Archive | February 2024

Valentine’s Chichi Dango

Feb28

Isn’t this cute!!!

I made some chichi dango mochi for Valentine’s Day complete with pink chichi dango hearts on top!

Painstakingly punching out each individual heart lol. I’m still playing around with the recipe since I really just made it up on my own. I think I need a little more batter for the hearts, was a bit thin. Always testing things out!

You like scrap?! Nah, I gave the scraps to my brother who happily ate it!

Hearts ready to adorn chichi dango!

Cute yeah?!?! I gave to Chan and his workers and of course to some of my coworkers! I actually messed up on this a bit. I meant to make it the traditional layered mochi but when added the second layer to the first layer (following instructions!) – the first layer wasn’t set enough so it became like a swirl! Ah, it worked out anyway! Was still cute!

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, I just wanted to do a small brag…

Look at the beautiful flowers and balloons Chan got for me. Thank you so much! I always feel so special and loved. ^_^

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Omakase by Aung – Kapahulu, HI

Feb26

Chan’s birthday was last week so we went out for sushi at Omakase by Aung, new restaurant to both of us! Let me tell you something, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been blown away by a restaurant but I can safely say this was one of them. Great service and great food. It is a bit pricey since it’s an omakase but I think it was well worth the cost (and you know that means a lot because all I do is complain about price and I am Chinese). I wouldn’t even try to park in the lot behind their restaurant, it’s like 5 stalls and shared by everyone in the building. I just parked in the public lot for Side Street Inn and crossed the street over. It was only $2.00 for 2 hours, not bad! This restaurant is very small, there is only the bar and it can probably seat 8 people maximum. Reservations are highly recommended through Open Table.

Sea Bream topped with Uni

Smoked Skipjack Tuna with Garlic Sauce

Grilled Spanish Mackerel topped with Caviar

Chutoro

Buri (mature yellowtail) topped with Orange Zest

Shima Aji (Striped Jack from Ehime) – topped with yuzu

Kanpachi (shabu shabu style) served with Ponzu Sauce

New Zealand King Salmon

Uni Rice with Ikura (house marinated)

Akami (leanest part of the Blue Fin Tuna)

Scallop (wrapped with bougie fancy nori from Japan)

Aori Ika (topped with lime zest)

Otoro

Japanese Tiger Prawn

Cherrywood Smoked Golden Eye Snapper topped with Caviar
(smoked right before our eyes!)

Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (House-made)

You’re going to think I’m a dork but my god if this wasn’t the best scoop of ice cream I have ever had?? The taste of the fresh nutty macadamia nuts – was heavenly. I don’t know how to explain but when I have mac nuts nowadays, they always seem to be kind of stale already you know? But this ice cream had a fresh nutty taste and it was magical.

Birthday Treat for Birthday Boy Chan

There were two people celebrating their birthdays so he whipped up a quick poke for the two of them. Super cute, he turned down all the lights and play a birthday song while presenting the dishes. How wonderful! 🙂 Everyone wish Chan a happy belated birthday!! Hehe…I didn’t add much comments to each dish because honestly, it was all good. I didn’t have a single dish I disliked. We will definitely be returning.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Feb23

One of the many gifts Kat gave us! I finally cracked open the Japanese Sriracha, I didn’t even know they had one! And you know we had that shortage for a while so it as hard to even get a hold of a bottle. And then people were saying it doesn’t taste the same anymore? I think they started using different chili peppers, boy oh boy. I was able to get a new bottle and I guess I agree that it tastes a little different but not awful. Sorry, got off-track. So how was the Japanese one? I liked it! Good balance of garlic and heat with a nice sweetness to it. I enjoy it a lot!! Thank you again Kat!

This was a gift from Chan’s friend and I had no idea what it was. I honestly thought it was like a biscuit or senbei. That was until we asked a coworker and was told it was miso soup!! I had to try it immediately and oh my goodness, it was delicious and look!

It is stuffed with all these great veggies and cute fishcake…what a great miso soup! I definitely have to look for this next time I am in Japan!!

Tanto Tonkotsu Black Ramen | $18.00 (includes 5 pieces of Tanto Gyoza)

Don’t have enough for a full post but Tanto Gyoza and Ramen Bar is located in Puck’s Alley in Manoa. They specialize in gyoza (yes, the gyoza is good) and the ramen is good too! But I think I need to try another broth, this one might be too rich for me so I get tummy ache. I think I get tummy ache from plenty foods…hmm…anyway, worth a try!

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The 220 Grille Restaurant Pt. 3 – Diamond Head, HI

Feb21

I have this horrible knack of posting this restaurant WAY too late, but it’s also because of their short service runs! If you get a chance, today and tomorrow is your last chance to order for this serving session! They are only open for service on Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM. They no longer take phone orders so you have to be ready to order online once the site opens at 11AM (there are no pre-orders)…so, if you can get through all that, try the food (lol)! Here is their current menu, they also have daily specials!

