11Mar / 2024

‘Ili‘ili Cash & Carry – Moilili, HI

I have wanted to try ‘Ili‘ili Cash & Carry ever since they opened up a few years ago. Chan had a hankering for pizza this past weekend so we ordered some in! I would call this like elevated pizza so expect to pay a pretty penny for it, but hey, what doesn’t cost a pretty penny these days right? They have online ordering available so you can place your order and head in to grab your food! Let me show you what we tried.

‘ili‘ili Supreme | $31.00
tomato/olives/pepperoni/sausage/onion/peppers

How was it? Good, not great. Nothing spectacular you know? Feel likes it was lacking a little something – spice? More seasoning? Not enough veggies?

Funghi | $31.00
fiore di latte, mushrooms, herbs, pancetta, parmesan

Once again, good but not great. It feels like each pizza is just lacking one thing that could make it great. This one? I think if it had the addition of garlic – it could have really made this one awesome.

Choke Garlic Balls | $13.00
add pepperoni | $2.00

Ding ding ding, and we have a winner! This was my favorite dish but how could you go wrong with garlic balls (lol). I mean it was soaked in garlic butter – so good. So so so good. Definite must have! Even though the pizza was a bit lackluster, I do still want to try their sandwiches one day.

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02Feb / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

Taki’s Intense Nacho

I’m not into Taki’s but I saw this online somewhere and super super curious. For some odd reason, it’s so hard to find this in Hawaii. Where did I find it? Oh, I think I found it at Don Quijote! Kind of pricey but was worth a try. Super cheesy, not at all spicy. Worth the try!

Giovanni Rana Beef and Sausage Lasagna (40 oz.) | $14.98

Saw this at Sam’s Club the other week and decided to bring it home to try. I didn’t get to try it but my brother did and he liked it! It’s nice that it’s not the full family size lasagna. It’s also great that it comes in a pan that you can either bake it in or microwave in.

Spicy Pork Plate | $10.00

Yup, back at Kalihi Palama Market snack bar again. No can lose with a $10 plate forreal! So good. You know dang well that it would cost so much more money if I decided to make this myself. I’ll keep “researching” their dishes for you folks okay? 🙂

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12Jan / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

Happy Aloha Friday! Since I have a few random pics I can share, let me share them! I also want to share these while they are recent!

Tantan Ramen | $13.50

Tonkatsu Sangi is located in Pioneer Plaza in Downtown. They have ties to the old school Gomaichi so you know their ramen is gonna be good. Sorry I took a picture only after I mixed it all up. They are also very popular for their tonkatsu and nanban chicken! It’s a take-out place, no dine in. Didn’t get to try the tonkatsu but did try the nanban – the nanban is drenched in like a ponzu-ish soy sauce. I think a lot of folks expect the other way, plain fried chicken smothered in tartar sauce so I’m just giving the heads up there. The ramen was good! The broth is rich in flavor but didn’t feel too heavy or greasy. They get pretty busy so I would go earlier in the day to get your food because they also do run out!

Shoyu Butter (Soy Garlic + Butter Sauce) | $12.00 + Extra Pasta | $1.50
Spaghetti, Bacon, Mushroom, Spinach, Nori Katsuobushi flakes

We did a quick lunch order from Mio Pastalogy and Dell’s Kitchen & Bakery (same space/owner/kitchen). I was in a pasta mood and felt like their regular portion was kind of small so I added extra this time. Not too bad for $1.50, it was delicious! I love Japanese fusion Italian food. Mio makes their own pasta daily so you’re eating fresh stuff, never the dry stuff. You can even buy your own pasta to take home and make your own dishes with! My favorite part? You can order and pay online and go pick up when it’s ready!

Bibimbap | $10.00 (tax included)

When do you ever see me commend prices? Holy crap here is one. I went to Palama Supermarket last week to grab some groceries and did a quick glance at their snack bar menu. I wasn’t planning on buying dinner but I can’t pass up a bibimbap and for 10 bucks?? Why not. I ordered it and it was 10 bucks even, no tax – sounds silly but I was even excited about that. Here it is. They even give you a side of kimchi. Great portion and price, man I should come to the snack bar more often. The rest of the menu looked really good value too!!

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17Jul / 2023

Wasuta Pasta – Richmond, BC

Another restaurant I had my eye on in Richmond! Wasuta Pasta – I love when Japanese and Italian cuisines fuse together! We also liked having fun trying to make the name rhyme, try saying it outloud! Well this restaurant didn’t disappoint, we made it there basically at last call for lunch so we had the restaurant to ourselves. Service was still good and the food was *chef’s kiss*!

