meh). mom had a roast beef sandwich & sis had the breakfast croissant. they serve both breakfast & lunch all day. i'd probably get a non-breakfast sandwich if we came for breakfast again. 

now what else could we do to kill time?? we drove around checking out when the stores we like to shop at would open. first, the Spoon Shop, a little kitchen store with all kinds of knives, cooking tools, etc. yikes! they were out of business! thank goodness i went to read the sign on the door, they had moved to the Costco industrial area. whew!! then we went driving out to Captain Cook. Kona Gold Macadamia Outlet wasn't open yet. we checked out Ace Hardware & ChoiceMart since they were open, then headed out to Manago Hotel. alas, they were closed between breakfast & lunch. but across the street was a small farmers market, so we went to check it out. the mexican food booth looked good, but i was saving my stomach for pork chops! we stopped at a mac nut booth & the owner was cool. he had so many different flavors of mac nuts including dill pickle, bacon & cheddar, habenero & salted caramel. he had them all available to sample. yum! we got a few bags to take home & he also had ice cream cups. we shared vanilla mac nut, coffee mac nut & coconut. all were good, but the coffee was the BEST! and the mac nut ones had HUGE chunks of mac nuts. awesome!!! we did suggest that he add mac nuts to the coconut ice cream next time. mmmmm!

we also stopped at the Kona Chip shop next to Manago. they always have such good omiyage! finally the restaurant opened! i was ready for some pork chops!!!

these were the side dishes of the day. bean sprouts, mixed veggies, mac salad & rice.

we tried the opelu for the first time, not bad! of course, those are my pork chops. demolished those! i always love people watching at that restaurant. it's an interesting mix of locals & tourists. i wonder how tourists find out about Manago. 

it was off to the Costco industrial area before checking into the condo. our first stop was at Mrs Barry's Kona Cookies. man, we love this place. their cookies are so awesome!!! we have so many to take back for everyone, we have to pre-order for pickup on sunday before we fly out. we also get a bag to take back to the condo to snack on over the weekend. yay! 

next stop was the Kailua Chocolate Factory. their chocolates are SO good! then it was off to check out the Spoon Shop's new location. it was VERY nice!!! i love looking at the different Kitchen Aid attachments. they're also in the process of building a kitchen so they can hold cooking classes! how awesome is that?? maybe we can take a class next year!

this year, we tried out the Colony Villas in waikoloa instead of our usual Fairway Villas. it was ok. i prefer FV for sure. CV are all two story units, so i have to lug our huge suitcase upstairs. yuck. plus the units are so hot!!! it has central air, but it doesn't go below 70. the ceiling fan in the living room is ineffective. bummers. my vote is for FV next year!

dinner was at Hapuna Prince "Let's Go Crabbing" buffet. fridays only. it's so good! always a nice view & everyone is so friendly.

i love catching the sunset here!

 

tempura station with soft shell crab & veggies: eggplant, asparagus, carrot, onion. mmmm!

the hot stuff far left, middle is salad/cold stuff & right side is clams & mussels in sake broth, corn & crab bisque and make-your-own caesar salad. delish!!!

carving station with turkey & prime rib. the prime rib is always so yummy!

 of couse i had to have dessert. here's the topping bar for the make-your-own sundaes. they had mac nut, strawberry, chocolate & some mystery flavor of ice cream. i should've gone with the mac nut. i assumed the 4th one was vanilla, but it was a weird yellow color & had that freezer burned sticky layer that got into my bowl. sadness.

more desserts.

so happy they had the apple crisp again! it was SOOOOOO ono!!!!

sister's dessert with apple crisp, mac nut brownie, mac nut ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream & mac nuts. so good! can you tell she likes mac nuts?

it was an early night, since we had to be on the road early to drive out to Hilo. at least 2 hours. i still woke up early & had a snack before heading out.

happiness! coconut shortbread, mac nut shortbread & hawaiian wedding cookie with a big glass of milk. yay! perfect start to my day!

for years, we've trekked out to Waimea for the farmers market at Kamehameha schools. we like it there & have tried many yummy goodies. in Hawaiian Airlines Hana Hou magazine, i read an article about a bread maker that sells his products at the Waimea farmers market. huh? i never saw him there! we went & looked for him after that, but never saw him. so this year i did my research & discovered there's another farmers market on saturday off the main road that we've never seen! it's at Parker School. after some mapping & more research, we finally made it there. it's a lot smaller, but it was a nice change. we found the bread guy! sandwich isles baking had a HUGE booth with cookies, bread loaves, croissants & turnovers. i couldn't decide!!! we got some lavosh to take home along with a sourdough multi-grain loaf. 

