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.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Honolulu, HI

My first visit to Romano’s Macaroni Grill was years ago when they were a fairly new restaurant. I didn’t have a great experience so I haven’t returned for all these years. Well, I had a recent visit and was pleasantly surprised by my experience. Maybe it’s because I’m older now but I enjoyed the food and thought their menu was of pretty good value! I’m looking forward to my next visit.

White Peach Sangria | $9.75
romano’s bianco white wine, peach puree, sparkling white wine

Good drink! Not great but not bad, worth another order!

Spicy Ricotta Meatballs | $10.00
house-made beef, veal, pork + ricotta meatballs, caramelized onions, red chile, arrabbiata.

One of my few complaints? No complimentary bread! You can order bread but shoot, why would I want to do that?? Man some nice crusty bread would have been great with these meatballs, they were delish!

Lobster Ravioli | $24.95
lobster-filled fresh pasta, roma tomatoes, asparagus, lemon butter, shrimp
Shrimp Scampi | $24.95
sauteed jumbo shrimp, capellini, garlic, rosemary butter, roma tomatoes

Can’t comment too much on the lobster ravioli since this shrimp scampi was mine. How was it? How can you go wrong with copious amounts of garlic, butter, cheese and shrimp? It was delicious. Very rich. I don’t do so hot with rich foods anymore but am willing to risk it!

New York Style Cheesecake | $8.95
shortbread crust, fresh strawberries
Lemon Passion | $7.95
citrus cake, lemon curd, whipped cream

My dessert! I loved this dish. Looks super rich but the citrus really cuts through the richness. And when they say citrus cake, they mean it. The cake is like sopping wet, lol. It’s okay, I don’t mind an (extremely) moist cake. Love lemon curd, love the caramel sauce surrounding the cake. I would definitely order this again!

Arancino at the Kahala – Kahala, HI

I got treated to a wonderful lunch course at Arancino for my birthday. A belated birthday celebration and it was very nice, a bit awkward when they brought out the birthday dessert (my birthday was in August, lol) but it was nice that they asked if we were celebrating anything! I think the lunch course is a pretty good deal, I heard dinner is pretty pricey. Well, you are paying for their rent at a high end hotel! If you want to try them for dinner, you should try their other locations. Let’s take a look at their lunch course though!

Fresco Hawaiiano | $6.00
hawaiian pineapple juice, blood orange, soda

What a wonderful and refreshing drink. I don’t care much for alcohol in general so I appreciate a good variety in non-alcoholic drinks.

Complimentary Bread

Rosemary bread! Isn’t it the cutest? They serve you olive oil with the bread but you can ask for balsamic vinegar and even butter, free of charge!

Bagna Cauda | $17.00
fresh vegetable crudites, warm anchovy garlic dip

Well, doesn’t this look…appetizing? LOL, where do I begin? The anchovy garlic dip is warmed by a tea light candle. The veggies are delicious, anything dipped in garlic is good. So the “soil” is not edible, I don’t know why I was hoping it was like sauteed mushrooms or something. It’s just…rocks.

Tartare di Mare | $21.00
fresh ahi, kona kampachi, avocado tartare, tobiko

Okay, I’m a little silly. We had a wonderful server by the way, he was very nice and respectful and attentive! I had to giggle to myself when he described the dish…at the avocado tartare part. I mean, I guess to me avocado is always tartare. This was a delicious appetizer! I would get it again.

Spaghetti con Tobiko e Calamari | $22.00
flying fish roe, calamari, garlic olive oil sauce

They are known for their uni pasta and I actually usually get it. Unfortunately, uni pasta can be quite rich and my tummy can’t take it well anymore. If you get the uni pasta as part of the three course meal, you have to add $8.00.

So how was this dish? It was good! The calamari was nice and soft and I loved crunching on the black tobiko. I enjoyed it!

