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Dropping the girls off at YMCA camp today and stopped in for lunch. Julian was really packed today due to 4th of July crowds – and very hot. The Julian Cafe is packed with little oak tables in a quaint atmosphere, and the service was very good – fast and they kept our drinks filled up. We tried the following:...

One of my very favoritist Thai restaurants in San Diego, I have been going to Pailin Thai ever since it was called Spices Thai. We love their Panang Curry; Larb Kai; Spicy Basil with Ground Chicken; Spicy Noodles (like Basil Chicken but with noodles) ; Mint Leaves (like Basil Chicken but with Mint) ; and Chicken with Cashews. Is it...

Chinese Crepes (Jian Bing). Forget those little french crepes and their cute little spreader rakes. In China they do it BIG. Then put egg, green onion, brown sauce, and crunchy wontons inside! Looks yummy. I am sorry we haven’t run into this in China yet! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOcmUl8c7Sc (huuuuge crepe. watch him crack a raw egg on top and spread it in...

I researched tea on Amazon and came across the Lipton Yellow Label which got incredibly positive reviews. It is packaged for Europe or the Middle East and comes as very fine balls of tea that look almost like ground coffee. When i took the box out of the shipping wrapper I could smell the aroma immediately. The tea releases a...

This place, Village Snack and Bakery, is probably the dicey-ist looking place we ate on the island. But, as usual, looks can be deceiving and the food is really good. photo courtesy http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/village-snack-and-bakery-shop-hanalei Here’s the Chili Pepper Chicken for which they are famous.  The deep fry was perfect – chicken was very juicy and the skin very crisp.  It is doused...

We reached this tiny food truck after 430. Cry. No can try today. Recommended to us by another vendor on the island.

In a tiny warehouse space behind Discount Fabrics is TJ Variety. This appears to be a Filipino food importer with frozen meats and ice creams and other food specialties. Most importantly they serve Boba drinks. As far as I can tell, the only Boba place on the island. L&L is advertising Boba, and Mr A2 sampled it but did not...

We had but one lunch left on the island. What was it going to be? Sushi? Shrimp? Kolua Pork? Pie? By request of Ms M, it was pie. We called ahead so they could put the Chicken Pot Pie and the Shepherds Pie in the oven. We had to give them an hour to bake it, but when we arrived...

Tropical Taco is one of the Grand daddys of Hanalei. Originally a truck it’s now a storefront with a loyal following. Ms S is a huge taco fan so we had to check it out. There’s a few tables inside but to catch the breeze you’ve got to eat outside. The $15 taco was a mystery. Why did it cost...

A supermarket? What is so great about a supermarket? When it has a case brimming with tasty prepared food! 5 kinds of Poke, pre-made sandwiches and salads, and sushi to go. And right on your way to Tunnels or Ke’e. Much fresher and better stocked than the Kapa’a Foodland. Foodland Princeville 5-4280 Kuhio Hwy, Princeville, HI 96722 http://maps.google.com/?cid=1410875269402725464

Tiny place next to Islander on the Beach and behind (next to?) the Coconut Marketplace. The menu is not large, but the fish tacos, chicken tacos, and the habanero chicken entree was very good. Surprisingly, the habanero chicken had almost no heat but the mochi (rice flour) breading was crispy. Kilauea Fish Market Waipouli 440 Aleka Pl #5, Kapaa, HI...

Long the darling of the foodie circuit on Kauai, Fish Express finally aligned with our calendars. You must arrive before the entrees sell out (1-2 pm), otherwise you can only pick from poke, fried chicken, or Kalua Pork. This timing is very tough if you are already afield in Waimea, Poipu, or Hanalei. But make it work you must, for...

The fad for sweet and savory Pies has come to Kauai. These Pies have thick handmade crusts and intrigueing fillings. The Lilikoi cheesecake filling looks very dense. The blueberry pina colada pie has a thick coconut topping. Did you see the chocolate chip cookie pie? We asked about the chicken pie and found out it contains chicken, peas, and carrots....

Shave Ice is a must every day and it’s so much lighter than ice cream. A great place to get it is at Uncle’s Shave Ice. This appears to be a Japanese version of Hawaiian shave ice, as their syrups are Japanese, as are their traditional ice scraping machines.  Mr A was aghast to see that Brennecke’s makes their shave...

We are not scuba experts, so we rely on our scuba friends like Mr A and Ms M and other authorities on the internet like  http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/snorkeling-hawaii.html. Rather than repeat excellent advice given elsewhere, we did find Koloa Landing to be one of the better snorkeling spots on Kauai. The site is uncrowded, the water is deep 30-50′, the fish are...

Another beautiful breezy island evening and therefore another chance to try Duke’s, this time, Duke’s Barefoot bar. We had never tried the bar before and we were looking forward to the more lively atmosphere downstairs. Much to our delight, they showed us to the table on the elevated area in the back of the bar, right under the waterfall. We...

Exhausted after our snorkel, we needed lunch. We could have paid $15 for a burger at Brennecke’s upper deck but figured we could get better at Kukui’ula mall. We found ourselves at Merriman’s Pizza and Burgers. Here’s the view from the deck. We tried the pepperoni flatbread, hamburger, Kalua Pork tacos, fish tacos, and Kalua pork quesadilla. The pizza was...

This area has something for everyone. The beachcomber will appreciate Glass Beach (which is actually a black sand beach) which also contains an enormous amount of (finely ground) sea glass. I’m guessing it’s the remains of thousands of discarded beer bottles. At low tide a few ponds appear. And if you continue on the dirt road to the east, you...

We were looking for a fast dinner at Genki Sushi but sadly it was not. We spent 90 minutes waiting for a table and being served. Look how crowded it was. But the food was good and the sushi that we ordered off the menu was pretty decent. The service was very good apart from the speed. We just won’t...

Not quick but good. Big BBQ Pork sandwiches on very thick toasted bread. Well celebrated on Yelp. We skipped the mayo tho. Blackened Mahi sandwich. Good thick piece of fish. Chicken Cutlet (prior to being totally devoured by Ms S) French Dip – meat was pretty decent, good flavor, fresh No air con but lots of seating. Grinds Cafe Eleele...