Destination Paradise Hawaii - Thai Food : Honolulu China Town

Destination Paradise Hawaii - Laotian Food

Hi, for our next destination in paradise I wanted to continue with the food theme. My friend lived in Thailand and Cambodia for a while and he always tells me about the good food there. I’m always down to try new tastes and flavors. One day, he tells me about this place he found in China Town that serves all kinds of crazy good food, Southeast Asian style. They serve it up really authentic and traditional style flavors come with it. I told him, “let’s go eat”. I wanted to try something new for me but living in Hawaii it’s hard. We have so many different types of food here, especially when it comes to Asian flavors. He tells me, “let’s go eat some Laotian food”. Whoa. Now that’s something I haven’t heard too much, Laotian food? I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten Laotian food. We start heading to Hawaii’s China Town.

Once we finally find parking near China Town we start making our way to Maunakea Marketplace. It’s a cool little market “square” that’s got all kinds of goods from Bamboo Plants, to incense, to clothes and jewelry. There’s all kinds of little shops bundled together in there nicely. But towards the rear of the place behind the double doors is where the magic is. Once you walk in, you’ll see a hole bunch of tables put together cafeteria style. With little food places lined up next to each other in a row in both sides. And judging from the smell of all the cooking I see going on, oh yeah… this place is the realness. It’s got Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai, Japanese, Laotian and Chinese.

I followed my friend around the corner to this small food stand where they were cooking up Laotian food. This was the first place in Hawaii I have ever seen serve up Laotian food. I mean, this place didn’t even have a sign in the front. I asked him how he knows this place serves Laotian food and he tell me because he can hear them speaking Laotian and the writing they have on the menu is in Laotian. I was impressed how much my friend knew and I was anxious to try the food. I told my friend to do the ordering since he was already familiar with Lao flavors. He got us something called “Beef Larb”. They serve it up family style on one dish with sticky rice on the side. We also get some homemade Lao-style sausage, and some chicken with this crazy sweet and sour sauce.

Destination Paradise - Hawaii: Samuel Adams Imperial White

Waikiki is a great place to be at night if you’re looking for multiple options to have fun all within a 1 mile distance from each other. You really don’t need to go far in Waikiki. Clean clothes, a keen eye for bargains, and a pocket with some cash in it is really all you need for a night filled with fun. You could go see a night show or movie? Or maybe dine at one of the many world class restaurants that Waikiki has seemingly lined-up on Kalakaua and Kuhio Ave. You can even shoot guns! Whoa. There’s endless retail stores for you shop-a-holics. And then of course there’s the clubs, lounges, and bars. Call them what you want, but to us, they just all serve beer. So as our next destination in paradise we decided to HIT THE BAR!

Hawaii has some great places to go get a beer. We went to Tiki’s Grill & Bar. That place was pretty chill. I would say that we got fairly drunk. See, I don’t drink much and when I do it’s on a lower level compared to the people I hang out with. Anyway, I wanted to try a new beer for me as I wasn’t in the mood for the usual everyday brew. So I got a Samuel Adams beer. I don’t usually drink Samuel Adams but I was feeling adventurous (or foolish). So what I got was a recommendation from one of my buddies. A Samuel Adams “Imperial Series” Imperial White beer. I start chugging down on this thing because I’m really thirsty. I drank the first 2 in about 20 minutes. It had a different taste to me. It’s a much thicker beer than what I’m used to but overall it was pretty good. After the first 3 (going on 4) I start feeling a little extra kick coming on in the drunkedness department. Then I hear my friend talking about how the beer he’s getting me is pretty expensive and kind of rare. It’s also very potent. I take a look at the label and notice it says 10.3% alcohol. Whoa! That’s why I’m getting drunk! Good thing I’m not driving. In Hawaii they’re pretty good at looking for DUI drivers on the road.

Destination Paradise Hawaii - Bangkok Chef

I wanted to make the next Destination Paradise article about food. There's so much great food in Hawaii that to not talk about it would be an injustice. Hawaii has it all from traditional Hawaiian food to rare Asian delicacies. I decided to do my first food feature on spicy food. And when it comes to spicy, Thai food is where it's at for me.

In Hawaii there are so many great Thai restaurants. But most of them are a little on the pricey side for me. My room mate lived in Thailand for a little while and he's always telling me stories about how good and cheap the food was over there. He said that there's the load of places over there that will serve you up a full plate of food for around $0.50 on average. Taking into consideration the difference of our dollars value in Thailand, that's still an awesome deal. Compared to the typical 10 - 12 dollar dishes you have to pay for here. And the portions are pretty much the same. I've always thought about how cool it would be to find a Thai place here that served the food 'plate lunch' style, and along with it a plate lunch price. Well, I've found a place just like that in Manoa Valley. It's a place called Bangkok Chef.

It's got the full package, great Thai food served plate-lunch style at a low price. It's a nice place with plenty of tables for everyone to enjoy their food. Manoa Valley, home of Paradise Park, adds the perfect backdrop for the restaurant's location.