Olive Garden – Honolulu, HI

Feb24

Yes, Hawaii finally got their own Olive Garden and I don’t know what the big whoop is. Never have. I’ve tried Olive Garden on a few trips in the mainland and just never understood the appeal. I don’t know how the lines are now, but if you know Hawaii…Olive Garden is located in Ala Moana where the old Bubba Gump’s was. Now if you can imagine that, imagine the line going from the restaurant all the way down to Macy’s. It was that busy when they first opened! In a pandemic no less.

Anyway, we decided to do a take-out order which they actually made pretty easy to do. They have a separate door/entrance for take-out orders specifically. No online ordering so I just went in to order, they are so busy that they can hardly answer the phones anyway. I placed my order and was told the food would be ready in 30 minutes. Great, I knew it would take a bit of time so I headed over to Target for some browsing.

So how was the food? To me? Blah and overpriced! The amount they charged for a regular fettucine alfredo is outrageous. But…I have a few family members who have never tried Olive Garden before so we had to give it at least one go. Here goes…

Calamari | $12.99
lightly breaded and fried. served with marinara and spicy ranch

Calamari was good, hard to screw up this dish. Would I order this again? Yes.

Fettuccine Alfredo | $17.99 (!)
our signature sauce is made every morning. served over fettuccine

Ugh, I can’t bear to look at that price. Can you believe a dish of plain fettucine alfredo costs that much? I mean, alfredo is actually so easy to make at home too! We actually decided to get this cheaper dish and cook up some steak to top it at home. Thumbs down.

Lasagna Classico | $20.99 (!)
layers of pasta, parmesan, mozzarella, pecorino romano and our homemade meat sauce

That piece of lasagna before your eyes is $21. Is it worth it? Well, I just went Sam’s Club last night and bought a family sized pan for $15 so I say no.

Chicken Alfredo | $22.99
sliced grilled chicken and our signature alfredo sauce over fettuccine

Okay at least this dish has a bit more stuff to it. But $4 bucks for some grilled chicken breast on top? You’re killing me smalls. It was enjoyed so I guess that counts for something.

Shrimp Scampi | $22.99
shrimp sautéed in a garlic sauce, tossed with asparagus, tomatoes and angel hair

Okay this was my dish, I wanted to go just a bit healthier even though it’s pasta. I like when menus tell you the calorie count with the items. Yes, I have become one of those people. Was it good? Sure, it was! The portion is a bit puny and I don’t know if you can tell but get a few of those asparagus thick stalks (the ones you supposed to snap off and throw out).

So each entrée does come with either a soup or salad. The salad I think is a better deal, the soup was just alright. They are also supposed to give you free breadsticks. I don’t know how you are with take-out orders but I always try to check everything before I leave because they often times mess up. Well this time, they forgot one our soups so I asked for it. They brought it out and also brought out the breadsticks. So…they forgot the soup and the breadsticks! It’s alright, I got all my food in the end and paid a hefty price tag for it. Would I return? Probably not anytime soon. I would suggest Romano Macaroni Grill across the way if you are at the mall and hankering for some Italian.

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3660 on the Rise | Waialae, HI

Feb18

Do you folks have the urge to say “why you lie” when you see or say Waialae? Or is that just me? Anyway, 3660 on the Rise recently opened up their dine in again so we wanted to give it a try! Let’s take a look at how it went…

Waialae-Tai
A blend of 3 types of Bacardi, orange curacao, guava juice, limeade, lychee juice

3660 Fruit Punch
Orange, guava, cranberry juices and limeade

I can’t comment on the Waialae-tai but I did get the Fruit Punch. LOL, it tastes only like orange juice with some cranberry juice poured on top. I didn’t even know there was all these other juices until I had to type it out.

Ahi Katsu | $20.50
sashimi-grade ahi wrapped in nori & deep fried medium rare, wasabi-ginger sauce

Hands down, their best dish. Period. Sansei has a similar dish (did they knock it off from 3660?), anyway we shared this as an appetizer but I think I would order it again just as my entrée. It’s SO good. The sauce for the dish is like crack, I could lick it up with more rice.

New York Steak Alaea | $41.00
pan seared with garlic, hawaiian salt and butter, crisp onions

Duet of Fire Roasted Long Island Duck | $39.00
fire roasted duck breast with lilikoi coulis over stir fry of season vegetable & crisp duck leg with a pan seared chinese taro cake, pineapple plum compote

Guys, the duck was my dish and I was super excited for it. I was a bit disappointed though. So sad, which side would you guess tastes better? I was placing my bets on the right side. Who doesn’t love a tender duck breast? Ah, wasn’t a fan of it…and the lilikoi sauce was too sweet for the duck. I actually enjoyed the crisp duck leg more, the seasoning and the meat! The meat was actually quite tender even though it looks dry in appearance.

Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake | $11.00
warm cake with a melted chocolate center, topped with vanilla ice cream, mocha sauce

My dessert! Okay so like, I know that it says mocha sauce but it looked like melted ice cream. Kind of funny. Was it good? Sure, nothing spectacular though.

Mile High Waialae Pie | $12.00
layers of haagen dazs vanilla & coffee ice cream, macadamia brittle, caramel & chocolate sauces

This picture does not do this pie justice. It really is a mile high piece, I don’t think anyone could ever finish this in one seating…it should definitely be a shared dessert. My companion could not finish the dessert and I told him, just take home the brittle! The waiter said he should take the whole slice home…and kind of hard to say no yeah? So he did. It didn’t work out (ice cream soup?). Rest in piece (get it?).

Anyway, with COVID precautions, they are now using their party rooms for the restaurant dine in. Plenty of space between tables so no worries there. I think they use the main restaurant as a staging area for take-out. The wait staff there are super nice and on it. Great experience, would definitely return again…gotta support local!

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La Birria – Aiea, Hawaii

Feb15

These Birria Tacos have been all the rage in the food trend world for a few months now. When La Birria opened up their food truck in Pearlridge, I knew I had to try it! The tacos looked so good and the dipping sauce, it made me so curious! So we made the trek out there and stood in a socially distanced line (took about an hour I think!) because we really checked it out during peak popularity. No online ordering but once you got up to the front of the line, it was pretty quick and easy to order with the nice worker. Then you gotta wait for the food, they are churning it out!

Let’s first take a look at the menu.

12 Pack Birria Queso Tacos | $45.00 (!)

Birria Queso Pack (3 tacos) | $12.00

We had a few folks trying this so I needed a few extra tacos but certainly not another 12 pack! So how was it? I hate to be the party pooper but it was just…okay. Nothing special about this taco. I felt like the dipping sauce lacked depth and flavor, would have loved it to have more of a concentrated taste to it since the tacos themselves were a bit bland. Would have loved a bit more cilantro and maybe some red onions to add a nice kick.

Birria Saimin | $12.00

Okay so since I was all excited for the broth, I had to try their twist on saimin! Well like I said, the broth is just okay so the saimin was also just okay. Was it worth $12? No. I wouldn’t order that again.

Gotta do the noodle pull!

Anyway, they are still super popular and actually opened a second truck in Kakaako! Maybe they have improved by now? I’m not sure, I did get this many months ago and since they were selling out so fast everyday…I always wondered how well they could properly marinate the meat for the broth. I wish them well since I am always down to support local, hope they have staying power when this food trend bubble pops. Maybe they can be like the new bubble tea (that trend will never die).

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Panya Bistro – Honolulu, HI

May1

Panya Bistro was my last meal before the lockdown. Well last sit-down meal in a restaurant and even though it was pre-lockdown, I was already feeling a bit uneasy eating in the restaurant. I am also a little regretful that I didn’t order my usual, Laksa! But…while their laksa is good, it’s also very expensive and I can get the same dish for half the price at Papa’s Cafe! Let’s get to the food shall we?

Black Pepper Pork Chop | $18.00
Upgrade to Egg Fried Rice | $5.00 (I think!)
*fried pork chop with Spicy black pepper sauce*

This wasn’t my dish but it looks good ah? Remember how I talked about simple fried rice being best? It looks like this fried rice follows what I talked about, just egg, rice and seasoning. But $5.00 to substitute it from white rice?? Hard pass from me on that.

Indonesian Fried Rice | $20.00
*with chicken topped with eggs and green peas*

This dish is what veered me off the laksa. I’ve been into Indonesian food (indomie anyone?) so I wanted to try this dish. By the way, why don’t we have an Indonesian restaurant in Hawaii? Not just Indonesian dishes in Chinese restaurants, INDONESIAN RESTAURANT. Ah sorry, how was it? Good, not great. And surprisingly spicier than I expected. I wouldn’t order it again.

My lemon crunch cake quest continues. How was it? Ehh…more cream than I’d like. I guess I still like Macaroni Grill’s lemon cake most.

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Fort Street Café – Honolulu, HI

Apr27

When I used to work in downtown, I would always walk down Fort Street Mall for goodies. I remember Aloha Sushi used to be in the high rise where you would get your passport (both are gone I think). I’d grab a piroscki from Rada’s Piroscki from their original location, mind you. I’m sad to say that on my rare visit back to downtown, it was just not the same…and it tasted like they used the same oil from where I ate a decade ago lol.

