Category Archives: Food

07Mar / 2025

Mixed Plate Friday

Lee Kum Kee Sriracha Chili Sauce

This is a very niche post. I really enjoy the chili sauce packets from Panda Express, it’s not like sriracha so I wasn’t sure where I can find it myself. I know Lee Kum Kee makes the chili sauce for Panda Express but I don’t know if it’s then just Panda’s proprietary product you know? I decided to buy this hot sauce in the store even though it has the word sriracha in it and guess what? It’s close enough for me! To me it tastes like the Panda Express chili sauce so woohoo! I gotta buy more bottles now lol.

Holy Grail Donuts (4 pack) | $18.00
From top left; clockwise: Hail Mary (cardamom, rose), Hot Single (local honey, flakey sea salt), Original Sin (real maple, smoked coconut and Hawaii sea salt), Hot Single (again)

After dinner in Ward, I wanted to treat Chan to Holy Grail since he has never tried before! I had to eat the hot single while it was hot because these folks make it fresh! Chan really liked the hail mary, I wasn’t around when he tried the other flavors. I better ask how he liked them not fresh. Pretty pricey at $18 for 4 donuts and of course their register system automatically asks for tip. Sigh. Also FYI, they do not take cash.

Ba-Le Sandwich Shop Phoggie | $14.00
U.S. wagyu beef, house-made “pho” mayo, thai basil, red leaf lettuce, shaved onions, cilantro, fresh jalapeno, pho dipping broth

I’ve loved the Phoggie sandwich for many years but haven’t been able to try it in a while. They sell it here at the UHM campus and also at La Tour Cafe. While I’m sure the La Tour version is fancy, it costs $5 more there than at UHM. I’ll go for UHM! We watched a student order it and ask for extra mayo…what a great tip! What a game changer, this is one messy sandwich to eat especially since you gotta dip it in the pho broth! So delicious, definitely worth the price! My coworker at it two days in a row lol.

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05Mar / 2025

Tonkatsu Tamafuji – Kapahulu

Yup! Back again at Tonkatsu Tamafuji – we were lucky enough to join in a friend’s reservation! It was still a 4:00 PM dinner lol. They changed their reservation system a bit, I heard that they now only take 2 months ahead of time – not sure when they open the times. Previous Tamafuji posts here and here.

Left: Clam & Green Onions Miso Soup, Right: Red Miso Soup

Hokkaido brand Nanatsuboshi with gloss and sweetness of rice

Jyukusei Pork Loin Katsu Set (300g) | $33.50

Oyster Katsu (3pc) & Pork Tender Loin Katsu (2pc) Set | $31.50

This was my dish and boy did I enjoy it. It was SO good. What do you think that white thing on the right side of the plate is? Silly me, I thought upon first glance that it was like some kind of fried fish cake and got excited. It’s just the empty oyster shell (ha!). The oysters were cooked perfectly, nice and fresh and I love tartar sauce so it was perfect with the oysters. The smaller pieces of pork tender loin katsu was so juicy and tender – I really enjoyed it. I just did my post on Tonkatsu Kuro yesterday and I think both are great, Tamafuji edges out in taste just by a little. But the reservation system and parking for Kuro is much better and I don’t have to eat dinner at 4PM. But hey, if I can jump on someone’s reservation for Tamafuji – I’m down! Excellent meals at both restaurants.

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03Mar / 2025

Tonkatsu Kuro – Ward Village, HI

At this time of writing, Tonkatsu Kuro is having their soft opening. Yet another new restaurant in the new Ward condo village. They are right next door to Nori Bar for those who know. I liked that they have reservations on Open Table so we made our reservation before it got super busy. They are currently only open for dinner but I’m sure they would expand later as they settle in, and I certainly hope they also expand their menu soon too!

Love the aesthetic interior! Very modern and sleek.

Salt, Katsu Sauce, Goma (Sesame) Dressing, Ponzu Sauce

iPad Ordering System! There are a lot of wait staff around who are very attentive. If you’ve seen the videos, you’ve always seen the robots “serving” food. Well, all they do is load the robots up and then the waiter comes and unloads the food onto your table. I was wondering how it would work!

Tiny Mortar and Pestle with Sesame Seeds. I say tiny because it is very small compared to Tamafuji lol.

