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Friday, November 27, 2015

THANKSGIVING DINNER 2015

 THANKSGIVING DINNER 2015
DINNER AT HOME

Very thankful to be home with my Wife and Daughter on Thanksgiving.  Really nowhere else I would rather be.  So blessed to have family, love and great food along with friends on this special day.
We began prepping for Thanksgiving Dinner the night before with me making the Compound Herb Butter, Roasted Garlic,  Sausage, Apple and Sage Dressing, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Corn in advance.  From experience we have found that trying to make everything on Thanksgiving day is just too much stress with too much going on in the kitchen and in the oven.  This meant that we only had to cook the Turkey and a few other dishes prior to our guests arriving.  Worked out very well and allowed us to relax, take a nap and enjoy the day before we dug into this huge feast.

THANKSGIVING DINNER

WE ALWAYS START THANKSGIVING WITH SEARED AHI
FRESH AHI TUNA SEARED WITH CAJUN SPICES
SHRIMP COCKTAIL
TRUFFLE CHEESE WITH RASPBERRY JAM ON TOAST
CHEESE AND MEAT PLATTER
DEVILED EGGS 
LIVER PATE (CENTER) - CRACKER WITH CREAM CHEESE AND SUN DRIED TOMATO
CRAB CAKE
LUMP CRABCAKE WITH YOGURT SAUCE
BACON WRAPPED TURKEY
TABLE IS SET SO LETS DIG IN! 
CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH ROASTED WALNUTS
GRAVY - BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH - MASHED POTATOES WITH BACON
GRAVY MADE FROM TURKEY DRIPPINGS AND BACON
BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH
MASHED POTATOES WITH CREAM CHEESE, CREAM, BUTTER AND BACON
SAUSAGE, APPLE AND SAGE DRESSING - GREEN BEANS - CREAMED CORN
CREAMED CORN WITH PIMENTO AND ONION
GREEN BEANS WITH SHALLOTS AND BACON
SAUSAGE, APPLE AND SAGE DRESSING
ROASTED TURKEY IS READY
TURKEY MOIST AND FULL OF FLAVOR
ONE LEG IS GONE!
MY FAVORITE IS THE CHOCOLATE PIE

Sunday, November 22, 2015

GOMA TEI RAMEN KAHALA

GOMA TEI RAMEN
4211 WAIALAE AVENUE, #G-07
HONOLULU, HI  96816
808-732-9188
HOURS:  Daily 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
                 Sunday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Visiting the Kahala Mall to hit the Apple Store and my Daughter says that she wants to go to the new Japanese restaurant she saw at the end of the mall near the movie theaters.  We headed towards the theaters and found Goma Tei Ramen in the former location of Hallmark Cards.  Since the day was cloudy and rainy it seemed nice to grab a warm bowl of Ramen.  We were seated quickly by a hostess/waitress.  She greeted us and gave us menus.  We were given ice water and I asked for some hot tea.  The waitress told me that they did not have any hot water for tea.  This seemed odd but we went ahead and looked over the menu.  Tan Tan Ramen, Shoyu Ramen and Sunho Ramen were among some of the dishes on the menu.  I asked the waitress what the best Ramen was and she said that the Tan Tan Ramen #1 was the most popular.  I ordered the Tan Tan Ramen with Char Siu and Vegetables ($13.25).  The bowl of Ramen was large and I had never seen Char Siu so big.  Three huge thick slices in the Ramen with lots of vegetables and noodles.  I hated it.  Did not like the oily sesame oil pasty taste.  Actually ate very little of my Ramen as you will see in the photo below.  The Gyoza ($7.97) was just ok.  My Wife and Daughter love Gyoza and they only ate one each which is rare.  Some of the Gyoza fell apart with the filling coming out.  The Goma Wings ($8.74) were really crunchy and hot.  Not spicy hot but hot from the fryer.  The Wings were meaty and tasty but the Tonkatsu sauce served with them was not that good.  The Shoyu Vegetable Ramen with Shoyu Egg ($10.75) was just alright and nothing special my Wife said.  She added that she would not go back for it again.  My Daughter ate the most and enjoyed her Shoyu Ramen ($9.56) without any complaints.  Service was very good with the entire staff pitching in and working the tables.  Our waitress was kind and always checking on the table.  

