Pink House

Maui Dining at Mala Ocean Tavern

Finally going to finish up the Hawaii trip photos and move onto the rest of life. I've been working on lots of projects at home...lots of things going on, so have slowed down a bit on the posts, but hoping to catch up very soon with the arrival (or hope of, anyway) SPRING and some creative projects that go with that. Winter tends to slow me down........

One of our favorite restaurants in Maui was Mala Ocean Tavern on the north end of Lahaina. A friend recommended it, and so we made our way there one evening with another couple. It didn't look like much from the outside, and looked very small (it is!). But in the evening the place is hopping and you can't get in without reservations. There is a tiny dining room, a tinier bar area, and then a small deck overlooking the ocean out back. Probably only seats less than 60 total.

On our first visit we were lucky to get a table out on the deck. Even though it was dark and we couldn't really SEE the ocean at least we could HEAR it and it was fun to sit on the dark deck under small patio lights. A bit difficult to read the menu and really see your food too, and my photos turned out quite dark too.

Baby Green Salad with Goat Cheese

We liked it so much that we returned our last night on Maui for one more visit. The first time there, the other couple had ordered the whole fried fish and Kev and I were pretty jealous watching them devour it and proclain how wonderful it was. So on our last visit, we too ordered the whole fried fish (served on a platter for two people to share), served on top of rice and vegetables with a ginger soy sauce. SO SO good! Yummers!

Our favorite appetizer, Fresh Beretta (cheese) with toasts and Heirloom Tomatoes

As we walked back to our car, along the dark coastline, I tried to savor every second, the smells, the sounds, the warm night air, knowing that the next morning we would be flying early back to cold Montana.

 

Honua Kai - A bit of paradise on Maui

The couples stayed at a new resort on the north end of Kaanapali, called Honua Kai. There are two main buildings,with 1 to 3 bedrooms in each building. Probably about 200 condo units in all. They sit right on the beach - away from the crowds of Kaanapali area. Beautiful.

The resort has their own ocean-front restaurant, called Duke's, right in the middle of the resort. It's so convenient and the food is pretty good too. We ended up eating most of our lunches here - just walked over from the poolside for a little fresh mahi mahi sandwich and iced tea, then headed back to the pool. Rough schedule.

There are three pools in the development. We steered away from the kiddie pool with the water slide, and sandy "beach", and instead opted for the quietest pool area we could find. Heavenly.

We shared an ocean view 2-bedroom condo with one other couple. We spent a lot of time out on the deck, watching the ocean, the passing cruise ships, the whales,the sunrise, the sunset, and just sitting and enjoying the view. We had a fifth-floor room at the front of the building, toward the ocean. So great views all around.

Above is the view from the lobby of Honua Kai, looking out to the courtyard patio and toward the ocean. Not too shabby at all.

That's our condo up there. On the left, second from the top. The gardens and grounds were kept so nice at Honua Kai. Every other morning when I took my coffee out to the terrace, I would see a crew of gardeners working on the landscaping. It was perfectly tidy!

The ocean-front beach walk (like a boardwalk between the condos and the sandy beach) went from our condo development to the north way past Kaanapali and ended on the south end. Three miles long. We began each morning (after coffee and view-watching) with this walk...it was so lovely and heavenly. Perfect temps. Perfect views. Everyone was happy. No grumps anywhere. Just like paradise. We found it. There on Maui.

The best vacation EVER!

Mama's Fish House on Maui

Of course, all foodies everywhere know that if you take a trip to Maui, you MUST go to Mama's Fish House. There's a lot of hype around the Paia-area restaurant-on-the-beach and it's way too pricey, but this really is a special-occasion type of place that lives up to the hype.

One evening eight of us had a reservation and drove up to the North Shore, past the surfers crowds and the flip-flopped youngsters crowding the sidewalks and bars of Paia, just north of that to the tucked-away beach house of Mama's Fish House. The last time we went here was 12 years ago, and the place had expanded considerably. The place was packed full. Our group was seated at a cool round table near the front open-air window.This was our view (below).

The dinner began with an amuse-bouche of asparagus soup in tiny cups.

Many of us ordered the house signature dish for our entree: Crab and Shrimp-Stuffed Coconut-Crusted Ono. It was OUTSTANDING! The kind of dish that just makes you want to savor each bite! Presentation was nice too.

Followed by a banana rum crisp topped with coconut ice cream! Yummy!

We had wanted to arrive before dark to enjoy the ocean view and beach-front location. But as we left after dark, it was also fun to see the warm night lighting that is set up around the property. The place was still buzzing at 9:30 p.m. when we headed back to our condos.

As the valets run to fetch our cars (Where do they put all of those? there's literally no room to park for the hundreds of diners here on any given night!), we look around to take in one last look at this lovely one-of-a-kind place.

Maui Reception

Now that we're back in the frozen tundra of Montana, I've finally uploaded my photos and am reminded of just how beautiful Maui was last week. The resort we stayed at was picture-perfect and the weather was glorious too. It really felt like paradise!

Here are some photos from the welcome reception we attended the first evening, hosted by the Maui Eyes conference at the Sheraton:

There were several food tables set up around the veranda, including this one with a whole roasted pig! I steered away from this one and instead visited the tables serving sushi, salads and tropical fruit, teryiaki chicken skewers, and cheeses. It was a very lovely reception.

We also attended a private party at the penthouse of the Sheraton Kaanapali villas. This is the view from the terrace of the penthouse! How's that?

And this was the view from that same terrace, looking down the Kaanapali beach at sunset. Gorgeous!

Later when we were on the beach, I looked up at saw the penthouse terrace that the party was at. Its on the right side of the photo above, on the top floor of that white scalloped-shaped terrace up against the Black Rock. Nice, huh?

Morning View

Maui Agenda

Mama's Fish House

Another day of R+R in the sun. Walked and played on beach. Ended day with dinner for 8 at Mama's Fish House. So good!

Another day in Paradise

Had a wonderfully relaxing day yesterday... Walked about four miles along the beachfront walkway, then changed to swimsuit and spent the rest of day by the pools reading with the gals. Cleaned up in the evening to go to a happy hour at our friend's condo. Perfect weather all day... Sunny and 65 in the morning then warms to 80. Paradise!
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Island-style welcome

We attended a lovely reception last night on a veranda at the Sheraton. Beautiful appetizers including sushi, whole roasted pig, cheeses, veggies, tropical fruit, beef satay, and drinks!

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Maui!

After very long day of flying we arrived in Maui last night. Met up with our friends. Drove to condo. Beautiful. Woke up to this view...
Aah...

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