2 birthday cakes is the way to go! Charles got me a cookies & cream ice-cream cake and the complimentary chocolate cake was compliments from the restaurant.

Capturing moments with a polaroid.

Hard to believe it's already been a year since I moved to KL! Met some quality people who made that night extra special...

Flying from Tokyo to Honolulu and celebrating with a glass of bubbly!

Plane food is not so bad afterall...

Saw 'Soul Surfer' while flying from Tokyo to Honolulu. Based on a true story about pro-surfer, Bethany Hamilton. I highly recommend it!

This is Honolulu.

Forget lemon water... Try pineapple water!

Welcome to Hawaii - where the weather is perfect all year round.

Exploring Waikiki by foot...

I had to make up for that huge meal I had on the flight but I forgot how big the proportions are here...

Charles took it easy with a burger and beer... That's okay I guess since we're on a holiday. That said, 'ISLANDS' serve some pretty mean burgers! It's located at Ala Moana Center. After lunch, we walked back to the hotel and crashed until 10pm...

A secret bar awaits behind that bookshelf... At The Waikiki Edition (Marriott)

Went for a walk along the beach around midnight... Damn jetlag!

Found ourselves at MAC 24-7, a favorite spot by the locals to hit up after-hours. It's located at the Hilton on Waikiki. The chicken adobo was legit - best I ever had really!

Lunch at Duke's the next day.

I was only able to eat half of that sandwich. And yeah those nachos were as good as it looks...

The infamous Duke's Hula Pie. You gotta try it! Oreo cookie bottom made it hard for me to resist...

Soaking up the sun and letting the food digest before catching the waves.

Just after surfing with a giant sea turtle! It was incredible to see the turtle bobbing it's head out of the water. It was literally an arm's length away from us! Should've worn that rashguard though... Note the redness on my upper abdomen.

Sunset is beautiful in Hawaii. Had an early dinner at Marimoto Japanese restaurant at The Waikiki Edition before heading to the airport. By the end of the trip, I realized that we ate mostly Japanese and Mexican food!

Charles was reunited with some high school friends and we also got to catch up with a friend some Singapore who now lives in SF. Good times!

Patrick (left) is looking a little like Dwayne Johnson in this one.

What a shame but my camera was out of battery so I had to take photos with my iPhone. We went clubbing in SF that night at Vessel and there would've been some wicked photos from the party if only my camera was working!

Charles' mom spoiled us with some good ol' homemade food while we were there...

Dogs as accessories. Missy (left) is 14 and Scrappy (right) is only 2. Such sweethearts.

We went to Six Flags near Vallejo where we only went on 3 rides. Sounds pathetic but the 3 rides were massive! They were 3 of the biggest rides there... I think I suffered a whiplash the next day. Or maybe we're just getting old...

Dinner at home with Charles' folks. Alicia cooked up a storm! My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

Korean BBQ for lunch at Benihana's in San Mateo the next day.

BBQ dinner with my aunt and cousin in San Jose. Wished we had more time together! Another crappy quality photo taken with my iPhone.

Missy loves car rides... She's switched on whenever she hears 'CAR RIDE'!

Scrappy prefers to chill in the back seat with me.

Bomb salad bar in Palo Alto called Pluto's.

Mexican food (again) at Palapas in Santa Cruz while visiting Charles' relatives.

Revisiting Charles' high school.

What a great setting for a run around the lake in the backyard.

Driving down to SF. This time, Scrappy took the front seat with me.

Catching up with old friends at Tipsy Pig, a great chillout bar in SF. I forgot that it gets pretty cold at night in Frisco... Thank God for that leather jacket from YesStyle.com which I packed at the last minute!

Buzzzzzed!

True Filipino-style homemade chicken adobo. The last meal Alicia cooked for us before we left SF for Vegas! I'm afraid my blog is quickly turning into a food blog with all these yummy photos of food...