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Tag Archives: Oahu

Post-APEC: Let’s see how long this lasts

by Catherine Toth on November 8, 2011 in Musings, The Daily Dish

The other morning I was walking down Kalakaua Avenue after an early surf session and noticed something odd.

Flowers.

Flowers and decorative plants and ti leaves — all newly planted along the street.

I guess the naupaka wasn’t enough for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), in town for the week.

The city, it seems, has been taking major steps in beautifying downtown Honolulu and Waikiki in recent weeks, all in preparation for the leaders of APEC’s 21 economies and their massive entourages. There are new palm trees lining Nimitz Highway, cleaner streets in Waikiki and a noticeable decrease in homeless communities in the areas in and around the APEC zone.

Civil Beat’s Chad Blair shows you Honolulu before and after. (Read the story here.)

Here are my two unsolicited cents:

First, I’m annoyed that the city thinks this expensive facelift is only necessary for APEC. Never mind the 800,000 people who live on Oahu — or the thousands who live, work and play in Waikiki everyday. Why would we need a beautiful place to call home?

And secondly, I’ll take bets how long the city will let this temporary beautification project go to the wayside. We watched city workers plant lush patches of Saint Augustine grass around coconut trees and delicate decorative plants in front of waterfalls — knowing full well these adornments won’t last a month after APEC packs up and leaves.

So what’s the point?

It’s a temporary fix to a long-term problem. And don’t we, the people who actually have to live here beyond APEC, deserve a solution?

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FUUD: Mama Pho in Aina Haina

by Catherine Toth on October 28, 2011 in Food

Finally.

We have pho.

A few of us living in East Honolulu have been waiting waiting waiting for Mama Pho to open in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. To the point where we’d pass by the shopping center just to see if the new eatery was open.

It’s our first Vietnamese restaurant (that I can remember) in our ‘hood — and we didn’t wait to try it.

I had been craving phở — pronounced “fah,” people! — mostly because I was sick and this traditional Vietnamese noodle soup dish is what I like to eat when I’m sniffing and sneezing.

But this eatery, right across from Encore! Espresso (which will be neighbors soon with a Dave’s Ice Cream), has more than just pho. Its menu features rice plates, grilled meats, cold noodles and desserts that aren’t served every day. (We know.)

Here’s what we ate this week:

Outside Mama Pho

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We have been waiting for this eatery to open in Aina Haina. The nearest restaurant serving pho in East Honolulu is Kaimuki — and on some weeknights, even that's too far to drive.

Mama Pho, Aina Haina Shopping Center, 820 West Hind Dr. Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Phone: (808) 373-8887

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FUUD: Lava Wok at Eat The Street

by Catherine Toth on September 30, 2011 in Food

Food trucks and lunch wagons that participate in the monthly Eat The Street serve everything from Korean tacos to malassadas burgers to even chocolate-covered bacon.

But where’s the fried noodles and rice?

Well, this Friday two friends and former roommates will unveil a new food concept — everything made in a wok.

Lava Wok — in a tent, not a food truck — is a new vendor to Eat The Street — and likely to your palette.

Friends Michelle Van and Maureen Ackharath took their favorite recipes — with a few tweaks — and created a simple menu bursting with flavor.

They will be serving curry fried rice, spicy fried noodles, filled won ton desserts and soy milk in a bag a la street vendors in Vietnam. And you can only — for now — find their creations at Eat The Street.

“We thought this would be different,” said Ackharath, 28, a graduate of Kaimuki High School.

Sure is.

Here’s what they’ll be serving at Friday’s Eat The Street:

Lava Wok

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New to Eat The Street, Lava Wok will serve fried noodles, fried rice and deep-fried won ton — all made in a wok.

Eat The Street: Eat Local, 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 555 South St. in Kakaako

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FUUD: Revisiting Hy’s Steak House in Waikiki

by Catherine Toth on September 16, 2011 in Food

When I told friend I was going to eat at Hy’s Steak House for dinner, I got the same reaction:

“Man, I haven’t eaten there in years!”

Yeah, me, neither.

The steakhouse off Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki isn’t the hopping joint it may have been before. But it’s still one of the best-known steakhouses in Hawaii.

Hy’s, which opened in Waikiki about 25 years ago, was part of a Canadian-owned chain. And, to be honest, the place hasn’t changed much over the years. It’s still dark, woodsy, very masculine. Not the kind of place you’d take you gal pals for a night of Cosmos and girl talk.

But that’s exactly what we did.

Here’s what out evening looked like:

Inside Hy's Steak House

$Inside Hy\'s Steak House$

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This restaurant really looks like a steakhouse. The interior was designed to resemble an old English mansion — complete with old books and framed art — with the ambiance of a private gentlemen's club.

Hy’s Steakhouse, 2440 Kuhio Ave. in Waikiki. Hours: 6-10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Phone: (808) 922-5555.

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High school reunions not for me

by Catherine Toth on September 14, 2011 in Musings, The Daily Dish

The other day I was chatting with a colleague and he mentioned his 20th class reunion was coming up.

“You going?”

He frowned. “Nah,” he said. “I see everyone I want to see from high school. What’s the point?”

Exactly what I was thinking.

Shockingly — at least to me — my 20th class reunion is fast approaching, too, and I’m already getting Facebook notifications about it.

I have nothing against get-togethers of old friends and classmates. But a formal, organized reunion where I’d have to wear a name tag and dredge memories of trigonometry class and run into ex-boyfriends? I can think of other things to do that night.

It’s not that I don’t want to see my classmates. In fact, I enjoy running into familiar faces at the mall, grocery store and, most recently, at Rainbow Drive-In. I like catching up, hearing about their kids, what they’ve been up to, who they wound up marrying. But I’m not sure about an entire evening devoted to doing that with, oh, 125 people, many of whom won’t remember me, anyway.

I used to think high school reunions would be fun, a chance to reconnect with old friends and — isn’t this why we all go? — to see how everyone turned out. Did the prom queen get fat? Does the quarterback still have hair? And will my ex show up — and try to talk to me?

You envision — or hope — it will be a lot like “Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion,” where the two friends pretend they invented Post-Its, perform an elaborate dance number stick it to the popular girls and run away with the rich guy in a helicopter. It’s not a bad scenario.

Why do people go to class reunions, anyway? People — like my colleague — always say if those people really mattered that much, they would have kept in touch all these years. Is it the nostalgia? Is it to reconnect with old friends who don’t have Facebook accounts or email?

Anyone?

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