Jin Deui

...also known as Sesame Seed Balls.  As I think I've said before, my judge and I graduated from the same law school.  It turns out there are actually a few lawyers in Hawaii who also graduated from our school and today we had what could be loosely described as an "alumni lunch."  There were 6 of us there and we went to Golden Palace for some Dim Sum.  I have had dim sum before and generally I find it to be filling and well worth its inexpensive cost.  I always walk away from Golden Palace full and satisfied.

Well today I was introduced to a new dim sum dish that I had never tried and was really surprised by.  It is Sesame Seed Balls.  Okay, in reality that's just what it looks like.  It's actually called Jin Deui or Jian Dui and is a type of fried Chinese pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds on the outside and is crisp and chewy.  They are hollow balls of rice pastry filled with either coconut or sugar-enriched beans or other things.  I know how it may sound, but these were pretty delicious.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Whenever I go for dim sum I still just point at the carts as they come by, but I will definitely point to this next time.

Sweet Taste of Victory

In honor of my commanding victory over my co-worker in Sunday's Sprint Triathlon, I thought I would honor myself at work by brining in some snacks for everyone.  Followers of the Pineapple Project know that there are ALWAYS snacks, pastries, and full spreads of food brought in by people that occupy prime real estate on the kitchen table at work.  Since I hadn't brought anything in to wreck people's diets yet, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to include everyone in the spoils of victory.

Originally my plan was to bring in malasadas, but the malasada shop is closed on Mondays.  So I settled on assorted pastries.  I looked around for a bakery in downtown Honolulu and came across The Patisserie (1164 Bishop Street - map here).  I walked in and they have a glass display case with super fresh-looking scones, croissants, muffins, cakes, and doughnuts.  Everything looked so good!  They also make homemade breads, baguettes, and rolls.  So if you're ever in downtown honolulu, I recommend stopping by for some delicious pastries.

It was a big hit at work and it spread the message of my triathlon dominance so it worked out well.

Grand Cafe & Bakery

Lately I have been doing a pretty good job of bringing lunch and cooking dinner.  I find it easier to ensure I'm eating the right stuff when I do that; however, every once in a while I am too lazy.  On days I am too lazy to pack lunch, I go somewhere around town.  Usually it's a sandwich shop.  However, as I've written about before, I am obsessed with deals and airline miles.  Certain restaurants in downtown offer airline miles just for dining there.  For example, I get 3 airline miles for every dollar spent at Indigo.  Well, I just got an email telling me that I get airline miles for eating at the Grand Cafe & Bakery (31 North Pauahi Street - map here).

The "draw" of this place is that they serve healthy, fresh ingredients in a country-style setting.  It has the feel of a homestyle diner in downtown Chinatown.  As I waited for my order, I noticed that all the dishes that came out had pretty substantial portions, which makes the above-average prices seem more justifiable.  I ordered the blackened chicken sandwich and there was a lot of food.  The meal itself, which came with fresh, homemade potato chips, was pretty awesome.  The chicken was tender and well-seasoned and came on a really soft bun with herb aioli.  A co-worker ordered the fish and chips and said he was equally pleased with his order.  If you're every looking for a lunch place in Chinatown (and don't feel like Chinese food), I recommend checking this place out.

Crime Cameras Going Up On O'ahu

Don't look now, but Big Brother is coming to a paradise near you.  Camera-based crime-fighting is coming to high-crime areas on O'ahu in the next few months.  In a news conference tomorrow, the Honolulu Police Department is going to announce the start of Proj­ect PUEO ("Policing Using Electronic Observation").  The cameras are going to be placed in strategically located areas of federally designated "Weed and Seed" sites in Ewa, Wai­pahu and Kalihi/Palama/Chinatown.  Weed and Seed is a community-based strategy sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") that aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in designated high-crime neighborhoods across the country.  The camera initiative in Hawai'i is aimed at deterring graffiti, illegal drinking and drugs, and illegal dumping in the "Weed and Seed" areas by monitoring and recording crimes in those areas.

