Alaskan Cruise - Day 2: At Sea ~ Photo-log

Our first full day on the ship! We started the day by having a luxurious breakfast at the Grand. Seriously! The waitstaff poured our drinks, came over to our tableside with trays of freshly baked bread and pastries, served our food with utmost politeness and then we left without paying a dime! Doesn't that feel like living like royalty??

Mini brioche from an assortment of viennoiserie

They even had my favourite brioche bread in a cute tiny sized loaf!

Fruit plate

We were all served a plate of fruit before our breakfast came out.

Waffles - with whipped cream and jam

I had a tough time deciding whether to have a sweet or savoury breakfast so I went with both!! LOL These did not look like the waffles we usually see. They weren't as fluffy as I'd like but they were definitely pretty to look at.

Scrambled eggs, roasted tomato, apple and pork sausage patty

My savoury breakfast consisted of a heap of scrambled eggs, a rather dry pork and apple sausage shaped as a patty, and my lone healthy item, a halved roasted tomato.

Eggs benedict, breakfast sausages, corned beef hash

W opted for the eggs benedict with additional sides of some breakfast sausage and corned beef hash.

Healthy plate selections at AquaSpa Cafe

In the afternoon I stopped by the AquaSpa Cafe to check out their offerings. All their dishes were chilled items like smoked salmon with greens, and various kinds of salads. I wasn't particular interested so lunch was just back at the Islands Cafe buffet.

Tonight's dinner was Formal Night at the Grand Restaurant.

Black Sesame Crusted Tuna Carpaccio - with Seaweed Salad, Pickled Mushrooms and Ginger Dressing

For my first starter, I chose the tuna carpaccio. With a little bit everything wrapped up in the paper thin tuna slices, all the components complemented each other quite well. Each bite was very yummy!

Scallop - with micro greens and avocado

W went for the raw scallop appy. The presentation was so pretty and colourful!!

Asian Consommé - with Chicken, Mushrooms and Ginger

W and I had soup for our second appy. I opted for the savoury consomme. It had a slight kick from the ginger infused in the broth.

Unfortunately I don't remember what soup W ordered!!

Pan seared tilapia - with pureed parsnips, roasted vegetables, topped with grapes and roasted pine nuts

I wanted something a little lighter as my entree so I decided on having the fish. Although looking kind of pale and bland, the fish was done quite well. I liked the pureed parsnips and the addition of grapes for some sweetness.

Milk-fed veal chop - with creamy parmesan polenta, green asparagus, roasted peppers and veal jus

W had the meaty veal chop. Not a fan of how they shredded the carrots but other than that, the veal was perfect for a meat n' potatoes lover.

Mediterranean Seafood Orzo - with scallops, shrimp, mussels, roasted eggplant and cherry tomatoes

My sis decided to go for the seafood entree which was the seafood orzo. Resembling a seafood paella, this had large pieces of shrimp, scallop and plump mussels along with eggplant and tomatoes. 

Warm chocolate lava cake - with coffee ice cream and caramelized banana

Dessert time! The chocolate lava cake was W's pick. Even though the menu said the bananas were caramelized, they were not browned at all when the plate arrived! Boo! *thumbs down* W said the coffee ice cream was really good though.

Crème brulee (top left), Vanilla ice cream (top right), and Panna Cotta Alla Romana served with raspberry coulis and fresh fruits (bottom)

My sis chose the creme brulee while I tried the panna cotta. I also ordered chocolate ice cream but they gave me vanilla by mistake instead. Boo again!

As the ship made its way northward, daylight stayed longer than down south. After we finished dinner, the sky cleared up and there was a beautiful sunset outside! A perfect scene to end day 1!

Alaskan Cruise - Day 1: Embarkation ~ Photo-log

Summer is the season to visit Alaska via cruise. With us being in the pacific northwest, it's so convenient for my whole family to board one of the major cruise ships in downtown Vancouver and sail northwards. We gathered up everyone and booked a vacation with Celebrity where we played, ate and slept on their Century cruise liner for a whole 7 days.

All aboard! We're leaving the downtown skyline and Canada Place now~

There weren't a lot of restaurants on the ship. Since we boarded late in the afternoon, our first meal on Century was actually a late lunch at their buffet. However, these were the places one could also dine at during the course of the cruise:

The Grand Restaurant - the main dining room
Murano - the high end restaurant with an additional $45 charge per person
Islands Cafe - the buffet featuring international cuisine
Pool Grill - served basic items like hamburgers and hot dogs
AquaSpa Cafe - fresh and healthy cold dishes, and made to order juices and smoothies
Cova Cafe - specialized in espresso drinks with various cakes and cookies

For dinner, we headed over to the Grand Restaurant. We learned that their menu had two sides. The left side had the Celebrity customers' all time favourites on it so those items were mainstays on the menu. The right side featured appetizers and entrees specially prepared for that night. That side of the menu changed every night. Luckily, we could mix and match from both sides!

