Visit Hawaii Island: Hawaii Calls Restaurant

While at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, we dined at the Hawaii Calls Restaurant for both breakfast and lunch.

Broken Yolk Sandwich

The Broken Yolk Sandwich was on the menu when I visited 7 years ago, but now it's so much more elevated!  The bread was an olive hazelnut yuzu bread, and the hash browns were extra crispy!

The Rancher Omelet

The Rancher Omelet consisted of bacon, Portuguese sausage, smoked ham, and a cheese blend  It was a satisfying breakfast!

Island Club Wrap

The Island Club Wrap was enormous!  It was stuffed with a lot of turkey, as well as bacon, provolone, lettuce, and tomato.  I could only eat half!  

Grilled Mahi Sandwich

Mauna Kea Mud Pie

To beat the heat, I indulged in the Mauna Kea Mud Pie.  It was the perfect treat!  Kona Coffee and vanilla ice creams sat atop an OREO crust, with chocolate and caramel drizzled all over.  YUM!

Hawaii Calls Restaurant
Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
69-275 Waikōloa Beach Dr

Waikoloa Village, HI 96738

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Visit Tokyo: DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

One of my kids really wanted cotton candy while in Japan.  Although we did pass by Totti Candy Factory while in Harajuku (and the lines were not as crazy as they were in the past), we went there a few times already and I encouraged him to try a new spot.

We ended up going to the food court in the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza to get some cotton candy + ice cream at Decora Creamery.

Decora Creamery:

Srawberry Soft Serve + Blue Hawaii Cotton Candy

You can get soft serve or cotton candy only, or get a combo of both.  My son was happy!

We also ordered food for lunch:

Densetsu No Sutadonya:

Sutadon

Japanese Fried Chicken

Kyurin:

Ramen

There are numerous other eateries within the food court offering burgers, pizza, sushi, and more!

DiverCity Tokyo Plaza
1 Chome-1-10 Aomi, Koto City

Tokyo 135-0064, Japan

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Jingle All the Way to this Year’s Keep it Kaimuki Saturday Event

Keep it Kaimuki is helping holiday shoppers deck the halls with another tree-mendous event supporting local businesses! This year Keep it Kaimuki Saturday returns for its eighth year on Saturday, November 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free, family- and pet-friendly event will allow shoppers to browse exclusive discounts and promotions at over 30 participating Kaimuki businesses. Shoppers can get into the holiday spirit with free trolley rides throughout Kaimuki, complimentary holiday activities and photo opportunities and live entertainment at Aliʻiolani Elementary School.

 

Participating Kaimuki businesses will be offering great deals including:

• 20% off sale storewide (excluding food) at The Public Pet 

• 15% off your entire purchase at Sugarcane 

• 10% off the new holiday collection at Ten Tomorrow. 

• 10% off Kids Birthday Parties and Saturday Night Kids Dance Parties at Hawaii Dance Bomb

• Kick off gingerbread season at Babes Bakery 

• Participate in complimentary raffles for prizes and check out new product launches at ISLAND BOY 

For a full list of this year’s participating businesses, visit www.keepitkaimuki.com.

 

Some highlights that shoppers (and their furry friends!) can look forward to this year at Aliʻiolani Elementary School and throughout Kaimuki include:

• An outdoor market featuring more than 30 popular local food and retail vendors

• Free, family-friendly activities including a petting zoo and larger-than-life snow globe photo opportunity

• Free self-parking at Sacred Heart Academy

• Free bike valet services at Aliʻiolani Elementary School

• Complimentary trolley rides throughout Kaimuki from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Live entertainment from beloved community and keiki groups 

• Free gift wrapping provided by Yelp Hawaii

  

This year, shoppers can unwrap exclusive discounts, offers and promotions at over 30 participating businesses. A preview of this year’s participating businesses include:

• ART FLOW STUDIO

• Babes Bakery

• Bead It! Inc.

