Fook Lam – Chinatown, HI

Jan13

I have so much pictures to catch up on! I hope you folks don’t mind, there will be a few posts coming with less detail than I’m used to giving because it has been so long. Hopefully you enjoy looking at pictures of food anyhow (who doesn’t?!). This post is from a previous visit to Fook Lam in Chinatown. I have a detailed post from my first visit there, found here. Let’s check out what I had at this visit!

Siu Mai – delicious of course. Can’t go wrong with dim sum pork hash.

Seafood Bundle – one of my favorites. I think it’s all the different elements. The bean curd wrapper, the seafood, the shiitake mushroom – I highly recommend it!

Seafood Chow Mein – this is my absolute favorite noodle dish from Chinese restaurants. It invokes memories of childhood parties in Chinese restaurants. I love the seafood gravy and topping, the crispy noodles that are half crispy and soft from the gravy. So much texture and flavor, still one of my favorites of all time. The one here is okay, I think you can see that the vegetables outweigh the seafood.

Xiao Long Bao – supposedly one of their signature dishes. I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t think it was great. I assume you can get it better in China but I was not impressed. The concept behind this dumpling is that you bite into it and release the soup contained in the dumpling as you eat. It’s an interesting way to make dumplings. I’ve never made it before but I assume they just freeze broth and stick it into the dumpling frozen and it melts when you steam the dumplings. They serve these dumplings with a red vinegar sauce. I just think the way these dumplings are made are more interesting than how it tastes. I wouldn’t recommend it from this restaurant.

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Jjajangmyeon Challenge – On Dong Chinese Restaurant

Jan11

My post yesterday wasn’t too detailed, maybe I should have done this all in one post. Ah well! The second challenger is On Dong Chinese Restaurant, there was a line to get into this restaurant when I went. The restaurant was also filled with Koreans (always a good sign). The Korean ladies running the shop were quick and efficient, also friendly! They served us hot tea and brought ice water when we asked. I appreciate this restaurant serving all the side dishes to everyone equally. I’ll explain more with the pictures.

The kimchee here was okay. Nothing great but not the worst I have had.

Raw Onion with Black Bean Paste

Okay this is the dish they gave us without asking. I saw this dish on random tables at Eastern Paradise but we were never given this dish or even offered. Not to say I am in love with this or anything. I don’t quite get why people like it. I’m sure that if you asked for it at Eastern Paradise, they will give them to you. They have it ready to go on the side.

Pickled Radish or Takuan – this was weird. It wasn’t sweet like usual, much more vinegary than I would have liked.

Potstickers – not as flavorful or generous with the filling. They do give you more pieces but the taste definitely wasn’t as good as Eastern Paradise.

Mongolian Beef – this is supposedly their signature dish. It was DELICIOUS. I loved it. I also believe there was MSG in it, but it was good nonetheless.

Look that gloss! Good sign so far. And the very visible chunks of pork and vegetables, all positives on my list.

So how was it? I thought it was good but I think Eastern Paradise’s jjajangmyeon edges this one out. While this one was good, I feel like Eastern Paradise’s sauce is thicker and deeper in flavor. This one was more watery, I was left with a black bean paste broth after I slurped up the noodles.

I guess the winner for me is Eastern Paradise Restaurant! Everytime I pass by On Dong, they have a line out the door so maybe it’s up to everyone and their own taste buds. I would go to Eastern Paradise just to hear the owner speak four languages. He spoke Mandarin, Korean, Japanese and English fluently the hour I was there. I wonder if he knows any other languages…haha. Give them a try and let me know what you think yourself!

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Jjajangmyeon Challenge – Eastern Paradise Restaurant

Jan10

This weekend, I will be sharing two Northern Chinese restaurants and their jjajangmyeon! For those who are in the Korean drama know, we’ve watched as the stars slurp the deliciously glossy black noodles (usually in anger) in awe. Well I’d say we have two restaurants in Hawaii that compete for the best jjajangmyeon. They are both of course located near Keeaumoku (aka Koreamoku) – how do they measure up? I was able to try both within a week of each other so I will share my thoughts! First up? Eastern Paradise Restaurant – let’s see how it went!

Kimchee – I like their version! Very flavorful and so crunchy.

Potstickers

Delicious. You can tell it’s homemade and they are generous with the filling, definitely recommended!

Jjajangmyeon

The star of the show. My friend tried this for the first time ever with me and she LOVED it. It was thicky, luscious and delicious. I wish I took a picture of it mixed up but I was too busy eating…hehe. I’ll do more comparisons in tomorrow’s review!

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Island Style BBQ – Kalihi, HI

Jan8

Island Style BBQ is one of the few restaurants I follow on Facebook and I always salivate at their daily specials. If their shop wasn’t so hard to get to, I would go there more often. They don’t have parking and it’s in a bit of a sketch area but shoot, if there was parking – I’d still go, sketch or not. Well, I hate to report that I had a bad dish and I have to share it. They had posted a picture of their Blackened Steak with Garlic Herb Butter on their Facebook page and it looked AMAZING. I went about a week ago and ordered it, and gosh…it was such a disappointment. I might give them another chance with another dish because they have such good ratings!

