Imanas Tei – Honolulu, HI

Aug25

Imanas Tei has unofficially become the restaurant to celebrate birthdays for my friend and I. Not quite sure why, it’s not like we frequent this restaurant otherwise but when our birthdays come along…we keep choosing this place. That’s gotta be a good sign right? Anyway, can always count on Imanas Tei for good food and good service, fast too! Their parking is absolutely horrendous haha…but I went early enough to score a stall in their lot. It was a good sign!

Tamago Sushi (2 pcs) | $4.00
Unakyu Roll | $13.50
grilled eel, cucumber, avocado

One of our must-haves funnily enough is their tamago sushi. If you remember, I prefer the more savory tamago and they do that here. Love how they cut the tamago and wrap it around the rice. It’s $4.00 for two pieces but technically to me it’s one piece cut into two…anyway it’s okay because it tastes good. The picture above shows two orders of tamago sushi.

This was my first time getting the unagi roll, I don’t know why I expected it to be a hand roll but then again $13.50 for a hand roll would be a rip off ah? It was good, nothing great that I need to order again.

Grilled Beef Tongue | $13.50

It takes talent to take a picture this blurry with absolutely nothing in focus. At your service as a photographer here. I love their grilled beef tongue, perfectly sliced and charred and seasoned. Highly recommend!

Torikara | $8.50
japanese fried chicken

Didn’t realize they call their fried chicken torikara…I think I even ordered it as chicken karaage. Was really good! I enjoyed it.

Salmon Sashimi | $12.50
Toro Sashimi | MP
Hamachi Sashimi | $15.50

Sashimi is always a winning choice. Okay but was this toro really otoro? I can’t quite say…didn’t taste like otoro quality. Hmm…maybe just gotta give up the otoro quest. I am good with other sashimis anyway! Gotta save otoro for Torae Torae.

Hiyashi Udon (Cold Udon Noodles) | $6.50

Wanted a cooling dish to end the meal, this was nice. Would have been nice to have like natto or like a raw egg yolk on top but that’s just me. The broth was pretty strong, concentrated. They give plenty bonito flakes.

Kakiage | $9.75
fried burdock & seafood

I lied. We ended the meal with this. My friend got beer so figured this was a nice beer accompaniment since it’s fried. We never got this before but I swear every single table orders this dish. Not too bad. Did get a surprise chunk of seafood here and there. I think would have been better to order in beginning of the meal to pick at it throughout.

So this was the first meal out since Ige set up limitations in restaurants again due to the rising numbers and the delta variant. Well, not to scare anyone but this restaurant was definitely not operating at any type of limited capacity lol. They had the shields up and I was never seated SO close to anyone that I felt uncomfortable but the seats were all definitely taken. Hope everyone is doing well and taking care…numbers are still scary.

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Bella Banh Mi Café – Honolulu, HI

Aug23

I love myself a good banh mi. I love the mixture of salted meats with the pickled daikon and carrots…creamy mayonnaise, crunch of the fresh cucumber and to top it all off…the cilantro. I know get people who don’t like cilantro, just give me your cilantro and call it a day. Anyway, my only experience with banh mi in the past has been with Bale. Nothing wrong with that but I think you’re really missing out if you don’t try it at different places and I think I found my favorite place thus far….Bella Banh Mi Cafe!! They are located on Liliha Street and open on the weekdays and luckily now on Sundays! I called in my order beforehand and pick-up was a breeze.

Had to open it up to show you the innards. They include fresh jalapenos! No worry, not too many seeds so wasn’t too spicy though I may not be a good judge on if something is not spicy.

Saigon Special | $8.50
combination sandwich – pate, vietnamese ham, pork belly, pork floss, mayonnaise, parsley, cucumber, pickled carrots & daikon

Oops their description doesn’t include jalapenos but you’re welcome for that information. I’ve had combination banh mi sandwiches at other places and I was always disappointed because it was always too salty. Not here! This sandwich was perfect, and the bread was nice and toasted but not hard and chewy like I’ve had elsewhere. I would definitely recommend this and can’t wait to get it again!

BBQ Pork Bun (Noodle Bowl) | $9.00
lemongrass & vietnamese fish sauce, vermicelli noodles, basil, mint, cucumber, pickled daikon, and peanuts

Another winners dish. I love the sauce for the noodles and the BBQ pork had the perfect charcoal/grilled taste, really enjoyed it! Love a cold noodle dish.

