10Jul / 2024

MW Restaurant – Kapiolani, Hawaii

I haven’t been to MW Restaurant since they were in their original location by Don Quijote. I think I went there when they first opened. I tried their sister restaurant Artizen a few times which has been good so I was excited to try! MW is now located in the Velocity Honolulu Building, fancy digs means…fancy prices. Artizen has parking stalls but MW does not, you have to drive up the ramp and pay for valet parking. $6 for Valet and that doesn’t include tip.

Beautiful interior

Mango Peach Iced Tea | $8.00

The table shared a bottle. I got myself this tasty sounding tea. It wasn’t sweetened, DOH! Sorry, I was all excited for a sweet drink. And I could barely taste any mango and peach? Huh? Yeah, I wouldn’t get it again.

Shortrib & Foie Gras Won Tons | $18.00
kabayaki sauce

I think $18.00 is only for 3 won tons, but we asked for more since we were a table of 5. It’s a good dish, fried up nicely. I’ll just go out on a limb again and say when it’s good innards like shortrib and foie gras and it’s ground into a filling for dumplings, something gets lost. It tasted good, don’t get me wrong!

Pork Hash Dumplings | $18.00
truffle bacon dashi

Not sure how many dumplings comes in the original order but they upped it to 5 for us again. Well, this dish was good. If I was alone, I would have probably slurped up that dashi. Or added like somen noodles. Carb queen.

Farmer’s Salad | $14.00
metro grow butter lettuce, yuzu miso vinaigrette, assorted local vegetables

Good salad! I didn’t each much of it but I did try it and enjoyed it. I guess it’s a bit deconstructed because the assorted veggies are splattered through the plate.

Truffle Braised Shortrib | $67.00
roasted vegetables and potato, truffle sauce, seared hudson valley foie gras

16 oz Brandt Brand Prime Ribeye Steak | $85.00
garlic butter, potato gratin (served separately), mushroom medly

Miso Honey Glazed Butterfish | $49.00
kimchee potato salad, taegu

Not my dish but it looked so good! I would definitely get this dish next time if I return!

Surf and Turf | $70.00
hapa new york strip, seafood fried rice

Chan and I shared our entrees. Here is his dish! How was it? Okay. The fried rice did have a good amount of seafood in it! Thought the fried rice was a tad bit salty. I can’t get over the price of the steaks here!

Seafood Bouillabaisse | $65.00
stuffed lobster, calamari, crab, clams, scallop, tomato saffron broth, toast

MW likes to mix it up a bit with their menu offerings and they used to serve a similar dish but paella style. Being the carb queen I am, that’s what I wanted. They didn’t have it and this was the current dish. I think for what you get, this is a decent priced dish! And you know what? It was DELICIOUS. The broth was so good and the seafood was tender and succulent. The lobster head is made with stuffing while the body meat is left intact. Yum. Chan and I enjoyed this dish a lot!

Mud Pie | $18.00
japanese hibiki ice cream, coffee ice cream, milk chocolate crunch

Strawberry Shortcake “Pavlova” | $16.00
souffle cheesecake, laie vanilla panna cotta, strawberry yuzu sorbet, shiso strawberries, crispy meringue

Brulee | $16.00
lilikoi sorbet, custard, lilikoi “gummies,” haupia tapioca, tropical fruit

Chan’s dessert. I didn’t read the description before taking my first bite and I was taken aback by the sour lilikoi! I love lilikoi and it’s a fun way to do this dessert. Usually creme brulee is very rich so I think using the lilikoi really helps to cut the sweetness.

Banana Cream Pie | $18.00
butterscotch pudding, banana, ulu pate brisee, kohana rum ice cream

I don’t know what a ulu pate brisee is. Is that the crust they created? Look it doesn’t matter, this dish was so good. I loved it! A nice take on the banana cream pie. I enjoyed that there was both slices of fresh banana and caramelized banana. I really enjoyed it!

So verdict on MW Restaurant? Definitely a restaurant if you want to treat yourself or splurge. I took a look at the Artizen menu and actually found more dishes I would want to try on that menu. And one of the dishes they serve, I think it’s the mochi crusted fish with somen noodles is almost half the price for lunch take-out. I’m sure it’s a different portion and all but I think I want to try Artizen so I can see how they fare!

I almost forgot! They still do end the meal by giving every diner their own cookies to take home. The cookie is so delicious.

