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Asahi Grill – Honolulu, HI

Mar6

You folks remember Kam Bowl? I wish I was old enough to grab food all the time when this was still open. They of course had the famous Kapiolani Coffee Shop Oxtail Soup and other good stuff. All bowling alleys seem to have the best food yeah? Luckily, the Oxtail Soup is still alive and well in various shops like Asahi Grill! It’s a great dish but I gotta be honest about something. The last time I got a bowl of this stuff – I found a piece of hair in it. I was really disgusted because it showed they don’t wear hair nets and also meant that it was stewing in the pot with the rest of the soup. Sorry! I know that’s sick but that was just my experience. I think I will work my way back to eating this one day…just not yet.

140306-01My cousin’s oxtail soup (lol…sorry Tony!). It’s still a great soup and I love that they are generous with the cilantro.

140306-02Here is my Chicken Katsu Curry. I also like their regular fried rice…yummmm…comfort food.

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Kanak Attack – Honolulu, HI

Mar5

I heard there used to be a Kanak Attack food truck in town but it closed down. I saw this Nimitz location on Yelp and I’m not sure if it’s the same owner but it’s the same name! I didn’t actually come in here myself but my coworker was picking up lunch so I got my lunch there too! She got me the garlic chicken plate – check it out!

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140305-02Pretty delicious! I didn’t get the plate fresh but it was still good! Comes with two scoops of rice, salad and garlic chicken morsels. They were boneless and I’m pretty sure all thigh meat. It tasted very good! I would definitely try this place again – it’s too bad I don’t work near here.

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Bird’s Nest Salad – Andy’s Sandwiches

Mar4

I love the sandwiches at Andy’s! They are the best and the people who work there are some of the nicest folks you will meet! My go to sandwich is the Ahi, Avocado, Tomato & Cheese. The smoked ahi spread is divine – so delicious! I found the smoked ahi in a grocery store and totally pigged out on it. My coworker wanted to check out their salad options so I joined in! I got the Large Bird’s Nest. The Bird’s Nest includes Tossed Greens, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Cucumbers, Sprouts, Sunflower Seeds, Tuna, Avocado & Papaya Seed Dressing.  So how was it?

140304-01Well, I can share that it tastes like it looks. Hahaha take that as you will. It is very…healthy tasting, lol. But it’s good! And it is very filling. I think if you enjoy the contents of their sandwiches, this is it..salad form. I would definitely get it again – gotta support local!

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Gyotaku Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

Mar3

I’m rounding up all the food pictures I have in the recent weeks and I have been eating out a LOT. This comes at a bad time because I need to save money. Lots of it! I already have posts queued up for the week! So get ready for a full week of food in your face, although when would you expect any different from my blog right? 🙂 Here’s a recent outing I had at Gyotaku. Just a quick meal and post of the food.

140303-02Ahi Poke Bowl – yummy!

140303-03I got it with with tempura just because – they make a pretty okay tempura.

140303-01Kid’s Karaage Meal – it comes with a drink and a dessert. It also comes with a free toy but the past two times, I’ve had to outright ask for it.  And it’s just a basket of cheap toys from Oriental Trading Company.

I find the service to be lacking this visit. I’ve had ups and downs coming to this restaurant. We were ignored basically all night and our food took a really long time. I was not too happy with this visit. The busboy was good and quick though.

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Imanas Tei Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

Mar2

My gosh, I’ve been wanting to try Imanas Tei for the longest time now! Finally had a chance the other week and took a chance by walking in. Firstly, don’t do that. They are always booked but they were willing to place us at the sushi bar as long as we could be out by 7 for the next reservation.  We said yes and there are no regrets! The meal was amazing. I’m pretty sure I pissed off the sushi chef in the beginning, and I feel bad. I had laid the menu open leaning against the counter and he kept saying something to me but I couldn’t hear him so he had to raise his voice. -_- My menu was blocking him from putting this down…

140302-01The serving dish for my sushi! That faux pas aside, the meal was extraordinary.