Roasted beet and goat cheese salad

For starters, we got to select 2 items. My first one was the roasted beet and goat cheese salad on the "features" menu.

Creamy shrimp salad

The shrimp salad was W's choice.

Baked French Onion Soup - with herb croutons and melted gruyere cheese

For our second appetizer, both W and I went for the French onion soup off the "favourites" side. Loaded with gooey, salty cheese, the soup was full of umami flavours!

There were many others options but I've either forgetten their names or I haven't taken photos of them. I do remember the Escargots à la Bourguignonne with Shallots, Garlic, Parsley and Pernod Butter. My dad was the adventurous diner of the table so he ordered this appy. I forgot to take a picture though >_<

Prime Rib Roast - medium rare, with green beans and mashed potatoes

Our server highly recommended the prime rib off of the "favourites" menu so a majority of our table had this as the entree.

Warm Blueberry Crepe - with vanilla cream

For dessert, I picked the blueberry crepe. It sounded nice on the menu but it was kind of ordinary when it arrived.

New York Cheesecake

W had a slice of the cheesecake. Although plain, it was simple and good in its own way.

The next day was a full day at sea which meant lots and lots of time to stuff our faces LOL!

Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 7

Eggs n’ Things - Waikiki Beach Eggspress

2464 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

Booo... It's our last day in Hawaii! I deliberately booked a late night flight so that we still got a full day's worth of tropical warmth and sunshine.

Who could say goodbye to this weather and this kind of view?! 

Hawaiian Loco Moco  ($12.25)

After packing our luggage in our rental car, we headed back to Eggs n' Things for one last breakfast. I just had to have their Loco Moco once more!

Macadamia Nut Waffle ($10.25)

We also ordered their Macadamia nut waffle to share but it wasn't such a good choice. Their waffle was flat, dense and chewy. Should have stuck to their pancakes if we wanted something sweet.

It was such a clear and sunny day so we drove up along Round Top Drive to 'Ualaka'a Overlook to take in the views of Diamond Head and the ocean. Then we made our way down around Punchbowl zooming along the winding roads of Tantalus Drive a la Initial D style LOL... Hey, that's what the man wanted to do!

With plenty of time left in the afternoon, we took a long drive to Yokohama Bay, located on the northwest side of the island. The view of the mountain range of the Mokuleia Forest Reserve(?) along the Farrington Highway was so beautiful. So green and lush!

Yokohama Bay

At the very end of Farrington Highway was Yokohama Bay and its long stretch of sandy beaches. Since it was so far away, the beach was pretty empty except for a few sunbathers and surfers. It was so nice to enjoy the sound of the crashing waves with some peace and quiet.

Nico’s Pier 38

1133 North Nimitz Hwy, Honolulu

As it was getting late in the afternoon, we headed back down to Honolulu for a quick snack before getting to the airport. We decided on having some poke so we went to Nico's again, but this time to their small fish market instead.

Tuna Poke – tossed in slivered onions, seaweed, shoyu, sesame oil

We got 2 kinds of poke to go, one being the tuna and the other marlin. I liked the marinade of the tuna poke because it wasn't spicy like the sauce of the marlin poke. 

Marlin Poke – tossed in shoyu, sesame oil and chili flakes

But I also liked the crunchy and salty sea asparagus that was mixed with the marlin. I don't think I've tried sea asparagus before so that was unique and interesting!

After finishing up our poke snack, we unhappily went on our way to the airport and concluded our week long trip on Oahu. Even a year after our trip, we still often reminisce about our time on the tropical island. W and I vowed to definitely return to Hawaii to visit Oahu and all the other islands in the future! We'll be back Hawaii!!!

Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 6

Aloha Center Café @ Pacific Beach Hotel
2490 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

We heard from a friend that when she and her husband went to Hawaii's Pearl Harbour, they spent nearly 8 hours there! Learning from their experience, W and I planned a full day trip to the historic site.

Waking up bright and early, we had breakfast at the hotel's outdoor café for some quick and cheap eats. The cafe also served coffee and espresso beverages, smoothies, fresh juices, and various baked goods and pastries. They're also open in the afternoon for Pupu’s (appetizers) and happy hour too.

$5 breakfast plate – 2 eggs any style, a choice of apple and pork breakfast sausages or Portuguese sausages, and a choice of breakfast potatoes or fried rice

There weren't a whole lot of choices on their $5 breakfast plate menu. I took reign and decided to mix and match two plates so we could try a bit of each choice. On my plate, I had 2 sunny-side up eggs, apple and pork sausages and fried rice as the starch. On W's plate, there were eggs (over easy), Portuguese sausages, and pan fried potatoes. For 5 dollars, it was not bad. The apple and pork sausages were pretty dry but other than that, everything else was adequate. The iced latte wasn't anything special, it did its job to perk me up in the morning.