Kuro Soba & Half Katsu | $25.00

Kuro Soba
chilled buckwheat noodles in a cold tsuyu broth

The soba noodles are perfectly cooked, small bit of bite in it. Perfect texture and perfectly seasoned tsuyu broth. I loved it! They do have katsu sets with rice but I really love noodles. I love this option – Tamafuji does not have a noodle option.

Half Katsu
tenderloin (60g) & shrimp (1 pcs)

This was so good! The set was actually very filling. The tenderloin was…well…tender! Juicy and perfectly cooked. The panko crust is crispy but not too thick. The shrimp is great. Big plump shrimp, also fried to perfection. They serve the shrimp katsu with a garlic aioli type sauce, not tartar sauce which was a surprise but a good surprise!! The entire set was delicious.

Free Cabbage Refill

They allow you to order two free cabbage refills – love the cabbage with the goma dressing. All in all, it was a great experience. The wait staff were attentive and the food came out quickly – all perfectly cooked. They did very well in soft opening – will definitely return!

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28Feb / 2025

Mixed Plate Friday

Island Glazed Assorted Donuts

I’ve been wanting to try Island Glazed for such a long time but they are located out in Aiea and I am never out there so imagine my surprise when we got a special treat surprise at work! And we got a mix of their coolest flavors! So thankful to work with such nice people. They have really interesting flavors like strawberry mango, lihing pineapple, etc. Good donuts! The office ate them up!

Mixed Mushroom Crisps | $8.78

I’ve talked about this brand before because when I went to Korea, the sold their garlic bread potato wedges at Costco and that was GOBBLED up. No garlic bread potato wedges in the U.S. (yet) but I found these mixed mushroom crisps at Sam’s Club! It’s very interesting. Similar to the wedges, the mushrooms are whole but somehow taste hollow? How do I explain that? You bite into it and it’s a bit hard to crunch down onto but it just doesn’t have a solid meaty mushroom structure. Hard to explain, you gotta try it yourself. Interesting taste, strong umami! Give it a try at Sam’s Club while we still have it!

Le’s Banh Mi – Saigon Special add Roast Pork | $11.50 + $2.00

Yes, I went back again (lol) but this time I wanted to show you a cross section of this glorious sandwich. Yummy…

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26Feb / 2025

Gyotaku Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

Yes, I am back again lol. I treated my cousin for her birthday and she chose Gyotaku Japanese Restaurant – what you like me do? We also had the buy one get one entree half off coupon so Chinese people win again haha! This post really is just more of the same…

Hamachi Carpaccio | $17.75

This was the biggest bummer of the night. I love hamachi and I love carpaccio so how did it go all wrong? The preparation. They serve it with like a chinese steamed fish style soy sauce (imagine a scallion oil soy sauce combo) – I expected the usual ponzu type sauce so it was very shocking when I tried this. And I gotta say, that style sauce does NOT work with raw fish. It made the hamachi taste fishy in a bad way and slimy. DO NOT GET THIS DISH.

Miso Soup and Small Salad

Assorted Poke Don & Tenpura Set | $33.45

This is the only dish I get and it’s the only dish for a reason. It’s GOOD. Didn’t disappoint yet again. We both got the same dish lol. It’s just the perfect mix of different types of seafood that makes a beautiful taste sensation.

Shave Ice Special (Watermelon) | $5.25

We both shared this dessert to end the night. It was okay, nothing spectacular but it was a nice sweet treat to refresh ourselves after dinner.

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24Feb / 2025

Mei Mei Chinese Style BBQ – Chinatown, HI

It’s your favorite local Chinese foodie blogger coming at you with another Chinatown post. I think this inspiration post is from Jalna and Cy. I had a hankering for a roast duck rice plate and gave Mei Mei Chinese Style BBQ a try! It’s not located in the most savory location – the Maunakea Marketplace and if you know, you know. But look past that for a second and give this tiny stall a shot. It’s a small mom and pop shop and they just wanna feed you delicious roast meats.

Funny story is, Chan and his co-workers were going to Chinatown to eat lunch the next day and he asked if I wanted anything and I asked where (it wasn’t Mei Mei). Then I demanded they go to Mei Mei since it was so good. They did and they were not disappointed.

