Frog House Restaurant – Waikiki, HI

Nov9

Bear with me. I know the name of this restaurant is very odd but they do not only serve frogs. Do they serve frogs? They must to have this name. Frog House Restaurant has been around quite a while, I tried it once years and years ago and wasn’t impressed so I haven’t been back. Well, I had a hankering for bossam last week and my favorite restaurant Jagalchi closed down (MAJOR BUMMER) so I had to find another restaurant to fill the void. It is not easy finding a good bossam place you know! I think this post will probably be mostly for V. LOL.

By the way, this place has horrendous parking. There are a few stalls fronting the restaurant and they are right next to a noodle shop which I no like even name but there is the word Joy in it and they seem anything but. I was trying for park in front and was having hard time, just as my friend was going to ask Frog if we can park there, I see the “joy” lady screaming and yelling at me from her restaurant and gesturing me to go somewhere else. I couldn’t hear her cause she was inside her restaurant with the door closed. She looked so mad. And you know what? What if I was trying for go her restaurant? Well I won’t ever go now.

Anyway, I found out the parking is in the back of the building for Frog and it’s a very tight lot with tandem spots so basically, you will always be blocked in. They know this so as you’re leaving, the waitress will either help you manuever out or ask the other diners to move their cars.

I judge a Korean restaurant by the quality of their banchan and they did not fail here. In fact, their banchan reminded me of Jagalchi’s banchan in its heyday. Near the end, they were giving less and less banchan and with no variety.

From top to bottom, steamed egg (so savory and soft), choy sum, fishcake, bean sprouts. All four items were marinated to the max, no blandness here!

I also judge a Korean restaurant by their kimchee. Frog has some good kimchee, both cucumber and wonbok. I liked these potatoes, it’s the sweet shoyu one. Cooked perfect, not too soft but not hard at all. All three seasoned wonderfully.

Spicy Beef and Vegetable Soup Lunch Special | $12.95

Not my dish but I got to give it a try. So good. They give really good amount of meat and fill it up with all the good veggies (fern, beansprouts, etc.). A nice helping of long rice. I would absolutely order this myself next time.

Korean Sausage Soup Lunch Special | $12.95

I always go for the blood sausage. I know, not everyone can handle this. In fact, this soup not only included the blood sausage, it included all kind intestine and either sliced pig ear or some kind of cartiledge. I enjoyed it but it’s not for the faint of heart. I would get the yukkaejjang next time though this soup was good!

Oysters & Steamed Pork | $34.95

The dish you have been waiting for (well V). The biggest difference so far? The pork. Jagalchi used to make the pork in a nice soy/coffee broth so the pork always looked so nice and brown and juicy. This one, just looks so white and bland yeah? The wonbok “wraps” had a bit of a vinegary taste. The daikon mixture, gosh it was missing the chinese chives that Jagalchi used to use.

In the end, I think it was still a good dish but here is my warning, but I think it was just me. And sorry for the TMI, but I got major stomach problems (ahem) right after lunch. I’m talking, all afternoon kine. I’m talking, I didn’t ask for a full body cleanse but certainly got it kine. But my dining companion seemed to react with it fine so it really could just be me. I have had bad reactions to raw oysters before. Eat at your own risk.

ALSO, the waitress working in the restaurant is SO NICE. Very sweet, seems like a small family owned place and I really liked how homey the restaurant felt and how homey the dishes cooked felt. Reminded me a lot of Jagalchi. Also, I love that each table has a button/buzzer so you can call for help when needed. And small thing but I liked that she brings every table a pitcher of water. It’s the little details.

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Recipe: Braised Tofu

Nov7

Yes, another tiktok recipe. But I am loving these recipe videos that invoke cooking from my roots. I’ve always loved braised tofu dishes in Chinese restaurants. To be honest, my family didn’t cook much of it at home. Not sure why, it’s a pretty healthy dish. It can be vegan if you use vegan oyster sauce and veggie stock cubes. Well, I made the dish as authentic as can be which includes deep frying soft tofu cubes. Oh boy. I can see why my family didn’t make this ever. But was it worth the effort? I believe so.

During and after frying. Yeah, some tofu got more tanned than others. You got a problem with that? lol

Rehyrated Shiitake Mushrooms

Original recipe I followed only had bamboo shoots, I couldn’t resist throwing in young corn!