I am conflicted by this news.  On one hand, if a person breaks the law, I advocate harsh and retributive justice consequences.  On the other hand, the level of government involvement in our daily lives is already absolutely ridiculous. It has gotten to the point where the police can stop you for anything they damn well please based on "anonymous tips" or police-defined "suspicious activity."  We already have traffic cameras to catch people who run red lights or exceed the speed limit with no evidence that these devices have reduced violators.  There IS evidence that there has been an increase in rear-end collisions AND increased revenue for the State.

My problem with camera-based law enforcement is the obvious risks to privacy. True, you don't have a right to privacy when you are outside or in a public place.  However, it bothers me that the government creates (largely) arbitrary laws, then places "strategic" cameras in poor, minority communities high crime areas in order to catch people "committing crimes."  On top of that, the police will be recording the activity.  How can we be sure that the subsequent footage is not going to be used to extort "criminals" into snitching on their neighbors' more illicit criminal activity that occurs in non-public areas?

I can't help but think this is the next step in a long line of oppressive government practices used to infringe on individual freedom.  This is something out of 1950s McCarthyism or Cold War-era Soviet Russia.  Make no mistake, this is the government spying on its own citizens under the guise of "crime prevention."  These cameras are meant to, among other things, "deter gang activity."  Don't forget that being in a gang is not, by itself, a crime.  Americans have a First Amendment right to associate and peaceably assemble.  What if the police, using these cameras, see a group of men hanging out in a park drinking from paper bags and decide to "investigate?"  The police roll up, ask some "general probing questions" and decide that these guys are about to rob a store or vandalize a car or whatever bullshit the cops invent?  With nothing more than camera footage of legal, but suspicious activity and subsequent harassment by the police (i.e. investigative questions), the police can hold these guys and possibly arrest them.

This isn't the only place where oppressive government security is being implemented.  In Ogden, Utah (and 20 other U.S. cities), the police are setting up a "real time crime center" to be operational soon after its Crime Blimp launches (not kidding). The center hopes to eventually be linked with the "thousands of private and government security cameras around town, including the city's own inventory of some 200 cameras." Planned at 52 feet long and 4 feet in diameter to hold a 20-pound payload of cameras, GPS gear, and telemetry, the blimp in Utah (set to be launched in April) will likely patrol the skies of an American city.

I have no doubt the police will be able to arrest people as a result of these cameras.  However, chances are the crimes for which people will be arrested are going to be petty misdemeanors.  This means no jail time, just fines.  In reality, these cameras will be used to harass minority communities and generate fine-based revenue for the State.  And they'll erode civil liberties while they do it.  I don't like it one bit.

St. Patrick's Day - Hawaii Style

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day.  As I've written about here and here, Hawaiians like to party.  They don't need a lot of excuses to drink in the streets, but when there is a legitimate reason, they run with it.  Naturally, as an Irishman, I was excited to celebrate my heritage.  Of course, by celebrate my heritage, I mean get excessively and inappropriately drunk while wearing shiny green attire.

Unfortunately, it all started poorly because I came to the block party straight from work.  Murphy's Bar & Grill hosted a huge block party with a dozen beer tents, four live bands, and bbq pits.  I walked over to meet some people, but alas, I wasn't wearing green.  It was cool to walk into the sea of green drunk people, but I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Nonetheless, I met up with some friends and drank some Guinness.  The night itself wasn't anything to write home about, but if you're ever in Hawaii for St. Patrick's Day, I highly recommend going to Murphy's block party.

Mardis Gras - Hawaii Style

Nu'uanu Street in Downtown

Do we celebrate Mardis Gras in Hawaii? Absolutely!  Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. As I have written about before, the Hawaiians take any excuse they can to get drunk and party in the streets. Mardis Gras is no different. The "festivities" start first thing in the morning with a tradition I can completely get behind: Malasada Tuesday! At Leonard's Bakery, sales for malasadas are five times greater on Fat Tuesday than any other time of year. A malasada is a Portuguese confection. They were first made by inhabitants of Madeira Island (off the coast of Portugal). Malasadas are made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. A popular variation is where they are hand dropped into the oil and people have to guess what they look like. Traditional malasadas contain neither holes nor fillings, but some varieties of malasadas are filled with flavored cream or other fillings.

