Seared Ahi and Furikake Encrusted Honda Tofu Salad
Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room, Ala Moana Shopping Center (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Photo taken with Palm Treo
First of all, I feel compelled to comment on the poor quality of this image. Quite frankly, it disappoints me and gives me serious iPhone envy. I love the functionality of the Treo’s calendar, contacts, memo pad and ability to save to SD, but I don’t like the way the phone works and the touch screen is sometimes slow to respond. And, let’s not even compare the photos taken with a Treo vs. an iPhone. Certainly, the Treo does a good job keeping me organized, but it isn’t really a joy to use. The only reason I used my Treo to take this picture is because Hubby was borrowing my Canon Powershot SD550 and I can’t fit my digital Rebel in my purse. (Doh!)
But, enough gadgety ranting, let’s talk about the day!
After my dental appointment (no cavities!), Joyce and I went shopping at Ala Moana Shopping Center. The first order of business was lunch. We decided to treat ourselves to a nice, sit down lunch at Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room located on the third floor of Macy’s. Our growling tummies were promised a 15-minute wait for a table, which ended up being closer to 45-minutes. I’m convinced that it must’ve been an evil ploy, because by the time we were seated, we were both ready to order everything on the menu. In spite of my initial inclination to order a big, fat, juicy burger or the Kalbi Loco Moco, I opted for the Seared Ahi and Furikake Encrusted Honda Tofu Salad (seen above). Upon initial inspection, I was a little disappointed at the lack of seared ahi, which appears first in the description. (I suppose you can’t read a menu like you would an ingredients list. Just because it appears first doesn’t necessarily indicate the quantity of the said item.) However, in hindsight, I believe that including more of the seared ahi might have overpowered the delicate balance of the components of the salad. I couldn’t have asked for more delightful salad. And the chili soy dressing, (oh, the dressing!) had just the right amount of spiciness to add a little kick to the dish. It had to be one of the most palate-satisfying salads I’ve ever had. This, coming from one who isn’t really keen on salads, gets a solid thumbs up. Of course, feeling totally entitled since I had a salad for lunch, I followed it up with dessert: mocha chip ice cream with fresh fruit served in a ginger tulip. All that and a bladder full of plantation iced tea, lunch literally had me waddling out of the restaurant.
Our shopping trip was also very productive, allowing us to check some folks off of our Christmas list. We ended our day at Ward Centre where I picked up a t-shirt for Hubby from Rainbowtique that proclaimed the University of Hawaii as WAC Champions. Now, he can wear that shirt to church with pride tomorrow morning to celebrate tonight’s victory against the Washington Huskies and UH’s perfect (12-0) season.
With all of that accomplished, I even managed to get us back home before the first kick-off of the big game.
[...] Splendid Saturday [...]