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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10May / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

My brother Jensen got me this super cute Lego Cherry Blossom kit just cause. Aren’t those gifts the best? Just thoughtful and a surprise? I built it up the other day and am proudly displaying it in my office! I love it!!

Have you tried ELEVEN at Foodland Farms Ala Moana? It is more of a small plates and drinks bar but they specialize in a brunch buffet on the weekends! It is $35 for the buffet and includes Prime Rib. I think it’s worth the while to try the different foods and hey you can grind down on unlimited prime rib. One missing element? No poke! I think that would really make the buffet and hello, they make so much poke already in the store!

We checked this place out from watching it on a YouTube video, you can check it out here. There is no free mimosa though – sorry!

First plate! I forget what get already. Broccolini, ulu hash browns, pulehu chicken, portuguese sausage, eggs, salad with fresh beets (!).

Second plate is for all the good stuff. More ulu hash brown, eggs, yummy chicken, fried jasmine rice, prime rib and the pork belly. Oh the pork belly!!! Nice smoky flavor, so good and also bad for you lol.

Smoked Meat and Clam Chowder

We were all excited for the clam chowder. Who can resist a good clam chowder? It was good! We were one of the first diners of the morning and the soup was a bit cold. I’m thinking maybe it didn’t have enough time on the heater yet? Maybe they count on the heater to heat it up? If it was hotter, would be mo’ betta! This would be a good place to host any friends who are visiting Hawaii! Here is the menu.

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08May / 2024

The 220 Grille Restaurant Pt. 4 – Diamond Head, HI

I did it again. I’m sorry Honolulu Aunty. I made an order and realized right after that it was their last week of service for this session lol. I must have a knack for doing this. It’s okay, I’m going to document the meals here and patiently wait for a new session. Do they open during the summer? Gosh I sure hope so.

2 Lady Farmers Country Fried Pork | $13.00
w/ Creamy Pepper Gravy, Mashed Potato, Green Beans & Corn

This was my lunch (I ordered more food for other meals lol). How was it? Blah. The pork and gravy was a bit salty but the beans and potatoes were super bland. I had to add plenty hot sauce to eat the two side dishes but I do appreciate the use of fresh string beans! I thought it was country fried steak at first and then realized it was pork after. The pieces of pork were nice though!

Beer Braised Beef Cheek Bowl | $12.00
Local Grass Fed Beef Cheek with Onion Jam Sauce, Egg Katsu, Simmered Daikon and Sesame Edamame

Great price for the dish and portion! And look at the perfectly gummy egg. Good dish! I enjoyed it! The cheek meat was nice and tender.

Teri Provolone Cheeseburger | $11.00
made with Locally Sourced Grass Fed Beef with Sautéed Onions and Mayo, served w/ Fries, garnished w/ Island Lettuce, Sugarland Tomato & House Made Pickles

Okay we always order one of these because it’s always winners and today was no different. Definitely a steal of a deal and delicious!

Local Beef & 2 Lady Farmers Pork Bolognaise with Spaghetti & KCC’s Mushroom Cave Oyster Mushrooms | $12.00

Not my dish but boy did I have dish envy when I saw it! The two people who ordered it and both liked it! I would definitely get this next time to try myself!

Cup of Banana Cream Pie | $5.00
with Caramel & Shortbread Cookie Crumble

I love bananas so I wanted to give this a shot! Not a fan of whipped cream and nilla wafers so I might not be the best audience for this dish. But if you like what I named, you would like it!!

Matcha Green Tea Bread Pudding | $4.00
with Cranberry Compote and Vanilla Anglaise

Not my dish but I was told it was a big thumbs down. It looks like they forgot to give her the cranberry compote and vanilla anglaise which it could have used. The bread pudding itself was hard as a brick and bitter so I can see why she was missing the sweet components! Shucks!

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03May / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

Loco Moco | $11.00

Yum, loco moco. I can’t resist! We have Holoholo Bistro on campus and they have become a great staple. I love that they make such a variety of dishes and their super cute decorating style. A little pricey but to me this was the perfect portion. They also take Apple Pay which I now use too much because it is so dang easy to use. If you want to check them out, they also opened their own brick and mortar spot in Kailihi where Meg’s used to be!

Homemade Tanghulu

I couldn’t resist. I wanted to make it and TikTok had a microwave version. Came out pretty good! Well 2 things, don’t do the microwave version. The sugar liquid basically needs to be boiling hot to work so it’s better to be on the stove top. 2nd, these do not store well in the fridge. You gotta make it and eat it right away, if not, you’re just looking at a melted sugar syrup mess.