Malasada

Later on, Chinatown shuts down the streets, barricades everyone in, and the party begins. From 5:30pm to 10:30pm, the Arts District Merchants Association presented “Mardi Gras Carnival 2011."  The event, billed as “An International Celebration of Indulgence,” showcases authentic Mardi Gras - Carnival culture with unique and exciting food, music and dance from New Orleans, Brazil, Cuba. Live music went from 6pm to 10pm with bands featured on four performance stages spread out along Nu'uanu Avenue, Pauahi Street and Hotel Street.  Last year more than 10,000 people attended downtown Honolulu's Fat Tuesday celebration.

All in all it was a cool event. Everyone was running around in Mardis Gras masks and lots of women were running around in Burlesque outfits.  I would definitely not be surprised if there were more than 10,000 people this year.  It was packed.  I was surprised by the lack of alcohol.  I'm not suggesting that people weren't drunk.  They were.  I'm not suggesting alcohol wasn't served.  It was.  Compared to Octoberfest and Halloween, however, this was relatively tame.  At the other events it seemed like there was a beer or wine tent every few feet.  At Mardis Gras they just didn't have as many vendors.

Christmas Bar Crawl - Bar List

I am naturally a shy person; however, I am also a big believer in putting yourself out there, taking risks, and meeting new people.  This is especially important when moving to a new city (which I have done 6 times in the last 8 years).  Consequently, a few weeks ago I joined a homebrewing club.  The group regularly gets together and shares homemade beer and snacks at someone's house or has group outings that are based around beer.  This weekend there was a bar crawl where the plan was to partake in beer specials at a variety of bars in Chinatown.  There were maybe 50 people who showed up, all wearing various Christmas costumes. My friends and I did not get the memo and showed up dressed normally.  Oh well, it was still fun.

We started at Don Ho's at Aloha Tower.  From there, we went to Bar 35 where I got to sample some more beer on the massive 196-beer list.  After that, we went to Murphy's Irish bar.  Finally, we ended the night back at Aloha Tower and the Gordon Biersch brewery.  Overall, it was a fun night.  Aloha Tower is right on the water, so when we were at Don Ho's and Gordon Biersch, we sat outside on the deck, drank beer, and watched the boat parade.  What's a boat parade?  Exactly what it sounds like.  There were more than a dozen sailboats and yachts sailing around the harbor decked out with Christmas lights.

Picture from Don Ho's deck

Since I have never been to some of these places, here is my review.  You'll have to forgive me, but my memory of the bars gets a little hazier as the evening wore on.  Without further ado:

Don Ho's:  This bar and grill opened in 1998 and is located right on the water at Aloha Tower.  There is both an outdoor and indoor bar serving typical bar food.  I ordered the kalua pork sliders, which were decent, but nothing to write home about.  The bar prides itself on its entertainment calendar.  They bring in singers and performers as well as host karaoke weekly.  Don Ho was apparently a big musician here and until his death in 2007, he spent five nights a week, center stage behind his Hammond Organ, singing some of his favorite songs and "talking story" with his audience.  When we were there, there was a chorus/choir of elementary school-age children singing Christmas carols.

Bar 35:  I have previously described this bar as a lounge with an outdoor patio and indoor couches.  Every Wednesday from 6-8pm there is a House of Brews beer tasting event with delicious pizza.  On Saturday, everyone hung around outside and drank beer on what was a gorgeous 76-degree night in Honolulu.  It is a really chill environment.  I think some nights they have live music, but when we showed up at 8:30pm on Saturday night, it was dead inside.  The beers can be expensive ($9), but they have happy hour Saturday night where you can find 130 beers that cost only $4.  They also have $3 vodka martinis.  One other fun fact: if you watched Hawaii Five-0 on Monday night (12/13), Bar 35 was actually a scene in the show.  If you are interested, you can watch it online at CBS.com.


