NUMB WHAT!? THIS IS NUTS!

Just watch the video…

-NGK

If you build it, they will come!

There’s been a lot of noise in our neighborhood lately with construction of the new Country Club Village 6 condominium being erected at an amazing pace. Seems like only yesterday there was an empty lot across the street of our condo. With 269 units on the way, we’ll soon have hundreds of new neighbors joining us in Salt Lake and more traffic to deal with too.  YAY!  As long as we can make a left turn out of our driveway in the morning, it’s all good. And if there’s one bright side to all of this, at least two of those new neighbors will be our friends Karen and Preston who waited in line over night for the opportunity to buy a unit in CCV6 last year. 

-NGK

Friends, family and a whole lot of sunburn!

Cathy and Kelly doing their best Robert Palmer girls impersonation while playing Guitar Hero.

It was another crazy weekend for the Kam family. The madness started on Saturday when we got together with our friends Regan and Cathy for dinner at Tadashi. This place has quickly become one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in Hawaii and our meal there this weekend was no exception. The miso butterfish is to die for. After a dinner, we all came back to our place for a little Wii and Playstation fun. 

Then on Sunday, it was off to Tsukiji Fish Market for my cousin Caitie’s birthday party. Always good to see the family and Ensen had a blast playing with all of the young cousins and other babies there. As much as I don’t like buffets, Tsukiji is one of the better ones…as I previously wrote about in a prior blog post. That’s Ensen above playing with Kaena right before we left.

Later Sunday night, we headed to Aunty Kim’s house for dinner.  In the spirt of basketball playoffs, Ensen sported his styling Dwayne Wade shoes (see photo above) given to him by Uncle Jon a while ago.  We had a wonderful BBQ dinner as always and had fun playing Wii Fit, which is a great way to sweat indoors while having fun. I think we need to get one now. That’s Ensen playing above with Uncle Jon and Uncle Glen looking on. Oh, and last but not least, meet Mochi, Kim and Glen’s new long hair dachshund. That’s him in the third photo above. Mochi joins their other two dachshunds Rusty and Lucky.

And finally, our Memorial Day was spend down in Kailua helping Kelly’s parents clean up the house and swimming in the pool.  It was a beautiful day and we couldn’t pass up getting Ensen’s in the water for a second time.  He’s slowly getting used to the pool, but still not a huge fan. That’s him doing his “surfer dude” pose in his wet suit. The other photos were randomly taken in the yard. Oh and by the way, it was such a nice, sunny day I decided to get one hell of a sunburn on my back and shoulders. What an idiot! All I can say is OUCH!

-NGK

Sassy little boy!

-NGK

So I think this guy can dance!

Is it just me or can Robert Muraine dance like no other? Check out this clip from tonight’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance on FOX. This guy is insane!

-NGK

Spada Bar and Restaurant opens at the Wyland!

Those who follow the Kam Family Blog know that I love to eat…and eat well when I can. So I couldn’t pass up the invitation to have dinner with my friend and colleague Nancy Daniels (director of PR for Outrigger Enterprises Group) and her husband Dan at the brand new Spada Bar and Restaurant at The Wyland Waikiki. We turned it into a family night out with Kelly and Ensen joining us as well.

Let me just cut to the chase and say the food was fabulous. Executive Chef Tony Domingue’s Northern Italian menu was a hit with everyone. The portions plentiful and the dishes were flavorful! Couple this with the very attentive service and casual ambiance that captures the essence of Italian culture, and I think Spada has come up with a winning recipe for success in Waikiki. This the second Spada restaurant to open on Oahu (the other one is downtown…see my friend Melissa Chang’s blog for a review on the restaurant) and is a welcomed addition to The Wyland Waikiki and the Kuhio/Royal Hawaiian Avenue section of Waikiki.

But I digress. What did we feast on you ask? We managed to sample just a tip of the iceberg. I’ll let the photos do the talking…

We ordered the Shrimp Saltimbocca (jumbo shrimp filled with sage and fontina, wrapped in proscuitto with marsala butter) and the Crabcakes (blue and king crab with tarragon marscapone, sauteed and served with a rustic tomato coulis) as appetizers. Needless to say, both were amazing and a great way to start our meal. The last photo is the wonderful focaccia bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

For the main course, Kelly ordered the Pork Tenderloin which was huge and very tasty. I ordered the Paglia E Gamberettie (thin pasta with olive oil, garlic, shrimp, white wine, tomatoes, and basil) which was simple and delicious! Dan ordered the Pesce Del Giorno or the fresh fish of the day which happened to be ono. The fact that his plate was clean at the end of dinner indicates to me he liked the dish.