Pizza Funghi e Tartufo | $27.00
eryngii, shimeji, maitake, mozzarella, gorgonzola, marscapone, parmigiano reggiano, white truffle oil

Okay, I know I should have enjoyed this. This is a seasonal pizza and includes so much mushrooms and cheeses! For me, it was lacking a little something. Possibly spice? Just very bland to me and I could hardly taste the truffle oil. They do offer red pepper flakes if you want it…

Bonet | $12.00
chocolate & amaretti custard, caramel, amaretto disaronno, house made whipped cream

Isn’t this dessert beautiful? Well it tasted great too! Sinfully rich and chocolate-ly, you can’t go wrong. I would recommend this dessert!

Complimentary Birthday Dessert

The secret’s out, my name really is Jenny, not just maybe. Ah well, I’ll keep this domain anyway. Isn’t this the cutest? Thankfully they bring it out but don’t make all their staff members sing to you. Whew. I didn’t realize they sprinkle silver flakes all over the plate and I went a little overzealous blowing out the candle. My apologies for the mess.

I don’t know the name of this dessert but it was a very nice meringue/baked baked alaskan pie type dessert. There was a nice chocolate cake within the meringue. Delish!

Do you see all the prices with the dishes? That’s ala carte prices, these dishes are actually included as part of a three course special lunch (appetizer, entree, dessert) for $43 each person. That’s a good deal considering the prices of these dishes individually!

Yellow Cab Pizza Co. – Kalihi, HI

Funny story time! Sort of. Don’t get your hopes too high. Okay so Yellow Cab Pizza Co. is located in the Costco Iwilei parking lot and we know how nuts Costco is…all the time. So Labor Day comes along and Costco is closed, yes! I decided this was the perfect chance to drive to Yellow Cab and see if they are open…gonna have choke parking.

I was right. Well first of all, everyone stopped knowing how to use their phones because so many cars are zooming in and out because they don’t know Costco is closed. So anyway, I parked my car near Yellow Cab and noticed staffers and the lights on inside. Then I see from my car that their open/closed sign says closed! Oh no! We go to the door and they have a paper sign that shares their Labor Day hours, they were open! Mind you, they were “open” from 10:30 am and I was there at about 2:30 pm (yes, late lunch). So I open the door and walk to the front counter and ask the young worker, are you folks open? He says yes and I told him, your sign says closed. He is completely surprised and runs out immediately to turn the sign around.

Let’s think about this a little bit. It took them 4 hours to realize their sign said closed, and yes I was the only customer in there. I just think about how many customers they lost that day because get plenty people driving through the lot seeing the closed sign along with a closed Costco and just driving away! *facepalm* Anyway, after I order and am waiting for my food, a huge group of tourists come in to order. I don’t want to say I’m a hero, but I’m just gonna say not all heroes wear capes. Okay haha, let’s check out the food!

10″ Manhattan Meatlovers Pizza | $11.95
italian sausage, ham, pepperoni, bacon, ground beef, and salami

Wasn’t my meal but man if you like meat, what meat is missing from this pizza? You would love it!! It was gobbled up.

Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta | $8.95
tender chicken strips, shiitake mushrooms and roasted peanuts sauteed in a spicy oriental sauce garnished with spring onions…uniquely our own!

First off, offended by the name of the pasta. Weren’t the films portrayed by a Caucasian actor? Okay, let’s not go down a rabbit hole. This pasta is very good, I enjoyed it. I should have asked for no peanuts. There were too many nuts. You see a bunch here but there was a whole bunch throughout the pasta too!

Shrimp Alfredo | $10.95
shrimp, black olives, and pasta tossed in a made-to-order creamy alfredo sauce

Not my dish, it was once again enjoyed by the diner. I don’t think it’s worth it for $11, they have a chicken version for $8.95, probably more worth the money.

Garlic Parmesan Wings | $6.95

Oooh, these chicken wings are good! You know, looking at chicken wings on other menus…they are pricey yeah?? I thought this was a pretty good price compared to the other wings places. And it’s delicious! Could really taste the garlic and parmesan seasoning.

Now we turn to the “this stuff can only happen to me” news segment, remember how I told you that the parking lot is EMPTY because Costco is closed? And remember how I told you a big group of tourists came in after us? Check out this picture.

