UYE Meet & Greet Steve M @ Govinda’s

Just say «buffet» and I’m there! I love buffets because you can eat so much for one price. The great thing about this one is that it’s vegetarian. Another amazing thing is the lasagna! If you haven’t been here yet, I highly recommend making your first visit on a Wednesday. That is Lasagna Day! Lasagna is my favorite thing here and it is so yummy.
Unfortunately, Steve could not make it. This did not stop us Unilocalers from enjoying ourselves. It was really nice meeting new people and old friends in this large get together. There were about a dozen of us altogether.
Thanks so much to Nadine C for the party favors and for hosting such a fun event. It’s not often that I have to take my shoes off at a restaurant and get to chat with Hare Krishna monks!

I was just returning the favor…
When I went to Los Angeles for the first time in my adult life in May 2015, Steve M. volunteered to take me to the Hello Kitty Exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo; drove my roommate & me around for 2 days; dropped off a case of water to our hotel; and planned a UYE for me to meet other LA Yeeps. He is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people that I have met through Unilocal.So, logically, I would do the same for him while he visited his family in Hawaii, right?
Sometimes we have no control over the events in our lives. Our best made plans… well, you know that song: «Life happens.»
Steve texted me at 2am, saying that his sore throat woke him up and that he would be going to the doctor as soon as the office opened. Wow, sounded serious. I waited and hoped that he would have a miraculous recovery, but no. I didn’t have to pick him up from his sister’s house. Maybe I waited too long, hoping to get a text saying that he changed his mind and come get him, but no… so I was late… my fault!
Luckily, I had the perfect cohost: Daniel C. to the rescue again! Thanks to Dear Daniel for getting this UYE going and creating the check-​in! What a time for trimming trees on the Pali Highway — arg! Yes — I’m blaming others for my tardiness. Sorry! Due to traffic on the Pali Highway and drivers wanting to take a look at the tree trimming and mulching machines, I was late, but I wasn’t last — YAY! LOL!
By the time I arrived at Govinda’s $ 13 AYCE vegetarian buffet, everyone was having a grand time and I was so relieved! Time to distribute the favors and meet Steve’s niece and her boyfriend who were sitting on the table next to us! Cool!
Thanks to Ric C. for the flavored Spam prizes for our «Trivia About Steve» game!
1. What high school did Steve go to? (McKinley — everyone knew that)
2. What city in CA does Steve live in? (Paramount — no one knew that)
3. What movie was Steve in? (The Last Samurai — Traci got it!)
4. What is Steve’s profile picture? (Maneki neko) — Traci won again!)
I did get a chance to visit Steve M. at his sister’s house the next day, to present him with the lei from Paul C. Happy to report that he is alive, but could barely speak. I made sure that I stayed upwind. Haha!
Mahalo to everyone for attending — you make every event such a memorable occasion and I believe that we are friends for life: David T., Maka, Ric C., Lyla & Ed, Traci T., Daniel C., Gary N., and Paul C. Let’s go again on a Thursday for the quiche!

