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I-NABA – Moilili, HI

Nov21

I freaking love soba. I love zaru soba. I think my first brush with zaru soba was when I worked at a bento take-out place. Technically wasn’t supposed to but when we had bentos leftover at end of day, we would take one or two. I had two favorites, tuna tamadon and zaru soba combo. The zaru soba came with like a california roll – was the best.

Sorry for the side story. I think we can all agree that I-NABA is the OG and does soba so well. On a whim, we came here for lunch and thankfully it was right when they opened so we could get a seat. The restaurant filled up pretty nicely after that. Short post today, only got two pictures to share!

Tempura Soba A | $21.00
Upgrade large size | +$3.00
2 shrimps, veggie tempura and zaru soba (pictured) or kake soba

This set also comes with rice! Sorry I forgot all the choices, was it sushi rice, white rice and mixed mushroom rice? Of course gotta get the mixed mushroom rice! This wasn’t my dish but it was thoroughly enjoyed!

Bara Chirashi Bowl & Soba | $25.00
Upgrade to regular size | +$3.00
chopped some kinds of sashimi over sushi rice, also comes with half size zaru soba or kake soba (I chose zaru)

I can’t recall if I upgraded to regular size soba but knowing me, I absolutely must have. I mean, I’m there for the soba! So delicious. Really hit the spot because I was craving soba and a chirashi bowl. Yes, pricey. I’m a broken record but was worth it. Also, wow, if you in a rush to eat somewhere, come here. They bring out your food FAST. Almost too fast. Nah nah, let’s leave it as a good thing.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Nov18

Did you folks have a nice Halloween? Okay, it’s been like 2 weeks already but I didn’t get to post this. First time making those mummy hot dogs for the office. I didn’t have yellow mustard so ketchup eyes it is. Make em zombie mummies (sure why not). I didn’t know the recipe calls for a half slice of american cheese too. I thought it was odd. I don’t think you need the cheese. I also made a pan of fudgy brownies that morning, called them graveyard soil or something. Morbid. But it was a nice day because we had a bunch of little kiddos come by the office, they are always so cute. I really missed that during the pandemic.

Char Siu Look Funn | $3 per roll

Used to get a few look funn places in Chinatown but it seems like Chi Kong Look Funn Factory is the last man standing? They only make this so you know it’s gotta be good and yes, it is good. I think this picture shows two rolls. I cut it up myself and make my own dipping sauce. My dipping sauce includes sesame oil, hot sauce, sweet soy sauce and regular soy sauce. I’m extra in all aspect of my life.

Healthy Vegetable Bento | $13.98
combination of our daily homemade sozai with mixed grain rice

I love Kokoro Tei and don’t eat there nearly as much as I want to. Well, I guess it’s a good thing. I bring home lunch to work daily so it’s good I not out there spending too much money. I really enjoy their sozai so I don’t care what comes in it. Just load it up! This one had the following:

From top, clockwise:
Hijiki: Seaweed salad with carrots
Shiraae: Mashed tofu with spring vegetables
Nasu: Simmered eggplant with grated ginger
Kinpira Renkon: Braised lotus root with carrots and sesame
Okura: Sesame seasoned okra
Kabocha: Simmered winter squash

I loved all of it, even the nasu. And if you know me, you know I don’t like eggplant but they make it so good. Give it a try!

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Honolulu Hotpot Hale – Ala Moana, HI

Nov16

Ever since Little Sheep closed down (and closed down a part of my heart and stomach with them), I’ve been lacking some good hot pot. You couldn’t beat Little Sheep, they had great broths, good meats and it was ALL YOU CAN EAT. Well I had the delight of being treated for dinner at Honolulu Hotpot Hale and oh boy, it is not all you can eat and it is not cheap. So thank you to my cousin for treating me (lol) though I think she wanted to eat it as much if not more than me. I forgot to take full pictures because when I start eating, I just forget. I realized I didn’t even take pictures of their broth but, eh…that’s just soup. No worries. By the way, they are located in the Pacific Guardian Tower on Kapiolani. Parking is on your own.

White Rice | $2.99 / scoop

What you see is what you get. I will say, it’s a pretty big bowl of rice. If you have a rice lover, this will not be enough for them.

Handmade Noodles | $5.99

The noodles were alright, to me, nothing special. They do advise that only cook the noodles when the broth is boiling high. If not, the soup will get all “tick” and such. Good advice.

V1 | $12.99
enoki mushroom, king oyster mushroom, black fungu, brown shimeji

I love mushrooms so it was good. Small kine pricey yeah? But I guess everything is pricey nowadays.

