Hawaii based food blog with foodie travels!
Happy Aloha Friday! No food in this post. Just a few pics from the Vegas Strip. I’m not big on being on the strip, too much people and too expensive. I remember the days when parking used to be free at the hotels, now they all charge minimum $20-$25 which is insane. Also, no validation even if you dine at their restaurants! Check out some pictures from the Bellagio! They say Vegas is slow now but dang, you wouldn’t know it if you were here! Enjoy.
Peanut Udon Noodle Salad
Meh. Just okay, not great.
Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
Not good.
Truffle Mousse Pate
Yes. A million times yes. This one is made with chicken. Since Chan was not feeling well, I ate this entire thing over the course of the trip. Yeah. I did. Ate it with some golden round crackers (think Ritz Crackers). No regrets here. Chan told me probably get this kine in Hawaii but I haven’t tried it locally yet. IT WAS GOOD AND A GOOD PRICE AND I LOVED IT.
OG sign from Kaimuki
Anyone remember this sign? This picture must be like 2 decades old but I was always so amused by this sign. Pidgen but straight and to the point. Just no do em k?
Chinese Chicken Wing Seasoning
Don’t even ask me where I bought this. I forget already but I always saw this on random videos online and it always made the chicken wings look so delicious so I decided to try it. Well all the instructions are in Chinese and Google Translate wasn’t very helpful so I really just improvised. I think I added too much water to the marinade but I let it sit overnight and then baked it in the oven. The taste wasn’t bad! My brother loved it so it’s big kid approved. Would I make it again? Sure! Wish they had English directions haha.
Are you a jook with green onions and cilantro on the side type of person? Or are you a green onions and cilantro with a side of jook person?
I am obviously the latter. Add to that a splash of sesame oil, white pepper and preserved duck eggs and I’ll be in heaven. Thanks!
Oldie but goodie and also timely. Chan and I got to attend a UH Men’s Volleyball Fundraiser Dinner a few months ago thanks to Chan’s friend and it was great seeing the team and coach – nice to see them in aloha shirts too. It was a nice night and it’s so great to see them doing so well this season!
I apologize for the unscheduled vacation! I got super busy and then my dad fell ill and had to go to the hospital. The hospital visit turned into a week long stay and we had some scary moments there. I don’t know if I’ve shared before but my Dad is a stroke patient so we deal with reoccurrences sometimes. It’s really hard to gauge and I give the utmost credit to my step-mother who is his full-time caretaker.
I’ve had a distant relationship with my father for a long time. There’s nothing that happened or was done per say. If you are a product of immigrant parents, you might understand my plight…or not. It’s okay, everyone has layered relationships. I tried my best to hold strong during the visit, and stayed extended hours at his bedside to allow my step-mom a break.
I’m not one to be touchy feely with my father at all, but I held his hand a lot during this time. Just wanted him to know he had family who loves him by his side as he drifted in and out. He has been discharged and is at home now, with new medication that will hopefully help him further. Have a great week folks.
Posted in Snapshot
Homemade Jjamppong (sorta)
Chan had a craving for jjamppong one day so I got the fresh packs at Hmart. I also bought an extra pack of noodles and a bag of frozen seafood mix. It was perfect! Really hit the spot. Probably could have been spicier for Chan – spice was good for me lol.
Lomi Salmon Dip
Sorry, I know that doesn’t look too appetizing but it is so delicious. My friend Arleen served it to us during a visit and I was like, please give me the recipe. She said it’s literally a container of lomi salmon and one block of cream cheese. LOL, can’t get easier than that. I was at Sam’s Club so I got 3/4 lb of lomi salmon from the seafood/poke bar and mixed it with one 8oz block of cream cheese. It was magical. Actually if you mix it and let it chill in the fridge overnight, even more magical. It tastes great with crackers – yum!
Shake my head and fist!
This young lady was weaving in and out of lanes on a drive of mine. Can you see what is wrong in this picture?? First of all, she has these humongous headphones on so there is no way she can pay attention to her surroundings. Secondly, she has her purse on her shoulder – how can you ride and not have those straps fall off? Third, you can’t see it but she was also holding an iced drink in her left hand and sipping it the whole time. And I guess fourth is she doesn’t have a helmet on but well, that’s her decision and her life at risk. *shaking my head* Have a nice weekend folks!
Chicken Katsu Curry | $6.99
Don’t get to frequent 7-eleven too much now but was excited to see this on my last visit so I had to try it! Not going to be a good judge because I had to microwave it myself and timed it wrong so it was still kind of cold when I was eating it but was too lazy to continue heating it after I already opened it up. They have a transparent sheet that separates the chicken katsu from the curry that you pull out when you dig in. Interesting way to keep the chicken “crispy” but let’s be real, it’s not crispy when we are grabbing this from the fridge lol. This was okay but the chicken portion is small, would rather just go L&L to grab a freshly made one.
