On Sunday I was in the mood for some home cookin’ so I took a shot at making my mom’s Moo Paloh. It’s basically pork, hard-boiled egg, and mustard greens stewed in a sweet/savory broth served over rice. In addition to this dish, I made my favorite pork-stuffed cucumber soup and Jes cooked up the remaining mustard greens with the pork that I pulled out of the soup’s broth.
Paired with our 2003 Nickel & Nickel Chardonnay and it was a yummy Sunday dinner. The Moo Paloh didn’t come out as good as my mom’s but it was good enough for my first try.
We’re back from Hawaii and we truly made the most of our last full day. Yesterday I woke up early and headed out to Starbucks for a quiet morning with a cup of coffee and free internet. Jes got to sleep in and I watched the rain come down. By the time Jes woke up, it had stopped raining and we were ready to take on a full day of chillin’ before catching our red-eye flight the same evening.
Breakfast was at a place called Eggs ‘n’ Things. There was a very large out front and we ended up waiting about an hour for a table for 2. Luckily the wait was worth it. I had a scrumptious coconut waffle that was made super thin with just the right amount of crunch and chewiness. To make it even tastier I dipped the waffle in coconut syrup and guava syrup. MMMM…
The rest of the day was spent at the beachside bar. We snagged a table with a good view of the beach and watched the sunbathers get soaked by an unpredictably high tide. The waves were extra active that afternoon and it looked like a lot of fun. We didn’t go in that afternoon since we had already checked out of our hotel room. It was still fun watching though. By the way, you like my new floppy hat? It’s dorky but totally saved my face and ears.
We met up with Yoon for ramen around 1:15 and then headed back to the hotel for some more people watching and a refreshing beverage. We sat and sat and sat until the sun went down. It was so nice to be able to do that with nothing better to do.
We eventually made it over to a cute little Japanese place that served really traditional items including the most amazing broth I had ever tasted. It was so rich that it was served in a tiny tiny bowl.
Yoon later picked us up from the hotel and we caught out 11 pm flight home. We were sad to leave but also had a wonderful time. Sometimes 4 days in Hawaii is all you need to rest and reset.
Today is the first day of summer and we are having a great time here in Hawaii. To celebrate the longest day of the year, Jes went out for his first surfing lesson this morning. He took a one-hour lesson and caught 3 waves! He had a good time but was pooped out by the end.
We just got back from a day at the pool and we’re heading out for a cheesy luau at Germaine’s. Jes is looking forward to seeing some dancing coconuts and eating kalua pork.
On Sunday morning, I was up by 5:45 am again and took a little stroll down to the beach to watch the surfers. Once Jes woke up, we headed down for breakfast at the Beachhouse and then over to the towel hut for a day at the beach. We rented an umbrella for the day and it was totally worth it. They set us up with two beach chairs and plenty of towels. We were there from around 9:00 am and had it to ourselves until 5:30! So we lazied around in the sun and then under the umbrella and then back in the sun. We’d take a few dips in the ocean to cool off and then go back to the umbrella. What fun! By 10:30, the poolside bar was open and the number tag on our umbrella was flipped over as a signal to the waiter that we needed assistance. We sat for another hour with drinks on the side table until it was time for lunch.
For lunch we walked over to Ramen Nakamura, Jes’ favorite ramen place, and stuffed ourselves silly. We browsed through some of the stores on the way back to the hotel, gathered up our belongings from our room, and headed back to the umbrella. Ah…it was just sitting there waiting for us. How nice.
We spent another couple hours in our chairs until Yoon and her friend came by to join us. We asked for two more chairs and the four of us just hung out watching the people on the beach. Jes also had fun floating in the waves and I bobbed up and down in the water with my waterproof camera watching all the activity around me.
At the end of the afternoon, Yoon took us for a drive up the coast to see China Wall. It’s actually called Koko Mini Beach Park and it had a spectacular view. We carefully walked down the rocky steps to a flat area just along the crashing waves.
There’s a series of cut-up rocks and walls that make the water swirl violently in the middle and then crash up against the walls. It was pretty fun to watch!
We drove farther up the coast to find a few other pretty places to take photos and then headed back to town.
Dinner was at Azure inside the Royal Hawaiian. We had their tasting menu and I really enjoyed all of the items, well, maybe except for the veal. Poor baby cow… By the end of the night, we were pooped and asleep by 11. It was yet another good day on the rock. Umbrella day was fun.
Aloha! Jes and I are on our annual long weekend in Hawaii and it’s gorgeous out here. We flew out on Friday night and arrived around 10pm HST with Yoon picking us up. We were starving so we stopped at a local sports bar that served a tasty BBQ pork loco moco and salt and pepper shrimp. We stayed at the Sheraton the first night since the Moana was sold out that night and got upgraded to their deluxe ocean view room overlooking the Moana. Yippee!
On Saturday am, we lazied around and had the requisite McDonald’s spam, eggs, and rice platter with a side of fresh pineapple. Ah…what a great way to start the day. I also ended up taking two naps before 11am. Boy, I must have really needed this vacation.
By 11:30, Yoon came by to pick up Jes. She hooked him up with a friend that needed crew for a sailing race in Kaneohe Bay. Nice! So I stayed behind and did some shopping, had Yoon’s favorite kim chee fried rice from Choi’s Kitchen, and took another nap.
Dinner was at Orchids and we had some tasty local fish there. By the end of the night we were both passed out by 9:30. It was certainly a good first day of our vacation.
After 3 weeks of sitting in a dark bar surrounded by LA haters and countless fried zucchini chips, I am one happy camper. LAKERS WON THEIR 16th NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Victor and I (a.k.a. 6th Man) have put a lot of hard work into this series and it paid off. We’ve endured night after night of being outnumbered by Giants fans (aka anti-LA fans). There’s just something so sweet and extra-satisfying about watching the Lakers win in SF.
I was so nervous today at work and hustled to get home early enough to get to Pete’s for one last time this season. It was packed and we got a good corner of the bar for our group of 15. Fortunately for us the number of Lakers fans was comparable to the number of people rooting for the Celtics.
It was such as stressful game and I still have a tummy ache from the game 2 hours later. Artest’s after-game interview was so cute. He really pulled the team through this game and he was as giddy as a little kid at Disneyland. Maybe I’ll have to get a jersey with the number 37. Great job, Lake Show. See you next year for a 3-peat.
Here’s a little video clip of the minutes after we won:
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