Lani Sot

We ended up Lani Sot because we were influenced by my fave photographer (and karaoke singer), @islandbag. I opted for the Spicy Pork Pot Rice after reading Nadia's post.

Kimchi Pancake

Spicy Pork

It was really delicious.

All mixed up

All the pork, veggies and spices, combined to create an amazing dish.  Several sides accompany the rice pot, and we took home quite a bit of leftovers.

Spicy Eggplant

After you get out most of the contents from the pot, barley tea will be poured in to make soup!

Barley Tea poured into the pot to make nurungji soup

Refreshing slush to end the meal

It's a small restaurant, so reservations are highly recommended.

Delicious food and a great price (when we went it was $24.99 for the set, which includes soup and banchan, as well as a sweet treat).

SALT At Our Kaka'ako
324 Coral St Ste 207

Honolulu, HI 96813

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Sculpted Facial at Dr. Body Waikiki

I have a friend that I trust with all things beauty so when she told me about her great experience with Dr. Body Waikiki, she really needed to say no more. The first chance I had, I went to their Instagram account @dr.bodyhawaii_salon, accessed their scheduling, and easily made an appointment for a 60 minute sculpted facial lift.

Now readers, this is not your normal facial. The sculpted facial lift includes cleansing. exfoliation, and a lifting face massage using their signature face sculpting technique followed by your choice of radio frequency, cavitation, or HIFU 270 shots. It is available either in a 45 min or 60 min session with the hour-long session to include a 15-minute scalp massage.

The treatment promises visible results after one session and is perfect to combat puffy and sagging skin. I'm not going to lie, I found much of the sculpting technique to be sore. My friend had mentioned this, but she promised there would be no bruising so I endured. I don't think everyone will find it painful, but for my first time I did. But honestly, I was happy enough with the results that I purchased a package of 3. My friend said it best: "The pain is worth it. Can't wait to go back.”

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The Hall by Beer Lab HI - Pearlridge

I've visited The Hall by Beer Lab HI in Pearlridge several times over the past year, and the food has always been consistently good.  

On a recent visit, we ended up getting take-out, and I ordered a couple of new-to-me dishes. 

Crispy Pork

The Crispy Pork is one of my favorite dishes there, primarily because of the Filipino flavors.

Shoyu Ginger Chicken

The grilled chicken was very juicy, and the shoyu ginger marinade was very balanced. 

Char Siu Chicken Katsu

The Char Siu flavor was very light on the katsu in my opinion, but the color was there!

The Hall by Beer Lab HI at Pearlridge
Uptown, 98-1005 Moanalua Rd Unit #884

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Sheraton Waikiki Brings Back their Buffet at Hinahina!

Hinahina Sliders

The Sheraton Waikiki has brought back their breakfast buffet after more than six years through their new beachfront restaurant, Hinahina! A longtime kamaʻāina favorite, the dinner buffet is expected to return later this month just in time for the holidays.

Hawaii Mom Blog was invited to attend a media party for Hinahina, formerly Kai Market and Edge of Waikiki Bar, showcasing Executive Chef Darren Demaya's new dinner menu. The restaurant can seat up to 250 people and includes a private Shapers Room that can accommodate up to 40 guests. Perfect for large groups and celebrations!

Miso Butterfish

Backyard Style Grilled Oysters

Harvest Greens

Auntie Karen's Strawberry Jell-o Cheesecake Pie

Chocolate Coconut S'mores Pie

New outdoor seating

Spacious indoor seating

Buffet views

Shaper's Private Room

Hinahina is open for breakfast from 6:30am to 10:30am. Breakfast buffet prices are $48 adults and $25 for children 12 and under. Lunch is available from 11am to 5pm and dinner from 5pm to 9pm. Enjoy their live entertainment during lunch and dinner nightly. Dining guests receive up to four hours of validated self-parking with a minimum purchase of $25.

