Not necessarily the way to visit Honolulu

The adventures of travel! Not. But a So-So learning experience.

I had a tooth “blow up” early in the morning of our embarkation on the Queen Victoria sail from San Francisco to Hawaii. This is an expendable complicated trip we have planned, so I knew I’d have to make do.

I tried, but couldn’t get in to the emergency dentist I found through Google.

So.

I started on the antibiotics I carry on long trips and asked the concierge on the ship made an appointment for me with a dentist in Hawaii. I had excellent care from the dentist and all of the staff at Ala Moana Dentistry, which caters to travelers and locals alike, 7AM to 8AM, 7 days a week. I hope you never need a dentist in Hawaii, but highly recommend these great professionals!

So.

Our only Hawaiian morning was spent at the dentist. Luckily, the office is near the Ala Moana Shopping Center, with a huge Walgreens across the street. Besides getting the correct antibiotics and my Celebrex prescriptions filled, we shopped in Honolulu.

The Ala Moana Center is huge, with everything from a supermarket, a Target, to Saks 5th Avenue, Nordstrom’s, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. We even did a little window shopping at Harry Winston, and Cartier.

Then, we ate lunch.

Shabuya seems to be a very popular restaurant at the Mall. Long wait at 1PM, but convenient text notification and very fast service once we were seated.

We chose our broth and selected “appetizers” (fried dumplings or several types of chicken) and up to 4 meats from the 7 or so on offer by the waiter. Then, we went to a buffet to load our bowl (or one of the steel saucers under the buffets) with shrimp, fish balls, a wide array of noodles and/or vegetables.

The tables are designed with built-in hot plates to keep your broth hot as it becomes your “hot pot.” You can dump all the ingredients into the bubbling, boiling hotpot or put in 1 or a few items at a time.

I added minced garlic, cilantro, green onion, and ramen noodles to the broth and let them cook just a couple of minutes, before taking it all out to put it in the bowl along with boiling (“Original,” #1) broth, adding a spoonful of the spicy (#3) broth for a great soup/hot pot. I watched others, and learned that it might be better to treat the meats as you would a fondue: hold them in the boiling broth until they’re brown or gray, then eat.

The meal is all you can eat from 11 to 3 PM. Drinks are extra, as is dessert. Take your as appetite, fill up for $17.99 at lunch (4-10 yo, $11.)

So.

Be flexible and expect surprises when you travel! You might have to juggle a few things. (Larry I my hero, by the way.

Bon voyage, even if you don’t make it to the beach in Hawaii!