21Apr / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Breakfast Bento | $4.77

Sushi Robot is located outside of the Kaheka Don Quijote – they been there forevers and sell all kinds of good grab and go foods. I got this bento one morning after an early shop. Can’t lose with a $5 meal! And it’s definitely filling. I would get it again!

Okinawan Soba | $13.00 (or $14.00)

Raysam Hawaii is a cute little Okinawan food truck that comes onto the UH Campus! I like to support him when I can, it seems like a one man operation. I enjoyed their handmade omusubi and decided to try their okinawan soba this time. It was delicious! And I love that he serves it separate from the broth, no bloated noodles!

I saw this bag of turtle chips at 711 and couldn’t resist because I love truffle. Bugga was expensive, $6.09 and how is it? Junk brah, no get it. It’s still too sweet and the truffle taste is minimum yet artificial and just tastes like MSG or something. No waste your money.

Post Views: 1,560

Permalink 12 Comments

19Apr / 2023

SXY Szechuan – Ala Moana, HI

It is very hard for me to take a restaurant seriously with a name like SXY Szechuan. Also, how do you even pronounce it? Do I just say sexy szechuan? If you read my blog, you know I have a thing for spicy foods. I love Chengdu Taste with all my heart but we pass by SXY all the time and we decided it was finally time to try it. How was it? Good, but not better than Chengdu. Wouldn’t mind returning to try other dishes but Chengdu still reigns supreme in my heart.

Stir-fried Green Beans | $15.99
with szechuan flavor

Nice dish, nicely seasoned. Love the crispy garlic on top! The reason it tastes so good is probably because they deep fry the beans in oil.

Griddle Pork Intestines | $23.99
with vegetable mix

Super cute presentation. A mini wok! I almost wish they served it with like a mini spatula but we got just a spoon. It also comes with a tealight candle at the bottom keeping the dish warm. There is a similar dish to this at Chengdu and I think it’s better at Chengdu. I guess I like that Chengdu cuts the intestines a bit thicker and I like the meatyness. They cut it thinner here but you may like that because it’s crispier that way! Good flavor. Spiciest dish of the night even though we asked for the same spice level through all.

Spicy Fried Chicken Wings | $17.99

Good dish. Not spicy. Tons of garlic. You can’t lose!

Stir-fried Jiangxi Noodles | $16.99

Boo, junkest dish of the night. Absolutely no flavor, and not at all spicy, forreal. It was so disappointing and this is coming from someone who loves noodles. I would have asked for hot sauce on the side but I didn’t. Blah!

Spicy Pork Dumpling | $12.99

You can order either won tons or dumplings, I wanted something a bit more substantial so I went with the dumpling. It was good!

Lychee Beer | $5.00

Ha! If you know me, you know I don’t drink (don’t make me bring up Suntory) but I was curious about a lychee beer. Well it was super good. Why? Because it just tastes like lychee soda. I could probably down a 6 pack of this. I heard you can find this at Hmart or Don Q so no need spend $5 for one can here.

Post Views: 1,661

Permalink 8 Comments

17Apr / 2023

The 220 Grille Restaurant Pt. 2 – Diamond Head, HI

I’m back again with yet another 220 Grille Restaurant review! Part 1 can be found here. Last time, I shared it a bit too late so they closed for a bit. They are open again but you only have until the 27th! I am not sure how often their sessions open up, I do hope they have summer menus! Support KCC culinary students and enjoy some nicely priced food!

Pūlehu Island Grass Fed Beef Steak | $14.00
w/ Spicy Shoyu Lomi Tomato Salsa, Steamed Rice & Furikake

Shared this plate with my coworker, we enjoyed it! Very simple salt and pepper seasoning on the steak. What I like is the nice sear and char. They also ask how you want it, we asked for medium rare. The tomato salsa didn’t have a lot of flavor so it didn’t bring a lot to the plate. The veggies were nice and rice is rice. I would order again!