V3 | $12.99
dried beancurd strips, dried tofu ties, fried tofu

I was super looking forward to this one because I love tofu. The dried tofu ties aren’t great. The texture is interesting, not soft but not hard? I don’t know how to explain it. The fried tofu doesn’t get soft and soak up the broth as much as I would have liked with tofu puffs.

S1 | $19.99
kauai shrimp, fish fillet, abalone, squid

It was good. $20 good? I don’t know. You don’t really get to choose what comes in these sets so while I could do without the abalone, I had to get it to get my shrimp and fish. The abalone was good though! It was funny that this dish came out last, I had to ask because it seemed like it was forgotten. He was very nice and said they were still preparing it. I mean, it comes to us raw but okay, I digress.

New Zealand Farmed Lamb (pictured) | $21.99 (half yard)
Prime Beef Short Rib | $25.99 (half yard)

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the short rib meat. If you go up and look at the noodles picture, you can see both half yards of meat on the table. I’m not a big critic of meat, especially when it’s sliced this thin and thrown into the broth and then dipped in sauce. I actually preferred the lamb meat myself. I usually enjoy the slight gaminess of meat, but their lamb was not at all gamey!

Each person orders their own broth and you get your own gas burner. Each soup is $7.99 and comes with the choice of one dipping sauce.

Soups: Hale Spicy Soup, Authentic Tomato Soup, Hale Medium Spicy Soup, Chinese Sauekrat Soup, Original Beef Soup

Dipping Sauces: Sweet Sesame, Lime Vinegar, Mild Sesame Sauce or Honolulu Skewer House Seasonings (powder)

For the sauce, I don’t know if there is a charge if you want to try different sauces. I was able to get a refill of my chosen sauce free of charge so I guess you could ask? All in all, it was a good hot pot and was delicious. Do I think it was worth the price? Yes and no. I still long for Little Sheep to make a triumphant return but also know that if I tried to make my own hot pot at home, it would probably cost way more. I’ll let you folks judge for yourselves.

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Sekiya’s Restaurant & Delicatessen – Kaimuki, HI

Nov14

If you can believe it, I have never been to Sekiya’s. Honestly, when I started eating out more, that was around the time Sekiya’s got closed down for violations. I forget why and somehow that stuck with me but I was young then. Now I know dirtier kitchens probably make the best food (sorry for that). Anyway, my friend treated me to a nice lunch here after a morning of craft fairing across the street.

Super old school joint, and you better go only if you’re patient. I was a bit upset in the beginning because honestly we were the only other table and the waitress wasn’t helping us fast at all. Then as I took in the surroundings, I realized she was completely on her own and probably helping in the kitchen too so I calmed down considerably. I get it, all restaurants get staffing shortages but that’s just my warning to you. If you come here, expect to wait a very long time. To be seated, to be given waters, to have your order taken, to get your food, to get your check (omg that took so long), lol. But the waitress is so nice and doing her best so please know that before going.

Also, the delicatessen line was always busy. I wish we had more okazuyas around.

Small Saimin | $7.09
Yakitori Chicken (2 sticks) | $4.35

This wasn’t my dish but I got to try a piece of the chicken. It was alright. Hahaha

Fried Saimin | $10.49
BBQ Stick Meat | $2.55

I like laugh. I just looked at the picture of the menu and it has a warning with this meat stick that consuming raw or undercooked foods may increase your risk of foodborne illness. Wat? For this meat stick? What they trying for tell me? I didn’t get asked if I want it to be cooked rare. And boy, was this hunk of meat overcooked lol – it was like jerky. I wouldn’t get this again.

I’ve talked about this before, I am a noodle fiend. I was super looking forward to this dish. And well, I guess I didn’t expect it to come unmixed. I expected them to fry the saimin…together? There is a huge mound of noodles mixed with a very sweet teriyaki sauce and then the toppings thrown on top. If you don’t like raw green onions, no get this dish. And the plate they serve it in is so small that I couldn’t even mix the noodles myself (lol) so I had to pick at ingredients little by little while trying to grab noodles from this huge clump. The dish was okay, but I guess I would prefer it already mixed?? Also, thankfully my friend had her hot mustard because boy did I need it to eat this dish. If not, it was just all dry and sweet. Needed a kick.

I know this wasn’t a glowing review but I would still return to try their other dishes. They just a small mom and pop restaurant serving up some old school Japanese food, gotta support!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Nov11

Deluxe Strawberry Cream Cake (8 inch) | $38.00
strawberry chiffon cake layers filled with strawberry mousse and vanilla creme brulee. decorated with fresh cream, strawberries, white chocolate shavings, and cocoa powder.