• Bean About Town

• Calvin & Susie

• Chubbies Burgers

• da Shop: books + curiosities

• Daily Whisk Matcha

• Every Day Better by Green Meadows

• Fatto a Mano

• Fusion Cafe + Wine 

• Hawaii Dance Bomb

• House of Intention by Aloha Elixir

• ISLAND-BOY

• Iyengar Yoga Silent Dance Center

• Kaimuki Shokudo

• Koko Head Cafe

• Little Vessels Donut Co.

• Local I’a

• Love Me Knots Hawaii

• Mālama Dermatology, LLC

• Mud Hen Water

• Red Pineapple

• SALON 96816

• Small Kine Gift

• Sugarcane

• Talk Kaimuki

• Ten Tomorrow

• The Curb Kaimuki

• The Local General Store

• The Public Pet

• Tight Tacos Kaimuki 

• Wainani Wellness Center

• Yoga Room Hawaii

• Yoga Under the Palms

 

“As a small business owner myself it warms my heart to see the outpouring of support we receive from our local community – both from shoppers and small businesses – for Keep it Kaimuki Saturday year after year,” said Jordan Lee, owner of The Public Pet and founder of Keep it Kaimuki. “Keep it Kaimuki Saturday is our signature event and we are so proud to see how this event has grown and the excitement that everyone has to jump start their holiday shopping and enjoy time with their ohana, all while supporting our local small business community.”

 

Keep it Kaimuki Saturday would like to thank this year’s supporters who helped make this year’s event possible including: 

• Hawaii State Federal Credit Union

• Office of Economic Revitalization - City & County of Honolulu

• 3650 Waialae

• Yelp Hawaii

• Zippy’s

• Hawaii International Film Festival

• Aliʻiolani Elementary School

• Sacred Heart Academy

• Hawaiian Electric 

• IBEW Local 1260

• State Farm Agent Catherin Sing-Chow

• Honolulu Star-Advertiser

 

Enjoy all of the tree-mendous festivities happening during Keep it Kaimuki Saturday including the highly anticipated virtual Christmas tree lighting and concert at Puʻu O Kaimuki Mini Park. The tree lighting and concert will take place on Saturday, November 30, 2024, from 6 p.m. to sundown, marking the start of the holiday season. You can catch the tree lighting and concert online via Keep it Kaimuki’s Instagram Live (@keepitkaimuki).

 

Keep it Kaimuki Saturday is a free, family-friendly community event in Kaimuki’s business district held annually on Small Business Saturday. In addition to in-store offers at participating businesses, Keep it Kaimuki Saturday is the focus all month long on the group’s social media channels — offering followers a behind-the-scenes look at their favorite neighborhood shops and restaurants. Keep it Kaimuki will also release new seasonal merchandise including tees, mugs, stickers, and pins bearing the iconic Keep it Kaimuki design that will be available to order on www.keepitkaimuki.com.

 

For updates on Keep it Kaimuki Saturday, follow Keep it Kaimuki on Facebook at www.facebook.com/keepitkaimuki and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/keepitkaimuki.

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Visit Portland: Lilia Comedor

Lilia Comedor offers Mexican dishes utilizing Pacific Northwest ingredients.  

The menu is very small - just 8 dishes including dessert, but it changes daily as they emphasize freshness and hyperlocalness.  We tried the Chef's Counter tasting menu (we added on one dish).

Chayote Tatemado

The first course was complex in taste.  I enjoyed the smoky, grilled chayotes and the sweet, yet tart kiwi berries.

Wild Shrimp Ceviche Rojo

The Wild Shrimp Ceviche Rojo was pretty spicy, and I loved the accompanying fried crackers.  The shrimp was overacidulated, however, which resulted in very tough and chewy shrimp.

Chilaquille Relleno Entomatada

I loved the Chilaquille Relleno Entomatada (an add-on dish).  This dish was pretty spicy as well, but the smoky chorizo, olive oil powder, and the gigante bean filling all contributed to a really delicious dish.  

Broccoli Barbacoa

I really liked the masa dumplings that were served with the broccoli.  I thought the broccoli was tender with a nice smokiness.