Old School Teri Burger | $10.00
made with Locally Sourced Grass Fed Beef with Sauteed Onions and Mayo served with Fries, garnished with Mari’s Garden Lettuce, Tomato and House Made Pickles

Not my dish but I had it before and this is still the hands down most bang for your buck dish. Huge burger with homemade patty. Where can you get burger and fries for $10? Get down here!

220 Grille Pan Fried Calamari Steak | $13.00
w/ Creamy Lemon Caper Sauce, w/ Kahuku Sea Asparagus, Tomatoes, Edamame, Carrots & Small Kine Farms Mushrooms served w/ Mashed Potato

They had two calamari dishes that day, I kind of wish I got the one on special versus this one. The calamari was nicely breaded and fried, and nice and tender inside! The mashed potatoes were bland, if no more gravy, the mash should be buttery and salty. Not so. The creamy lemon caper sauce was needed for the dish, but was so thick and chunky that it was like a stew. I mean I liked it but are we stretching the term sauce here? Tasted ono!

2 Lady Farmers Pork Cutlet | $13.00
with Gravy, Mashed Potato and Succotash

Not my dish, but it was nicely cooked! And they pack the gravy separately which is great! No soggy pork cutlet!

Warm Pineapple Peach Cobbler | $4.00
with Fresh Whipped Cream

My dessert, I love myself a cobbler. If you want fresh pineapple and peaches, you won’t find it in this. It’s canned for both I think but I don’t mind that. I enjoyed the dessert because I love the cobbler topping. And it’s $4! I wouldn’t mind trying their other desserts though!

Post Views: 1,140

Permalink 6 Comments

14Apr / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

For those who know, know! Gateway Cafe is located in the Gateway Student Housing for UH students but their cafeteria is open to the public! For $12.25 at lunch – you can get a pretty good buffet! They put up daily menus every week so you can take a look and see if you are interested. Here’s a sampling of a recent lunch I had. The pasta is hit or miss but on this day, it was a hit! The pink vodka sauce is chef’s kiss. I can’t forget to eat my hot dog. They also advertise their in-house baked bread but I am pretty irked that the last few times I’ve gone…no bread!!! I would pay just to eat that bread. Give me the bread!

Jajangmyeon | $12.95

Is it time for me to compare the different black bean noodle restaurants in Hawaii? This dish is from Dowon Chinese Restaurant, it was alright. To me the sauce was a bit watered down and kind of sweet. A bit odd. I guess I gotta try On Dong again to compare. Also, I don’t know if they give it for dine in but when you order take out, they don’t give you the raw onions and black bean paste as a side. Boo.

Pan Fried Dumplings | $5.00

This is a funny story. I am usually the runner for food pick-ups in Chinatown. This time, my coworker helped do the run and boy did she get a sweat. I ordered pan fried dumplings from Heaven Chinese Noodle and BBQ Cafe. This place is a super hole in the wall Chinese place at the Chinese Cultural Plaza. And when you find it, it’s hit or miss if you are able to communicate with the staff. I gave an easy enough order, pan fried dumplings for $5.00. They go and ask my coworker how many dumplings. Like what??? How many pieces. So she’s texting me asking and I’m like…whatever comes in that order? I was so confused. I think they eventually said it’s 5 pieces, okay that works great. She got super flustered because they weren’t that friendly too lol.

Anyway, the dumplings were really good and they ended up giving I think 7 dumplings so thank you. I really enjoy their food, very home cooking kine and their prices are good! If you’re curious where they are, they are right next to Royal Kitchen.

Post Views: 1,181

Permalink 6 Comments

12Apr / 2023

Recipe: Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

I eat broccoli all the time and after a while, I get tired of the same old roasted broccoli. I saw this recipe on TikTok and wanted to try it because I always love how the vegetables are made in Chinese restaurants but I never made them myself before. I love this, it’s super savory and flavorful and chock full of garlic. I adjusted this recipe for my own needs since I buy the big bag of broccoli from Sam’s/Costco. I also probably add way more garlic.