Braised Tofu Recipe

Ingredients
2 boxes of soft tofu
2 cans sliced bamboo shoots (I used Family Brand, 8 oz. cans)
2 cans young carrots (I used Family brand, 8 oz. cans)
30 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 6-8 C warm water for at least one hour (reserve soaking liquid)
4 C shiitake soaking liquid, avoid scooping up any settlement from soaking
4 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T doubanjjang
Neutral oil for frying

Sauce:
2 T oyster sauce
1 T soy sauce
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 t sugar
2 pinches of salt
4 T cornstarch slurry (4 T of water to 2 T of cornstarch)

Instructions

  1. Drain tofu, wrap in paper towel and press out excess water (place a plate on top and weigh it down to get out more water)
  2. Cube tofu and heat up at least 1-1.5 cups of oil in a frying pan (depends how big your pan is, the oil level should be about half the height of the tofu
  3. Heat up oil and add tofu cubes and fry, flip to brown both ends. Remove from oil when the tofu is golden brown
  4. Heat up pan with about 2 T oil, add garlic and doubanjjang to saute for about 30 seconds
  5. Add bamboo shoots, saute for 10-15 seconds
  6. Add young corn, saute for 10-15 seconds
  7. Add shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and the sauce, mix well
  8. Add 4 C shiitake soaking liquid and cover to simmer for about 10 minutes on medium-high heat
  9. Add cornstarch slurry and heat up until sauce is thick
  10. Option, blanch bok choy and line bottom of your serving dish with bok choy before adding braised tofu on top

Notes:

  • Yes, this a lot. You can definitely half this recipe – I always cook for a crowd
  • I like spice so this is the amount of doubanjjang I add – if you can’t handle the spice, cut the amount I add by half
  • Next time, I would add one more block of tofu (I think could even take two more blocks of tofu)

Blanced bok choy ready to be smothered!

This is gonna be like my meals for the week but I couldn’t resist taking a few bites. It was delicious!!!!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Nov4

Do you folks do this? I never had before. I watched a recipe on how to make like a legit fried noodle dish and they said that you gotta remove the ends to make it taste good. Boy were they right. It made SUCH a difference in taste but my god, what a time eater. It takes FOREVER to do this.

Look look look! Zero sugar chocolate chips. I saw it and just had to get it. I was on a baking frenzy so I wanted to give these a try.

What did I make? I think this was a chocolate banana cake. It was enjoyed by everyone and they couldn’t even tell it was sugar free chocolate chips! Cool yeah? I found this bag at Walmart.

The Works Ddeok-Bokki | $15.99
ddok-bboki with sausages, spam, ramen noodle and two mandoo

Been wanting to try bb.q Chicken since they opened in the new Kuono Marketplace in Kahala. They are a newish Korean fried chicken place. And knowing me, of course I deviated. My coworkers all got the fried chicken sandwich so none of us tried their fried chicken wings, lol. They really really enjoyed their sandwiches! I didn’t feel like fried chicken so I went for this. It was okay. I’m used to this dish being both sweet and spicy but this one was moreso spicy so there was no balance. It also wasn’t as saucy as other places. I liked it but wouldn’t get it again.

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Las Vegas Eats Part #1 (April 2022)

Nov2

Okay, these pictures are 6 months old. Sorry, a lot has happened since this trip. I don’t know what was up with me but I was sick for almost the entire trip. I got super air sick and just when I thought it was better, it flared up again the next day. It was such a bummer. I still tried to eat some good stuff while I was there. I also came home and tested positive for covid a day after I came home so I don’t know if I was going through it with Covid during the trip or…from the travel home. My constant travel companion that shared a room with me did not get covid so it was all very confusing.

This was my 3rd trip to Vegas and I did enjoy it despite the sickness. I think it is because I am older and wiser (debateable), anyway it was nice traveling again after a 2 year forced break. First stop after we landed? It was late night so we found a ramen joint that is open very late hours, Shokku Ramen. We ordered takeout to bring back to the room because the wait to eat in was too long.

Ichiraku | $24.20
traditional pork broth served with yellow noodles, pork chashu, soy-cured egg, bamboo shoots, naruto, nori & green onions

Not my dish, it was enjoyed but is that worth $25? I don’t know.

