JohnnyColombia

Ok thanks for the heads up folks.

Right I called AA and decided to move myself to the Sheraton Princess Kailulani Waikiki Beach Resort which is the longest hotel name I have ever seen but in the spirit of FlyerTalk I will earn myself about 1500 SPG points which will give me 3000 LANpass kms

Anyway back to food.

Any more suggestions?

KenfromDE

Now you're talking. The Sheraton Princess Kailulani Waikiki Beach Resort is right in the middle of the action and safe. Sorry I don't have any hole in the wall gems, but ........... Your hotel has a rather good buffet with Hawaiian and contemporary entertainment. A few local dishes are on the buffet. It is sort of open so at the very least you could take pictures w/o paying. http://www.princess-kaiulani.com/pdf...3201-FINAL.pdf A block up the street in the basement of the Hyatt is the Seafood Village which is said to be one of the best 10 Chinese restaurants in the US. Have never had a bad meal there. http://seafoodvillagehyatt.com/seafoodvillagehome.html Plate lunches (or for dinner) are common in Hawaii. A large assortment can be found in the International Market Place, one block down the street. http://www.internationalmarketplacewaikiki.com/
One of the least expensive plate lunches is at Blazin Steaks, catty cornered from the rear Diamond Head side of the Hyatt. http://www.blazinwaikiki.com/ Say hello to Joe who plays the violin most Sat. evenings in the pavilion closest to the police station. And ENJOY!!!!!!!!! Aloha Ken

slick828

The other hotel on Niu St. would be fine, it would put you close to McCully (several good food options) and near bus lines. Other food ideas...Fook Yuen for Chinese, it is in McCully and pretty top notch, not quite hole in the wall. The Cocoichiban Ya Curry House in McCully, is more of a cafeteria and would give you some awesome japanese curry.

JohnnyColombia

Thanks for the additional food tips and once again thanks for the hotel heads up. A bit of local knowledge goes a long way.

As for hole in the wall places, like I said, it is mainly because I don't want to be alone with a huge plateful in semi formal environments. Not a cost thing, food costs what it costs, I would just like to stick to less formal places. This is the sort of simple gallery I want to put together.

Anywhere with interesting bar food? Bellying up to a bar and having a couple of beers with my eats I will obviously stand out less than sitting down at a table made for 4 people.

All the best Honoluluists.

KenfromDE

Moose McGillycuddy's on Lewers Street might fit the bill.

http://moosemcgillycuddys.com/

Wingrider

so we will be checking in there around 7pm on 9/17. Any ideas/suggestions for good food around there? I don't know the hotel so maybe they have a decent water view/outside dining option but I'm game to walk somewhere.

Types of food is wide open- seafood probably the default.

Thanks in advance for the help!

davesam12

Lots of choices within walking distance with views all with seafood (it's Hawaii) . . .
Your right next door to the Halekulani -- all their eateries are wonderful and all with ocean views -- Orchids, Le Mer, House Without A Key - check out their website. (very expensive)
Roy's Waikiki is right across the street - no ocean view, but great food. (expensive)
All the hotels in line towards Waikiki from your ORR have ocean front dining and bars with lite food:
Waikiki Sheraton - lovely ocean front bar with food.
Royal Hawaiian (Azure and famous Mai Tai Bar) (Expensive)
Outrigger on the Reef - (Duke's and Hula Grill (more expensive than Duke's)
Westin Monana Surfrider - (Veranda and Beach house and large patio bar) (Expensive)

More moderate choices we like further down the Waikiki strip still walkable with ocean views:

Moana Terrace at the Waikiki Marriott - (small menu but less expensive)
Tiki Bar and Grill - (moderate to expensive) It is right across the street from the Marriott and on the terrace of the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower hotel.

If you walk the other way -- you run into the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Several restaurants including a lovely beach front cafe (not sure if it's open for dinner -- we have only eaten lunch there.) Check out their web.

davesam12

typing too fast . . .

Duke's and Hula Grill are at your sister hotel --
Outrigger on the BEACH -- sorry for the confusion

The Outrigger on the BEACH is inbetween the Royal Hawaii and Westin Moana Surfrider.

Also fyi - the Halekulani is not a flip flop and t-shirt place. They enforce a dress code. La Mer requires a jacket for the guys.

JohnnyColombia

Thanks to all the HNL people that steered me in the right direction with regards to food. The international market was a treasure, also Fatty's Chinese around the corner was a comedy eatery.