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08Jul / 2024

Recipe: Spam Musubi Rice Krispies Treat

You read that title right. Spam Musubi Rice Krispies Treat. What a genius idea! Mixing the saltiness of the spam with the sweetness of the marshmallows? It worked perfectly. And I’m not one that usually likes to mix sweet with savory. Decided to make this on a whim and shared it with the office. They ate it up! Although, I do wonder how long this lasts on the counter due to the spam. I guess I would just throw it in the fridge if there is any left after a day. I almost marinated the spam in a teriyaki sauce since that’s what I do for real spam musubis but decided against it which was a good thing. I think that would have made the spam sweeter which would work against this dish.

Fried up half a can of spam, diced up small! I fried them up until they were nice and crispy.

Half a stick of BUTTAH. No, I didn’t wash my pan after the spam frying. No worry beef curry.

Full bag of marshmallows – IN!

Once the marshmallow is nice and melted, add in the 6 cups of rice krispies!

Can’t forget to add spam to this party.

Furikake!

I wasn’t sure how much furikake to add. I didn’t want it to overpower the dish. I do think I want to add a bit more next time while also sprinkling a bit more on top!

Spam Musubi Rice Krispies Treat

Ingredients:
1/2 can of spam, small diced
6 cups of Rice Krispies or puffed rice cereal
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 bag of large Jett Puff marshmallows (12oz)
Furikake to taste

Directions:

Small dice half the can of spam. Add the spam dices to a pan and cook for about 15 minutes until they’re crispy! Strain on a paper towel and cool.
Melt the butter in a pot over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until fully melted
In a separate bowl, add the cereal and spam bits. Pour in the marshmallow mixture and mix.
Pour into a greased baking pan – spray the bottom of a measuring cup and use that to press down. Top with furikake or leave as is! You can also shape them into cute onigiri if you’d like too!
Let cool and enjoy!

Recipe Credit: Tabemanda

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05Jul / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

I gave it my all. I tried my best. I wasn’t drinking coffee for a while and well, it didn’t work. I get so tired during the day. I also wake up super early, like 4AM early. I don’t set any alarms, my body just hates me and wakes me up at that time. So yeah, I get really tired by the time the afternoon hits. I’m going to have to start drinking coffee again. Been lazy to get that going so I pick this up when I stop into Don Quijote. I like that it’s lightly sweetened and get milk inside too. It doesn’t give me the jitters and the sugar level is not crazy high. This bottle can last me like 2-3 days (lol). Just wanted to share!

Jersey Mike’s Subs Turkey and Provolone (Regular) | $10.95
Miss Vickie’s Spicy Dill Pickle Chips | $2.05

Saw this on TikTok a long time ago. I like when people give their specific sandwich orders so I can try it myself. So I got the regular turkey and provolone on their Rosemary Parmesan bread. I then let them put all their seasonings on it and add all the jalapenos and stuff in. It’s a great sandwich. I also wanted to try the pickle chips, was good!

Sukhee Haesoo | $6.99

I saw this on social media so long ago. Have you seen it? These bottles are made special so that you can screw directly onto Korean soju bottles and it infuses the soju with the syrup but it is also like a hangover cure! Hawaii finally got it, but specifically Palama Supermarket Makaloa. I was able to get it at $4.99 cause it was on sale when we went. Tried one so far, pretty good! Makes the soju super sweet and well it’s dangerous cause you feel like you’re drinking juice. There are currently five flavors you can get from Palama. Check out the video below, it’s so neat!

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01Jul / 2024

North Shore Grinds – Kaimuki, HI

When Jalna updated her blog with all the ono grinds she got from North Shore Grinds, I had to go! I used to come to this area all the time for Your Kitchen. Oh boy do I miss Your Kitchen. Not a great parking situation for North Shore Grinds but we were able to snag street parking pretty easily, and get plenty turnaround since people are grabbing their lunches to go (there is no seating).

Killah Pulehu Ribs | $18.95

Chan’s dish. The seasoning is good but he felt like the cut of meat was not the best. It says ribs, it’s “boneless” but I wonder if they are really even using ribs? You know? I don’t feel like it is.

Chicken Katsu w/BBQ Horseradish Dip | $16.95

Oh winner winner chicken dinner! This wasn’t my dish but I got to try a piece with the dip, I can see why they are known for this dish. I would get this next time!

Hamburger Steak w/Onion Gravy | $16.65

Not my dish but it was enjoyed!

Brandon Special (Pulehu Ribs & Furikake Mahi) | $18.95

This was my dinner that I shared with Chan. The fish was good, same pulehu ribs. Once again, pulehu was nicely seasoned. But is it really ribs??? Idk…

Herb Crusted Mahi Mahi w/Lemon Cream | $17.95

Jalna got this dish and raved about it and I had to get it too. Well, she was good and got all salad. I need my rice. The dish was really good! I enjoyed it! I enjoyed it more than the furikake mahi, would get again!

