BREAKFAST BREWS AND BITES…

I’m a scones fan, and adore breakfast finds, so I’m happy Bits & Bites Café has moved from Kailua to Hawaii Kai. But its hours haven’t suited my timetable. So consequently, I haven’t had a chance to try the morning munchies despite the café’s presence for a few months.

I had to get a blood test early one recent morn – 6 a.m., if you want to know –  at the Diagnostic Lab next door, but the shop (in the former Taco Del Mar site)  does not open till 7 a.m. You can get a whiff of the yummy pastries, because the bakers are already getting the goodies ready for purchase. And yes, scents drift out from the closed door. The temptation is maddening.

 Many Hawaii Kai folks are commuting from 5:30 or 6:30 a.m. weekdays, to beat the town-bound freeway traffic. So, a pause between 6 and 7 a.m. to buy pastries is truly unfathomable. I see early drivers stopping at Starbucks at 6:30 a.m. around the corner, for coffee and perhaps some nibbles that don’t measure up to Bits & Bites’ delicacies.

The Bits and Bites shop is open till mid-afternoon (like, 3 p.m.) and I wonder who buys these  goodies that late in the day. The fare is solidly early morning-oriented, and I’m curious if timing was part of Bits & Bites’ scope and vision.

Reminds me of the misdirected Scratch restaurant, where Outback Steakhouse used to be in Hawaii Kai. Scratch peddled breakfast, but it opened at 9 a.m. and by then, most  Hawaii Kai breakfast traffic is long gone, either already at work or off to do errands. The menu also was part of the reason Scratch shut down, but methinks the hours also had to do with its inability to build and maintain a morning club of diners. With Zippy’s dining room shut down, folks in East Oahu move on to do breakfast at Jack’s in Aina Haina or Zippy’s at Kahala. bEASTside Kitchen in Niu Valley served breakfast for a brief period, after a trial run didn’t work out.

Of course, on special occasions, some folks play tourists and enjoy and view at Plumeria Café at the Kahala resort and its impeccable views.

Heavenly is splendid for a leisurely morning breakfast, with a view of the Koko Marina, but rather expensive without a wide range of options, and Moena Café a few doors down is OK but mostly experimental for folks who’ve heard about its signature menu. My concern: when you go to Moena, and there’s a crowd of 15 outside waiting for a table, you can’t linger and chat over a second or cup of coffee…

Finally, and sadly, two closures at Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai

• Moena Sweets, the ice cream parlor operated by Moena Café, has closed its doors.
• Fatboy’s, a stone’s throw away, apparently is closed, too. This, despite earlier renovations and more sidewalk tables and seats.