Costco Goodies from Hawaii

As I was preparing for our trip to Oahu, I  wanted to know what food items I can bring home as gifts from Costco but I wasn't able to find a good list online so I decided to formulate one myself to help others know what's out there and how much it'll cost compared to back home on the mainland. I'm only highlighting food items that are not perishable that you can travel home with them safely. At the end of the post I'll include some unique perishable foods items. 

NOTE: Prices reflect June 15, 2021

NUTS & CHOCOLATES

Hawaiian Host 12 box pack (5 oz each)

Mauna Loa Macadamia Honey Roasted Cans (6 pack box)

Mauna Loa Macadamia Dry Roasted Cans ( 6 pack box) also available in sour cream & onion flavor

Hawaiian Host Paradise Delights- single packs (46 count)

Island Princess Toffee Coated Milk Chocolate Macadamias

Mauna Loa Macadamia Coconut Milk Chocolates 

Hawaiian Host Island Trio Single Packs (36 count)

COOKIES & CHIPS

Thin Addictives Mango Coconut Cookies ((individually wrapped 25 count) 

Island Princess Macadamia Crunch Popcorn

Island Princess Choco Mochi (chocolate covered Japanese rice cakes)

Maebo Noodle Factory One Ton Chips

Maui Style Potato Chips

Hawaiian Chip Company Sweet Potato & Taro Chips

Cookies in Paradise Furikake Party Mix

DRIED SNACKS

Hilo Fish Co Dried Octopus Slices

Hilo Fish Co Dried Aku Chips

Asia Trans Dried Squid

Asia Trans Li Hing Mango

Anahola Granola Mango Ginger Flavor

Sea Temple Crispy Shrimp Cheeks

FRESH FOODS

Sushi Family Platter (50 pieces)

Crunch Deluxe Roll w/ Shrimp Tempera & Kanikama Salad (20 pieces)

California Deluxe Roll w/ Avocado & Kanikama Salad (20 pieces)

Poke'

and more Poke'

Ani's Cinnamon Bread Loaf

UNIQUE ITEMS

Hawaiian Shirts (actually you can find them cheaper at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet for $15)

Macadamia Nut Milk

Huge slabs of pork belly

And sliced pork belly (for all that Kailua pork I'm assuming)

And that's it! Hope this is helpful for your shopping purposes:)

Aloha and Mahalo!

Heaven on Earth

Hawaii has always been one of my favorite places to visit. This summer we took Matthew's side of the family to Oahu.

At the Disney Au'lani Resort..a dream come true to stay at... one day!

We stayed at our friend's vacation home on the west side of the island.

Not staying at a hotel resort, changes the experience a little. The downside is that there is no pool and we have to drive to the beach and lug all our beach accessories: towels, chairs, umbrella, water, snacks etc.. But the upside side is we have a spacious 4 bedroom home for 9, full kitchen to cook our meals and a washer and dryer (to wash all our towels) to use at anytime.

These lovebirds would just fly onto your finger, shoulder, head to eat the birdseed filled sticks.

Now you know that wherever I go, I have to plan activities for us to experience. Even though we've been to Oahu before, I always try to find something new to explore or experience.  This time we ventured to SeaLife Park, a small sea animal park that incorporates hands-on and interactive activities for the guests. We got to feed birds and freshwater fish by hand! It was so awesome!

These fish eat lettuce!

We got to feed lovebirds and freshwater fish by hand!

We also went on a Waikiki catamaran ride around the island. Even though it was very bumpy and windy, it was probably the most relaxing part of the trip for me!

For snorkeling, you can't get to see more fish than at Hanauma Bay. Of course the last time we were here was 15 years ago. And boy has it changed! It's more crowded (parking lot was full at 7:45am!); more expensive, but it's still has a lot of fish!

Of course one of the biggest reasons we go to Hawaii is for the food! And we ate very very well!

Elim Korean BBQ - so delicious we came here ... TWICE!

Spam fries at Shirokiya Japan Village Walk  @ Ala Moana Mall! What a great and yummy concept!

Marukame Udon - cheapest and freshest bowl of udon I ever had!

Matsumoto used to be a shack/hole in the wall establishment. Now it's part of a new shopping mall!

Costco is Everywhere

Finally, my last post on Hawaii! Sounded like we were there a long time huh? (I wish!) Well, you can cram a lot in a one week vaca.

Yes, we had to stop at Costco just to 'see' what they had that was different from the mainland's Costcos. We were just 'seeing' since we couldn't 'buy and carry' anything bulk back home. ($25 for one check in luggage remember?)

Good to know they have the same things there.... and no, the girls still could not bring one back home.

YES.. self-service check out for those of you who are like me that are just purchasing a rotisserie chicken (which is still $4.99 by the way here) for dinner

Instead of seafood extravaganza, it's poke extravaganza!!

Now THAT is a lot of poi!!

Mahalo for reading! Next trip.. Seattle and Vancouver!

Keep on commenting... you may be a winner!

The Punchbowl

The Punchbowl was one of my favorite places to visit. This is the location of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Yes... a cemetery.  I am kind of strange.. I even took a class at UCB, Geography of Religion, which focused on cemeteries. They are fascinating places... so full of history.

The Punchbowl is an extinct volcanic crater which was formed some 75,000-100,000 years ago. The crater was formed as a result of hot lava ejection through cracks in the old coral reefs which were at that time a part of the Koolau Mountain Range.

It is here that a national memorial was erected to those men and women who served in the US Armed Forces. Dedicated on September 2, 1949, this memorial has over 53,000 veterans from WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam Wars interred here along with their family members.

We looked at the tombstones and read names and their positions of many who fought for our country.

As you walk up on the staircase towards the center of the memorial, you see walls filled with names of soldiers who so courageously served our country but their remains were never found.

This memorial honors by name over 28,000 members of the US Armed Forces whose remains were not recovered and identified or are listed as Missing in Action or lost or buried at sea. These are the 10 Courts of the Missing, five walls on each side of the monument staircase.

At the top of the staircase, under the 30 ft sculptured figure of a woman holding a laurel branch is a quote from President Abraham Lincoln to a bereaved mother who lost her five sons during the Civil War.

 Behind the statue, there is a chapel and two map galleries depicting the various wars in mosaic art.

This memorial is beautifully designed. It is a very serene, solemn and sacred place.

I didn't know until after we had left that my good friend E's father-in-law is buried here. He served in WWII and Korean Wars. Wow.. this hits close to home.

I felt that this place was more sacred than the USS Arizona probably because the USS Arizona was so crowded and more touristy than the Punchbowl. At the Punchbowl, we were the only ones here and was one of the last ones out. The groundskeeper had to unchain the gate for us since it was after 5:30.

Definitely a must see on your list of things to do in Oahu.

Still more to come...