Murphy's:  I had been here once before for happy hour and was not overly impressed.  When I went on Saturday night, though, I thought it was a great bar.  The bartenders were friendly and talkative, despite the fact that it was busy.  The service was phenomenal, despite it being crowded.  The beer prices were nothing special, but the environment was worth it.  If you like Irish pubs, you have basically two options.  They are actually across the street from each other: O'Tool's and Murphy's.  O'Tool's allows people to smoke inside.  Murphy's does not.  Murphy's is also much more well-lit inside and has less of a "dive bar" atmosphere.  The only downside to Murphy's is that the bartenders did not know how to properly pour a Guinness.  Yes, at an Irish pub they didn't know to pour halfway, let sit, finish pour.  What can I say, it's Hawaii.

Inside Murphy's

Gordon Biersch: This brewery originated in Palo Alto, CA, but currently operates 29 restaurants in the U.S., including Honolulu. Additionally, two Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants operate in Taiwan.  The idea behind the brewery is to serve traditional German beer.  They admit they don't do fruit-infused wheat beers or 100 varieties from around the world.  The brewery here is also at Aloha Tower and has both indoor and outdoor seating.  It is right next to Don Ho's, but I would recommend Gordon Biersch.  The service was a little better, it is much bigger so it is less crowded, and the prices are slightly better.  The menu options at Gordon Biersch is also much better.

Inside Gordon Biersch

Overall, the Saturday bar crawl was a lot of fun.  The best part was that you can walk between all of the bars without a problem at all.  All of Chinatown is also covered with Christmas lights this time of year and while it was weird to see Christmas lights in shorts, it was really pretty to see the city all lit up.  If you're in the mood for a Chinatown adventure, I recommend doing this lineup of bars and sampling the cuisine as well as the brews. 

Golden Palace

Last week our chambers went out to lunch together.  By "chambers" I mean the judge, the two clerks, and our secretary (sorry, no, I mean our "judicial assistant").  Anyway, the idea came up when I went out with the judicial assistants for pau hana last week (pau hana literally means "after work" but you know it better as happy hour).  Our judicial assistant and I were talking and I asked her where I could find good Manapua.  I told her that I could only seem to find it at 7-Eleven.  She was not pleased.  So she suggested we all go to lunch at the place where you can get the good stuff, especially since it is walking to distance to our office.  Upon hearing about lunch, however, my judge decided that he'd rather go for Dim Sum.  Since we all like dim sum, this was no problem.  They suggested Golden Palace in Chinatown.

Dim sum is a Cantonese term for a type of Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate. Going for dim sum is usually known in Cantonese as going to "drink tea."  Dim Sum is usually linked with the older tradition of yum cha (tea tasting), which has its roots in travellers on the ancient Silk Road (i.e. an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world) needing a place to rest. Thus teahouses were established along the roadside.  I just call it Chinese tapas.  I hate tapas, though, because they are ridiculously overpriced for essentially no food.  Definitely a rip off.  Dim sum, however, is not like that at all and Golden Palace is awesome.

Golden Palace is located at 111 North King Street and is pretty hard to miss given the big ass sign out front that says "Golden Palace."  It looks like a stereotypical chinese restaurant.  The best part about this place is the price of the dim sim...ready?  $1.89 per dish.  Now yes, the dishes are small so you're not getting lunch for $1.89.  However, 2-3 people would easily be completely stuffed after 10 dishes.  You're talkin' somewhere around $6 to be stuffed.  And it includes pretty good hot tea.

The service here was amazing.  There are several carts that the waitresses push around throughout the dining room.  Each cart has various dishes of dim sum.  They just walk by your table and you stop them, point to what you want, and they hand it to you.  My judge actually knew the names of things, but our judicial assistant informed me that she has never once said a dish by name.  She just points.  Besides, most of the waitresses are very old Chinese women.  If you're a tourist, they're going to pretend they don't speak English anyway.  Even if they do speak English, you won't understand them and they won't understand you.  We had maybe 15 different plates, including Manapua, pork dumplings, shu mai, spring rools, shrimp-stuffed eggplant, shrimp-stuffed peppers, and fried mochi.  It was all really good.

