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DAY TWO
The Chinese have a saying that you gain a day of life for every new
dish you try. Add a month or so by breakfasting on dim sum at Mei
Sum in Honolulu’s Chinatown. Steaming carts come rolling by your
table loaded with bamboo baskets stuffed with dumplings. Point to
what you want. Choose taro
gok
,
char siu bao
(buns filled with bar-
becue pork), sesame
mochi
balls, and delicate concoctions of shrimp
and chives. Shrimp egg foo yung also makes a good breakfast.
You’re off to a good start exploring Chinatown. Take time to
smell the flowers in the lei shops along Maunakea Street, listen to
the haggling over hung ducks, mangoes,
and fish at the busy, aromatic Oahu
Market, and light incense in the ornate
Kuan Yin Temple.
Take time out at the famed Foster
Botanical Garden, bordering the temple.
Some of the highlights are an outdoor
butterfly garden, prehistoric glen, great
trees, and prom-queen orchids. It’s very
peaceful.
Ready for lunch? Grab a slice of
New York–style pizza or a whole pie at
J.J. Dolan’s, an Irish pub with cold beer
and creative drinks.
Next, brace yourself for a fascinating
history lesson at Iolani Palace, America’s
only royal residence. Get there early
enough for the 20-minute film about the
dramatic overthrow of the Hawaiian
monarchy. Any true understanding of
Hawaii, its culture, and the political forces
shaping the islands today begins here.
(Reservations are advised.) You’ll be given
booties to slip over your sandals as you tiptoe through the throne
room, and lavish dining room set with French china, British sterling,
and Bavarian crystal. Then it’s upstairs to the royal bedrooms, includ-
ing the one where Hawaii’s queen was imprisoned by American
usurpers in 1893.
Across King Street from the palace is the bronze statue of
Kamehameha The Great, the king who united all the Hawaiian
islands into one nation and established constitutional law. On the
other side of the palace on Beretania Street, a moat surrounds
the intriguing architecture of the state capitol. It symbolizes the
island state surrounded by ocean. A statue of St. Damien, the
Catholic priest who ministered to the victims of Hansen’s disease
(leprosy) on Molokai, stands in front.
After all that sightseeing, it’s time to relax. You’ve earned a
sunset cocktail on the beachside lanai of House Without a Key.
Sip an umbrella drink as the sinuous grace of a hula dancer sil-
houetted against a blazing sky seduces you completely. You are
now officially in love with Hawaii. Most Hawaiian songs are love
songs — to Hawaii.
For dinner, just stroll across the lawn to the seaside open-air
restaurant, Orchids, where you can still hear that enchanting
music while you savor fresh local seafood from an epicurean
menu. Beyond your table, the moon splashes its silver light on
the rolling surf.
IntervalWorld.com INTERVAL WORLD
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Fall 2015
35
Kapahulu’s Ono Hawaiian
Foods maintains a loyal
fan base with its no-frills
traditional fare, from
lomilomi
salmon to
kalua
pork and steaming
bundles of laulau.
Dim sum is a Chinatown must.