My Dad’s birthday is in late October and since my brother also has a late October birthday, we already got our favorite mango cake from Elvin’s. So I made a rash decision to go to 85°C Bakery Cafe in Ala Moana. It was during their soft opening week and I went around 1PM on a weekday. Oh boy, the line was nuts. And the shelves were slim, each time the poor worker came out with fresh goods, people swarmed her like we are all starving.

I didn’t get a picture of it but their egg custard tarts are ABSOLUTELY worth the hype. If you get a chance, go try it. It looks like the custard tarts from dim sum restaurants but the crust is not at all the same. It’s buttery and flakey, light and cripsy. The custard is sweet but not overly sweet. You gotta try it.

Oh sorry, back to the cake. I actually wanted their mango cake but they were all sold out. This was my second choice. It was good. But I don’t like whipped cream so you can kind of guess where I stand with this cake. If you like the description of this cake, you will absolutely love it. And how cute is their writing for the message! The hearts are such a cute touch!

If you ever want to go just to try their drinks, they have a touch screen machine right by the bar so you can order it there and get your drink right there instead of standing in the bakery line. But shoot, if you’re there, get the pastries!

Look at me being all fancy with this shot. I was curious about the puffed granola so I got it to eat with my greek yogurt. It’s pretty good, I mean it just tastes like sweetened rice krispies or something. Just an FYI. 🙂

Tofu & Watercress Salad (add Salmon Katsu) | $17.00
chopped romaine, sumida farm’s watercress, tofu, tomato, cucumber, soy vinaigrette

We love picking up lunch from Hamada General Store and if you follow their instagram, they get some killer daily specials. I am always tempted. For this lunch order, I decided to go somewhat lighter and got this salad. I enjoyed it very much. The watercress was nice and tender. The watercress is raw if that means anything to you folks, I didn’t mind it since it was so tender. I usually like my watercress quickly blanched. The dressing tasted good and the salmon was cooked PERFECT. Not at all dry. I was kind of expecting like a sauce for the salmon similar to Sushi King but that’s only cause I was used to Sushi King. Didn’t need it. They give plenty dressing for this salad so you can dip the salmon in it if you need more flavor.

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Frog House Restaurant – Waikiki, HI

Nov9

Bear with me. I know the name of this restaurant is very odd but they do not only serve frogs. Do they serve frogs? They must to have this name. Frog House Restaurant has been around quite a while, I tried it once years and years ago and wasn’t impressed so I haven’t been back. Well, I had a hankering for bossam last week and my favorite restaurant Jagalchi closed down (MAJOR BUMMER) so I had to find another restaurant to fill the void. It is not easy finding a good bossam place you know! I think this post will probably be mostly for V. LOL.

By the way, this place has horrendous parking. There are a few stalls fronting the restaurant and they are right next to a noodle shop which I no like even name but there is the word Joy in it and they seem anything but. I was trying for park in front and was having hard time, just as my friend was going to ask Frog if we can park there, I see the “joy” lady screaming and yelling at me from her restaurant and gesturing me to go somewhere else. I couldn’t hear her cause she was inside her restaurant with the door closed. She looked so mad. And you know what? What if I was trying for go her restaurant? Well I won’t ever go now.

Anyway, I found out the parking is in the back of the building for Frog and it’s a very tight lot with tandem spots so basically, you will always be blocked in. They know this so as you’re leaving, the waitress will either help you manuever out or ask the other diners to move their cars.

I judge a Korean restaurant by the quality of their banchan and they did not fail here. In fact, their banchan reminded me of Jagalchi’s banchan in its heyday. Near the end, they were giving less and less banchan and with no variety.

From top to bottom, steamed egg (so savory and soft), choy sum, fishcake, bean sprouts. All four items were marinated to the max, no blandness here!

I also judge a Korean restaurant by their kimchee. Frog has some good kimchee, both cucumber and wonbok. I liked these potatoes, it’s the sweet shoyu one. Cooked perfect, not too soft but not hard at all. All three seasoned wonderfully.

Spicy Beef and Vegetable Soup Lunch Special | $12.95

Not my dish but I got to give it a try. So good. They give really good amount of meat and fill it up with all the good veggies (fern, beansprouts, etc.). A nice helping of long rice. I would absolutely order this myself next time.

Korean Sausage Soup Lunch Special | $12.95

I always go for the blood sausage. I know, not everyone can handle this. In fact, this soup not only included the blood sausage, it included all kind intestine and either sliced pig ear or some kind of cartiledge. I enjoyed it but it’s not for the faint of heart. I would get the yukkaejjang next time though this soup was good!

