Vavin Dessert Bar, Honolulu

Previously:

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

A relatively new open patisserie and cafe in the heart of Waikiki is famous with their croissant.  The shop opened sometime mid last year scored 4.9 in the google review.  We were there like 9 am in the morning and some popular items were already gone.  Not only you can find exquisite croissants but there are some other desserts like eclair and Basque cheesecake available that made a great companion with tea or coffee.

 

Orange zest latte USD 6.50

Their coffee was really good, smooth and with the touch of orange zest, it augmented the aroma and the taste of this hot coffee drink.  And their signature Hawaiian coffee was also refreshing and slightly sweet but has been balanced with saltiness from their milk foam and macadamia nuts.  

Hawaiian latte USD 6.75

Honey sea salt croissant USD 6.95

This simple plain croissant capped with honey and sea salt was out of this world.  I would say this is the best top three croissant that I have ever eaten.  Super flaky on the outside but inside those hundred layers was still soft and airy.  Rich in butter and the hint of honey and salt balanced the overall taste.  It was definitely a well-made croissant. 

I don't want to sound to highly praise them, but if you are a croissant lover, please do try this place.  You would be amazed by this delicate pastry.  

Double pistachio twice baked USD 8.95

Then we also tried their pistachio croissant, but it wasn't really up to my liking.  The pistachio and sticky glaze on top were overkilled the taste of buttery croissant.  

Apart from that, their eclair was amazing.  Thin choux dough and fully filled with creamy raspberry custard in the inside.  It was sweet and luscious.  While for the ham and cheese croissant, I got it takeaway for my son, so I didn't personally try this.  It got an approval from him and he said it was really delicious.  

Raspberry eclair USD 6.25

Ham & triple cheese croissant USD 9

Vavin Dessert Bar

2113 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu

Ph: +1 808 436 9945

Open: Thursday - Tuesday from 7am - 3pm (Wednesday closed)

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Hawaii:

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Previously:

Sea Life Park, Hawaii

Finally, we're here checking-in into Hilton Hotel and staying for 5 nights.  If you have the Hilton Honor membership, you can check-in early from 1:30 pm instead of the regular time which is at 4pm and you will be on a different line too, so much convenient.  Otherwise, in here, they have the worst and the longest check-in queue.  This is one of a massive hotel, with the number of rooms they have, imagine of how many guests that check-in into everyday and with only like 4 or 5 people serving, the line was like a hell of long phyton.    

We got the room with an ocean view in Diamond Head building, which is pretty accessible and within reach to so many spots/points.  This building is not so far from the main concierge, and it is near Starbucks and restaurants, a pool (not the main pool though) just outside the building and the best thing is the Uber pick up/drop off location is also right underneath the building.  Although our place is quite far from the lagoon and paradise pool where the sliders are, but hey!!! We can't have everything, right!!!  I am so happy with what we've got.

In this post, I'm only sharing pictures of our room, for facilities and amenities around the hotel would be in Part 2.  So, please stay tuned readers and thank you for reading my blog.

Btw, as I mentioned before, I was soooo looking forward with our stay in this hotel because we won't go around or anywhere far anymore in Honolulu and we're mainly staying inside the hotel to enjoy their swimming pools, lagoon, sunbathing and trying food from this village.  They literally have nearly everything that make us no need to go anywhere else.  The next 5 days would be relaxing yet hectic with kids keep nagging to go to pools or beach in every hours.  Somedays, me and my husband actually took turn morning and afternoon swift to take them to the pool/beach, we just cannot keep up with their energy.

Huge room with two double beds

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

2005 Kalia Road, Honolulu

Ph: +1 808 949 4321

Check in: 4pm and check-out: 11am

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Hawaii:

Vavin Dessert Bar, Honolulu

Sea Life Park Hawaii

Previously:

Leahi Bar & Grill, Waikiki

Today was our check-out day from Stay Hotel and moved to Hilton Hotel (so looking forward to this).  Also, the last day of renting a car and will return it after dropping our luggage to the next hotel.  So, we wanted to maximise what we paid for but at the same time don't want to go too far because today is Friday and every Friday night there is a firework show in Hilton Hotel and we definitely don't want to miss it.

For that reason, we only drove to Sea Life Park that only takes half an hour drive and spent a couple of hours there.  At first, we're contemplating between Honolulu Zoo or Sea Life Park, but because my husband is into the movie called 50 First Date that some of the scenes took part in this place.  Obviously, he is the driver, so he won.  

The way to go there along the coastal drive was very gorgeous.  Passing Hanauma Bay that we were originally planned to go but very hard to book the place, we kept trying through online but always too late.  They open slots for a few days in advance and only available to book for a few hours early in the morning and they're gone so quick.

This place is fairly small compared to any similar Sea Life Park we've been, like Sea World in Queensland or Ocean Park in Hong Kong.  We're here to watch their dolphin show, however it was a complete letdown, the trainer and dolphins were mostly stay only on one corner and the movements or attractions were very basic and kinda boring in comparison to somewhere else, such as Pattaya Dolphinarium for example.  But no doubt with their setting though, it is so beautiful with an open ocean on their backdrop.  

