40 is a FANTASY! Chunkeymonkey & Chubbyhubby STAR WARS cruise and POLY Feb 2016 TR Link Added!!

[LindseyJo22]

Love the pictures! It looks absolutely gorgeous, and seems like you both had a great time

 

[Angeejoe]

Beautiful beach pics!!! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Elevationist]

Absolutely GORGEOUS beach photos, Su-Lynn! If I ever convince myself to stop putting all my vacation money towards Disney World, then traveling to Hawaii is definitely close to the top of my list of must-do's!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Loving the mini TR, Hawaii is just so beautiful. We haven't been in 14 years our trip next year was between the DCL Alaskan cruise or Maui...I hope we made the right choice lol

Can't wait to read more of your lovely adventures!!

I think you can't go wrong with DCL Alaska!!! It's on my bucket list too.

Love the pictures! It looks absolutely gorgeous, and seems like you both had a great time

Thanks! We did!

Beautiful beach pics!!! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks for reading!! Thank you!

Absolutely GORGEOUS beach photos, Su-Lynn! If I ever convince myself to stop putting all my vacation money towards Disney World, then traveling to Hawaii is definitely close to the top of my list of must-do's!

Thanks Billie!! Yeah it's always so hard to decide where I want to go every year. But all my vacation time and money is spent between WDW and Hawaii so it's rare that I go elsewhere anymore!

 

[kastoney]

Wow, wow, wow. That is about all I got for all those gorgeous beaches. Hawaii is definitely a magical place

 

[disneyguy4life]

DANG GIRL!!! That looks like a fantastic trip. I am totally jelly (as the kids say)!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Wow, wow, wow. That is about all I got for all those gorgeous beaches. Hawaii is definitely a magical place

It is! I love it just as much as I love WDW!
Wait until you see all the food porn I have...

DANG GIRL!!! That looks like a fantastic trip. I am totally jelly (as the kids say)!

Haha, thanks! Yeah, it was a great trip, but Hawaii always is!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Mini Trip Report: Hawaii November 2015 Part 2

This post is going to be all about the yummy stuff we ate! We love Oahu because it has some of the best restaurants in Hawaii and we went to many old favorites as well as new places that have recently opened up. We ate everywhere from shacks on the side of the road, to fine dining restaurants. We ate so much! Here were some of our favorites on this trip:

The Pig and the Lady - a modern Vietnamese restaurant. They have a brick and mortar location as well as stalls at various farmer's markets. All of them are great!
​

Porchetta Bun Bo Hue - a take on pho but with italian porchetta. Yum! This was from the farmer's market.

This was at the restaurant. We ordered a bone marrow appetizer, and look what they gave us! Jaw dropped. @kastoney I thought of you!! This dish was called The Works: escargot sauteed with bone marrow, fresh betel leaves, and tumeric, served with baguette. The bone was just there for us to pick of the meat and any last remaining marrow inside.

Also that night: Pho French dip, with the "dip" being a delicious clam broth seasoned with SE asian spices. I highly highly recommend a visit to The Pig and the Lady for a meal at one of their stalls or restaurants if you're ever in Honolulu.

Dessert there was amazing. It was a green tea custard swirled with raspberry sorbet, served with a black sesame shortbread and black molasses milk. It's called a "Flava Fatality" and the flavor changes weekly. We were so lucky to be here that week because green tea ice cream is one of my favorite flavors, and raspberry is DH's favorite fruit. So the swirl of the green tea and raspberry was very cute since it was our anniversary too!

MW Restaurant - This is one of the new hot spots in town and we had an amazing meal here. It's more on the fine dining side, although there is no dress code or anything fancy like that.

Tuna tartare:

Part of a tasting menu, the appetizer sampler:

Mochi-crusted opakapaka (pink snapper, and one of my favorites!):

Foie Gras:

Lobster with truffles:

Grass-fed local beef:

And another anniversary dessert! The strawberry shave ice on the left was da bomb! We also had passion fruit creme brulee and house-made malasadas (portugese donuts)

Seafood - yes we ate a lot of seafood on this trip, mostly in the form of raw tuna in poke bowls! Poke (Poh-Keh) is just a term for Hawaiian style cubed fish tossed with sauce and eaten as is or served over rice in a bowl. It's like a sushi bowl! We got these at various places on the island. You can find them it supermarkets, take out places, or places which are dedicated to Poke.

