Maui Day 2

Our first stop this morning was at Burger King for breakfast. Last time we visited Hawaii, we went to McDonald’s and they served Spam with breakfast so we wanted to see what BK offered. They do have spam or portuguese sausage served with rice and scrambled eggs.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

Next we visited the Kula Botanical Garden. It’s a bit of a drive but quite peaceful.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

They have a small aviary with white doves and love birds. These two were very cute as they were the only ones really sitting next to each other and they kept on pushing each other, kind of like they were having a disagreement or something.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

The bumble bees look a lot different here, almost like a beetle.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

There are some interesting wood sculptures throughout the garden.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

There is another enclosure where they keep other fowl. This was an interesting bird.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

They also have this three-horned gecko in an enclosure. Never seen anything like this before. It was changing it’s skin.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

After the walk through the botanical gardens, we headed to Surfing Goat Dairy. We saw this hilarious set of signs on the way there.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2
From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

We arrived at Surfing Goat Dairy.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

We were greeted by the “kids”.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

We don’t normally like goat products (milk, cheese) but thought we’d try out the chevre flight, 6 soft spreadable cheeses of your choice. We tried:

Purple Rain – mix of dried lavenders
Rolling Green – fresh garlic chives
Alaskan Delight – smoked salmon, green peppercorns
Mango Supreme – fresh mangoes, mango chutney
Ole! – jalepenos, artichokes, cilantro, lime juice
Mandalay – apple, bananas, curry

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

They serve it with a large basket of crackers. We were surprised that they didn’t have that pungent goat taste or smell. We’ve tried other cheeses and milk which we could hardly swallow because the smell and taste was overpowering. Not the case here, the cheeses were very light and pleasantly flavored. It was a good snack.

The farm also has friendly dogs and cats. They love the cheese and crackers.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2
From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

After our snack, we headed to check in at our hotel. We had a high floor room with a beautiful view.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

For dinner we stayed in and had Safeway club sandwiches and Hawaiian beer, wheat ale with passion fruit.

From 09-12-2008 Maui Day 2

For more pictures from the day, see below.

If you can’t see the slideshow above, click HERE.

Arrival in Maui, Hawaii

I know it’s a bit weird to go on vacation so soon after coming back from Singapore but we planned this vacation last year. Since it was such a crazy time during the first week before I started work, I think it’ll be good just to lay on a beach chair and relax.

The flight was relatively smooth and we arrived in Maui around 11:30am. We picked up our rental car and went to find a place to eat. We asked the Alamo rental car employee for a suggestions and she recommended a place closeby. So we begin our journey.

From 09-11-2008 Arrival in Maui

We got a bit lost but finally found “Da Kitchen“.

From 09-11-2008 Arrival in Maui

Ron and I were looking forward to having a good Hawaiian lunch.

From 09-11-2008 Arrival in Maui

We tried the specials on their blackboard. We had the Combo #4 which as rice with salad or mac (I chose the mac) and pulled pork, hamburger with onions, teriyaki chicken, and spam.

From 09-11-2008 Arrival in Maui

We also had the fresh ahi poke.

From 09-11-2008 Arrival in Maui

Ron and I were so stuffed! The place was pretty busy too, lots of people ordering take-out and people were waiting outside. We got there just before 12 so just beat the lunchtime crowd. We also had free-flow iced coffee and tropical iced tea so lunch was about $20 for both of us. We left very satisfied but also very sleepy with food coma.

We went to check-in at our hotel for a nap. We’re staying at the Maui Seaside Hotel tonight before checking into the Marriott Maui Ocean Club tomorrow.

It’s been a nice lazy day.

Da Kitchen Cafe
Triangle Square
425 Koloa St. #104
Kahului, HI 96732
808.871.7782

Spices II on 6th Avene & Clement

Today I went to go get my dad’s iPhone screen fixed. He has cracked the screen a few times so that the “touch” no longer works. I made an appointment with an Apple store “genius” to see if they could replace it. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to see how it was done… instead, they just give you a new phone! If the phone is no longer under warranty, it costs $200+ to replace the phone but I guess it’s cheaper than buying a completely new phone off-contract.