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14Jun / 2024

Wakuda – Las Vegas, Nevada

Another night of gluttony and alcohol. Okay just gluttony for me! Tonight is Wakuda and the cuisine is fancy Japanese food, they are located at the Palazzo Lobby at The Venetian Resort!

Big Eye Tuna Sashimi Toast | $30.00
toasted bread, wasabi butter, shallots, avruga caviar

Great start to the meal! Can’t go wrong with tuna and caviar and butter and shallots…I mean come on!

King Salmon Nigiri | $13.00 (per piece, 2 pc minimum)

Good but expected, nothing special you know?

Tobanyaki Japanese Scallops | $30.00
garlic yuzu butter, japanese mushrooms

Oh yum, this was so good. The scallops were cooked perfect, so nice and tender. Give me a bowl of rice so I can pour this over…mm…

New Zealand Lamb | $55.00
mustard miso

Lamb lamb lamb! I love char-grilled lamb. They served these little red berries with the lamb. Gosh, we asked the waiter what they were and he told us and I forgot already! You’re supposed to eat the berry after the lamb to cleanse your pallet. They look like peppers but is more like…a crunchy tomato texture!

Grilled Octopus | $30.00
spicy sudachi vinaigrette, kabocha miso puree, squid ink tapioca cracker, seaweed, radish

Fancy looking dish! I did try a piece of octopus but I think I was too into the other dishes to truly savor this dish. Chan and Bryson enjoyed it!

Seabass Miso | $65.00
patagonian toothfish marinatede in original saikyo miso from kyoto

Yikes, a bit pricey. I just noticed! But was it good? Yes. I don’t know if you can tell but it was a pretty big piece of fish and it was cooked to perfection. Moist and it flaked beautifully.

Foie Gras | $45.00
cassis, sudachi puree

Very interesting dish! The purees help cut into the richeness of the foie gras. Yum!

Otoro / Supreme-Fat Tuna Belly | $28.00 (per piece, 2 pc minimum)

Meh. I’ve had better otoro elsewhere, I don’t think this was worth it.

Wagyu Gyoza | $35.00
spicy ponzu sauce

Wagyu gyoza! Okay sorry, it was good but I don’t think it was worth it. When something is made into gyoza filling, I don’t feel like super high quality meat should be used, you know? No can tell it was wagyu. Delicious but not worth it.

Nope, I didn’t double post the same picture. We got this dish twice and I ate two pieces from this order lol. I love lamb. It was so good!!

WAKUDA’s House Special | $14.00
soft-serve miso ice cream

Fancy yeah with the gold? I’m not a big fan of vanilla ice cream but I had to try their take on miso ice cream! It’s actually very good, a nice blend of miso and vanilla. If you enjoy a nice vanilla ice cream, get this!

Kakigori with Candy Floss | $25.00
kanazawa shaved ice, seasoned fruit puree, seasonal sorbet, milk syrup, citrus & berries

What a sight! Look at this cotton candy cloud on top of the shave ice. And the ice was supposedly from Japan? Ho da fancy! It was delicious too. I really enjoyed this dessert!!

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10Jun / 2024

Sparrow + Wolf – Las Vegas, Nevada

I’m back and ready to post! Chan and I had a wonderful trip to Vegas, hung out with his friend Bryson and boy oh boy, cruising with two foodies made such a difference in our meals. We went all out during dinners and it’s some of the best food I ever had! I apologize that I do not partake in alcohol – I don’t have much to share on that end, but I will say they enjoyed their alcohol pairings. Sparrow + Wolf is a restaurant Chan tried before and that Bryson is a regular at so we had EXCELLENT service. The food, service and drinks were *chef’s kiss*. I would call their menu…neo-American and Asian fusion style? Didn’t have a single bad dish!

Sage Me From Myself (proofless) | $10.00
cold pressed blueberry, raspberry, pineapple, and fennel bulb

You will however get to check out all the non-alcoholic drinks I tried! I was told that they have like an $11,000 juicer in the kitchen which is why this drink is so so so good. He was right. I drank two of them. Yum!

Grass fed Beef Tartare | $22.00
grass fed beef tartare, confit egg yolk, grilled sourdough

All our orders were at the recommendation of our awesome server, we did no ordering on our own. They matched the foods perfectly to Chan and Bryson’s drinks. The foods all matched my tummy’s needs. 🙂 This dish looks interesting and not like your typical tartare, I was like, why they bringing out imitation crab salad? Haha! No worries, you mix it up and eat it with the bread and it is just really good beef tartare!