You can’t make this stuff up. My car is the blue one. THEY PARKED THEIR BIG VAN RIGHT NEXT TO MY CAR. IN AN EMPTY LOT. YES, I KNOW THERE IS A CAR A FEW SPOTS DOWN BUT THAT CAR WASN’T THERE EARLIER EITHER. SO WHY OH WHY OF ALL STALLS, DID THIS BIG VAN HAVE TO PARK RIGHT NEXT TO ME.

Okay, sorry for the yelling. I laugh now about it but boy was I peeved when I first saw it! They could have at least left one spot in between us! Plenty people had to jump out of this van!!! Okay guys, have a good Monday, lol.

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!

Angelo Pietro – Kaimuki, HI

Angelo Pietro moved to Kaimuki and while they are in a smaller space, the food remains the same! They sell their salad dressings in stores but my friend noticed they no longer sell the ume salad dressing in stores but they still serve it with their salads in the restaurants…so if you’re into ume, give them a visit!

Plantation Iced Tea

Meh, not sweet enough but they do allow you one free refill. Guess which Chinese person took advantage of that?

Pietro Rainbow Salad

This is a great salad, comes with greens, bell peppers, carrots, raw daikon, and raw potato strings. It comes with all four Angelo Pietro dressings!

Spaghetti Sukiyaki Style

Not my dish but I got a taste and it was nice! Definitely tasted like sukiyaki but with a slight buttery finish. Very good!

Pork and Eryngii Spicy Cream Sauce

This is my dish and I love it! I love the deep fried garlic on top..it adds a nice taste and crunch to the dish. My absolute favorite.

Win-Spuntino – Waialae, HI

Win-Spuntino is a brand spanking new restaurant that opened up in the Market City Shopping Center. They are located right by Foodland, above the Thai restaurant. I know what you’re thinking, there’s a two story place there? Yes, there is. Anyhow, this restaurant got an interesting start. The owner of the cell phone shop that was located by Anytime Cafe had to move locations and found they had too much room in the new space so they decided to open the cell phone place along with an Italian restaurant. Interesting starts aside, they serve up some pretty good food! I’ve been waiting for a good priced, good tasting, take-out Italian eatery for a while now. I have a lot of pictures to share in this post because it was an office order. My biggest piece of advice, forgo the sandwiches and garlic bread and go straight for the pasta. That’s the good stuff. Let’s get started shall we? Oh! By the way, I found out that the old Fun Factory space will become a Walgreens. As if that parking lot couldn’t get more congested and junk right? Okay, now on with the pictures and review!

140810-05Small Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich and Salad Combo – $7.75
We had a decent sized order, this is a great deal. Six inch sub along with a small salad – they were nice enough to pack the salad separately to avoid the dressing running into the bread. How was this sandwich? My coworkers didn’t enjoy it. They found that the eggplant wasn’t cooked long enough so the eggplant was a bit too firm/crunchy for their taste. They enjoy their eggplant a bit more cooked/mushy, FYI.

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Small Meatball Sandwich and Salad Combo – $7.75
It was all right, nothing special.

140810-09Small Chicken Parmigiana Sandwich and Salad Combo – $7.75
It’s okay, would taste better fresh (it was eaten a bit later). Also, they put raw romaine in all their sandwiches. That’s a bit weird and not necessary.

140810-07Small Italian Sausage Sandwich and Salad Combo – $7.75
Oh blah. I was really looking forward to this sandwich because…look at the sausage! How awesome does that look? Big chunks of whole sliced sausage. Well I saved this one for dinner since I had pasta for lunch. The bread is terrible. Does not hold up well. The sausage? There was a weird taste to it. Not like spoiled or anything, I just didn’t like this sausage and I like all kinds of sausage. Okay let’s move on with the commentary…

The following salad pictures are the salads that come with the small sandwich combos. Big salads I say!

140810-22Pea Salad – it wasn’t mine but it doesn’t look too appetizing to me…peas look a bit mushy as well

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140810-26Pasta Salad – yes, it’s served on a bed of romaine lettuce. All their salads are…lol

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140810-24Tomato and Mozzarella – this was my salad. I was all excited for it thinking it would be a lot like a caprese. Hmm…didn’t work that way. The tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese are marinated in a very light balsamic vinegar dressing. The cheese was a bit firmer than I expected and very flavorless – I didn’t enjoy this salad.

