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Stadium Pho – Salt Lake, HI

Aug27

Stadium Pho was a main stay for me when I would venture out to Salt Lake Target, they are located in the same lot as Ice Palace. During the pandemic, they switched to take-out orders only which I took full advantage of. I noticed that even after everything died down, they continued doing take-out only orders for a very long time. In fact, they only reopened for dine in very recently. We came for a lunch a while ago and this meal was a nice surprise because my baby brother treated all of us. Oh yes, all three brothers being employed finally is earning some perks.

Lemon Beef Salad | $13.25

Good dish, not great. I’ve had this salad better at other restaurants and actually prefer when the beef is raw. They usually serve it with the raw thin slices of beef that “cooks” in their lemon/fish sauce dressing. Tasted good but I prefer the beef prepared another way.

Culantro! Gotta have culantro, restaurants that don’t serve culantro with pho should not be serving food!

Special Combination Pho (Small) | $15.95
Special Combination Pho (Large) | $17.95

Steaming hot bowl of pho, one of the most comforting dishes. This is definitely what I would want if I was feeling under the weather. Either pho or jook. Delicious!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Aug22

Notice anything odd about this? I was driving one day and this truck was BEING TOWED through the roads like this. Yup. With all the garbage bags, gardening debris and the garbage can in the back. Nothing flew out at me but then again, we were stuck in traffic. Isn’t that’s crazy?

Trolli Gummi Pop | $8.99

I’m such a silly sucker for trends. I saw this on social media and was intrigued, a gummy worm type textured popsicle? I love gummy worms so I wanted to try this out! They sell this in Safeway and took a while to get here. How was it? Ehhh…it has a weird texture that is a bit flexible for a popsicle but not exactly a gummy worm texture. Wouldn’t recommend it.

Kokoro-Tei Omelette Rice | $14.98

I love Kokoro-Tei and have been wanting to try their omelette rice for a very long time. They only have this for a daily special so you have to check their website to know when to order it. First time trying it and I loved it. Love the soft runny omelette and the demi glace sauce over the rice. Great dish! I would definitely order it again! And love their online ordering system – makes everything so easy peasy!

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Lam’s Kitchen – Chinatown, HI

Aug18

One faithful Sunday morning, after doing a quick grocery run with Chan, I offered up a drive to Chinatown to get some GRUB. Had a hankering for some beef noodles even in the hot Hawaiian summer heat. We parked in my favorite municipal lot and headed out. Lam’s Kitchen is super busy all the time but guess what, it ain’t busy before 8AM lol. We were the only 1 of 2 diners that morning. They did however have a lot of Chinese folks walking in and out of the shop for their takeout orders.

Chinese Doughnut Stick | $3.00

One of Chan’s favorite dishes and it was nice and crispy here too. We didn’t have jook today but it is nice dipped into the noodle broth too!

Beef Flank & Tendon Mein with Won Ton $18.99

I made Chan order his with won ton so I could just have one or two (mwahaha) and it was so much food, Chan could hardly finish his bowl even after giving me wonton. He got his with the skinny mein noodles.

Beef Flank & Tendon Look Fun | $14.50

Look fun is always good and Lam’s makes it very well. I got all confused in my mind that morning and was feeling like lai fun. I don’t know why I’ve been hankering for lai fun lately and I hardly see restaurants carrying it, let me know if you know of a good lai fun joint. Anyway, lai fun is kind of like udon noodles but a bit skinnier and not as soft. Anyway, this dish was good as always! Can’t beat a classic!

Noodle Pull!

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Tempura Ichika – Honolulu, HI

Aug11

Let me apologize ahead of time for a very long post, I did not realize how many pictures I took! But hey, I want to show you the full experience. Chan and I were invited to a wonderful dinner at Tempura Ichika, I never heard of them before but they serve up a tempura omakase. Intriguing. I wasn’t sure how I would take to a never ending spread of just tempura but boy did I eat my words (and tempura). Very special experience, intimate dining room with awesome food and service. Let’s take a journey shall we?

