Hawaii Day 4

My fourth full day home was a beautiful one. Gorgeous, sunny, no clouds, but I have to admit that I wasn't used to the heat. Sweating like a haole. 

Since I wanted to save some money and had no concern for the sodium intake, my Dad and I had Bowl of Noodles, kimchi flavor with fresh mustard greens. High in spice, flavor and preservatives. Yum. :-P

Nom Nom face

The rest of the day was full of nostalgia. My friend was kind enough to take the day off work so we could spend time at our old watering hole.

Manoa Gardens, affectionately known as Ba-Le, is the University of Hawaii campus bar owned by a chain of Vietnamese restaurants in Hawaii. In addition to affordable drinks and a casual atmosphere, there is a restaurant serving banh-mi sandwiches and pho.

My old stomping grounds

When I attended UH, there would be few days that I didn't spend at this bar. I would get out of class, order a bowl of tofu pho and sit at the bar for hours. Slowly people would trickle in after classes, tests, appointments, work and the day would end in smiles and laughter and drinks for all. I don't know what I would have done without that place and the people I met there. Honestly, I'd probably be a completely different person.

This sandwich didn't stand a chance

For old times sake, I ordered a lemongrass chicken banh mi. The fragrant orders of the crusty French bread was intoxicating. Not too many things smell better than bread. Top it off with lemony chicken, a slice of cucumber and some pickled carrots and radish. And one does not simply walk into Ba-Le and not order a drink.

Ba-Le is the bar that I got to explore my flavor options for alcohol. Since I went there five days of the week, I got to delve into the different flavors of mixed drinks, especially those of the vodka variety. When I frequented the establishment, my drink of choice was a spin off of their signature drinks: the Starburst. A mixture of five flavors of Stolichnaya vodka (usually vanilla, peach, lemon, raspberry and orange) and a splash of lemon lime soda. To put my own spin on it, I added some cranberry juice to the mix. This time I opted for another signature drink, the Legspreader.

Sweet and tart; delicious in a glass

Though I do not condone the nature of the drink's name, I do appreciate the combination of lemon Stoli, sweet and sour, fresh lime juice, lemon lime soda and a drizzle of Chambord raspberry liqueur.

It's nice to think back on all the good times I had at this bar. The great memories, even better friends and the occasional unfortunate incidents that give us a chuckle down the road. I had to come back and give my patronage to my old bar. Besides, they still have my old college newspaper article posted in the bar. How could I not come?

Yup, I wrote the top one. No autographs please

After Ba-Le we decided to walk down the street to a local ice cream establishment called Bubbies. Known for their creamy confections with sinful nicknames, Bubbies is located just across the street from some of the UH bars. One of it's most popular treats is mochi ice cream.

Mochi is a traditional Japanese dessert made of sweetened and pounded rice. Thanks to a local melting pot mentality, fusion of Asian, Polynesian and American foods has created some of the most amazing food combinations. Mochi ice cream is soft, chewy, slightly sweet mochi stuffed with creamy ice cream. My friend and I decided to get three each; I got the Passion fruit, Lychee and Chocolate Espresso and he got Chocolate Mint and two Chocolate Peanut butter mochi.

Sweet, creamy and chewy balls of awesome

Even though we went straight to dessert, we still had to eat dinner, and if Hawaii is good for one thing it's the "ono kine grindz" (translation: delicious food). After walking through our alma mater, my friends and I decided to hit up a bar serving local food. Though we took the wrong exit and almost drove to the opposite side of the island, we finnaly arrived at Kanpai, a bar near the Ward Center shopping mall. 

One of my favorite things to order at Kanpai bar and grill, is their Li Hing Maggie. A twist on a traditional margarita, Maggie is mixed an rimmed with a local dehydrated plum powder called li hing. Li hing powder is tart, salty and a little sweet; a perfect accompaniment to a margarita. I normally get my margaritas on the rocks, but I figured Maggie might appreciate a little whirl, so she came to me blended.

Hellooooooo Maggie!!

In addition to drinks, we ordered some very garlicy fries, garlic furikake chicken and some fried rice. We were so stuffed from lunch and the mochi, we couldn't finish. Nothing a doggy bag can't solve.

Chicken, fried rice and fries

Another successful day of good eats and great company, and much more to come. 

-Akemi-chan