140302-02Grilled Beef Tongue. Delicious! Great taste and prepared well.

140302-03 Stewed Miso Based Beef – flavorful. This dish really packs a punch and I think it would go great over rice. Alone, I think it’s very strong.

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140302-05One of their signature dishes, Seafood Dynamite. It looks as good as it tastes. Also very flavorful – big chunks of seafood smothered in a creamy sauce.

140302-06Salmon Nigiri. Oh. My. God. I don’t think I’ve had good quality salmon until this meal. I mean seriously. This was my favorite of the night. It was so flavorful – what have I been eating all my life? I can’t believe how much better it was at Imanas. It was so good that I had to order another one. Definitely recommended.

140302-07Kaki Nigiri (Oyster) – it was good! But to be fair, this was served after the salmon and I was still thinking about the salmon. If you like fresh oysters, you’ll love this.

140302-08Unagi Roll. Very good, unagi and avocado served up nicely.

140302-09Spicy Tuna Roll. I just had to get my spicy tuna fix in. Honestly, I wouldn’t waste my time getting rolls next time. I would just want the nigiri!

140302-10Fresh Scallop Nigiri – delicious. Meaty, fresh, soft yet firm (does that make sense?) – highly recommended!

140302-11Mirugai (Geoduck Clam) Nigiri. I haven’t had geoduck clam in such a long time so I definitely wanted to try this. This is very expensive and while it tasted great, it is very pricey so I can’t recommend it fully. The taste of the clam is crunchy and has a good taste of the ocean which is what I always loved.

Obviously, the whole meal was amazing. And we were in and out in like an hour so they are very prompt with their service. The only downside to sitting at the sushi bar is that you not able to order their shabu shabu or nabe which is something they are also known for. I would definitely love to come to this restaurant again! Their parking is horrendous though, they share a very small lot with another popular restaurant which makes it worst! But I would definitely consider Imanas Tei as one of the best Japanese restaurants on the island.

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St. Louis Drive-In – Kaimuki, Hawaii

Mar1

St. Louis Drive-In serves up some real hole in the wall goodness. Okay, I can’t comment on their entire menu but I do enjoy getting breakfast from them once in a while! It’s a great deal – about five bucks for a breakfast plate AND a soda! I tried to be good and declined the soda. Good ah? 🙂 Anyway, just a quick update and wanted to share how the plate looks.

140301-01I just love the way they pack their food. They place the plate in a pie box with wax paper which is then topped with condiments (i.e. ketchup, shoyu, etc.), utensils and napkins. Perfect way to package the food!

140301-02Hapa Rice, Portuguese Sausage and Eggs. This special specifically comes with scrambled eggs but you can choose how you want your eggs with a few of the other plates.

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Fukuya Pt. 2 – Honolulu, HI

Feb24

Here’s my sequel to my first Fukuya visit. I thought I hadn’t taken a picture! I tend to only go super early in the morning, meaning before 7am so not everything is always ready. No nori chicken in sight! So here is the lackluster encore…

140224-01Clockwise from top left, fried tofu block, shiso musubi, chow fun and fried chicken.

Fried Tofu Block – Flavorless. Only somewhat flavorful where the dressing is. Felt a bit cheated since it’s just a plain raw piece of tofu with some dressing on top.

Shiso Musubi – This is one of their more popular offerings but I wasn’t a fan. I generally like herb0y things but wasn’t a fan of this.

Chow Fun – Not great, not bad. I can’t get into okazuya chow fun.

Fried Chicken – Well it was already cold when I ate it…nothing memorable.

 

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Pho My Lan – Chinatown, HI

Feb19

I do a lot of posts on Pho. And you know what’s funny? Pho isn’t even my favorite food. I don’t think it even ranks in the top five but there are times when you just want to sit back and eat a good bowl of noodles. Pho really hits the spot for that. My cousin took me out for a free bowl last week, who can say no? This is the first time I tried Pho My Lan and it is a very nice restaurant! Pretty clean and friendly staff. I’m not one who likes parking in Chinatown so I’m not sure when I will be back but I would definitely recommend it to others!