From Don Quijote supermarket:

From fish purveyor Maguro Brothers:

You can get mix poke bowls too. This one was from Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens:

From Ono Seafoods, one of our favorites:

Can't forget the delicious shrimp trucks on the north shore! My favorites are Romy's and Fumi's because they use shrimp from the farms right next to the trucks. Everyone (most tourists) go to Giovanni's but their shrimp is not always local and they will use frozen when they have to.

This trip we went to Fumi's:

Spicy garlic shrimp, yum!

At the KCC Farmer's Market, this was shrimp simply grilled with lemon and butter. They were huge! You had to peel them though but I prefer that because I think the shrimp tastes better when cooked with the shell.

Fresh Big Island abalone, which is kinda like a cross between a clam and a scallop. They were grilled and you can add stuff like lemon, butter, soy sauce, etc. Yum!

Shave Ice - No trip to Hawaii would be complete without a shave ice. We like to get it with azuki beans and ice cream at the bottom, as well as tropical flavors like lychee and lillikoi. Sometimes with a cream top too! Here are some of our favorites:

Shimazu Shave Ice

Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha (Also known as HOPA): This one was a green tea syrup with the ice cream and azuki beans on the top. It also had little mochi balls.

And probably the most famouse, Matsumoto's on the North Shore. When we arrived there we were surprised to see that they had totally remodeled and was now almost swanky! I still miss the old general store feel but at least the crowd control is much better now!

mmmmmmmmmmm


Breakfast - We love breakfast and we took advantage that we'd be up bright and early with the time change every day to eat out for breakfast!

From Diamond Head Cove Health Bar, a yummylicious acai bowl:

From Koko Head Cafe (Top Chef alum Lee Anne Wong is chef):

Breakfast Bibimbap - korean rice dish but with bacon!

Ohayo Eggs - Eggs baked in a Parmesan dashi cream

Bills Sydney - famous Australian chef's new outpost in Waikiki Beach. The breakfast there I think is better than any other meals, and that's because of this: Ricotta pancakes. Seriously some of the best pancakes you will have.

And more pancake porn...from a cute little spot called Cream Pot in Waikiki, these were souffle pancakes. They are light and fluffy, just like souffle!

Other stuff we ate

Oxtail Ramen from Ramen Nakamura in Waikiki

Ramen from Hale Ohuna, Top Chef Lee Anne Wong's other restaurant:

Also from Hale Ohuna: Kawa Dumplings - where the wrapper is chicken skin. The whole thing is deep fried so it's like a fried chicken potsticker!

Taco Rice from Ethel's Grill, a hole-in-the-wall in Kalihi. This is an Okinawan specialty and was created when American GIs were stationed in Okinawa and brought taco seasoning with them. The taco ingredients are put on rice and then top it off with a sunny side up egg. You mix it all up and...taco rice!

Also from Ethel's Grill, the number one most requested item there is the Tuna Tataki (seared tuna) - it is delicious and only 7 bucks.

If you come across a truck called Banan, try it! it's a completely dairy-free softserve made from bananas but tastes creamy and delicious. The version we got had acai and banana hence the dark red color.

And on the North Shore at Kahuku Farms, all the produce is grown on-site and served in their little cafe. This was a roasted veggie and pesto pizza with hydroponically grown lettuce salad (Hello LWTL!) It was so good!

Hope you enjoyed the smattering of stuff we ate on our trip to Oahu! Next up I'll show some of the activities and things we did and a very special item that I bought.
​

 

[kadrachb]

Oh my goodness all your pictures make me hungry even though I just ate! Everything looks delicious.

 

[kastoney]

I'm not even sure where to start on this one as I almost have no words for the amazingness of your food and you know I never lack for words ; ) But I'll give it a go.

The Pig and the Lady - a modern Vietnamese restaurant. They have a brick and mortar location as well as stalls at various farmer's markets. All of them are great!
​

Porchetta Bun Bo Hue - a take on pho but with italian porchetta. Yum! This was from the farmer's market.

Everything from pig and lady sounds amazing. I went on a family trip to Oahu in 2007 and ate nothing that even resembled how good this looks. I'm a huge Pho lover, and the addition of porchetta sounds delicious.

his was at the restaurant. We ordered a bone marrow appetizer, and look what they gave us! Jaw dropped. @kastoney I thought of you!! This dish was called The Works: escargot sauteed with bone marrow, fresh betel leaves, and tumeric, served with baguette. The bone was just there for us to pick of the meat and any last remaining marrow inside.

