The most expensive meal in my first 30 years was as Swan Court in the Hyatt Regency on Maui’s Kaanapali Coast.

My wife’s sister gave us a $50 gift certificate for dinner at Swan Court. I think the food was good. I’m not sure. We were married just two days before dining there.

What I do remember is thinking that the $50 gift certificate would buy us a couple of meals at Swan Court. Instead, it paid for most of the first meal, and I had to cough up an additional $10.

Those prices sound tame compared to luxury dining these days.

One of my favorite meals is to load up at Panda Express on Chinese food. Orange chicken, chow run (rice noodles), some veggies, a couple of spring rolls, and something else I like but have no idea what it’s called.

Probably my most favorite restaurant is California Beach Rockin’ Sushi on Ward Avenue in Honolulu. It’s a scruffy little place but the Pacific Rim style of Japanese sushi is quite good. The $11.99 Early Bird Special is a meal for both of us, though I’ve been adding the Blackened Ahi the last four or five visits.

Sometimes we’ll dine at Mariposa, in Neiman-Marcus, which overlooks Ala Moana Beach Park and the Pacific. We can’t leave there for less than $100. Even more expensive is Orchid’s, on the beach at Halekulani in Waikiki. It may be the best Waikiki sunset dinner in Hawaii.

A few years ago we visited Missouri and celebrated our anniversary at Western Sizzlin’ Steakhouse. It’s all you can eat for about $7.00. We had a good time and ate all we could eat, and maybe a little more.

Expensive dining in Hawaii’s great resorts is nice and all, but it’s hard to beat all you can eat for $7.00 when the taste and service is about the same.

Of course, the view in Lebanon, MO is not quite the same as in Waikiki. That view is worth about $93 while you’re dining.