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Mixed Plate Friday

Sep12

Left: Sesame Garlic Chicken (3rd Pan 2#) | $37.50
fried boneless chicken, sesame garlic glaze, ginger scallion
Right: Fried Noodles (3rd Pan 2.5#) | $27.50

Chan had a lunch order with his office from Alii Fish Market and this was part of the order. I thought the pans were so cute (lol), I never seen this size before. The food was all good, as usual! And I finally tried the yaki onigiri and yes, I now know what the hype is all about. Highly recommend!

Doesn’t this picture look almost like it’s from Japan or something? We were driving down Kapiolani and I glanced out the window while we sat in traffic and saw this. Just felt very Japanese-y, it was really cool to see. Oh! And we’re going to Japan in November! There’s my announcement lol, I’m so excited!!

Happy belated birthday to me! Of course I gotta show off the beautiful flowers and balloons that Chan got me for my birthday. He always makes me feel so special even though I don’t like getting older…especially at this age. I am at Auntie age but I am a-okay with that. I earned that badge. Have a great weekend everyone!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Aug29

Strawberry Jam and Butter Sauce Packets

Yes oh yes, I was able to snag a few packets when Don Q had it in stock. Of course it was posted on social media and sold out like crazy. One of my favorite things to eat in Japan is the strawberry and butter sandwiches from the convenience store. It’s made like an uncrustable but it’s not easy to find and not at every combini. This will have to suffice until I find it in Japan again! Pretty good! I would definitely get more if I see it in stock again.

Fin’s Bagel with House-cured Salmon | $17.95
choice of house-cured fish: salmon, ahi, mahi, ono, or smoked fish salad with tomato, onion, cucumber dill, local sprouts, capers and cream cheese (we got roasted garlic cream cheese)

Thank you Chan for treating lol! This was for a meet-up with Kat, it was so nice seeing her and spending some time with her. I know her trips to Hawaii are always busy so I am happy she tries to schedule some time with us! Fin’s Bagels just opened up in downtown a few weeks ago so we wanted to try! We ordered our sandwiches with everything bagel and wow, they are HUGE. I could barely finish half for lunch. So how was it? While they are super generous with the ingredients and cream cheese – I thought it was just okay. I actually found the bagel itself to be too big and too chewy. I also don’t love sprouts so I would get it without the sprouts next time.

Fat Cheeks Hawaii Fish and Fries | $18.50
flaky white fish, battered with our house seasoning and fried crispy on top of fries. served with lemons, tartar sauce, and hot sauce on the side.

I joined in with Chan’s office order one day and finally got to try their version of fish and chips. Oh my gosh, it was SO GOOD. And it was a HUGE portion. 4 big pieces of fish fried to perfection and the fries are good too! Of course I couldn’t finish this, shared with Chan too. I didn’t even realize it came with a container of hot sauce on the side so I didn’t even use it! Ugh! They did find the hot sauce in the bag and thought it belonged to the hot chicken sandwich order but I guess it was for mine! It’s great that they have online ordering and they keep to the time you request. It won’t be ready earlier than that which is a good thing, you’re getting your food fresh!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Aug22

Notice anything odd about this? I was driving one day and this truck was BEING TOWED through the roads like this. Yup. With all the garbage bags, gardening debris and the garbage can in the back. Nothing flew out at me but then again, we were stuck in traffic. Isn’t that’s crazy?

Trolli Gummi Pop | $8.99

I’m such a silly sucker for trends. I saw this on social media and was intrigued, a gummy worm type textured popsicle? I love gummy worms so I wanted to try this out! They sell this in Safeway and took a while to get here. How was it? Ehhh…it has a weird texture that is a bit flexible for a popsicle but not exactly a gummy worm texture. Wouldn’t recommend it.

Kokoro-Tei Omelette Rice | $14.98

I love Kokoro-Tei and have been wanting to try their omelette rice for a very long time. They only have this for a daily special so you have to check their website to know when to order it. First time trying it and I loved it. Love the soft runny omelette and the demi glace sauce over the rice. Great dish! I would definitely order it again! And love their online ordering system – makes everything so easy peasy!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Aug8

Lasoon Butter Chicken Mini Plate | $12.45

It’s great to have a good Indian food establishment on campus. I was feeling like Indian last week so I got myself a mini plate and a samosa (Honestly, I wanted the samosa most). This butter chicken is sweeter than I expected, and didn’t contain as much spices and I would have liked. I enjoyed the cabbage side dish and the basmati rice. I got some acid reflux after eating this but that could just be me and the tomato based dish. I do want to return and try the lamb curry next time!

Miyakonjo Bento & Catering Seafood Katsu Combo Plate | $11.45
choice of 1 pc fried Hoki or Aji (Mackerel) with 2 pc Oyster katsu and 1 pc soy milk cream croquette. Comes with fresh tossed salad and furikake rice. Sauce and dressings are on the side.

We had a staff training retreat last week and decided to check out Miyakonjo, I never heard of them before and boy are they located deep in the Kalihi industrial area but what a find. Super great deal on their plates and bentos and it was super good. The salad comes with a small container of goma dressing. I got spicy house made tartar sauce for my katsu and it was delicious! I got the hoki as my fish – every piece was perfectly fried and I finished it all lol. Very good!