Bonito and Red Snapper (Tai) Sashimi

I got too excited and ate mine before I could take a picture, luckily Chan’s friend took one and sent it to me. Very fresh pieces of fish, nice way to start the dinner before all the fried food comes out.

Table Setting

Here they are readying you for your tempura, there is a lemon slice in the silver serving dish, regular salt, konbu salt and curry salt. Bottom right is the tentsuyu with grated daikon. The server will tell you how to season each piece of tempura that gets served.

Kyushu Fried Shrimp Head

No waste. I like it! And I love shrimp head so this was great! If you don’t like fried shrimp heads, please dine with me and I will help you out.

Kyushu Shrimp Tempura

Isn’t that a thing of a beauty? Not only does it look pretty, it tasted amazing. The shrimp flesh was so tender and sweet. Absolutely one of the best dishes of the night, in fact, it was Chan’s favorite of the night.

Kisu (Japanese Whiting Fish) | Fried Bone and Fish

Wow. We were instructed to eat the bone with some salt sprinkled on top and the fish with the tentsuyu. Perfect dish, the bones were super crispy and light.

Kani Miso

Some kani miso (essentially crab organs) – my favorite part of the crab! This was actually the “sauce” served with the next dish.

Snow Crab

Um…yum!! We were instructed to dip this snow crab into the kani miso and then sprinkle fresh squeezed lemon juice on top. So so good.

Palate Cleanser | Shio Koji Marinated Succotash

Not sure what succotash is used in this context – I think this included celery and radish? Very refreshing, perfect cleanser mid-meal!

Cauliflower

Yup, cauliflower. We were advised to eat this one with the curry salt. The curry salt isn’t very strong in curry or salt (lol) taste – this dish was just okay. I mean, it’s cauliflower. It’s nothing special…

Salted Snapper

Oooh another raw fish dish. I like that they keep mixing in fresh dishes between the fried dishes. This was good, not great.

Kizami Wasabi (chopped fresh wasabi stems)

I love kizami wasabi – the fresh wasabi tends to sting less and has a smoother taste!

Sea Scallop

Eat one side with the kizami wasabi and one side with the konbu salt. This was hands down my favorite dish of the night. The scallop was so firm and sweet – so meaty in texture! It was perfect with the kizami wasabi, I loved this dish.

Nasu (eggplant) with Bonito and Ginger

Not usually a fan of eggplant myself but you can’t really lose with this combination. Tasted great!

Tomatoes with Snap Peas, Tororo Dried Konbu

Rakkyo Shallots

Seabass with Shiso Wrap

We were instructed to eat this with the rakkyo shallots and a bit of konbu salt. It was good, but honestly, not super memorable.

Konbu Wrapped Hokkaido Uni with Truffled Salt | $30.00

This dish is not included in the omakase, this was an extra we ordered off the ala carte menu. Luscious and decadent – so rich and delicious. Still doesn’t beat the scallop lol.

Anago (Conger Eel)

No seasoning needed, eat as is! That’s a big wad of wasabi I think and yeah, it was hot. Chan probably laughed at me.

Maitake Mushroom

I don’t remember if we were told to dip this in anything, I might have dipped it in the tentsuyu myself. It was good! I love mushrooms.

Miso Soup

Tendon

Tendon Ikura Topping | $25.00

Not quite sure why a lot of Japanese meals end with either a rice or noodle dish, I like to eat those in the beginning or during the meal! Now, did I body this bowl? Yes, but still. We had a lot of food all through the night so saving this for last is a bit harder but I’ll take one for the team. It was delicious!

Dessert

I think I gave up on taking notes by this point, it was a small scoop of a very fresh tasting yuzu sorbet, it was very nice!