Shrimp & Pork Summer Rolls | $7.75
shrimp, pork, rice paper, vermicelli noodles, basil, mint, cucumber, lettuce

Awesome summer rolls, and you know what I like most? No raw bean sprouts. I can’t stand raw bean sprouts and some places put them into their summer rolls….so thank you Bella for not using bean sprouts. I think it’s a great deal for this dish and the dipping sauce is delicious! What is the ice cream stick for? Not sure, I just dipped the rolls right into the sauce.

Just wanted to show you a shot of the roll inside! Nicely wrapped together, was delicious. In fact, this is inspiring me to make summer rolls at home. To be continued.

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Little Sheep Hot Pot at Home

Aug13

One of my favorite restaurants is Little Sheep Hot Pot but this was pre-pandemic because they unfortunately did not survive. Sigh, where am I supposed to go for AYCE hot pot now? I loved their sauce bar and flavorful soups…and man could you get a bang for your buck with their buffet. Before they completely closed down, they became Happy Lamb Hot Pot so their Yelp page contains reviews from both their time as little sheep and happy lamb (lol).

Anyway, I was craving their soup base and while you can find it at H-Mart…it is way cheaper on Amazon if you want to purchase multiple. Okay it depends, gotta keep your eye on the prices because it fluctuates a lot. I paid $16 bucks for a 5-pack and have seen it even lower priced than that…it’s pricey right now. But here’s the link to the spicy base and the plain base. The soup bases are great, just gotta add water, boil it up and it’s ready for all your hot pot ingredients. Check it out.

Got a bunch of veggies ready to go and of course the mushrooms! Love the crunchy texture of enoki mushrooms…

The spicy soup base boiling up…

H-Mart get plenty of the pre-sliced meat for sale (and get all kind cuts too, this one is kind of lean but they have ones that are fattier too). A bit pricey…

I have never prepared tripe at home before and I never want to again. It smells so stink when you boil it. Luckily the ones they sell at the store are pretty “clean” but…ugh! The pot boiled over too and it was just a stinky mess. I mean it’s fine after you finish boiling it up as prep but it wasn’t worth the effort for me!

Okay, I gotta be honest. This whole hot pot craving was brought on from a YouTube video I watched. Yes, I watch mukbang videos sometimes but only Korean ones. I don’t know why. Anyway, she made a mala hot pot with lamb chops and it just looked so good. I couldn’t find lamb chops but found lamb loins which served it’s purpose! Satiated that craving real nice…

Added some wide cellophane noodles too…and we ate it with rice. I mean, we were real piggies that night. So good though…

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Recipe: Italian Pasta Salad

Aug9

Yup, you guessed it. Another recipe from TikTok. I made a few adjustments to my version and it came out winnahs. Firstly, the mozzarella salad is so flavorful on its own. If I thought of it earlier, I would use the seasoned oil in the mozzarella salad to make the dressing. A-ha! That can be for next time. Also, the balsamic vinaigrette is a dressing I found because that’s the ingredients I had and it worked so perfectly. Please try and let me know if you enjoy!

Italian Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad Ingredients
1 lb. rotini pasta, cooked according to package instructions
1 cucumber, quartered, cut into 1/2 inch sticks
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (just make it bite size)
1/2 – 1 C large pepperoni slices, cut into strips
1 – 1.5 C marinated mozzarella salad (I used Formaggio brand from Sam’s Club), sliced in half

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing Ingredients
2 T honey
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 t fine sea salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 large clove garlic, minced or grated (I grated mine)
1/4 balsamic vinegar
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil

Mix together honey, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl. Slowly stream the oil into the bowl while whisking to fully incorporate with the other ingredients. Mix dressing with pasta salad ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

Lazy prep. I just cut up all the ingredients and threw them on top of the draining pasta. Less dishes to do, lol.

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Liliha Bakery – Honolulu, HI

Aug6

Just realized all three Liliha Bakery‘s are in Honolulu yeah? Okay well, this post is for the OG location and honestly the only one I go to. Nothing against the other ones, they are nice, new and shiny but it is something about the original location that warms my heart. I actually spent a lot of my childhood years in an apartment building within like a 2 minute walking distance but never went (it isn’t exactly a destination of choice for FOB Chinese people). So I guess I discovered the true magic of this place as a late bloomer in my adulthood. I like dining in their restaurant or should I just say counter, something comforting about the diner food and Filipino nana’s making my food. I like laugh because I remember years ago, I ordered a saimin and watched as she pour water into a measuring cup, microwave it and to pour into my saimin. Oh the joys of their open kitchen and counter seating system, made me really think…why didn’t I just cook this myself. Ah, the same could be said about any food in any restaurant right?