The fact that Hawai'i has a strong dim sum tradition is not surprising since the custom originated in Canton, the region from which many Hawai'i immigrants came. The term is variously translated as "a little bit of heart" or "heart's delight," meaning something that touches the heart. The name speaks to the connection between dim sum and human interaction. That's because these are drawn-out meals - consisting of dumplings, baked treats, and invariably, tea - that you share with others. The dim sum table is a place at which to do business, trade gossip or socialize. In Chinatown and other neighborhoods with a lot of foot traffic, dim sum is an everyday occurrence, generally served from the early morning to early afternoon.  I definitely recommend Golden Palace, and if you're ever in the mood for tapas, opt for dim sum instead.

Bar 35

Every Wednesday, Bar 35 has its "House of Brews" beer tasting.  I just discovered this the other day when the Homebrewing Club I joined sent out an email regarding the weekly event.  From 6-8pm every Wednesday, the has a different beer tasting.  Also, 4-8pm Monday-Saturday is their happy hour.  For you martini lovers, they have $3 Skyy martinis during happy hour, which beats the prices at both Top of Waikiki and Indigo (both have $4 martinis for happy hour).  Keep in mind, though, that Bar 35 only has $3 vodka martinis, not gin.  Beer prices vary at Bar 35 normally, but range from $5.50 to $9 (for 12oz beers).  During happy hour, though, all beers on the menu without a price listed next to them are $4 (there are about 100 beers that are $4 during happy hour...some are still $9).  Bar 35 also has an in-house pizza shop operated by "Chef Valentini" (whoever the hell that is).

Bar 35 is truly a House of Brews.  It is different (not sure it's better) from Yardhouse in many ways.  First, it is in Chinatown, walking distance from the Supreme Court building, Kamehameha statute, and 'Iolani Palace.  The bar is located at 35 N. Hotel Street.  Second, Bar 35 has over 150 bottled beers from 21 different countries and lists their beers by country (as opposed to style).  Yardhouse, on the other hand, has 134 beers on tap and lists their beers according to style.  Third, Bar 35 has a normal happy hour (i.e. 6-8pm on weekdays) whereas Yardhouse has its happy when it knows no one will go (i.e. 10:30pm on weekdays).  Fourth, Bar 35 is closer to the definition of a dive bar.  It is dimly lit, has couches on the side that only the adventurous would sit on, a long bar with grungy (but nice) bartenders.  Yardhouse is much more like a chain restaurant.  The waiters and bartenders have a uniform, they are rigid about how much alcohol they are allowed to put in a shot, and it can get overly crowded and loud.  Bar 35 also has an outdoor patio, which is very nice.  Yardhouse does not have outdoor seating at all.

Back to the beer tasting.  Every Wednesday the bar does a different "theme."  Last night's theme was "Winter/Holiday Beers."  The deal is, you pay $20 and sample 8 different types of beer within their pre-determined theme for the night.  Each sample is 4oz.  Then you get a 9th ticket to re-try your favorite beer of the flight (another 4oz sample).  During the tasting, they also have a server come around with "gourmet pizza."  Don't get too excited about the pizza, though.  While it is absolutely delicious and amazing, the slices are thin crust, tiny pieces, and in 2 hours you might get 4-5 of them.  It is not as astounding as the bar tries to make it seem.  I'm not saying I need a whole pizza, but for $20 and only 36oz of beer, they should do better.