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140810-21Curry Chicken Salad – this is probably the winner of all the salads. If you like a mild curry, you will like this. You must also like raisins. Wish I got this!

140810-06Garlic Bread – $3.00
Blah. Not worth it for 3 bucks. You might as well go to Foodland and grab your own loaf to bake up…I have a big issue with their bread in general

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140810-02Chicken Alfredo and Mushrooms – $9.50

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140810-04Shrimp Scampi – $11.25
Oh my gosh. I knew what I was getting into when I ordered this. All kinds of good and dangerousness for my body. Shrimp scampi soaking in butter and garlic. They are so generous with shrimp and the sauce was delicious. It was SO good. I would definitely order this again.

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140810-11Chicken Marsala – $9.50

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140810-13Chicken Sorrentino – $10.25
Chicken, Eggplant, Cheese, Mushrooms, Butter and Marsala Sauce

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Chicken, Bacon and Shrimp Casino – $12.00 (Daily Special)

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140810-19Spaghetti with Meat Sauce – $7.75
How can you lose with this much pasta and meat for 8 bucks?? This usually comes with Linguini. Their pasta dishes come with linguine by default but spaghetti is also available!

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140810-17Linguine Meatball – $8.75 (with spaghetti instead)
My coworker kept this dish for dinner (putting it in the fridge of course) and didn’t think the spaghetti held up real well. I wouldn’t mind trying it with linguine.

Anyhow, the pasta dishes were great! They give incredible portions for crazy great prices. I don’t know how they are going to stay in business with these portions and prices. Even though I say this, I will still be disappointed if any of this changes! They are doing great for now, I hope they keep it up!

Mediterraneo Ristorante Italiano – Honolulu, HI

I’ve been to Mediterraneo Ristorante Italiano a few times in the past few years and they never disappoint! Well the food never disappoints. This past visit was a very weird one. I’m not sure if the waitress was new but she was very off-putting. The other waitress was super nice and I think I might recognize her from previous visits. The difference in attitude and service from one to the other was insane. Of course I got the new waitress, she was cold and rude from the start. There were a few funny moments that proved to me that she was consistent with her attitude which helps me to be less mad. She had put up a paper sign on the door that read “opend 5:30.” The main chef and I assume owner came out and asked her what that white piece of paper was on the door, she said she put the sign up so customers know they are open (I guess dining guests inside won’t give you enough hints) and he said I don’t want that piece of paper up there and she totally resisted. It was so uncomfortable to be sitting right there when it happened but he finally told her, just take it down. I don’t blame him – and it made me wonder if she was new. She spent the whole night answering the phone and as the restaurant started filling up, I still heard her tell customers to come in with no reservations and that it would only be a 10-15 minute wait. Oh boy, I kind of wanted to see how that would play out. Anyhow, she also forgot our drink. We eventually kept calling over the other waitress to assist us further…it served as a saving grace for the night I think.

Anyhow, bad service aside – the food was GREAT. Let me share the pictures with you.

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140510-02Fresh bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I’m not the biggest fan of it but it was just fine.

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140510-05My dish. I believe I ended up getting the Mare – it was DELICIOUS. The seafood, the sauce, the noodles…all perfection. I pretty much ate this whole thing. No shame…lol.

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140510-07Ravioli Aragosta – Kristian’s dish. He liked it as well, although he would have appreciated more lobster. Please feel free to add your own feedback. 🙂

140510-08Creme Brulee Cheesecake – TO DIE FOR. It was delicious!!  We ordered a tiramisu too but they were also out of it (they were out of three things that night and we were there when they opened). But it doesn’t matter, this slice of cheesecake can solve anything.

Recipe: Angel Hair with Tomatoes, Peas and Basil

I played around with a recipe this past week and came up with this dish! I’m very happy I did because it tastes delicious! And other than the dab of mayonnaise you throw in to make it creamy, it is very good for you! Let me share the pictures first:

140312-01Doesn’t that look good? I tried to make it look good for a picture, I need to wipe the sides off better next time, lol.