Large Chasu Fried Rice | $13.20
egg rice, seasoned and wok-fried with pork, imitation crab, green onions & ginger

Yeah, so I was still feeling kind of nauseous so I went for a comfort food. Fried rice. I thought it was alright, nothing to write home about (even though I am writing a blog about it)

Gyoza | $12.10
7 grilled japanese dumplings

Once again. Nothing special. It was probably made in-house which is nice but $12 for a few gyoza is not my idea of a good time. I am looking at their website and noticed their dining in menu is way cheaper than their take-out menu. That’s dirty.

Next place is Korean! Once again, wasn’t feeling great nor was I wanting anything to eat but I think when you’re sick, you should be hydrated and fed! So we ordered take-out from Seoul Tofu, they are old school so we had to do a phone order.

Seafood and Green Onion Pancake | $14.95

Really good! I wish I wasn’t sick so I could eat more of this.

Free Banchan!

I love how they packed this and I liked the sides they give! Sometimes banchan is my favorite part of the meal.

Bibimbap | $14.95

Ugh, I don’t know how much of a thing this is in all Korean restaurants but they had quite a bit of romaine lettuce in this. I did not like it. I don’t like romaine lettuce in my bibimbap. Other than that, this dish would have been good! Part 1 pau!


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Recipe: Healthy Burrito Bowl

Oct31

I’m back with another TikTok Recipe. This one works quite well and I think is quite easy. When I reheat it, people compliment the smell in the office but I still dread eating it after a while. I mean, it’s a healthy burrito bowl but I digress. Gotta eat healthy some of the time right? Well should be most of the time.

Healthy Burrito Bowl

Ingredients

2 C long grain rice/brown rice, cooked according to instructions
2 lb. Ground Turkey, defrosted
1 package Frozen Pepper and Onion Blend, 20 oz
1 Taco seasoning packet, low sodium
1 can black beans (low sodium if able), not drained
1 can Medium Diced Green Chiles, 4 Oz
1 can Rotel Hot Diced Tomatoes with Habaneros, 10 oz.
Shredded Rotisserie Chicken Breast (optional, I shredded Sam’s Club entire breast of rotisserie)

Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook rice as directed on package
  2. Add non stick spray in pan, saute pepper and onions for 2 minutes
  3. Add ground turkey and smash into small pieces
  4. Add taco seasoning, black beans, diced green chilies, and diced tomatoes
  5. Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes or until turkey is cooked through
  6. Add shredded chicken breast and just heat through (about 2 minutes)
  7. Add mixture to the rice and combine, best served warm

Notes:

  • Original recipe called for 2 packets of taco seasoning, I only need 1 and it works fine
  • Original recipe doesn’t call for the rotisserie chicken breast, I just added it cause I had it. I now make it without the chicken breast and it works fine too!

Cooked mixture ready to mix with the…

Super easy recipe to make. You don’t even have to chop up any vegetables.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Oct28

If you follow Jalna’s blog, you might remember this post about the cured pork strips they got. I remember eating this as a kid, it wasn’t an everyday dish. It’s pricey and also a bit of an indulgence since it’s got a lot of pork fat. It was such a coincidence that I had also bought a pack from Chinatown and it was sitting in my fridge waiting to be made.

I never made it before but remember the elements of it from my memory. I knew I wanted to make it with green beans but only with these flat ones. I don’t know why I had to be so specific with it. I didn’t have a real recipe to go off of, maybe what I had was more of a family dish. I blanched the beans fast kine and then stir fried the pork and beans together. I didn’t want to add too much seasoning because the pork is super flavorful (aka salty) so I added a dash of soy, oyster sauce and sugar. Oh I also started the stirfry with minced garlic. Look. It was damn delicious. I was trying to hold the dish on to last a few days. I ate it in one day. It was just that good. But it could be an acquired taste.

Another family dish I have been making on my own. Ong Choy! Crucial ingredient? Harm Haw. Gotta have that. I just fried up garlic and red chili pepper, add the shrimp paste and then add the stems first….cook for like 2 minutes and then add the leaves and cook down. I must have added some water to this too. I’m sure folks usually do a cornstarch slurry to make the gravy thick. I was lazy. Another vegetable dish I love.

Smoked Chicken Pasta | $18.50
with onions, roasted tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs, in a white wine and chicken stock, tossed over linguini

I got this dish the other week at Murphy’s, it was one of their specials. Eh. Was alright, I mean, I keep comparing the food to the price because how can I not? The chicken breast was good, super moist and there was a smoky taste so I enjoyed it. Wish there was a bit more pasta. I don’t get why restaurants like grinch out on the cheaper stuff. I think customers are easily fooled if they see more pasta haha. And I am adjusting to a new contact power and it’s hard to see up close now…if not, I would have noticed it said chicken stock. Yeah, it’s sitting in a chicken stock. I wasn’t expecting that. Yeah, I wouldn’t get this again.

