Hawaii 2015: Day 6

On our last full day on O'ahu we wanted to take my Dad and Christopher to Ray's Cafe since they didn't go with us the first day.  Today we ordered significantly more food.  I really wanted the French toast again, but also wanted to get the Ray's special.  We decided to share an order of French toast so that I could get a full meal.  While we were trying to decide what to order, Nick saw a plate of butterfish go by.  It was HUGE!  That pretty much made up his mind for him.  I would highly, highly recommend this place if you're visiting O'ahu.  It is very small and chances are that you'll have to wait outside the door to get a seat, but it is really worth the wait.  Also, be warned that parking is pretty tough and it's a rather industrial looking area.

Ray's menu

This is the sign that cracked up my Mom. 

French toast

You can't even see the burger patty under all of this brown gravy goodness.  (Ray's Special)

My Mom got a shrimp omelet and was really impressed by how much shrimp was actually in the omelette.  

Nick and Christopher both got the butterfish.  The fish was so big that Nick could barely finish the whole thing.  

Oddly enough, this tiny place specialized in prime rib.  For $16.95 my Dad got a giant slab of really tasty prime rib.  Take that Black Angus.  

Christopher was pretty astounded by the size of the avocados that you can get at the farmer's market.  Sister had showed us a picture a while back from her trip to Hawaii, but it is much different in person.  These things are softball sized.  

After lunch we headed over to Ford Island to visit the USS Missouri, the Mighty Mo.  Nick and I have visited the battleship before, but the last time my Dad was in Hawaii, the ship wasn't part of Battleship Row.  Nick and I always enjoy visiting military ships and aircraft carriers.  They're just so cool to be on.  The USS Arizona Memorial had opened back up today after being damaged by a boat, but we've all been to see the memorial so didn't visit this time around.

These 16 inch guns can shoot rounds every 30 seconds that are the weight of a Volkswagen Beetle.  Accurate out to 1000 miles, our guide told us that if they targeted the North Shore that there could be 27 rounds in the air before the first rounds would even hit the ground.  

This is the plaque where surrender documents were signed by Japan to end WWII. 

It was really hot on the USS Missouri so we didn't linger too long after we saw the battleship.  We had plans to go to a nice dinner at The Original Roy's on the east side of the island.  While we were cooling off from our historical adventure, we took up our appointed places on the balcony to enjoy one last sunset. 

Prior to going on our trip, Christopher took a goofy picture while he was packing.  A friend requested that I take a like picture because we look so similar.  

Definitely came from the same parents. 

I have to admit that I wasn't super stoked to go to Roy's since there are so many locations.  I was afraid that the quality would suffer.  There is even one in San Francisco.  I was pleasantly surprised though that even though it clearly caters to tourists, the food quality was still very high.  I liked this dinner much better than Orchid's.

Flying Dragon roll made of unagi, avocado, miso butterfish, masago, macadamia, and sweet ginger wasabi sauce 

Baked coconut curry escargot.  I didn't care for the escargot much, though I've had it several times before.  The sauce was really good, but maybe my tastes have changed and I had a hard time chewing the snail. 

Crispy fried brussels sprouts & cauliflower.  I really enjoyed this dish and want to try to recreate the fried brussel sprouts, but not sure if our broiler will get hot enough.  Nick is pretty sure that they fried the brussel sprouts and then put them under the salamander. 

My Mom and I got the honey mustard grilled beef short ribs over scallop potatoes.  The meat was so tender, but it was very heavy and rich that neither of us could finish. 

Nick got the Hawaiian Kai mix grill which was Szechuan baby back ribs, hibachi-style shrimp, and grilled king salmon. 

Both my Dad and Christopher got the Hawaiian Kai seafood collection of king crab, day boat salad, and prawns.

Upside down pineapple with vanilla ice cream.

Macadamia nut tart and vanilla ice cream. 

Peanut butter crunch with fresh fruit. 

 We rolled back to the hotel feeling happy and full to play a few food coma-esque rounds of Banana Grams.  Our plan was to head back to Ray's Cafe for breakfast before heading to the airport.

#sothankful