Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Kaimuki -Yoga, Mexican, and Sconees!

There are many interesting shops and stylish cafes in Kaimuki. I have been to Kaimuki with my friend before for Yoga Class. Firstly, we went to coffee shop, Coffee Talk. The shop is popular with Kaimuki people. I like atmosphere of the shop. There are many good artistic pictures on the wall. In addition, the shop always connected to the internet. I think it is really convenience for student and worker. I ordered an ice coffee latte. The coffee was good taste. After that, we walked around Kaimuki. There are some Mexican restaurants. I especially want to try the Mexican restaurant, B. C. burrito. Next, we went to the Sconees. The shop’s scone was very good. I bought 2 chocolate, 1 raisin, 1 apple for souvenir to my friends. I really recommend the scone shop. After we stayed Kaimuki, we went to Kahala beach. Weather was good, so the sea was very beautiful. There were few people on the beach because of early morning. In addition, there were many big houses in Kahala. I thought that I want to live there.

Kaimuki and Coffee Talk

We went to Coffee Talk in Kaimuki on April 20, 2010 for a field trip. We were able to arrive there from Waikiki by the car in about ten minutes and the way was very simple. It advances toward east on the Kapiolani Blvd to Waialae Ave until 12th Ave. I think it would be possible to go there with the bicycle in 30 minutes. We decided to stop the van in a nearby parking lot and to walk there. Kaimuki has a different atmosphere from Waikiki. There were no tourists and we were able to feel the Hawaiian time of the local. We could see a lot of ethnic food restaurants while we were walking. The Mexican restaurant that was called B.B.Burrito seems to have been especially famous. The character of BYOW, Bring Your Own Wine, can frequently be seen in the restaurant in the sphere of Europe, but we could see the character of BYOB, Bring Your Own Beer, at the front of the restaurant. After we had looked at some restaurants and shops, we finally went to Coffee talk around 9:30 a.m. The shop opens at 6 a.m. so it is possible to go there in the early morning. There were many kinds of coffee drinks, bagels, and pancakes. I ordered ice coffee. The price was similar to other coffee shops and cheaper than Starbucks coffee. We relaxed for a while there. We could use free internet at the shop so we could see office workers and students there. The shop was clean and some paintings were put on walls and also nostalgic jazz music flowed there and I was able to feel like the atmosphere was in the 90's.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Pearl Ridge Shopping Center


I have been to Pearl Ridge Shopping Center many times. Actually, Pearl Ridge Shopping Center is the second largest in Hawaii. There are many shops and restaurants. I especially like Forever21, Hollister, and MAC. These are clothing shops and cosmetic shops. Firstly, I went to Pearl City by bus from McCully, and went to Pearl Ridge by walk. Then, I bought coffee and bread at Starbucks for brunch. I love Starbucks, so I often go to Starbucks. After I had brunch, I walked around Pearl Ridge Shopping Center with Momo. I bought some clothes and shoes. I love shopping. It makes me so happy. Prices were cheaper than shops in Waikiki and Ala Moana. In addition, there were few Japanese tourists, so there were many local people. There was a famous pretzel shop. Therefore, we bought some pretzels before we went back home. After we left the shopping center, we waited for the bus. Finally, we went back home spending one hour getting on the bus. I thought that today was very full and I had very nice time with Momo. I’m looking forward to going to Pearl Ridge Shopping Center next time.

Todai Sushi Review

I went to Todai with my friends on Saturday for lunch. It was a very good restaurant because there were lots of food such as sushi, fried food, and dessert. We ate many kinds of food. My friend ate a lot of sushi. There were many kinds of sushi, but there were two that were kinds strange. We called one of them hybrid sushi because it was made of tuna and salmon. This case was a little bit strange. There is no type of sushi like that in Japan. The other one also surprised me. It was called California Roll. I knew it, but I had never eaten it before I went to Todai. The two unusual kinds of sushi were very tasty for me, but my friends didn’t think so. We also ate some desserts. There were small pieces of cakes, mousses, and crapes. I ate all of them because I like sweet cakes more than anything else. The cakes and mousses were so delicious for me, but crepes were by far the tastiest. When I lived in Japan, I used to eat crepes. In Japan, my favorite crepe contained slices of bananas, strawberry jam, and a lot of whipped cream. Todai’s crepes were almost same as my favorite one, but Todai’s crepes had custard cream and chocolate syrup instead of strawberry jam. I had great time because of crepes. Next weekend, I’m going to go out to eat more crepes. If you know any good crepe shops, please let me know.

Ala Moana shopping center is the biggest shopping center in Hawaii.

Ala Moana shopping center is the biggest shopping center in Hawaii. There are approximately 220 stores and 70 restaurants. You can get anything you want there. You may enjoy shopping or eating at the shopping center whether you are a rich person or not. If you like brand name products, such as CHANEL, PRADA and LOUIS VITTON, you can enjoy shopping there for certain. We can see so many expensive stores there. If you do not have enough money to buy these products and do not have an interest in them, don’t worry. There is also an Old Navy in ala moana shopping center. Their products are really inexpensive; we can buy a pair of beach shoes for only 5 dollars. I have never shopped there, but my friend often goes there and he enjoys shopping there. Also, the restaurants are so enriched. If you have a lot of money, I recommend you go to Tanaka of Tokyo, a Japanese seafood and steak restaurant, because you can enjoy the chef’s performance. You sit down in front of a chef and they make your meal with a fantastic performance. It is kind of like a circus. Of course, the chefs’ performance is pretty high level. Unfortunately, if you do not have much money, I recommend you go to the food court. At the food court, you can enjoy so many kinds of meals. Also, they are relatively inexpensive. Especially, a hamburger shop in the food court is my favorite shop. Their products are really fresh and we can have very tasty French fries. Actually, they are tastier than Mc Donald’s hamburgers. In fact, Ala Moana shopping center has more fantastic stores and restaurants. Even I didn’t know all of the stores in Ala Moana shopping center. I will do more research about there.