Waikiki

 I flew out to Honolulu for a quick weekend vacation for a friend. The friend had never visited Hawaii so we decided to make a weekend of it. I booked a flight on United and checked into the Lagoon Tower by Hilton Grand Vacations Club. We actually lucked out and was able to knock out my friend's desire to see a luau. Our bedroom balcony faced the lawn at the Hilton and we were able to watch the performance from our balcony and enjoyed dinner in our room. 

Activities

Diamond Head Crater Hike - As part of the introduction to Oahu tour, we went to the Diamond Head trail to check out the views of Waikiki. You do have to buy tickets to enter the national park so I opted for the first hour ticket. The timing is essential because the weather can get quite hot and there is no shade. The plan was to take a cab to Diamond Head and then walk down the crater and through the neighborhood and back to Waikiki/hotel. It took most of the day but the beer crawl was fun. :)

Dining

Bogart's Cafe - Known for its pancakes, my group enjoyed their breakfast entrees after our morning hike to Diamond Head.

Leonard's - Grabbed a dozen of malasadas for the weekend.

Musubi Iyasume - Picked up a number of favorite musubis specifically the spicy fried chicken and eel.

Liliha Bakery - Picked up a local favorite for my friend to try.

Kona Coffee Purveyors - My favorite koignn amman bakery.

Momosan Waikiki - For the weekend, there was a celebration happening and the boulevard was going to be closed down for the parade. So after walking around Waikiki, stopped into Momsan for an afternoon break and watch some of the parade before walking down the street fair. The street fair itself was too crowded for my taste and I opted walking back to the hotel.

Alley Restaurant Bar & Grill - Ordered my favorite fried chicken plate.

Poke Fix Hawaii - located at 334 Seaside Ave Ste 108 Honolulu, HI 96815, I grabbed a bowl for dinner later after the walk from Diamond Head. For the price point, I would try another place or the supermarket poke.

Nene Goose Bakery - located 1090 Keolu Dr Ste 111 Kailua, HI 96734, I checked out this longtime bakery on the north side of the island. It was end of the day so there wasn't much in the case but the owner was nice. She clearly has been in business for a long time and I hope the small amount of business I brought was helpful.

Goen Dining + Bar - I learned that Roy Yamaguchi opened a casual eatery and I wanted to check it out. I ordered the salmon with squid ink and the basque cheesecake. Both were good and the menu reminded me of the early days of Roy's menu items/price points.

Goen Dining Basque Cheesecake

Goen Dining Squid Ink with Salmon


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