Friday, March 2, 2012 my friend and I visited Shokudo Restaurant on Kapiolani Blvd, right in front of Ala Moana Center. I was hungry and a friend joined me. We were sat as soon as we both arrived and the place was 90% full. We started with water and hot tea. My friend suggested that we order a few things and share. Well its a Japanese restaurant and I can't remember all that we had but I was full when we left. The Udon was excellent and the rainbow roll was my favorite. Shelly our waitress was delightful and made our lunch time experience quick and easy. She knew all about the discount when I handed her the ADC card and the $8 discount was taken off the bill. The place was clean service was excellent. The bar has been set it seems over the past week I'm happy to say. Next week should be just as tasty I'm sure. Shokudo is definitely a place to go for drinks, dinner and lunch.

JD

February 29, 2012 we visited Chart House Waikiki
It was a beautiful night in Waikiki, Chart House is located on the water front across from the Waikiki Yacht Habor. The dining room floor over looks all of the boats in the marina. I started the night off by making a reservation with the a very knowledgeable woman at around 3:00 PM that day. It is preferred to make a reservation. I also told her that I was with the Aloha Diners Club. Upon arriving at the Chart House we were able be seated in a short amount of time even though the place was fairly busy. My friend and I started off with a couple glasses of wine. The service was excellent even though the waitor [DUKE] was being trained by Chriistian. After explaining our specials and menu options they asked if we had any discounts or coupons. I explained that we were in the Aloha Diners Club and handed him my card. The "TRAINEE" wasn't fully aware of the program so he looked back at Christian and to my delight Christian proceeded to literally describe the entire program like he was reading it outof our book. He was amazing. As you coud imaging the rest of the night went just as spectacular. I had the Sea Bass Entree and my female friend had the stuffed mahi I think it was. The dinners came with a basket of warm bread and salads. The over-all impresion of our food was fantastic. The wine on the other hand was a difficult choice. I'm not an avid wine drinker and only know that 2008 was a good year. Their suggestions for wine were OK but the highlight of the evening was the FOOD and the SERVICE. We spent 3 hours discussing our week and the waitors kept filling our glasses of water. Never once did they make us feel uncompfortable for staying so long. Here's the best part. The entire bill came to $61.00 which included the wine we drank. It was a delight paying the bill and giving the waitor(s) a 20% tip for their efforts.

The experience with my friend was an easy 9.5 out of 10. Even the bathrooms were immaculate. We're going back for another stab at the wine. Haha

JD

Last week my son and I visited Taco Del Mar. It was Monday, February 27, 2012. My son just got out of school and was hungry so we decided to eat a late lunch at Taco Del Mar in Hawaii Kai. We've been here many times but the crew had changed a little. They were quite busy, but were very accomodating to our needs. The girl took our order for two Mondo Burrritos. Buy one get one FREE so a great deal. The ingredients were FRESH and the service was excellent. When it came time to pay the bill I handed the gentleman behing the register my Aloha Diners Club Card. It has my name on it because it's registered and the numbering makes it look like a credit card. The gentleman proceeded to lell me that they dont take "DINERS CLUB" Credit. I explained that its not a credit card, but a membership card with the Aloha Diners Club. He was new, but help was on the way. Three of the assisting girls there explained the entire program to him including the manager. They even knew the punch number on the back. I ws thoroughly impressed. I am guessing that the gentleman behind the register was a new managing partner for the Taco Del Mar Group because after introducing myself to him he showed his repect for our little membership program (30,000 strong).

Our entire check came to around $9.00 with a huge drink that was refillable. My hat is off to the owners of Taco Del Mar for their professional staff, delicious food and excellent respect for our humble club. Taco Del Mar gets a 9.5 on a scale of 1-10 on over-all experience. A 10 is almost impossible to achieve only because I wouldn't know how to explain it.

Till Next Time
JD

I've decided to visit all of the businesses in the Aloha Diners Club this year. There are over 145 so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. So far though I am pleasantly surprised.
Working in the office we only hear of the difficulties of have 25-30k members and 300 locations. Changing of staff, ownership changes and just down right confusion with what is expected of our featured businesses. Ultimately I could be any happier with the club. The businesses that are involved are very professional and courtious when we call. Now it's time to experience the club as a member. In the coming months I will write about the places that I go. Everything an individual experiences or wishes to experience while have a day or night out on the town. If anything hits a nerve with any comments I make feel free to comment. We love to hear from you.

Ok.. We've all seen it. Group coupon Special Buys. We market for all kinds of businesses and the question always arrises, "what's in it for me"? Well with groupon the vendor gets only 25% of the offer. So out of $100 the business will only receive $25. That meens that a restaurant that works on a 30% food cost now pays the customer to come to their restaurant. Now what does that business receive in return? Good question... In our club we actively market all of our businesses to the good "buyers" in Hawaii. There isn't any business in Hawaii that can argue that they lose money with our membership. In fact, we've had many featured businesses applaud us on the quality of our members. Its true, if you have quality members going to quality participating businesses you get a winning combination. So to all of you that jump on those emailed offers from the "coupon groups" be aware that they give very little in return for what the businesses are giving them. I hope you enjoy the "ADC" that's been around for 35 years and going strong.

Aloha