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Mariposa – Honolulu, HI

Sep1

I was going to start this post with a guess where I am post and then quickly realized that I tell you where I am in the post title. It’s okay, just enjoy this beautiful view with me. What a beautiful day it was. My friend decided to treat me to a wonderful birthday dinner at Mariposa. For those who don’t know, Mariposa is located in Neiman Marcus and I think that should already give you a warning of the prices to come. While I enjoyed my meal immensely, it wouldn’t be a blog of mine without complete honesty. So to my friend who generously and graciously treated me to this meal, please know that I enjoyed it (really!!!).

Complimentary Popovers with Strawberry Butter

I can see why they are known for this. Fresh piping hot popovers served with strawberry infused butter (hello, you can’t go wrong with butter of any sort). You bet your bottom dollar I went for a second serving, it’s free and this ain’t no buffet I have to save room in my tummy for (lol). My only complaint from the various popovers I’ve had over the years (not from Mariposa) is that it always seems to be a bit doughy in the middle which leads me to believe it is still raw. Same thing happened here but I didn’t get a stomachache so I guess we were in the clear.

Sesame Seared Ahi Salad | MP ($31.00)
mari’s greens, shaved maui onions, ho farms tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, radish sprouts, onion-soy dressing

I got you for this post, I had no shame in asking for the actual price of both our MP items. You know it’s gonna be pricey when it reads MP. Delicious starter salad, the ahi was good quality and perfectly seared. I love their onion soy dressing, wish they gave a bit more of the dressing but I think if you asked for more, they would have abided. A little pricey but I enjoyed this salad quite a bit.

Smoked Brisket Sandwich | $20.00 (Thursday Special)
house smoked beef brisket, toasted brioche, slaw, house pickled cucumbers, onions, mustard sauce, french fries

Was excited to try their special, was also told they were running low on the special so we put the order in. Well, I hope you like salt. This sandwich was SALTY. The fries are good, glad they give you their hurricane seasoned fries with their sandwiches but ah this sandwich was not good. Is it because it was the last one so it had all the sauce soaked in? I don’t know, I would not get this again unless I had a sodium deficiency.

Lobster Club Sandwich | MP ($39.00)
bacon, roasted peppers, avocado, mari’s butter lettuce, mayonnaise, french fries

Was this sandwich good? Yes. It’s lobster and bacon for god’s sake! Was it worth $40?? Well, I can’t say it was. I think for $40, I almost want them to just serve the sandwich open face with like the entire lobster in full view for me to see. To me it’s not worth $40 even though it was delicious. It was a wonderful treat to eat (indulge in) with a beautiful view.

I think due to covid, Neiman Marcus has been operating on special hours. If you want to eat dinner here, you basically have to book a table for 4:30 PM so you can be out by 6:00 PM (their closing time). I know I’ve been adapting to a lot more senior citizen stuff but this was early for me. It’s okay, I planned early so I ate an early lunch to be ready for my early dinner. I made my reservation on Open Table and asked for outdoor seating in the notes because of the rising Covid cases. I tried to call them to confirm my seating but they never answered their phone…seems like they only want you to book through Open Table. Outdoor seating was pretty empty when we went so it was no problem .

It’s a nice restaurant with pretty attentive service, I think it’s worth another visit when the sun sets earlier to get a nice sunset view. A lovely dinner, thank you!

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Mary’s Mediterranean Kitchen – Honolulu, HI

Aug30

I had a hankering for Greek food the other week and I just went for it. Well, I always go for it. Mary’s Mediterranean Kitchen is located in the former Ranch 99 Market space, I think it’s called Moanalua 99 now but I refuse to call it that because Ranch 99 must not be a memory…it must remain fresh. But has Ranch 99 been closed for like decades by now? Oh boy that ages me real fast. Anyway, first good sign…the owner/chef/cashier man had a very strong Greek accent. I had high hopes for my food lol.

#12 Combo Plate (Choice of 2 meat skewers) | $13.00
served with hummus, rice, salad, and pita bread

I chose lamb and lula (ground beef). Brah this dish was so good. Loved everything that came with it, first time trying lula – it was pretty good! I think I want to try the gyros plate next time though! Loved the warm pita to eat with the delicious hummus.

