Tokkuri Tei

Tokkuri Tei is a longtime favorite Izakaya style restaurant of mine. Now in its new location on Kapahulu avenue above Hee Hing, it's bigger and better than ever. Reservations are highly recommended and it helps to go with someone who is fairly familiar with the menu because menu is quite large!


Parking tip: the parking lot directly beneath the restaurant is valet, so park at First Hawaiian Bank next door (free after 6pm).


Tokkuri Tei
449 Kapahulu Avenue
(808) 732-6480

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Big City Diner

When it comes to Big City Diner, most people will think of kim chee fried rice, baby back ribs and The Big Ramen. But for me, it's all about Ani's Cinnamon French Toast! Order it by itself, or as a sandwich - two slices of French toast, two eggs, and your choice of meat.

Big City Diner is a great place to go for home style cooking and fantastic service. We were treated to bottom-less coffee and water, and a funny-looking eggs Benedict!

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Off-Island - Disneyland and California Adventure Eats

There are many dining options in both Disneyland and California Adventure Parks, and here are some of the things we ate and where we got them from:

Pepperoni Pizza and Turkey Sandwich from Toontown (Disneyland)

Beef Kefta Skewer with Chili Tomato Sauce from Paradise Garden Grill (California Adventure)

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza and Kids Cheese Pizza (which comes with two sides and a drink) from Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta (California Adventure)

Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel, Mickey Pretzel, and Chili in a Sourdough Bread Bowl from Coke Corner (Disneyland)

Pepperoni Pizza and Pesto Chicken Pizza from Pizza Port (Disneyland)

For more information about dining at Disney, click here.

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Izakaya Tairyo

It's hard to miss this restaurant on the makai end of Piikoi. Just above the bright lights and fish nets you'll see a giant red Japanese Koi painting on the roof. The fish theme is apparent on the inside as well, with glass balls, more fish nets and waiters and waitresses wearing clam digger and slippers.

It's best to come here with a group of people so that you can try more dishes. The food pictures below was the perfect amount for our party of 4. My favorite dishes of the night were the agedashi tofu, and the steamed basket with beef and veggies.

The one thing that did not impress me was the honey toast. Too much honey and not enough butter. Shokudo's honey toast still reigns supreme in my book.

Izakaya Tairyo

514 Piikoi St

(808) 592-8500

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Off-Island - Disney California Adventure Park

When we visited Disney California Adventure Park, we couldn't wait to take the boys on many of the rides as well as watch the World of Color show.

As expected, the park wasn't that crowded, so most of the rides had little or no wait at all.

The longest line we had to wait in was for the World of Color show.

If you're planning on watching the World of Color show, you'll actually be able to go in to get your FASTPASS half-an-hour before the park actually opens, and you can start standing in line to find your spot for the show an hour before the designated time on your FASTPASS ticket.

We were the second bunch of people in line, and once we were allowed to secure our viewing spots (the Cast Members advise not to run, so people just walked very quickly to find spots), we found a decent one despite a lamp post being in most of our shots.  We could have gone down one level lower, but we didn't want to get wet.

It was a really nice show!

Although California Adventure was not festively decorated like how Disneyland was (there was a huge Christmas tree, but not much else), we still had a blast (the boys loved Toy Story Mania!, and my personal favorite was Turtle Talk with Crush), and we can't wait to go back and visit Cars Land once it opens!

Disney California Adventure Park: 1313 S. Disneyland Drive; Anaheim, CA 92802

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Bernini Honolulu

Bernini has been open for almost a year, and it looks like it'll be around for a while. On a Tuesday night, every table was spoken for. The atmosphere is bright, a little on the loud side, but classy and professional.

Contrary to most Italian eateries in town that drown their pasta dishes with sweetened sauces and load of cheese, Chef Matsumoto at Bernini adds just enough sauce and cheese to his pasta so that the customer can still

appreciate the taste and texture of the pasta.

Their pizzas are served with a ultra thin crust (it was so thin that it broke apart when I tried to scoop it up with my hands), and lightly topped with cheese and other goodies. You won't find a "supreme" pizza on the menu. Most pizzas come with just a few ingredients so that you can enjoy the distinctive taste of each ingredient.

Dessert-wise, their panna cotta is their best seller and a nice way to end your meal.

Bernini Honolulu

1218 Waimanu Street

(808) 591-8400

Tues - Sun 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm

Reservations highly recommended

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Off-Island - Goofy's Kitchen

While at Disneyland, we had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel.
 
Goofy's Kitchen offers a great buffet while dining amongst your favorite Disney pals!

There were all kinds of foods to choose from - pizza, pasta, salads, chicken, fish, veggies, and lots and lots of DESSERTS!

Of course, the highlight was seeing the Disney characters - Goofy, Snow White, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, and so many more!

Reservations are strongly recommended (we made reservations a month in advance), and I thought the prices for the buffet were reasonable ($31.99/adult; $13.99/child).

It was such a wonderful dining experience!

Goofy's Kitchen: 1150 Magic Way; Anaheim, CA 92802; (714) 781-3463

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Kahuna Sports Bar and Grill

Kahuna's is located on the Marine Corp Base on Oahu and is open to all enlisted Marines with a rank of E5 and below. It's the perfect place for the Marine's to eat, drink, and have some fun after a hard day of training in the blazing Hawaiian sun.


Their menu consist of things every sports bar should have - buffalo wings, burgers, quesadilla and nachos, soups, salads, sandwiches, full meal deals and desserts.


They are open Mon -Sat for lunch and dinner (dinner only on Saturdays).

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808 Bounce

We recently attended a birthday party at 808 Bounce at Pearlridge.

When we arrived the place was just PACKED with kids.

There were 3 big bouncers and a little one designated for kids 3 and under.  There's also an air hockey table that seemed to be pretty popular. 

It was pretty scary because there were so many little kids and big kids in the bouncers at the same time that I was concerned that someone was going to get seriously hurt.

Fortunately I didn't see too many crying kids or accidents, and for the most part, all of the kids were pretty careful.

The party area (tables and chairs in the back of the facility) can be reserved for 2 hours for $150, and the price is $9.75 per child (child can go in and out of the facility all day long with the wristband provided).

Note-they're pretty strict in terms of what constitutes a "party" - even if you come in on your own with just your kids and you bring in a small cake, or if you come in with several kids, you could be charged the "party" rate.

I personally did not like the set up of the area.  There was a HUGE bouncer in the middle of the facility which made it very difficult for all the parents to keep track of their kids.  Perhaps if it was moved off towards the wall it would be easier for parents to watch their kids.

Another thing I didn't like about the place is that there is no restroom (808 Bounce is on the 2nd floor in Uptown and the nearest restroom is on the first floor).

Also, kids go into the bouncer with bare feet, and they'll just run around the entire place bare feet going from bouncer to bouncer, so be prepared to have kids with very dirty feet.

However, despite all of that, the staff seemed very friendly and helpful, and after all, it's for the kids, and I must say, the kids had a BLAST!  DS1 and DS2 just kept going from one bouncer to another and we had a hard time getting them to leave! 

All of the other kids there seemed to really enjoy themselves too.

For a birthday party venue, I personally thought it was just "okay," but simply as a venue for kids to have fun and release energy, it's great!

808 Bounce: Pearlridge Center Uptown • Phase 2 98-1005 Moanalua Road Aiea, HI 96701; (808) 354-8509

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