hopefulandhungry

Aloha….greetings from Honolulu, Hawaii!  Hubby and I are in Honolulu for Hubby’s annual conference.  We are here on Oahu until late this afternoon (arrived last Friday) and will be flying over to the Big Island of Hawaii for another six nights.  I can’t complain!  Dear friends are joining us on the Big Island for an add-on vacation after the conference.  Our friends left their almost 2-year-old twin boys at home, so they are basking in the luxury of a kid-free getaway.

Hubby’s conference is at the Hawaii Convention Center and we are staying at the Moana Surfrider hotel.  The hotel was built in 1901 and was called the “First Lady of Waikiki”.  It was built long before the urbanization of the Waikiki area.  The hotel has a plantation style design and is beautiful both inside and out.  Hubby and I are staying in the original part of the hotel, our room has been nicely updated and renovated, but the windows may still be dated as we hear constant traffic and street noise from the Waikiki strip.  The hotel also has an added Tower Wing which is not part of the original hotel.

The Moana Surfrider offers Afternoon Tea at The Veranda restaurant located on the main floor of the hotel.  The Veranda restaurant is outdoors on the wrap around porch that faces the pool and Waikiki beach.  The Veranda has a definite Southern feel and is beautiful.  My Mom flew down with us from Seattle.  She is originally from Honolulu and is here visiting family.  My Uncle, Aunt and Mom came over to our hotel to enjoy Afternoon Tea with Hubby and I on Saturday afternoon.

The server brought over an assortment of dried teas for us to smell as he explained what type of tea each was and what flavors were infused into the teas.  I chose the Jasmine Phoenix Pearl tea, it was delicious but since I don’t drink much caffeine, it was quite the afternoon kicker.  Hubby had White Tea Serenade, Mom had the same Jasmine tea as I chose, and my Aunt and Uncle both had the Moana Sunset tea-a black tea with fruit infusions.

My Jasmine tea, isn’t the china and silver beautiful?!

After we enjoyed our teas for a bit, they brought out a Pumpkin Bisque, I just loved the small teacup and spoon.  Reminded me of tea parties from when I was little.  The soup was thick and really delicious.  My Mom commented on how temperature hot it was, we agreed that soup is best served hot-even in Hawaii!

Next came a plate of dainty tea sandwiches.  Salmon lox and egg salad in the upper left; cucumber, tomato and olive tapenade with cream cheese on a baguette in the upper right; and a roast beef and watercress on rosemary focaccia on the bottom.  The baguette with cucumber, tomato and olive tapenade was my favorite.

Oh….what did we have next?!  A tower of treats…..yes, that’s right!!!  Don’t worry, I took close-ups of each plate so you can get a closer look.  And that is my Auntie June in the background, isn’t she cute?!

The top plate of goodies-green tea French macaroons and coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate.  The green tea macaroons were so light and fluffy and the coconut macaroons dense and moist.  Hubby loves coconut macaroons, so he was in heaven.  I think my Aunt even let him have hers…..how sweet!

Raisin scones with clotted cream and lemon curd.  Wow…..these scones were so light and delicate in flavor and the clotted cream and lemon curd were the perfect accompaniments.  Anything spread with thick heavy cream is divine!!

This is the bottom plate from the tower of sugary delights.  A mango layer cake and mini fruit tarts.  I was getting so full at this point that I only had a small bite of the mango layer cake and I love mango and cake (so you know I must have been truly full!) and the fruit tart was good, but probably my least favorite dessert item.

I thought we were done…..I was on the edge of a food coma following my sugar rush.  Nope……one more item was brought to our table.

We finished our Afternoon Tea with a kaffir-lime and lemon grass green tea sorbet.  As full as I was, this was the perfect palate cleanser and a refreshing way to end the meal.

If you are ever in the Honolulu/Waikiki area, I would highly recommend partaking in Afternoon Tea at the Moana Surfrider hotel in the heart of Waikiki.  It’s a fun and unique experience!!!

I’ll be posting later again this week, you will likely wonder if I have done anything but eat on this vacation.

Any recommendations for restaurants/sites/beaches on the Big Island?!?!