My friend suggested we try Yakitori Hachibei, I saw it on Yelp but people said it was always busy. Well the stars must have aligned for us on this day because we were able to grab a last minute reservation at the bar for dinner. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth the hype…well…I can’t say it’s the best yakitori place in town but it certainly had it’s high points. To the pics!

Cabbage Appetizer – complimentary.

Served raw with a very light dressing. I’m not the biggest fan of raw cabbage so it was okay.

Bacon and Egg Maki (Japanese breakfast stick)

Will you look at that? Just look at it! Sweet tamago encased with bacon, an American dream.

Tare Bara (pork belly dipped in lightly sweet soy sauce)

Pork? Yes, please. Belly? YES, please. Get in my belly. This was delicious. Probably one of our favorites of the night since we ordered it twice.

Goma Salmon (salmon in shoyu sesame sauce)

Good dish, nice chunks of salmon!

Hachibei Tempura Chicken Fingers (chicken fingers done the hachibei way)

This is their version of nanban chicken. My friend doesn’t like tartar sauce so we got it with a different preparation. All the reviews on Yelp say their tartar sauce is good, so give it a try!

Sukiyaki (sukiyaki on a stick…really on a stick)

Stop the presses. MUST TRY DISH IS RIGHT HERE. It really literally is sukiyaki on a stick. The unassuming meat roll is covering up all the fixings that come in sukiyaki. Yup, all the veggies and such are wrapped tightly on this stick with wonderful seasoning. That egg yolk right there? That raw egg yolk? You break that yolk up and dip your sukiyaki in. Heavenly. I loved it. Trust me.

Hachibei Chicken Ramen

We fell into the hype. We saw these bowls being carried out to other diners and had to get one for ourselves. Light chicken ramen served in their custom designed cups? Sure, why not. It was an okay dish. When they say light broth, they mean light broth. Nothing I would return for but it was nice to try once.

Have I come to Sushi Izakaya Shinn a few times? Yes. Do I feel like I enjoyed each time? Debatable. Maybe I felt like I had to give them a chance? The hostess is an unfriendly woman and to me that makes a huge difference in your experience. They are on open table so you can make reservations before going. One visit, we were checking their reservations and it was open and clear all night. We walk in and inquire for a seat, the restaurant is not full by the way and she informs us coldly that there were no open seats. If she apologetically informed us of this, I think I would not have left with such a sour taste in my mouth. The thing is, the staff once you get seated are great. I’ve had good experiences with the grill master and the wait staff, it’s just the host staff that ruins everything. I refuse to go unless I put a reservation in through Open Table. Also, the parking is horrendous. They share a small lot with Mini Garden and this other shop in the back…not sure what the back lot is…not a place I would go. It’s hard to get parking so good luck with street parking.

Okay I did a lot of smack talking, let me share the meal I had there last.

Fresh Oysters – delicious but pricey. We were in the mood for oysters so it was really nice. Do you folks know of any all you can eat oyster places? That would be heaven.

Fire Cracker Roll (Go to the Hell) – that’s the exact title. It didn’t wow me but it was okay.

Enoki Bacon (top) and Chicken Meatball – well the enoki looks pretty burnt. Gosh, I can’t even remember this meal…

Chicken Skin and Beef Tongue

Totally my own guilty pleasure. Grilled chicken skin? YES. It was good, sorry not sorry. Their beef tongue, my favorite here. I like that they slice the tongue so thick. Some places slices beef tongue so thin…this place makes it perfect. I really enjoyed the tongue.

Mochi Bacon and Chicken and Leek

I mainly wanted to try the bacon wrapped mochi. It was a nice bit of the soft mochi with the smoky bacon. I was glad to try it but probably wouldn’t order it again.

Grilled Lamb Chop 

It was good, but once again, not memorable.

Miso Ramen – lol, okay I think this wasn’t half bad. Definitely better than Ramen Nakamura. This restaurant really serves everything. Sushi, Robata, Noodles, and Oden! I didn’t get to try the oden but if you’re into oden, they serve it up!

