NINNIKU YA JAPANESE GARLIC HOUSE RESTAURANT IN KAIMUKI

NINNIKU-YA JAPANESE GARLIC HOUSE RESTAURANT

Hidden in the now blossoming Kaimuki in Honolulu is the Japanese Garlic Restaurant, Ninniku-ya, which means Garlic House in Japanese. Owner Chef Eiyuki Endo uses 5-10 pounds of garlic per day creating just about everything garlic: whole roasted Garlic Cloves, Garlic Spinach Salad, Garlic Soup, Garlic Avocado Ahi appetizer, Escargot, Ahi in a Garlic-Ginger sauce, Pasta with creamy Garlic-tomato sauce spiked with king crab, and Angus steaks served on a sizzling hot stone with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Finish it off with Sorbet with light Garlic sauce. Anything without garlic? The Blueberry Martini, ahhhh.... Open since 1976 on Waialae Ave near Chaminade University, this little gem features indoor and outside seating, and casual dress code (where do you have to dress up in Honolulu, anyway?). We split the filet, escargot, spinach salad, avocado ahi pupu with a side of roasted garlic and were pleasantly stuffed.





Cost of Date: Most appetizers $12-16; Filet $38; Roasted Garlic $8; Blueberry Martini $8

Do's and Don'ts on the date: Do get there early to find parking. Don't expect anyone down wind (for the next 2 days) to not wonder where you've been.


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ART AFTER DARK – DRAGON THUNDER – Bhutan Exhibit

ART AFTER DARK – DRAGON THUNDER – Bhutan Exhibit

Big applause to the Honolulu Academy of Arts PR folks; they sure know how to put on a good event. ARTafterDARK, a premier event happening from 6 to 9 p.m. on most last Friday’s of the month draws attention to the Academy and its featured exhibits. We’ve never not had a good time at ARTafterDARK.

Show up, get food, get drink, see the exhibit and usually a lot of friends, and wander the beautiful grounds to see what is set up in every corner to entertain you. Then, dance to popular music in the open air courtyard at the Academy. The strict ending time of 9 p.m. is perfect—time to go off and hit the town, or, if you’re tired after a work day, head home.

This particular ARTafterDARK, entitled Dragon Thunder, featured the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan and exhibits from the region. The monks, in colorful robes, helped out with the event—painting surfboards with regional designs, demonstrating Mandala sand painting, and ancient Buddhist dances.

Cost of date: $10 cover charge (free for members), $4-7 per plate of food, $4-6 drinks

Do’s and Don’ts on this date: Plan to be surprised and entertained. Stay near the main courtyard at the start of the event if you want a good view of the entertainment. Or—hit the food booths while everyone else crowds to see the entertainment. Don’t fret the early closing time; this is a great ice breaker for the start of your evening.

Website: http://www.honoluluacademy.org

WAKEBOARDING DATE—HAWAII WATER SPORTS CENTER

WAKEBOARDING DATE—HAWAII WATER SPORTS CENTER

(In Koko Marina Center in Hawaii Kai)

There’s no better place to learn to wakeboard than the placid (okay, sometimes) water of East Oahu’s Hawaii Kai Marina. And there’s no better teacher than Cormac and his protégé’s at Hawaii Water sports Center at Koko Marina.

This is a great date if you don’t mind making a fool of yourself in front of your date. Although wipe outs can give you something to talk about and Cormac promises you will stand and succeed at wakeboarding (we did)!

If you can’t stand the thought of a “face plant” or manage to schedule a massage for the following day, you might want to try banana boat or tube riding—getting pulled and bounced around behind the boat. Many happy dates knock their heads together this way (a recent survey suggests they survive longer relationships).

This date isn’t complete without a stop at one of Koko Marina’s restaurants. We recommend Kona Brewing, where you can watch others about to partake in water play. And where you can watch a full moon rise above Koko Head on the right nights.

Cost of date: Wakeboarding $49

Do’s and Don’ts on this date: Board shorts might be nice. Don’t worry about big fish; there aren’t any. Take a change of clothes if you plan to dine in Koko Marina afterwards.

To see the full on board wakeboarding lesson go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0nHR3ubdmo

Phone: (808) 395-3773 • FAX: (808) 375-1433

E-mail: info@hawaiiwatersportscenter.com

Hours:
Open 8:30am - 5:30pm Daily

Web Site: http://www.hawaiiwatersportscenter.com/

OKONOMIYAKI CHIBO

OKONOMIYAKI CHIBO
(In the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki)


If you want to freak someone out by showing them fish flakes that move around and look alive on top of pizza, this is the place to go. Your date may be impressed.