One of my highlights? Gotta be the butter rolls and their legendary neon jelly. There’s nothing more to say. Freshly buttered and toasted butter rolls warmed on their griddle served with their iconic (don’t ask me what flavor it is) jelly. I could eat this and just this and be happy.

Anyway, I thought I came on a off day (weekday) at an off hour (non-breakfast) to get seats. Well, I had somewhat of a big party (4 people) and because of Covid, they were seating all parties one seat apart. Ugh, had plenty two seaters behind me getting seated first. What can you do? It’s okay, I had nowhere else to go anyway. On to the food!

Hamburger Steak (all rice, no mac and no roll) | $14.50
hand pressed patty with gravy

Not my dish and now that I look at it, I should have told the person to just get a loco moco. Probably would have been cheaper and you can get a fried egg. Ah, what can you do?

Meat Loaf (white rice and mac salad) | $13.95
with gravy

When I come here, I either get breakfast or meat loaf. Don’t ask me why. Do I equate meat loaf with diner food? Perhaps? Just a down home American food, comfort food. I like their meatloaf. I no can finish it but it’s okay, sharing is caring.

Corned Beef Hash | $5.49
Rice (1 scoop) | $1.59
Fried Potatoes (4-5 slices) | $3.49

Got one picky eater so we had to order everything ala carte for him. It was actually cheaper to order it this way than to customize a standing dish. I never had their fried potatoes before, wasn’t sure if anyone else has so I wanted to share the picture. The potatoes were enjoyed but I was told it was just a bit bland (then again this person is a salt king) so take it with a grain of salt (literally).

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Recipe: Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs

Aug4

Time to make the meatballs (get the reference even thought I made no sense making the reference?)

Been wanting to make meatballs with ground chicken breast and finally found the opportunity from, you guessed it, TikTok. Not much to say, it just looked really nice and flavorful. I’ve been craving Mediterranean food lately so this is going to hit the spot. I really like it but you might find it a bit dry. I did buy some tzatziki dip in case it gets too dry for me. Now, I need to address my gyro and baklava craving – that is for another post…and not homemade.

I really enjoy piling up ingredients like this in a bowl before I mush it all up, if you’re a reader of my blog, I think you’ve seen me do this before. All the ingredients together before I moosh moosh moosh…

All mooshed and hand formed for the oven! Yeah, get all kind sizes. Get all different sizes of mouths too okay? Hahaha

Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • ½ cup panko
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup feta crumbled
  • ¼ cup red onions finely diced
  • ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes finely diced
  • ¼ tsp dried dill
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp *optional fresh mint* for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
  • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands until ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
  • Roll the seasoned meat into 15 small golfball sized meatballs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. I recommend doing 5 rows of 3.
  • Bake the meatballs at 400F degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Let rest for 2 minutes before sprinkling with optional mint for garnish.

Recipe Source: Grilled Cheese Social

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Rico Rico Chicken – Honolulu, HI

Aug2

I had my first experience with Peruvian food a few years ago. We had a cook-off event at work and for some reason, I decided to make a chicken dish with a Peruvian Huacatay Salsa. I have no idea where the inspiration sprang from but I ordered the specialty ingredients from Amazon and made it…served it up with Costco Rotisserie Chicken. The sauce was bomb and my coworkers loved it, while I didn’t win the cook-off (what do people have against unknown green substances?) I really enjoyed it. Flash forward to now, Rico Rico Chicken has been around for quite a while but I haven’t had the chance to get him out. He makes his own rotisserie chicken and serves it up with rice and his own pepper sauce (different from the sauce I made myself and looks like yellow mustard but no worries, it’s not). He currently opens his truck up on South King Street parked on the side of the road right before you hit Moilili Longs. I would check his instagram for updates, he religiously updates when he will be there.

One caveat, he shares a number to text your order to. I don’t know if you have to place the text order before he opens up shop because I did text my order and received no answer. I risked it and headed out there since it was still pretty early (before noon) and he definitely was not near sold out. So how was the food?

