Visit Big Island: Volcano House Restaurant

Volcano House offers lodging at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and also has an onsite restaurant perfect for whether you're staying at Volcano House or just visiting the Park.  We dined at Volcano House Restaurant after exploring the Park a couple months ago. 

Tomato Bisque & Cheese Toast Points

Nothing really appealed to me on the menu, so I got the Tomato Bisque & Cheese Toast Points.  Unfortunately the bisque was very under-seasoned and the cheese toast points were squished and tough. 

Big Island Burger

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Ahi Poke Stack

Hawaiian Style Fish & Chips

The Fish & Chips were "Hawaiian Style" because the fish was crusted with mac nuts and coconut. 

Everyone else loved their food, fortunately.

Service was great, and you get amazing views of the crater (perfect during an eruption).

Volcano House Restaurant
1 Crater Rim Drive

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718

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Visit Hilo: Cafe Pesto Take-Out

Although it was through take-out, I tried Cafe Pesto for the first time!

Blue Caesar

A friend has raved to me about the Caesar many times, and it was great.  The dressing and the fresh Hirabara greens really make the salad!

Mushroom Artichoke

Classico Marinara

The pizzas were great.  My friend enjoyed the Mushroom Artichoke, but I preferred the Classico Marinara, with Kaunamano pork sausage, pepperoni, and salami.  It's one of the tastiest pizzas I've had in Hilo!

Banh Mi Pork

Looking forward to dining in one day!

Cafe Pesto
308 Kamehameha Ave #101

Hilo, HI 96720

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Visit Big Island: Hualalai Trading Company

For grab-and-go eats, drinks, souvenirs, gifts, and more while staying at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, the Hualalai Trading Company is a great option.  

We went there to pick up some breakfast, and we literally beat the crowd.  The lines were so long after we put in our order!

It's such a busy spot for coffee and quick and casual eats.  

Breakfast Croissant

Breakfast Burrito

As you can expect, the prices for the food are on the higher side, but quality-wise, the food was good and better than some other resort grab-and-go breakfast options I've tried.

I made an impulse purchase and bought a $6 cookie at the register, which turned out to be the best thing I ate during my stay at the Four Seasons. 

The cookie was chewy, moist, chocolaty - just delicious!  It was one of the best cookies I've ever had, and at $6, it was a steal IMO.  

If you want to skip the resort restaurants and just get something lighter and faster, check out Hualalai Trading Company!

Hualalai Trading Company
72-100 Ka'upulehu Dr. Kailua-Kona

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Visit Waikoloa: Kings Land Bistro & Lounge

While staying at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club King's Land Waikoloa, we ate at the on property s Kings Land Bistro & Lounge. 

Volcano Wings

Aliʻi Burger

Bistro Nachos

They were out of a lot of food the day we went.  I wanted to add chicken to the nachos as noted on the menu, but they were out of chicken and pork.  They were also out of pizza.

The Bistro Nachos were very basic, and the toppings sparse.  

The rest of the fam enjoyed the wings and burgers.

Service was really friendly.

Kings Land Bistro & Lounge
69-699 Waikōloa Beach Dr

Waimea, HI 96743

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Visit Waikoloa: Island Gourmet Markets

If you're staying in Waikoloa and want to avoid the resorts and the resort prices, Island Gourmet Markets has plentiful options for meals.  They have grab-and-go, cook-to-order, as well as groceries so you can cook your own!

During our Waikoloa stay, we ordered breakfast.  

Buttermilk Pancakes with Side Bacon

Banana Paradise Pancakes

Loco Moco

Omelette Supreme with Fried Rice

The Omelette Supreme included sausage, bacon, ham, and cheese. 

Ultimate Hashbrown Breakfast

I had the Ultimate Hashbrown Breakfast, which included hashbrowns topped with bacon, sausage, cheese, and bell peppers. It was served with two eggs. I wish the hash browns were crispier, but it was a hearty breakfast!

Island Gourmet Markets
69-201 Waikoloa Beach Drive

Space B1/B2, Waikoloa, HI 96738

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Visit Big Island: Residents' Beach House

Even though I've stayed at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai a few times before, it wasn't until my recent stay did I try the Residents' Beach House.

Thai Chicken Salad

The Thai Chicken Salad included Hirabara greens, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, green papaya, mint, and a citrus peanut dressing.  The chicken was a little on the dry side, but the flavor was good. 

Garlic Parmesan Fries

It's hard to go wrong with Garlic Parmesan Fries!  They were delish!

Longboard Lager Battered Ono & Chips

We actually got served our food before we had any silverware, and had a very long wait for silverware, unfortunately.  We had to flag down our server as she nor the food runner didn't even notice our silverware was missing.  Other than that, service was overall fine.

The menu is pretty standard for a local resort, but the options were satisfying.

Residents' Beach House
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
72-100 Ka'upulehu Drive

Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

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Visit Waikoloa: HiCO Coffee Company

After trying the Croissant Breakfast Sandwich at HiCO Coffee Company in Waikoloa, it became one of my fave breakfast sandwiches from the area. 

Hashbrown & Bacon Croissant

The Hasbhbrown and Bacon Croissant is so filling.  All my breakfast faves in a croissant, with a yummy pesto mayo.

