Sweet Stop Kailua for the best desserts and wedding cakes

Got a sweet tooth? Then head to the Sweet Stop in Kailua, Oahu. Sweet Stop is a little difficult to find; it is hidden in the back of Kailua Beach Center (130 Kailua Rd. #106A). But once you find it, you will be in heaven. Pastry chef extraordinaire Joslyn Benn uses only the finest ingredients to create her beautiful wedding cakes, favors and exotic desserts. Fridays from 5 pm to 8pm, Sweet Stop hosts Exotic Dessert Night. You can also catch them sometimes at the Kailua Farmer's Market (will blog on this soon!) on Thursday evenings at the Longs Drugstore garage. When you visit Sweet Stop, try the chocolate decadence torte, lilikoi tartlets, coconut haupia cake or the mac nut torte. One bite and you'll be in heaven!

Lanikai Bunkers/Pillboxes Hike

The short hike up to the pillboxes (also known as Lanikai bunkers) on Ka'iwa Ridge offers one of the most breathtaking views of the windward coast of Oahu. The first part of the hike is steep and very slippery due to the dry dusty ground. There is nothing to hold onto other than tall grass and a few bushes, so wear hiking shoes or be prepared to end up on your bum a couple of times on your way down. There is no shade on this hike - that is, until you reach the pillboxes, of course. Go early or wear lots of sunscreen and a hat (but hold on to it once you get to the ridge).

The two pillboxes were built by the military during World War II. Even before you get to the first pillbox, the view of Kailua Bay and the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai, is amazing. Once you reach the second pillbox, you can see all the way to Chinaman's Hat. We hiked up on an overcast day, but even then the view was stunning.

The trailhead is opposite Mid-Pacific Country Club on Kaelepulu Drive (off of Mokulua Drive in Lanikai). About 65 yards beyond the MPCC entrance is Blue Stone, a gated townhouse complex. On the left of Kaelepulu, just before the turnaround circle fronting the Blue Stone, a private driveway ascends the hillside. At the point where the driveway veers left, a trail that initially follows a fence leads to the top of Ka'iwa ridge. The trailhead is located in a residential area, so please be respectful of the residents.

Island Snow Shave Ice, Kailua

Island Snow is located very close to Kailua Beach Park. It combines a surfwear store with a shave ice bar. We think this place (and Waiola Shave Ice store in Waikiki) has the best shave ice on the island of Oahu. Our favorite flavors include lilikoi (passionfruit), lime, lychee, and raspberry. The lines can get long on sunny weekends, but the lines are not as long as the more famous shave ice store in Haleiwa on the North Shore (where the flavors are a little too sweet - try Aoki's instead, which is very close to Matsumoto's). Options for your shave ice include ice cream at the bottom, and a snow cap on the top (which is sweet and creamy). We always stop at Island Snow for shave ice after a day in the sun at Kailua beach.

If you are looking for a Kailua t-shirt, you may want to pick up a "Kailua Boys" t-shirt from Island Snow.

Island Snow
Kailua Beach Center
130 Kailua Road
Kailua, HI 96734
808-263-6339

P.S. Shave ice is the same as a snow cone.

Buona Sera Italian Restaurant, Kailua

Buona Sera is a lovely little Italian restaurant that has been a kama'aina (locals') favorite for a long time. We had dinner there last weekend to celebrate my birthday. We got there around 6:30 p.m. and the restaurant was already almost full. By 7 p.m., there was a crowd waiting for tables.

The entrees here are delicious and reasonably priced (approx. $15 each). We ordered Rigatoni Carbonara and Chicken Sorrentino. Before the entrees arrived, we got a loaf of very hot, fresh bread - yummy! The entrees arrived very fast - the service was excellent. The portions were not huge, but were certainly adequate.

For dessert, we wanted the Tiramisu (which we had ordered on a previous visit - it was good), but they were all out. We settled for the Spumoni ice-cream and was disappointed with the size of the dessert - a small scoop for almost $5.

The restaurant is decorated with hundreds of empty Chianti bottles. A nice twist is that if you order a bottle of Chianti, you are given colored markers to autograph and decorate the bottle, which is later added to the collection on the walls. We didn't order a bottle of Chianti, but the table next to ours did and they had a lot of fun decorating their bottle of Chianti. I'm sure they will spend a lot of timel looking for their bottle the next time they visit Buona Sera!

Buona Sera Italian Restaurant
131 Hekili St., #101
Kailua HI 96734
Ph: 263-7696

Located right next door to Buona Sera is another restaurant that is a renowned kama'aina favorite - Boot's and Kimo's Homestyle Kitchen. We'll review Boot's and Kimo's in a future post.

This is our first entry :-) We hope to update this blog once a week, so please check back. We'd love to hear from you.

A hui hou!
R & S