My kids were enjoying this place though.  They love animals and always get excited to go to any zoo or aquarium.  But you know, normally I also do enjoy going to this kind of places because sometimes a good place, they are not only great for kids but adults can feel engaging as well.  However, this place doesn't offer any of those appeals and lacking any charming points.    

This is purely my opinion, don't be afraid to visit though.  I mean, it is not for me but it could be something that you may like.  Oh, btw we had so much fun inside the bird zone, where we can hand feed the birds.  

Sea Life Park Hawaii

41-202 Kalaniana'ole Hwy, Waimanalo Beach

Ph: +1 808 259 2500

Open: Everyday from 10 am - 4 pm

General admission fee USD 59.99 (adult) or USD 49.99 (child)

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Hawaii:

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Leahi Bar & Grill, Waikiki

Previously:

Byodo-In Temple and Kualoa Ranch/Jurassic Valley

A-must try cocktail while you're in Hawaii is the one called Lava flow.  It's a rum base drink that is blended together with strawberries and coconut cream.  It is kinda similar to Pina Colada drink but even yummier.  This tropical booze has a thick and creamy texture, sweet and very delicious.  In this restaurant, they also do Mango flow.  Both are worth to try. 

We had only some nibbles to accompany our drinking night.  We got a deep-fried calamari dish with some furikake sprinkled on top.  Never had a calamari with furikake, they actually went well together.  It gives me an idea of doing this, I will try it with some fried chicken at home.  Then, we also ordered poke dish with spicy tuna.  The first bowl was spotted on, fresh and delicious.  So, we ordered the second one exactly the same dish.  But it didn't turn up the same, still fresh though but somehow it was too salty like they forgot and drop salt twice.

We also got a medium rare ribeye steak.  You can see from the picture, the meat wasn't cook properly and different consistency too.  Some side was overcooked and some other side which mainly in the middle was still fairly raw.  The meat was really chewy too, very unpleasant to eat.  Especially, for the price we paid, I could get a really decent steak dish in Sydney.  We're extremely disappointed with this dish.  The menu here is a bit hit-and-miss, some food are fantastic but others are disappointing. 

Lava flow and Mango flow USD 15 each (around AUD 24)

Furikake calamari USD 17 (around AUD 27)

Fresh poke - spicy mayo tuna USD 17 (around AUD 27)

Ribeye steak USD 56 (around AUD 90)

Leahi Bar & Grill

2446 Koa Ave, Honolulu (Second Floor)

Ph: +1 808 762 9025

Open: Daily 11am - 2am

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Hawaii:

Sea Life Park Hawaii

Byodo-In Temple and Kualoa Ranch/Jurassic Valley

Previously:

ABC Stores in Hawaii

On our 4th day in Hawaii, we spent the day around the East coast area.  We visited Byodo-in Temple in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Kaneohe which only takes less than 40 minutes' drive from Waikiki.  The temple reminds us of Japan.  Just around an hour or so that we stayed there.  Then we had a light lunch at nearby McDonald, just opposite the Memorial Park entrance.  It was one of the most beautiful McDonald stores as they have this amazing looking mountain range as their background.  

After filled up our tummy, we then wanted to try some adventures in Kualoa Ranch which is also known as Jurassic Park Movie Site.  However, lazy us that didn't make any advance booking for the rides and we had to suffer now.  They were mostly fully booked, only the less popular one was available.  We ended up splitting into 2 groups from the eight of us and our family went to the Jungle Expedition tour while my brother-in-law fam did the Hollywood Movie Sites Tour.  At first, we thought we might come back to try another ride but thinking about it again, all the rides are too pricey and we don't want to overspend our money while we still have around a week in Hawaii.  

After we finished with the tour, we became very hungry on the way back to our hotel, so we stopped and had some huli huli chicken from Yummy Restaurant.  

Valley of the Temples Memorial Park

Byodo-In Temple

From the McDonald car park overlooking Ko'olau Mountain Range

This Jungle adventure took us on the ride though rainforest valleys to see some movie sites like Jumanji, Kong Skull Island and also Jurassic World (outside).  The roads are quite bumpy, but we got to see some nice scenic views.  But to be honest paying AUD 350 for 2 adults and 2 kids, just a little bit too much.  I mean with that kind of price, it could get me in Disneyland or other world known theme parks.  However, for an experience's sake, I think is not too bad though.

Wood roasted whole chicken USD 21.95 (you can ask your chicken to be chopped into 2/4/6 pieces)

BBQ teriyaki beef plate served with macaroni salad and rice USD 18.95

Yummy Huli Huli Chicken

49-132 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe

Ph: +1 808 376 4110

Open: Mon-Wed 10am - 4pm and Thu-Sun 10am - 6pm

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Hawaii:

Leahi Bar & Grill, Waikiki