Tag Archive | Chinese Food

Mixed Plate

Gotta have posts like this here and there, I don’t always fully capture my meal so you will have to get it in bits and pieces. 🙂

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Mama’s Trio | $25.95
chicken parmesan, lasagna bolognese, fettuccine alfredo

Is Mama trying to kill you? Yes, I think so. This wasn’t my dish but look at this…hefty portions of hefty dishes. It was not finished, had to be packed up to take home. No waste!

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Shrimp Scampi | $24.95
sauteed jumbo shrimp, capellini, garlic, rosemary butter, roma tomatoes

Yeah, I had the shrimp scampi again. So wot? Like fight? Nah, getting it a second time means it was good ah? Was good.

Little Sheep Hot Pot
Half & Half Pot | Original & Spicy

I can’t say I was super impressed when they first opened, I was still a huge fan of Sweet Home Cafe. Well sorry to say, well not really sorry, but I basically only go to Little Sheep now. Love their sauce bar and now they have all you can eat deals for lunch and dinner. Service is hit or miss (you better be willing to flag anyone and everyone down to help you). Delish!

Ja Gal Chi Restaurant
Bossam | $30.99
steamed pork with oysters

Gosh, can anyone help me? There used to be the most bomb bossam restaurant by Ala Moana, it was located where Dowon Chinese Restaurant is now. They specialized in Bossam and it was soo good but alas, like most businesses, the owners decided to retire and they closed for good.

Anyway, I don’t think a lot of Korean restaurants offer this but Ja Gal Chi does and boy oh boy was it a treat. I mean look at it, of course it was a treat. They give you kimchee and the little salted shrimp sauce too. It’s just heaven.

Spicy Pavilion – Honolulu, HI

This post is almost worthless, as I write this post, they have permanently closed their doors. I actually came on Friday night for a family dinner not knowing they were closing this weekend, boy was that a wrong decision. My posts always include my truthful rambling, oh boy, get ready for this one.

I arrived at Chinese Cultural Plaza parking lot and was about to pull a ticket but was told by the attendant, “$3.” A bit flustered, I pull out my wallet and pay and she gives me a ticket. She tells me to keep it on the dash and that it is good until 11 pm. I learned later that this is what they do after 5pm. I was meeting my family at the Spicy Pavilion so I head in first and ask for a table. There are a few empty tables but I am informed by the waitress that they are very busy that night because they are closing that weekend so their reservations are full. I am upset but I don’t make a fuss and leave the restaurant. I call my family and ask what they want to do, they finally decide on Hunan Cuisine across the street. My Chinese heart is relieved, I can walk there and take advantage of the parking fee I paid.

So I walk to Hunan, very slow and I get seated right away. Very nice gentleman, he brings out the plates/silverware and a pot of hot tea. I then get a phone call from my family and GUESS WHAT. They said they got to Spicy Pavilion and GOT A TABLE. WHAT THE WHAT. I was very upset at this point because they just turned me away and I am already seated at a new restaurant. They tell me to come over so I have to eat crow and tell the nice man (who is now in the kitchen cooking – very small crew) that I will be leaving and apologize. He is very nice and tells me it’s okay. Oh man, that alone deserves a future visit. I felt awful.

Anyway, I get back to Spicy Pavilion and maybe swung open their door a bit hard (I was mad okay?). I sat down and behaved myself, don’t worry. It looks like our family (six people) got seated at a table for 4, does it take a Chinese to Chinese interaction to score this? Whatever, I got to try them before they closed so I was glad for that at least. Was it worth all the hassle? Let’s take a look…

Deep Fried Potato Salad (Mr. Wong Special)
thin strings of potato deep fried and tossed with spices and cilantro

A great starter! Perfectly fried and light crunch – loved the spices and the fresh cilantro tossed in! So good.

Griddle Cooked Shrimp
shrimp, onions, bell peppers, and celery

Another great dish, I loved the shrimp. This was cute…this little wok was being warmed with a tea light…great dish! Spicy.

Stir Fried Garlic Green Bean

Great plate of beans. The beans were nice and fresh, not at all old (I’ve had too many of that), perfectly seasoned and cooked.

