Waikiki Yokocho x WhereHawaii

Hawaii is a melting pot of culture, people and really, really good food. There are so many great places to try, especially if you are planning on staying in Waikiki. One of these places, Waikiki Yokocho, is a fairly new establishment that can be found right on the ground floor of Duty Free Waikiki. Its easy to miss but once you've been here, you definitely wont forget. What makes this area standout from the other eateries in the area is that they take a lot of influence from the restaurants you can find in the cities of Japan; very traditional and intimate style sitting, and decor that really transports you to another country.

This is where my friends over at @WhereHawaii came into play. They invited me over for their Passport event which invited Social Media Influencers and members of the hospitality industry. They provided us with almost 90 minutes of food/dessert/drink tastings at the offerings at Waikiki Yokocho. The first place we stopped was Tonkotsu Kazan Ramen, tucked away in the back corner. This little taster bowl of the Karamiso Ramen had SO MUCH flavor. If you've been to Agu Ramen, the broth is similar to that, very rich and almost a creamier texture. I am not being paid to say this but I would go out of my way to find street parking in Waikiki to come here for that, over Agu.

The next stop was a suite or two over, another ramen spot called Baikohken. This ramen joint is more of a traditional ramen, perhaps similar to a restaurant in Japan that a only a local there would know about and recommend. The broth wasnt as thick as the previous spot but still so good. I picture both ramens being on opposite sides of the spectrum, dependent on what type of Ramen you are looking for. Highly recommend both! This taster portion was much bigger than last so we spent a considerable amount of time here and realized that we did not gameplan our route very well, ha!

Next stop, Kushikatsu Tanaka. Its lots of deep fried foods, just what I was looking for. We had a taster of their shrimp and some type of sausage with the dipping sauce and mayo. Wish we had more time to enjoy it but sadly, our time was running out and we only had a few minutes left to get to the dessert offerings (priorities).

Yall, the hype is real at Nana's Green Tea dessert stop! We were able to try two offerings, the chocolate latte and the matcha soft serve with azuki bean and mochi balls. The matcha tasted more authentic than the sweet stuff you can get at stores around town. Almost like an earl grey sort of taste, much more muted than I had expected which took my tastebuds for a spin. A solid treat, not too sweet, but just right.

Such a solid event put on by Waikiki Yokocho and WhereHawaii. Giving a set amount of time to try as many tastings as you can, all the while blogging and meeting other collectives was great. This is the future of networking and I look forward to having more updates for you (if I get invited) at the new WhereHawaii event!

Obligatory cherry blossom post because duh.