Here is my recommendation.  If you like trying new beer, definitely check it out during happy hour (or if you like martinis, then also check it out) and grab a seat outside.  It does not get very crowded during the week so you should be able to easily find a table.  It's a little too dark inside for my liking (and a little cold, actually).  If you're there on a Wednesday, don't bother with the beer tasting.  Here's why: You can find plenty of beers on the menu that you've never tried before for $4.  If you order 5 of them, it will cost you $20.  This is 60oz of beer for $20 (and no pizza).  If you do the beer tasting, you only try 3 additional beers, but far less quantity.  And there is not enough pizza to make up the difference (though, you should also definitely order one of the pizzas, they're delicious! I suggest either the "Sweet Bangkok" with Chinese Sausage, Sweet Chili Sauce, Cilantro, Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella Cheese or the "French Kiss" with French Brie Cheese, Cooked Ham, Fresh Pesto Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese and Fresh Basil.).  Now, you might be thinking, what if I don't like a beer, and I don't want to drink the whole thing, then with the beer tasting, I don't have to suffer through a full bottle.  Well, that's true.  However, if you're contemplating a beer tasting then my guess is you probably know what type of beer you like already.  So stick with what you like and you won't have that problem.  If you like wheat beers and hate IPAs, don't get a full bottle of IPA.

Overall, I think it's a cool bar with a decent atmosphere.  Certainly if you're a beer fan it's worth checking out.  The verdict is still out on whether it's better than Yardhouse, but I am dedicated to continuing my research.

'Iolani Palace

Iolani Palace

This is the only royal palace on American soil.  It is also across the street from my office.  Despite its fairly ostentatious exterior, up until recently I just assumed it was some government building with a cool gazebo in the yard.  Turns out, it's kind of a big deal.  'Iolani Palace was the official residence of Hawaii’s monarchy (King Kalākaua, his wife Queen Kapi'olani, and later his sister and successor, Queen Lili‘uokalani) in the late 19th century.  It was built in 1882 and is definitely a marvel of  opulence.

Main Double Staircase at Front Entrance of Palace

When the 'Iolani Palace was built, it was actually really modern.  It was outfitted with the most up-to-date amenities, including indoor plumbing.  Gas chandeliers were installed when the Palace was first built, but these were replaced by electric lighting five years later (less than seven years after Edison invented the first practical incandescent bulb). The King also installed a modern communications system that included the recently invented telephone.

Royal Dining Room - Where the King Hosted Foreign Dignitaries/Guests

As a general rule, I don't particularly care for museums.  I am too impatient to read all the plaques and I get bored pretty quickly.  This may surprise some people as I was a history major in college.  Well, the history may be interesting but museums are boring.  I'll still go (cuz you're supposed to be all "cultural" and stuff), but I usually just walk through, glance at stuff, read a plaque or two, and get in and out quickly (insert "that's what she said" joke here).  The Palace was almost worse than a museum.

King Kalakaua

One of the nice things about living in Washington, DC in college was that all the Smithsonian museums were free.  At least if I'm gonna walk through a museum all afternoon to look at a bunch of crap no one really cares about anymore, don't charge me.  Or at the very least, charge me like a dollar.  I won't begrudgingly pay a dollar.  The 'Iolani Palace costs $20! ($15 with a Kama'aina discount) for the guided tour and $13 for self-guided tour w/audio guide.  The self-guided tour is only available at random times, though.  We happened to show up at the wrong time.  If you plan to go, I definitely don't recommend the guided tour.  The tour guides are nice, but not worth an added $7.  What made it worse is that there weren't that many artifacts inside.

But why is it so empty inside? Glad you asked (just because I don't pay attention to history plaques doesn't mean I don't like to write them).  After the overthrow of the monarchy, 'Iolani Palace became the headquarters for the Provisional Government, Territory, and eventually the State of Hawai'i.  During WWII, it served as the temporary headquarters for the military governor in charge of martial law in the Hawaiian Islands.  And of course, any time the government gets involved everything goes to hell and falls into disrepair.  On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani was deposed in a coup d'état.  She tried to promulgate a new constitution that was intended to increase the monarch's power and limit citizen influence and suffrage.  This galvanized opposition forces composed of Hawai`i-born citizens, naturalized citizens and foreign nationals (it was mostly businessmen and sugar plantation owners).  Contrary to Wikipedia's uncited claims, this was not an effort by the U.S. Government to control Hawaiian land (that came later).  While it's true that the opposition forces were supported by the American Minister to Hawai`i, the U.S. Government didn't really have much to do with the overthrow (though U.S. Marines eventually came ashore at the request of the conspirators). The queen was then imprisoned at the Palace under house arrest for 13 months (she was only allowed to walk on her balcony at night so her supporters couldn't see her). The U.S. annexed Hawaii 5 years later during the Spanish American War in 1898 in order to control Pearl Harbor.