Mizu Shingen Mochi with Green Tea Ice Cream

This is mizu shingen mochi right? I think it’s better at Tsukuneya…

I’ve heard about Ramen Nakamura for the longest time, they’re at the edge of Waikiki on Kalakaua. The reviews seem to be awesome and they always have a line out the door. We just had to try it once! When we got there, there was a line so we thought it was a good sign! We finally got into the restaurant and they certainly run a tight ship, customers hustle in and out of the restaurant as they complete their meals. Kamaaina get a discount so make sure you bring your ID for 15% off and it’s cash only! So what’s the verdict?

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen Combo

Well…I’ve had much much better elsewhere. What is the big deal about this place? You know one way I judge a good ramen joint? How the eggs are made. Look at this egg. The gray ring around the yolk signals it’s been over-boiled…how disappointing! The ramen was not memorable and I just had no urgency to come back.

Gyoza – typical, average, nothing special

The ramen combo comes with the small fried rice and gyoza. The whole meal was just meh to me, nothing special. The broth was mediocre with no depth in flavor. I would not recommend this restaurant especially since we have so many great ramen restaurants elsewhere.

Have you been to the new Waikiki Yokocho? It’s modeled after the Japanese alleyways full of delicious restaurants. I finally got to give it a try the other week. We were planning to eat our way through the joint but only ate one bowl of ramen. Weak sauce. I decided to give Ramen Bario a try since I’ve seen most pics of their food and am always game to try tsukemen! If you go to Waikiki Shopping Plaza after 6pm, they have a flat rate of $7 for parking until 12am. If you don’t plan to roam around Waikiki and have something to buy at Ross, I would just park in their lot and get validated parking.

The ramen options are a bit pricey but if you show your ID, they give you a kamaaina rate of 15% off. Let’s get to the food:

Egg Ramen – $13.48

Egg Tsukemen – $14.48

So this was my dish. How was it? Not great. Similar to the Egg Ramen except they add the spicy seasoning into this one already. I like that they keep fresh minced garlic on the table for use…but for me the dish wasn’t that great. The broth tasted a bit sour, might have been on purpose but I wasn’t a fan. I felt like I got less noodles when I paid more! I don’t plan on returning.

Hoji Soft Cream with Warabi Mochi

There’s always room for dessert right? Decided to try Nana’s Green Tea. I’m not the biggest fan of green tea so I tried to hojicha ice cream. It was pretty good, though I’m not a fan of waffle cones. Should have gotten a parfait huh? I actually prefer the Black Sesame ice cream at Matcha Love in the new Mitsuwa Marketplace in the new International Marketplace. Whew that’s a mouthful. If you get a chance, try black sesame ice cream. It’s so good!

I tried Bozu Japanese Restaurant for the first time last week and got hooked. I mean hooked, I went back to the restaurant three nights later. I’m not usually a night owl but for some odd reason, both visits were during their late night happy hour special which I believe starts at 9pm. While I did get one item of the late night menu, everything else was pretty much from their regular menu. They are located in the McCully Shopping Center on the 2nd floor, not hard to find especially since the 2nd floor is kind of empty. The staff there are all so friendly! The restaurant is filled with Japanese nationals but I got first rate service both nights. And as I left both nights, all the sushi chefs enthusiastically yelled their farewells and thank yous. Great food and service? Can’t miss! Here are the pictures.

Cold-style Chawan Mushi

Oh my god. If there is ever a dish to get here, THIS. IS. IT. The silky smoky smooth savory egg custard, a layer of some type of delicious gelatin, ikura, uni, crab meat, shiso leaf…it just all tastes so great. Perfect combination. Perfect dish. Trust me and get it.

Salmon Lovers Don (Late Night Happy Hour Special) 

Great dish! Lots of good quality salmon and a mountain of ikura. It’s also a huge mountain of rice, but good quality seasoned rice. Delicious!