Green Tea

What a special meal, and apparently this is one of the few tempura omakase restaurants in the world! Very rare and I am very happy to have tried this. I am unsure of the price since Chan’s friend very generously paid for the meal but I know it was pricey even just from the ala carte prices! It’s definitely a splurge experience but I would recommend you try it at least once if you love tempura!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Aug8

Lasoon Butter Chicken Mini Plate | $12.45

It’s great to have a good Indian food establishment on campus. I was feeling like Indian last week so I got myself a mini plate and a samosa (Honestly, I wanted the samosa most). This butter chicken is sweeter than I expected, and didn’t contain as much spices and I would have liked. I enjoyed the cabbage side dish and the basmati rice. I got some acid reflux after eating this but that could just be me and the tomato based dish. I do want to return and try the lamb curry next time!

Miyakonjo Bento & Catering Seafood Katsu Combo Plate | $11.45
choice of 1 pc fried Hoki or Aji (Mackerel) with 2 pc Oyster katsu and 1 pc soy milk cream croquette. Comes with fresh tossed salad and furikake rice. Sauce and dressings are on the side.

We had a staff training retreat last week and decided to check out Miyakonjo, I never heard of them before and boy are they located deep in the Kalihi industrial area but what a find. Super great deal on their plates and bentos and it was super good. The salad comes with a small container of goma dressing. I got spicy house made tartar sauce for my katsu and it was delicious! I got the hoki as my fish – every piece was perfectly fried and I finished it all lol. Very good!

Baked You a Smile Hawaii | Kulolo Filled ChiChi Dango

My wonderful friend picked up this mochi from a pop-up market and we both have been wanting to try this place for a while. I’ve been super curious about how this would taste and wow, it is super soft and delicious. Only drawback is that you have to eat this fresh. The mochi stays super soft when refrigerated but the kulolo becomes rock hard. So good! Would recommend! Also, follow them on IG because they are at different locations from week to week!

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Zippy’s – Mililani, HI

Aug6

Chan and I met up with some friends at Zippy’s Mililani and it was super nice. Mililani is such a nice neighborhood and the restaurant side was clean and very chill. We were allowed to dine in and stay back to chat without much bother. This is going to be a super short post!

Chili & Cheese Fries | $6.75
golden brown fries topped with our famous chili and shredded cheddar cheese

Appetizer that Chan and I shared. Look, you can never lose with chili, cheese and fries. The cheese came out like this but no worries, it melted as we ate it! Was really good.

Saturday Special Mushroom Chicken

Okay so I didn’t look at the menu closely but in my mind, I expected either chicken katsu or chicken cutlet sliced up and served smothered in mushroom gravy. Heh, this wasn’t it. It was just a hearty chicken and mushroom stew. It tasted fine but I was just a bit disappointed because it wasn’t what I expected. I know better for future!

Zip Min

This is so odd. I am trying to find this item on their website or menus and it’s not available. You can’t order this for take-out? How odd. Anyway, this was Chan’s dish! He said it’s pricey and not really worth it, not as good as he remembers.

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Adela’s Country Eatery – Kaneohe, HI

Jul30

Chan and I were in Kaneohe and decided to grab some lunch from Adela’s Country Eatery – I’ve heard about this place for many years but never got to try it. They make their noodles fresh and have different varieties like ulu/breadfruit, kalamungi/moringa, kalo/taro, ube/okinawan sweet potato, etc.! It was a super hot day and I really didn’t know what to expect. I put our order in with the incredibly sweet woman at the front, she then asked me for my phone number so she could call me when the order was ready. Hmm…I usually stick around for take-out orders but their space is very small. It was so hot that we returned to the car to sit in the AC. I decided to look them up and then read that since every dish is cooked fresh to order, it takes 40-50 minutes. Aiya! No wonder there were so many phone orders, we know better for future! All in all, I think our order took about 40 minutes.