140219-01Shredded Pork Rolls – Shredded pork, raw bean sprouts, lettuce, mint, and vermicelli wrapped in rice paper. Served alongside the vinegary fish sauce…sauce. Very good!

140219-02Fresh veggies to place in your hot steaming broth when it arrives at your table…

140219-03Meat outside. Those who order pho know this lingo.

140219-04Combination Pho – I like to eat the whole animal when I’m chomping on noodles. 🙂

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Fukuya – Honolulu, HI

Feb17

Fukuya doesn’t need an introduction, you should all know about this place! Fukuya is very close to my work place but I haven’t tried it too many times. I decided to drop by one morning to pick up lunch before work. I wasn’t disappointed! I returned once more after this initial visit and had to try the Shiso musubi. For me personally, I thought the shiso musubi was just okay (hides).

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From top left, clockwise: Nishime, Fried Chicken, Nori Chicken (I had to add it, they just put it out fresh!) and Chow Fun (can always tell if it’s okazuya chow fun if it’s white)

140217-02Nori chicken innards! Well I got this in the morning and couldn’t resist eating the nori chicken right away since it was fresh. It was great!

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Yakitori Glad – Kaimuki, HI

Feb16

I love me some good yakiniku. The izakaya style shops that we have in Hawaii are all great! Yakitori Glad opened about 2 years ago and I have heard nothing but great reviews. On a whim, Kristian and I decided to give this place a try without a reservation. First of all, you should make reservations because this place is busy! They were able to squeeze us in because we were a table of 2 and were able to get out before 7pm. Yay! I think the biggest draw for this place is that everything is priced at $3.90. It was kind of funny to see the different cup sizes of the same beer for the same price. The Chinese in me says always buy the biggest size but I know not everyone does. The McDonald’s here in Hawaii sells all their soda sizes for $1 but I try to keep it to the medium size to make myself feel better. 😛 Enough talking, let’s get to the food!!

140216-14Store Front – busy busy busy! The staff are all so awesome though, super nice folks.

140216-01Special menu on the wall. Super cute!

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140216-03Mo-mo Spicy Teriyaki – very good. Nice and moist and the sauce was delicious, not too spicy!

140216-04Buta Bara – one of our favorite dishes of the night. Nicely seasoned and grilled pork. In fact, we ordered one more of this because it was so good!

140216-05Tsukune Cheese – Chicken meatball with melted cheese on top. It was pretty good but I can’t help to compare this to Kohnotori. I don’t remember Kohnotori having a chicken meatball with cheese but their chicken meatball (tsukune) is the best!

140216-06Gyu Kushi – grilled meat. Least favorite of the night, dry and a bit rough. I wouldn’t recommend this one.

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140216-08Kawa Suage – Chicken Skin!! I thought it was okay but it wasn’t seasoned enough. Kohnotori definitely wins in the Chicken Skin category. It’s just too bad they are out of it so often.

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140216-10Tebasaki-shio – Barbeque chicken wings. It was okay, but nothing memorable.

140216-11Ebi Karaage – one of the specials on the wall! Soft shell shrimp fried up karaage style. It was SO good. And yes, the shell/head/tail were all edible!

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140216-13Momo Glad-yaki – this is one of the highlighted dishes on the menu. It was pretty good! Good portions!

How was our experience? Great! I would definitely recommend this place to others! They do have a small parking lot in the back but it is pretty messy to park in. The lot is small and tight. Even with my corolla…I was like…wow how can a bigger car park well in this lot? They have the open lot in back along with a really small parking garage…I didn’t even try to go in the garage. Give them a try! Kristian, feel free to add your comments…it’s been a few weeks!

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