Powerful Natto (Tuna, Squid, Yam, Masago, Takuwan, Okura, and Quail Egg)

All I can say is, you better like natto or do not get this dish. I usually see this dish named as a stamina bowl or something in other restaurants. It’s a slimey gooey mess, the exact mess I’m into.

Bozu Special Roll

How do you go wrong with this roll? All the best fish and topped with ikura! The picture may be a bit misleading, this roll is HUGE. Definitely need to share it with a group.

Ika Shiokara Pasta

Oh boy, it was a nice dish to try but boy is it salty. It must be the shiokara that makes it sooo salty. It tastes pretty good but I don’t know if I would order it again. They do cook the pasta perfectly though!

Spicy Ahi with Taro Chips

Delicious! But I gotta say…this spicy ahi is definitely spicier than other places so if you can’t handle spice…I wouldn’t recommend it. I liked it though! I may have overkilled it with two visits in one week – but definitely plan to visit again!

Do you see my Cafe Lani post below? Let me help you erase that memory and hopefully lure you down the hall to the wonderful restaurant, Rokkaku Hamakatsu. A little Japanese oasis of a restaurant in the hustle and bustle of the Ala Moana mall. I’ve been to Rokkaku once before, years ago. I had a good experience, but I think I was too young to appreciate how wonderful this restaurant was. My only memory was that they have the toilets from Japan and I get a kick out of those. Anyway, I almost feel disrespectful that I could only think about toilets when I thought of this restaurant. That is wrong. Let me show you why…

Peach Sake

I’m not much of an drinker but this drink was really nice. It was on the sweeter side which is probably why I enjoyed it. Very smooth and easy to drink. Too easy to drink. I understand the aesthetics of this presentation but it felt a bit wasteful. They filled my cup up incredibly full so the box containing the cup had at least half an inch of my drink! Oh! I was so tempted to drink out of that box. I can’t stand to waste, but I could see dust particles in the liquid in the box. I had to resist. I wish they would just give me a bigger cup so I didn’t lose that sake…hehe…

Sashimi Platter

Oh my, this was delicious. Maguro, Salmon, Kampachi and Saba (forgive me, I forgot the entire title of this one). I don’t know if I have had kampachi as sashimi before but it was delicious. Reminiscent of hamachi. The saba was delicious too! I wasn’t sure if it would be fishy (as we all know saba to be) but it was so clean in taste. The platter was definitely worth it. Delicious.

Deep fried Baby Octopus – $6.00

As sad as it is to digest anything baby (okay, I wasn’t really sad about it) – this was delicious. Good crispy crust. Great starter.

Holland Cutlet (2 pcs) – $12.00

What is a holland cutlet you ask? It is cheese wrapped in ground pork and deep fried katsu style. The picture in the menu didn’t quite match what we got. As you can see…the cheese kind of…only stayed in one hole? Hahaha, no matter. This was delicious, I enjoyed it. They certainly do great with tempura and katsu, I think I’d like to try their assorted platter next time to try the other tonkatsu dishes.

Grilled Prime Beef Tenderloin Steak – $38

Oh. My. God. This dish was to die for. They have a rib eye option and that’s what I usually go for…never know if tenderloin will be as tender and juicy. This does not disappoint. It’s served on a bed of mashed potatoes and topped with fried garlic chips. It was absolutely mouth watering. The steak was melt in your mouth tender….ahhhhh…I wish I could have it again. The mashed potatoes…eh…tasted a bit like box mix but then again I like box mix (sorry).

I had to show you a slice of the steak. We ordered it medium, I generally like medium rare. I think it came out medium rare and so it was a point for me! So. Good.

Fresh Wasabi Sauce

This was served with the steak. I took a dab at it with my chopstick and whoa, that’s some potent stuff. If you need your sinuses cleared, I found your solution. The sauce was good but it would have overpowered the steak and honestly, the steak did not need anything. In its simplest form, it was perfect.