Apple Crisp a la mode | $8.00

It’s okay, their apple crisp always comes to save the day. It saved the day. I loved it. Warmed apple crisp ala mode. You can’t go wrong. Have a great weekend everyone!

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Mai Musubi – Manoa, HI

Oct26

Mai Musubi’s old location was in Liliha but I never got to try them out. I learned recently that they opened in Manoa in the old Bubbies location. How awesome is that! They open at 6AM so you can pick up onigiri or bentos before work. I went during their soft opening week. I tried to time out a morning walk with their opening. I mistimed it. I got there at 5:45AM so I started walking in circles in that huge parking lot next door. If someone saw me, they would probably think I was crazy. That’s fine, I didn’t want to get approached by any undesireables.

They opened a few minutes early and I made a beeline in. They only had their onigiris out, I asked what time bentos are usually out and she mentioned about 6:30AM. Very nice lady, I think this place is run by a husband and wife team.

Karaage Chicken Musubi | $2.55

I was told that this was a good musubi but that the chicken was just a bit bland. If they had added just a bit more salt to the chicken, it would have been perfect.

Tuna Mayo Musubi | $2.55

I’m a sucker for tuna mayo anything. Seriously. I could eat many of these. This was delicious. Perfect amount of tuna mayo and can tell they used kewpie. The nori is perfect – it just all works. One thing to know about their musubis, they actually lay all the “fillings” on top. But they are quite generous.

Mentaiko Musubi | $3.00

A coworker has been trying all the different musubis from the different Japanese shops. She really enjoyed this musubi, shared that they are very generous with the mentaiko. She said she likes the rice better at Dell’s. But I guess both options are fine!

Spam Musubi | $2.55

I also love all spam musubis. It was good. Salty. I get it, spam is salty. I don’t want to assume but I think they used regular spam versus lower sodium spam, if they switched it to lower sodium spam, it would be perfect.

Salmon Tobiko Musubi | $3.00

Generous serving of salmon and tobiko! The salmon was also like homemade kine, not from the can. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Crunchy Ume (Plum) Musubi | $2.55

I got this just on a whim. If you like ume, you’ll definitely like this. I liked it but didn’t love it. And since I ate this on its own, I felt like something was missing. I think I wouldn’t mind eating this alongside another musubi…like the karaage one or the spam one. You know? Cause this one was just crunchy and a bit sour so I didn’t care for it by itself.

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Viet Chubby Boy – Kalihi, HI

Oct24

Yes! Another Vietnamese restaurant opened up in Kalihi! And what a cute name, Viet Chubby Boy. Their menu is interesting, mostly Vietnamese dishes but also some fusion dishes thrown in. Yes, this place is located in a strip mall and maybe it’s not the prettiest restaurant you’ve been to but sometimes the best food comes from the humblest places. It’s a clean restaurant with friendly service, so how was the food?

Chubby Spicy Wings | $12.90
fried chicken wings mixed with house spicy sauce

Appetizer to share, I didn’t try one but it was certainly gobbled up by two teenage boys.

French Fries | $5.00

*shrug* look, I had a moody teenager who is a french fry fiend. I got this for him to calm him down. It was fried crispy but lacked salt I was told.

Vietnamese Ham Sandwich | $10.50
pork meat loaf in Vietnamese baguette, carrot and daikon pickle, cilantro, jalapeno, and cucumber

The sandwich was enjoyed by the diner. This wasn’t my dish but to be honest, as I look at the picture, it looks a bit skimpy for my taste. I like when they fill up the sandwich with all the good guts.

Beef Pho Combination | $15.50
our signature spiced beef broth with fresh rice noodle, rare steak, stewed brisket, beef trip, beef ball, white and green onion, cilantro, aromatic herbs. served with side basil, bean sprouts and jalapeno.

The other teenager is a pho fiend. Too many fiends – too much frenzy. I’m used to Vietnamese restaurants having pho as an option and then the crazy variations of toppings you can choose. This place has beef, oxtail or vegetable pho. They say you can customize toppings but I wonder who would know how to do that. And $15.50 for a bowl of pho is a bit…I get inflation but I think I can still get this pho from other places for a cheaper price and still as good.

