Izakaya Torae Torae – Moilili, HI

Yes, another visit to Izakaya Torae Torae! Sorry, not sorry. Okay I am sorry for using that phrase though. Another visit, another great meal with great company! I had a great time with my friend here! I actually didn’t take pictures of all the foods! But the ones I didn’t take pictures of were of foods I’ve shared before. Let’s get to the food!

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Hamachi Carpaccio – delicious as always. Served on a bed of thinly sliced onions. The onions are prepared so that there isn’t a raw bite.

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150125-04Pork Belly Kakuni – Sunterra Farm Blackline pork belly simmered in soy based sauce. Delicious! Perfectly poached egg on top of pork belly on top of perfectly cooked rice. Good dish but not a favorite of mine.

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150125-06Dashimaki Tamago – I enjoyed this much more on the second try. It is still filled with cheese and unagi but I think I like it more and more. It is garnished with kewpie mayonnaise, daikon, and green onions. Delicious! Once again, not on the standard menu. You have to request it with the wait staff and they will check to see if it can be made.

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150125-08Lollipop Roll – first time trying it and it was delicious! And look at how beautiful this dish is. You really do feast with your eyes first before all else. I would definitely recommend this dish!

Izakaya Gazen – Kaimuki, HI

I’ve had my ups and downs with Izakaya Gazen but am happy to report that all my ups have been in recent visits. I think it was my first visit that I had just a terrible time, mediocre food, INSANELY slow service, etc. I feel like they have now picked up their game and the food and service both are good! We came for a meal the other week and it was a good meal again! Let me share the pictures with you.

140716-01Fries with Nori Seasoning and Wasabi Mayo Dip

140716-02Here’s the dip. The fries were good! Hot out of the fryer, great dip too! They serve it with some skinny deep fried sticks. Looks like deep fried like spaghetti to me, nothing great. I think it’s a bit too hard to bite into anyhow. They are generous with the fries so I’m good with just the fries.

140716-03Cabbage with Ikura and Yogurt Dressing

140716-04I don’t think this is one of the more popular salads but it should be! It was delish! My dining companion doesn’t like salad so I had it all to myself. They are quite generous with the ikura…so much so that it was kinda salty at the end since it was all balls (hehe). But it’s a great salad, very refreshing. I’m not a fan of purple cabbage so I picked most of that off but still felt satisfied after eating it!

140716-05Our new tradition. We must get salmon nigiri from all the restaurants! How was it? Eh, it was all right. Nothing special, nothing compared to Torae Torae.

140716-06Hamachi Nigiri – this was all Kristian. He can put in his two cents but he liked it a lot. He enjoyed it more than the salmon. Looks good ah?

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Rib Eye Steak with a Ponzu Sauce

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140716-10Noodle Omelette! So good! It took a while to come out but was worth the wait! I was super full from the salad so I only took one bite at the restaurant. I had to eat the rest as take-out and it was still delicious! I would definitely recommend it!

Previous Post on Izakaya Gazen

Sushi ii – Keeaumoku, HI

I’ve been hearing some great things about Sushi ii for a while now but haven’t been able to try them out until recently. This restaurant is located in the very busy Samsung Plaza. Samsung Plaza houses Sikdorak, Raging Crab just to name a few…with a very small parking lot to accommodate it all. My terrible secret and dishonor? I parked in Walmart’s parking lot and walked over. Tried to be a bit ninja about it by parking near the back and walking out discretely as advised by my friend/dining companion. Sushi ii is a cozy little sushi bar with stylish decor and incredibly nice people. We sat at the bar and the sushi chefs were very nice to us, it was such a nice experience! Let’s get to the pictures…

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Ready for some great sushi and awesome company…:)

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Gyu-tan – grilled beef tongue! Delicious with a squeeze of lemon juice…

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My friend taught me such a great way to eat sushi! Order the sashimi platter and then a side of rice! It’s like a make your own sushi meal – and you don’t have to eat all the rice it usually comes with! Genius!

140530-05Salmon – you can’t go wrong. It was delicious.

