Tag Archive | American Food

Mixed Plate Friday

Mar6

Zero Sugar Double Stuf Oreos

Been wanting to try the zero sugar Oreos since they were announced! Found them at Safeway (that’s where I see all the new items stocking first) and I was lucky to have a coupon to get these pretty cheap! I didn’t read the bag carefully and was kind of mad that it was one of those non-ziploc closures. I didn’t realize until after I opened it that it was individually packages! What a perfect treat! 2 cookies per package. So how is it? Good! It is actually not too sweet (translation: perfect for Asians) and it doesn’t have a weird zero sugar aftertaste. Would be great if they start making this in Oreo thins too! Would recommend!

U-Choice In

I can happily report that U-Choice In is just fine. It was temporarily closed this past week for a red placard but we checked it out when they re-opened with the green pass. Chan said that this will be the cleanest it’s been in a while and that’s a pretty good point lol. We had some for breakfast this morning and are doing okay so far! You’re welcome for the temperature check.

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Hilton Hotel Eats – Nagoya, Japan

Mar4

Another Hilton Hotel means Jenny taking in all the perks from Chan’s membership! What does this mean in Japan? Buffet Breakfasts baby!!!! I’ll just put all the pics from our trip here and let all the judging happen within this one space (no judging me outside of this post but also please be nice to me).

There’s an Executive Lounge in the hotel but the food is kind of junk. I think that’s just a quiet room for you to relax if you want to! Probably best for folks who have to wait for check in or had to check out early. Here are some sandwiches they had at the bar.

Do I eat like a child? At times, yes. And do they cater to children since they are a family hotel chain? Yes. Yes they do.

Ogura Toast

The hotel was pretty cool about also offering up local specialties in Nagoya. Here is the special order Ogura toast. It was just alright, not my kind of thing. I do like that they used smooth an, sorry, I am picky!

Their buffet selection is always so vast, a good variety of American and Asian foods!

Another specialty but I forget the same. It’s basically a rice ball smothered in red bean and either grilled or baked. It was just alright (sorry!).

Unagi Omelet

Damn, I really like noodles.

Another video to end the post! The Hilton Hotels in Japan always puts up an impressive holiday train! Here’s a quick video of the one in our hotel.

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Mixed Plate Friday (Japan)

Feb27

Japan Filet-O-Fish and French Fries

Happy to report that the filet-o-fish recipe is consistent in all countries lol. Also happy to report that the fries are still in these cartons versus the junk baggies we get in Hawaii now. Yum!

Had to try one more trend. Eating the Egg Salad sandwich with Famichiki. I only found this sandwich so well it was a mini sized try.

Here we go! So how was it? Well it tasted like an egg salad sandwich stuffed with awesome chicken patty. No complaints here man, what did you think would happen when you combine to ono things together? Yum!

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Mixed Plate Friday

Feb20

Mei Mei Chinese BBQ Roast Duck & Ginger Chicken with Rice | $15.00

We had a hankering for some Chinese roast meats and came out to Chinatown to grab some grub! I’m sad to say, Mei Mei seems to have gone down in quality. The chicken and sauce was alright, the duck was super bony and just not as good as before. They used to serve this rice plate with choy sum but this time it was won bok. It was a bit of a bummer but I believe in second chances and won’t give up just yet! But man did this make me want to hit up Kevin’s Kitchen again for some roast duck!

I went to pick up dinner at Asian Mix the other day and of course by 5PM, no more roast duck or roast pork. What shocked me more? They ran out of chow fun! How?? I saw at least 3 customers just walk away when they were told no more chow fun. That’s crazy. Finally after I got my food, I drove out and realized Kevin’s Kitchen was right next door. Doh! I forget sometimes that Times Beretania has the Kinau entrance too. Shucks. Anyway, the Asian Mix food was just alright. The crispy gaugee was super junk with a very dry and mealy stuffing. I don’t plan to return to Asian Mix anytime soon.

Truffle & Pop Original “Cheesy” Truffle Popcorn | $12.99 (!)

I picked up an order from ‘Ili‘ili Cash & Carry which is now also operating with Hoiliili Market By Farm Link. By the way, I don’t know why Yelp is reporting them as closed. They are very much open and you can order on their website for pick-up! Love the local market and produce so I bought some fresh produce and spotted this at check-out. I’m a sucker for popcorn and truffle. Well found out it was $12.99 but hey, it’s a local vendor that makes this. Realized when I got home that cheesy was in quotation marks. LOL, right away I knew that meant brewer’s yeast in place of cheese and I wasn’t super enthused. Well I tried it today and guess what? It is actually super good! Is it worth $13? Well, if you ever find yourself wanting to support local…sure! I’m just here to report that buggah tastes good!