Five stars! Woohoo! As good as it gets!
How did I get so lucky?!? It isn’t everyday that someone like me gets to have my very own UYE planned and co-​hosted by Nadine C. and Daniel C. while I’m on vacation in Honolulu, so I clicked the «I’m In» tab and also clicked on the reminder tab to make sure that I get a reminder sent the day before to actually show up… short term memory is the pits at my age so that option is totally awesome IMO, haha!
Slowly, one by one, there were others who clicked on the same «I’m In» tab and it looked like it would be a nice gathering of Super Yeeps in Hawaii in a great vegetarian restaurant loved by many, including my niece and her boyfriend.
There was a slight problem though as the date of the UYE approached, and my health slowly declined since the flight over from L.A. It started with an innocent sneeze inflight, a productive sneeze straight into my inner elbow, you know the kind when it happens, you say to yourself, «yeah, that was a good sneeze» or «oh… no, that was a baaaad sneeze, where’s my box of kleenex and echinacea»… and in that single moment I could sense it was not a «normal» sneeze, it was an omen… a warning sign of bad things to come… but of course I hoped with all of my might it would not come true.
But it did come true… as those of you who showed up for lunch know, the sneeze turned into one of the worst kind of event to happen on a vacation in one of the most beautiful places on earth… Honolulu. The «controlling, conniving cold /​vicious virus» took me to places I didn’t want to go (i.e.: Kaiser, their pharmacy, the drugstore for more OTC items), especially not while I’m in Honolulu… NO!!! I’m still fighting the remaining buggers out of me… they don’t like to leave me alone… but seriously, the symptoms have almost all disappeared, and the headache is being handled with ibuprofen. I have a doctor visit paper from Kaiser in my file if anyone needs proof… ;0).
Thanks to Nadine C. for suggesting the Chloraseptic sore throat spray, which works well but tastes awful even if it is flavored with wild berries… it’s still tastes medicinal and reminds me of a visit to the dentist. Oh, and you need to spit that out after a few minutes and not use it for more than 2 days… didn’t read that small print until a few days later while still using it, lol.
So, to end my unconventional «review» for Govinda’s that I have yet to try, my sincere thanks to everyone who sent get well wishes, and also made it to lunch and I hope that you all enjoyed it; special mahalo to co-​hosts Daniel C. and Nadine C.; and also special mahalos for the lei from Paul C., the trivia game prizes from Nadine C. and the SPAM cans from Ric. C. (congratulations Traci T. for winning the trivia game, you are a credit to your profession), and apologies that I wasn’t able to meet and greet each and everyone of you I.R.L… well, except for Nadine, and Paul who I briefly ran into when I walked around the block after having lunch at Maguro Brothers, one of dozens of bookmarked places that I got to actually try. Looks like I missed yet another fun event at an awesome vegetarian restaurant with a great bunch of Hawaii Yeeps! Govinda’s will just have to wait in my bookmarks until the next trip. Wished I was there but thanks to everyone who wrote their great reviews and took great pics so that I can relive those missed moments at lunch… now and into infinity and beyond! ;0)

What an honor… I felt like I was attending a YEE without actually being an Elite… lol! To be amongst such wonderful Unilocal Elites today was so much fun!
Govinda’s is such a yummy hidden gem! Thank goodness for GPS because otherwise there would have been no way I would’ve found this place. Got there early and chatted with Daniel C. and Lyla D. in the parking lot. This was my first time meeting Lyla, but she has such a warm and loving personality that she makes you feel as though you’ve known each other for years!
When the majority of our group arrived, we went inside to save some space for everyone. You need to take off your shoes before entering. You turn left and head to the register where you pay your $ 13 for the buffet. Cash and credit cards are welcomed!
You can choose to sit in or outside, but since it was quite rainy today, we chose to sit indoors. Such a bummers though because it is BEAUTIFUL outside. A lush garden with humongous banyan trees.
The buffet has much to offer. There were about 10 different offerings. Today was Wednesday, so their special was lasagna. There were no signs to indicate what each of the dishes were, so I can’t say exactly what we ate… lol! All I can vouch for was that it was all delicious! I would definitely want to go back. The quiche on Thursdays sounds like it could be yummy as well. All delicious and surprisingly filling considering it’s all vegetarian.
Nadine C. suprised us all with party favors! Super sweet! They were Hawaii themed luggage tags that were also lights and a magnet.
We were all bummed that we didn’t get a chance to meet Steve M. He unfortunately came down with something that really messed up his throat. Poor guy. Sending you best wishes to a speedy recovery Steve M. Gotta enjoy every second that you’re here on Oahu!
Ric C. had brought teriyaki and Portuguese sausage Spam for Steve M., but since he didn’t come, he and Nadine created a Steve M. trivia game to give away the Spam. The questions were based on Steve’s Unilocal page, but we weren’t allowed to look at our phones. Luckily, I had recently been messaging Steve prior to his visit and could answer the questions! Guess my uniquely crafted observational skills finally came in handy for something… haha! I knew what his profile picture was and the movie he was an extra in (pictures from his Unilocal profile)…thanks to Ric C. for the clues ;)
Thank you to Nadine C. and Daniel C. for introducing me to a place I never would have found on my own. I had such a great time hanging out with Nadine, Daniel, Paul, David, Gary, Maka, Ric, Lyla, and Ed. Anyone up for checking out Quiche Thursdays with me?