140530-06Abalone. Wow, I did not think I could ever dislike a piece of seafood. I met my match with this one. The raw abalone was slimy yet crunchy. The slimy taste reminded me…oh I hate to say it…some kind of unpleasant smelly discharge. Hahaha…I had to spit it out. I felt horrible but I just couldn’t stand it.

140530-07I really hope I got this right, this was fire squid. The chef told us it was special. It looked great but I was afraid it would be hard and rubbery. Guess what though…it was the softest squid I have ever had. It was delicious! I would definitely order this again if I could.

140530-08Hamachi. If hamachi is wrong, I don’t wanna be right. Aces.

140530-09I tried to get a shot of some of the other items. Amaebi which is always great. I believe under the lemon are slices of ika. Everything on this platter was so fresh and delicious (minus the abalone…sorry!)

140530-10Tako Karaage. This was good, nothing memorable but definitely not bad. Sorry, with all that sashimi – I had to focus on the priorities!

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140530-12OTORO. Yes, I did it again. Yes, we did it. We ordered it. What a splurge. And look at how nice they were, they gave us a FREE piece of OTORO. I mean that’s crazy nice. It was delicious. I couldn’t help but compare it to my first otoro experience at Izakaya Torae Torae and I liked it better there. I wonder if it was just the glow from experiencing it first at Torae Torae?

Izakaya Torae Torae – Moilili, Hawaii

I have been so excited to try Izakaya Torae Torae since they opened up about two months ago! They are located in Moilili on McCully Street – it’s right next door to The Sushi Company and I believe they replaced a pizza place (correct me if I’m wrong). They do have parking stalls in front but it is extremely limited. Our meal was so good last night that I just had to post it up already! And how’s this for fate? A spot opened up as I was pulling in…smack dab right in front of the restaurant. It was meant to be. A warning to everyone, lots of pictures and…I definitely splurged for this meal. I have never tried Otoro before and decided to do so at this meal. No regrets!

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140428-02Snow Crab and Corn Cream Croquette – $7.50

140428-03Lots of pictures of this dish on social media – how was it? I thought it was good, not great. It’s not like I could taste the crab in it so for me, it was just a cream croquette.

140428-04Pork Belly Kakuni – $8.95
Oh man, this was a great dish. Includes two good sized pieces of pork belly, daikon and a soft boiled egg. The broth tasted great – favorite meat dish of the night for sure. They have a pork belly kakuni don option – the broth on the rice would be amazing.

140428-11Ribeye Steak with Garlic Onion Sauce – $16.50

140428-12The garlic onion sauce being poured on…a bit pricey for this dish. I thought it was all right but nothing too special. The meat was tender and cooked to our specifications! I also enjoyed the bean sprouts/cabbage on the bottom, so a good dish all in all.

140428-05From left to right: Lanai Sweet Shrimp ($5.95), Hamachi ($2.95) and King Salmon Nigiri ($2.50)
This was Kristian’s selection so I will let him share his comments if he so wishes. 🙂

140428-06Shrimp Head! This is the head from the Lanai Sweet Shrimp nigiri, they offer it to you fried up with a slice of lemon. So crispy you can eat the entire head, shell and all!

140428-07From left to right: King Salmon ($2.50), Otoro (Market Price, lol), Uni Nigiri ($4.25)

140428-08I hadn’t had real salmon until I’ve had it this high quality. The freshness of the salmon, the buttery taste, you just can’t beat it. It was the cheaper option of the nigiri I had so I ordered one more. I think if I return, I would just order like 4 for myself..hahaha

140428-09Okay, I know I swore off uni pasta but I certainly didn’t swear off uni nigiri! It was very good – perfectly made. But if I had to choose between this or the salmon, I’ll get the salmon.

140428-10Star of the show! Otoro! This is the first time I have ever had this. Words cannot explain the experience. This will probably be one of the few times I have it in my life so I will forever savor it. Hehe…I was afraid to take the leap but am so glad I did. It literally melts in your mouth. I think I’m going to dream of it tonight.