Chinese Roast Pork | $16/lb.

Really good roast pork. A perfect balance of fat and meat and the skin? Let me tell you. The skin is light and crispy – not at all hard. Chan really liked their roast pork!

Roast Duck Soft Noodle/with Sauce (#11) | $15.00

Not my meal, but would you look at the amount of duck they give?? For $15.00, this is a steal because it is so expensive to buy roast duck nowadays.

Roast Duck & Ginger Chicken/with Rice (#5) | $14.00

This bugga was only $14.00 and it was so satisfying. They gave me the cold ginger chicken sauce on the side and of course the roast duck got it’s own sauce too (honestly I think it’s just the drippings which is awesome). All this meat is served over rice with a side of choy sum, it’s a great deal. I highly recommend Mei Mei!

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21Feb / 2025

Mixed Plate Friday

Vietnamese Dish

I don’t know what these dishes are called lol. The top I’d like to just called crystal dumplings because I had a variation at a restaurant before but this one was basically filled with a big dried shrimp that has been rehydrated. Definitely needed the dipping sauce for the dumpling. The bottom two pieces, very sticky mochi rice balls. Similar to cha gor if you’ve had it, they are usually filled with a savory filling. This one had a savory filling too but nothing like the cantonese ones I get. It was good and nice to try! Not sure I would try this particular one again…

The next picture is the reason why I wanted to go to Chinatown in the first place. In fact, I may have gotten a red light ticket for this trip. I honestly was in the intersection to turn left and when I reglanced at the light, it was at a full red. The light went so fast that I even question if I ran it but I would never go on a red so let’s see how it goes. Can’t sweat it unless it happens.

Anyway, as usual, I got this craving from TikTok. Nem Chua is a fermented pork or beef dish. Everyone who ate it made it look so scrumptious but a lot of people are put off by the color of this dish – but also put off that this dish starts with raw pork or raw beef and does not get cooked with heat. It is basically fermented so it’s akin to like cured meats like salami. I didn’t let anything deter me.

Nem Chua from New Cholon

Not sure how much these were each – but I paid $5.50 for 4 pieces. I got two beef (top row) and two pork (bottom row). Not sure why the pork ones get more garnish but it’s okay. I made Chan try it with me, he was not too excited but took one for the team.

We tried the beef one first and I actually super enjoyed it. It has a bit of sour sweet taste due to the fermenting but I enjoyed the texture especially with the strips of pork rind mixed in. I saved the pork one for last and eh….I didn’t enjoy it as much as the beef one. The beef one seemed to have a bit more texture in the beef while the pork one is pressed so hard that it’s like a meat block. No real texture. I also decided just to go for the chili pepper on the pork one and I think I stopped existing as a human being for a full 10 minutes while Chan just laughed and shook his head.

I enjoyed trying both but I wouldn’t make a special trip back out just to get it. Maybe if I were in Chinatown, I would definitely pop in to grab a few of the beef ones. Yum!

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19Feb / 2025

Sushi Que – Honolulu, HI

We were fortunate to be invited by friends to dine at Sushi Que. Sushi Que is a newish-still sushi joint, very small mom and pop run shop on King Street. They are located near Golden Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Bar. Parking is obviously very limited so we actually caught an Uber over. This is a very small shop so you definitely should not show up as a walk-in. And it also seems like their reservations are booked out months in advance so keep that in mind when you plan your trip. For an omakase restaurant, it’s about $100 which is very cheap compared to the other omakase restaurants (where it’s usually $150 minimum). Even though it’s a cheaper price, they do not skimp on quality or service. It’s BYOB but no corkage fee, wow! That’s a super rare find, just make sure you offer up some drinks to the Taisho and staff! 🙂 This is going to be a long post, strap in.

Seafood Bouillabase Soup Starter

Deeply rich in seafood flavor, you can taste every layer. Rich flavor in a light broth.

Ankimo (Monkfish Liver)
monkfish liver, cucumbers, wakame, daikon and goma served with a sweet ponzu sauce

Ankimo is one of my favorite dishes in any Japanese restaurant. This was no exception, so creamy with a clean taste – no fishiness at all. Delicious!