You clearly know me oh too well by now. Escargot and bone marrow in a single dish, served with the bone to get the marrow out of all those nooks and crannys. Yes, please, and thank you. Any chance you bright some back with you? ; )

Lobster with truffles:

More like truffles with lobster. That's a huge amount of lobster and looks divine.

From fish purveyor Maguro Brothers:

Wow, this is so fresh it almost doesn't even look real.

At the KCC Farmer's Market, this was shrimp simply grilled with lemon and butter. They were huge! You had to peel them though but I prefer that because I think the shrimp tastes better when cooked with the shell.

These look delicious. I love head on shrimp. It keeps them moist all the goodness in there and then add in all the scrumptiousness in the head. Totally craving some shrimp right about now.

Fresh Big Island abalone, which is kinda like a cross between a clam and a scallop. They were grilled and you can add stuff like lemon, butter, soy sauce, etc. Yum!

Yum sounds like an understatement. I've always wanted to try abalone but have never found them anywhere.

nd probably the most famouse, Matsumoto's on the North Shore. When we arrived there we were surprised to see that they had totally remodeled and was now almost swanky! I still miss the old general store feel but at least the crowd control is much better now!

We went here during a family vacation in 2007 and it was general store like then too. I still remember how good how good it was.

Oxtail Ramen from Ramen Nakamura in Waikiki

Porchetta in pho and now oxtail in Ramen. Jason did ramen at work for a few weeks last winter and it was really my first taste of real ramen and oh so good. Of course his didn't have oxtail. Need to make a special request for this year ; )

Also from Hale Ohuna: Kawa Dumplings - where the wrapper is chicken skin. The whole thing is deep fried so it's like a fried chicken potsticker!

I know I"m throwing out tons of amazings and superlatives, but these fit that category too. I'm a sucker for any kind of dumpling, but a chicken skin one sounds unreal.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm totally ready to hop a plane to Oahu tomorrow!!!!!! Can't wait to see what else you did

 

[bcwife76]

I think to say you enjoyed a lot of seafood is an understatement! Oh my goodness, it all looks so delicious!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm not even sure where to start on this one as I almost have no words for the amazingness of your food and you know I never lack for words ; ) But I'll give it a go.

I knew you'd enjoy this post, I think we have a very similar love for food and all things edible.

Everything from pig and lady sounds amazing. I went on a family trip to Oahu in 2007 and ate nothing that even resembled how good this looks. I'm a huge Pho lover, and the addition of porchetta sounds delicious.

I love pho too! This place was awesome, you'd definitely enjoy it!

You clearly know me oh too well by now. Escargot and bone marrow in a single dish, served with the bone to get the marrow out of all those nooks and crannys. Yes, please, and thank you. Any chance you bright some back with you? ; )

Hahaha I knew you'd like this one...sadly it all went in our bellies. Wish you were there to share it with us though, it was definitely a lot of marrow for 2 people.

More like truffles with lobster. That's a huge amount of lobster and looks divine.

It was great! This was part of DH's tasting menu and he was nice enough to share.

Wow, this is so fresh it almost doesn't even look real.

I know, doesn't it? I am always so awed at the color of the tuna there. The tuna we get in our markets here don't have the same color...it's more gray and less appetizing so I don't really eat tuna regularly, unless at some super fresh sushi restaurant.

These look delicious. I love head on shrimp. It keeps them moist all the goodness in there and then add in all the scrumptiousness in the head. Totally craving some shrimp right about now.

I love shrimp heads too. They are the best part!

Yum sounds like an understatement. I've always wanted to try abalone but have never found them anywhere.

A lot of abalone is pretty tough and they have to go through a tenderizing process. These were chewy but quite tender.

We went here during a family vacation in 2007 and it was general store like then too. I still remember how good how good it was.

Porchetta in pho and now oxtail in Ramen. Jason did ramen at work for a few weeks last winter and it was really my first taste of real ramen and oh so good. Of course his didn't have oxtail. Need to make a special request for this year ; )

It is really great! The broth was very clean tasting. I really enjoyed this huge bowl of ramen.

I know I"m throwing out tons of amazings and superlatives, but these fit that category too. I'm a sucker for any kind of dumpling, but a chicken skin one sounds unreal.

