Haws on Gourmand Syndrome

Makahiki (Dinner)

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 17:02:54 -0400

Makahiki is a restaurant that is located on the first floor of the Disney Aulani resort. The restaurant actually serves breakfast and dinner at 2 different times, so this review will be for the dinner portion. Unlike breakfast, there was less of a crowd for dinner, so we were able to walk in with our reservations very quickly. We were seated in the outdoor section under the covered patio around 5:00 PM, which was when the sun started setting. Absolutely stunning.

Ama Ama

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 18:32:08 -0400

To get our gourmand fix in, we booked ‘Ama’Ama as our fine dining Disney Aulani reservation. The price for this four course tasting was $125 per person. The menu offers contemporary island cuisine, which has many local flavors. The restaurant iself was designed to resemble a beachside house, and it’s located next to the Waikolohe Valley pool area, just a few steps from the beach. The whole restaurant has a very nice open and chill vibe. We were seated literally right next to the grass that was on the other side of the beach, where we had a straight, unobstructed view into the ocean and the sunset.

Makahiki (Breakfast)

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 10:02:45 -0400

Makahiki is a restaurant that is located on the first floor of the Disney Aulani resort. The restaurant actually serves breakfast and dinner at 2 different times, so this review will be broken up into 2 separate reviews. For breakfast, Makahiki serves as a character dining experience. That means cast members dressed up as some of the Disney characters will come mingle with you while you’re eating. The people at my table simply loved this, whereas for me I’m a little indifferent. What is cool though is that the characters were able to express their emotions and thoughts pretty well without saying a word.

Ka Wa'a

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:30:17 -0400

On our first night at Disney Aulani, we went to the Ka Wa’a Luau on property. The Preferred Seating was $204 per adult, and the General Seating was $175 per adult. The difference between the seatings is that the preferred seating is assigned and right by the front of the stage. You also can enter 10 minutes earlier, which means you can check out the side festivities earlier too. Don’t worry though. On this night, we noticed the general seating area was no where near full, so I imagine you can checkout the side festivities pretty easily. The luau is hosted on the Hālāwai Lawn.

Bar Māze

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 17:31:28 -0400

For our last day in the Waikiki/Honolulu area before we head over to the western part of Oahu for Aulani, we decided to splurge on something a little nicer to eat. Of all the choices we had, we decided on this Bar Māze place that the internet had raved about. The dining room is quite small, and when we entered, we were seated at the counter. We noticed that many of the cooks were quite young, but they were also very professional with a lot of attention on making sure the food is cooked right. I don’t know much about Hawaii fine cuisine, but I was getting good vibes.

Haleiwa Joe's

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:48:53 -0400

Haleiwa Joe’s at Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe is known for its lush, beautiful views overlooking its own tropical garden and koi pond with a backdrop of a breathtaking Ko’olau mountain range. The restaurant opens for dinner nightly at 4 PM, and when we arrived at 3:30, there was already a line forming because they do not take reservations. Fortunately once they open, there are plenty of tables, but it feels that people are trying to get the best view overlooking the gardens.

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 12:48:36 -0400

We had just visited the Dole Plantation, and our next planned stop was to checkout this “word of mouth” BBQ chicken mobile that is similar along the same veins of the shrimp trucks. Be aware that there are 3 locations that this van goes to. This one that we went to is located in a gas station and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays. As a reference point if you are a tourist like me, this is located south of the Dole Plantation.

Gashoken

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 23:19:51 -0400

Gashoken is located in this below ground Asian food mall called “Stix Asia”. There are several decent sized restaurants with different Asian cuisines, such as Japanese ramen, Taiwanese beef noodle, Japanese hot pot, Korean street foods, etc. We did our lap around, and ultimately landed first on this ramen joint because the host was really marketing it like crazy to everyone walking in front. Upon first glance, the menu was small, but alas we’re here for ramen.

Aloha Shrimp

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 20:37:08 -0400

This shrimp truck is located on Kamehameha Highway towards the north east end of Oahu between Hauula and the Shrimp Shack. As you’re driving north on this highway, it will be on your left side. The truck seems not very mobile, and for whatever reason has very high ratings on Yelp. Because Hawaii is pretty well known for these shrimp trucks, we decided to check this out after our Kualoa excursion.

Herringbone

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 15:05:38 -0400

Herringbone is run by the “Tao Group Hospitality”, which operates more than 80 branded locations in 20 different markets. I didn’t really know what to expect, but per recommendations, we were able to do a walk in around 7 PM on a Monday. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the “International Market Place” where many restaurants are located, and it has a pretty laid back exterior. As you can vaguely tell from the picture, the right side is an outdoor covered patio letting in the Hawaiian breeze.

Poke Fix

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 14:16:24 -0400

We just landed in Honolulu for our Hawaii trip, and we were pretty hungry. Honolulu is 6 hours behind New York City! Our other friends had arrived a few hours earlier than us and suggested we check out this slight hole in the wall shop for poke near their hotel. My poke impression has always been pretty indifferent, so I was curious what is it about Hawaii poke that people rave about.