Fish with Spicy Pickled Vegetables
spicy and sour soup based; longli fish filet with pickled cabbage and pickled chilis

Okay, it says spicy and sour soup but this was probably the mildest dish we had. How was it? Eh…sour soups aren’t my jam. It was edible but probably my least favorite dish of the night.

Diced Chicken with Chili Peppers
fried diced chicken, dry red chili peppers, onions, bell peppers, and scallions

Meh. This dish was just okay. Nothing special about it, I wouldn’t order it again.

Beef in Hot Chili Oil
spicy soup based; sliced beef with bean sprouts and cucumbers drizzled over hot oil

Okay, we ordered too much food. And why did we get basically the same dish but with beef this time? We were kind of full by now so I didn’t eat this one too much. I have the leftovers so let’s see how I feel about it this week, haha.

Pan Fried Jiangxi Noodle
jiangxi rice noodle pan fried with ground pork and vegetables

I am a carb queen and was excited to try this noodle. It was delicious! I loved the seasoning (probably MSG, no judgements). I wish it wasn’t brought out so late in the meal, I would have eaten more of it.

Garlic Fried Rice

Such a simple dish, yet such a good dish. This was brought out last (why???) and I knew it would be good. Yes, it was the end of the meal but we devoured it. I would have ordered a take out of it if I wasn’t so mad and also dying of spice. Haha, well we found out they were closing because the father is the cook and his hands/arms hurt from all the cooking. Totally understandable. It was a good restaurant so I do hope they find a new cook one day and reopen. I will be sure to make a reservation next time or not go during their closing weekend.

Mixed Plate

Just a random post with various eats that won’t make a whole post on it’s own. First off, Whole Foods Market, when Jalna shared about the 2/$5 deal! Thanks so much! Now I check my amazon app all the to check the deals. The pizza was pretty good, the garlic and spinach one was mine. Plenty garlic so I liked it a lot!

Ninja Crispy Chicken Bento | $12.49

Chi Chop is located in the Ala Moana Food Court, not great. The fried chicken is seasoned with quite a bit of five spice powder if that’s your thing. I also think it was quite pricey for $13!

Two Combo Plate (Spicy BBQ Chicken & Fish Jun) | $16.50

Korean Hibiscus BBQ! Oh boy, what a deal. A cute and sweet couple run this shop and the portions are generous! The taste was great and do you see? Two pieces of fried mandoo too! I do have to say, MSG galore, I was thirsty all night!

Anytime Cafe – Honolulu, HI

If you’re an old fut like me, you will remember a Banana Leaf Italian Restaurant in Market City Shopping Center. I was kind of sad when they closed but soon realized the same owners opened up Anytime Cafe. Anytime Cafe has some pasta dishes still but I think their menu most resembles a Hong Kong Cafe which I enjoy a lot! I wouldn’t mind a few more Hong Kong favorites on the menu but I will take what I can! So how was the food?

Iced Tea with Lemon | $4.95

My favorite type of iced tea, Hong Kong style. This was great! And simple syrup is served on the side so you can sweeten your drink to your preference.

Beef Brisket & Tendon | $14.95

Beef Brisket noodles are a Chinese comfort food. This wasn’t my dish but I got to try a bit and they have the seasoning down. I usually eat this dish with a rice noodle but they serve it here with the thin egg/shrimp noodles. I like that type of noodle best so winners on that.

Hainan Chicken Rice | $14.95 (add $2 to substitute thigh meat)

Only in Hawaii will you find an extra cost for the thigh meat!! $2! Did I pay for that? Yes. I am Chinese and I want the juicy dark meat, of course. No shame in my game.

Soup Broth – It has a nice dried shrimp flavor, went great with the set!

The rice is probably my favorite part of the dish. It may look plain here but it is actually cooked with broth and garlic and maybe other seasonings. If they cook it the way I’ve seen on videos, there may be chicken fat involved too. Mmm…

Dipping Sauces! The traditional ginger green onion sauce and oh! A surprise dipping sauce for me! I don’t quite know what it is…a sort of vinegar with chili and garlic sauce? My favorite! My cousin informed me it tastes the same as the sauce they serve with pig trotters in Chinese restaurants and she is right! I need to learn how to make this sauce.