Smoked Ahi Cucumber Toast

HiCO Acai Bowl

HiCO is a great option for breakfast in the Waikoloa area!


HiCO Hawaiian Coffee
68-1845 Waikoloa Rd suite 126
Waikoloa Village, HI 96738

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Visit Big Island: NOIO

NOIO is a Japanese restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai that specializes in sushi.  They do offer an omakase experience, but on this visit we opted for the a la carte menu.

Complimentary Miso Soup

Shore Salad

The Shore Salad was comprised of various types of seaweed, such as lepe o Hina and umibudo.  It was very oceanic in flavor.

Yasai Nanban

Black Cod Dolce

My friend loved the Black Cod Dolce.

Hamachi Carpaccio

Sake Chicken

The Sake Chicken was on the dry side, but the broth was very pleasant.

Hotate and Madai Nigiri

The sushi was superb, as expected.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Dorayaki

The Dorayaki, a pancake-like confection with a filling, was served with chilled barley tea.  The server recommended getting some vanilla ice cream to accompany the dorayaki, and I happily obliged. 

Sesame Wagashi

The night ended with complimentary Sesame Wagashi.

Definitely opt for seafood / sushi if you plan to dine at NOIO - those dishes were the most favored!

NOIO
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
72-100 Ka'upulehu Drive, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

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Visit Hilo: Wailoa Grill

I recently picked up breakfast at Wailoa Grill (they are a sister company to the popular breakfast spot Hawaiian Style Cafe). 

They have a decent breakfast menu, but my friend and I both ended up getting a breakfast burrito ($12.95).

Portuguese Sausage Breakfast Burrito

Bacon Breakfast Burrito

I appreciated how stuffed the burrito was.  There was eggs, bacon, bell peppers, cheese, and hash browns in it.  

What I didn't appreciate it was how there was a lot of egg shells in my burrito - I had to spit out a lot of eggs.  I also didn't expect frozen, pre-made hash browns.

The burrito itself was good, minus the egg shells.  

The service could have been improved as well.   Upon arrival, there was no line.  However, the employee was writing out the specials board and it took him a literal minute to even acknowledge us before finally saying "I'll be right with you," as he continued to make us wait to order while he finished writing the specials.  

Being in the service industry, if my team member intentionally ignored a customer and made him / her wait even further for something that could be finished after providing service, I would be sure to address it with the team member.

Wailoa Grill

93 Lihiwai Street

Hilo, HI  96720

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Visit Hilo: Kats and Lemons

I always love checking out bakeries, so of course I had to visit the recently-opened Kats and Lemons.  

OREO Core Cookie

OREO Brownie

The cookies and brownies are enormous!  They will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ube Tart

Coffee and Fruit Tarts

I also got tarts in various flavors.  They were a pleasant bite!

Owner Kat started out baking from home, then doing local markets and bake stands.  It's so great to see people realizing their passions and making their dreams come true!

Kats and Lemons
417 Kalanikoa St

Hilo, HI 96720

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Visit Big Island: ‘Ulu

While at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, we had breakfast at ‘Ulu.  They offer both a breakfast buffet as well as a la carte menu items.  I usually prefer to get a la carte menu items since I never get my money's worth at buffets (as of this post it was $59 per adult).

Hualalai Sunrise Smoothie

The Hualalai Sunrise Smoothie had non-dairy yogurt, orange juice, banana, strawberry, flax, and honey.  It was sweet and refreshing.  I didn't taste much of the honey, but the strawberry and banana flavors were more forward. 

Huevos Rancheros

My friend enjoyed the Huevos Rancheros. 

Loco Moco

I had the Loco Moco, which consisted of braised short rib (you could also opt for grilled fish), topped with an adobo gravy and served with Ali‘i mushroom fried rice.   I thought the greens were out of place, and the short rib was unfortunately too tough, but the gravy was tasty and I really liked the fried rice. 

I'll definitely have to try the Huevos Rancheros next time!

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
72-100 Ka`upulehu Drive
Kailua-Kona, HI 96725
(808) 325-8000

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Visit Big Island: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

 

Even though Kilauea was not erupting at the time, we decided to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  The entrance fee per standard vehicle is $30, and is valid for 7 days (so if it erupts within the next 7 days, be sure to keep your entrance pass handy!).  

The Kilauea Visitor Center is closed, but there is a Welcome Center at the Kilauea Military Camp where you can buy souvenirs and listen to some of the park rangers speak about the volcano and the area. 

We went to the Kilauea Overlook and walked to the Uekahuna Overlook.

I was very fortunate to have witnessed an eruption before, but even in the absence of lava flows or fountains, it was very neat to be there still, seeing all the steam coming through.

 As we walked along one of the paths, we saw some ʻōhelo, which I talked to my kids about.  

The predictions for the eruptions seem to be quite accurate, as it was predicted to erupt between 2-7 days later, and it erupted 3 days later, so if you have the flexibility to plan around the predictions, that may be your best chance to view an eruption.  

Watch the live feeds, sign up for alerts, and hopefully some lucky timing is on your side to view an eruption.  But even if you don't witness one, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is still a meaningful place to visit.

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