Himalayan Pink Salt

I have never seen this before! They served each dinner your own slab of himaylan pink salt that you can add a squeeze of lime to (I think it was lime). This goes with the sashimi slices coming up in the next picture.

Sashimi
Hamachi, Red Snapper, Salmon, Octopus (2 pcs), and Snapper Belly (for me, amaebi for everyone else)

They were very nice in accommodating my raw shrimp allergy and the red snapper belly was amazing. The octopus pieces actually contains a sucker, very interesting texture – crunchy and fresh. A bit chewy but not tough. So yes, you can use the himalayan salt slab to dip the sashimi into if you want! No soy sauce. It was wonderful.

Fresh Washington Oyster
served with sea grapes and ikura

I love oysters so much and these were so fresh and delicious. Clean ocean taste, the crunchiness of the sea grapes and the richness of the ikura only help to accentuate the fresh taste of the oyster.

South African Lobster Tail

This was the same lobster used to make the bouillabase soup. Very light on the seasoning for this lobster which was good because it allowed the tasty and fleshy piece of lobster’s taste shine through!

Otoro

Do I really need to say more? Can you get much better than Otoro? No. It was everything you could hope for. Melt in your mouth goodness. Love the tare he brushes on, nice dashi taste.

Flounder Fin with Ume Shiso Leaf

Ding ding ding. I don’t know if I have ever had flounder before this night and now I will never forget it. This was probably my favorite dish of the night. I loved it. Soft and tender piece of flounder with a light punch of ume and shiso – they blend so well together.

Hotate Scallop (not pictured, oops – got too excited to eat)
served with yuzu pepper, fresh, tender and sweet.

Caledonia Shrimp

Best shrimp I have ever tasted. Simple preparation and seasoning, nothing to overpower the natural taste of the shrimp. So good. This one is cooked so I was able to partake!

Ikura Nigiri

Another miso soup? Gosh I’m getting confused with the order of my photos!

Uni Wrap

Fresh uni from Japan wrapped with a crunchy piece of nori. Oh gosh, you know this is good uni because there is absolutely no bitterness to it, just sweet creamy goodness.

Otoro with Takuan Hand Roll

Omakases usually end with a nice handroll and this was great. Nice negitoro with otoro meat and the minced daikon adds a nice sweet crunch.

End of the omakase brings out the ala carte menu in case you want to order any extras or maybe a dish that wasn’t part of the omakase!

I ordered another flounder fin sushi – it was that good.

Shirako | $9.00

IYKYK what this is…was excited we could order it! Super creamy so I know it was fresh and good quality. They warmed the dish up in a broth and it was so nice.

Saba

Egg Omelet? I don’t even remember getting this??

Sujiko Hand Roll

Another order of Otoro!

Salmon with Nira Sauce

Konbu Roll with Fresh Wasabi and Daikon Cubes

I don’t remember lol

Fresh Fruit

It was a wonderful perfect night of great company and food. The folks who run this place are SO nice and down to earth. It’s a nice restaurant but the humble atmosphere makes for a very relaxing experience. All the diners seem to talk story with one another and the Taisho, his wife and the staff. Lots of drinking (not me lol). We super enjoyed this experience and are looking forward to our next experience. In fact, one couple flies out from Maui to eat here. I wanna have that kine money (lol!). Would definitely recommend this restaurant!

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14Feb / 2025

Mixed Plate Friday

No. (Don’t go shopping hungry)

Remember the huge tree that fell over onto Keeaumoku/Kapiolani during the heavy rains for that ONE day? That was so crazy because I drive there all the time! Freaked me out a bit. I took a picture of it the day after as I was driving there (proof I drive there all the time lol). Isn’t that crazy? And the way it’s planted, I think it might belong to Pacific Guardian. I really hope no one was harmed because that tree looked like it crushed at least 2 cars.

Le’s Banh Mi – Saigon Special add Roast Pork | $11.50 + $2.00

When I say that Le’s Banh Mi is the best on the island, please take me seriously. I don’t think you can get a better banh mi anywhere else. We’ve talked about this. Have you tried them yet? They make their own bread and it’s so soft and light yet crispy. And the toppings, I love their pate and the roast pork is chef’s kiss. I just give them a call before I head in to get it…takes them about 10 minutes and it’s ready when I’m there! This was even good reheated because we couldn’t eat it right away.