 

Is this restaurant kind of pricey? Yes, it is. But the service and food we received was well worth. When you walk into this restaurant, you are so tucked away that you forget you’re in Ala Moana. It’s such a nice ambience inside and the wait staff are very nice and attentive. I highly suggest you try this restaurant! I’d love to return here again soon…once my wallet allows it.

I forgot to take pictures of this but for any of the katsu dishes you get, they give each person a little mortar and pestle bowl full of sesame seeds. You grind the sesame seeds into a paste yourself and then add their homemade katsu sauce to create your dipping sauce. The sauce was pretty good but I don’t know if I’m a huge fan of such a strong sesame taste for my katsu. If you love sesame, you will love this experience though!

The wait is over. I am back for one post and will disappear again for a long time. Well, I don’t purposely do it and I appreciate anyone who still visits this blog. I sincerely do. I had something unreal happen to me again the other week but didn’t rush over to post it because it’s almost becoming too much of a thing to come on here only to complain. I think one thing that has made it harder for me to update is that I purchased a new computer and I have not had the time to properly transfer all my files over to the new computer. I’m also switching from an Apple back to PC so that’s a whole different headache. I enjoy Apple but I think I prefer PC just a little more.

I am still working away and schooling myself! Two classes again this semester. I’m really trying to push myself to get that degree. I should have time this summer, I might take a class for three weeks. Three weeks where we meet Monday through Thursday from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. I am silently crying already. We will see if I take it.

Today, I wanted to share my experience at Cafe Lani. You know the restaurant. If you go to Ala Moana, you will see a crazy line for this restaurant. Why? Beats me. The newest fad? I mean the restaurant looks great. The windows are from ceiling to floor so you can see inside and see the cute beachy feel of the restaurant…and they have a window where you can watch the bakers make fresh bread. That’s the draw for this restaurant, free unlimited fresh bread for you. You’re not filling up on carbs that will inhibit your ability to eat your weight in food at a buffet, you’re just filling up on delicious carbs.

I could never come on a weekend and wait for a seat, I bet it would take over an hour to get one. The restaurant reminds me a lot of the restaurants in Japan that specialize in American cuisine. Biggest sign? They have a steak dish that is served with foie gras on top. I had that exact dish in Japan. They also have the fake foods on display in front, how much more Japanese can you get? I came on a Thursday night and the wait was only 15 minutes. I was game to try it. Let’s take a look at the food!

Right when you sit down, they set down this plate of “sauces” for your bread. This plate is for you to share with your dining companion.

My favorite sauce of the evening. It’s really just a sweet fruit jelly, it went very well with the fresh croissants.

Butter

Chocolate Sauce

Cream Cheese

Winner bread of the night? This perfect croissant. What perfection. Right out of the oven, flaky, buttery, delicious. It was so good. I had three. Sorry, not sorry. They had other breads afterwards which included a cheese roll (not a fan) and a cheese danish. The danish was a bit weird to be served with dinner…

Panko Crusted Mustard Opah

My initial thoughts? Did panko go up in price? I expected the fish to be covered with a panko crust but I must say, the fish was good. It was cooked to perfection. Want proof?

Look at how juicy the inside of the fish is! It was delicious. I forgive the panko-less crust.

Seafood Doria – my friend is allergic to shrimp so we received extra mussels. This dish usually comes with shrimp as well.

This dish was good! Seafood, cheese, veggies and marinara sauce baked over buttered rice. Who can complain about butter?

“Cheesecake” Parfait

So why did I put cheesecake in quotes? Because other than the very top thin layer, the rest of the dessert was vanilla ice cream. I don’t like vanilla ice cream so I wasn’t a big fan. In all honesty, we shouldn’t have ordered dessert because we were SO full off the bread and dinner. I was game to get the dessert because it looks so good and I wasn’t sure when (or if) I would ever be back. The middle of the parfait is filled with corn flakes. Why? We could not finish this dessert and I did not feel bad about that.

