Hawaii Day 8: Mac Nut Cakes

Our last day in paradise, and I couldn't resist a short stack of macadamia nut pancakes for breakfast before we headed to the airport.



I missed the guava and lilikoi syrups they have over at Ken's in Hilo, but the coconut syrup did the trick. In fact, we both found we missed Hilo a lot this trip - our first the big island without spending any time on the windward side - but it gave us the chance to really enjoy and explore Kona, and I'm glad we did.

Hawaii Day 7: New Favorite Cocktail, Seaside Lunch, Bongo 2, and Crazy Shave Ice

After a light breakfast and some great snorkeling (Dan swam with a turtle!) we headed back to the hotel for some lunch.

I'd been eying a drink on the cocktail menu for a few days, and decided to give it a try. The "Put The Lime In Don Coconut" - Coconut Infused Rum, Citrus Vodka, Lime Juice and Sparkling Water - is now my official new favorite drink. Light, refreshing, with subtle pina colada-like flavors without the (300-700 calories).



Trying to stick to lighter fare, I went for an Ahi Sandwich w/ mango salsa and ginger aioli (okay, aioli isn't light, nor were the sweet potato fries that came with it - but they are better for you than potato fries).





Dan got his Kalua Pig fix with a tasty Quesadilla.



Later on, we headed back over to Bongo Ben's because we knew they had a variety of salads on the menu, which sounded perfect.





I ordered the Southwest Chicken Salad - which wouldn't been light, had it not been HUGE. Dan opted for a Cobb salad, which was similarly proportioned.





Afterward, we crossed back over to the Shave Ice stand outside Huggo's On the Rocks, and selected from over 100 flavors. Given the variety, I opted for some of the flavors listed as 'Odd': Hazelnut, Pistachio and Horchata. My logic was that the underlying nuttiness of the horchata (and obvious nuttiness of the other two) would tie them together. The owner of the stand took a moment to make up a fresh batch of a couple of the flavors, paused to decide the best order, and then made up my treat, dividing the horchata and hazelnut with a big green stripe of pistachio.

Hawaii Day 6: Cinnamon Rolls, Dinner & a Show

Today we took a break from our Avocado/Mango breads and walked down to Lava Java to share a big ol' cinnamon roll for breakfast.



The rest of the day we did some shopping and avoided filling up, in anticipation of dinner at the Don the Beachcomber Restaurant at our hotel.



The meal began with complimentary pineapple, bread and herb butter.



And just as our waiter, Douglas, was trying to take Dan's order - I was freaking out because two male humpback whales were jumping and splashing and tail flapping off in the distance. We hadn't seen any whales yet, so I got really excited. They were way too far way for my little camera, but the show was great.



When we returned to ordering, we went for an appetizer of crab-artichoke dip to start, which was served with two kinds of bread.





For my entree, I couldn't resist the fresh catch of the day - which was a spearfish called Hebi, served with a gorgonzola cream sauce, potatoes, and asparagus.





Dan went for the 'Hokey Pokey' - a classic steak & lobster, surf & turf option.





Since we were indulging tonight, we saved a little room for dessert and I stuck with the sweet potato & haupia (coconut pudding) pie, which I've had before and love.





And Dan went for the tropical Crème brûlée.

Hawaii Day 5: Snorkelfest

We got up early today to go on a Body Glove Snorkel cruise in hopes of swimming with dolphins. We did see dolphins, though not while snorkeling. Regardless, it was a great trip and I got to try out 'power diving' - a hybrid of snorkeling and SCUBA diving, where you're weighted down and using a regulator, but are connected to a air supply at the surface of the water. I would definitely recommend it to anyone very comfortable snorkeling but not quite ready for SCUBA. Getting down below the surface opened up a whole new world, and now I'm eager to get certified.



Besides snorkeling and power diving, the cruise had a full (no host) bar, fruit and pastries at breakfast, and a sandwich bar for an early lunch. I made myself a turkey-provolone sandwich.



After the cruise and a little recovery time, we drove over to the Kona Brewing Co. and had some beer and pizza.



We opted to make up our own pizza, with Kalua pig, roasted red peppers, and wild mushrooms. This filled us up and gave us the energy for our evening snorkel cruise - where we swam with manta rays after the sun went down, with Kona Honu Divers as our hosts. Another great group of people and an amazing experience I can't recommend enough.

Hawaii Day 4: Pupus & Pancho's

Today we got up and enjoyed some more Avocado & Mango breads for breakfast before heading out for a day of fun.



In the afternoon, we returned to the hotel and saddled up to the bar for some lunch.



We went for three pupus: a crab cake, sweet potato fries, and seared ahi.







When dinnertime rolled around, we intended to go to the hotel restaurant for dinner, but learned it's not open on Tuesdays... so we went walking down Ali'i Drive.



Although we'd heard negative things about it from The Big Island Revealed, we decided to make up our own mind about Pancho & Lefty's - a Mexican restaurant overlooking the bay.



The service was a little slow, the selection was surprisingly small and lacking in seafood options (no camerones!), and the prices were much higher than comparable places in town - but the drinks and food were delicious. I started with a frozen guava margarita.



And for my meal I went for the carnitas. Had there been bones, this gigante pile of moist pork would be falling off them. It was really, really good - like Kalua pig, but less smokey. Worth the $20 price tag? Hard to say. But definitely a tasty meal. And the portions were large enough that Dan & I could've shared - which might be a good option next time we visit.

Hawaii Day 3: Avocado Bread, Grass Fed Beef, and Raw Quail Egg

Yesterday, we picked up some sweet breads from a bake sale at Hale Okane, the sacred grounds of the Kealaokamalamalama Church. It's an odd little plot of perfectly groomed, fenced in land right on the main drag of Kona. You're normally not allowed to step foot on the land, but apparently church bake sales are an exception. We went for Avocado Bread and Mango Bread - both in the style of a banana bread, and this morning we had a slice for breakfast. The avocado bread was good, though it didn't have that distinct of an avocado flavor.



After breakfast, we headed up the coast and ended up in Hawi, where we sought out a little tiki bar called Luke's Place that we spotted when we were here last summer.



The front of the restaurant has a British Colonial vibe, but around the corner is a full fledged tiki bar. The staff were really friendly, and the food was amazing. We both went for burgers made from local, grass-fed beef that were perfectly cooked, moist, and flavorful.



Back in Kona, we popped into Huggo's On the Rocks again, and I had a 'Polynesian Passion' cocktail - essentially a Chi-Chi with Lilikoi syrup.



When dinner rolled around, we got a little dressed up and went looking for Fujimama's - only to discover it closed. So we returned to Wasabi's instead, and although it's not as fancy as Fujimama's was, we weren't disappointed.



I started off with a Blue Lagoon cocktail, and we noshed on boiled peanuts.



We ordered four rolls for dinner, all of which were great.



We started with the classic spider roll, which is a favorite of both Dan & I and something we invariably order.





Next, we had spicy scallop rolls served in a little boat.





We followed that with a 'Crazy' roll - though I can't recall what was crazy about it.





Much crazier was the 'Sunshine' roll that finished up our meal. It was a roll wrapped in tuna, and topped with both a sizable heap of uni (sea urchin gonads) and a quail egg, raw. That roll was really all about texture, and I was surprised to find that the uni didn't overpower it.