Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy

My mom bought me the above entitled book. Terrible Twos are nothing - Three is the new Two!

Arachnophobia

So I'm still here in Honolulu at my parents' house with Alex and Colin.

This evening I picked up a shirt off the floor of my bathroom and put it on after changing out of my swimsuit. I'm washing my hands in the bathroom sink when I feel something strange on my right elbow. I turn my arm around to see what it is, and there is a GIANT spider (the size of a can of tuna) running down my arm! I start screaming at the top of my lungs, because this damn spider is so huge.

My mom is in my room, adjoined to the bathroom and she runs in and says "what is it!?" I scream, "a spider!" and bat it off my arm onto the sink, where she proceeds to whack it with my shoe.

She tells me it is a Cane Spider, and that it usually doesn't bite. Geez, thanks mom. She also tells me they usually are solitary, but sometimes she's seen two at a time. Ick.

So I Googled "cane spider" and this is what came up (beware if you hate spiders): http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hawaii?Animals.cane

Some old photos

I found some old photos from high school of Becki and Jessica! I was too lazy to scan and upload, so I just took a photo of the photo with my digital camera. I think this is from the 10th grade Holoku pagent in 1993.

Stylin' in the George Ariyoshi lei

Day at the Zoo

This weekend we all went to the Honolulu Zoo. Alex had a lot of fun seeing all the animals.

Waimanalo Bay Beach Day

On Tuesday I took the kids to my favorite beach, Waimanalo Bay. There were quite a few people there for a Tuesday morning, and there were even a couple of wedding couples taking pictures on the beach.

Taking two kids to the beach is quite an endeavour. I lugged both the diaper bag, and backpack filled with drinks, the tent and towels from the car to the beach, while pushing Colin in the stroller and making sure Alex was following me.

We set up our camp and Alex began to play. We couldn't go swimming because there were many, many Portuguese Man 'o War jellyfish in the ocean. But we did have a lot of fun, and it was a beautiful day!

Waimanalo Bay - isn't it beautiful?

Alex

Cheese!
Making sand castles - and then knocking them down
The water is so blue

Alex's crab
Our Camp - gone are the days of just bringing a towel!
Mommy & Alex
Colin sleeping in the tent

Amber & Jarad's Wedding

One of my good friends from Punahou, Amber, got married to Jarad on August 1, 2008. Their reception was held on August 2, 2008 on the grounds of La Pietra School, the former Dillingham estate, which is located on the slopes of Diamond Head.

Amber looked beautiful in her Anne Namba wedding gown. It was a great night, and a lot of fun.

Congratulations Amber and Jarad!

The happy couple

The fabulous Table 17


Kristin, Annmarie & Becki

Becki had that thing glued to her hand!

Puns Picture

Baby Kahala Kawilanuimakahaekalani

I hope I spelled that right...

Ka'iulani's baby shower for Baby Kahala was on August 2, 2008 at the Pacific Club in Honolulu. It was so nice to see everyone I hadn't seen since I was a keiki (small child). Keiki Kahala received so many nice gifts, he will be set when he arrives in a few weeks.

Ka'iulani & Colin

Matt & Colin
Isn't that a great diaper cake!Annmarie & Colin

The Sodaros & Pipers

Panda Cuisine - Dim Sum Day!

I took Reid's advice from 'Ono Kine Grinz and dragged my 2 kids, Grandma and Mom to Panda Cuisine on Sunday for Dim Sum. Yes, I know I'm trying to watch my 'points' (Weight Watchers), and Chinese food is high in points, but we do not have a wide selection of awesome Dim Sum places in Phoenix. So to heck with it.

We arrived at Panda Cuisine (on Ke'eaumoku, across the street from Wal-Mart) at 12:30 p.m. Parking is either on the street (metered) or under the restuarant, where they charge $1. The restaurant was bustling, but we were seated in less than 5 minutes. Of course Alex wanted to check out the fish in the tank (a.k.a. "tonight's dinner special") but I told him we had to eat first.

First came the steamed cart. We got Char Siu Bao (my favorite!!! - steamed sweet bread with pork filling), Shiu Mai (pork dumplings), Har Gau (shrimp dumpling) and Har Gau with shrimp and spinach filling. All were delicious, but by far it was the best Shiu Mai I've ever had.

Next, they came around with a tray of steamed Choy Sum with Oyster Sauce (Chinese vegetable), which we partook in. I also ordered a plate of Char Siu, which Alex seemed to enjoy. We then ordered the Steamed Bean Curd Rolls stuffed with egg, pork, and vegetables. It didn't look pretty, but it was very tasty. Although they put too much 'gravy' on it, as it was a bit too wet.

My mom wanted to order Steamed Mochi Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf with Pork, and Wu Gok (Deep Fried Taro with bits of meat (usually pork) mixed in). The Lo Mai Gai was delicious; the Wu Gok, I wasn't terribly fond of. The fried texture mixed with the taro and meat filling wasn't one of my favorites.