For bars, The Shack in the Waikiki Trade Center on Kuhio had some cool ethnic-style eats in a place where I could also prop up the bar and chat with the locals doing the same, pupu ribs and kim chee tako poke fitted the bill.

I also popped into Da Big Kahuna bar for some eats and beers before returning to the airport. Unbeknown to me, that meal bagged me 1045 AAdvantage dining miles which I found out about when back in Bogotá.

Nobody told me about the fantastic offerings at the ABC store including Japanese red bean cake and Furikake Musubi with spam and egg, a hilarious pair of snacks.

The only bad food I had all weekend was when I wandered into the Rock Island Diner opposite the hotel. That was just plain nasty. That'll teach me to go somewhere that nobody recommended.

Thanks a million to the HNL FTers once again

Johnny

Mary2e

You actually ATE in Fatty's? I've never had the nerve to go in there

Review, please

JohnnyColombia

Ha ha it's your lucky day because I also have a photo.

For a start I was struggling to come to terms with the time difference and the 19 hour door to door journey. As such I was doing my best to try and not fall asleep whilst still trying to keep myself busy, get some rest and not eat too much as that would make me fall asleep even more.

So I was having an afternoon beer in the bar opposite the Waikiki Trade Center (Forget its name, it had a tattooed barmaid, in fact tattooed customers too) I had seen Fatty's the previous night and thought ooooh yeaaaah that looks interestingly downmarket. So after a couple of beers and a chat with the locals, it was about 4pm and I figured I could get some food, have a snooze for a couple of hours and hit the bars again later.

I actually walked past Fatty's a couple of times before daring to go in. I went in, sat on a stool at the counter and noticed it I was the only non-Chinese person there. That is always a good sign right? If their Chinese food is good enough for Chinese people then it will do for me.

There were a couple of Chinese chefs behind the counter wokking up something or other. I am a stickler for food hygiene, and nothing looked particularly unclean or bad practice.

The woman serving, I won't call her a waitress, it was more like a woman that just happened to be begrudgingly serving behind the counter. She gave me a menu and after perusing for 2 mins I ordered sweet and sour pork with boiled rice. She took the menu back off me without making eye contact and sort of grunted. Then 90 seconds later my plate arrived.

And here it is!



I don't know what food warming science they used to get that plate to me so quickly but the pork had not been microwaved as it was crunchy. It was a perfectly respectable bargain late lunch. In the UK sweet and sour pork would have a bit of a more depth to it, slightly more fruity, more soya sauce-y and an added dash of monosodium glutamate. But I have noticed that in the USA most things to my palate taste less "tasty" as if the local palate is a bit flavour-shy.

Summary

Service: 9/10 (Because abrupt Chinese service is part of the experience in such a place right?)
Ambience: 5/10 I haven't really got a benchmark for comparison, I suppose it could have been adorned with a few more longboats and dragons.
Cost: A thumping $4.50
Value for money: 11/10 I dare you to find a cheaper eat-in lunch in Waikiki
Suitable for a romantic date: Only if your sweetheart is game for a laugh and doesn't take herself too seriously.
Suitable for business lunches: Not if you actually want to win the contract.

Happy dining folks

JohnnyColombia

A few more pics

Bass Ale from my gran's home town @ The Shack Bar



Shack Bar kim chee tako poke



Shack bar pupu ribs (delicious)



Shack bar Ahi Tuna, tasty but out of focus



Ha ha ABC stores hot furikake musubi with spam and egg



ABC Stores funky red bean cake



Look no fat or cholesterol



These were rubbish



Old Saigon on Kuhio



Yummy in the international market

JohnnyColombia

Bautistas in the international market



Teriyaki wings at Da Big Kahuna bar on Kuhio



That nasty Rock Island Café place that I accidentally went to

JPat

Aloha!,

Got a quick trip next week to Oahu and we'll be staying near Sunset Beach. Interested in recent dining recommendations as well as the best 'not a Starbucks' coffee house.
Particularly interested in recent observations of the dining options at Turtle Bay.
Thanks to all in advance for their insights!

JPat

No takers so we were on our own....
Ted's Bakery was OK for a quick lunch and croissant in the morning. Did dinner @ Leonardo's @ Turtle Bay... Not impressed. Why do resorts think that everyone goes to Hawaii looking for Italian fare? Our waitress completely botched our order. She totally missed our request to split the salad (in fact no salad ever made it to our table) and than fouled up my order for the risotto special.
Lastly, we had a miserable lunch at a place called The Breakers at the Marketplace in Haleiwa. Next time we do the North Shore I am renting a place with a full kitchen!