We are about half way through our blog post for our Maui trip but there's so much to share that we won't be finished with it until early next week. We had a great vacation filled with relaxing on the beach, shopping, a close whale encounter, Chinese New Year celebrations, and so so much more! We can't wait to share in our experiences with you all!
The week before we left for Maui we hung out on the North Shore of Oahu, which was especially fun because the waves were huge at Sunset beach. It's so mesmerizing watching the beauty of the waves but also understanding how strong and powerful a place the ocean can be. It's also entertaining watching some great (and no so great) surfers try to get that perfect ride. Nothing in the world seems more perfect than winter in Hawaii for so many reasons.
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Last Friday for the first time we attended Eat the Street in Kaka'ako. Kaka'ako is one of our favorite areas in Honolulu because it has such a young, fun and esentric vibe (it's also where Mark works)! Eat the street is a collection of food trucks that all gather for five hours for a monthly night festival of eating and socializing. Sounds like a good time? Oh yeah! Speaking of food trucks... if you haven't yet you must see the movie Chef..it'll change the way you look at grinds from food trucks. Eat the street is held the last Friday of every month and each event there is a different theme... this weeks theme? Chocolate! Many of the trucks offer special menu items to fit the theme. Special items such as chocolate ribs, chocolate-strawberry crepes, chocolate-peanut aloha pops, and chocolate pizza to name a few of the specialty items offered. We didn't try any of those items but did get our fill on other goodies!
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Being that I'm an adult and I can do what I want I started with dessert first, tehehe. No Ka Oi has specialitiy ice cream sandwiches that I've had my eyes on since we moved to Hawaii. Two delicious fresh baked chocolate cookies sandwiched some of the most fresh/creamy ice cream I have ever had. I ordered the 'grasshopper' which was mint ice cream with whole pieces of mini chocolate chips. Delish! After, I had the Kalua pork sandwich with a sweet lilikoi bbq sauce. Mark ordered the bbq ribs. When in doubt you can never go wrong with Hawaiian bbq. Our 'dessert' we had to try a 'twisted tater' just because it looked so fun! Freshly sliced potatoes fried up and topped with a tiny bit of salt made a fun and yummy treat that was easy to carry around a crowded fest! They took a fresh potato and put it through a drill press to make a fun snack! We arrived to Eat the Street a little before six and we noticed the later it got the worse the lines/crowds got. So our only advice is to go as early as possible to avoid it feeling like six flags (an hour of waiting for a few minutes of fun). Each month there's a new theme so we many have to go again next month to check out more goodies!
When we first did our tour of Oahu all the way back to a year ago, we noticed the North Shore of Oahu had numerous different prawn ponds where they are raised until matured. Filled with dozens of different shrimp trucks, stands, and restaurants all claiming to have 'The best shrimp on the island' it's easy to fall for the first sign promising such a magical experience when passing down Kamehameha Highway. Both sets of our coworkers all told us that Giovanni's had the best shrimp hands down on the island.. and they were right. Giovanni's shrimp truck is located right off Highway 83 in the town of Kahuku. It's surrounded by many other kinds of fresh food stands including bbq corn, fresh fruit and coffee. Giovanni's shrimp truck itself is worth seeing! It's a white bus and is filled with different writing all over the bus from satisfied customers! What a cool idea! Make sure to bring a sharpie if you ever visit Giovanni's to leave your own mark! :)
I (Mark) order the half plate of the shrimp scampi. When I first received the plate of shrimp I noticed each shrimp was fully shelled, which was different having to de-shell each individual shrimp. The shrimp were served on a bed of white rice (almost everything in Hawaii is served with rice). They had a perfect blend of garlic, fresh lemon, lime with a ton of butter. It's by far one of the best experiences I've ever had eating shrimp. I was hesitance to try Giovanni's because many times places/food don't seem worth the hype-but Giovanni's was! I would order it again in a heart beat and recommend to anyone looking for the best shrimp on Oahu! Right next to the lot of Giovanni's is a gas station and on the side of the building there's a hole in the wall little shop with great/affordable shave ice- Wili Wilis. Our favorite is tigers blood- which is strawberry colada- yum!
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We have a big blog coming soon... check back soon! Miss you all <3
Jen and Mark
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