«The Phantom of Coelho Way»
A great UYE hosted by the incomparable duo of Nadine C. And Daniel C. proved to be a unique experience where all the elements of a successful event were in play:
A delicious AYCE and a healthy option to boot,
in a unique and tranquil setting,
with a fun and warm group of Unilocalers to break bread with and converse,
fun party favors for one and all from a generous Aunty,
a trivia contest about the guest of honor won twice by an astute Unilocaler at the table,
truly the complete circuit for a successful
UYE meet and greet get together except…
no guest of honor!
Unfortunately Steve got sick and spared us the risk of catching it, so while not physically with us, he was truly there with us in–
Spirit :).
Get well, Steve M.
Mahalos, Nadine C. And Daniel C. for a fun lunchtime event.

We were so excited to meet former Honolulu Unilocaler Steve M at this peaceful temple/​cultural center/​vegetarian restaurant tucked away in lower Nu’uanu that we arrived a half an hour early. Thanks to grand hostess, Nadine C and co-​host Daniel C for arranging this meet and greet at this «hidden gem». But, unfortunately due to illness, the guest of honor was unable to make it.
Our group of 12 (mostly familiar Unilocal friends and new Unilocaler, Traci T) descended upon the ISKCON sampradaya (sect) of Krishna devotees to meet Steve and to try their vegetarian buffet (Govinda’s). Because this location is an active temple, you should be respectful of the devotees and the property. Remove your footwear before entering the old «mansion» (which by the way was gifted to ISKCON by the great-​grandson of Henry Ford, Alfred Ford). The cost is $ 13 (cash or credit card) for the AYCE buffet where one can either dine indoor in a fan-​cooled room or outdoor under a sprawling old banyan tree. But, today, it was drizzling so we stayed indoors. The buffet line was tasty with fresh salads, salsa, fried tortilla chips, curries and lasagna. There was a nice spicy kick to the food and some exotic ethnic flavors going on. I saw my favorite dessert, Halawah (halva?) which was buttery and studded with pecans and cranberries. Its sweetness balanced the spices of the meal. A great refreshing accompaniment was their ginger mint lemonade/tea…so cooling and tasty on this humid day.
We all had a great time chatting with one another… humorously, we all took pictures of Gary N’s plate which seemed to be the most «artful» with all of the selections placed onto a paper plate! It was nice to eat clean, healthy and vegetarian food in such a peaceful setting.
# 356

Where is our guest? No where to be found. Waited and waited but no Steve M.
About a dozen Yeeps took a lunch break to have vegetarian food. Many great conversation with close friends. Our hostess Nadine had party favors too. Too bad Steve couldn’t make it.

Something is wrong. Is it because this UYE was to honor former local boy Steve M. who now resides in SoCal and he was nowhere to be found? Is it because I’m no longer getting those FTR’s (first-​to-​review)? Is it because it was raining like crazy in lower Nuuanu earlier today?
From the grapevine, unfortunately Steve M. was under the weather so he wasn’t able to partake in this UYE but that didn’t stop us from having a great time. We hope this is nothing serious and may Steve get well soon before he returns back to Cali.
A group of 12 peeps (10 Yeeps + Steve M.‘s own niece and her male friend) showed up at Govinda’s to not only chow down on vegetarian food but to have great conversations and laugh away! I swear, just hanging around awesome co-​hostess Nadine C. is just a treat by itself! It was great seeing Traci T. again (first met her at CMYE Red Ribbon at Shokudo). The remaining Yeeps are good friends who I see often: Nadine C., the other co-​host Daniel C., Maka K., Ric C., Gary N., David T, Lyla D., and Ed D.
It’s not often that I eat vegetarian but it was cool to see us in a different setting with NO meat products. It was great seeing Nadine FRESHLY back from her trip to New Jersey and discuss about her days in such REMOTE areas without WiFi or television (it was out-​of-​order). It explains why we were bombarded with texts when she had access to her cell phone!
We had some gifts for Steve M. and because he didn’t show up his lei went to Nadine C. and Ric C. brought 2 cans of Spam (Portuguese sausage and Teriyaki flavors) so Nadine and Ric played some trivia games with us with both cans won by Traci T. — - woohoo!!!
Had some interesting conversations, such as who are willing to kill, slaughter and eat deer, encouraging us to show up for auditions for extras in upcoming TV/​movie shoots, how Daniel Dae Kim works out at the same gym as «gold shorts» Gary N.
Although it was muggy and we didn’t have any meat, we still had a great time. I mean, all you need to do is have some Yeeps get together and you’re gonna have fun!!!
In closing, a warm MAHALO to lunch buddies and co-​hosts Nadine C. and Daniel C. for organizing this UYE and providing us with favors (name tags with lights)!