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

2-3 lb Broccoli (I get the ready to use bags from Costco/Sam’s Club)

2 T neutral oil

2 t salt (for boiling broccoli)

3 T minced garlic (I used a whole head of garlic lol)

6 T oyster sauce

3 T shaoxing wine

¾ C Water

Cornstarch slurry: 3 t + 3 t water

Directions:

Steam the broccoli to your liking. I boil it in a big pot of salted water for about 2-3 minutes, I don’t want the broccoli too soft. Drain broccoli from water and set aside.

Heat up oil and garlic until fragrant in a pan, no need to brown the garlic. Add the oyster sauce, shaoxing wine and water and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch slurry and stir immediately, take pan off the heat. Pour the sauce over the steamed broccoli, mix and serve!

Post Views: 1,368

Permalink 6 Comments

10Apr / 2023

Big Kahuna’s Pizza – HNL Airport, HI

I’ve been wanting to try Big Kahuna’s for a long time now but I am never out by the airport. I had a pick-up at the airport this past weekend and it married up perfectly for a dinner run. I called in my order and timed it perfect for the pick-up. It was a Saturday night so I called in about an hour beforehand and the order was ready to go when we got there. They also have a special, buy one get one half off of their 12″ pizzas. The parking lot is pretty expansive and the restaurants validate for 2 hours I believe. There is a grace period of 10 minutes so we didn’t really need validation.

12″ Sumo Special | $23.85
pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, bacon, Portuguese sausage, kalua pork, onions, fresh mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and black olives

Hands down the best pizza of the night. Look at all those toppings! And the crust is perfect, thin but not too thin. Nice and crispy. We noticed that although our pizzas were ready, they grab it from the oven when you get there so you’re not getting pizza that is sitting around getting cold! Super good.

12″ Portagee | $23.45
Hawaii’s king of sausage with sliced tomatoes and sprinkled with green onions

Good, not great. How can I compare this one after I had the Sumo?? And the price difference is so small! This one was okay but hands down, order the sumo!!

Garlic Cheese Balls (12) | $8.95
baked in butter and garlic, topped with our five cheeses

This is one of the dishes they are known for and it’s one of the dishes I was dying to try. We actually ordered the 6 pack and they gave us the 12 pack (charged us for the 12 pack too) by mistake. It’s okay, it’s double the amount of balls for only 2 bucks more, so this was a better deal. how was it? Well…good, not great. I think if they served it alongside marinara sauce (even better, spicy marinara), it would have been way better. So yeah, a bit dry for my taste.

Post Views: 2,048

Permalink 13 Comments

07Apr / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Bobo Chicken with Red Chili and Mixed Vegetable Skewers | $24.99

Just wanted to share a new dish I tried at Chengdu Taste, not new for their menu just new for me. It was pretty good. It’s a pure spectacle to see each piece of meat or vegetable on a skewer. It comes with plenty of that “soup” but unless you like burn a hole in your tummy, I wouldn’t eat it over rice. I tried, I couldn’t hack it. Good dish though! Got a good mixture of vegetables, chicken and quail eggs.

Poke Nachos | $17.95

Aloha Cones started offering up Poke Nachos so I treated my brothers to lunch there. Gotta support local but also look at the price. LOL, I’m a broken record about price. What I will say is…they give a good portion and I am pretty sure they fry the chips fresh when you order it. They really enjoyed the dish and I guess this is the running price for poke now so I guess I would recommend!

Guava & Cream Pie ($2.19 for 1 | $3.19 for 2)

Hawaii McDonald’s has a limited time Guava & Cream Pie and it was all over social media so of course I had to try. The day I wanted to try it, all the locations close to me were sold out. I think they make a batch for the day and when they’re out, they’re out. So I went to a location and sent my brother in to buy it. I’ve had bad luck with online ordering sometimes and I didn’t want to order it online and then get there and get told no more. Well instructions were misunderstood and he picked up 4 pies instead of the 2 I wanted. Ha! Anyway, so how was it? Pretty good. Like a guava cheesecake! And I may be in the minority on this but I actually like baked pies, more so than fried pies.