GOMA TEI RAMEN

GOMA TEI RAMEN AT KAHALA MALL
LONG VERY BLAND SPACE
PLACE FILLED UP QUICKLY AROUND LUNCH TIME
GOMA TEI TAN TAN RAMEN
SHOYU RAMEN
SUNHO RAMEN, MAPO TOFU AND CURRY DISHES
TERIYAKI CHICKEN BOWL, CURRY LOCO MOCO AND CHAR SIU RICE BOWLS
SIDE ORDERS AND DRINKS
SHOYU, VINEGAR, CHILI PASTE AND CHILI FLAKES
MADE UP A LITTLE SAUCE OF SHOYU, VINEGAR AND CHILI FLAKES
GOMA WINGS
GYOZA
WRAPPERS CAME OFF A FEW OF THE GYOZA
SHOYU VEGETABLE RAMEN WITH EGG
SHOYU RAMEN WITH CHAR SIU
TAN TAN CHAR SIU RAMEN WITH VEGETABLES
UPPER LEFT OF BOWL - FOUND STEEL WOOL IN THE RAMEN BOWL
I DID NOT LIKE MY RAMEN AND LEFT ALL OF THIS ON THE TABLE WHEN WE LEFT

LAS VEGAS GOLF ADVENTURE

LAS VEGAS GOLF ADVENTURE
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

Enjoyed an epic golf trip with three great friends in Las Vegas.  Our adventure began with accommodations at the Aria Sky Suites which is a hotel within the Aria Resort and Casino.
The Sky Suites are amazing with a private entrance and lobby complete with complimentary drinks, beer, wine and snacks throughout the day and night.  Amazing service in a very upscale environment.  Absolutely love the Aria Sky Suites.  We played three courses during a four day visit to Las Vegas.  TPC Las Vegas, Bears Best and Bali Hai.  We all agreed that Bali Hai was the most beautiful and enjoyable course of the three.  Of course, we had to stop at In N' Out Burger just off the Strip on the way to TPC.  I love In N' Out Burgers and try to have a least one every time I am a city that has one.  TPC Las Vegas was very challenging but fun.  The round became kind of a blur towards the end of our round as we were indulging in the beer cart a little to often.  After the round, we enjoyed more cocktails and some pretty good food in the clubhouse.  Great service.  Next up was the Bears Best Golf Course.  This round was last minute as we were supposed to be attending the University of Hawaii vs UNLV Football game at 3:00 pm.  My friends overwhelmingly voted to play golf on this day rather than attending the game.  Bears Best features the 18 best holes chosen by golf course legend and designer Jack Nicklaus.  The Golden Bear has etched 18 amazing holes in the desert with views of the Strip and multi-million dollar homes that surround the course.  Some of the homes are just amazing with huge outdoor spaces, pools, bbq pits, basketball courts, pizza ovens and just about everything else money can buy.  My round was cut very short here as on the third hole I lost my IPhone.  I remember taking a photo of the hole and then using the phone to obtain yardage to the pin info using a golf app.  As I approached the next hole I went to take another photo and realized my IPhone was missing.  I went back to Hole #3 and asked all of the players on the course if they had found a phone.  Everyone said no.  I traveled back to the tee box and replayed every shot in my head while driving along the course and into the bunkers where I had hit my ball.  No luck.  I went back to my group and tried to golf.  I could not get my mind off the phone so I went back again to Hole #3 and retraced my tracks.  Again no luck.  I went back to my group and then back to Hole #3 and Hole #2 just to be safe.  No luck finding the phone.  I called my Wife using my friends phone to let her know I had lost my phone.  She called me the usual names and then went online to try to search for the phone using an app.  She said it was showing no signal.  I gave up on the phone and tried to golf with my group on the final few holes.  I had told everyone on the course, the beer cart girl and course employees that there was a $200 reward if anyone finds the phone.  As we approached the 18th Hole, the sun was going down and it was getting dark.  My friends phone rang and it was my Wife.  She had got a satellite signal showing the phone in a sand trap on Hole #3.  She actually texted an image of the area where the phone was laying on the ground.  Me and one of my friends looped back to Hole #3 and began our search.  We fanned out with one going to the right and one to the left.  We scoured the course as the sun set.  It was now dark.  My friend started calling my phone to see if we could pick up a flash of light from it.  I pretty much gave up as it was just too dark now.  My friend was in a large sand trap on the left side of the fairway when he saw a blinking light.  He picked up the phone and handed it to me saying "I found your phone".  We were happy but getting cold and headed to the clubhouse to celebrate the find with a nice warm Irish Coffee.  Our last round of golf was at Bali Hai which is literally on the Strip.  Took less than 10 minutes to get there from the Aria Sky Suites.  Loved the course, staff and food at Bali Hai.  Truly one of the best golfing days of my life.  Probably did not hurt that the beer cart girls were servicing our group with drinks non stop.

LAS VEGAS GOLF ADVENTURE

ARIA SKY SUITES
ARIA SKY SUITES BEDROOM
ARIA SKY SUITES BATHROOM
VIEW FROM MY SKY SUITE AT ARIA
HAD TO STOP AT IN N' OUT BURGER JUST OFF THE STRIP BEFORE PLAYING TPC LAS VEGAS
TPC LAS VEGAS HAS BEEN HOME TO MANY PGA EVENTS
TPC LAS VEGAS
TPC LAS VEGAS
HOLE #1 AT BEARS BEST
HOLE #3 AT BEARS BEST WHERE I LOST MY IPHONE
BALI HAI
BALI HAI CLUBHOUSE - GREAT ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND PEOPLE
BALI HAI IS BEAUTIFUL