17Mar / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday (Japan)

We were so pleased that our hotel in Tokyo and Osaka had laundry rooms! The machines were cool because you can wash and dry in the same machine. A few things that were off. You have to know how much your clothes weigh before you wash them. Secondly, it DEFINITELY DOES NOT DRY IN ONE CYCLE. And well, you have to pay for every cycle you use right. We were washing some thick clothes cause it was winter so I wouldn’t recommend using these machines unless you have choke time to wait for your clothes to dry.

Mandatory visit to Ikea in Japan and mandatory swedish meatballs meal. It was good! It’s the same everywhere lol. Japan has a slightly different menu but it was good! I also liked that their store isn’t a maze and that they have cuter stuff made for Japanese audiences I think.

I feel like I mentioned these tarts already but I’ll mention it again since I found the name of it in my pictures. So good fresh out the oven. Eating this in the cold weather was perfection. We found this place in Osaka.

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15Mar / 2023

Universal Japan – Day 2

Most popular and biggest attraction by far. I didn’t know that you had to reserve a ticket to even walk in so we got stopped as we tried. No one speaks good English so I had to play around with their mobile app until I figured out how to reserve tickets. It’s free to walk through, they just have timed visit slots. I think I tried to reserve it at like 10 AM and couldn’t get a window until 3 PM. Highly suggest you check in right when you arrive to reserve your time slot! You cannot do it ahead of time, they make sure you are on property to reserve.

It’s pretty surreal when you walk in, you really feel like you are in the video game! I didn’t even know they had a ride, not that I ride rides. I just enjoyed walking through!

Red Shell Calzone with Cheese & Ketchup Spaghetti Filling | ¥850

This tasted like it sounds. Not good. I don’t think they even serve it anymore lol. I was so full from eating earlier in the day, how do people eat so much at theme parks???

Mixed Berry Christmas Highball | ¥650
Non-Alcoholic Christmas Fruit Cocktail | ¥550

Special drinks for the holidays! I had the non-alcoholic drink. It was gooood!

I forget what this drink was called but I thought it looked cool, it was also not mine lol. I think it was enjoyed!!!

Pretty Christmas tree/show to end the night!

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13Mar / 2023

Universal Japan – Part 1

Not my first time here and not gonna be my last! I actually enjoy Universal Japan more than Tokyo Disney. Not that I’m trying to start any wars here, but the vibe just felt better at Universal and the workers seemed friendlier.

Pretty much the scene everywhere, people with their cell phones up ready to shoot lol.

Fish and Chips | ¥2,200
fresh cod battered and fried served with chips and tartar sauce, with a side of green peas and mushy peas

My dish. Eh, it was alright. Kind of greasy but did the job.

Beef Sunday Roast | ¥3,100
roast beef with vegetables, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding and gravy

I think this was the dish? I hope this was the dish. Either way, it doesn’t look worth like 30 bucks!

Treacle Tart with Raspberries and Clotted Cream | ¥600

I wanted to try this because I always wanted to try treacle and clotted cream. Blah. It was much too sweet, hence the name treacle. I’d like to try British desserts in Britain.

Hogwarts bids you a warm farewell for now!

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06Mar / 2023

Monarch Seafoods – Kalihi, HI

After Jalna did her mega post on Monarch Seafoods, you know I had to go right? ABSOLUTELY HAD TO. And even with the clusterbutt of a mess Dillingham is in now…? I still went. I initially forgot where they were so I had to circle the block like 2 times through the crazy road work. Finally spotted them and double parked in their side garage. We were running in and out anyway!

Garlic Roast Pork with Gravy | $13.95

Out of all the dishes she shared, the roast pork with gravy was the one that made my mouth water the most. Oh my. So ono. Had a few dry slices in there but it’s okay, get the gravy to make em wet (LOL) but mostly tender slices. Their salad dressing is amazing. So good. I just relooked at their menu and see that they sell a 24 oz. bottle for $12.50 – I may have to partake in that next time I go!

Garlic Butter Sauteed Tiger Shrimp with Zucchini + Mushrooms over Linguine | $14.95

Was this good? Sure. Would I get it again? Probably not. It’s a pretty simple dish that you can make on your own I think. It’s served with a cream sauce, give it a try if you are into this kine pasta!

Nori Wrapped Crabmeat Stuffed Ahi | $14.50

Here is the dish they are known for! Is it good? Ehhh…I think it’s okay. I don’t think it’s anything to write home (or blog about) – it’s a bit dry to me. Not a lot of flavor so to me, it was just alright. My brother kept dipping it into the salad dressing haha. I don’t know why I was expecting a bigger taste explosion so I was a bit let down. But I would still return to

Menu as of February 2023 (Click to Enlarge)

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01Mar / 2023

Wagaya – Moilili, HI

Hands down one of my favorite ramen shops in Hawaii, if not the favorite. Wagaya serves up delicious ramen and appetizers with friendly service! I always go right when they open so I get parking and don’t have to wait too long! Where is your favorite ramen shop?

