Early Thanksgiving at Yoshitsune

Grandma wanted to avoid the crowds and turkey and overeating at Thanksgiving so we went to Yoshitsune and had a very nice matsutake kamameshi lunch instead.  Grandma and I had the Matsutake Teishoku and R opted for the Shizukagozen Teishoku.

Takikawa tofu

Sashimi plate

Tempura and dobinmushi soup

 Matsutake dobinmushi.  I had brought back 5 dobin pots with ideas of making  it in Hawaii.  What was I thinking of.  They're still sitting in storage.

Cream anmitsu

Good, good Penny.

Grandma enjoyed the meal,  especially the matsutake kamameshi.
We frequented Torigin in Ginza often in the past.  At that time it was a small two storied, cramped and smoky atmospheric place, but it had turned into a regular restaurant when we revisited it awhile back.

Hide chans, meeting Lucy the doxie

M's last visit to a Honolulu restaurant before leaving for Maui.  One of our go-to's for sparerib soup, salmon and tempura.

Delicious sparerib soup, with daikon, konbu and mustard cabbage and lots of ginger

Bitter melon and Okinawan sweet potato tempura

 

Tonkatsu and sashimi teishoku

Good Penny

Cozy interior.  Mr and Mrs Hidechan are such nice people

Hide Chan




Took Penny walking in Manoa Park.  Manoa is such a beautiful place with lovely rainbows and clean air from all the greenery.   The late afternoon light on the mountains can be so clear 

Manoa park area

We met G out walking Lucy which was such a happy meeting because we both wanted Penny and Lucy to meet. Lucy is a lady and was wary of Penny, who is still a crazy pup.  Most of the photos had little blurs of moving puppy, but here are a couple to record the event.

North Shore Haleiwa

Visited Haleiwa before M leaves for her new position in Maui.  

We found Kaiaka Bay beach park for the first time after having lived here most of our lives.   Wish we had known about it sooner.

It was Penny's first experience on sand and she loved it, prancing and digging around, but the water scared her.  

                      Stopped in at Breakers for breakfast.  

Not our usual type of place but interesting with surfboards on the ceiling and walls.  It was a noisy football sunday filled with customers ranging from surfers and bikers to tourists.  

Our waitress was nice and the waffle, though not crispy, was tasty.  We had the "local" breakfast, and the omelette.  And R had the Country breakfast, with biscuits and gravy with eggs and bacon and of course rice.  The waitress even brought shoyu without our asking.

    Penny, as usual, slept through it all, with an occasional side eye for assurance.   Good Penny.

Then we stopped at our usual tourist trap, the Dole Pineapple.   The last time we visited was about 8 years ago and it has grown!   Gone are the days when we used to enjoy salted pineapples in the dark no-nonsense buildings made of wood and cement floors.   Now it's an air conditioned, bright souvenir emporium, but fun for the tourists.
     Back then, my father would pick the Eucalyptus branches that had fallen off the trees in the parking lot, and put them in the trunk to scent the car. 
                                                                                                                                                                              Must try the maze someday, though.  Penny enjoyed a sunlit jaunt through the trees and the admiring tourists.

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      Congratulations to Stephanie and Henry as they start         their married life.  Coral Ballroom, Hilton

Cafe Laufer for lunch.   Saw A and her friend there and chatted awhile.   Love this place.

 Apple scone and Black Forest Ham and Havarati sandwich.

Found this old photo of R's dad and his band called David's   Melodians.  (He's the conductor)  


   According to R's mom, who is now 96, David's Melodians was popular at their Hilo high school dances and the girls would go only if they were playing.  It wasn't until later that she found out that  this was the same David she married.
  After school, David would go to an old Hawaiian man's place to sing Hawaiian songs and learn to play the ukulele.   He started his band and had gigs at Hilo High, the Volcano House, and various other places.  At the Volcano House, the manager told him to not be so conscientious about playing so many songs.  He wanted the guests to have time to buy drinks, which was the money maker.
   David gave up the band and went into business but music was always in his mind until the day he passed away.
     

Manoa Marketplace

Tokoname  opens at 4 pm so it's our go-to place for a light bite before we walk Penny in Manoa.   There is a decadent, delicious tempura ice cream dessert...umm...for days when you can walk that extra hour.

Chirashi, Ikura and crispy salmon skin sushi,  agedashi dofu.  Shot of Katana sake, merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.   For three of us, of course.  We still have to walk Penny.

Sweet Penny sleeps through the whole meal 

11/20/13 California Pizza Kitchen

11/20/13 CPK

    Went to CPK with M and Penny and tried the Chicken Chimichurri from the new Lite menu.  Lots of veggies with chicken breast and a very hot sauce.
   

Chicken with Argentinian Chimichurri sauce.  Crunchy veggies, but had to scrape the hot sauce off after choking on it.

Penny behaved well as usual, falling asleep in her bag throughout the meal.  She's still a puppy so most places don't even know she's with us.

Today the VOG was heavy and very visible, almost like gray days in Tokyo.