Seasoned Fries | $4.00

Kind of pricey for an order of fries but I liked it, tasted good. Let’s be real, it’s really just fries with garlic salt right? Anyway, I enjoyed.

Baklava | $1.75

I just had to try the baklava and I thought it was alright. I bet it would have been really good warmed up (I was too lazy) – I also bet this had my calorie/sugar intake for the day. But who’s counting?

Ah this is not from Mary’s. Remember my meal from Istanbul Hawaii? I fell in love with their watermelon feta salad. Well, here’s what I remade at home. It’s not really a salad nor did I follow any recipes. I just sprinkled feta cheese and balsamic glaze onto watermelon slices. I really enjoyed it, the nice contrast between the salty brininess of the feta cheese and the sweet morsels of watermelon. The glaze adds a nice sweet slightly vinegary touch too. Not too big a fan of the feta cheese brand I picked up, felt like the feta was much too hard and kind of bland. Would have been really good with a good feta cheese.

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Imanas Tei – Honolulu, HI

Aug25

Imanas Tei has unofficially become the restaurant to celebrate birthdays for my friend and I. Not quite sure why, it’s not like we frequent this restaurant otherwise but when our birthdays come along…we keep choosing this place. That’s gotta be a good sign right? Anyway, can always count on Imanas Tei for good food and good service, fast too! Their parking is absolutely horrendous haha…but I went early enough to score a stall in their lot. It was a good sign!

Tamago Sushi (2 pcs) | $4.00
Unakyu Roll | $13.50
grilled eel, cucumber, avocado

One of our must-haves funnily enough is their tamago sushi. If you remember, I prefer the more savory tamago and they do that here. Love how they cut the tamago and wrap it around the rice. It’s $4.00 for two pieces but technically to me it’s one piece cut into two…anyway it’s okay because it tastes good. The picture above shows two orders of tamago sushi.

This was my first time getting the unagi roll, I don’t know why I expected it to be a hand roll but then again $13.50 for a hand roll would be a rip off ah? It was good, nothing great that I need to order again.

Grilled Beef Tongue | $13.50

It takes talent to take a picture this blurry with absolutely nothing in focus. At your service as a photographer here. I love their grilled beef tongue, perfectly sliced and charred and seasoned. Highly recommend!

Torikara | $8.50
japanese fried chicken

Didn’t realize they call their fried chicken torikara…I think I even ordered it as chicken karaage. Was really good! I enjoyed it.

Salmon Sashimi | $12.50
Toro Sashimi | MP
Hamachi Sashimi | $15.50

Sashimi is always a winning choice. Okay but was this toro really otoro? I can’t quite say…didn’t taste like otoro quality. Hmm…maybe just gotta give up the otoro quest. I am good with other sashimis anyway! Gotta save otoro for Torae Torae.

Hiyashi Udon (Cold Udon Noodles) | $6.50

Wanted a cooling dish to end the meal, this was nice. Would have been nice to have like natto or like a raw egg yolk on top but that’s just me. The broth was pretty strong, concentrated. They give plenty bonito flakes.

Kakiage | $9.75
fried burdock & seafood

I lied. We ended the meal with this. My friend got beer so figured this was a nice beer accompaniment since it’s fried. We never got this before but I swear every single table orders this dish. Not too bad. Did get a surprise chunk of seafood here and there. I think would have been better to order in beginning of the meal to pick at it throughout.

So this was the first meal out since Ige set up limitations in restaurants again due to the rising numbers and the delta variant. Well, not to scare anyone but this restaurant was definitely not operating at any type of limited capacity lol. They had the shields up and I was never seated SO close to anyone that I felt uncomfortable but the seats were all definitely taken. Hope everyone is doing well and taking care…numbers are still scary.

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Bella Banh Mi Café – Honolulu, HI

Aug23

I love myself a good banh mi. I love the mixture of salted meats with the pickled daikon and carrots…creamy mayonnaise, crunch of the fresh cucumber and to top it all off…the cilantro. I know get people who don’t like cilantro, just give me your cilantro and call it a day. Anyway, my only experience with banh mi in the past has been with Bale. Nothing wrong with that but I think you’re really missing out if you don’t try it at different places and I think I found my favorite place thus far….Bella Banh Mi Cafe!! They are located on Liliha Street and open on the weekdays and luckily now on Sundays! I called in my order beforehand and pick-up was a breeze.

