A quick trip home for a wedding - a rather large wedding. Just before departure: Wagyu burger (at the airport lounge - by Neil Perry? Not sure if this is like the one they have at Rockpool but it tasted a lot like how I remember a Big Mac tasting.)
I'm not sure what other people consider large, but I think this one was 500 people (a few no-shows, apparently). Maybe it was that we had all spread out over the venue grounds over the course of the evening but it actually didn't feel very crowded. Of course that could be due to the jetlag which accompanied my attendance. Having tried it, I wouldn't recommend getting off the plane and going to a wedding just a few hours later. Unless you don't care what you look like in photos, of course. I'm vain enough to care. The wedding was really nice, taking place on the lawn of the Waialae Country Club and facing the ocean. The day had started out cloudy and wet but cleared in time for a lovely sunset and a warm afternoon.
Anyway - wedding aside, of course there was lots of food when I went home so without further ado:
Surf was up and there was a bit of a dunking. Apparently the 1-man canoes are tippy.
Below:
Super early on a Monday morning (they practice at 6am). I just took pictures and congratulated myself on being awake so early. Left: boys paddling back hard (either the 1/4 mile or the 1/2 mile, I can't remember). Center: where the coach was standing while watching the canoe go down and come back. Right: I don't know why I took this (attempt at being artistic or testing out the focus button).
Left: We also had afternoon tea at the Halekulani Hotel. I hadn't done a birthday thing for one of my friends because I'd been out of town. We watched people going to a wedding - it was quite a busy day that afternoon. Some people watching as well as enjoying the cool breezes. I took a photo of the chocolate mousse cake - it was pretty good although it felt a little heavy on the gelatine. One of the guys (I've forgotten which one) didn't like the little crunchy bits in the middle but I liked them - they were kind of like cocoa pops or something - chocolate-y, crunchy round balls.
Grilling on the BBQ - it was that kind of weather and it's an easy way to do dinner. There was a night of stuffed vegetables - another one which was great in theory but execution was a bit lacking. The stuffed peppers turned out really well because it was closed but the meat in the stuffed zucchini dried out because it was exposed to the oven while the zucchini cooked. Note to self: cover the stuffing next time (Mom's suggestion).Cheese sauce is a great way to eat the veggies. Totally unhealthy, at least the way I do it, but if it gets people to eat veggies who cares? I got lazy and didn't measure for the sauce so I don't know if it's been a little watery because I put in too much liquid or because the veggies released more water when I put the whole thing in the oven.
Below: Breakfast with my sister using leftovers: Steak, eggs and bacon bits (because bacon makes everything better). My plate is the one with white rice (very local) and GY's plate has mixed grains (from Trader Joe's) - my niece prefers my sister's mix. So do I.
(Another) breakfast at Koa Pancake House.
I wasn't hungry but I had to try their mixed breakfast - kalbi (BBQ Korean shortribs) and eggs with pancakes. I didn't get a photo before the egg/s(?) disappeared of GY's plate but you can see the remnants. We didn't get through everything but it was all delicious. And a much better deal than a brunch that I had in Sydney last September (AUD$20 for coffee, fresh apple juice, 2 pieces of toast and a couple of pieces of smoked salmon).We had a morning where GY's housemates had leftover lobster from Chinese food so I made lobster omelettes. A couple of glum faces that day so when we BBQed that night, there was an injunction "don't eat all the lobster" so that my sister could have lobster omelettes the next day. Lobster is much better with garlic butter than lemon butter. BBQ of kaffir lime and lemongrass shrimp (requested by my sister), garlic steak and broccoli with cheese sauce.
Birthday breakfast for my sister: lobster omelettes, garlic Hamakua and oyster mushrooms, bacon and rice -
Birthday dinner: courtesy of CPK (my slice of cake on the left of the middle photo).
Then it was time to come back to Sydney. The flight left a bit late - there was a slight delay initially, then another one when one of the passengers failed to board so they had to unload the luggage. Am horribly jetlagged and sick - trying to figure out whether it was just the usual random post-travel bug or the remnants of a migraine from last week.There were some unhappy babies on the plane - to be expected when you are travelling at a time which coincides with school holidays. Dawn photo - a slight crescent over Double Bay - taken after waking up at some unholy hour due to jetlag.
Until next time, happy and safe travelling.