140312-08I used three roma tomatoes and two pints of grape tomatoes

140312-03Me and my crazy garlic again, I used a whole bulb

140312-04My basil was a bit wilted in the fridge but they tasted fine! I sliced up 20 basil leaves for this recipe

140312-05Angel Hair Pasta – cooked just below al dente since you heat it up in the sauce too

140312-06Frozen green peas, it can be left frozen even up until cooking

140312-07Heat up some good olive oil and saute the garlic

140312-08Add the tomatoes

140312-09Once the tomatoes release some liquid, add the basil

140312-10As the mixture cooks down, more liquid comes out. I added about 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to this to make it creamier

140312-11Add the peas in just as the sauce is done. You don’t want to overcook the peas so add it at the end to just warm them up

140312-12Here it is! Finished! And so delicious. I added salt and pepper to taste and then added a mozzarella and parmesan shredded cheese right before consumption.

Angel Hair with Tomatoes, Peas and Basil

Ingredients:

1 lb. Angel Hair Pasta (I used Barilla brand)
1 bulb of Garlic, minced
3 T Olive Oil
3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
2 pints Grape Tomatoes, sliced
20 Basil Leaves, julienned
1 package of Frozen Peas

1 tsp of Salt
1 tsp of Pepper
1/4 C of Mayonnaise
Mozzarella/Parmesan Cheese according to your taste

Heat up the olive oil in a big skillet, add the garlic to saute. Once the garlic has browned for about a minute, add all the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes has cooked down a bit and released liquid, add in the basil and mix it together. Lower to medium heat and continue simmering. Once the mixture has released enough liquid to become a sauce (about 5 minutes), add the mayonnaise to thicken the sauce. Add the frozen peas and simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning according to your taste.

Turn off the heat. Add the noodles in and mix it up.  Sprinkle cheese on top as you serve the dish. Enjoy!

Recipe: Baked Spaghetti

I got a request from a reader (thanks yuko!) for my Baked Spaghetti recipe so here I am to share it! Always a pleasure to share recipes. 🙂 My recipe is super specific, down to the brand name but this is what I do to make some gooood baked spaghetti. I’ll share some pictures and the recipe after the cut.

140116-01This is the stuff! Ooey, gooey and delicious. Join me won’t you?

140116-02Ground beef ready to go!

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Ground beef and minced onions

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This is how the dish looks like after the initial baking. This includes the noodles, pasta sauce and cheddar cheese. 

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After the first bake, you sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Baked Spaghetti

32 oz. Meatless spaghetti sauce, any flavor  –  I use Hunt’s Brand – Garlic and Herb  (in the 26 oz. aluminum can) – update: 5/4/14, they sneakily now make the cans in 24 oz. sizes. When the Hunt’s brand canned spaghetti sauce is on sale, it is much cheaper than the glass jars so I just buy two but still measure out 32 oz. for this recipe.
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green pepper, celery, and onion – do not drain (I use Hunt’s brand once again)
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
1 box (lb.) spaghetti or angel hair pasta, whichever you prefer – I use Barilla brand spaghetti
1 8 oz. bag shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese (you can add more if you like a lot of cheese for both cheeses, for these pictures, I used only one each…when I’ve made the recipe in other times…I’ve added more mozzarella)

Either one 13 x 9 baking pan or two 8 inch baking pans.
Olive Oil Spray – to grease the pan(s)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Break the pasta into 3 inch lengths. I usually yield about 3 “sticks” from each stick of spaghetti and then cook according to package directions. I usually remove it about 2-3 minutes before the pasta is cooked. The pasta will continue to cook later in the sauce and eventually in the oven so you don’t want to overcook the pasta. Rinse and drain the pasta, place aside.

Brown onions and ground beef together until the beef is cooked through. Drain excess grease if necessary. Stir in spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes with the beef mixture and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Stir in the pasta. Once incorporated, stir in all the cheddar cheese. Stir the mixture until cheese is completely melted.

Grease your baking pan(s) and place your pasta mixture in.

Bake the spaghetti for 15 minutes, take the pan(s) out and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes more or until the cheese has melted to your liking. Enjoy!

Note: Another great thing about this recipe is that it freezes very nicely!

140116-06You won’t regret making this.  Adult and kids enjoy it! Let me know how it goes if you make it!Â