Yeah totally what I thought! I'm a sucker for fried chicken skin. I don't eat the skin unless it's crispy and then that's all I want to eat.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm totally ready to hop a plane to Oahu tomorrow!!!!!! Can't wait to see what else you did

You're welcome! Thanks! It was a great trip!

I think to say you enjoyed a lot of seafood is an understatement! Oh my goodness, it all looks so delicious!!

Thank you! Yes it was a great gastronomic adventure!

 

[dmlovullo]

Glad you were able to get some Star Wars movie tix!! We are going on my Birthday, December 22nd!

Happy Anniversary! Your trip looks like it was amazing! Everything from scenary to food was beautiful!!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

The food you ate looks DELICIOUS! I'm having a hard time picking a favorite (but the pancakes and the photo with the desserts are REALLY calling out to me!).

It looks like you had a wonderful (and tasty!) time in Hawaii! I also love the look of your condo - what a great idea!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Glad you were able to get some Star Wars movie tix!! We are going on my Birthday, December 22nd!

Happy Anniversary! Your trip looks like it was amazing! Everything from scenary to food was beautiful!!

Awesome! I'm so excited for the movie!
Thank you!! It was a great trip!

The food you ate looks DELICIOUS! I'm having a hard time picking a favorite (but the pancakes and the photo with the desserts are REALLY calling out to me!).

It looks like you had a wonderful (and tasty!) time in Hawaii! I also love the look of your condo - what a great idea!

The pancakes were soooo good. All the food we ate was delicious!
We had a great time, thank you! Yeah we usually rent condos in Hawaii since we're there for a week or longer. It's just more convenient and more space!

 

[chunkymonkey]

PTR Update 11-24-2015

I didn't realize it but I am down to double digits!!!

88 days left until the cruise and 95 days left until my birthday at WDW!!
OMG I feel like I have so much to do...


-------------Star Wars Launch Bay Tidbids and other Park News-------------

So...since I've been away I had to catch up on all the Disney World news over the past few weeks. The big one is no more Star Wars Weekends going forward! Boo. But I guess it's being replaced by more permanent Star Wars exhibits until Star Wars Land is built. Sad there is no more SWW but happy that I got to experience it once. However, I am excited at all the new experiences listed on the official announcement:

http://wdwnews.com/releases/2015/11...wars-experiences-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

- From what it seems, the fireworks will be every night and not just weekends. That's pretty cool, I wasn't planning on being at DHS on days other than a weekend but that may have to change now since all these new cool Star Wars things are popping up. I feel like I need more time at DHS.

- There will be a fireworks dessert party! I assume it will be just like the one at Star Wars weekends in May. I wonder if it'll be any cheaper though, since the price at SWW included priority access to one of the JAT shows and to the parade too. Even though I already did it, I thought it was really fun! I plan to do the same thing next year, which is see one set of fireworks with the dessert party and see it on another night from a different vantage point.

- Galactic food! Blue milk panna cotta? First Order Burger? Death by Darth Vader cupcake? Sign me up! Looks like I'll have to make a meal from these foods.

(First Order Burger - note bun is not supposed to make you poop green. ) Pic from Disney Parks Blog

Also, RIP to Gaston's Tavern's pork shank. You were pure meaty goodness. You will be missed.

Now, there is a beef stew that is replacing it. Although it looks pretty good, I am more of a roasted meat off the bone kinda girl as opposed to a stew. I think the pork shank is more unique and it was mighty tasty too. Sad.

I've heard rumors about new character meets coming to Innoventions: Baymax and Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. That will be soooooo awesome if that were true.

Also at Epcot, Captain EO is out but a new Pixar film will take it's place. Pretty excited about that too.

Also at DHS, Minnie's Seasonal Dine at Hollywood and Vine is now all year round! I think this may be kinda cool for dinner. I was thinking of replacing Hollywood Brown Derby with this since the Character Dining appeals to me. During the time we'll be there it will be this theme:

"January 4, 2016 – March 20, 2016
Minnie Mouse is inviting all of her friends to join her at Hollywood & Vine, where she’s hosting a fabulous dinner party celebrating the glamour of Hollywood!"


---------------------PARK TICKET UPDATE!------------------------

Also, I've purchased my park tickets! I got them via Undercover Tourist. I saw an Amex Offer to save 25 on a one-time purchase of 100, so I saved some extra money on 7-day park hoppers! I purchased one ticket and then I had DH purchase another one on his credit card so we could save money on EACH ticket. Yay!