Nancy went for the Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca sans the anchovies and red sauce (spaghetti served with anchovies, garlic, capers, olives, and red chili marinara sauce). According to her feedback, it was also delicious. To end the evening, our server suggested we order the Tiramisu (homemade lady fingers drizzled with espresso and frangelico, layered with marscapone cheese and cream) and the Flourless Chocolate Cake (chocolate cake drizzled with a Kona Coffee reduction, served with a shot of vanilla rum creme). Both were “broke da mouth” and I highly recommend the Tiramisu which was one of the best I’ve ever tasted.

It was a great evening with friends and this won’t be the last time the Kam Family patronizes Spada Bar and Restaurant. If you’re looking for a great place to eat in Waikiki that’s casual, intimate (72 seats inside, 32 al fresco style), and serves great Italian food, Spada is the place for you.

Spada Bar & Restaurant at The Wyland Waikiki
400 Royal Hawaiian Avenue, Waikiki
Phone: 808-931-6222
Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Sunday-Thursday: 7-10:30 a.m. (B) / 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. (L) / 5:30-10 p.m. (D)
Friday-Saturday: 7-10:30 a.m. (B) / 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (L) / 5:30-11 p.m. (D)

-NGK

[Mahalo to Nancy Daniels for providing the last three photos in this post. Your Canon camera rocks!]

A ‘Wii’ bit of fun at the Kam family abode!

Okay, so get this.  After participating in the Visitor Industry Charity Walk early on Saturday morning, the Kam family had a little Wii party at the condo later in the evening. We had the Valdez (Tino, Katrina, and Oren) and Yuen (Kyle and Julie) families over for dinner and a little Wii and PlayStation fun. We’ve known these folks since college so it’s always great to get together to shoot the breeze.

We had a great dinner and Ensen and Oren really enjoyed playing with one another. But the main event of the night was the grown-ups playing a variety of video games…Wii Sports, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games…and no gaming night would be complete without a little PlayStation2 Guitar Hero action! Here’s a photo montage of an awesome night of friends and fun!

From left: Oren, Katrina, and Jabbey having dinner. Uncle Kyle and Ensen snacking on Cheerios. The video games begin with some Wii bowling. That’s Tino in the green shirt.

From left: Kelly and Ensen watching everyone bowl. Tino cheers after a strike, while Kyle get’s really to roll one himself. Aunty Julie, Ensen, and Oren take break from the action.

A little bottle break for Ensen, while Oren plays on in the background.

Towards the end of the night, Ensen and Oren got a bit affectionate. That’s my boy!

Aunty Julie always enjoys spending time with Ensen. From the looks of these pictures, the feeling is mutual.

-NGK

Still recovering from the Charity Walk!

Walkers prepare to exit Ala Moana Beach Park at 7 a.m. for the six mile walk through Waikiki.

I never knew a six mile walk around Ala Moana and Waikiki could be so painful. Afterall, the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association’s Visitor Industry Charity Walk seemed like an innocent enough event for the Kam family to participate in yesterday. But today has been rough…body aches and exhaustion!

It turned out to be a great event to support a good cause, but my body today feels like I ran a marathon. I know what you’re thinking…how pathetic! And I agree. But, I need to blame it on the fact that it was 91 degrees outside, there were no trade winds blowing to cool us off, and the fact that Kelly and I carried little 17-pound-plus Ensen (11 months old) for about half the walk!

From left: Kam family getting ready to walk. The Weyerhaeuser gang! My co-workers Michael Ni and LeeAnne Matthews strike a pose along the course.

But it was all worth it. We got to spend some time with friends and helped to raise more than $1 million for local charities according to a story in the Honolulu Advertiser today. It’s a wonderful event that everyone should support. Don’t believe me? Here’s a few photos we took along the way.

From left: My co-workers Noreen Kam (no relation to us…as far as we know), her son Tyler, and Erin Kinoshita pass Royal Hawaiian Center in good spirits. Ensen and me as we stroll along Kalakaua Avenue. Kelly and Ensen enjoying a delicious strawberry from the Pacific Beach Hotel checkpoint.

From left: The Waikiki Beach Marriott checkpoint was one of our favorites handing out shave ice and watermelon. It was just what we needed on a hot Hawaii day. One of the final stops was the Waikiki Beach Walk where we ran into my friend and colleague Nancy Daniels (in red…Outrigger Enterprises Group director of public relations) and her husband Dan.

Here’s some proof of how hot it was yesterday. The temperature gauge on our RAV registered 91 degrees. As Paris Hilton would say, “that’s HOT.”

-NGK

Just some cute photos of you know who…

-NGK

The $9 collector’s item!

