I woke up pretty sore from yesterday's hike but once I got out of bed I was fine. Made some PB&J for breakfast and was out the door, but the bus was late! I swear, this blog could be all about my trials on the public transportation in Hawaii.
Anyway, got to work a little after 9am and lots of folks were curious about how the hike went. I think they thought it was funny for the director to take us hiking up stairs instead of to a nice relaxing activity like golf or something.
My fellow law clerks and I grabbed lunch at It's Good and Healthy Cafe which serves Greek food. I got the chicken kebab plate which was two chicken skewers, rice, hummus, salad and one piece of pita. The pita was so fluffy! The chicken was quite moist and I was pleasantly surprised by the rice which was mushy but has great flavoring. Anyway, it's one place off the Google spreadsheet!
The cafe is in an arcade and has just two tables and a few chairs, so we decided to go up to the 29th floor of our building (where some of the firm is located but not our offices) and eat lunch in the kitchen that overlooks the ocean and mountains. It's an amazing view and very relaxing to see.
The cafe is in an arcade and has just two tables and a few chairs, so we decided to go up to the 29th floor of our building (where some of the firm is located but not our offices) and eat lunch in the kitchen that overlooks the ocean and mountains. It's an amazing view and very relaxing to see.
After work I didn't quite feel ready to exercise again so instead I went shopping. I headed to the Nordstrom Rack at the Ward Center to find some new ballet slippers for working shoes. I've had the ones I'm using right now since Google and they are falling apart. The bus to the Ward Center was even confusing to find (turns out the stop was right in front of my building but I walked all around my building looking for it).
The bus dropped me off right by the Crazy Shirts Outlet so I detoured there. I really like Crazy Shirts because some of their shirts are super cute. I got my mom a great shirt with a series of cartoony mangoes on it that was like "Jealous Mango" which was green and "Happy Mango" which was smiling and ripe looking. I was disappointed that there was nothing cute. Their shipment comes in every Wednesday and Saturday which means that the best days to go are actually Thursday and Sunday when they bring the stuff out.
Next to the Crazy Shirts was a Satura Cakes! It was nice to see something so familiar (Satura starting in Hawaii) but alas they did not carry soy milk brioches and their cakes which cost $3 in Palo Alto were $4.50 here! An employee was super excited to hear about the Palo Alto store since he had never been there.
Anyway, after my detour I was off to Nordstrom Rack. The shoe selection there was pretty impressive and I luckily found a pair of black ballet slippers for work. I also picked up a slim wallet (mine is getting way too bulky and heavy to lug around everywhere) and some sunscreen which was cheaper at Nordstrom Rack than at drug stores.
I then headed to Goma Tei for my first experience with tan tan ramen. Getting to Goma Tei was another trial as I had no idea where it was located. I had to call Peter to ask for directions and even with his help it was a struggle. Turns out it's entrance is in part of the Ward Mall area and I was at the wrong side of that mall at first. But anyway, tan tan ramen is the Japanese version of the Chinese noodle dish dan dan mein. In short it's sesame paste, chili oil and garlic soup base. When I sat down the waiter asked me if I knew what I wanted without giving me the menu which I was kind of flattered about since that meant he thought I was local. I did need the menu and I ordered the tonkatsu tan tan ramen. It came out pretty quickly. The tonkatsu looks a little funny since it wasn't breaded in panko but more like flour. Never the less it was pretty juice and crispy. The tan tan ramen was admittedly a weird experience. The broth was like a deep red brown and opaque with a pretty thick layer of chili oil at the top. And yet, I didn't find it spicy at all. I added a lot of chili pepper to make it spicier. The broth tasted more peanut-like than sesame to me. It was salty, sweet, peanuty and a little spicy. The noodles were good (a little soft) but not as good as Menchanko-Tei and once you have those noodles it's hard for others to live up. I enjoyed this new kind of ramen but I don't think I would actively seek out this style again. It felt a little too heavy and looked really greasy (although it didn't taste greasy at all).
At the office I had planned out my trip so I knew which bus to take, but I was so hungry that I ate the ramen faster than I had expected. Thus, I was early and since buses run like every 15-30 mins, I called Peter to figure out how to get home. Only now do I truly truly think a smart phone would be worth it.
That Peter fellow sounds like a swell guy.
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