Made a variation of the Japanese Udon Salad I usually make, linked above. Same concept, I just varied up the ingredients a bit! The biggest main stay for me is the goma dressing and fresh cilantro. Other than that, you can do whatever you like! I even made Japanese styled seasoned shiitake mushrooms for the first time. Yum!
Corned Beef
Happy Belated Saint Patrick’s Day! This kine food is more Chan’s style but we bought some corned beef so we made it the other week. Threw in some potatoes, cabbage and carrots. He sous-vide the beef and then we threw it in with the vegetables into his pressure cooker insta-pot. It was spewing things out like a volcano when I released the vent. I don’t use these contraptions like ever. Anyway, have a nice weekend!
Posted in Food, Recipe, Restaurant, Snapshot
Just wanted to share a picture of a beautiful sunset when I had dinner at the Kahala Hotel & Resort. I ran out onto the beach to grab some shots before the sun went down.
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
This is one of my favorite all time pasta dishes. Very simple dish with minimal ingredients; buttload of garlic sliced thin, dried red peppers (we used red pepper flakes), fresh parsley and of course a lot of olive oil. Such a good dish…Chan and I enjoyed it! Thank you for making it lol.
Sushi Robot | Breakfast Bento | $6.00
I talked about Sushi Robot in previous posts, but this was the most recent one. It used to be $5 and I was surprised when the cashier told me $6.00 last week lol. They don’t put prices up or anything but I’ll just have to guess that inflation and egg prices got to them. Still a good deal!
Sunday Breakfast
This is me trying to take a bougie picture of breakfast I made for Chan one Sunday morning. I made this pesto tomato mozzarella salad that I served up with toasted french bread. I put a bit of olive oil on the bread and put it in the air fryer to toast. I then rubbed raw garlic onto the toasted bread immediately while it was still warm so the garlic would melt into the bread. Smart yeah? I also fried up two eggs for each of us (in this economy??) and it was good. Well I don’t know the dosage of his salt grinder so I went a bit too heavy handed – he didn’t say anything but mine was salty lol. Good breakfast!
Sausage, Egg & Cheese English Muffin
Seasoned Potatoes
Did you know Wendy’s served breakfast? I didn’t! I saw it on one of Chan’s YouTuber videos and the guy was trying all the fast food breakfast joints. I decided to pick some up for us for a weekend breakfast. The sausage english muffin was just alright. Not great, I prefer McDonald’s. The seasoned potatoes were good! Not what you would expect from the name of it, and they look like potato wedges but they are actually sliced quite thin length wise. They were good!
Posted in Food, Restaurant, Snapshot
Lee Kum Kee Sriracha Chili Sauce
This is a very niche post. I really enjoy the chili sauce packets from Panda Express, it’s not like sriracha so I wasn’t sure where I can find it myself. I know Lee Kum Kee makes the chili sauce for Panda Express but I don’t know if it’s then just Panda’s proprietary product you know? I decided to buy this hot sauce in the store even though it has the word sriracha in it and guess what? It’s close enough for me! To me it tastes like the Panda Express chili sauce so woohoo! I gotta buy more bottles now lol.
Holy Grail Donuts (4 pack) | $18.00
From top left; clockwise: Hail Mary (cardamom, rose), Hot Single (local honey, flakey sea salt), Original Sin (real maple, smoked coconut and Hawaii sea salt), Hot Single (again)
After dinner in Ward, I wanted to treat Chan to Holy Grail since he has never tried before! I had to eat the hot single while it was hot because these folks make it fresh! Chan really liked the hail mary, I wasn’t around when he tried the other flavors. I better ask how he liked them not fresh. Pretty pricey at $18 for 4 donuts and of course their register system automatically asks for tip. Sigh. Also FYI, they do not take cash.
Ba-Le Sandwich Shop Phoggie | $14.00
U.S. wagyu beef, house-made “pho” mayo, thai basil, red leaf lettuce, shaved onions, cilantro, fresh jalapeno, pho dipping broth
I’ve loved the Phoggie sandwich for many years but haven’t been able to try it in a while. They sell it here at the UHM campus and also at La Tour Cafe. While I’m sure the La Tour version is fancy, it costs $5 more there than at UHM. I’ll go for UHM! We watched a student order it and ask for extra mayo…what a great tip! What a game changer, this is one messy sandwich to eat especially since you gotta dip it in the pho broth! So delicious, definitely worth the price! My coworker at it two days in a row lol.
Posted in Food, Restaurant, Snapshot