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UH Men’s Volleyball Fundraiser Dinner

Feb11

Chan and I are graciously and generously invited to this fundraiser dinner by his dear friend. I think this is my third year coming and they upped their food game this time! It’s fun to be able to go to Stan Sheriff and dine on the “court.” They have a bunch of restaurants that set up tables around the perimeter and we get to eat some good grindz! Not much commentary, just pics of food!

Souza’s Fish House

Rainbow’s Drive-In

The Pig and the Lady

Okay obviously I forgot where a lot of the food came from. As I type this up, Chan is laughing in my face because I didn’t do my “job.” I should have taken pictures of the booths so I could identify where all the food came from! Ugh! Free grindz is good grindz in my eyes okay? It was all very good! Usually we have our table to ourselves but they placed two volleyball players at our table this year. I don’t need crippling social anxiety with my meal okay? Nah nah, it was okay and they only stayed with us a little while. Had a good chat with them.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Feb6

The Only Bean Edamame Beans | $7.98

Trying to find some snacks to chomp on at work that are somewhat healthy for you. Tried this. I’ll be honest, it’s just okay lol. It’s not bad but not great. Do-able. Sam’s Club has it right now if you’re interested.

Jack in the Box Jibbi Set

I never have good luck with limited time collectibles, especially when they are blind boxes! But Chan and I wanted to get all four of these figures (especially the one with the suit and tie) so we had to eat their Double Chicken Supreme Munchie Meals to get them! Guess how many of these meals we had to scarf down to get these 4 charms. FOUR. Yes, you did the math right. We got each charm exactly with the meals we ordered. Miracles! Do we need these charms? No. Was it cool to get all four? Yes. I’m the red spicy one and Chan is the blue icy one LOL.

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CINO – Ward, HI

Jan28

Chan and I had a new year’s celebration meal with two dear friends of ours at Cino. Cino is a newish restaurant located at one of those new Ward condominiums (very close to Tonkatsu Kuro). The menu sounded very nice and I was excited to try a new restaurant! Did I jinx myself with the excitement? Perhaps…let’s check it out together.

Yuzu Peach Collins (non-alcoholic) | $10.00

This restaurant seems to be allergic to printing things on menus. I asked if they had any mocktails and this was the only choice so here we are! It was a good drink! Not strong on yuzu taste which is good for me.

1/2 Dozen Oysters | $24.00

No can comment because no can eat!! Damn me and my oyster sensitivity! You know, I did eat one raw oyster in Japan and did just fine. Should I keep testing my resolve? I don’t know…

Beef Tartare | $24.00
Creekstone Farm’s Filet Mignon, Egg Yolk Emulsion, Capers, Tapioca Puff

I apologize for the photograph! I love beef tartare and this was a nice preparation, the tapioca puff was fried light and crispy. Very good dish!

Charcuterie Board | $34.00

Their board is a “chef’s daily special” so we didn’t know what would come on the board. We asked the waitress and she recited it out to us. That’s a lot of information to take in and I can’t remember it all. There were 5 different types of meat, 2 different cheeses and a nice apricot jelly. It was good! This was also where I tasted mortadella for the first time and hmm…not a fan. Not from here anyway.

Rigatoni Bolognese | $29.00
Veal, Beef, Pork, Sofrito

Lamb Shank | $52.00
Seasonal Vegetable Scafata

Got a taste of this, very nice and tender. Had a good gamey taste which I like.

House-Aged Half Roasted Duck | $49.00
Confit Leg, Sauce alla Orange

Felt like some duck and not from Chinatown. It was very nice! I enjoyed the orange glaze with the rich duck. Would I prefer the Chinatown style over this place? Well, probably but it’s nice to branch out!

Pork Chop | $48.00
14 Day Dry-Aged Averna Apple Reduction

This was the shock of the night for me – Chan’s dish but I got to try a piece and it was so good. It was cooked medium so you shouldn’t order this if you are sensitive to pink pork meat. It was super tender and flavorful. We had leftovers but reheated, it wasn’t the same. Once it gets fully cooked, it’s just like any other run of the mill pork. It was good freshly prepared.

Crispy Garlic Potatoes | $16.00
Parmigiano, Parsley

The table enjoyed this dish, I tried a piece and it was good! I’m more of a rice gal.

Mango Panna Cotta with Seasonal Berries | $12.00

Yet another instance where there was no menu! No dessert menu – can you believe it? When the waitress asked if we wanted dessert, we asked to see the menu and poor thing had to recite every single dessert. WHY? Anyway, I decided to try this dish because I wasn’t feeling ice cream or any of the other dishes. I wasn’t expecting much at first but boy was it good. I loved it. I would get this again. If you can see, there’s actually a mango layer in the dessert. The fresh berries offered a perfect offset to the creamy panna cotta.

In the end, the food was good but the restaurant was just okay. It is a very young and trendy restaurant so it was very loud. We were seated by a table of young galpals and they were very loud and vulgar (f-bombs left and right) all night. Made it hard to have any real conversations. Glad to have tried, don’t plan to return anytime soon.