Had to open it up to show you the innards. They include fresh jalapenos! No worry, not too many seeds so wasn’t too spicy though I may not be a good judge on if something is not spicy.

Saigon Special | $8.50
combination sandwich – pate, vietnamese ham, pork belly, pork floss, mayonnaise, parsley, cucumber, pickled carrots & daikon

Oops their description doesn’t include jalapenos but you’re welcome for that information. I’ve had combination banh mi sandwiches at other places and I was always disappointed because it was always too salty. Not here! This sandwich was perfect, and the bread was nice and toasted but not hard and chewy like I’ve had elsewhere. I would definitely recommend this and can’t wait to get it again!

BBQ Pork Bun (Noodle Bowl) | $9.00
lemongrass & vietnamese fish sauce, vermicelli noodles, basil, mint, cucumber, pickled daikon, and peanuts

Another winners dish. I love the sauce for the noodles and the BBQ pork had the perfect charcoal/grilled taste, really enjoyed it! Love a cold noodle dish.

Shrimp & Pork Summer Rolls | $7.75
shrimp, pork, rice paper, vermicelli noodles, basil, mint, cucumber, lettuce

Awesome summer rolls, and you know what I like most? No raw bean sprouts. I can’t stand raw bean sprouts and some places put them into their summer rolls….so thank you Bella for not using bean sprouts. I think it’s a great deal for this dish and the dipping sauce is delicious! What is the ice cream stick for? Not sure, I just dipped the rolls right into the sauce.

Just wanted to show you a shot of the roll inside! Nicely wrapped together, was delicious. In fact, this is inspiring me to make summer rolls at home. To be continued.

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Liliha Bakery – Honolulu, HI

Aug6

Just realized all three Liliha Bakery‘s are in Honolulu yeah? Okay well, this post is for the OG location and honestly the only one I go to. Nothing against the other ones, they are nice, new and shiny but it is something about the original location that warms my heart. I actually spent a lot of my childhood years in an apartment building within like a 2 minute walking distance but never went (it isn’t exactly a destination of choice for FOB Chinese people). So I guess I discovered the true magic of this place as a late bloomer in my adulthood. I like dining in their restaurant or should I just say counter, something comforting about the diner food and Filipino nana’s making my food. I like laugh because I remember years ago, I ordered a saimin and watched as she pour water into a measuring cup, microwave it and to pour into my saimin. Oh the joys of their open kitchen and counter seating system, made me really think…why didn’t I just cook this myself. Ah, the same could be said about any food in any restaurant right?

One of my highlights? Gotta be the butter rolls and their legendary neon jelly. There’s nothing more to say. Freshly buttered and toasted butter rolls warmed on their griddle served with their iconic (don’t ask me what flavor it is) jelly. I could eat this and just this and be happy.

Anyway, I thought I came on a off day (weekday) at an off hour (non-breakfast) to get seats. Well, I had somewhat of a big party (4 people) and because of Covid, they were seating all parties one seat apart. Ugh, had plenty two seaters behind me getting seated first. What can you do? It’s okay, I had nowhere else to go anyway. On to the food!

Hamburger Steak (all rice, no mac and no roll) | $14.50
hand pressed patty with gravy

Not my dish and now that I look at it, I should have told the person to just get a loco moco. Probably would have been cheaper and you can get a fried egg. Ah, what can you do?

Meat Loaf (white rice and mac salad) | $13.95
with gravy

When I come here, I either get breakfast or meat loaf. Don’t ask me why. Do I equate meat loaf with diner food? Perhaps? Just a down home American food, comfort food. I like their meatloaf. I no can finish it but it’s okay, sharing is caring.