Kansas City Style BBQ Baby Back Ribs | $14.00
with Mashed Potato, Corn and Honey Butter Corn Bread

Teri Provolone Cheeseburger made with Locally Sourced Grass Fed Beef w/ Sautéed Onions & Mayo | $10.00
served w/ Fries, garnished w/ Island Lettuce, Sugarland Tomato & House Made Pickles

This was my lunch. The burger is bumboocha and house made patty! They do cook it like a medium rare so I do recommend heating it up a bit if you don’t like it that pink. I did get a bit of a tummy ache after eating this burger so I did heat up the patty when I ate the other half the next day. How can you beat the portion of this dish, the tastiness and PRICE. It’s $10 bucks even, tax already included. Would recommend!

Roast Porchetta | $15.00 
with Mushroom Risotto, Carrot Puree, Braised Beets, and Jus Lie

Jus lie, haha I just find that funny. Chan ate this for dinner and he enjoyed it! He super enjoyed the sides, said the pork was a bit dry on some parts but overall – good! Pretty high end for $15!

Pan Fried Pa’i’ai | $4.00
w/ Kinako, Haupia Anglaise and Island Fruits

Not my dish but it was shared with us and I’m sorry but I just gotta give a big thumbs down. It wasn’t good. Sorry! Very very bland. Even eating it with the fruit or the sauce, just…you’re eating plain taro essentially cause all this extra stuff did not do anything! No flava!!!

NOTE: Reopening for service on April 2, 2024!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Feb9

Nongshim Vegan Curry Ramen Big Noodle Bowl (6 pk.) | $9.98 (Until February 25, 2024 ($11.98 regular price) @ Sam’s Club)

Saw this newly at Sam’s Club and it was on sale so I had to try it. How is it? Well…it’s not bad but nothing to write home about either. Edible but not great. As you can see, it’s not soupy – more saucy?

Speaking of curry noodles, I made these noodles the other week. It’s Red Curry Coconut Noodles, super good. I’ll post the recipe soon!!

Hand-peeled Bamboo Shoots

I’ve seen these on TikTok, sorry no video to post but it’s all propaganda (according to Chan) but they sure make this look delicious. It’s ready to eat so you just have to peel it. Yeah, hand peeled means your own hand peeling it (lol). It’s kind of like artichokes, you peel it off until you get to the “heart” of the bamboo shoot to eat the flesh. You can try to bite off the bottoms of the peels in case there is small bits of flesh on it. This one had nice flavor, like a nice szechuan/mala flavor. I got this from 1-2 Buy, love going to that store!!

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Chuka Soba Aoba – Ikebukuro, Japan

Feb7

Located in the Sunshine Mall, Chuka Soba Aoba is just a small little chinese noodles soup that we tried. I actually think this was the first real bowl of ramen we had during the whole trip. It was a nice fill up – nothing too fancy or frou frou. The line was constant and they had a good system of seating. Singles were seated at the bar between the partitions and parties of 2 or more got seated at a table.

Super busy place and actually mostly locals which is a good sign right?

Chan got the tsukemen

I got the regular ramen. I gotta admit, it was the egg in the picture of the mall directory that got me. I just love Japan eggs so much and look at how bright deep orange these yolks are. What I was served looked exactly like the directory photo. Delicious! By the way, this is all they have. Ramen or tsukemen, nothing else. No gyoza, no side dishes, just noodles.

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Nihonbashi Sui – Machida, Japan

Feb5

Chan found his favorite kaiten sushi restaurant during this trip. On this day, we went to Grandberry Park to visit the Snoopy Museum and stuck around to get lunch. We timed it (by accident) perfectly, we were able to line up for the lunch openings. Plenty restaurants had long lines already so we decided to try Nishonbashi Sui – we were like 2nd in line so that was great! I can’t find too much online about this place, does anyone know if this restaurant has any other locations in Japan? The only cool thing I found was that it’s owned by Kyotaru! What a throwback, I used to work for Kyotaru. So that means I’m technically part of this family right?

We ate choke. I don’t have any prices or descriptions, just enjoy the pictures (there are a lot of them).

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Mixed Plate Friday

Feb2

Taki’s Intense Nacho

I’m not into Taki’s but I saw this online somewhere and super super curious. For some odd reason, it’s so hard to find this in Hawaii. Where did I find it? Oh, I think I found it at Don Quijote! Kind of pricey but was worth a try. Super cheesy, not at all spicy. Worth the try!

Giovanni Rana Beef and Sausage Lasagna (40 oz.) | $14.98

Saw this at Sam’s Club the other week and decided to bring it home to try. I didn’t get to try it but my brother did and he liked it! It’s nice that it’s not the full family size lasagna. It’s also great that it comes in a pan that you can either bake it in or microwave in.

Spicy Pork Plate | $10.00

Yup, back at Kalihi Palama Market snack bar again. No can lose with a $10 plate forreal! So good. You know dang well that it would cost so much more money if I decided to make this myself. I’ll keep “researching” their dishes for you folks okay? 🙂

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