Half Chicken | $12.00
served with peruvian rice and special sauce

Whole Chicken | $20.00
served with peruvian rice and special sauce

So how was it? Stinking good folks. Look, if you ever get tired of Costco or Sam’s Club chicken (and let’s face it, we all have) – come here. And not that I’m trying to compare Rico Rico with them, that would be insulting to him. He puts a lot of care and thought into preparing his rotisserie chickens and the seasoning is sooo good. The meat? Tender fall off the bone kine, including the breast meat. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the sauce, it’s a small container that looks like yellow mustard (forreal but don’t be deterred by that if you hate mustard), it tastes nothing like mustard…more of a pepper sauce.

You know what would have been perfect…his chicken with the Peruvian Huacatay Salsa I made a few years back but shhh…no tell him I said that. No disrespect to his sauce. Also, I don’t think I want to pay like $20 just for two ingredients to even make the salsa. Anyway, I also like his rice…he uses long grain rice. He warned that while it’s rice with corn, it’s not a lot of corn. LOL, good warning cause barely had corn but it’s okay, I wasn’t there for the corn. He’s a one man show, support small business – it’s delish!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jul30

The next two pictures are going to look like an advertisement but I promise they are not. I know I am not getting any money for this post (or any of my other posts). I saw this on TikTok and was super curious since I am trying to remain on a caloric deficit. A whole pouch for 6 or 7 calories? Worth a try right!

I found it on Amazon and if anyone wants the link, let me know. I’ve tried peach, grape and apple so far. I actually really enjoy it, it’s a nice cold treat that helps satiate your sweet tooth. I like that the sweetness doesn’t taste too much like that weird artificial sweetener taste. Kind of pricey though, I think a little over $2 for each pouch. I went to Seafood City the other week and they had some in stock for a bit cheaper price but only had two flavors and I feel like they were just trying to sell out their stock.

Was trying to put together a little snack pack for a friend but couldn’t give it to her so I ended up eating it myself. I know, what a shame right? Well, this is a post just to tell you about Honolulu Crack Seed. Cute little sisters-owned crack seed store. Well, I tried their wet li hing mui lemon peel sour patch kids and there is no going back now. Best tasting wet li hing lemon peels I’ve had ever. They also sell prune mui (anyone who has a good recipe for this, please do share, it’s my favorite). Check them out if you are near Kaheka!

I also spotted these chips at Seafood City. Anyone who is in the know about Indomie knows what is up with these chips. I had to give them a try. Do they taste like the indomie noodles? Ehh…yes and no. Yes in the sense that it tastes like straight up MSG, lol. No in that they don’t taste like the noodles exactly but are still tasty and easy to eat.

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Istanbul Hawaii – Honolulu, HI

Jul28

Been wanting to try Istanbul since they opened over a year ago…did they open pre-pandemic? Gosh, I can’t keep track. I think I fell into the trap of wanting to try a new trendy restaurant, those never work out for me. I end up thinking, why didn’t I just go grab take-out elsewhere. Istanbul is a mother-daughter owned restaurant and for that reason alone, had to give them a try! Decided to treat a friend to dinner and I think the food was good! Service was alright, a whole bunch of young folks running around with their hipster leather aprons on. We dined indoors and it is so loud in there that you can’t really hold a conversation and any question I asked the waiter was answered wrongly, he thought he was being helpful telling me his favorite dishes when that is not what I asked at all…anyway, onto the food!

Meze Platter | $28.00
humus, muhammara, babaganush, su borek, spanakopita, peynir & karpuz, pita (all mezes are hand-made by mom chef Nili)

Let’s break it down:
Humus: organic chickpea, tahini, turkish spices & EVO, garlic, pita
Muhammara: roasted bell pepper, walnut, cinnamon, turkish evo, pita
Babaganush: smoked waimanalo eggplant, black garlic, turkish EVO, pita
Su Borek: moist traditional filo, fresh cheese, ma’o parsley
Spanakopita: crispy traditional filo, turkish feta, ma’o spinach
Peynir & Karpuz: turkish feta & cured olives, watermelon, aged balsamic

I really enjoyed this appetizer platter! If I could, I would order this dish as an entrée all on its own! Would I do that next time? Yeah, I no care how piggie it makes me look. I’ll rank the dishes from most favorite to least favorite: spanakopita, peynir & karpuz, humus, su borek, muhammara, and babaganush. Maybe I would rank spanakopita and the watermelon dish first, I really really enjoyed the watermelon dish.