Vermicelli with Spring Rolls and BBQ Pork | $13.95
BBQ pork, spring rolls, cabbage herb salad, mint, roasted peanuts, fried shallots, house fish sauce, vermicelli noodles

My dinner for the night! Delicious. I always love this dish and the spring rolls were fried to a perfect crisp. Love their BBQ pork, seasoned just right with a good amount of char in it’s cooking. I enjoyed it!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Oct21

Popeyes 3 pc Tenders Dinner (Blackened) | $9.39

Did you know Popeyes started carrying blackened tenders? Been wanted to try it, it’s basically grilled chicken tenders. I really enjoy the seasoning and the chicken is not dry at all (though it might look it). I tried it with the Mardi Gras Mustard sauce and it went well together! I would definitely get this again.

Homemade Zenzai

I wanted to be ambitious and make the fresh strawberry mochi again. I didn’t. I got lazy and was too tired. So I had prepped a can of adzuki bean paste (just cooking it on the stove to remove moisture) and it was sitting in my fridge. I also had leftover mochiko that was sitting in my fridge. It wasn’t the full box so I didn’t know what to do with it (no, I am not making mochiko chicken – no frying for me). Sooo…I decided to mess around make my own zenzai and you know what? It came out really well. Super easy to make. I just mixed water with the mochiko I had, didn’t add else and rolled them into balls and boiled them in water and drained. I cooked down the adzuki I had with some water and added a pinch of salt…and reduced it until it looked like this. My coworkers enjoyed! And you know what? It also reheats well! The balls weren’t solid rocks after reheating.

I used this recipe as guidance.

Herb Chicken Breast Chimichurri Salad | $14.95
Chicken Breast seasoned with spices & herbs then charbroiled topped with our house Chimichurri sauce over crispy Romaine, sliced black olives, grape tomatoes, thin sliced red onions, corn kernels, bacon bits, and Parmesan cheese.

This was from a lunch order over the summer from Kahai Street Kitchen. I wish they had online ordering, I had to call early in the morning before they opened to order every single dish. The guy was kind of monotone on the phone and then I got to this dish. He then asked me, how do you want the chicken done. I was dumbfounded. I just sputtered out, how can it be done? And he says, rare or medium rare. I sat in silence and he starts laughing and I bust out laughing too. That guy was too much, he was so deadpan in his delivery of it too. Anyway, this was a good salad, lol.

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Recipe: Baked Tilapia with Lemon

Oct19

I’m going to try some new dishes and wanted to get more into Mediterranean cooking/dishes. So here’s to the start of some recipes! This one came out REALLY good. And my gosh, doesn’t it look professional? I don’t think I made a dish look so good before (parchment paper and all)

The yummy mixture before I laid the tilapia filets on top for baking. I wanted to slap myself silly – I bought capers just for this dish and totally forgot to add it. I LOVE capers. I guess it will have to wait for the next time.

I bought the frozen pack of tilapia from Sam’s club, this recipe uses 4 filets and the pack comes with 8. PERFECT.

Right after baking in the oven

Baked Tilapia with Lemon

Ingredients

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small lemon, thinly sliced into rings
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 ounce block feta cheese
  • 1 1/2 pounds tilapia
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (or standard paprika)
  • 2 tablespoons drained capers
  • Finely chopped fresh parsley or basil, for garnish
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Chop the tomatoes, shallot, garlic, and lemon as noted above.
  3. Place the chopped vegetables and lemon slices in the bottom of a 9 x 13″ baking dish and mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Crumble the feta cheese into rough chunks and add it to the pan, tossing gently to combine.
  4. Pat the tilapia dry. Rub it with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon kosher salt, split between the filets. Place it on top of the vegetables and feta in the pan. Sprinkle both fillets with the Italian seasoning and a few grinds fresh ground black pepper, then add the red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. Sprinkle the capers over the top.
  5. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish), until the fish is flaky and the internal temperature is 140 degrees Fahrenheit when measured with a food thermometer. Garnish with chopped parsley and remove the lemon slices when serving (or eat them if you like!).

Recipe Credit: https://www.acouplecooks.com/baked-tilapia/

A quick salad I threw together with the fish on top. I know, no can see the fish. It’s there. It’s sooo good! Highly recommend trying this recipe!

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