House Made Gyoza | $6.50
japanese style pork, cabbage and chive gyoza. (pan-fried or deep-fried)

One of my many go-to dishes, house made gyoza. Can’t beat that. Delicious! Wish they would give 6 because it’s not easy to split odd number gyoza!

Calamari Isobeage | $8.75
tender japanese squid in aonori tempura served with a shoyu aioli

Good, not great. It was actually kind of limp and not crunchy when we got it I didn’t think it was great.

Garlic Wagaya Ramen (Kuro) | $14.95
our classic tonkotsu broth is kicked up a notch with garlic
toppings: 2 pc char siu, soft-boiled egg, choi sum, kikurage, sesame, nori, green onion, fried garlic

My go to ramen always. I ask for firm noodles with level three spice (because I no can handle more and also no like pay more lol). It’s just the perfect bowl of ramen for me, all the toppings are perfect and the egg is PERFECTLY MADE.

Mochi Ice Cream | $4.75
vanilla ice cream topped with warm mochi, kinako, and kuromitsu
choice of green tea, kinako, or mixed mochi

I don’t know why I thought I would be getting green tea ice cream. I guess I read the menu wrong, I got the green tea mochi as ordered but I didn’t realize it was only vanilla ice cream offered. It’s okay, it was a delicious dish! We were just kind of full so we couldn’t enjoy this one fully.

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24Feb / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Crab Curry | $24.95
French Bread | $3.00

Bac Nam has great crab curry. That is clear. The restaurant is very popular. That is clear. The crab curry is freaking $25 and comes with no rice or bread…so we had to pay $3.00 for one french bread. No ma’am. But was it good? Oh yes. The nicely toasted crunchy bread with the crab curry was delightful. We had leftover curry so I went to Bale the next day and paid $4.00 for 3 FRENCH BREADS which we toasted up to eat with the leftovers. So good. Next time just sneak in your own french bread like you from France (lol).

Fried Saimin Bento | $11.39
fried saimin, 2 pieces garlic chicken, egg omelet, 3 pieces portuguese sausage & rice with furikake

Mitsu-Ken Okazu and Catering reminds me of childhood days. Remember their old location? How popular they were even with zero parking? Well their current location get choke parking so no worry but for me, they are located completely out of the way. Also, they pack a lot of MSG into their food. Tastes ono but if you’re not good with MSG, avoid!

Roast Duck & Chicken Rice Plate | $13.50

Remember Mini Garden Express in Ranch 99? They re-opened by the Airport and they have online ordering for pick-up! Here is the website for the online ordering site. They are still located Salt Lake side so I can go grab food when I go out to Target. This is one of my favorite dishes, love it! It’s actually served over a simple fried rice, I love roast duck and chinese style shoyu chicken so it’s a winner. Give them a try if you’re in the area! I highly recommend ordering ahead, we had to wait quite a while.

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22Feb / 2023

The 220 Grille Restaurant – Diamond Head, HI

Kapiolani Community College has a wonderful culinary arts program and I am sorry that I never got to try their dine in restaurant when they had it pre-covid! I don’t know if they plan to bring dine-in service back but was happy to hear that they offer take-out! They open their restaurant during the modules of their program so you should follow their website for the most up to date dates and menu. By the time you see this post, they will be finishing up their current module and probably won’t start up until April. Find their menu here. And you know what else is great? They have an online ordering system – so easy to order and pay to pick-up! All the dish prices include tax already and no tipping system online. But if you are so inclined, they have a tip box when you pick-up for cash tips that will help the students!

Another plus? Free parking in front of the building for restaurant customers! No can lose!

Old School Teri Burger | $10.00
old school teri burger made with locally sourced grass fed beef with sauteed onions and mayo served with fries garnished with local lettuce, tomato and house made pickles

I shared this with my coworker, bugga was ono! And 10 bucks?? What a steal! Nice handmade patty with a nice sized bun. It was one full size burger, everything was great! I don’t remember getting house made pickles but that’s okay, was good!!!

Mediterranean Salad | $10.00
mediterranean salad with mari’s garden greens, grape tomatoes, pickles veggies, braised beets, olives, cucumbers, chickpeas, red bell peppers and a creamy feta dressing

This was the salad I ordered in hopes of being healthy and to balance out the burger. The salad was okay. I mean, it’s a salad. It’s exactly as pictured and described, was great for fiber and tasted good but it’s a salad. LOL

Kauai Style Fried Ginger Chicken Plate | $12.00
kauai style fried chicken with steamed rice and old school spaghetti salad

My coworker got super excited for the kauai style chicken! She let me sample a piece and it was ono! They used fresh ginger in the breading so the chicken had a great ginger zing to it. It is served with two drum sticks which is a bit different from how it’s served usually, which is more like karaage style. I don’t know, I like drum sticks so I wouldn’t have minded. The spaghetti salad has eggs and onions…and the noodles are left long.

Shoyu Pork | $12.00

Warm Pineapple Peach Cobbler with Fresh Whipped Cream | $4.00

A lot of these dishes weren’t mine so I can’t make too much commentary. I would say what I did have was good and I would definitely return!! I hope you try them too!