Complimentary Side Salad

Crab Cream Croquette | $15.00 (CAD)

Yum! This was our appetizer and it was delicious! Nice plump chunks of crab. Love the crunchy breading outside with the creamy inside! And the cream tomato sauce on top added a nice acidic hit.

Prawn Arrabbiata (Special) | $30.00 (CAD)

This was a daily special so it might not be on the menu if you go. Super good! Nice and spicy with a great portion of prawns! Super good.

Mentaiko Carbonara | $21.00 (CAD)

Always love mentaiko with pasta. Another great dish, I liked the prawn pasta dish more but it was great to have both to have the best of both worlds you know? So good! Can’t wait to return here to try more dishes one day!

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30Jun / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Have you folks tried those furikake wonton chips at Foodland? They now sell it alongside their housemade tortilla chips. Those wonton chips are TOO DAMN GOOD. It’s not hard crispy, it’s a nice and light crispy. And everytime I go into Foodland and look at their dips because I bet they would be good with those chips. I broke down and got this dip to try. It was okay, I think it’s a gimmicky name. It’s really just creamy salmon dip with furikake haha. But I enjoyed it! Glad I tried, not sure I would buy again (cause it’s pricey!).

Oh yum. I forget the price of this but it was a good sandwich, this was also from Foodland. And a bit blasphemous but I ate it cold. I bet it would be super good warmed up in a toaster oven.

Don’t you love a good ‘ole Hawaii style potluck party? Look at all this glorious food on one plate. I was in heaven, can’t go wrong. Loved it!! Spinach rolls are one of my favorites of all time!!

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23Jun / 2023

Recipe: Mixed Eggplant Bucatini

A trip to the mainland means a trip to Trader Joes. Especially if you’re from Hawaii! Another TikTok recipe, I saved this and decided to give it a try! Easy easy recipe. 4 ingredients!

That’s basically it! Cook up your pasta according to your preference (doesn’t have to be bucatini, choose what you like!) – save the pasta water. Heat up the eggplant with tomatoes and onions and jar of eggplace garlic spread with sweet red peppers on the stove top. Add maybe 1/2 C of your hot pasta water to make the mixture more “saucy” – do it to your liking. Throw in the cooked pasta and mix it up! Top with shredded parmesan cheese (whatever cheese you like).

Looks good ah? My own notes, not enough salt. It’s a bit sweet for my taste. Perhaps you can salt your pasta water (I didn’t) or add salt when you’re making it to your taste. I ate it with hot chili oil so it tasted great for me. I’m glad I bought two servings worth, I can still make another batch!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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10Mar / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

You folks ever make a soup that called for pasta? I’m sure you have. I don’t like my pasta to get too gummy so I actually cook up the pasta al dente separately…then when I finish the soup, I put it into my container to cool it down. I then dump my pasta on top (in this case, a chickpea pasta) and store it like this. As I scoop out servings to eat, I mix it with the pasta to heat up. It works perfectly and the pasta maintains it’s texture!

Just a quick pic of a lazy Sunday breakfast. Toasted everything bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and homemade jalapenos and red onions. Delicious!

Tots Flight | $16.95
From top, left to right: spicy cheese & bacon tots, bbq chicken tots, and parmesan truffle tots.

Spicy Cheese & Bacon Tots: crispy tots, Paul’s signature Wahl Sauce, pickled red onion, bacon, spicy cheese sauce, Parmesan cheese
BBQ Chicken Tots: crispy tots drizzled with BBQ sauce, topped with BBQ chicken & roasted corn, jalapeno & red onion salsa
Parmesan Truffle Tots: crispy tots tossed with Parmesan cheese, truffle oil and chopped parsley, served with Chef Paul’s truffle aioli

Have you folks Wahlburgers at Ala Moana yet? We’ve gotten take out twice from here and I hate to admit it but they make some pretty dang good burgers and fries. Here is a small preview of their tots flight. I love tater tots. LOL, I think the spicy cheese and truffle ones were good, I would pass on the BBQ chicken ones!

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maybeitsjenny

Tag Archives: Italian Food

‘Ili‘ili Cash & Carry – Moilili, HI

Mixed Plate Friday

Mixed Plate Friday

Wasuta Pasta – Richmond, BC

Mixed Plate Friday

Recipe: Mixed Eggplant Bucatini

Mixed Plate Friday

Big Kahuna’s Pizza – HNL Airport, HI

Recipe: Cheese Stuffed Italian Sausage Pasta

Mixed Plate Friday