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My Point of Heu

11/23/2016 1 Comment

bills Hawaii new dinner items

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So... You know that place that serves amazing brekkie and brunch items, like those ricotta hot cakes? Yep, bills in Waikiki also has pretty awesome savory dishes too. Their happy hour is killer and I recently had the chance to try the new dinner menu items as well. I had never been for dinner before and it was a lovely experience. The ambience is very romantic with a dimly lit dining room, staff that gracefully service their tables and a manager who is very well informed and oh so polite. Props going out to our waiter Terence, he was wonderful, friendly and had a great easygoing vibe about him.

Here's a look at this contemporary cafe that serves healthy, locally-inspired, fresh plates for every palate.  
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Whipped avocado, tofu and wasabi, breakfast radishes, seeded chia and almond crackers $10. This vegan and gluten free starter was simple yet full of flavor. The avocado has just a hint of wasabi and you can use the chips to dip it or the endives. If you love clean food and avocado this is for you. My hubby also thought it was very Mexican inspired in taste and texture.
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Shrimp and bok choy pot stickers with a sweet and spicy soy chili sauce. This may be on the happy hour menu as we couldn't find it on the regular menu. The pot stickers are fresh, you can find delicately cut shrimp inside the wonton and the dipping sauce is great! Perfect pair.
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Now we both agreed this was our favorite of the night: Zucchini chips, nigella seed and tahini yoghurt. vegan and $9. The zucchini was amazing so crispy and light like potato chips and the tahini was incredible so smooth, delicious and full of flavor. A super fun and tasty dish.
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Chilli miso salmon, hot and sour aubergine and herb salad. This is definitely a take on your classic miso salmon dish. The addition of edamame adds nice texture and the eggplant also is complimentary to the dish. The sauce is complex and a bit overpowering. I recommend getting a side of rice. Overall a good solid dish, the sauce has a lot of flavor though. $22
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Pan fried red snapper with pineapple relish and green curry. This was excellent. Being that we just came back from Thailand our waiter was a bit hesitant to call this a Thai style green curry as it was very mild and coconutty. But we were happy to report that this was wonderful. The fish was perfectly cooked, the curry gentle yet flavorful, the crunch from the veggies made it fresh and the acid from the pineapple relish added color to the dish and the taste. Really good, can I get more curry? YUM
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Twice cooked beef short rib with Asian slaw. The ribs were perfectly cooked and fork tender. The slaw did well to cut the saltiness from the sauce. I don't think it needed anymore sauce, which comes on the side, so try the dish first before adding more. We couldn't put our finger on it but the sauce/gravy had a familiar flavor it almost tasted like shoyu peanut to me, but were weren't able to identify it. Yummy! Can I get a side of white rice? hehe.
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Classic simple fries, perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned. This came with the short rib and was a fun addition to the table. We were super full from everything we ate. No room for dessert.
bills is definitely worth a visit if you haven't been before. If you are seeking fresh, healthy and inspired cuisine in a casual, quiet and romantic setting this is a great place to try. It was a date night that we don't often get and we both left very happy and extremely full. if you are also craving their super special hot cakes they also serve them at dinner time, so opt to try them for dessert!

bills Hawaii
280 Beachwalk, Honolulu HI 96815
www.billshawaii.com 
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1 Comment

11/17/2016 1 Comment

You have to visit Lotte World

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Located at 240 Olympic-ro, Jamsil 3(sam)-dong, Songpa-gu in Seoul South Korea, Lotte World is like the Disney World of Korea.
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For some reason whenever we travel it rains. Therefore you must plan accordingly, if the weather report says you will have a clear and sunny day and a rainy day. Our second full day in South Korea looked like it was going to be sunny, the following day looked as though it was going to rain, according to the weather forecast. I did a little research and suggested that we visit Lotte World on this mostly sunny day.

What is Lotte World? Well it is a really big deal in Asia. Located in Seoul, South Korea, Lotte World is an amusement park that is home to the world's largest indoor theme park and an outdoor amusement park. Unbeknownst to us the theme park celebrates many themes throughout the year and during the month of October it is Zombie Apocalypse. And believe me these residents take the zombie theme very serious.