 for breakfast we each had a ham & cheese croissant. very flaky! mmmm!!!

then we shared a strawberry rhubarb & italian cherry turnover. what is italian cherry? it was a mix of amaretto cherries, sweet cherries & tart cherries. oh yes please! that was DIVINE!!! omg! i was tempted to go back & buy more, but we still had a lot more eating to do, so we'll get more next year. now that we know where that farmers market is, we can't wait to go back! we also took home fresh chorizo & fresh pasta. can't wait to cook those up this week.

then we were off to Hilo. 90 minutes later we were at the farmers market by the bay. we got good parking on Mamo St & walked around town after the market.

we got a snack at Two Ladies Kitchen. i had absolutely awful service a couple years ago & had not gone back since then, but mom & sis wanted to try their new mochi flavors. 

so we got poha (yellow ones in the upper left corner) & grape. both were the whole fruit (poha berry or red flame seedless grape), covered with a thin layer of white an (lima bean paste) then covered with mochi. i only wanted the grape one. it was ok. i'm still not a fan, but obviously many people are because the line was non-stop. fyi, they're closed sunday thru tuesday. they do sell a mixed pack at most KTAs if you can't make it to their shop.

we then went looking for lunch. it was a toss up between the mexican place or the mediterranean one. Kristal spoke of the mexican one, so that's where we ended up. guess we went at a good time, because it wasn't crowded. Lucy's Taqueria is counter service & you bus your own tables. it was GOOD!!!

yay for Lucy's!!! they also seem to really support the roller derby community here, so that's even cooler!

free chips & salsa! there's also a salsa bar with three different salsas, jalapenos, cilantro & onions and lime wedges. yayer!

mom's kupuna enchilada. pretty good! think she got it with shredded chicken. it came with a drink too!

my taquitos with carnitas & chicken. i was surprised it didn't come with rice & beans like mom's plate, but that would be extra & mom said the rice was meh. why is it so difficult to find good mexican rice in Hawaii??? the best i ever had was in Florida, Disneyworld!

sister's mulitas with chorizo, carne asada & carnitas. it was little tortilla sandwiches fried on the flattop til crispy. not bad! she said the best filling was chorizo. again it didn't come with rice & beans, but that was ok. it kept us from being overstuffed! i was glad i didn't opt for their burrito. other customers had it & it was unbelieveably huge. it would've been something the three of us could've shared! but the food was good, so i'd like to go back there if we were in Hilo again. 

we did a little more shopping & found that right across from where we parked, there was a shave ice shop. we love shave ice, so had to check it out.

this was the first time i ever heard of Wilson's by the Bay. it's a very small menu 3 different sizes or the deluxe comes with ice cream and/or azuki beans. we always have to have ice cream in shave ice so we got the deluxe & found out you can have it in any of the 3 sizes (keiki, small or regular). of course, we choose regular. why not get the most for your money.

THIS IS THE REGULAR. wtf??? it was at tall as my face! this is mom's with root beer syrup. i was sure no single person could finish it. she said the ice was just how we like it, nice & soft. not hard & crunchy like a snowcone. we also found out from another local customer that they make all their own syrup. how cool!!!

sister's with pineapple, lychee &... guava? i can't remember her 3rd flavor. but they both ate it all!!! it was only $4 each, tax included. that's a good deal for a giant shave ice! my family in LA love shave ice, so i had to make sure they saw these pics on instagram. haha!

then it was back to Kona for dinner. i was really looking forward to it! we were trying Three Fat Pigs at Kings Shops. it's a restaurant by Ippy, a local boy that was a contestant on Next Food Network Star. 

 

cute, the handles on the front door are piggies. it was very nice inside! bathroom decor & a painting was Pier1, woo!

mushroom salad: warm hamakua mushrooms in a vinaigrette with baby greens. tasty!

our favorite! charcuterie!!! you actually build your own & they charge you per item. we went with two salamis & the sausage, lemon scented ricotta, angry strawberry jam & yuzu marmalade. there were 2 meats, 4 cheeses, 3 pickled things & 2 preserves we didn't try. maybe next time! the salamis were delish! the sausage was on the mild side. the ricotta was fab, especially smeared on the crostini with the jam/marmalade on it. omg! so good! we even got a second plate of crostini. yummers! i did find it sad that the servers had no idea what they were serving on the platter, tho. i asked & got two different answers. very odd.

my braised pork belly entree. it's all ala carte. it was ok, but the fat on it was just too rich for me. i ate one piece & left the rest for sister. it kinda turned me off to fatty oily stuff.

sister's pork "porterhouse". it was ok. it needed some sauce or something! kinda dry. they did offer toppers for their steaks, it would've been nice to have been offered that add-on by our server. she did seem kinda MIA most of the time. we had to flag down other servers for drink refills, etc. luckily we had leftover strawberry jam & yuzu marmalade that she used to choke down the rest of the pork. i had thought with "pig" in their restaurant name, their specialties would've been the pork entrees. not so much. i'll try the steak the next time, but if it's like their pork, i won't be back.

