Twinkle Twinkle..

Last week, the parents were in town. Like a good little tour guide, I showed them around the island.

Some things were more touristy. We saw the beach made famous in the 1950's from the scene in "From Here to Eternity" with its racy smoochin' in the sand. We watched a pro surf competition on the North Shore's Sunset Beach. We had Mai Tais--complete with umbrellas, pineapple slices and orchids' adorning the frosty rim of the glasses--while the sun set at the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Bar.

Some things were more local. We ate shave ice. We swam and relaxed at Kaimana Beach. We lounged in the leather recliner seats and saw a Korean film at The Movie Museum. And we went to my favorite little local restaurants (some also popular with tourists, but we locals liked them first, so they're going in this category, damnit!).

One such place is this funky/cool Japanese place. I had my initiation during my first week on the island for lunch. Lunch is good and cheap, but there are 2 things that make going here at night the stellar choice:
(1) They serve their famous seared ahi with garlic caper sauce (this dish made capers palatable to me) and...
(2) And it's dark outside.

You see, the ceiling is covered with glow-in-the-dark stars that require certain visibility factors.

As part of your birthday celebration (or if you just ask sweetly enough), the lights are turned off while the candled birthday dessert is brought out and we all sing "Happy Birthday to You". The b-day girl or boy blows out the candle, then the wait staff directs your gaze upwards to the starry plastic galaxy above us and leads the room with a synchronized "OOOOHHHHHH" then "AAAAAHHHHHHH."

When the lights go on, you can see that the guy at the table next to you is none other than Jorge Garcia--who plays Hurley on "Lost."

Yep, this is the place for star gazing.