Afterwards, Ron and I went to find somewhere to eat. Although we live around lots of difference restaurants, we always have trouble choosing a place. We ended up on Clement St. and decided to try Spices II on 6th Avenue. Our friends had mentioned this place before and said it was good so we thought we’d check it out.

We ordered the Numbing Spicy Cucumbers. I’ve been looking for a place that serves this type of cucumbers the way I like them (my favorite place is Sho Mi in Stockton, CA). This was almost what I wanted except that the cucumbers were a bit soft but the spice was good.

From 09-09-2008 Spices II on Clement Ave

Numbing Spicy Mandarin Noodle (I think). The egg noodles were chewy and the sauce not all that spicy but was an okay dish.

From 09-09-2008 Spices II on Clement Ave

Stir fried potato strips. Ron mistakenly ate the green pepper thinking it was a bell pepper and he almost choked! It was spicy. The dish was a bit weird though, sort of like stir fried hash browns instead of fried. The spice numbed your tongue and lips for a while but then suddenly goes away.

From 09-09-2008 Spices II on Clement Ave

Three spiced chicken. We saw the table near us having this dish and were wondering what it was because it looked good. By chance we ordered the three spiced chicken and it turned out to be the same dish. The chicken was really crispy and it was filled with hot peppers and was very yummy.

From 09-09-2008 Spices II on Clement Ave

Needless to say, we were stuffed. We didn’t realize how big the portions were so we ordered way too much so we have leftovers for the next day. Surprisingly, the spice wasn’t overpowering and it disappeared pretty quickly after we stopped eating.

I don’t know if it’s good or bad that this place is close to where we live. I predict we may be visiting this place more often to try other dishes.

Spices II
291 6th Avenue & Clement
San Francisco, CA

Zazang Noodles on Geary

Tonight we were craving some noodles so went to Zazang Noodles on Geary. My friends at Kaiser took me out to lunch here the last time I was back in the US. The spicy seafood noodles disappointed me but the “za zang mien” was pretty good so I wanted to go back and try it.

We ordered the regular za zang noodles which were delicious.

From 09-08-2008 ZaZang Noodle on Geary Blvd

Also, we tried the spicy za zang noodles where they serve the sauce separately so you mix in your own amount. They also serve it with the pickled turnip, onions, and bean sauce. This was even better than the original za zang noodles.

From 09-08-2008 ZaZang Noodle on Geary Blvd

We also decided to try the chap chae which had meat and green bell peppers and onions. A bit peppery but in a good way.

From 09-08-2008 ZaZang Noodle on Geary Blvd

This is the best tasting za zang noodles we’ve had in the bay area.

Zazang Noodle
2340 Geary Blvd
San Francisco

Ping Pong Playa, Philz Coffee, and Golden Star Vietnamese

We went to see this totally hilarious movie called “Ping Pong Playa”. It is playing at the Sony Metreon. The movie pokes fun about some part of Chinese culture and it’s a bit corny, but very funny. The actors tried to speak “Chinglish” and although it was a bit forced, it was still pretty hilarious. I’d recommend checking it out, but maybe when it’s available on DVD.

Afterwards we went to this fantastic coffee place near AT&T Park/SoMa called Philz Coffee. They blend their own coffee beans and they grind the coffee to order. I love dark roasted coffees and their “Ether” blend is a dream. The barista added the milk and sugar to the coffee as well and it was the perfect amount. I could have had another cup but I want to sleep tonight! It’s strong stuff! I hope I can visit there again… or if I can’t, apparently you can purchase their coffee beans online and have them delivered. I think Peet’s may lose my business soon…

We skipped lunch so we went to have early dinner at Golden Star Vietnamese nearby Chinatown. I had a noodle soup that I haven’t had for a long time: Bun bo Hue. I always know of it as a spicy beef, pork blood, noodle soup. I know pork blood sounds gross but it’s really good in the soup. This version wasn’t spicy enough for me though. When I was living in Stockton, there’s one Vietnamese place that makes it so spicy that you cry while eating, just the way I like it! I can’t believe I’m going to say that I want to go back to Stockton… but that place also has really good lemon grass chicken, too bad I can’t remember the name of the restaurant…

From 09-07-2008 Golden Star Vietnamese
From 09-07-2008 Golden Star Vietnamese