Corned Beef Hash | $5.49
Rice (1 scoop) | $1.59
Fried Potatoes (4-5 slices) | $3.49

Got one picky eater so we had to order everything ala carte for him. It was actually cheaper to order it this way than to customize a standing dish. I never had their fried potatoes before, wasn’t sure if anyone else has so I wanted to share the picture. The potatoes were enjoyed but I was told it was just a bit bland (then again this person is a salt king) so take it with a grain of salt (literally).

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Rico Rico Chicken – Honolulu, HI

Aug2

I had my first experience with Peruvian food a few years ago. We had a cook-off event at work and for some reason, I decided to make a chicken dish with a Peruvian Huacatay Salsa. I have no idea where the inspiration sprang from but I ordered the specialty ingredients from Amazon and made it…served it up with Costco Rotisserie Chicken. The sauce was bomb and my coworkers loved it, while I didn’t win the cook-off (what do people have against unknown green substances?) I really enjoyed it. Flash forward to now, Rico Rico Chicken has been around for quite a while but I haven’t had the chance to get him out. He makes his own rotisserie chicken and serves it up with rice and his own pepper sauce (different from the sauce I made myself and looks like yellow mustard but no worries, it’s not). He currently opens his truck up on South King Street parked on the side of the road right before you hit Moilili Longs. I would check his instagram for updates, he religiously updates when he will be there.

One caveat, he shares a number to text your order to. I don’t know if you have to place the text order before he opens up shop because I did text my order and received no answer. I risked it and headed out there since it was still pretty early (before noon) and he definitely was not near sold out. So how was the food?

Half Chicken | $12.00
served with peruvian rice and special sauce

Whole Chicken | $20.00
served with peruvian rice and special sauce

So how was it? Stinking good folks. Look, if you ever get tired of Costco or Sam’s Club chicken (and let’s face it, we all have) – come here. And not that I’m trying to compare Rico Rico with them, that would be insulting to him. He puts a lot of care and thought into preparing his rotisserie chickens and the seasoning is sooo good. The meat? Tender fall off the bone kine, including the breast meat. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the sauce, it’s a small container that looks like yellow mustard (forreal but don’t be deterred by that if you hate mustard), it tastes nothing like mustard…more of a pepper sauce.

You know what would have been perfect…his chicken with the Peruvian Huacatay Salsa I made a few years back but shhh…no tell him I said that. No disrespect to his sauce. Also, I don’t think I want to pay like $20 just for two ingredients to even make the salsa. Anyway, I also like his rice…he uses long grain rice. He warned that while it’s rice with corn, it’s not a lot of corn. LOL, good warning cause barely had corn but it’s okay, I wasn’t there for the corn. He’s a one man show, support small business – it’s delish!

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Istanbul Hawaii – Honolulu, HI

Jul28

Been wanting to try Istanbul since they opened over a year ago…did they open pre-pandemic? Gosh, I can’t keep track. I think I fell into the trap of wanting to try a new trendy restaurant, those never work out for me. I end up thinking, why didn’t I just go grab take-out elsewhere. Istanbul is a mother-daughter owned restaurant and for that reason alone, had to give them a try! Decided to treat a friend to dinner and I think the food was good! Service was alright, a whole bunch of young folks running around with their hipster leather aprons on. We dined indoors and it is so loud in there that you can’t really hold a conversation and any question I asked the waiter was answered wrongly, he thought he was being helpful telling me his favorite dishes when that is not what I asked at all…anyway, onto the food!

Meze Platter | $28.00
humus, muhammara, babaganush, su borek, spanakopita, peynir & karpuz, pita (all mezes are hand-made by mom chef Nili)

Let’s break it down:
Humus: organic chickpea, tahini, turkish spices & EVO, garlic, pita
Muhammara: roasted bell pepper, walnut, cinnamon, turkish evo, pita
Babaganush: smoked waimanalo eggplant, black garlic, turkish EVO, pita
Su Borek: moist traditional filo, fresh cheese, ma’o parsley
Spanakopita: crispy traditional filo, turkish feta, ma’o spinach
Peynir & Karpuz: turkish feta & cured olives, watermelon, aged balsamic

I really enjoyed this appetizer platter! If I could, I would order this dish as an entrée all on its own! Would I do that next time? Yeah, I no care how piggie it makes me look. I’ll rank the dishes from most favorite to least favorite: spanakopita, peynir & karpuz, humus, su borek, muhammara, and babaganush. Maybe I would rank spanakopita and the watermelon dish first, I really really enjoyed the watermelon dish.