Ah sorry for the tangent, I don’t quite recall if Fort Street Café was around when I worked downtown. But boy am I glad I found them since. We’ve had a few lunch orders here. I recommend the garlic chicken with pad thai and panang curry! Delicious. We used them to cater an office gathering earlier this year, I wish I took better notes on what sized pans we ordered. I will say we either got the Medium or Large. Here’s a link to their catering menu, it’s from 2019 but the prices were still the same for me this year.

I have never ordered spring rolls for catering before but can I say that I was pleasantly surprised? I’m pretty sure we got the medium order and look at this presentation! It was delicious too. I would say it was worth it!

You can’t go wrong with garlic so this dish can’t lose! (It didn’t).

Fancy fancy with shrimp but we were ordering garlic chicken on its own so we went for the shrimp. Delicious.

It’s vegetables. Enuff said.

Mmmm panang curry. I love the peanut-y base curry. I could just eat copious amounts of rice with this curry. Like I don’t even need the innards, just the sauce and rice.

So yes, it was a great choice for catering. One thing to consider, how to pick food up. It definitely was a two person operation, one driver who pulls over illegally (somewhere, anywhere close by!). I was the runner and ran into the restaurant to make payment and they had it all ready to go. I had to make several trips back and forth…and fort street mall isn’t the cleanest or safest…haha. It’s okay, worked out okay and we got the food!

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Mixed Plate

Apr24

Gotta have posts like this here and there, I don’t always fully capture my meal so you will have to get it in bits and pieces. 🙂

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Mama’s Trio | $25.95
*chicken parmesan, lasagna bolognese, fettuccine alfredo*

Is Mama trying to kill you? Yes, I think so. This wasn’t my dish but look at this…hefty portions of hefty dishes. It was not finished, had to be packed up to take home. No waste!

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Shrimp Scampi | $24.95
*sauteed jumbo shrimp, capellini, garlic, rosemary butter, roma tomatoes*

Yeah, I had the shrimp scampi again. So wot? Like fight? Nah, getting it a second time means it was good ah? Was good.

Little Sheep Hot Pot
Half & Half Pot | Original & Spicy

I can’t say I was super impressed when they first opened, I was still a huge fan of Sweet Home Cafe. Well sorry to say, well not really sorry, but I basically only go to Little Sheep now. Love their sauce bar and now they have all you can eat deals for lunch and dinner. Service is hit or miss (you better be willing to flag anyone and everyone down to help you). Delish!

Ja Gal Chi Restaurant
Bossam | $30.99
*steamed pork with oysters*

Gosh, can anyone help me? There used to be the most bomb bossam restaurant by Ala Moana, it was located where Dowon Chinese Restaurant is now. They specialized in Bossam and it was soo good but alas, like most businesses, the owners decided to retire and they closed for good.

Anyway, I don’t think a lot of Korean restaurants offer this but Ja Gal Chi does and boy oh boy was it a treat. I mean look at it, of course it was a treat. They give you kimchee and the little salted shrimp sauce too. It’s just heaven.

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Pancakes & Waffles BLD – Kalihi, HI

Apr22

Pancakes & Waffles has been around for quite a while. I remember a long time ago, when I came back from an international trip, I asked my ride to take me there to eat. I just had to grind on some pocho sausage, eggs and rice. Don’t worry, I treated her to breakfast too. Anyway, can you believe that I had not tried their fried chicken and waffles until this past visit? The audacity.

Fried Rice Special | $8.25
*fried rice, 2 eggs, choice of bacon, link, spam, or portuguese sausage*

Your basic special. Nothing great about it but nothing to complain about either.

Grilled Cheese Benedict with Avocado Fries | $11.45
*choice of white or wheat bread grilled cheese sandwich, topped with a perfectly poached egg and covered in creamy hollandaise sauce*

Seasonal menu item! I only saw the sign near the door, it wasn’t even on their menu when you go up to order. I didn’t actually get this myself but it was gobbled up!