I noticed when I added my tickets to the MDE website, even though I have a reservation at the Poly, it does not seem to recognize it and will only let me make FP+ 30 days out, and not 60. I think this is the same issue I had when making ADRs 180 days out. I may have to use the app again to make FP+ which is just annoying! I still have 35 days until my 60 day mark. Maybe I will give them a call so they can take a look. Probably a technical error. Anyone else have issues with this?

---------------------CRUISE UPDATE!------------------------

I completed online check-in for the cruise!

On Sunday my online check-in opened up and I was able to book activities! I booked a Palo Brunch for the 3 of us, and then Remy Brunch and Dinner for DH and I (Chunkysis is not into the fancy foods). I am not sure if I will keep both Remy's because we are still unsure of the cruise dining rotation. Pirate's Night is definitely on Day 3 for us. Usually on the 7 night Western Caribbean Itinerary C it's on Day 5, so I think this screws with the dining rotation. I may have to call back and see if they had modified the rotations. I would essentially like to go to Remy on a night when we are scheduled for Enchanted Garden. Out of the 3 main dining rooms, I think I will be OK with eating here only once. I really don't want to miss Animator's Palate, and I think Royal Garden looks more formal and pretty.

I have not booked any port excursions yet. We're slated to stop in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Castaway Cay. I just have no decided if I want to do anything yet although the Stingray feeding at Castaway Cay sounds like fun.

Can't believe it's double-digits already! I feel like I still have a lot to do, and now with the Holidays coming up, and DH's birthday and STAR WARS...lots of exciting stuff!

Will be back with Part 3 of my Mini-TR to Hawaii!

​

 

[soniam]

I think the FP+ always or often only show 30 days until your eligible, then it switches immediately to 60 days access. Check out @mesaboy2 FP+ thread for confirmation. I don't have tickets right now or I would check.

It looks like the Skipper Canteen could open for reservations soon. I've been stalking all day.

I don't know if the SW fireworks every night is confirmed or not. So save a weekend night just in case.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I think the FP+ always or often only show 30 days until your eligible, then it switches immediately to 60 days access. Check out @mesaboy2 FP+ thread for confirmation. I don't have tickets right now or I would check.

Ah I see. I hope that is the case with FP+. I will check out the thread for more info. I hope it works!

It looks like the Skipper Canteen could open for reservations soon. I've been stalking all day.

I had no idea, thanks for the heads up!

I don't know if the SW fireworks every night is confirmed or not. So save a weekend night just in case.

I'm definitely planning to! Thanks!

 

[kadrachb]

I didn't realize it but I am down to double digits!!!

88 days left until the cruise and 95 days left until my birthday at WDW!!
OMG I feel like I have so much to do...

WOOP!

Now, there is a beef stew that is replacing it. Although it looks pretty good, I am more of a roasted meat off the bone kinda girl as opposed to a stew. I think the pork shank is more unique and it was mighty tasty too. Sad.

The beef stew I've actually made before in my crockpot (I found the recipe from Buzzfeed's tasty line), and it is DELICIOUS. But I don't think I can see eating it in Florida...

I've heard rumors about new character meets coming to Innoventions: Baymax and Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. That will be soooooo awesome if that were true.

I -really- hope this is true.

Also at DHS, Minnie's Seasonal Dine at Hollywood and Vine is now all year round! I think this may be kinda cool for dinner. I was thinking of replacing Hollywood Brown Derby with this since the Character Dining appeals to me. During the time we'll be there it will be this theme:

I booked Minnie's Seasonal Dine for our stay, so if you do book it, I'd love to hear about it! Our season would be Spring though.

 

[Elevationist]

I didn't realize it but I am down to double digits!!!

88 days left until the cruise and 95 days left until my birthday at WDW!!

Wooooo! Congrats!!!

o, RIP to Gaston's Tavern's pork shank. You were pure meaty goodness. You will be missed.

This makes me so sad!!!

Now, there is a beef stew that is replacing it. Although it looks pretty good, I am more of a roasted meat off the bone kinda girl as opposed to a stew.

Girl, you and me both.

Also at Epcot, Captain EO is out but a new Pixar film will take it's place. Pretty excited about that too.

I'm really curious about the new Pixar experience!!!