Hawaii, day two

Our first full day in Hawaii started off with a morning walk for the two of us. 

It was one of only two days when Marie came for a morning walk, though she did a long walk another day.  I'll be blunt:  we are both large people and out of shape, Marie arguably more so than I am.  The walk was more than her usual, and she might have stepped down wrong at some point, so by the end her back was bothering her and more.  I felt badly about that, and I'm sorry it prevented her from coming on other morning walks - I should have been glad of her company.  Ah well.

So we were up just before sunrise, as the skies were lightening,

and out the door to head to the nearby Ala Moana Park.  Not a long walk there, but we caught some views of boats,

beaches,

birds,

beasts (mongooses - cute but invasive),

and (sorry this isn't entirely alliterative) Waikiki. 

We crossed over to the mall, wandered it a little while we debated what sounded good for breakfast, and eventually parked ourselves at an Eggs 'n' Things.  It was fine enough.  I continued my quest for Spam, choosing that with eggs and rice

and a glass of POG

for a very filling breakfast.

I wish I could tell you about grand adventures throughout the day, but the truth is, after getting showered and changed, we spent a goodly while in the mile, poking in stores, buying some things, later grabbing a small lunch (and thank you to the woman at the one business in the food court who offered me the senior discount, telling me that with my white beard I look like Kenny Rogers!) there, eventually choosing a book in Barnes and Noble to bring to the pool deck that afternoon.

Nice pool, but I wish there was more shade available on the deck. 

It wasn't too busy at the hotel pool, though, and I know I dozed off a little at one point.  Yes, we did go in the water.  Once done with the pool, we headed to the room changed, and came down to the pool level to try the little bar there.  Lilikoi (passionfruit) drinks for us - a margarita for Marie, a spritzer for me. 

The bar was, sorry to say, underwhelming, but now we know!

Dinner that evening was at a place Van had found back in 2023 for him and me and Conrad.  Fête is downtown/Chinatown rather than Waikiki, and I think Marie appreciated that we saw a different part of the city.  I was glad to go back and enjoy it again.  The hostess greeted us and asked if Marie and I were on a date, thereby beginning a pattern of the two of us explicitly inserting into conversation with service staff in restaurants, bars, and stores that we were brother and sister.  I guess not many siblings like us travel together, or something.  Anyway, we had a table in a little side part of the restaurant, by the window and across from where the kitchen was doing its magic. 

Great views!  We started with much better cocktails than at the hotel bar:  the Grab 'Em by the Pineapple for me

and the Spicy Kitty for Marie. 

We shared an appetizer special, breadfruit with Indian spices and crispy shreds of okra atop,

then it was the Korean steak for me and the coconut prawns for Marie. 

The coconut cake was a special as well, and we went for it. 

She and I capped the evening with an amaro each, and I was delighted that Marie is into them. 

Something else we now share.  It was all very good, and we headed back to the hotel with full bellies, turning in fairly shortly after getting back.

three Vancouver meals with friends

(and let me pause before launching into this to say that, with this post, I will essentially have caught up on the backlog of travel and dining and more)

(and let me also say, Peter: it's about bloody time!)

Anyone who has even casually skimmed this blog would know that I like to eat well and drink well.  Our brief visit to Vancouver afforded us opportunities to do so, happily.  Let's dig in!

Thursday evening Conrad and I walked and trained and walked on over to Zarak to meet Chris

and Allister

for dinner.  The restaurant, which features Afghani cuisine, was Chris' suggestion.  And you know, well done, Chris.  Very well done.

All of us had cocktails, save for Conrad who started with a bottle of wine that we eventually shared (and ordered a second one of).  I liked mine, a light cocktail called Heritage

that seemed not to be alcoholic at all, which means it was dangerous.  Chris, however, got the show thanks to ordering the Dr. Damji's Negroni.  Fun!

And then we got down to food.  Oh, what food!  I didn't get a shot of the green beans, but they were a highlight.  The mantu were beautiful but not as flavourful as the beans. 

I still enjoyed them.  The buttermilk fried chicken was a delight. 

The lamb shoulder was equally as delightful. 

The bolani was fine, the least memorable of our dishes (and yet, still tasty enough). 

The Uzbeki palaw was a jewel. 

Piping hot, the rice grains each distinct, chunks of tender meat hidden in there.  I would go back just for that dish alone.

We also ordered one of each dessert (there were four).  I wasn't all that interested in vegan chocolate mousse, and although I tasted it and thought it was fine, it proved to be the least interesting to me. 

The tres leches cake was tasty but I still don't understand what it was doing on that menu. 

The shir yakh was lovely - I like rose water as a flavour, and having it in an ice cream tamed it well. 

The firni, a milk pudding, I dismissed at first, but I kept coming back to because the subtlety lured me in. 

My favourite of the desserts.

An excellent dinner, and we've been spreading the word about the place since.

Friday!  Friday lunch was at the club, sitting out on the terrace under mostly cloudy skies but still enjoying being out there.  Our friends from Germany, Gerd

and Uwe,

joined us.  The day before had been Uwe's 60th birthday, and Gerd's 60th will be in October, so we wanted to treat them to a meal.  This is the second time that we have met up with these friends on a Vancouver vacation - our original connection is through the magic of Instagram.  We sipped a BC white and had a leisurely lunch.  My seafood Cobb salad

was different than I have had it before, I think - they could have dialed back on the tomatoes (which I didn't even get to, the salad was so big) and maybe not used such a mix of greens (it was a little rough by contrast to the seafood).  But I didn't go hungry, that's for sure!

Dinner was with Jenny and Steven, whom we always enjoy seeing when we're in town.  We went to the Main Street location of Sula for Indian food.  The restaurant had a good cocktail program, which is not something I have seen very often in Indian restaurants, and a nice wine list.  The bar

sent out our drinks, and mine was a light variation on a Last Word. 

Refreshing!  When I ordered wine with the meal, the waitress let us know that they were out of the one I ordered and instead recommended an Indian red wine.  She let me try some, I liked it, and it turned out to be a doubly good recommendation:  we had a nice wine with the meal, and it was a first time trying wine from India.  Oh, and the winery?  Also named Sula.

I didn't photograph much of the food.  A few of the dishes were meats or vegetables or cheese in a sauce, a curry or gravy, however we might call it.  And, sorry, those don't always make for the most interesting photos, alas.  Not a worry.  Here is the appetizer platter we shared. 

All of it was good.  Sula is on the list of places to go back to, I have to say.

After dinner, Conrad and I went to see Steven and Jenny's new (to us) home and sat and had a bit more wine before heading back to the hotel.  It was a full day of food (and steps for me!), and a very good one all in all.