here we go! Kona 2012

so here i start blogging about my foodie adventures from way back up to current, with pics of course! where do i start? we'll be visiting kona again next week, so i'll show how my trip went last year.

our first stop was the Manago Hotel restaurant. it's more of a "local" places because it's very old school & unpretentious. we always have the pork chops, classic. nowdays they offer gravy, mushrooms & onions, but i just like it straight up.

now that's some good comfort food! they serve side dishes which include rice & potato salad & whatever else they got. i've had canned corn, long rice to name a few, but part of the fun is finding out what side dishes come with your meal on that day.

i think i was on a gravy kick, so i wanted to try the hamburger steak. my friends have suggested the fried opelu which i will have to try next week.

our must have dinner in kona is the Hapuna Prince's Let's Go Crabbing friday night buffet. i'm not big into getting messy busting into crab for dinner, but my mom & sister love it & i love all the other stuff on the buffet besides the crab.

the carving station has prime rib & turkey. you can see the crab legs on the line. not shown is the fry station where they're cooking tempura & soft shell crabs. it's open air dining facing the ocean & i usually get a decent sunset view.

i like the soup of the day & the make your own caesar salad. of course the dessert selection is awesome too. you can make your own sundae & this time they had a hot apple crumble along with warm bread pudding.

which reminds me, i need to make my reservations for next week friday's dinner in kona!

for lunch on saturday, we were in Hilo. we ate at Verna's, a 24-hour plate lunch place. it was good! all the other customers were ordering the pastele plate. i got to try the pastele when we were in hilo in march 2013. it was good stuff if you like pastele. i really liked their chicken cutlet loco moco. my plate is on the left. it's a double loco moco = one hamburger & one chicken cutlet. my mom's plate is on the right, Kamuela combo = teri beef, fried noodles & salad.

we were back in kona for dinner & my mom wanted sansei during early bird happy hour. we ordered TOOO much food!!!

ok, it's been a while, so i don't remember exactly what all of this was, but i'll try my best. the first is their famous crab udon. my mom has been told this location makes this dish the best. it was very good, but i will have to research & try it in honolulu. haha! the next pic is some kind of fried spring roll. next is the ravioli with mushroom sauce. that was good! the calamari salad is after that. it's good at either location! my mom's favorite agedashi tofu which we must order whenever it's offered on the menu. we ordered 2 sushi rolls. my mom doesn't eat raw, so i think one is a soft shell crab roll & the other is a shrimp tempura roll. shrimp tempura is the 3rd to the last pic then the salmon salad. that was added to make us feel like we were eating healthy before the grand finale. dessert was fried ice cream. different take on the typical but it was very good! i'd advise going for happy hour because i'm always down for a discount!

of course we took home the good stuff! 

we LOVE these cookies!!! when comparing cookie for cookie against Big Island Candies, Mrs Barry's is the winner, hands down. her standard mix is good but there are cookies that you should try too. my mom's favorite is the coconut shortbread but she also likes the coffee one. it's a newer addition to their line up. my sister's favorite is their wedding (aka snowball) cookie. i'm a purist i guess, because i just like her plain mac nut shortbread or coconut shortbread. no chocolate dip for me, thanks. it's crisp & buttery. MMMM!!! we bring bags & bags of these home for friends & family. so much that we have to pre-order it on friday for pick-up on sunday before we fly home. that also gives us a chance to take a bag back to our condo to snack on over the weekend. 
two more great omiyage from big island is Holy Bakery Buttery Apple Pie found frozen in KTA markets and chocolates from Kailua Candy Company in the costco industrial area. we always bring a cooler that goes thru luggage to bring home the pies & chocolates. Kailua candy makes their chocolates on site & during the week you can watch them making different treats. they're known for the kona coffee swirls & honu, their version of a turtle with mac nuts, caramel & milk or dark chocolate.

another restaurant we always go to is the fish & chip shop in king's shops waikoloa. it's just a take away spot but it's good! i like their tartar sauce & the pineapple cole slaw. no pic this time, but i'll take more next week to do a blog update.