Pirzola | $45.00
kea’au grass-fed lamb chops, turkish harissa, yesil fasulye (green beans)
accompanied with turkish saffron pilav & tzatziki

We knew we would be pretty stuffed with the appetizer so we decided to share a dinner entrée. Can’t go wrong with lamb, one of their signature dishes. The lamb was cooked nicely, the accompanying pilav looked nice but was kind of bland. I mixed the pilav with the green beans after and it tasted really good.

Antep Baklava | $12.00
40 layers of filo, turkish walnut, honey syrup, house-made cream fresh dondurma

Ah, dessert! Seeing that this was my first and (possibly?) last visit, I wanted to also try their Turkish delight. Alas, my luck was not there since they were sold out! It’s okay, my original intent was the baklava and boy did it deliver. I really really enjoyed this dish. It’s drenched in honey syrup, how could I not enjoy it?

One last complaint about the restaurant, I really dislike their payment system. This is not the first time I’ve seen it and I hope this is not the new trend. They come to you with the bill on this handheld electronic device, you hand them your credit card and the server stands there holding the device as you sign off on it. And well, the gratuity screen is there to see and they have the preset percentages (starting at 18%!) and then if you no get shame, you can select custom tip as the waiter stares at you while you change it…and then you sign. Well I gave 18% but I don’t appreciate the pressure to pay like that…being watched!

Anyway, as I said, the food was super good but I feel like I could just grab Greek take-out and get the same type of dishes and be satisfied. That sounds bad…but I guess I’m just not too picky.

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Bing Bros – Honolulu, HI

Jul26

I have been obsessed with Jian Bing for YEARS. Somehow a jian bing video popped up on my YouTube feed once and then I fell into like a vortex of videos. I’ll post some of my favorites at the end of the post. So what is jian bing? I guess the best way I can explain it would be a Chinese street food, a large savory crepe that is used to house a special sauce, won ton cracker, veggies, meat (sometimes), egg, etc. It’s like a Chinese burrito and is very cheap to grab and go with in China for breakfast. Well, it has finally arrived in Hawaii and I was very excited to try it.

Okay, so I picked a very bad time to try it. It was the week a big article was released about it. Bing Bros currently only opens on Saturdays for 4 hours in Salt Lake, at that time, they were still taking pre-orders on their website so I placed one in for three different jian bings to try. I requested for my order to be complete by 11:30 AM and as the time crept closer, it looked like they were going to be slammed. Well, they were. And well, let’s just say I didn’t get my order until about 12:30 PM. Wasn’t terribly happy about that delay but understand since they are new.

Regular Jian Bing | $10.00
egg, romaine lettuce, pickled mustard cabbage, wonton cracker, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, bing sauce, and chili sauce

The Works | $13.00
pork floss, lup cheong, egg, romaine lettuce, pickled mustard cabbage, won ton cracker, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, bing sauce, and chili sauce

Go big or go home right? I sacrificed the look of the jian bing and opened it up for you folks to see. I enjoyed it, how can I not enjoy pork floss and lup cheong? What did I think of the outer crepe? Ehh…perhaps it can’t be helped but the crepe gets very soft and soggy because there is sauce on it. I feel like jian bing needs to be enjoyed fresh off the grill. I also would have liked if the cabbage (there seemed to be regular shredded cabbage too on top of the preserved mustard cabbage ) was at least quickly pickled.

Hawaiian Breakfast | $13.00
spam, two eggs, portuguese sausage, romaine lettuce, pickled mustard cabbage, wonton cracker, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, bing sauce, and chili sauce

Another deluxe model, had to try the Hawaiian one! This was good, couldn’t tell there were two eggs (lol). Very small dices of spam and portuguese sausage. The prices to me is a bit high for what you get. And when I look at the website, their menu is already outdated and I paid $3 bucks more for each deluxe dish. They do have bigger plans for the future so hopefully they will get their orders and execution down, nice for me to try but I am not hankering to go back anytime soon.