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17Feb / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Ichiran Ramen Home Kit (5 servings) | ¥2000

You’ve seen this kit sold at Don Quijote. Too rich for my blood, they charge around $30 yeah? I bought a pack home for family members to try and eat. I don’t think I would buy it for myself – I rather have an excuse to go Japan to eat it fresh there!

I made my own soy marinated eggs, the char siu is from Marukai. They have a high quality pack of sliced char siu in their meat section. Was worth it! Family enjoyed the ramen.

Jenny style Cobb Salad

Just made any kine cobb salad at home. Chopped up some romaine, fried up some bacon, baked up some chicken patties, red onions, cucumbers and hand-shredded cheese (again). Served it up with some ranch, I had some leftover ranch from Wingstop (omg the best ranch) and it was divine! Kids love this salad because hello, bacon and chicken patty!

Instant Yakisoba with Soy Marinated Eggs

Bad cheat meal. I did this at least twice in Japan, I love that instant yakisoba cup noodle…and who can resist these eggs from the combini? I took full advantage! You know, I could probably eat the majority of my meals at the combini and be fine with that. I’m not picky. I miss this meal.

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10Feb / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Vietnamese Sandwich | $10.99
nguoi (pork belly), cha lua (pork bologna), pate, house mayonnaise, cucumber, sweet onion, pickled carrot/daikon, cilantro, soy sauce

I think…I THINK I FOUND MY FAVORITE BANH MI place. Sorry for the caps. What a name for a place huh? It’s called No Name BBQ Sandwich. I highly suggest calling your order in first, they make it fresh and it’s a tiny little place run by a cute little couple so it takes a bit of time.

I was so hungry, I wanted to open it in the car to take a quick bite. Oh how fast does a quick bite turn into THE ENTIRE SANDWICH IN MY BELLY. The bread was so light and crunchy and warm…and I…I just couldn’t resist. It was the perfect sandwich and oh my gosh, they give SO MUCH CILANTRO. IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE. Anyway, I hope you folks will give them a try. No lemongrass chicken here but who cares, try something else, live a little. Trust me.

Udon Salad

An oldie but goodie, I brushed off the cobwebs to make this dish recently. I just love how it looks pre-mixed. Got to use my fancy carrying case too! Super easy recipe, check out my old post here. Refreshing, can’t go wrong!

Carry Along Shrimp

My coworkers talk about this recipe all the time, you can find it at the Electric Kitchen, here. This is my first time cooking it and trying it. Great dish! We threw it in the airfryer for about 10 minutes at 400°F. I think it tastes great, howw would I tweak it? I think I would add a bit less sugar. Delicious though!

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03Feb / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Mai Musubi Set A Bento | $12.00
salmon musubi/konbu musubi

I am really digging Mai Musubi being in Manoa now. Makes it so easy to grab and go food in the morning! I’ve noticed they get some bentos out earlier in the morning now! I think I got this bento at like 6:30 AM? Yay! Score! Love their musubis, not a huge fan of the chicken karaage, was kind of hard and of course cold (no can help the cold). All in all, great value for the quality.

Chicken & Mushrooms | $16.00
boneless fried chicken, cremini mushroom sauce, white rice, potato mac salad

LOL chicken and mushrooms. Okay, I just call this mushroom chicken because I love mushroom chicken. I was waiting forevers for Hamada General Store to have this as a special and be able to actually get down there to get it!! We called right when they opened to place our order. Good thing, they sold out FAST. It was a good dish! They fry the chicken very well. This has actually made me want to make it myself. Although I don’t need fried chicken, maybe I can do an oven baked chicken. Yum Yum Yum.

Kimchee Fried Rice | $14.99

Okay, let’s see who is an old fut like me. Do you folks remember when Taiyo Ramen used to be on the other side of Ala Moana? Before the current Target building (or former Nordstrom), it was a small building that contained Taiyo Ramen. I remember this so clearly! Man, they have been around forever and I used to always go and eat their kimchee fried rice. They are still alive and kicking in their current location. They will close when they close down that plot of land. I’m assuming it’s another development. As if we need more developments in Ala Moana. I am still sad when I think of all the great places on Keeaumoku that closed. Blah!

Anyway, I decided to grab my last kimchee fried rice before they close. No set date yet so if you have a craving, go go go! I say last because I did not feel good after eating this. Maybe I overdid it? I don’t know, but I felt quesy after and didn’t even eat dinner that night cause of it. I will say, in the past when I’ve gotten their food…felt super heavy with MSG seasoning. I think had the strongest reaction to MSG with this restaurant. Anyway, I think it’s just me so no use me as the guide. Also, if you want extra kimchee, just ask!

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maybeitsjenny

Tag Archives: Japanese Food

Mixed Plate Friday (Japan)

Universal Japan – Day 2

Universal Japan – Part 1

Monarch Seafoods – Kalihi, HI

Wagaya – Moilili, HI

Mixed Plate Friday

The 220 Grille Restaurant – Diamond Head, HI

Mixed Plate Friday

Mixed Plate Friday

Mixed Plate Friday