Blackened Rib Eye with Garlic Herb Butter – $13.99

You see the top right corner? I legitimately thought they were being generous and threw in a piece of lobster (don’t ask me why I thought that) because it looked white and meaty. Well upon closer inspection, it was just a big lump of fat. In fact, half the plate was basically fat. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a bit of fat with steak, not big chunks of it. Do you see the bottom left corner? I think it’s like the oil and butter melted together from the steak. The rice was drenched in it. Ughh…

The white spots are where the butter rounds melted

I ordered the steak rare because I figured it would cook a bit from the drive home. This is actually one of the better pieces, I would say the steak was more so medium than rare. I know I ordered a blackened steak, but it was just…super burnt tasting on the edges. The burnt edges, globs of fat and oil drenched rice was just too much bad for me and I spent a pretty penny on this plate too! I wouldn’t get this again.

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Frog House Restaurant – Waikiki, HI

Jan6

I always pass by Frog House Restaurant on my way to and from Don Quijote and wondered how this restaurant was. It’s located in a bit of a sketch area so I just figured they were like some sort of Korean bar. Recently, I couldn’t get into Do-ne so we decided to give Frog House a try, it was definitely better than I expected. The prices were pretty good and there wasn’t much other customers so we received our food fairly quick. The biggest plus? I finally found agu jjim and decided to give it a try. If you like monk fish, you will like this dish. I learned that I don’t like monk fish…lol. Anyway, on to the pictures and review!

Ban-chan

My favorite in all restaurants. I know it’s probably just steamed eggs with dashi but I just love it so much. Sometimes the simple dishes are the best!

Eggplant – deliciously savory

Choy Sum

Potato Salad – not great also kind of sweet. It was a bit weird.

Bean Sprouts – hard to screw this one up.

Another favorite ban chan of mine, fish cake.

Kimchee, pretty good! They serve up the entire leaf.

Extra Spicy Chicken – $7.95 (Happy Hour)
This was very good! Definitely a favorite.

Mini Agu Jjim – $14.95 (Happy Hour)

Agu jjim is a very popular Korean dish. I’ve watched many videos of people eating it and I just had to try it for myself. What’s funny is that I crave the bean sprouts the most. I wish they made this in a mixed seafood version because I am not a fan of monk fish.

Kimchee Jigae – $9.95

Kalbi Jjim – $25.95

PRICEY – worth it? I don’t think so for this one. I feel like they just laced it in teriyaki sauce, the meat was pretty tender though. I think you can get better kalbi jjim elsewhere.

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Kaimuki’s Boston Pizza – Kaimuki, HI

Jan3

We ordered some Boston Pizza on Christmas Eve at work as a treat for the students, it was great! Umm…when did all these shops split up and cease to be Boston’s North End Pizza? I don’t know what happened but am glad their pizza is still great! We have a Manoa location near us but I heard that Kaimuki is better, not sure how they are all owned but the website for the one we ordered from is here. They also offer coupons so that’s even better!

Here are the pies we got! They are a bit pricey but they are HUGE!

Half Supreme and BBQ Chicken – I wasn’t a fan that the pizza hangs outside of the box…lol. But eh, a little fresh air doesn’t hurt anyone right? Hahaha

Garlic, Tomato and Spinach Pizza – ding ding ding! We have a winner. This is my favorite pizza. So ono! And we can all tell ourselves quietly that it’s good for us since it’s all veggies, sort of. Ah who cares if it’s all veggies or not, it was DELICIOUS!

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Pioneer Saloon – Diamond Head, HI

Dec30

I saw a picture of a Pioneer Saloon plate lunch on instagram and knew I had to check them out for myself! In fact, I ran out on my lunch break the next day to give them a try! They are located pretty close to my work place and luckily for me, we went fairly early so there was a parking spot open. I think they have a total of 3 stalls and it is VERY tight and you better like parallel parking. This a Japanese style plate lunch joint and is very cute and quaint! They even have a small little boutique section.

Do not bring your pre-conceived notion of what a plate lunch is to this place. They definitely serve quality over quantity and I really enjoyed it! I was very surprised at the lightness of my plate when I grabbed it but the contents made up for it! Let’s take a look!

Miso Butterfish- $13

This was Linda’s plate, she was not impressed. For $13, I don’t blame her.

Deep Fried Baby Tako – $11

Substitute Shiso Rice – 50¢ (Delish!)

This was delicious! Yes, this was my plate. And yes, I enjoyed eating every single one of those babies…lol. It was very good, I would definitely get it again. I think if I return, I’d like to try a meat dish. Maybe the beef tongue…stay tuned!