Kanpachi | $23.00
kanpachi tiradito blood orange aji amarillo, olive oil

Nice bite! Was it the most memorable dish of the night? Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good! Blood orange with kanpachi, who would’ve thunk it?

Spring Onion Cappalletti | $28.00
ramps, calamansi, garlic flower, miso

OKAY YUM. It’s a really interesting dish, calamansi is a strong flavor of it but it also had a nice buttery miso taste to it. I can’t explain it! It was so good! Frothy pasta shell, sounds weird but tasted great!!

Bánh Cuốn | $20.00
ground duck, wood ear mushroom, habanero, coconut

Bánh Cuốn is vietnamese rice rolls. I would call this dish like Bánh Cuốn deconstructed, there were strips of rice paper around the dish with the “innards”, very soupy as you can see but delicious! And isn’t it pretty?

Black Pepper Honey Pork Secreto | $38.00
sweet potato banana puree, peanut nuoc cham

Another winners dish. Super tender slices of pork and wonderfully seasoned. I love vietnamese flavors in dishes so it was a winner!!!

Charred Brocollini | $16.00
green goddess, black garlic, fines herbes crumb

I don’t know if this is vegan or not but I assume it is and I would be dang happy to eat this as an entree if I was! I love brocollini so much and they charred it perfectly, great dish!

Kalbi Eye of Rib | $59.00
chili lobster gratin, thai basil, lime, garlic breadcrumb

HELLO. This was a great ender for the meal! Lobster and rib eye? No can go wrong brada! So good and cooked perfectly. By the way, all dishes are served family style.

Chocolate Ganache Torte | $12.00
pistachio gelato, toasted coconut

Nice little dessert to share at the end of the meal. Very rich chocolate ganache torte, maybe a bit much for me since we had choke food. I still helped myself to a few bites hehe. It was good especially if you love chocolate.

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07Jun / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

Jollibee Amazing Aloha Burger | $10.99
A double patty Yumburger topped with melty cheese, a grilled pineapple ring, crispy bacon, Aloha Dressing, and fresh lettuce on a fresh bun.

I didn’t look at the description of the burger and would you believe it, there is pineapple in it and I actually liked it. I usually hate mixing fruit with savory food but my oh my, this burger works so well together. It was so good!!!! I would recommend.

Teruya’s Andagi Shrimp Roll Bento | $8.95

Got this for lunch the other day, wasn’t hankering for anything in particular so I got this. Pretty good price but the bento wasn’t a winner. The shrimp roll was good, the tofu patty was good but the pieces of chicken were not good. Dry, tasteless and hard. It was a bit of a letdown.

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND LOL (not my car)

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03Jun / 2024

Tenfusa – Toyosu, Japan

Ah yes, my super belated Japan posts continue. Well, there’s actually not much more to share so it will probably be in bits and pieces. This is one of our last outings of the Japan trip before coming home. Tenfusa is located in the Toyosu Market, Chan’s friend Daisuke was nice enough to pick us up early in the morning to bring us to this restaurant. Thank God he did, all the menus are in Japanese. There was a line for the Daiwa Sushi next door but this restaurant seemed to be filled with locals (maybe fishermen).

Appetizer Menu (Well I consider it the appetizer menu!)

Maguro | ¥900

Scallop Sashimi | ¥850

Shirasu | ¥400

Whale Meat (Raw) | ¥700

This is my first time trying whale. This may be the last time I am trying whale. Look at the color! It looks like raw beef. It tastes kind of like raw beef too. I didn’t enjoy the taste. Glad I tried so I can say I tried it but I am good in the future.

Tempura Teishoku

Tendon

Chan and I had the Tendon. Gosh, I was so like…full from this trip already. And we got choke appetizers. By the time the main entrees came, I was already stuffed. But the tempura was super good. Perfectly cooked seafood. The pieces of fish were so tender and fried light and crispy. I was very happy to have tried Tenfusa!

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31May / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

Maybe when you’re reading this post, I’ll be off to Vegas! Excited for a mini-vacay to Las Vegas! No, not to gamble. I am excited for all the good eats and of course Trader Joe’s and Ikea, let’s be real! I’ll try to schedule out a few posts for while I’m gone. Have a good weekend folks!