Queen Lili`uokala

The Hawai'i State Government finally moved to its current Capitol Building in 1969, after which Hawaiian citizens decided to restore the palace.  Today, the inside is gorgeous.  The floors have all be re-done.  Most of the doors and wood paneling are made from Koa Wood (Koa trees are native to Hawaii and are very rare).  Almost all the furniture and artifacts that are in the palace are original and were used by the monarchy.  The only problem is that the restoration committee is trying to only use original contents (remember? the shit that was sold and auctioned?).  As you can imagine, it is difficult to get 100-year-old artifacts that stuff back from around the world.  As a result, a lot of the rooms are still completely or very nearly empty.  So until they re-furnish the Palace more fully it is FAR too overpriced.  Hearing about the process of recovering the artifacts was actually pretty cool, though.  All in all, take some pictures of the outside, read this blog post, Google "Iolani Palace," and call it a day. 

Indigo Restaurant

Indigo is a swanky lounge/restaurant on the edge of Chinatown that offers a blend of modern Asian, French and Mediterranean cuisine.  I had dinner and drinks there a few nights ago because Living Social had a deal - if you spent $30, you received $60 worth of food and drinks.  I have been to Indigo before for Happy Hour - $4 martinis - but never had a reason to go for dinner.

Opened in 1994, Indigo has a pretty decent atmosphere for either dinner or post-work drinks.  They're also open for lunch, but I haven't been there for lunch so I don't have an opinion on that.  There is both indoor and outdoor seating, a swanky, but somewhat over-priced menu with several different meats and fish dishes and what they say is a "nationally recognized" wine list. The service is also really good.

For dinner, we ordered a few PuPus (Hawaiian for Appetizers).  We had the Grilled Chive Flat Bread with Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Crisp Goat Cheese Won Tons with Four Fruit Sauce; and Lobster Pot Stickers with Thai Ginger Sauce (they were out of their chicken shiitake mushroom pot stickers).  The Chive Flat Bread was okay, but nothing special.  At $3.75, though, it's a decent deal.  The other two appetizers were amazing.  We disagreed about which was better - the won tons or pot stickers.  They could not have been more flavorful and for a lounge/restaurant, the portions were good.  The won tons had a perfectly crispy shell with soft cheese filling.  The pot stickers were not greasy at all and were filled with tender lobster meat and a soft noodle shell.

Pan-Seared Bass

Then for dinner, we got the Toasted Black Mustard Seed and Black Peppercorn Crusted Ahi Steak and Pan Seared Pacific Ocean Bass with Cocoa Bean Curry Sauce.  The Ahi was amazing.  Perfectly cooked with a tremendously flavored, soy-ginger sauce.  The fresh fish was not as good.  In fact, it was pretty bad, and as a result, dreadfully overpriced.  It was chewy, the skin was tough, and it was clearly overcooked.  The sauce was good, but the fish itself wasn't flaky at all.

Ahi Tuna Steak

If you're looking for a good happy hour prior to a nice dinner out, but away from the crowds, wait, and prices of Waikiki, I highly recommend Indigo.  The atmosphere is quiet, there is a nice breeze that blows calmly throughout the restaurant, and the service is terrific.

Halloween in the Pacific

Halloween is a big deal in Hawaii.  They say the freaks come out at night – and no more so than on October 30-31 (see right).  When I first moved to Honolulu, in August, people were already talking about it.  What costumes they were planning to wear, how creative they were going to be, how important it was for me to be creative, how much alcohol they planned to consume, and which bars they planned to shut down.  As it got closer, the Halloween talk intensified.  No one could seem to decide whether they were going to go to Waikiki or Chinatown.  Waikiki was the place to show off costumes, roam the streets, and just “cruise.”  Chinatown, on the other hand, was the location of Three Nights Of Pleasure In Paradise.