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Birthday Blunder

Dec28

Okay, maybe this is just me getting old but I’m going to just associate it with having higher standards. Today is my cousin’s birthday and I wanted to treat her to a birthday breakfast. We weren’t sure where to go but finally decided on The Alley Restaurant. I have heard nothing but great things about this restaurant and finally got a chance to give them a try. Well we check in early this morning with 3 small kids and 3 adults in tow, the restaurant is pretty empty and we ask if we can sit in a booth. The hostess coldly responds that booths cannot hold 6 people. Okay, that’s fine. She lets us know that they just need to set up a table for us and asked us to wait outside.

So we’re waiting outside with three rowdy kids that surely doesn’t put me in a better mood. I figure all the empty tables inside shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to set up for us…I mean all they really have to do is push two tables together right? So the time is ticking by and I watch as all these smaller parties walk right in and get seated. I’m getting pretty heated at this point and after 15 minutes, we send someone in to ask about our table. The same hostess tells us the same dang thing, we are just waiting for a waiter to set up the table. I was pretty hopping mad at that point and left, we told her to cancel the table. I don’t understand why only that waiter can set up the table when I saw about 5 workers running around the front of the house. Secondly, all these new tables that just came in will now surely take more of the waiter’s time. The hostess’ pilau attitude just pushed me over the edge. Will I ever taste this restaurant’s food? Not likely now.

Anyway, we ended up going further down the road and tried Pho Five-O for the first time. They had two young men working the front of the house and they were very friendly and efficient. It was nice to see good mannered youngins for a change (gosh I sound so old). They had some pretty good dishes, I appreciated their combination plates. I think their pho was just okay, it didn’t have as much seasoning (spices) as the ones in town.

This is the summer roll that comes with their combinations. Cute yah?

Vietnamese Beef Stew over Noodles – verdict? Thumbs up!

My pho – like I said, not as spiced as I prefer.

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Fatal Error Fixed!

Dec21

Gosh you guys. I wanted to update this blog earlier this afternoon but I ran into a mishap! WordPress asked me to do an update which I did…and it cause my whole blog to crash! I’ve spent hours trying to read through support forums and finally was able to fix it for now by replacing one obscure file…it was all too much. I’m just happy I was able to access my blog again to do an update! So last weekend was full-on hibernation mode. I had two final papers due this past week and I am happy to report that I was able to submit both. Thank god. I do plan on taking class again next semester but just one course this time. I’ve got a lot of updating to do! My cousin is back from school again so it has been nice visiting with her. Just a quick update tonight – including another great plate from Toshi’s Delicatessen & Restaurant. If this place ever closes down, I’ll be super sad. They are definitely one of the last old school ones left – they can’t close down ever!

My view the past few weeks.

Yes! This is the way to wrap plates!

I got a bunch on my plate; saba, teri burger, tofu and their famous chow fun.

The saba is great, great piece of fish. Had bones so if you get it, be careful. They also let you choose which part of the fish you. The tofu is so flavorful, I loved it. The burger patty was a burger patty, what can I say? But it is definitely homemade so that’s a plus.

Chow fun! I think I’m going to ask for like at least 2 servings next time. I’m a carb-o-holic. Hope you all are doing well!

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The Signature Prime Steak & Seafood – Ala Moana, HI

Dec6

Birthday celebrations must take place in a steakhouse, it’s a must. Okay, it’s not a must – it’s a luxury. But what a treat! I’ve been wanting to try Signature Prime Steak & Seafood since they’ve opened and finally got the chance about 2 weeks ago. The restaurant offers an incredible view for an incredible price. I happened to dine there during Restaurant Week (totally unplanned) so I lucked out! Let’s get to the pictures!

Gorgeous

Bread. Meh – nothing special.

Signature Chopped Salad – delicious!

Lobster Mac and Cheese – $20
Not worth it in my opinion, sorry. Glad I tried it but won’t get it again.

Rustic Truffle Mashed Potatoes – Part of the Restaurant Week Menu! Delish.

Creamed Corn – Part of the Restaurant Week Menu!
So simple yet so delicious. The corn was so fresh and crisp – ahhhh so good.

12 oz. Filet Mignon – $52.95
Birthday treat for the birthday boy! He seemed to enjoy it!

Prime Rib Eye – Part of the Restaurant Week Menu!

Medium Rare. Funny story, my friend always goes for medium well and I go for medium rare. We’ve been noticing that my meat has been cooked more well than his. What’s up with that? Nah, but my meat was still pink so I’m fine with it.

Dragonfruit Sorbet – Part of the Restaurant Week Menu!

The restaurant week menu was the best deal ever. It comes with a salad, two full sides, a meat of your choice AND dessert – all for $55! How do you beat that price? I think I would definitely return here for restaurant week! This dessert? I wouldn’t get it again. You see all the black seeds in there, I spent all night having to spit them out. Sorry. Am I supposed to swallow those seeds??

Complimentary Birthday Cake

For all the shy folks out there, there was no singing involved. When I got my check, they accidentally tacked on the charge for this cake. I was not amused. I was also not amused that I had to call them out on it. I couldn’t find my waitress so I called over the manager and he apologized profusely so all was well in the end. Look at the size of that slice!

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maybeitsjenny

Hawaii based food blog with foodie travels!

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