Fort Ruger Market Sweet Longanisa, Egg, Rice | $9.95 (May 2024)

I was super excited to try this. I love me some longanisa sausage and I thought there could be no wrong. I WAS WRONG. The sausage was so weird and mushy, the texture was totally off. When I buy the ones from the store to make myself, the skin is almost crunchy (sounds gross but it’s good). This was 10 bucks! Well at least it was fried rice I guess? I would not get this ever again.

Kahala MKT Zaru Soba | $8.99

This one was quite a surprise, I really really liked this. And what this dish included was eggplant and I usually hate eggplant. HATE. But this eggplant was cooked and seasoned perfectly, not at all mushy, had a bit of crunch and there was a nice smoky flavor to it. The only downfall of this dish was the imitation crab. This sounds weird but this crab was like super dry, I like imitation crab that is wetter? Is that weird? Do you know what I mean? I don’t want to feel like I’m chewing on paper is what I mean. Would get this again!

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29May / 2024

Nanzan GiroGiro – Ala Moana, HI

Oh man, I’ve been wanting to try Nanzan GiroGiro for the longest time! Since they opened! Thankful for an invitation for dinner here one rainy night – what a wonderful treat! Parking in this area can be a nightmare and it was storming (the great 2024 storm session, iykyk) but luckily we both got parking right in front of the building! Service was immaculate, dinner was superb! They change their menus monthly, we had the May 2024, 9 course meal ($168). Check it out!

Starter
blue fin tuna, shiso, fried tofu, asparagus, green, sesame soy sauce, wasabi

Perfect starting bite(s) – super fresh fish and wonderful flavors. I love me some shiso! Great dish!

Soup
black cod, sesame tofu, white miso, yuzu kosyo pepper soup, spinach

Can you ever go wrong with black cod? Perfect cooked piece of fish, lovely flavored soup. It was the perfect dish for a rainy night. And a nice portion of fish too!

Oshinogi
hamo eel, foie gras sauce rice, sugar pea, kinome sansyo pepper leaf, bellpepper

I know it’s a faux pas but I love fois gras. Lovely dish, perfectly fried hamo eel. Light and crispy. Loved this dish!

Vinegar
duck, lotus, root, tomato vinegar soup, kale egg tofu, pea sprout

This was a good dish, not the most memorable of the night but good! I enjoy duck so of course I will enjoy this. Good dish, just not memorable.

Main
beef, ayu and corn crocket, ankake soup, wasabi, sprout

Yikes, this was the main dish and I did not like it. Specifically, I did not like the ayu. I just looked it up and it’s also called sweetfish, what a name. This piece of was SO bitter. I couldn’t eat it. I ate around it like a good girl but the fish, no can!

1st of 9
otoro, uni sea urchin, eggplant, wasabi, dashi jelly, bok choi

Was this good? Yes. Yes it was. (end of story)

2nd of 9
lobster, bisque sauce noodle, caviar, mizuna

What do you want me to say folks? That this was junk? That would be a lie! Of course it was good! Was I getting full? Yes. Did I still eat this up? YES.

Rice
tai snapper, tai broth, heart of palm rice, mitsuba

Okay, I was like pretty full at this point. I gave my fish to Chan and had at it with the nice clean broth and rice. It was nice!

Pickles
hakusai cabbage, cucumber nukaduke, ume puree, wasabi

The pickles were served with the rice dish. Was good! I was too full to really appreciate it and enjoy you know? If this is too much food, you can always order the 6 course menu and then ala carte the additional items on the 9 course menu if you wish!

Sweets
baked vanilla cheesecake, mango sauce, lime jelly, blue berry sorbet and graham cracker crust crumble

There is always room for dessert. I ate this whole thing. Yup. It was soo good! They told us to eat the cheesecake all together. Like grab the cheesecake, lime jelly, crust and dip it in the mango sauce and then eat! It was yum!

Kyoto Matcha Green Tea

The matcha was nice and smooth. Perfect way to end the evening. They also have special wine pairings for the courses if you are interested! I had a cup of orange juice because they don’t serve soda here. LOL. It was a wonderful dining experience with great company and great food! I don’t know how often I would be able to make it out to this restaurant but I really enjoyed this experience.

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Tag Archives: Japanese Food

MW Restaurant – Kapiolani, Hawaii

Recipe: Spam Musubi Rice Krispies Treat

Spam Musubi Rice Krispies Treat

Mixed Plate Friday

North Shore Grinds – Kaimuki, HI

Wakuda – Las Vegas, Nevada

Sparrow + Wolf – Las Vegas, Nevada

Mixed Plate Friday

Tenfusa – Toyosu, Japan

Mixed Plate Friday

Nanzan GiroGiro – Ala Moana, HI