Oysters & Steamed Pork | $34.95

The dish you have been waiting for (well V). The biggest difference so far? The pork. Jagalchi used to make the pork in a nice soy/coffee broth so the pork always looked so nice and brown and juicy. This one, just looks so white and bland yeah? The wonbok “wraps” had a bit of a vinegary taste. The daikon mixture, gosh it was missing the chinese chives that Jagalchi used to use.

In the end, I think it was still a good dish but here is my warning, but I think it was just me. And sorry for the TMI, but I got major stomach problems (ahem) right after lunch. I’m talking, all afternoon kine. I’m talking, I didn’t ask for a full body cleanse but certainly got it kine. But my dining companion seemed to react with it fine so it really could just be me. I have had bad reactions to raw oysters before. Eat at your own risk.

ALSO, the waitress working in the restaurant is SO NICE. Very sweet, seems like a small family owned place and I really liked how homey the restaurant felt and how homey the dishes cooked felt. Reminded me a lot of Jagalchi. Also, I love that each table has a button/buzzer so you can call for help when needed. And small thing but I liked that she brings every table a pitcher of water. It’s the little details.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Nov4

Do you folks do this? I never had before. I watched a recipe on how to make like a legit fried noodle dish and they said that you gotta remove the ends to make it taste good. Boy were they right. It made SUCH a difference in taste but my god, what a time eater. It takes FOREVER to do this.

Look look look! Zero sugar chocolate chips. I saw it and just had to get it. I was on a baking frenzy so I wanted to give these a try.

What did I make? I think this was a chocolate banana cake. It was enjoyed by everyone and they couldn’t even tell it was sugar free chocolate chips! Cool yeah? I found this bag at Walmart.

The Works Ddeok-Bokki | $15.99
ddok-bboki with sausages, spam, ramen noodle and two mandoo

Been wanting to try bb.q Chicken since they opened in the new Kuono Marketplace in Kahala. They are a newish Korean fried chicken place. And knowing me, of course I deviated. My coworkers all got the fried chicken sandwich so none of us tried their fried chicken wings, lol. They really really enjoyed their sandwiches! I didn’t feel like fried chicken so I went for this. It was okay. I’m used to this dish being both sweet and spicy but this one was moreso spicy so there was no balance. It also wasn’t as saucy as other places. I liked it but wouldn’t get it again.

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Las Vegas Eats Part #1 (April 2022)

Nov2

Okay, these pictures are 6 months old. Sorry, a lot has happened since this trip. I don’t know what was up with me but I was sick for almost the entire trip. I got super air sick and just when I thought it was better, it flared up again the next day. It was such a bummer. I still tried to eat some good stuff while I was there. I also came home and tested positive for covid a day after I came home so I don’t know if I was going through it with Covid during the trip or…from the travel home. My constant travel companion that shared a room with me did not get covid so it was all very confusing.

This was my 3rd trip to Vegas and I did enjoy it despite the sickness. I think it is because I am older and wiser (debateable), anyway it was nice traveling again after a 2 year forced break. First stop after we landed? It was late night so we found a ramen joint that is open very late hours, Shokku Ramen. We ordered takeout to bring back to the room because the wait to eat in was too long.

Ichiraku | $24.20
traditional pork broth served with yellow noodles, pork chashu, soy-cured egg, bamboo shoots, naruto, nori & green onions

Not my dish, it was enjoyed but is that worth $25? I don’t know.

Large Chasu Fried Rice | $13.20
egg rice, seasoned and wok-fried with pork, imitation crab, green onions & ginger

Yeah, so I was still feeling kind of nauseous so I went for a comfort food. Fried rice. I thought it was alright, nothing to write home about (even though I am writing a blog about it)

Gyoza | $12.10
7 grilled japanese dumplings

Once again. Nothing special. It was probably made in-house which is nice but $12 for a few gyoza is not my idea of a good time. I am looking at their website and noticed their dining in menu is way cheaper than their take-out menu. That’s dirty.

Next place is Korean! Once again, wasn’t feeling great nor was I wanting anything to eat but I think when you’re sick, you should be hydrated and fed! So we ordered take-out from Seoul Tofu, they are old school so we had to do a phone order.

Seafood and Green Onion Pancake | $14.95

Really good! I wish I wasn’t sick so I could eat more of this.

Free Banchan!

I love how they packed this and I liked the sides they give! Sometimes banchan is my favorite part of the meal.