Spam Musubi Rating:

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jan9

2025 Christmas Seafood Boil

I actually made my family a seafood boil back in late October when it was a brother’s birthday. For some odd reason, I felt like seafood again so I didn’t make my typical prime rib and tortured myself making this. It was expensive and takes a lot of time. My brothers also for some reason were not hungry so my god, the leftovers were crazy. I spent like over a week trying to eat down the leftovers. Talk about first world problems but it’s still a problem okay? It was good but I am off seafood boils for a long while.

Spotify Listening Age: 81 Years Old

Everyone seemed to get a kick out of this when I posted it on my Instagram feed. Did I expect 81 years old? Absolutely not. I was watching people post their ages which was always in the early 20’s. LIES! What are you guys listening to! Anyway, yeah I’m an old fut who listens to old fut music. So wot? Haha, have a great weekend.

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Merriman’s – Honolulu, HI

Jan5

New year means a new meal with one of my nearest and dearest friends. This year, we decided to try a new restaurant (new to me) Merriman’s located in Ward Village. They are open for lunch and dinner but the lunch menu is a better value has has better food (to me). Let’s check it out!

Lilikoi Pop (Zero Proof) | $7.00

Another year, another (non-alcoholic) drink. Yum! Love the sourness of the lilikoi in this drink. The zing comes mostly from the foam sitting up top – it started going down the sides and I absolutely did not lick the cup (I did). Delicious!

Tako & Country Bread | $27.00
octopus “a la escargot,” cognac parsley garlic butter

I didn’t think my friend would want to get this dish since he isn’t an adventurous eater. He reminded me that he’s had real escargot before and yeah it was probably because of me. Anything swimming in garlic and butter will not taste bad. This was good. The octopus was super soft and tender. Delicious!

Fish & Shrimp & Chips | $29.00
hana koa brewing co. ‘breaktime’ beer-battered mahi & wild shrimp, rosemary sea salt fries, malt vinegar aioli, lemon

I was the most excited for this dish. I love me some fish and chips, I didn’t read the menu clearly since I didn’t know it was shrimp too! It comes with two big shrimps and 2 pieces of mahi – perfect to share. A bit disappointed that this was not served with tartar sauce, not a big fan of the malt vinegar aioli. The dish itself wasn’t bad – I just think we got too much fried items and everything was too greasy after a while. Wish they had tartar sauce (yup I’m stuck on that).

Steak Frites | $45.00
black peppercorn crusted prime sirloin, rosemary sea salt fries, herb compound butter

Yup, more fries. Too much fried food! I’ve been wanting to try a good steak frites plate for a long time now. The keyword is good. The steak was tough and hard to chew – it was also overcooked. A very blah dish for me especially for the price. Would not get this again. Need to find a place that makes this dish but with a good cut of meat.

Spam Musubi Rating:

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HNL -> NRT – ANA Flight

Dec3

Yes, we splurged for Business Class. If you don’t care to see what Business Class has to offer, please move along. It is pricey but I think can be very worth it for long legs of travel. The ability to lie flat and sleep is priceless.

Amuse
Purple Yam Nicoise Salad
Spam & Caramelized Maui Onion Crostini

Purple Yam Nicoise Salad

Sounds better than it tastes, which is bland

Spam & Caramelized Maui Onion Crostini

So yeah, I’m pretty sure I was eating “raw” spam here. I mean I ate it but…it was basically raw spam. I know it’s not really raw but you know what I mean! It wasn’t too bad lol.

Japanese Cuisine – Washoku

Shusai (Main Dish)
Simmered Sea Bream in Soy-based Sauce | Steamed Rice

The fish was seasoned and cooked well! I enjoyed this!

Miso Soup

Zensai (A Selection of Morsels)
Japanese Omelet, Simmered Runner Bean in Syrup, Grilled Squid with Dried Fish Roe, Deep-fried Fishcake

I enjoyed this zensai very much so, not sure what runner bean is but now I’m curious. Very nice appetizer!

Kobachi (Tasty Tidbits)
Steamed Chicken with Flavored Soy Sauce

Eh, it’s fine.

ANA Original ~Kaoru Fukuoka~ Tonkotsu Style Ramen
a mild tonkotsu style soup paired with thin noodles that complement the soup perfectly. toppings like red pickled ginger and flavored oil are available. please enjoy with your preferred seasoning.

If they offer up a noodle, I gotta try it! Very happy I tried this. Too bad I didn’t get it when we came home too. The flight home felt so much shorter so I didn’t have enough room in my tummy for it.

Noodle Pull!

Yum!

Sandwich Set
Warm Basil Cream Chicken Sandwich | Yogurt with Passion Fruit Jelly

The sandwich was just whatever but the yogurt, oh the yogurt was so good. Felt like the plain yogurt was a thicker texture and the passion fruit jelly was wonderful. I’m going to try to make my own at home.

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