Sablefish a la Brasa

Sablefish is what we locally call butterfish, and I love butterfish.  This was my favorite dish of the night.  The fish was so mild and flaky, and perfectly cooked.  The red jalapeno guacachile added a lovely dimension to the entire dish, but I could've eaten the fish just by itself.  It was that good.  

Strawberry Creamsicle

All the elements of this dessert - the whipped panna cotta, verjus strawberry, and meringue really came together to create a delightful Strawberry Creamsicle.  

Pan de Elote

The corn bread was dense and moist, topped with a roasted blueberry sauce, corn crumble, and accompanied by a charred corn ice cream.  I really liked this dessert.  

Overall it was a nice dining experience!

Lilia Comedor
3159 S Moody Ave

Portland, OR 97239

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Breakfast Muffin Recipe

I've been experimenting with Breakfast Muffin recipes lately since one of my kids likes to just eat something quick, and this recipe is pretty versatile!

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c yogurt
• 2 c almond flour (you can sub with all-purpose)
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 c flax seeds
• 1 c chocolate chips
• granola (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy.
• Mix in banana, eggs, and yogurt.
• In a separate medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and flax.
• Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Pour batter into cups of prepared muffin tin, approximately 3/4 full for each cup.
• Top each cup with granola.
• Bake for 11 minutes, then increase temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 5 more minutes, to get the tops golden brown. 

These muffins are great for breakfast, an afterschool snack, or even dessert!

You can also mix in chia seeds, hemp seeds, protein powder, and other ingredients you may have on hand.  

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Bob's Bar-B-Que

Bob's Bar-B-Que has been around for over 40 years, and I have driven past it MANY times, yet I have actually never tried their plates until now.  The boys and I were heading home from the husband's office down the street and I decided to stop at Bob's to pick up dinner to-go. 

One son wanted to try the teriyaki chicken, and that sounded good to me too, so I ordered a regular plate of teriyaki chicken....

and a mini plate of the kalua pig for the other son. 

I like how they serve the Mac salad in a separate container (since the boys don't eat Mac salad and they will not eat anything that touches it!).

Both plates were given two thumbs up by my picky eaters! The kalua pork was very moist! The teriyaki  chicken plate came with a good amount of chicken, enough for another meal the next day.  We will definitely be back to try their other items like the kal bi and hibachi style bbq chicken!

Open everyday from 6:30 AM to 11:00 PM. 

___________________________

BOB'S BAR-B-QUE
1366 DILLINGHAM BLVD.
808-842-3663

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Visit Oregon: Tillamook Creamery

Since we were going to the Oregon Coast, I made a request to stop at the Tillamook Creamery for ice cream.  It ended up being a fun and educational experience!

The Tillamook Creamery is a huge tourist attraction which shares the history of Tillamook Creamery and their popular cheeses and ice creams.

There, you can not only indulge in ice cream and cheesy dishes in their dining hall, but you can sample some cheese, buy cheese and ice cream in their market, as well as do a self-guided tour of the cheese-making process.

I tried the Tomato Soup with Cheese Curds, Grilled Cheese, and Mac and Cheese.

Talk about a trio of comfort foods!  I never had Tomato Soup with cheese curds before, but I liked it.  The Grilled Cheese was nothing out of the ordinary, but paired perfectly with the soup, and I liked the Mac & Cheese - very creamy and cheesy!

The line for ice cream was surprisingly long even though we arrived just after opening.  I got the Limited Edition Campfire Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream.  It ended up being a marshmallow-based ice cream so it was too sweet for my taste, but I enjoyed the abundance of chopped pb cups.

Cheeseburger

If you live nearby or have a cooler with you to transport, you can buy ice cream and cheeses.

They offer samples upstairs to taste.

For a fee, you can get a more thorough experience with specialty cheese tastings and an interactive ice cream experience. 

Upstairs is also where you can view the cheese-making process.  

Try and get there early before the crowds!

Tillamook Creamery
4165 N Hwy 101

Tillamook, OR 97141

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