Bibimbap | $14.95

Ugh, I don’t know how much of a thing this is in all Korean restaurants but they had quite a bit of romaine lettuce in this. I did not like it. I don’t like romaine lettuce in my bibimbap. Other than that, this dish would have been good! Part 1 pau!


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Mixed Plate Friday

Oct28

If you follow Jalna’s blog, you might remember this post about the cured pork strips they got. I remember eating this as a kid, it wasn’t an everyday dish. It’s pricey and also a bit of an indulgence since it’s got a lot of pork fat. It was such a coincidence that I had also bought a pack from Chinatown and it was sitting in my fridge waiting to be made.

I never made it before but remember the elements of it from my memory. I knew I wanted to make it with green beans but only with these flat ones. I don’t know why I had to be so specific with it. I didn’t have a real recipe to go off of, maybe what I had was more of a family dish. I blanched the beans fast kine and then stir fried the pork and beans together. I didn’t want to add too much seasoning because the pork is super flavorful (aka salty) so I added a dash of soy, oyster sauce and sugar. Oh I also started the stirfry with minced garlic. Look. It was damn delicious. I was trying to hold the dish on to last a few days. I ate it in one day. It was just that good. But it could be an acquired taste.

Another family dish I have been making on my own. Ong Choy! Crucial ingredient? Harm Haw. Gotta have that. I just fried up garlic and red chili pepper, add the shrimp paste and then add the stems first….cook for like 2 minutes and then add the leaves and cook down. I must have added some water to this too. I’m sure folks usually do a cornstarch slurry to make the gravy thick. I was lazy. Another vegetable dish I love.

Smoked Chicken Pasta | $18.50
with onions, roasted tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs, in a white wine and chicken stock, tossed over linguini

I got this dish the other week at Murphy’s, it was one of their specials. Eh. Was alright, I mean, I keep comparing the food to the price because how can I not? The chicken breast was good, super moist and there was a smoky taste so I enjoyed it. Wish there was a bit more pasta. I don’t get why restaurants like grinch out on the cheaper stuff. I think customers are easily fooled if they see more pasta haha. And I am adjusting to a new contact power and it’s hard to see up close now…if not, I would have noticed it said chicken stock. Yeah, it’s sitting in a chicken stock. I wasn’t expecting that. Yeah, I wouldn’t get this again.

Apple Crisp a la mode | $8.00

It’s okay, their apple crisp always comes to save the day. It saved the day. I loved it. Warmed apple crisp ala mode. You can’t go wrong. Have a great weekend everyone!

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Mai Musubi – Manoa, HI

Oct26

Mai Musubi’s old location was in Liliha but I never got to try them out. I learned recently that they opened in Manoa in the old Bubbies location. How awesome is that! They open at 6AM so you can pick up onigiri or bentos before work. I went during their soft opening week. I tried to time out a morning walk with their opening. I mistimed it. I got there at 5:45AM so I started walking in circles in that huge parking lot next door. If someone saw me, they would probably think I was crazy. That’s fine, I didn’t want to get approached by any undesireables.

They opened a few minutes early and I made a beeline in. They only had their onigiris out, I asked what time bentos are usually out and she mentioned about 6:30AM. Very nice lady, I think this place is run by a husband and wife team.

Karaage Chicken Musubi | $2.55

I was told that this was a good musubi but that the chicken was just a bit bland. If they had added just a bit more salt to the chicken, it would have been perfect.

Tuna Mayo Musubi | $2.55

I’m a sucker for tuna mayo anything. Seriously. I could eat many of these. This was delicious. Perfect amount of tuna mayo and can tell they used kewpie. The nori is perfect – it just all works. One thing to know about their musubis, they actually lay all the “fillings” on top. But they are quite generous.

Mentaiko Musubi | $3.00

A coworker has been trying all the different musubis from the different Japanese shops. She really enjoyed this musubi, shared that they are very generous with the mentaiko. She said she likes the rice better at Dell’s. But I guess both options are fine!

Spam Musubi | $2.55

I also love all spam musubis. It was good. Salty. I get it, spam is salty. I don’t want to assume but I think they used regular spam versus lower sodium spam, if they switched it to lower sodium spam, it would be perfect.

Salmon Tobiko Musubi | $3.00

Generous serving of salmon and tobiko! The salmon was also like homemade kine, not from the can. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Crunchy Ume (Plum) Musubi | $2.55

I got this just on a whim. If you like ume, you’ll definitely like this. I liked it but didn’t love it. And since I ate this on its own, I felt like something was missing. I think I wouldn’t mind eating this alongside another musubi…like the karaage one or the spam one. You know? Cause this one was just crunchy and a bit sour so I didn’t care for it by itself.

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