 

mom's linguine with white clam sauce. now THAT entree was worth it. not only clams in shell, but loads of clams in the sauce. awesome! 

corn on the cob. buttery!

brussel sprouts. meh. maybe the collared greens or sauerkraut next time! we didn't have dessert. i really wanted to like it here. you know, support local businesses. maybe my expectations were too high?

we were flying home on sunday, so there was a lot of packing on saturday night. we had to have our favorite fish & chips, so we went there after we checked out of the condo.

i always forget the name of the fish & chip shop in Kings Shops. it's right behind Tommy Bahama. it's just a little take away counter. we eat facing the water.

i just stuck with regular fish & chips. sis added coconut shrimp to hers & mom added calamari. i especially like their spicy malt vinegar. mmm! and their pineapple cole slaw is so good! i'm not usually a cole slaw fan, but their is delish!

banana fritters were good too. i consider them lumpia, but maybe that's too exotic for the tourists. by either name, it's yummy!

we had a great time in Kona & can't wait to return next year. 

Ice Garden.. how much longer can they keep going??

i really love shave ice. it's a simple treat that is very satisfying. i've done the Matsumoto's although i still think Aoki's is better. since being diagnosed with diabetes, i tried to switch to sugar-free syrup, no so great. a shop in Maui's sugar-free version tasted like dirt, which i assumed meant the fake sugar got too old. sad. then i tried another sugar-free syrup & it melted like crazy. i drank as fast as i could, but there was red ice water pouring from the paper cone cup & spilling onto my hand until it was gone. everyone else that got regular syrup could eat theirs at a normal pace, so i could only guess it was my syrup that caused the fast-melting. now i only have shave ice once in a while & i've really learned to savor it. i don't waste time trying to check out new places that serve it, i go straight to Ice Garden in Aiea.

My family in LA will also swear that Ice Garden is the best shave ice. it's a different style than Matsumoto's, but i like it much better. my aunt is a stickler for how the ice is shaved. it has to be fine & soft. packing it into a paper cone cup can make the ice hard, but IG serves theirs in a foam bowl. that leaves room for lots of toppings besides flavored syrup. i'm a fan of their pudding which is like a flan. it's surprising because i don't like eggy things, but i'm good with this pudding concoction. i get their #7 (two puddings, mochi balls, evaporated milk, simple syrup) add ice cream. even if i get brave & try a different combo, i always add a pudding. i did try their combo (can't remember what number it is on their picture board) with azuki beans, tapioca, green beans & peanuts. wow! that was good too. most of the time i stick with my #7. my sis likes the taro one with mochi balls add pudding.

shave ice awesomeness in aiea shopping center, 2nd floor, same level as McDonalds. 

taro share ice with mochi balls, evaporated milk, simple syrup & pudding.

pudding shave ice with mochi balls, evaporated milk, simple syrup & ice cream.

yum! we always send pics like this to my LA family or post it on Instagram & tag them. haha! they're on a mission to have IG when they're in hawaii. 

the part that worries me is that it's operated by two little old asian ladies. i'm talking grandmas & i wonder how long can they keep this up? they're open 7 days a week from 10am or noon until 4 or 5pm. i know they make their own pudding & i assume all the cooked toppings like tapioca, oatmeal etc. i've even been there one day where they ran out of pudding!!! the 4 groups before i ordered & the 3 groups after me all had pudding on their orders, so it eventually ran out. shocking!!! i'm just glad i got mine. idk if it would've been the same without it!