A traditional pizza-like dish originating from the Kansai region of Japan—specifically Osaka—Okonimiyaki consists of a fried batter and cabbage cake along with various ingredients. In this case—lots of garlic, shrimp, fish, and vegatables. Okonomi means "what you like" or "what you want," and yaki means "grilled" or "cooked"; thus, the name of this dish means "cook what you like."


You’ll feel like you’re in Japan as your chef—no matter what ethnicity—speaks Japanese and artfully handles knives as he/she makes your pizza to your liking. Side dishes like tofu spinach or bacon corn round out the meal in a tasty way.






Cost of Date: Okonomiyaki $14, Teppanyaki filet $23

Do’s and Don’ts on this date: Do order extra extra fried garlic. Yum! Do have mouth wash on you if you expect to meet or keep your date that night. Or the next day, for that matter.

Website(Japanese): http://www.chibo.com/shop/shop_detail.php

DORAKU SUSHI

DORAKU SUSHI

(In the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center)

We arrived at Doraku by following the board walk, up through the Waikiki Beach Walk, and out onto the sidewalk on Kalakaua. We were looking for a place to dance—Zanzabar (recommended by a concierge)—and, fortunately, followed a youthful crowd and ended up at Doraku’s instead.

Doraku Sushi features innovative Asian fusion cuisine/ sushi for lunch and dinner along with hand selected sakes from various regions in Japan, but on every other Saturday night Kevin Aoki's restaurant and bar turns into a night club featuring hip hop and contemporary dance tunes for a great time after all the other establishments in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center close down. It looks like this will be a popular feature of Doraku’s, which opened January 2008 in the newly renovated Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

Doraku’s is cozy, with Japanese style booth seating as well as sushi bar and outdoors seating. Didn’t get to try the food, but the dancing was fun.

Thanks Kevin!

Cost: $10 per head cover charge.

Do’s and don’ts on this date: Call ahead to see if there will be dancing. Don’t worry about the blue cat stamp still on your hand for the next 24 hours. It eventually washes off. (Just worry if you can’t remember where you got it!)

TAPA BAR (At Hilton Hawaiian Village)

TAPA BAR

(At Hilton Hawaiian Village)

Never would have gone there if it weren’t for out-of-town (former Hawaii residents) who were staying there. But the Hilton Hawaiian Village is a fun place to hang out—complete with shops, art galleries, great dining, and even fire works (on Friday nights). The Tapa Bar, in particular, is a relaxing place to lounge with friends and listen to music by local musicians.

David and Kamuela were playing a pertinent song the night we visited the Tapa Bar called, “She’s Grumpy and It’s My Fault.” Given that Valentine’s Day had just passed, it was easy to spot which guys in the audience had screwed up—the ones sitting next to the girls pointing at them.

From the Tapa Bar, it’s a quick walk out of the Hilton Hawaiian Resort and onto the beach, where a board walk takes you over the sands, past the Hale Koa Hotel, towards the new Waikiki Beach Walk and alongside Waikiki hotels and restaurants.

Cost of date: Pizza split with numerous friends and one Mai Tai ($8.00 each) —not bad

Do’s and Don’ts on this date: Do kick your shoes off and take a walk on the beach. Don’t climb the fences or life guard stands.

MARINERS RIDGE HIKE

MARINER'S RIDGE

Mariner’s Ridge Hike is a quick, yet moderate to steep hike. You drive half way up the mountain through Mariner’s Ridge (in Hawaii Kai) residential community on Kaluanui Road, which ends at a cul-de-sac and the trail head. Although a sign at the trail head sign warns hikers to keep out, the trail is marked with signs telling hikers which way to go.

The view from the top is awesome, showing the south-east coast of Oahu, from Kaneohe to Makapuu, yet close enough to the coastline to see the variegated green and blue waters off of Waiamanalo. The steep and jagged Ko’olau Mountain Range is also a stunning view at the end of this hike.

This hike takes about one and a half hours or less, depending on your cadence.

Cost of date: FREE

Do’s and Don’ts on this date: Do take some water. Hike on a week day if possible, as this hike is a more popular one. Don’t fret about the heat when you start trekking up through open terrain; there are enough trees—and possibly rain—at the top to cool you down.