Day trips: Doris Duke and Pearl Harbor

We heard about the Polynesian Cultural Center day trip with Lu'au and dinner, but it sounded kinda cheesy so instead Tina recommended a visit to Shangri-la, the home of Doris Duke, a wealthy recluse whose home has a priceless collection of Islamic antiquities. This video shows some of the treasures that lie inside...mere mortals aren't allowed to film in the house itself, so these images are a rare treat!

Doris Duke's Shangri La from Speaking of Faith on Vimeo.



As you head towards Waikiki we passed signs for Pearl Harbor. Although this wasn't really high on my Pang Family tourist list originally, I was excited to take a tour of this historic location and hear the history leading up to the attack on 7th December, 1941. There are many events that led up to this attack including the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, China which was the reason my Dad's family fled to Hong Kong. The rest is history.

On a mission...for dinner O'ahu style

There's nothing like having a dining destination in mind to put a bounce in my step. In this case, I had the fam' in tow and we were all Waikiki virgins. Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve. Yelp users had favorably reviewed several Hawaiian restaurants so I checked them out and choose Ono Hawaiian Foods as our first dining experience. I was also confident my choice was good since Tina's friend, Wendy, had given her a menu for this very same spot...all the way from Hong Kong!

The (Vietnamese) taxi driver explained how it was a 70-year old restaurant. I'd read Ono Hawaiian Foods was a small, casual local diner and required folks to wait outside for a table - since it's tropical Hawai'i is was no big deal. We got here before the supper rush and were starving. When the food arrived it was faces in the trough! No time for pleasantries. :)

One of the servers was the grandson of the founder and the other was his auntie who ran the place since the grandma has passed away four months ago. But the food was still wholesome and fresh: watercress and chicken soup, Kalua pig (stewed and shredded pork), salt meat luau (like Chinese kau yuk), butterfish luau (a bit bland) and Hawaiian sweet potato (purple inside and served cold.)

Pang's Gormond Guide Pretty much every meal in O'ahu was approached with this level of geekish research and foodie nous. We hit the South Shore Grill for seafood tacos, Roy's for its misoyaki butterfish (and Mum's birthday), Pho Thinh for its noodles, spring rolls and pleasant service and Cafe Oriente for its Hainanese chicken speciality (and 10% discount coupon didn't hurt ;) ) Expect to see my Yelp reviews pop up over the next few weeks (see the left-hand menu bar.)

Hawai'i 101 Tonight's dinner at Ono says a lot about Hawai'i: it's made up of many cultures and Asians of all countries have history here and happily coexist; the culture is laid back and fairly rudimentary with no frills and pretences; and the people are happy-go-lucky.

Book'em Dano...Hawai'i 5-0

Mum, Dad and I left Los Angeles and headed to O'ahu to rendevous with Tina for our bi-annual family holiday. It'll be cool, but I don't have much idea of what to expect...my idea of Hawai'i is based on me pretending to be Steve McGarrett from Hawaii 5-0 as a kid and watching Elvis in Hawaii on BBC2 re-runs after his passing in 1977!



We may not be cracking crime syndicates or being surrounded by locals, but we will take in the sights around Waikiki and then head onto Kaua'i for a more relaxing, naturistic few days. Dad may even risk his life and enter the water (he can't swim..!)