Look at my new water bottle! I hung this cute and cheap chain I got from Amazon. I’ve used it for a week and the chain broke already (lol). Ah it’s okay, it was cute while it lasted! I love this water bottle because it deceptively looks like it doesn’t have the sipping straw but it does! You can chug or sip! I love it! And if you hold it at the right angle, you look like a koala drinking it. I heard Costco might start carrying a two-pack soon – that would be a great deal!!!

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26Apr / 2024

Mixed Plate Friday

Okay, today is more of a mixed bowl Friday cause I am just going to feature one thing. Remember the cute miso soup I shared with you the other week! Chan’s friend visited from Japan and gifted me a Hello Kitty collaboration! I WAS SO EXCITED BECAUSE LOOK….!

lol, I had to smash a hole in Hello Kitty’s face.

Look at all those “guts” that were in the cute Hello Kitty head! And oh my gosh! The heart and bow-shaped fish cake? COME ON. The package comes with 2 packs, I can’t wait to have the second one!!!

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22Apr / 2024

Tonkatsu Tamafuji – Kapahulu, HI

Sorry for the week long unannounceed break folks. I’m at the tail-end of a crazy crazy semester at work and I’m just spent. I still feel spent by the way. Oh and remember how awful it was for us to go through termite tenting? We found frass again but then I started reading more, I get that there could be leftover frass in furniture that could appear later. My family of course freaks out, we are covered for five years and a technician was sent out. Then my family freaks out that furniture is not covered. I don’t know what to say folks, I’ve learned way too much about termites in the past few months and I really don’t understand why the process has to be this difficult. I’ll have to continue to monitor and call again in 2 weeks if we see new activity I guess. Ugh.

Sorry for the rant! I haven’t been to Tonkatsu Tamafuji in YEARS. And when I say years, maybe even over a decade. You can make reservations on their website but the reservations are like booked out for nearly a year out. My god, people must love tonkatsu. We came on a Thursday AFTERNOON for a 4PM dinner. Yeah, I actually beat my record for senior citizen eating time. And wouldn’t you know? The place was packed with us reservation holders and then a whole line of people lining up for the walk-in line. WILD. I couldn’t believe it!

Sesame Seeds

Were they the first restaurant to do this in Hawaii? You grind your own sesame seeds to add your tonkatsu sauce in. Mmmm, freshly ground sesame seeds smell so good!

Pickled Vegetables

Complimentary! I heard they change these up every time. Ehh, they were okay. Sorry if I’m being a hater. I don’t like cabbage tsukemono when it still has the raw taste you know? I was excited for the choy sum (?) tsukemono on the right but that was also just okay. Just a bit bland. And don’t hurt me, I don’t like umeboshi so I can’t judge that for you folks.

Jyukusei (Aged) Pork Loin Katsu Teishoku (240g) | $27.50

I went for the medium set, 180g sounds so manini. So when I was looking at the menu, I was asking Chan which pork is better cause get Pork Loin Katsu and Pork Tender Loin Katsu. From the name alone, you would think the tender loin would be the best? Nope, it’s this one, the Ro-su. Super good and moist because there’s some fat in it.

Yummy, perfectly fried. It was delicious. The teishoku also comes with unlimited rice (oh my god the rice!) and unlimited shredded cabbage. They serve the cabbage with a goma dressing and a ponzu dressing. You can choose the white rice, seasoned mixed rice or 5 grain rice. We all went for the white rice and that was a great choice. You don’t want your rice competing with all the flavors! You also get a choice of red or white miso soup with either clams and green onions or tofu and seafood.

All in all, a good dining experience! Kind of pricey but I guess you are paying for the quality and service. And if I could eat more, I would definitely be asking for more rice and cabbage. We dined here in mid-April and our friends were looking up the next available reservation and it was in January 2025. CRAZY STUFF. I think it’s also because you don’t need to put a credit card to hold your reservation, and I think the wait-list line all got seated so maybe it just all works out.

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10Apr / 2024

Robata JINYA – Honolulu, HI

We recently tried the omakase at Robata JINYA. We parked at the Ward Theater parking and walked across the street, they are located where Nobu used to be. This is the first time I went to the restaurant, we were seated at the sushi bar. I think next time, I’d like to try the regular restaurant menu!

This post is just going to be a lot of pictures because I don’t have the names of almost all the dishes we were served! I believe we ordered the JINYA Signature omakase which was $120 per head. Be warned, come hungry.

J. Girl | $8.00
blood orange juice, sparkling water, grapefruit, lime, strawberries and salt

Mocktail for me. Nice and refreshing. I think this was the drink I ordered? My dining companions ordered sake I believe. Funny story of the night? Chan’s water had to constantly be replaced. Flies/bugs kept flying into them!! It was almost comical at one point. I think he had at least 2 water cup changes that night. Okay, here comes the pictures!