For my final dish I picked the Jin Dui (Deep Fried Mochi Balls filled with Sweet Red Bean Paste and sprinkled with Sesame Seeds) to finish the meal. Yum, yum, yum! They were perfect - not oily at all, and just the right temperature!

All in all, one of the best Dim Sum meals I've ever had. Not to mention the prices were pretty fair. We stuffed ourselves for $48 (there were 4 of us), and had some left-overs to take home. I would highly recommend Panda Cuisine for their Dim Sum, and will try to get in again for a regular meal.

For those with kids, Panda Cuisine is kid friendly. There were quite a few kids there, and the restaurant was busy and noisy enough to drown out Colin's crying and Alex's intermittent yelling. No one blinked when Alex decided to climb under the table. That's always a plus in my book!

Panda Cuisine
641 Ke'eaumoku St # 2
Honolulu, HI 96814 (808) 947-1688‎

Restaurant interior
Alex getting ready to eat!
Bachan & Alex
Steamed Bean Curd Rolls
Steamed Mochi Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf with Pork
Char Siu
Choy Sum with Oyster Sauce

So many posts...so little time.

I've got tons of photos and posts to put up, but am getting ready to head back to Arizona from Hawai'i. So I'll try and post some stuff soon!

Pho 97 - Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

I don't know how this has become a food blog, but I guess it is because Hawai'i has so many great Asian cuisine restaurants/cafes. I also keep forgetting to take pictures with my camera!

Today I finally got to try out Pho 97, which is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Maunakea Street in Chinatown. There are a few tables and chairs set up in the restaurant; the place itself is roughly 800 sq. feet. Listed as one of 'Ono Kine Grindz favorite pho places, I had to try it. I ordered the Pho Tai (Beef Pho) and Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring Rolls) to go. (With two kids I don't really get to dine-in at restaurants.)

This pho was excellent. The rare beef was bright pink and looked very fresh. It was also very lean - no fat. The basil, bean sprouts and lime were all very, very fresh, as was the mint and lettuce that accompanied the Cha Gio. The pho broth was delicious. It was some of the best Pho Tai I've ever had.

If you ever find yourself in Chinatown, be sure to check this place out! You won't be disappointed!

Pho 97
Maunakea Marketplace
1120 Maunakea Street #176
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 538-0708
M-Sat: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sun: 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Little Village Restaurant

Little Village Restaurant on Smith Street in Chinatown is one of my favorites. I try and eat there at least once every time I visit Honolulu. Their Honey Walnut Shrimp is the BEST. You must try it if you go there.

Anyway, I was heading back to my parent's house after a unsuccessful 3 hour trip to Nordstroms at Ala Moana. I must have tried on 50 dresses, and no luck. I just ended up buying a blouse and Spanx and left at 9 p.m. I was starving, and the only restaurants left open were in Chinatown. I knew Little Village stayed open late, so I drove over there thinking of Honey Walnut Shrimp.

Little Village has free 2 hour parking in back of the restaurant. Anyone who has been to Chinatown knows that is a plus, since parking is hard to come by. Sure enough, they were open and about 10 people were eating in the restaurant, which is pretty good at 9:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night.

The restaurant is clean and well lit. Colorful butterflies hang from the ceiling, and they have a semi-private room in the back of the restaurant. I came in and ordered off the take-out menu, which is comprised of 101 items and 17 items from a "Taste of Hong Kong" mini-menu. I ordered steamed Pork Pot Stickers, Black Pepper Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp and the Cold Ginger Chicken off their 'Specials' menu. I wanted to try a bit of everything, and I knew my grandma and dad would enjoy some of the food for their lunches the following day.

I waited about 10 minutes and then my food was ready. It smelled delicious on the car ride home and I couldn't wait to eat! The Honey Walnut Shrimp was delicious, although I think it is probably much better if eaten in the restaurant, when it is fresh out of the kitchen and piping hot. I wasn't crazy about the Pork Pot Stickers, so maybe next time I'll try the Chicken and Veggie Pot Stickers. The Black Pepper Beef was served with white onion, and was good, although I was expecting it to be spicier, since it had a 'pepper' (meaning spicy) next to it on the menu. The Honey Walnut Shrimp was great, and the Ginger Chicken was good as well. The Pot Stickers, Black Pepper Beef and the Honey Walnut Shrimp are listed on the menu as "Signature Dish(es)".

For you vegetarians, the menu states that 'vegetarian substitute available for all dishes'. Also no MSG is available upon request.

Little Village has won 7 Hale Aina and 2 Ilima awards. It is owned by the same family that owns Restaurant Epic, which is a very nice fine dining restaurant located on Nu'uanu Ave in Chinatown. I've eaten once at Epic, and it was fabulous. The food is catorgorized as Euro-Asian/Pacific cuisine. Epic has great food and a really nice bar. I highly recommend both restaurants.

Little Village
1113 Smith Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
http://www.littlevillagehawaii.com/

Restaurant Epic
1131 Nu'uanu Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96817
http://www.restaurantepic.com/