Pirzola | $45.00
kea’au grass-fed lamb chops, turkish harissa, yesil fasulye (green beans)
accompanied with turkish saffron pilav & tzatziki

We knew we would be pretty stuffed with the appetizer so we decided to share a dinner entrée. Can’t go wrong with lamb, one of their signature dishes. The lamb was cooked nicely, the accompanying pilav looked nice but was kind of bland. I mixed the pilav with the green beans after and it tasted really good.

Antep Baklava | $12.00
40 layers of filo, turkish walnut, honey syrup, house-made cream fresh dondurma

Ah, dessert! Seeing that this was my first and (possibly?) last visit, I wanted to also try their Turkish delight. Alas, my luck was not there since they were sold out! It’s okay, my original intent was the baklava and boy did it deliver. I really really enjoyed this dish. It’s drenched in honey syrup, how could I not enjoy it?

One last complaint about the restaurant, I really dislike their payment system. This is not the first time I’ve seen it and I hope this is not the new trend. They come to you with the bill on this handheld electronic device, you hand them your credit card and the server stands there holding the device as you sign off on it. And well, the gratuity screen is there to see and they have the preset percentages (starting at 18%!) and then if you no get shame, you can select custom tip as the waiter stares at you while you change it…and then you sign. Well I gave 18% but I don’t appreciate the pressure to pay like that…being watched!

Anyway, as I said, the food was super good but I feel like I could just grab Greek take-out and get the same type of dishes and be satisfied. That sounds bad…but I guess I’m just not too picky.

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Bing Bros – Honolulu, HI

Jul26

I have been obsessed with Jian Bing for YEARS. Somehow a jian bing video popped up on my YouTube feed once and then I fell into like a vortex of videos. I’ll post some of my favorites at the end of the post. So what is jian bing? I guess the best way I can explain it would be a Chinese street food, a large savory crepe that is used to house a special sauce, won ton cracker, veggies, meat (sometimes), egg, etc. It’s like a Chinese burrito and is very cheap to grab and go with in China for breakfast. Well, it has finally arrived in Hawaii and I was very excited to try it.

Okay, so I picked a very bad time to try it. It was the week a big article was released about it. Bing Bros currently only opens on Saturdays for 4 hours in Salt Lake, at that time, they were still taking pre-orders on their website so I placed one in for three different jian bings to try. I requested for my order to be complete by 11:30 AM and as the time crept closer, it looked like they were going to be slammed. Well, they were. And well, let’s just say I didn’t get my order until about 12:30 PM. Wasn’t terribly happy about that delay but understand since they are new.

Regular Jian Bing | $10.00
egg, romaine lettuce, pickled mustard cabbage, wonton cracker, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, bing sauce, and chili sauce

The Works | $13.00
pork floss, lup cheong, egg, romaine lettuce, pickled mustard cabbage, won ton cracker, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, bing sauce, and chili sauce

Go big or go home right? I sacrificed the look of the jian bing and opened it up for you folks to see. I enjoyed it, how can I not enjoy pork floss and lup cheong? What did I think of the outer crepe? Ehh…perhaps it can’t be helped but the crepe gets very soft and soggy because there is sauce on it. I feel like jian bing needs to be enjoyed fresh off the grill. I also would have liked if the cabbage (there seemed to be regular shredded cabbage too on top of the preserved mustard cabbage ) was at least quickly pickled.

Hawaiian Breakfast | $13.00
spam, two eggs, portuguese sausage, romaine lettuce, pickled mustard cabbage, wonton cracker, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, bing sauce, and chili sauce

Another deluxe model, had to try the Hawaiian one! This was good, couldn’t tell there were two eggs (lol). Very small dices of spam and portuguese sausage. The prices to me is a bit high for what you get. And when I look at the website, their menu is already outdated and I paid $3 bucks more for each deluxe dish. They do have bigger plans for the future so hopefully they will get their orders and execution down, nice for me to try but I am not hankering to go back anytime soon.

YouTube Links:
China Street Food Jian Bing (Danbing)
Shanghai China – street food (crepe) – this one is funny cause the cook is so cranky lol
Bejing Jianbing (first video I ever saw on this)

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