Ube (Noodles) Special | $27.98
with lechon (pork belly) & local stirfry style

Chan loves lechon so this dish was definitely winners. The pork belly is deep fried and served up with a thickened vinegar sauce. The noodles are also nicely seasoned but this is definitely a very rich dish.

Garlic Ulu (Noodles) Portabello | $25.98
with portabello mushroom

We got the two pastas to share but this is the one I wanted mostly. The noodles just taste like regular noodles, I don’t know what I was expecting but man the noodles were so buttery and garlicky. They were seasoned so well (a lot like the garlic noodles at Paradise Poke)! The mushrooms were surprisingly bland – definitely need to get noodles in the same bite as the mushrooms to get the full garlic butter taste.

Would I try this place again? I think so, Chan enjoyed it too! I would probably try another pasta dish. My friend told me that their braised short ribs on the moringa noodles are good. I guess this just means I have to return! This time I just know to order it through the phone an hour ahead of time. Pricey but gotta support local small business. Also, their parking lot is a crap show. You have been warned lol.

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Morton’s The Steakhouse – Honolulu, HI

Jul28

The first time I went to Morton’s Steakhouse was YEARS ago…and it was a bad experience. I think we had a special coupon deal for some kind of set meal and the service was just not it. It soured the restaurant for me for years to come. Well, this past week, Chan’s friend from Japan came to visit so we decided to meet up with her here. They are still around so they gotta be good right? Let’s see if they come right on the service this time. They have an elevator that takes you straight up to their restaurant. It’s really odd because while they are on the second floor, there are absolutely no windows. Figure there must be somewhat of a nice view of Ala Moana beach but I guess they didn’t want it.

Orchard Season | $10.00
apple, pineapple, cranberry, lemon, fever-tree ginger ale

You know how I roll, alcohol free! This was delicious, tastes as crisp as it sounds. This name evokes an autumnal feeling – I really liked it!

The State St. | $20.00
woodford reserve bourbon, carpano antica formula vermouth & cherry bitters filtered through jack daniel’s barrel char…wagyu “bacon” candy

Chan’s fancy drink. The description alone is worth the $20 lol. He let me take a sip and boy was it smooth going down. It’s a good drink!

Complimentary Bread

Usually, I like to scarf down bread but I kept my composure this time. I ate only one slice and saved my appetite for the dinner. The bread was nice and warm and soft with very soft butter on the side. Yum!

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail | $26.00
house-made cocktail sauce, horseradish

Where do I find these bombucha size shrimp myself? So meaty and firm (heh) – it was delicious! Perfect cocktail sauce too, really enjoyed this! But I also enjoy the ones from Costco/Sam’s Club lol.

Chef’s Selection of Fresh Oysters | $25.00
half dozen on the 1/2 shell, house-made cocktail sauce, mignonette

I love a good fresh raw oyster – it tastes clean but also like the ocean. This was good! I enjoyed it!

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes | $15.00
Make it loaded | $4.00

There’s a lot going on with these mashed potatoes, it’s liked a loaded baked potato casserole. It tastes exactly like it sounds and the “bacon” they use are like huge chunks of thick cut bacon!

Creamed Spinach | $15.00

Basic standard cream spinach – classic, nothing to write home about.

Thick Cut Onion Rings | $15.00

Chan has been craving onion rings and here we go! This definitely fulfilled that craving. Good breading on the onion rings and fried just right.

Parmesan & Truffle Matchstick Fries | $14.00

These fries were so good! I’m thinking I should add matchstick to my favorite cuts of fries list.

36 oz. Tomahawk Ribeye | $145.00

Expensive! But no worries, this steak was shared by three people very happily. They almost ate it all! Yum!

Filet Mignon (6 oz) & Lobster Tail | $71.00
center-cut filet & cold-water tail

This was my entree, figured that since all the steaks were around this price anyway – why not get a good piece of meat and a lobster tail! I shared my lobster with Chan. So for these cuts of steak, I asked for it to be cooked rare. Did they pass the test? No. The steak was basically medium but I just kept it, I hate to send food back – especially steak. It was technically edible but boy was the meat tough to cut and chew. Ruth’s Chris definitely beats them in the quality of the meat and cooking temperature. The lobster was good!

Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake | $17.00

So how did they fare with service this time? Incredible. Our waiter was perfect, always checking in on us, making appropriate jokes and serving up some good customer service! He knew that we were meeting up with friends from Japan so he decided to surprise us with this dessert for free! He even gave each of us a scoop of vanilla ice cream with this cake. We weren’t going to order dessert since we were all stuffed but who can resist a free dessert? And I must tell you, this is the best lava cake I have ever had in a restaurant. Super ooey gooey inside but the cake is nice and hot and crispy but soft. Hard to explain, you just gotta try it yourself!

Would I come back? I was disappointed by my steak but maybe I would try a rib-eye next time? Otherwise, it was a good night!

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I-NABA – Honolulu, HI

Jul23

Every time I come to I-naba, it makes me ask why I don’t come more often. I love soba noodles and tempura which they do SO SO well. We came on a hot summer day for lunch and made sure to get here early because I know this is a popular restaurant. Good thing we did because we were second in line and the line grew and grew behind us. When we checked in, she asked if we had a reservation and we said no and she almost looked miffed about that. I don’t know what that was all about but she seated us in the regular seating area anyway. Weird.

It’s basically a retirement crowd here but they certainly acted like they were in a rush to go back to work. Many of them were barking out their orders as the wait staff were putting out cups of water and the edamame. It was a little irritating because I wish they would take orders in the order of people who were seated and not just anyone who would yell their order at them. Nonetheless, we got our order in and the food came out in a timely manner. I was a bit thrown off because my original dish was not available – sigh. So I had to do a quick change since I didn’t want to lose our ordering spot and totally omitted the tempura. Blah! Oh well, I guess that means I gotta come back sooner rather than later.

Tempura Soba | $30.00
2 shrimps, 1 white fish, veggie tempura and zaru (pictured) or kake soba

Bara Chirashi Bowl & Soba | $34.00
chopped some kinds (lol) of sashimi served over sushi rice. also comes with regular size zaru (pictured) or kake soba.

Some kinds of sashimi is a bit vague but I was very pleased with the quality of the some fish in my chirashi bowl. It was delicious! Love the pop of the ikura. My original order was for the hana soba which would have come with tempura. Dangit! I guess I could have ordered tempura on the side but this was way more than enough food!

Yummy and so easy to eat at home. But doesn’t everything always taste better when it’s cooked for you? What a great meal! I can’t wait to return!

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Hokkaido Ramen Santouka – Honolulu, HI

Jul21

This might sound like an exaggeration but I don’t think I’ve been to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka for over a decade. I know for sure I haven’t been there since the pandemic and we’re already 5 years from that. Santouka never went down in quality but when I used to go, they were super super busy. I guess at a certain point, I didn’t feel like it was worth the wait and also tend to visit restaurants I can make online reservations at. Well, I’ve been hankering for some good ramen lately and decided to go on a weekday lunch break and take my chances. There were people dining in the restaurant but we got seated right away!

Toroniku Shio Ramen | $16.80

Toroniku Karamiso Ramen (Small) | $16.30

B Lunch Set (3 pc Gyoza & Salmon Ikura Rice Bowl) | $6.99

I loved that they have a lunch set! And I also love that you can size down or up your ramen bowl – so I downsized my ramen to get the set (yes, I bodied it all). It was SOOO good. The ramen was perfect cooked and seasoned. The gyoza tasted house-made and was grilled perfectly crispy and the rice? Oh the rice, high quality white rice with perfectly seasoned fresh salmon and ikura. It was just a perfect set. I mean, I am sitting here thinking about my next trip already. Gotta drag Chan here lol. So good!

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