Baked You a Smile Hawaii | Kulolo Filled ChiChi Dango

My wonderful friend picked up this mochi from a pop-up market and we both have been wanting to try this place for a while. I’ve been super curious about how this would taste and wow, it is super soft and delicious. Only drawback is that you have to eat this fresh. The mochi stays super soft when refrigerated but the kulolo becomes rock hard. So good! Would recommend! Also, follow them on IG because they are at different locations from week to week!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Aug1

Happy August! Oh my, is it already August? This is crazy. I feel like summer just started and here we are again. I love summer traffic so much, I need to appreciate the next few weeks until all the schools start up again! Sniff…

Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery | Assorted Dim Sum Items

Baked Char Siu Manapua | Winnah’s (big competition to U-Choice In)
Custard Tart | Just okay (not the flaky pastry crust I like)
Char Siu Su | I didn’t even get to try this. Ugh, too much food for the past few weeks so I let it go bad. My chinese self is kicking herself!
Custard Bun | Okay, this was GOOD. It’s the pineapple bun with custard inside, so so good. Even better than the dim sum restaurants!

Fresh Peach Burrata Salad

In line with the season, I saw this fresh peach salad on TikTok. It’s fresh peaches, burrata cheese, prosciutto over arugula greens. It’s topped with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. If anyone asks, I can post the recipe. Super easy but the ingredients can get pricey. Chan loves arugula so he liked this salad!

Wea da noodles?

Inside joke with V. I made this really refreshing soba salad the other week to eat with Chan. It includes yuzu kosho dressing mixed with perilla oil and is topped with fresh cilantro. So good and refreshing, get noodles in there some place. Simple recipe, maybe I’ll post it one day. 🙂

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jul25

Thịt Nướng | Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewers

It’s summer time so you know it’s time to do some BBQ’s! I wanted to try something a little different so I made vietnamese grilled pork skewers! Never tried making skewers like this before…and using fresh lemongrass before but it was a hit! Perfect food to go with some alcohol too. I had to buy a big pork shoulder chunk and slice it thin manually, that was the worst part of this dish. Other than that, it was good!

Salted Turnip

I found this at Don Quijote the other day and got super excited, really happy to see them branching out and getting more obscure Chinese ingredients. I don’t think I have ever bought this before but I think I was taught how to make a pork hash patty long time ago with it from my mom. Here’s to me cooking to my roots!

Look! This is the first time I ever guessed Wordle on the first try! This was my go-to first word everyday. Now that it’s been used, I am so lost without my first word guess! Gotta keep up with my streak!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jul18

Le’s Banh Mi | Saigon Special | $11.50
Add Roast Pork | $2.00

I know you folks must think I am a paid sponsor for Le’s but I promise I am not. It’s just the best banh mi you will ever have on island okay. They make the bread fresh themselves and it’s not too thick and just the right amount of soft and crunchy. You’re not going to cut up your mouth eating this.

Will you look at that? The innards are glorious, GLORIOUS.

Kevin’s Kitchen Char Siu (1 lb.) | $16.95

Kevin’s Kitchen 1/2 Roast Duck | $20.00

I’ve talked about Kevin’s Kitchen in a previous post but came back here to grab some dishes to complete our home father’s day meal. Just wanted to show you how much char siu comes in one pound – a pretty good amount! And half roast duck, that’s a lot of duck too! Well worth it to me. And yummy!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jul11

TKG Sauce Packets

Sorry, I’m late to post this. I wasn’t late on the trend but just late to post lol. I was lucky because my cousin actually went to Japan and bought me this whole pack to try before it arrived in Hawaii (and got sold out in like a day). I love TKG rice – I don’t know how they do this. Is the “yolk” part real yolk? How is it shelf stable? I was surprised when they were able to import it here. Have you folks tried it yet?

It looks just like the ketchup and mustard packets Japan made famous years and years ago

Hmmm…

Hmmm…!

Verdict? Ehhh…to me, it doesn’t taste like TKG rice lol. I’m trying to pinpoint what it does taste like but I can’t quite think of it right now. It tastes okay but like I’m not a huge fan. I gave the rest to Chan so he can have quick meals with this. I don’t think I would buy it if I saw it, I rather eat fresh TKG rice!

Spam Musubi Rating:

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jun27

I saw this sign the other week and thought it was so funny and oddly specific. It’s like this place had it UP TO HERE with Nan, Inc. vehicles in particular and had a special sign made for them. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Tuna Mayo Omusubi | $2.49

Unagi Hijiki Omusubi | $3.99

I went to Marukai Wholesale Mart the other day and love to peruse the ready made food section – especially after work since they are marked down (I am Chinese after all). I was super excited to try these musubis because I think they are made with a special rice and you even have to get the fresh nori from the cashier as you pay. The tuna mayo musubi was basic, exactly what you would expect. The unagi unfortunately was a bit of a bummer for me. The mixed rice was a bit mushy and sweet for my taste and the unagi was just okay. I probably wouldn’t get this again.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jun20

Trader Joe’s Shrimp Seafood Burgers

I didn’t have access to a grill or a pan with cooking oil so I just baked them. These were okay, edible but nothing great. I think it would definitely taste better on a grill!

Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Corn Dogs

My likes for sausages continue (please, no jokes). Wanted to try the turkey corn dogs, couldn’t taste the difference – it was good! Heated it up in the oven with our leftovers from night one (curly fries and long john silver’s).

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