Hawaii's Crab in a Bag trend

i've always seen ads on cable tv for Joe's Crab Shack. it sounds so cool to have a bucket of seafood brought to your table where you pour it out & go at it! bare hands & a plastic bib to protect your shirt are all you need. i'm happy to say that Hawaii finally got similar concept restaurants started here.

our first taste of this messy deliciousness was at Crab City for dinner. we did hear the wait can be long (over 1 hour) and parking sucks. it's affiliated with JJ's french bistro. we found street parking a couple blocks away & our wait time was about 35 minutes. since we were there within the grand opening period, it was BYOB. i think they've since obtained their liquor license. they offer seafood by the pound (snow crab, king crab, shrimp, clams, mussels, lobster etc) or you can order a combo. three of us were dining so we went for the combo bag which included crawfish, shrimp, clams, mussels, potato, corn cobettes, sausage with snow crab (they also offer it with dungeness or king crab). we were also able to choose our seasoning in different heat levels. we went with the garlic butter medium heat. it was tasty! we also tried a side of sausage, chowder, fried oysters. the best part was we could buy french bread (i'm assuming it's from JJ's) to sop up all the sauce. OMG!!! so yummy!!! we didn't know that the side of sausage could also be seasoned anyway you want. the server brought it with cajun medium seasoning on it just so we could try it. wow!! that was good stuff too. i think we ate two french rolls each just scooping up all the sauce. MMMM!!!

side sausage with cajun seasoning medium. definite re-order next time.

our combo bag with garlic butter medium seasoning. oh yeah, we also loved the simple seasoning of salt & fresh lime juice to dip the seafood in. who knew something so simple would be so tasty?!


my next try at crab in bag was at Ragin' Crab on Keeaumoku for Tammy's birthday. it was a mix of people so some had their own bag & another who doesn't eat seafood just went with chicken wings. sadly, they didn't offer bread as a starch option. one of my friends was fine with that because she dumped her bowl of rice into her bag & ate it from there. haha! the combo i shared with the birthday girl was with dungeness, clams, mussels, shrimp etc. the seasoning was on the mild side for me. it was good to experience & compare.

birthday girl ready to attack some crab.

the victim & the victor. we did have to wait a little for a table & it was packed & of course parking was not easy to find in that area.


we heard that Willows opened their own crab place so we went to check it out. it's Karai Crab next to Willows & you can park in the same lot. we went on a weeknight so it wasn't busy at all! yay! actually we were the only people in the restaurant. we went with another combo snow crab, mussels, shrimp, kukui sausage, potatoes, clams & crawfish with their Karai Special seasoning (combo of cajun & garlic butter) medium heat level. we had to try their garlic bread & bacon jalapeno cornbread. i think we also had fried catfish & fries. what's different was the seafood came in a bowl, not a bag. i didn't feel we had enough sauce.

 cute bib! they also had temporary tattoos.

mmmm! that was some yummy garlic bread! yes, that's butter melting off of it.

 fried catfish with a yummy remoulade & fries.

our combo with snow crab, but where's the sauce?? bacon jalapeno cornbread on the side. it was ok there. glad we didn't have to wait. best thing: garlic bread, everything else was meh.

the latest crab place opened in my hood! hooray! Cajun King is in Waimalu Shopping Center across from Best Buy on Kamehameha Highway. we had to try it! parking in that shopping center can be a pain. there's lots of restaurants so it gets very crowded. we went early & luckily found parking without hassles. it wasn't too busy yet, so we were seated immediately. we were set on a combo, but couldn't decide on the seasoning. my mom can't handle spicy but my sis & i wanted at least medium. the server suggested we get the combo with mild heat & a side of the medium heat sauce. yay! problem solved. we also ordered an extra side of sausage. what makes this crab place different from others is that they offer seafood chinese style. like salt & pepper shrimp or lobster and black bean clams or scallops. cool. we tried the black bean clams. very tasty!!! sadly, they only serve rice or fries, no bread. i wonder if we could bring our own??

 our tools of mass destruction.

combo with snow crab, shrimp, crawfish, clams, mussels, potatoes, corn & sausage with cajun/garlic butter seasoning mild heat.

black bean clams! 

a mussel from the combo bag dipped in the side of cajun/garlic butter seasoning medium heat. wow! so yummy!!! we dipped everything in that sauce! sausages, potatoes, clams were taken to the next level with this sauce. we even took home the leftover sauce. the next day i cooked up some gouveia portuguese sausage & poured the leftover sauce into the pan to coat the sausages. OMG!!! so so good!!! i wonder if i can just keep buying the sauce for myself?? ok the other weird thing was that they serve rice but no utensils. the man on the table next to us cavemanned it by scooping it out of the bowl with his hand and shoveling it into his mouth. ack! being a group of three ladies, we had to find a better way. my sis scooped out a bite size portion & shaped it into a rice ball that she popped into her mouth. haha! classy! they're also supposed to have lunch specials here, but we haven't checked that out yet.


we've not gone back to any of these crab places for a re-try. but i would like to go back to Crab City most of all. i want to try their cajun medium in a combo bag with lots of french bread for dipping. if Cajun King let us bring our own bread to dip, they'd be on the re-try list fo'sure.