The chicken. How was it? Ehh…a bit of a letdown answer huh? There’s something about the way this chicken was prepared. I wanna say they prepared it like a drunken chicken and I don’t like that. I want Hainan Chicken in it’s purest form, slowly poached in its own broth. I don’t think I would order this dish again but there is definitely many other dishes I would try!

Lam’s Kitchen – Honolulu, HI

Who doesn’t enjoy beef brisket noodle? If you answered no, you may want to skip this read. I think Lam’s Kitchen serves up some of the best on the island. If you are willing to make the trek out to Chinatown, find your own parking, and wait out the line, give them a try!

Cheong Fun (Look Fun Roll) | $5.50

This meal is major carbo loaded. We couldn’t help ourselves, they serve up such great look fun. The menu is a bit confusing, I just wanted a small portion of it so I tried to get the side order of it which costs $1.00 or $1.50, I honestly don’t now what the difference is. The waitress turned over my menu and pointed at this one for $5.50 so I just said…okay. I guess this is the one you have to get for dine in? I don’t know. It’s fine. It’s delicious. The sauces are on the table, spread some of that peanut sauce and hoisin sauce on top and you are golden. Delish!

Beef Flank & Tendon Look Fun | $8.99

My dining companion does not like tendon so she asked for beef flank only. Well, I’m used to this now but the wait staff always gives pause when she orders it like this. I guess for us Chinese, tendon is like gold! Why say no? Hahaha but everyone has their own tastes right?

Beef Chow Fun (Dry) | $8.99

Why oh why do I get the beef chow fun here? Yes, it’s just such a basic dish but I really enjoy the way they make it. Hard to explain but they have a way of seasoning it…is it the char of the wok they use? It’s a taste I remember from really good chow fun I had back in China so I just eat this right up. Yes, I left the plate CLEAN. Great stuff.

Chengdu Taste – Honolulu, HI

I am getting a little dizzy with the various name changes of this place already. Didn’t it start as Chengdu and then changed to Mian and now back to Chengdu Taste? Not sure, they are also no longer downstairs…and moved upstairs! It’s okay, I am always down to try some Szechuan food. I tried this restaurant YEARS ago and finally got to try it again last week. And O…M…G…what was I waiting for??

Pork with Garlic Sauce | $10.99

Thinly sliced pork belly drenched in a yummy garlic chili sauce. Tasted great! Great side dish for a big bowl of rice. I would get this again!

Sauteed Tender Chicken with Double Chili | $15.99

Oh boy, did you read this title? I’ll say that the picture in the menu looked more like chilis with a side of chicken but the actual dish is no joke too! Surprisingly not as spicy as I thought it would be or just compared the dishes following this one. Anyway, this is delicious and the chicken is in fact very tender! Would order again.

Mung Bean Jelly Noodle with Chili Sauce | $7.99

Everytime I see this dish on a menu or in videos, I am just automatically drawn to it. I don’t know what it is. The jelly noodles look so delicious (doesn’t help that I just love anything noodle), coupled with the chili oil sauce and all the fixings on top…can we really go wrong? Yes, we can. The first time I had this dish (here at this restaurant in fact!), I remember liking it a lot! This time, I hope it was an off day…but something tasted off. Literally. It tasted like maybe the noodles were turning sour, yes, the whole dish had a very sour taste. I don’t think it was turning bad just yet because I didn’t get sick or anything. Would I give it a try again? Hmm…hard to say. Maybe not at this restaurant.

Wonton with Pepper Sauce (numb-taste) | $10.99

Okay, so…I insisted on getting this wonton dish with the “numb-taste”. I usually get the wontons with the red chili oil sauce which is absolute yum. Did I regret it? Indeed I did. I guess I’m not a big fan of this pepper sauce, it had an interesting taste. Vinegary too. And well, YES, MY WHOLE MOUTH AND LIPS WERE NUMB AND TINGLY. Do you ever wonder about how people figured what is good to eat and not? Like, how did a person think to eat fugu and say…well as long as we clean out some of the innards carefully, we won’t die. How many tries did it take? Why was it okay to keep eating szechuan peppers even though your mouth goes numb, funny stuff huh? Anyway, rambling aside, I would not get this again…lol.