All in all, my experience here was lackluster. The food was okay but overpriced. Our waitress was not nice or genuine. She basically ignored us from the middle to end of our meal. Anytime she talked to us, she had the perfect tone of voice and words yet she would be looking elsewhere when talking to us. There were two young Japanese ladies from Japan dining next to us. We finished about the same time and as our waitress returned with their change, she sternly told them about 10 times that their payment did not include tip. Boy that was uncomfortable. I got a sense the young ladies did understand but the repeated words of the waitress did not seem to bode well with the visitors. I think I would be offended too. Maybe the waitress was not given tip a lot by these visitors, but with the service we received from her, maybe she didn’t receive tip for several reasons.

Anyway, I can’t recommend this restaurant. The pictures in their menu are a bit deceiving. Their rib eye steak in their menu looks so nice and thick but the actual piece you get is so thin. It’s little things like that, that make me wonder why the restaurant is so popular. I really think it’s because they are the newest kids on the block in a shiny new space, it’s mediocre at best and I don’t think it’s worth it at this point.

Happy 2016 everyone! Gosh, 2016. Where does the time go? Well, 2016 is a nice even number. How have your holidays been this past year? I’ve had a pretty good holiday season, relaxed. I always do my holiday shopping online and it’s great. And luckily for me, I received all my packages before the holiday so it all worked out well. Christmas is always my favorite holiday but I find myself every year saying, I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I could have. It’s really too bad. I spend the first half of December stressing out so much about school that when finals are over, I spend the rest of my time recovering. But what’s best for recovering? Eating. Folks, I have not stopped eating. I haven’t been able to update regularly but I have been capturing all the good eats. My latest share is from Sushi Bistro Shun, have you been? It’s located on King Street just after Gyotaku, it’s quite a gem of a restaurant. If you haven’t been there yet, I highly recommend it!

Special Tsukune – $3.75

Oh my, this dish was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. I think many people will be freaked out by the raw egg. You mix the egg with the shoyu based sauce in the plate and dip the meat ball in the sauce as you eat it. Oh it was so delicious. And surprisingly, all the sauce disappeared with the meatball. The sauce looks plentiful but it was perfect.

Diced Steak – $9.00

Served with a delicious daikon sauce. Delish!

Bacon-wrapped Asparagus – $3.00 (each)

I liked the way this was cooked. The asparagus was still very firm and crunchy and the bacon wasn’t too hard. I’m one of the minority that enjoys a soft bacon versus a crispy dried up piece of bacon. So those who want the crispy bacon, you won’t like the bacon on this stick.

Kabocha Tempura – $6.95

Yum. Cooked to a perfect crisp. Sliced perfect, sometimes restaurants cut the slices too thick. This one had a good flesh and crispy skin ratio. I loved it. They have a specials board and may not always remember to bring it by but ask them for it! It’s an actual board with pinned notes of all the specials. It includes this kabocha tempura and a white peach chu-hi that I like. 

Four Types of Sausages – $13.00

How can I explain this dish past its title? It is four different types of sausage. I don’t quite know how to explain the four, we weren’t given a description so I will try my best. From left to right, spicy sausage, chicken basil sausage, arabiki sausage and tomato italian sausage. I thought the sausages were alright but the thing is, they brought this out way at the end. After we finished all our food. This is definitely better as a starter, not a great ender to the meal. I wouldn’t order this again.

Sashimi Platter A – $31.00

I’ve heard this twice already. To get a better bang for your buck, order a sashimi set and get a side order of rice. You can then control the amount of rice you have with your fish and some say it’s cheaper this way too. My friend does not like wasabi so this will help him in eating just the sashimi and rice without having to constantly ask for no wasabi. I think this is a good idea all around! 

Special Shun Chirashi – $23.00

What can I say? I’m a sucker for a great chirashi. This one is made up of very different ingredients which come together to create a delicious bite. If you don’t like natto or yamaimo, you won’t like this bowl. If you do, this would be heavenly! I left that whole chunk of wasabi in this bowl so I definitely cleared some of my sinuses up during this meal. I loved it though. I definitely think this restaurant is a hidden gem and will definitely return.