Post Views: 1,059

Permalink 6 Comments

05Apr / 2023

Recipe: Cheese Stuffed Italian Sausage Pasta

I already have to start this post with an apology for that abysmal photograph. Honestly, I thought this dish was just okay. Perhaps if I got the spicy italian sausage next time, I would like it better. I saw it on Tik Tok (duh) and it was so easy that I couldn’t resist making it. It’s not much of a recipe honestly.

I bought a pack of italian sausages (mild) that came in a pack of five. You cut a slit lengthwise (don’t cut all the way through) and then stick mozzarella string cheese into each sausage and then form it around the cheese to make the sausage whole again.

Place the sausages on a wire rack onto a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 450° for ten minutes.

Prepare your pasta of your choice. Heat up pasta sauce (whatever kind you like!) and place the sausages into the sauce and simmer for about 20-30 minutes after baking. The sausages should maintain their shape in the sauce! Slice up the sausages and serve over pasta with the sauce. Voila!

Post Views: 1,169

Permalink 6 Comments

03Apr / 2023

Izakaya Uosan – Ala Moana, HI

I have been wanting to try Izakaya Uosan for a long time now, since they opened! And wouldn’t you know? They just celebrated 5 years! I can’t believe they’ve been open for so long?? The food is super good here but…hold onto your hats when you see the prices okay? I came into this place knowing it would be a bit pricey but it was worth! Well almost all of it…

Daikon Salad | $8.50

Good, not great. I’ve had better, I probably wouldn’t get this again.

Natto, Okura, Yamaimo with Nori | $7.50

I really enjoyed this dish, but I always enjoy this dish whenever I order it…whereever! Delicious.

Oysters with Ponzu | $16.00

Okay, maybe this is junk of me but I like the really fat oysters lol. This was okay but nothing to write home about (even though I’m blogging about it). It was good but not a must have.

Chicken Karaage | $6.50

Great chicken karaage, fried perfectly and the chicken pieces were so juicy and tender. This is what chicken karaage should always be!

Foie Gras with Braised Daikon | $19.50

Lackluster dish especially for the price. The daikon didn’t taste like it was simmered in the broth long enough. The foie gras was a small piece, the braised onions (I’m assuming in red wine) was a nice touch. I wouldn’t get this dish again.

Sashimi Sampler | $86.00

Yes, that price is right. Yes, we indulged! All fresh fish and I think all from Japan? It was super good and included fish I never tried before. Super great quality, and I loved that they torched the skin so it was easy to chew and eat. Delicious! Pricey yes. Worth it? Yes!

Uni, Truffle Butter with Egg Yolk Rice | $21.00

Braaaaah, I know I know, expensive! But I think hands down this was my favorite dish of the night. SO GOOD. And the uni? SO GOOD. I’ve had uni in other dishes and it was always bitter or had a taste to it…this uni was so creamy and rich. No weird taste at all. Wonderful truffle taste and you know I love myself some TKG! Yum yum yum!

Post Views: 1,904

Permalink 10 Comments

31Mar / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Just a super cute gift I got from my coworker for Girl’s Day! Isn’t this so cute and thoughtful??

Bi Bim Kook Soo | $14.49

I got this from Yummy Korean BBQ – the Moanalua Shopping Center location. To me it was pretty good! Everything was seasoned perfect so I enjoyed this a lot! One of the better take-out bibimkooksoo dishes I’ve had in a while!

Air-fried Roast Pork

Did you know you could make chinese style roast pork in an air fryer? I didn’t. Okay, well I’ve never made chinese roast pork ever in my life but take a look at this! Look at the skin and how crispy it is! I don’t have a recipe lol but it was delicious!

Post Views: 1,346

Permalink 6 Comments

← Older posts Newer posts →