Chengdu Style Fried Rice | $9.99

This dish was a last minute decision because they ran out of another noodle dish we wanted to try…and can I just say HALLELUJAH. If it wasn’t for that, I would never have tried this dish and it was ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE DISH OF THE NIGHT. I know, I know…it’s a plate of fried rice. But you guys gotta think, aren’t some of the best dishes out there just the simplest and purest forms of it? This humble little dish of fried rice packed the perfect amount of savory yet in such a simple way. I can’t explain it. I thought maybe it tasted so good due to MSG but I didn’t have the symptoms after eating MSG so maybe not? I immediately looked up the recipe and saw the main ingredient (those little brownish black specks you see) are ya cai. Ya cai is like a preserved mustard cabbage, and you guessed it, I’m going to try to make it. Now, buying the ya cai alone online was $8 so I’m starting to wonder why I don’t just order this dish from them…well, let me live my life. Hahaha, if I don’t succeed, they can always be my back-up. Not that you need to ask, ORDER THIS DISH.

Capital Seafood – Los Angeles, CA

Figures my first real meal in Los Angeles would be Chinese food. Not just any Chinese food, dim sum. I think if asked, I would name dim sum as my favorite food. Then again, when I eat dim sum, I order off the regular menu as well (Seafood Chow Mein, y’all!). We ended up at Capital Seafood in Beverly Hills of all neighborhoods. How fancy are we? Not really. We pulled up in our Nissan Sentra and parked on the street, lol.

Not much to explain, it is the same dim sum dishes we can get here in Hawaii. I definitely prefer the dim sum chefs we have here in Hawaii compared to this place. The food was just okay, a bit pricey but considering the neighborhood, I did expect to be helping them pay rent. Good service, good food (good, not great). If you want some Chinese food in a nice setting, this place is it!

Steamed Minced Beef Ball
Shrimp Har Gao
Boiled Beef Tripe
Minced Beef Rice Noodle
Steamed Pork Dumpling

Bo’s Kitchen – Honolulu, HI

Have you been to Ohana Hale Marketplace yet? I’m still waiting for it to reach it’s full potential! I really hope more vendors jump in and start using that space, it would be like having a craft fair all the time! It’s the perfect venue for new businesses to test the waters, I haven’t had much things to buy the past few visits but they’ve got some pretty cracking food establishments there. The first one I tried is Bo’s Kitchen, I am drawn in by their menu. It’s like Hong Kong street food which we don’t have much of here in Hawaii. I’ve been looking for a restaurant to serve up some good Hainan Chicken and guess who does…

Hainan Chicken

I have wanted to make a homemade Hainan Chicken for years. The chicken you cook is used to infuse almost every element of this dish. You fry up some aromatics in chicken fat to add to the rice as it cooks, you gently poach/cook the whole chicken to get the softest/juiciest meat (even the breast!), use the broth to make a nice little soup to accompany your meal. The sauces for the chicken include a sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a cold ginger chicken type sauce. Yum.

They do a pretty good job here! I couldn’t eat it right away but it tasted great the next day. I just reheated the rice and kept the chicken cold, didn’t want to overcook it. I would love to return to try their other dishes!

Tim Ho Wan – Waikiki, HI

I like to think that when I try new restaurants, I can let you folks know if it’s good or not to save you time. Well, let me save you some time. I don’t think Tim Ho Wan is worth it. There’s a bit of hullabaloo because they are a Michelin-star restaurant. Does that apply to all their chain restaurants too? Not too sure…when I visited Hong Kong in December 2017, I got to try them for the first time: click here for that post. They pride themselves on being the most affordable michelin-star dining experience, I don’t think that translates too well in Hawaii. I’m sure the rent they pay here is high, I personally don’t think the dim sum is that great. You can get better in Chinatown. And guess what? Hot tea, it costs $1.50 PER HEAD. When is the last time you heard a Chinese restaurant charging for hot tea? I was a bit perturbed by that. Well, let’s get to the pictures!

