Garlic Fries & Hula Pies – Moments From Now

We really did start out with the best of intentions – ordering a salad each (appetizer size) at a place called the Hula Grill. This was fast becoming one of our favourite places. We discovered one in Maui and one in Waikiki above Duke’s restaurant. Our interest piqued as it had some of our favourite things… music, location (right on the beach), good food and they also make the most delicious cocktails!

Apparently, there was a slight delay with our order which hadn’t worried us at all as we were enjoying the music. However, the manager came over and apologised for the delay and said that dessert was on the house… well, we couldn’t knock that back! This was our first experience with Hula Pie.

Hula Pie: Crushed Oreo base covered in macadamia ice-cream, covered in a rich fudge chocolate casing, with whipped cream, nuts and smothered in hot chocolate fudge. It was nuts!! The portion was massive (8 inches tall & took up nearly a whole dinner plate). It really is hard to gauge the delicious enormity of this feast from the photo. Bruce and I did our best, thinking this was our last big splurge before reality and diets!!

We found that as the portions of meals were so huge, we usually ordered one between us. We had an appetiser of Nachos at the Cheesecake Factory and it was ridiculously large, could have fed 4-6 as a starter. Thank you friends for the warning!

Of course, there’s fries with everything, even when we ordered a turkey sandwich to share. Now, we really have to admit that we didn’t get the spam thing… we tried it on a recommendation, but we’re happy to leave that to others. We did, indulgently, enjoy the garlic fries though.

The pineapple was my favourite – so sweet and juicy – a must-have. I also love my carbs and a nice piece of crusty bread, but in most cases we found the bread to be quite sweet. Also, as coffee tragics, we knew from past experience in the US that finding a decent coffee was going to be a challenge. Unfortunately, there was only a couple of somewhat drinkable occasions on this trip… oh well, a very minor complaint.

There was no celebrity-spotting this time, but it could have been Ed Sheerin floating around in the water close by me at one point the other day! Does anyone know if Ed was in Waikiki recently? We did run into our next door neighbours in Macy’s yesterday though!!

A few recommendations:

Hula Grill (Waikiki) – try the Mai Tai and Pau Hana POG (winner of best cocktail of the trip). The beef salad in the bar restaurant was very tasty.
Cheesecake Factory – delicious food and excellent service. Go early or late to avoid a long wait. Don’t forget, go easy on the amount you order.
Fleetwoods (Lahaina, Maui) – rooftop bar and restaurant. Great food, service and entertainment. Try the Lime in the Coconut cocktail (second favourite).
The Gazebo (Napili, Maui) – supposedly the best breakfast in Hawaii – be prepared for a queue of about 30 minutes. Well worth the wait! We also loved this place because it was located right next to our favourite snorkelling paradise!
L & L’s (Lahaina, Maui) – great local food at a small price.
Vans on the side of the road – we only got to try the pineapple, but we’ll be sampling a lot more next time.

We are now at Honolulu airport awaiting our flight home and reflecting on our wonderful holiday. In our last few days, we enjoyed some retail therapy at Waikele (shopping outlets); visited Pearl Harbour and the Missouri; and last night experienced yet another awesome sunset on a catamaran cruise that was a fitting farewell to this very special place.