On my way back to Oahu after finishing the Pressure Cook filming on the Big Island, I stopped in the gift shop by the Hawaiian Airlines gate to kill some time. I stumbled upon this Aloha Airlines toy on the shelf and bought two of them as keepsakes or collector’s items if you will…one for Ensen to play with and one for me to keep in its original package as a future “talk story” piece.

The cashier behind the counter told me these were flying off the shelves and they were having a hard time ordering more. It could have just been a sales pitch, but I think it was the sad truth about people attempting to hold on to a piece of Hawaii history.

I’m holding on to my two planes for as long as I can, but I see people are turning around and selling them on eBay for a slightly higher price. Different strokes for different folks. It’s a really cool pull-back toy that makes a great take off and landing sound with flashing lights on the engines. Ensen certainly loves it!

-NGK

Canned goods for Hawaii Foodbank

The Kam family did its part this morning donating some canned good to the Hawaii Foodbank. A few collection baskets for the U.S. Postal Service National Association of Letter Carriers Annual Food Drive to “Help Stamp Out Hunger” were placed in our condo lobby and collection takes place today. Ensen took the liberty of personally placing a few items in the donation basket.

-NGK

Grandma…watch me walk and play!

Kona Grandma (my mom) is back in town for the weekend. Ensen wasted no time showing off his new walking and playing skills. Here’s a couple of photos and videos for Kona Grandpa who couldn’t make the trip.

-NGK

Pressure Cook Wraps on the Big Island!

Ralph Pagano works the Legends of the Pacific luau a the Hilton Waikoloa Village. The food and entertainment is fantastic!

The last two days on Hawaii’s Big Island have been great. We’ve had great weather and Ralph has been working his a$$ off to make enough money for his plane ticket home. As fans of Pressure Cook know, if he fails to do that, there is a penalty. Want to know what that is? Click here. Can you figure out what it is? I’d be a fool to giveaway the ending, so you’ll have to watch the Hawaii episode in December to find out what happens.

But what I will say is more and more people each day have been recognizing Ralph and the guy’s got quite a following. And it’s really no surprise why after watching him in action. He’s passionate about food, genuinely interested in the places he visits, and goes out of his way to make everyone he encounters feel comfortable. For a high-profile celebrity, Ralph is really down to Earth.

So enough of the sappy “man-crush” kind of talk. Let’s recap what he did the remainder of his time in Hawaii. I’ll let the following pictures do the talking.

Mike and Leslie of Wailea Agricultural Group in Honomu put Ralph to work harvesting delicious hearts of palm. This stuff has quickly become one of my favorite vegetables.

Wasting no time after the harvest, Ralph headed to the new Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar in the Queen’s Marketplace at Waikoloa with the fresh palm hearts and went to work. The “Ralph Special” that night was a wonderful seared ahi with hearts of palm salad and a little poke on the side. This dish was “broke da mouth.” Sansei Chef/Owner DK Kodama flew in special for the evening. And “just so happen,” my mom (Rhonda) and dad (Gary) stopped by for dinner and a photo with Ralph. BTW, everything at Sansei is ono…really can’t go wrong.

For the grand finale, Ralph was introduced to the famous Hawaiian luau. He helped get the pig in and out of the imu, prepared a couple of dishes for the night, and worked the crowd. Hilton Waikoloa Village Executive Chef Kenny Omiya was impressed with the end product and so were the guests.

So mission accomplished, right? You’ll have to wait and see.

-NGK

Another fun filled weekend

Here are a few pictures showcasing Ensen having a great time this past weekend.

-KK

Pressure Cook’s Ralph Pagano doing his thing in Hawaii!

Ralph and me at beautiful Kualoa Ranch.

I found out yesterday that this is Ralph Pagano’s first time to Hawaii, so he’s been enjoying every experience and challenge he’s encountered. The past two day’s of Pressure Cook filming have been intense and it’s been interesting to see how one of my favorite shows on TV is made. Here’s a few photos to give you a “sneak peek” of what’s been going on. Just an “appetizer” if you will!

Ralph heads to The Shack in Hawaii Kai to meet up with Brendan and Chef Mike to prepare for the Spam Jam in Waikiki. Along the way, he meets DK Kodama of Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar.

Day two, Ralph prepares breakfast for a bikini shoot at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. Photographer Dave Miyamoto and the models of Pualani Hawaii swimwear reap the rewards of a delicious breakfast after a long morning of work.

Ralph finds a true slice of Hawaii paradise in Kaaawa Valley at Kualoa Ranch.

Along the way, Ralph runs into some locals who just returned from a tako tournament. What an amazing scene to see all the squid hanging in the the garage.

We’re off to Hawaii’s Big Island. More updates soon.

-NGK