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Thursday, August 17, 2017

even more good o'ahu eating

before we left for hawaii, i'd gone on a hunt for a photographer to do a family shoot for us while we were in the islands.  i went back and forth with a few of them, but because i'd waited till the last minute most of them were either booked, on vacation or simply unavailable on the days i was looking for.  oh well.

but then when we checked into the surfrider, the girls and i found ourselves sitting next to a desk where a couple was viewing photos on a computer and realized that the resort had a photographer that we could book for a quick 20-30 minute shoot on the beach and around the property.  with no session fee, a complimentary print and options to purchase either prints or digital photos, we decided to go for it.

as for attire, the hub had two really nice hawaiian shirts that he'd packed for dinners.  and so the girls and i decided to hit up the abc store (and checked out target when we were there) to find some simple little dresses.  we'd chosen a morning shoot to try and limit the number of beachgoers in the background, and while the hub grabbed some coffee we got ourselves dressed and ready to go.


this is the shot that the photographer chose for our complimentary print:


the rest of them will have to wait till we get our christmas cards out.  i know you're so bummed.  heh.

we decided to head over to the royal hawaiian hotel to grab some breakfast.  the hub had been to the bakery there (which was also on our honolulu list) a couple of times earlier in the week, and i wanted to check it out since he said it was really good.  not to mention, the hotel is so pretty.  it's pink everywhere. the grounds here are gorgeous, and the resort overall just seemed more open and spacious than the surfrider.




the old lady spied these immediately and had to have one.  i'm not a huge coconut fan, but i had to agree that this snowball was fluffy, light and delicious.



we decided to hit up another spot on our list for lunch that day - gina's bbq.  we ordered the recommended korean plate lunches and giggled at the super grumpy older lady behind the counter who could barely contain her annoyance as other customers came in and asked a bazillion questions.


and then because the bean couldn't really find anything on that menu that appealed to her, we drove about a mile away to another spot we'd earmarked as essential.  this is ahi assassins, where they go out and catch all of the fish for the day that morning, come back and get everything all ready and then close up shop as soon as the fish runs out.  super duper fresh, and the bean was super duper excited for some delicious poke.




we made just one more stop before we headed back to the hotel...this one is also technically on the list but hadn't originally been on OUR list.  mmmm, malasadas.






we took all the grub back to the hotel, where we had an umbrella and chairs reserved on the beach, and enjoyed a nice little picnic lunch.



before heading out to ala moana center to do a little window shopping and walking, we stopped briefly to watch the drummers do a special performance in the banyan courtyard.


those silly glasses that the bean has been wearing nonstop are from claire's, purchased with some of her vacation allowance that she'd been hoarding since we landed.


alas, my vacation allowance wasn't sufficient to cover what i had my eye on.  heh.


the girls had been craving some italian food after all the hawaiian and asian meals we'd been eating all week, and so the hub did a little yelping and got us a reservation at bernini, a little spot within walking distance of the mall.  the chef here received his training in japan and is known for authentic italian cuisine, which he brought here to honolulu.




starters included toasted bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a seared filet and arugula salad and a classic caprese.




and then we enjoyed the beef ragu rigatoni, chicken carbonara, prosciutto and mascarpone pizza and amatriciana.



back at the hotel, i dug into one of those dobash-filled malasada puffs and called it a night.


whew.  this was one good eating trip, yeah?

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