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Fooki

I finally got to try out Fooki!  

Boom Boom Chicken

Fried chicken is always a good idea!  The chicken pieces were tender and flavorful.  

Fooki Potstickers

The Potstickers were stuffed with pork, cabbage, and green onions.  They were huge, and very tasty!  

MaLa Wonton Noodles

This dish had a double pepper icon on the menu, but it wasn't too spicy, fortunately.  The wontons were filled with shrimp & pork.  It was a refreshing dish, even with the spice!

Ice Cream Honey Toast

Despite being served on a disposable plate, I enjoyed the Ice Cream Honey Toast.  The toast was topped with toasted marshmallows and drizzled with chocolate syrup.  It was so huge - and because my friend doesn't eat dessert, I ended up taking most of it home (yes, the ice cream melted, but I couldn't let it go to waste).

We went for an early dinner, and there was only one other table occupied when I arrived, but by the time we left, it was pretty busy.  

The service was very friendly.  Definitely hope to return to try other dishes!

Fooki

Pearl Kai
98-199 Kamehameha Hwy Ste G-02
Aiea, HI 96701

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Visit Alaska: Whittier Tunnel

The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (aka Whittier Tunnel) is the longest vehicle + railroad tunnel in North America!  We had to traverse through it to get to our glacier cruise, and were given specific instructions as to what time to go through the tunnel, as it is only open for 15 minutes one-way each hour during specific hours of the day, which varies by the season.  If you miss the tunnel, you will have to wait another hour.  

We got to the tunnel about 15 minutes before the scheduled time.  We paid a toll (tolls are round-trip and paid if you're coming from the Bear Valley / Anchorage area).

We waited in a line designated by the toll agent.  There are restrooms near the waiting area, but prior to arriving, we stopped at the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center, which is just a few minutes away, to use the restroom and kill some time.  

You are encouraged to arrive at least 10 minutes before the scheduled time to keep traffic flowing. 

It takes about 6 minutes at 25MPH to go through the tunnel, and you are warned by the toll agent to not speed in or even once out of the tunnel, as there is law enforcement (and we did see police cars on the opposite end).  

After our cruise, we made it just in time for the return to Anchorage without having to kill time in Whittier. 

It was definitely an cool experience!

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J. DOLAN'S

We had about 30 minutes to kill before meeting up with friends for trick-or-treating in Kahala on Halloween, so we decided to make a quick stop at J. Dolan’s. My husband had been wanting to try this place for the longest time. Were the stars finally aligned? It sure seemed that way when we walked in and got seated right away!

We thought we were off to a great start, so we placed our order for a whole cheese pizza and a spinach and garlic pizza. Then came the unexpected news from our waitress: the kitchen was backed up on whole pizzas, and it would take about 45 minutes. Uh-oh! We definitely didn't have that kind of time.

We asked if we could order pizza by the slice instead. After a little back-and-forth with the kitchen, our waitress came back with good news. They had cheese and pepperoni available by the slice!

We ordered two slices of cheese pizza for the boys and decided to fill the rest of our time with a few appetizers: fried onion rings, fried calamari, and chicken wings.

Thankfully, the appetizers came out in pretty good time. Everything was hot, crispy, and freshly prepared. The chicken wings had a little kick to them, but nothing too overpowering. They were super yummy! The onion rings and fried calamari were also great for sharing while we waited for the pizza slices.

The pizza slices were the last to arrive, but the boys were happy once they finally made it to the table. They loved the cheese pizza!

All in all, it turned out to be a great little Halloween meal.  We'll definitely have to come back when we're not on a 30-minute countdown. On our way out, we even spotted a guy who had been waiting for his pizza when we first arrived. So, apparently, that 45-minute estimate wasn't an exaggeration! 😂

Next time, we'll plan ahead, come hungry, and give those whole pizzas the time they deserve!

 J. DOLAN'S

4210 WAIALAE AVENUE

808-888-7664

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