Life Lyn Style

My husband and I like to watch the Iron Chef.  We’ve also watched two seasons of the Next Iron Chef.  We’ve been to a couple of Michael Symon’s restaurants, so when my sister told me there was a Morimoto restaurant in Waikiki, we definitely wanted it on our to do list.  Since I don’t really care for sushi, we checked out the menu before we made reservations and decided we’d be able to find things that we liked.  The restaurant turned out to be a short walk from our hotel.

It was the dinner that made me glad that I brought a skirt to Hawaii.  We were greeter by Josh our server and these beautiful chopsticks.  I asked for a fork, but I still thought they were cool looking.

I was impressed with the iced tea.  It came in a carafe with a  cup of simple syrup for sweetener.  I love iced tea and this was fun.

After much discussion, everyone at our table ordered the Omakase which was a multi-course tasting menu designed to allow us to experience the essence of Morimoto’s cuisine.  We had 9 courses in total and they change regularly, so you never have the same meal twice.

1. Toro and Hamachi Tartare

Minced fatty tuna and yellowtail with condiments of wasabi, nori puree, Maui onion, rice crackers, crème fraiche, guacamole served with a dashi soy. Yamamomo to cleanse the palate.

Thoughts: I was surprised that I liked this course since there were tons of flavors that I would never order.  It was very tasty and disappeared by the end of the course.

2. Hot oil sashimi(seasonal fish)

topped with ginger, garlic, citrus soy, king oyster mushroom, shiso then seared with hot oil to seal the flavor.

Thoughts:  I forgot to snap a photo.  It was tasty.

3. Bagna Cauda

Seasonal vegetables and deep fried chicken thigh served with a dipping sauce of garlic , anchovy and olive oil. Garnished with Shichimi Togarashi powder, house made foccacia.

Thoughts:  You can’t tell in the photo, but this was kind of like a fondue course.  The oil is hot and there is a flame underneath keeping it hot.  It was the “be careful” dish since we definitely didn’t want to spill anything.  The dipping sauce was tasty even though it had anchovy.  All of the accompaniments were fresh and good as well.

4. Foie Gras Chawanmushi

Thinly sliced roasted duck breast over foie gras infused egg custard, dashi soy, fresh wasabi.

Thoughts:  I liked this dish.  Apparently, many people don’t care for it.  I loved that the serving bowl looked like it was designed for this dish.  The presentation throughout the courses was outstanding.

5. Intermezzo

Konbu cha, sea kelp tea

Thoughts:  I hated this tea.  I’m not sure what it tasted like, but yuck!

6. Chef’s selection seasonal nigiri sushi

Thoughts:  So, I ate the sushi.  That was a big deal.  I didn’t care for the one with the green or the one with the sauce, but the other three were quite delicious.

7. Surf and Turf

Pan roasted lobster with a garam masala spice mix, wagyu filet with Maui onion jus, ginger pork with a peanut sauce, pear marmalade, macadamia nuts

Thoughts:  The main course was really good.  I liked that the three things I was trying to pick from on the menu originally were all included in this course.  The sauce on the beef was a bit salty for my taste, but everything was perfectly cooked.

8. Pre dessert

Kuro mitsu gelee over soymilk panna cotta

Thoughts:  This was good, but unremarkable.

9. Kabocha soufflé cake

candied kabocha, Okinawan sweet potato ice cream

Thoughts:  This was really good and I forgot to snap a photo before it was gone.  It was fun to have kabocha in a dessert because I had just bought one at a farmer’s market a week or two before.

This was one of the best meals that I have ever had.  The service was outstanding and each course was unique and adventurous.  I’m not usually as daring with food, but this was an opportunity that I could not pass up.  I wonder if I’ll get the opportunity to visit another Iron Chef restaurant some day.

One of the things on my to do list while in Hawaii was a hike.  I had originally planned on two hikes, Manoa Falls and Diamond Head.  These are the two main hikes that everyone suggests.  I decided that I shouldn’t hike on my own.  My sister and I had time for one hike together and decided on Manoa Falls.  The guide books call it an easy hike.  I’m not sure if I agree.

The hike is about .8 miles and it’s in the lush, wet, rainforest.  It’s hard to believe that there is rainforest just a short drive from Waikiki.  Everything was very green and very muddy.

It rained most of our hike.  I was super glad that I had packed my hiking poles and boots for the trip.

I loved the scenery.  The photo on the right is bamboo.

Once we reached the end of the trail by the bottom of the falls, we took a few photos.

Then, we headed back down.

I was super glad to do this hike, but I thought it was difficult due to the wet and muddy surfaces.  I’d highly recommend it.

We were happy to head back to the hotel for showers when we were done.

I think that fact that I was going to Hawaii actually hit me at LAX (Los Angeles) airport when I saw the flight information for the Honolulu leg.  I flew from CLE to LAX and had a 2 hour layover before heading west.  When I arrived in Honolulu, the view from the airport was amazing.  It was also different to be walking from a terminal to baggage claim and be outside.  Hawaii doesn’t need much in the way of enclosed structures, so they don’t build extra walls.

As I went down the escalator to baggage claim, I got my first Aloha!  Once we got our rental car, we headed to our hotel.  On our way down the main street, we saw this bicyclist.  He was the type who looked like all of his belongings were with him.  He was swerving in and out of traffic and flicking people off every chance that he got.  It was quite hilarious since of course it was the fault of all of the drivers that he was riding like and idiot.

We wanted to remember where we parked in the deck, so I took this shot of my sister.  We were parked in 127, also known as 128 minus 1.  We stayed in the Kalia Tower of the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  It was a nice resort hotel with 6 towers, a few pools, several restaurants and lots of shops.  It was located a few steps to the beach.

By the time we got to our hotel and got situated it was time for dinner and we were exhausted from a long day of travel and the time change.  We headed to CJ”s New York Style Deli inside the hotel complex.  The food was unremarkable, but it was close and easy.  We found an ABC store (cross between a convenient store and a souvenir shop) so I could buy my bus pass.

I think it was about 7:30PM when we get back to out hotel room.  We joked about whether we’d still be awake by 8PM.  It was a long day, but I was thrilled to be in Oahu.