Hallowballoo involves shutting down the streets of Chinatown.  Beer and wine stands line every sidewalk.  Bars and clubs open their doors until 4am.  Over 26 Bands and Musicians play over 3 days.  There are homemade costumes, store-bought costumes, and “what the hell is that” costumes.  Everyone uses the opportunity to dress in ways they would never dress in front of their grandmother.  People stop each other on the street and ask to take pictures with you because they like your costume.  It happened to me a few times and I wasn’t even that creatively (or provocatively) dressed.   Old people get into the act as well.  I saw at least a half dozen 70+-year-olds in full costume…capes, masks, cat ears, devil horns, magic wands, etc.

I have a theory as to why Halloween is a big deal here.  Another nice thing about keeping a blog is the opportunity for me to engage in one-sided pontificating without the fear of having my half-reasoned logic exposed for what it is.  Anyway, it seems that a lot of people who live in Hawaii are running away from something on the mainland.  Allow me to explain.  If you take a random sample of people who moved to Hawaii (i.e. not Native Hawaiians), you will get one of three responses: (1) why not?; (2) I was just looking for adventure and I figured Hawaii was as good a place as any; (3) I just sort of bought a ticket and ended up here.  It is a rare person who actually arrived here with any semblance of a plan.  Now, you may be thinking that these are just free-spirited people (read: hippies) who aren’t necessarily running away from something.  Continue talking to them, then.  If you continue to engage the person, you will discover that 8 out of 10 times the move to Hawaii followed a divorce or break-up, recent graduation from college with no life plan, a fight with mom and dad who said they were no longer willing to pay the bills, a fight with roommates, or the loss of some really revered pet.  Okay, I made the pet part up, but you get the point.  Oftentimes, people move here because they have no plan and nothing back home.

   
I classify these people into a category of those with “broken personalities.”  For example, everyone here is covered in tattoos.  I’m not talking about one or two tasteful tattoos in fairly discreet locations.  I’m talking about full-on, full sleeve tattoos that cover significant portions of visible skin.  In general, a tattoo is a way of turning your body into an advertising placard that uncovers the person’s inner personality.  

Consider this: Psychiatrists from the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry studied 36 male inpatients, and found a link between tattoos and antisocial personality disorder. "Our findings suggest that patients with tattoos are significantly more likely to suffer from antisocial personality disorder than those without tattoos, and patients with antisocial personality disorder were also significantly more likely to have higher numbers of tattoos, a larger percentage of their body covered with tattoos, and tended to have tattoos in more visible locations" said lead researcher Dr. William Cardasis of the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry.

Now that I have established the premise, here is my rant on Dressing Up for Halloween: 

Halloween is when people take the opportunity to pretend they’re someone else for one night.  You can hide your face behind a mask and/or make-up.  You can dye your hair.  You can reveal far more skin than is socially acceptable on the 364 other days of the year (both men and women).  You can parade around in a ridiculous costume and ask everyone to admire your “other self.”  You can comfortably draw attention to yourself and ask everyone to admire you in all your hidden/broken glory.  It allows people the opportunity to masquerade and hide from their otherwise boring and uninteresting life. 

That was Saturday.  Sunday was actually Halloween.  Waikiki was just as out of control Sunday as Chinatown was on Saturday.  I went to Yardhouse for some pre-dinner beers (see Beer Reviews for some descriptions).  One cool thing was the number of kids trick-or-treating at all the Waikiki shops.  Each store had hand-written signs on the storefront window that said, “trick-or-treater welcome.”  Kids were run into the stores, say trick-or-treat, and be rewarded with handfuls of deliciousness.  There were several bands playing outside of Yardhouse and the streets were absolutely packed with hordes of costumes.  It was pretty tame and pretty entertaining, and this was all before 9pm. 

So if you love Halloween and are planning a trip to Hawaii, it’s definitely worth your time to coordinate the two.