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12Feb / 2025

Onkee Korean Grill House – Ward Village, HI

Chan’s friend Mai visited Hawaii last week so we got to try Onkee Korean Grill House for the first time! Onkee is super high end as a warning so you won’t be surprised by the prices. They are located in one of those new condos in Ward right by the theaters. The interior and decor was so pretty, very new restaurant so everything is perfect so far.

Banchan – Kimchee

This was good! I thought by looking at it that it wouldn’t be fermented enough, but it was! This is made from regular cabbage versus chinese cabbage.

Banchan – Shredded Daikon

Banchan – Soy Pickled Red Onions

Banchan – Potato Salad

My least favorite kind of potato salad lol. The potatoes are cooked almost al dente, they were kind of hard. Then you add on big chunks of raw carrots and apple slices and I am out of there. No thanks.

Banchan – Seasond Dried Radish Strips

Soysauce Marinated Shrimp | $32.00

This is the dish Chan was looking forward to. Mai enjoyed it too! I really wish I could eat this. Raw shrimp and raw crab call my name but alas, my body doesn’t want to agree. I did try a bit of the shrimp and my mouth said nope. My mouth and throat immediately started getting tingly – I had to put the white flag up and hand the rest over to Chan.

Stir-Fried Squid | $28.00

Good dish! Not as good as Frog House but I think you folks have heard me say Frog House enough. FROG HOUSE! No wok hei, just okay.

Beef Tartare | $32.00

The dish I looked forward to lol. I love beef tartare – manini portion but it tasted really good. Reminds me of the time I was in Korea and went to their Todai and they had this dish on the buffet. Girl, when I tell you I went for broke…I WENT FOR BROKE. Delicious. You mix it up with the shredded cucumber and Korean pear slices! Yum! This is one of the rare times I enjoy fruit in a savory dish.

Combo B | $190.00
Tenderloin, Ribeye, Hanger Steak, Thin Skirt Steak

Expensive but not awful considering it was for 3 people and we were stuffed after this. Nice quality meat, some cuts were better than others (of course) but enjoyable overall.

Very big plus, your waiter/waitress cooks all the meat for you. ANOTHER UPSIDE: I don’t know what kind of ventililation system they have but you will leave your meal not smelling a single bit like smoke. There’s no big hood hovering over your table so I really don’t know how they do it. Must be some way the grill is built but seriously, I couldn’t smell a single scent of Korean BBQ on us from this meal.

Kimchi Stew | $24.00

A little pricey for stew but they do nice chunks of tofu and pork belly in it. Very nice and flavorful soup.

Steamed Rice | $3.00 each

You see that right. We had to pay for rice separately even with all the entrees we ordered. Crazy yeah?

This ends with a bit of a rant and it could have just been an off night for me but this interaction left a sour taste in my mouth. I ordered soda which comes with free refills because I don’t drink alcohol. Well, they serve it in smaller cups so I had to ask for a refill during the meal. Well, as we are nearing the end, with our waters warm – I wanted one last refill to cut into the taste of the meat in my mouth. When the waitress came over, I gave her the cup to ask for the refill and she made a face at me. This is where my childhood trauma may come in but it reminded me of the faces I would get from older Asian women when they were about to say something really mean to me (sorry, that’s just how it is growing up with immigrant relatives) and I got triggered so I gave her a look back but didn’t say anything.

I wonder if she knew then that she pissed me off because for sure the rest of the night I was not even looking at her and my vibe was not good. I just didn’t want to deal with her any longer which is fine since Chan was doing the ordering all night anyway. She certainly didn’t make any face when my dining companions were ordering more beers but I guess it’s all about money. I do wonder if that’s why we got the above slice of cheesecake for free. Whatever. I could be projecting my own emotions at this situation but I usually have a pretty good read on people and it just soured the night for me. In the end, the restaurant was beautiful, the service was good (up until that point) and the food was good. Now, do I think it was worth the price? Ehh…I think I would rather come and check out their lunch specials because you get more bang for your buck. By the way, I’m looking at their menu and they even charge for lettuce to make wraps ($6) and the green onion salad ($9!). This was definitely a splurge of a meal.

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