The boys in the family have not been to HNL since our Christmas Island trip 5 years ago. Melanie had not been to HI since her college days and Emma has never been to Hawaii. When we came home from our trip from Christmas Island we told Emma about a place called Waiola Shave Ice. It was difficult to explain the texture (if you could call it that) of the shave ice they have. I was looking forward to getting some Waiola Shave Ice for all of us and it did not disappoint! We went from the airport to our rental car then straight to Waiola! Melanie described it pretty well. She said the ice had the texture of soft serve ice cream. Smooth as silk but none of the dairy taste. We did have some shave ice at 3 other places and all 3 did not equal the shave ice at Waiola. Going to miss that pace along with Sweet Home Hot Pot and Marukame Udon. We frequented those establishments at least 4 times each during the week.
We took a food tour the first day, North Shore snorkling tour the second day, Pearl Harbor the third day and the Polynesian Cultural Center the 4th day. We fished for bonefish for a couple hours on the 5th day (saw 6 fish, cast to 4 and hooked nada)
On the food tour we had manapuas from Royal Kitchen, some Chinese snacks, mangosteens and Liliha’s coconut puffs. We ate Malasadas at Leonard’s bakery the next day and it was definitely better that the coco puff at Liliha’s.
During the North Shore tour the kids snorkeled in Shark Cove and then we set out to look for sea turtles. It was a great sight to see the turtles so close. Lucky day. Stopped the Dole Plantation for some Dole Whip too.
The Polynesian Cultural Center was really good. We were on a small group tour and the tour guide picked the shows for us. Few things I would do different the next time. I would pick the shows we want to see and we would not have dinner inside the PCC. The food was just OK. Probably the worse meal we had all week. The “Ha: Breath of Life” live show in the evening was good but not great. Well the fire routine at the end of the show was spectacular.
The food was amazing on this trip. We will miss the fantastic Hot Pot and the dessert they served after dinner, the freshly made udon noodles at Marukame Udon, the shave ice at Waiola, the fresh shrimp on the North Shore, the manapuas at Royal Kitchen and the super delicious fresh Poke Bowls. Just thinking about all those meals is making my mouth water.
On the way to the airport on the last day we stopped at Waiola for one last shave ice and then to Royal Kitchen for some manapuas to take home.
I don’t see another trip to HI for awhile so we will have to relive it in our memories and in pics.