Honey Butter Chicken & Waffles (3 pcs) | $12.95
*crispy fried chicken thighs on a golden waffle*

The star of the show. Here it is guys. We got our own entrees but got this to share. Well, four people sharing this plate was JUST NOT ENOUGH. Yes, I had to order another plate. We loved the chicken, delicious! Nicely seasoned and so crispy. The waffle, nice to have it there but I don’t need it. I just need the chicken! Highly recommend the chicken. Actually, I think the second one we got was a fried chicken plate because we just wanted the chicken and not the waffle…haha

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Sansei Restaurant and Sushi Bar – Waikiki, HI

Apr17

Do I have to give details about Sansei? Have you all not heard about this restaurant? Great restaurant and they give a pretty generous parking validation for self parking (though their parking lot is junk)…free is free! I know you just wanna see the pictures so here goes…

Panko-crusted Fresh Ahi Sashimi | $14.25
*Island fresh ahi tuna wrapped with arugula and spinach, panko crusted and flash fried, served with a soy wasabi butter sauce*

This dish is an award winner for a reason. It is absolutely delicious. And that sauce? That buttery rich soy wasabi sauce? It’s to die for. I wanted a whole bowl of rice to lather in the sauce but ended up eating a bunch of gari ginger with it…I was desperate to scoop up that sauce. Funnily, it went pretty well with the gari ginger. A must get dish.

You only live once and we always get otoro at the good restaurants. Was it good? Sure. Honestly, it’s much better than the Otoro at Katsumidori. I’m sad about how bad the quality has gotten at Katsumidori, they used to be great quality and a great deal. The best otoro I have had? I would say it would be from Izakaya Torae Torae. I’m just waiting for the quarantine to be done…patiently. Maybe. Anyway, you can pass on this dish.

“Ora King” New Zealand King Salmon (sashimi) | $18.00

This was good. Not mind blowing, but good. Once again, I think Torae Torae has the best King Salmon. Am I just hungry? But am I always hungry? Moreso hungry in this quarantine….I would get this again if I was craving sashimi. If not, you can get it better elsewhere.

DK’s Crab Ramen with Asian Truffle Broth | $19.25
*with crab, cilantro, Thai basil and mild jalapenos*

Another must have dish. I love noodles. I love crab. I love truffle. How could I not get this dish? I shared it, I’m so nice and they were pretty generous with the crab! I would definitely recommend trying this dish.

Tempura Fried Macadamia Nut Ice Cream | $9.50
*vanilla ice cream, buttery pound cake, roasted macadamia nuts, chocolate-caramel sauce*

This wasn’t my dish but the diner was expecting little breaded ice cream balls…nuggets if you will. This was just a big serving of ice cream in a big pastry and you have to rush to eat through it or end up with vanilla soup.

Sansei’s “Granny Smith” Apple Tart | $9.50
*buttery puff pastry, granny smith apple slices, sansei’s homemade warm caramel, vanilla ice cream*

Why is Granny Smith in quotation marks? Are they making a pun? Okay, nice try. This was my dessert. I’ve been on a caramel apple pastry with vanilla ice cream kick lately. Anyone who knows me can tell you, I do not like plain vanilla ice cream but coupled with a flakey apple pastry and caramel sauce (DO YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF CARAMEL?)…you can’t go wrong. I would definitely recommend this dish!

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IPPUDO – Tokyo Disney, Japan

Feb19

IPPUDO is another famous ramen restaurant in Japan. Well is it? I only say that because I know they have a branch in New York and if that isn’t fancy, I don’t know what is. This brings back wonderful memories because I first had IPPUDO in New York and it was a fantastic meal. We decided to check this place out before our first day in Disney. Have you been to this Ikspiari mall? Their lunch menu is pretty much set so I couldn’t try too many different dishes. A lot of people seemed to have the same idea as us, they ate here before heading out to Disney.

Mentaiko Rice and Gyoza Add-on Set | ¥200 (plus tax)

This picture is a bit misleading, we both got add-on sets and they served both our gyozas on the same serving dish. The ramen, gyoza and rice was good. I still prefer Ichiran, sorry. It would be nice if Ichiran would serve gyoza too but I’ll just eat the ramen if I need to.

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Genki Sushi – Shibuya, Japan

Feb17

Genki Sushi in Japan. Of course I had to try it and of course they are better than Hawaii. Well, the ordering system and variety is! It was missing spicy tuna which is totally my jam but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This Genki Sushi is super busy but very fast. I didn’t take a picture of every single dish but you can bet I ordered weird stuff.

Yup, that’s hamburger with mayo on rice. I ordered this because I am five years old. It wasn’t even that good, meh!

LOL, I don’t have an excuse for this order whatsoever. I just wanted cheesy fries. Well, it looks good but it did not taste good. How do you screw up fries? Just gotta fry it up and add salt. Well, it was cold and no more salt. Even the cheese sauce was bland. Thumbs down.

Tamago. Gosh, I can’t even remember this. I am sure I only ordered it because it was dashi tamagoyaki, I don’t do the sweet omelette stuff.

Mmm, reminds me of the salmon here with the rayu and onions. This was good and look, yellow plate!

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maybeitsjenny

Hawaii based food blog with foodie travels!

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