Pearl Harbor


Just like many tourist in town, W and I got tickets to ride on the boat to visit the USS Arizona memorial. We also bought tickets to go on the USS Missouri battleship along with a visit to the Pacific Aviation Museum. We spent so much time on the USS Missouri we almost ran out of time to go to the museum! A full day is definitely needed when visiting Pearl Harbour! Although costly, the admission to see the memorial sites and the different historic sites and artifacts were worth it. We learned a lot about Pearl Harbour and reminded us to appreciate the peace and freedom we have right now in our country.

USS Missouri

Uncle Bo’s
559 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu

After leaving Pearl Harbour, we drove back to the Waikiki area for dinner. A good friend of W's recommended Uncle Bo's so we headed over there with the help of our trusty GPS system.

Uncle Bo's is a modern casual dining restaurant and bar. The front dining section is more modern like a lounge with all the noise and action of the bar while the dining section at the back is a little quieter with quirky décor and dated furniture. Their menu changes every so often but I think the more popular items are regular mainstays. 

We decided to share 2 pupu's (appetizers) and 1 entree between the two of us.

Uncle Bo’s Oyster Shooters – toasted garlic, cilantro, sesame-ponzu cocktail sauce

Even though W is not fond of oysters of any kind, cooked or raw, I was quite adamant on having the oyster shooters so I got my way haha... They were cold, creamy and refreshing when paired with the ponzu sauce.

Ahi Katsu – panko crusted Ahi tuna deep fried with rare center

W picked the Ahi Katsu as our second pupu. The exterior crust was crispy and warm while the perfectly rare tuna was still soft and cool. It could have used more sauce though.

Seafood Stew - lobster, crab meat, shrimp, scallop and clams, served with jasmine rice

The seafood stew had an actual name for it on the menu but I completely forgot what it was called! Regardless of what it's called, this stew was chock full of seafood bathed in a deliciously creamy, savoury, and lightly spiced sauce. We would have licked the bowl clean if we could!

As our last dinner in Oahu, Uncle Bo's left us with great memories. We would absolutely return if we visited Oahu again! 

Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 5

After visiting Shirokiya the previous the night, we wanted to see the rest of Ala Moana Center. So, the following morning, we went back! We just had a simple, boring lunch at their food court and proceeded to do some window shopping. Even though it was hot and sunny outside, a lot of the shops at the mall were selling winter clothing… We could easily find such attire back at home so we were more interested in the unique, local items like the revered Koa wood and cookies from The Honolulu Cookie Company LOL!

Rokumeikan @ Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu

Aside from Shirokiya, we found other Japanese influences in the mall too. We noticed a really elegant, ritzy, fancy-schmancy looking store and it turned out to be a Japanese specialty store selling intricate, dainty sweets and pastries. Their sweets were showcased in an enclosed glass case with beautiful decorations all around, just like a jewellery store. They were quite pricey so we didn’t get any… 

However, they had a small stand just out front selling, what I call them, red bean wheel cakes! A comforting street food typical of Japan and Taiwan (since Taiwan was once colonized by Japan), these were more affordable for my wallet so I got 2 for W and I to have as a snack.

Imagawayaki

According to a quick Google search, I believe these red bean wheel cakes are called imagawayaki. The ones from Rokumeikan were stuffed to the max with red bean filling! They were freshly-made and piping hot, which made them even more awesome and delicious!

Ala Moana Beach Park

Being nearby, we stopped by Ala Moana Beach Park in the late afternoon to chill and soak up some rays before dinner. It’s a pretty nice beach park; lots of space and family friendly, and there’s a pretty good view of Diamond Head too. We didn’t stay too long though because, as cheesy tourists, W and I wanted to have a “romantic” walk along Waikiki beach during the sunset haha!

Cheesecake Factory

2301 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

We walked from end to end of Waikiki beach. By the time we looped back to the “main strip”, Kalakaua Avenue, the sky was dark and we were tired and hungry. Not wanting to waste time thinking of, and walking to somewhere further to eat, we decided to head back to the Cheesecake Factory one more time. As usual, we ordered take out and took it back to our room.

I know, I know… I should try new places when abroad. The Cheesecake Factory is also a huge chain restaurant and I can go there whenever I head to Seattle or Portland. But when you’re HANGRY, you just want to eat at wherever is the closest place. At least we didn’t go to McDonald’s! =P

Guacamole Made-to-order ($11.95) – ripe avocado, onion, tomato, chilies, cilantro and fresh lime, served with tortilla chips, salsa, and sour cream

BBQ Kalua Pork sandwich ($12.95) – Island style slow roasted Kalua pork with BBQ sauce piled high on a brioche bun

What I like about the Cheesecake Factory is that the quality and flavours are consistently good. The guacamole was fresh and just how I expected it to be.

