On our way to Turtle Bay, we began to see Shrimp truck after Shrimp Truck. I had heard of Giovanni's and decided to give it a try. Sone decided to have Shrimp Scampi and I decided to have Garlic Shrimp. At $13 a plate, I was not sure what to expect. We had never eaten at a food truck before and were not sure what we'd be getting. Located on the side of the road, saddled against a picnic shelter and a Shave Ice Truck was Giovanni's. I quickly checked Yelp, and was pleased to see that there was a coupon for a free drink (hooray!).

Families a few tips:
1. You can share the shrimp. You get about 12 and 2 scoops of sticky rice. Ask for an extra plate and divide the food up. Son and I were not able to eat all 24 shrimp and 4 cups of rice. If you need more rice, two extra scoops is only $1.00.

2. They sell garlic hot dogs in case your kids don't like shrimp

3. The bathrooms are gross. One was broken and the other out of service when we went (essentially, I guess they were both out of service...)

4. It's a food truck. If someone in your party has a shrimp allergy, do not feed them anything from the truck. Husband made this mistake and paid dearly for it.

5. Saving the best for last here--ask the lady behind the counter for a Sharpie so your kids can sign the truck. This might have been my child's favorite part--writing on a truck? Too awesome.

We stopped at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck for a quick Plate Lunch on our way to Turtle Bay. Yum!

While we waited for our number to be called at Giovanni's we walked over to the other side of the picnic shelter to check out Hawaiian Island X-treme Smoothie and Shaved Ice. We had Strawberry-Banana smoothies and were pleased by the result. Served in the big red plastic cups I associate with family reunions and frat parties, I was pleased to see the server filled the cups to the top--giving me an opportunity to suck the smoothie down in all of my glory.

A few comments:
1. The truck is a cash-only operation.
2. Smoothies were $5 and Shave Ice was $4.

Location. Location. Location.

This place is all about the real estate. If you're looking for a place to watch the Waikiki sunset, head up to the second floor and ask for a seat by the balcony. With a $6.95 Kid's menu, it's an affordable option for mom and dad to have a drink and watch the sunset while the kids eat kid-friendly foods. Of all of the meals we ate in Waikiki, this was the worst. Although our server was friendly and helpful, the food was average and forgettable. While tolerable for a 9 year old, I personally prefer Duke's which has better food, drinks and desserts.

Editor's Note: After posting this review, I was contacted by Bill Tobin, of Tiki's. He noted that the restaurant has recently changed its menu, and has hired Chef Ronnie Natsui. Ronnie was formerly the Executive Chef at Roy's (which is amazing) for 10 years. In hiring Ronnie, they have rolled out changes to the menu, and are improving its quality. I add this note to say that I am a firm believer that restaurants are run by people--and sometimes some days are better than others. If you go, and have a bad experience--let the people serving you and their management know so they can make it right. Kudos to Bill for sending a note to acknowledge and explain the restaurants changes--and being committed to customer service. I would for sure eat there again, knowing what I know now.

Waiting 30 years to eat someplace is sure to lead to a lot of expectation and an undesirable result. Of course, that's what happened here. When I found out we were coming to Oahu, I told my husband we "had" to go to Farrell's. We remembered the amazing birthday parties and ice cream crazy celebrations from our childhoods. As an adult, it's clear that private equity guys have taken over and are running a margin-friendly, make-shift version of the restaurant I remember.

We jumped in our rental car and headed off to the mall. With bells and sirens wailing almost every 5 minutes, it was clear that this place was all about ice cream celebrations. The front of the house is a junky candy store and the booths are clad with red and white tablecloths. The servers still have their hats and vests--and are as chipper and friendly as ever. No small accomplishment given the number of parties they need to pretend to be excited over. While we were there, they sang countless birthday songs and delivered two ice cream creations while running around the restaurant with the ice cream on a branded stretcher!!!

We made the mistake of eating dinner at Farrell's. If I ever go back, I would definitely only have ice cream. Husband had the five alarm hamburger (he was in the Army, lived off MREs, will eat anything and hated it), I had the Philly Cheesesteak and was so unsure of the looks of it, I didn't even photograph it (very rare for me). The menu was classic (just like on the website), but the in store menus and signs need work. Private equity people--if you are listening here's some free advice: either remove the scary food photography from the tables (no one wants to order food and ice cream that looks like it was shot in 1970s) or invest in better, more appetizing food photography (unless you are doing some sort of FTC truth in advertising "our food is gross" experiment).

The ice cream was good, server was a saving grace, and the atmosphere was fun (again, the junky entrance notwithstanding).

For the record-I would rate this 4.5 stars, but can't figure out the "Half" function on trekaroo.

We are a sushi family--and Sansei did not disappoint. We weren't sure what to expect--after all, sushi in a hotel? Really?

We are pleased to report that the sushi was fresh and creative, and we found the service to be the best we'd had on Waikiki. Husband and I were pleased to sample flights of wine and compare results. Highly recommend the flights of wine as an easy way to sample a few wines and develop new favorites.

Friends told us that Sansei has early-bird and late-night specials that make dining here even more worthwhile. If you order your food promptly by 6 p.m., the food is 25 percent off (great for families and those adjusting to the time difference). I also learned that on Friday and Saturday, the pupu and sushi menu is 50 percent off from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m--a great post-beach/pre-club opportunity. We could have possibly scored Sansei higher, but the edamame arrived cold and without salt. It seems small, but we're used to eating it hot and salty-- and although the rest of the dining experience was fine, that didn't get the meal off to a great start.