A nice pictorial of some menu items (actually this is almost all the menu items)

Full Menu – You mark off what items you want (click on the picture for full size photo)

Steamed Rice with Pork Spare Rib and Chicken Feet • $5.25

Would the description be better described as Steamed Rice with Pork Spare Ribs and Chicken FOOT? Haha, yes, just one foot. I do actually eat chicken feet dim sum…but restaurants usually cut the nails off. That’s a bit off-putting. This dish was just okay, I was hoping for a deeper black bean flavor on the spare ribs – just a real basic bowl.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow) • $5.25

Again, another basic dish. I thought it was good, but not $5.25 good. They have a nice skin (pi) for their dumplings though.

Steamed Pork Dumplings with Shrimp (Siu Mai) • $5.25

Okay, I didn’t realize it when I was dining there but it’s looking like each dish is at least $5 each. This was just alright, once again, I prefer the siu mai in our Chinatown restaurants. I feel like the good restaurants in Chinatown have perfected the recipe with juicy morsels of the pork, shrimp, mushrooms that are chunked so I can savor each ingredients with each bite. This one just mixes everything a little too well…with each bite becoming a bit non-descript in textures.

Steamed Shrimp and Chives Dumplings • $5.00

This was one of the better dishes, I really enjoy the skin they make for their dim sum. Look at how translucent that skin is! Perfectly soft, almost melt in your mouth kine skin, I would recommend this dish.

Steamed Rice Roll stuffed with Mince Beef • $5.50

Another dish that was average but not bad. Once again, they make some really soft noodles and so it was enjoyable but not memorable.

Baked BBQ Pork Buns • $5.75

I confess, I’m not a big bao person. Not a fan of char siu bao and if I am, it’s definitely baked over steamed. These buns are supposed to be one of their specialties and I can see why. None of my dining companions wanted to eat it (man, baos get a bad rap huh?). I just had to try the buns so I had to order it…and had to eat it all. Well, it was pretty good! The buns are so light and crispy and flaky, which was messy to eat but so nice to eat fresh. The filling is very saucy and a bit sweet, I think I enjoyed the flakiness of the bun coupled with the saucy char siu. I definitely recommend at least trying this if you’re at Tim Ho Wan!

Tim Ho Wan – Hong Kong

Hey Folks. I gotta be honest, it’s been a tough week and tonight’s drive home was harrowing. I’m not ready to discuss it yet since I am still shaken but no worries, I was not hurt or hit in any way. But sometimes, the almost can be just as bad. Stay safe out there folks, get some crazy people out there who will be completely illogical in their actions.

Let’s move onto better news. I’m going on a trip next week, yay! I’ll try to get some posts scheduled up for next week but I haven’t even started to pack yet…so wish me the best! I am heading out to Osaka! My first time there and I think we are going to catch the full bloom of the Sakura there, fingers crossed! Hoping for some great grinds and great deals. For now, I gotta keep trucking with the Hong Kong updates! Today’s post is another restaurant I was dying to try! Tim Ho Wan is “billed as the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant.” Cheap? Good. Michelin-starred? Good. Tim Ho Wan is actually gearing up to open a location in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center SOON! So how was it…?

Black Bean Spareribs on Rice (Chicken Feet Garnish, lol)

Beef Balls

Beef Cheung Fun

Haw Gor (Shrimp Dumpling)

Siu Mai (Pork Hash)

So how was the food? Good! Nothing stellar though, and I still think the dim sum we have Hawaii is the best. Is that weird? That I prefer dim sum made in Hawaii over dim sum in Hong Kong?? Maybe the dim sum in Hawaii is made to suit our taste buds more, but I don’t think there’s enough flavor and depth in these Hong Kong dim sums. Siu mai is usually my favorite dim sum but the Haw Gor was my favorite in this meal – the skin was so light and soft. I am still excited for the Waikiki location to open and would love to give it a try when they do!