YouTube Links:
China Street Food Jian Bing (Danbing)
Shanghai China – street food (crepe) – this one is funny cause the cook is so cranky lol
Bejing Jianbing (first video I ever saw on this)

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Griddle N Grindz – Honolulu, HI

Jul12

A new Korean BBQ take-out joint in Kalihi! I repeat, a new Korean BBQ take-out place in Kalihi! Griddle N Grindz is located in the Dillingham Plaza (the one with Foodland and Savers) and they are located where Yummy’s used to be (I didn’t even know they closed!). This place is take-out only, smallish menu but boy do they make that up in portions. Check it out.

Korean BBQ Chicken (Level 2 – Extra Spicy) | $13.49
Comes with 4 banchan choices, I chose fish cake, kimchee, cucumber kimchee and japchae

Been hankering for some Korean BBQ chicken, their chicken is good! Love the grill marks, the banchan is good. I like the fish cake and the japchae, the cucumber kimchee is just alright and the kimchee is okay too (nothing special).

I only got level 2 spicy and TMI, it was a small runny nose situation. I kind of want to risk it all and try their spiciest level (which they don’t charge extra for…!)

Fried Garlic Chicken | $14.79
Comes with 4 banchan choices, we chose macaroni salad, cucumber kimchee, japchae and fish cake

This is one of the plates a lot of people are getting, not pictured is the spicy mayo sauce that comes on the side for dipping (I am pretty sure it’s just mayo and sriracha). The chicken is good, nice juicy thigh pieces fried up light and crispy. Barely any garlic flavor. The mac salad is a bit bland, and I already critiqued the other three banchan choices above).

Menu as of July 2021 (their website has an outdated menu)

Not that this should matter, but I did not see a single Korean staff person here. LOL. I am not making any assumptions or trying to say anything, just saying the front and kitchen staff I was able to see were not Korean. It did not affect the taste of the food or my willingness to go back, I definitely would when I get a hankering for Korean BBQ again!

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Jagalchi – Honolulu, HI

Jul8

Have I really never done a full post on Jagalchi? I can’t believe this. This place has been my go-to Korean restaurant for years. Anytime I get a hankering for some good hot soup, jun or now…bossam, this place is IT. So glad it is still open and survived the pandemic, I can’t lose this place. Can I tell a funny story? A few years back, came to eat with a few friends and there was a car blocking our car in the parking lot. At the end of the lot is a place with no windows and is just completely closed out to the public…us geniuses decided to walk in there to ask if they had one car double parked out there. Uhhh I am pretty sure I walked into a place that is illegal and am lucky I was not hurt cause everyone in the room stopped, turned and looked at us. Lesson is, don’t go into that place at the end of the building. Onto the food!

Complimentary Banchan

Hot Shredded Beef Soup (Yukgaejang) | $10.49 (Brunch price, 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM)

All soups come with the banchan (shared) and your own bowl of purple rice (in those neat metal bowls with lids). My friend ordered hers mild and she believed they actually complied this time. In the past she would order mild but was still spicy.

Korean Sausage Soup (Soondaeguk) | $11.49 (Brunch price, 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM)

This is my go-to soup. I love this soup. I think the title might be misleading for folks who don’t know but it’s actually blood sausage. They also throw in all kinds of intestines into this soup, really good and hearty. I would recommend this!

Bossam (Steamed Pork with Oyster) | $37.00

OH MY GOD. Okay, I am convinced they have a new cook in the kitchen. New owners? I don’t know. But this is the best bossam they have served up. They definitely cooked the pork differently this time, it used to be like almost bleached white color but now they have boiled it in seasoning! I’ve seen recipes for this where they make it with all kind good seasonings and like instant coffee to give it this beautiful brown color. The mixture in the middle, now that is a huge star of the show. It’s not just kimchee, it’s a mixture of like onions, radish, carrots just swimming in their spicy sauce…and yes fresh oysters on top. Get the wonbok leaves to wrap the pork in with whatever toppings you want. Yes, not a healthy dish (look at the glistening meat) but is soooo good, get it and share with friends! Highly recommend.

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