The park is also connected to a multi-story shopping mall. In it you'll find a food court, restaurants, grocery store and department store just to name a few. Enter into the amusement park and you will find yourself inside an indoor adventure park. Rides and such are upstairs (with many child friendly activities and rides) and a massive ice skating rink is located on the ground floor. The park is great for children, couples, friends, teens and more. Most of the attractions are separated based on the type of attraction it is be it kid zone, adventure or thrill seeker.

To ride the major thrill rides you must exit the indoor adventure park and head outside. It is very similar to Disneyland with its castle, characters and cast members. Our very first ride was the Gyro Drop located on Magic Island where you plummet from the height of a skyscraper back down to the ground. Your whole body is shaking and your heart is literally in your throat by the time you get off. They also have a handful of other roller coaster rides with hour long wait times so be prepared to stand a lot.

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As far as food goes, they appear to love American-style food. They serve hotdogs, pizza, chicken fingers, nachos, potato wedges, smoothies and more. With all the rides we were riding I wasn't that hungry but it did come in handy to grab a bottle of water and munch on some potato wedges that came with an odd white creamy sweet dipping sauce (that was not cheese). We were not aware but there is an app you can download and make reservations to ride some of the rides. You should do this so you don't have to wait and stand around for so long. There's also a discount if you go later in the day, you can also score an added discount by using the coupons on the tourist/train maps.

Most of the guests are dressed as if they just got out from school/class and nearly all had zombie makeup on. It was unreal how committed everyone was to dressing up. If we had known earlier we would have gotten zombie makeup done too. Some of the other thrilling rides include Giant Loop, Gyro Spin, and a 3D haunted house. For lovers you will also find bumper cars, Drunken Basket and Load Nelson's Armada (swan lake). There's also a water park and aquarium but we didn't make it there.

Throughout the day there are intermittent shows with cast members performing amongst the crowds. Many are dressed as zombies and trying to scare everyone, it was hilarious. At the end of the night there was a huge performance near the castle featuring professional dancers dressed as zombies dancing to Thriller.

Adult Admission is:
Daily: $52 Won
After 4pm 30 Won
After 7pm 18 Won

This was a wonderful experience, I believe everyone would enjoy a visit to Lotte World.

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We caught the train from Bucheon to Lotte World, signage was pretty easy to navigate. Travel time was about 45 minutes - 1 hour.
1 Comment

11/15/2016 1 Comment

My first time in South Korea

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Utilizing Airbnb I found this this gem of an apartment overlooking Bucheon-si Park.
Have you been to Korea yet? No. Let's go! That's pretty much how my traveling buddy Tarin and I decide where we are going to vacation. We also check the flight loads and monitor the passenger listings to see what is easiest for standby travelers to jump on. We recently scoped out a 5 night stay to South Korea that looked great for us to get on. 

We caught the Hawaiian Airlines afternoon flight to Incheon and arrived the next day at 8pm. I booked an Air BnB located in Bucheon which is between Incheon (the airport) and Seoul. It had a loft with a bed and a sofa bed, small kitchen and bathroom with shower all for a total of $300. The great part about this apartment is its convenience, it was literally 3 minutes away from the train station, across the street from the most beautiful park and just one block away from a series of restaurants, bars, eateries and shopping. 

Honestly, I preferred being here in the country away from the big city. The area was walkable, stunningly beautiful and very convenient. The only downside is no one speaks English. But like us you can probably get by with trying to sign language your way through by pointing, gesturing, using photos or just the luck of the draw. 

In addition to it's beauty, this region of Korea was stuffed with delicious delicacies and amazing restaurants. Everything from little mom & pop shops, to 7-Eleven, to Yakiniku eateries and more, there's so much to eat and the food is so good, fresh and tasty you'll want to devour it all, then eat again and then pick up more to take home and eat later. 

Here's a quick look at Bucheon. english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1876979
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This park was breathtakingly beautiful and as the leaves were changing we were inspired to create our own impromptu photo shoot.
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Scattered about you will find little pop-up street vendors selling everything from desserts to small savory bites. One block from our apartment we found this husband and wife team (presumably) making delicious honey peanut fried pancakes and crispy deep fried hot dogs. Sooooo good! We had no idea what we were eating until we bit into it.
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This beautiful city of Bucheon was kind of like Central Park of Korea with its glorious trees, open spaces and lots of people exercising daily. You could also find rentable bikes, scooters and etc nearby.
Stay tuned for my next blog on Lotte World and our visit to Seoul!
1 Comment

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