Knowing that the portions will be pretty large, we opted to share the Kalua pork sandwich. Since we were in Hawaii, I picked the most “Hawaiian” sounding one haha… Similar to a BBQ pulled pork sandwich, we really enjoyed the tangy sauce mixed with the moist meat. 

Good thing we opted to have dinner back the hotel. We needed more rest for our full day trip to Pearl Harbor the next morning. Gonna be busy with a lot of walking!

Honolulu, Hawaii - Day 4

Still plagued by multiple swollen mosquito bites, W was very concerned and advised that I should go see a doctor at a walk-in clinic. So, in the morning, we walked to a clinic nearby. Turned out that I was having an allergic reaction to the mosquito bites!!! After waiting some more to get the 3 types of medication the doc prescribed for me, we had to go prescribe something for our hungry stomachs.

We initially decided on a Chinese restaurant to have dim sum but the place looked like a tourist trap and their menu didn’t really feature a lot of dim sum variety. Then we remembered a place that one of W’s friend recommended – Ramen Nakamura for some good ol’ comforting, authentic Japanese ramen.

Ramen Nakamura

1 – 2141 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

Located just a few steps away from the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, Ramen Nakamura is a tiny Japanese-operated ramen shop with a U-shaped counter seating area. It’s a no-frills kind of place where one comes in for quick eats so they can get back out for more surfing.

Shio ramen with gyoza

I opted for the traditional shio ramen and added a plate of gyoza to make it a combo. Maybe because we were spoiled by all the authentic ramen shops that we have in Vancouver, I found Nakamura’s ramen to be average. I mean, the broth was not bad but the toppings and the chashu (bbq pork slice) were just ordinary. Nothing really wowed me. The gyozas were great though! Thin and nicely crisp wrapper with juicy, seasoned pork stuffing! Yum!

Hakata Tonkotsu ramen

W went for their specialty ramen which was the Hakata Tonkotsu ramen. The broth was the same as mine, made from roasted pork bones. The toppings were different though as it was "Hakata" style. I wasn't very fond of those toppings but then again, I think it was because I wasn’t familiar to having pickled ginger and pickled mustard greens on the ramen.

Shirokiya

1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu

In the evening, we paid a visit to Shirokiya, a small Japanese department store inside the Ala Moana Center. Why go to a Japanese department store during dinner time? Well, the whole second floor of Shirokiya is dedicated entirely to good eats!! A food court/market area occupied the floor with different stalls of made-to-order food, pre-cooked items for take-away, fresh seafood, sushi and sashimi, donburi, and even a beer garden!

We took a quick stroll around the floor surveying our choices and decided to order one item from a couple stalls to share.

Kimu Katsu @ Shirokiya

First, we tried the tonkatsu from Kimu Katsu. Their large poster of their golden deep fried mult-layered pork cutlet caught our attention! This was what they proclaim about their pork cutlet:

“The secret to our popularity is the combination of a crispy, texture-rich batter surrounding a juicy flavorful 25-layered select pork cutlet. We select only the highest quality pork, which is sliced thin and stacked into 25 layers. This layered cutlet is covered with our special breadcrumbs from Japan and fried slowly in low temperature for 8 minutes. It is then set vertically for 2 minutes to steam, allowing the heat to spread evenly inside. This is all part of our original recipe and process, which helps to bring forth the maximum taste.”

Kimu Katsu (single $9.80) - with rice, shredded cabbage and original tonkatsu sauce

Though a little pricey, their tonkatsu was really delicious. The panko-breaded exterior was crispy and not oily at all. Just wish there was more tonkatsu sauce to go with the rice.

Yama-chan Takoyaki @ Shirokiya

At Yama-chan’s stall, we originally wanted to try their okonomiyaki but we arrived late and they told us they actually stopped making the pancake after 8pm so we had to settle with their takoyaki instead. The round golden spheres stuffed with octopus pieces were still good but I don’t think it would have been as satisfying as eating their okonomiyaki...

Sashimi @ Shirokiya

For the finale, we shared a small platter of sashimi! There were quite a few stalls selling fresh fish, sushi and sashimi so we just picked a random place and selected a platter that had regular tuna, red tuna and salmon sashimi. 

The pieces were kind of small but the taste and the quality of the fish was present. It was definitely a cool experience sampling a variety of Japanese items while sitting in a beer garden inside a department store!

And you know, while W and I were eating and talking about our day, we felt like we were in Japan more than in Hawaii! Not that we're complaing haha... It's like a 2-in-1 vacation!