Tag Archive | Japanese Food

Kokoro-Tei – Moilili, HI

Okay wait. I gotta laugh…I looked up their Kokoro-Tei‘s website for this blog and couldn’t help but laugh at one of their pictures. It’s nothing bad, but if you know this place – when you walk in, their display cases are empty. It’s usually because they make your bento to order so it’s all fresh. I just found it funny that one of their main pictures includes a full display case. Maybe it’s just me. How are you folks doing? I’m participating in a conference today and tomorrow. Today was a bit rough – 12 hours. While I am exhausted, I feel like I’ve gained so much today. Tomorrow is gonna be a hard day, they will be challenging us quite a bit but this is what I signed up for and I am looking forward to it. Nervously looking forward to it.

Ho…today was so shame. I didn’t eat breakfast and they provided a breakfast of fresh fruit and doughnuts. I didn’t feel like doughnuts so I only ate a few pieces of fruit. My stomach was freaking growling all morning. One of them was SO loud that I had to apologize to my neighbor, I felt so bad! It’s shame too but what can I do? I can’t control it. Well I can. I will tomorrow by eating breakfast before the start – I’m not a big fan of continental breakfasts.

Anyway! Sorry for the tangent. We got some lunch at Kokoro-Tei last week and I wanted to share pictures with you! Their prices are incredibly reasonable and I feel like their bentos are super Japanese. I don’t know how that sounds to you, but let me share the pictures and explain.

Nori Sake Bento – $5.00

$5 bucks! It comes with a nice piece of salmon, a deep fried filet of fish and then a tempura style fish cake! Tell me that doesn’t look delicious! And I love the entire sheet of nori on the rice.

Hamburger Steak Bento – $6.50 (I think!)

My coworker enjoyed this bento a lot. She thought the hamburger was very flavorful.

I couldn’t decide on a bento so I ordered their omurice and wanted to try the ala carte order of Rib Eye Steak. Here is my steak, I asked for medium rare. What are your thoughts looking at this picture?

That’s not medium rare, Jenny. Yes, I agree. This was definitely well done. Over done. But luckily for them, it’s rib eye so the meat was still tender. The garlic sauce is one of about 3 choices, it was SALTY. Do not just pour it over the steak if you order this. A small dip is plenty.

Omurice – $5.50

Doesn’t that look amazing? It tasted crazy good. My food took 20 minutes – I was getting a bit frustrated as I watched as everyone who came in after me get their orders. I finally stepped up to the counter and asked what the hold up was. The cashier apologized to me and told me he made a mistake of taking my omurice order when he wasn’t supposed to so I think the kitchen was working hard to make this dish! I’m not sure why they didn’t just tell me it was a mistake, I could have ordered something different. But boy, was this worth the wait. I thought the demi glace would be too salty but it wasn’t at all. What a great dish. I think they run out of this dish early so order early!

I really enjoyed their food and would like to come back. $5.00 for that seafood bento was an incredible deal, I don’t see how they make a profit! Do you see what I mean about their bentos being super Japanese? Their bentos feel and taste authentic to what I think Japan would serve up, other bento shops have assimilated their meals to cater to Hawaii tastes more I think.

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Recipe: Natto Pizza

Mar15

All the talk on Jalna’s blog about natto got me to bust out this recipe again. I wanted to show her another option for eating natto – not sure if it will work for her but anything’s worth a shot after her recent post about natto and its amazing health properties! Not much ingredients here, I’ll show you folks the pictures and credit the youtube video I learned it from!

Natto Pizza! You can use naan or pita bread. Spread on some mayonnaise and wasabi (optional). Mix up your natto as you normally would, since the natto usually comes with it’s own sauce and mustard – I used that and don’t add wasabi to the mayonnaise. Add the natto and sprinkle on whatever cheese you like!

I throw it in a toaster oven and let it toast for about 8-10 minutes. You are really just wanting it to warm through a bit and have the cheese melt…

Sprinkle nori right after the toaster oven and slice up your mini natto pizza and be ready to eat!

Yummy…give it a try! It doesn’t mask the natto in any way for those are looking to get away from the slimy-ness of the natto. I don’t think you can ever! Anyhow, I thought this was a creative way to eat natto – it’s good to play around with different recipes so you don’t get bored of the same preparation.

Recipe Credit: ezjapanesecooking on YouTube (awesome channel – I really miss his updates, he did some great and simple Japanese recipes)

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Yajima-Ya – Honolulu, HI

Mar14

I ran an errand in Ala Moana recently and finally got to try Yajima-Ya food truck! I was very curious about where this place was and if it was on the same lot as the Yajima service station. I also wonder if it’s affiliated with the actual service station or if it’s just taking advantage of the name recognition? Well I found the truck and it’s located in the back behind Hinone Mizunone in it’s own little lot. It shares a lot with another food truck, there are about three parking stalls fronting the trucks as well. I had the pleasure of struggling to back out of the lot into the busy two lane road and realize I was gassing it with my brake on. Good job Jenny. Anyhoo! I came here to try their food and had to try their signature, Mushroom Chicken! Check it out!

Yajima-Ya Menu as of February 2014

Here is the mushroom chicken on a bed of rice, spinach salad and a potato salad

Close-up of the chicken – nice and tender pieces of chicken

The glorious mushroom gravy slathered on. Look at the huge chunks of mushrooms. Thank you for using fresh mushrooms! The details as I say, always count. Super nice Japanese man runs the line – they pack up the gravy in its own container separate from the plate. No leaky plate! So what did I think? I thought it was good! A little salty since the chicken tasted seasoned and the gravy is of course salty so maybe you could use some of the gravy first and adjust according to taste. Give them a try!

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Agu Ramen Part 3

Mar7

Yes, another visit to Agu Ramen! This is going to be my last visit for a while. Oh wait, I may have to take that back. I heard they started serving a extended appetizer menu! I don’t know if it’s worth another visit for a while still…

Kotteri Tonkotsu – you see all that black liquid? That’s all oil. Yeah…it’s covered in oil. It was too much. The flavor was all right and I still like the noodles they serve but I wasn’t a fan of this bowl. I think if I do return, I’ll have to try their Jidori version since it’s supposed to be healthier for you.

Part 1
Part 2

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Gyotaku Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

Mar3

I’m rounding up all the food pictures I have in the recent weeks and I have been eating out a LOT. This comes at a bad time because I need to save money. Lots of it! I already have posts queued up for the week! So get ready for a full week of food in your face, although when would you expect any different from my blog right? 🙂 Here’s a recent outing I had at Gyotaku. Just a quick meal and post of the food.

Ahi Poke Bowl – yummy!

I got it with with tempura just because – they make a pretty okay tempura.

Kid’s Karaage Meal – it comes with a drink and a dessert. It also comes with a free toy but the past two times, I’ve had to outright ask for it. And it’s just a basket of cheap toys from Oriental Trading Company.

I find the service to be lacking this visit. I’ve had ups and downs coming to this restaurant. We were ignored basically all night and our food took a really long time. I was not too happy with this visit. The busboy was good and quick though.

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Imanas Tei Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

Mar2

My gosh, I’ve been wanting to try Imanas Tei for the longest time now! Finally had a chance the other week and took a chance by walking in. Firstly, don’t do that. They are always booked but they were willing to place us at the sushi bar as long as we could be out by 7 for the next reservation. We said yes and there are no regrets! The meal was amazing. I’m pretty sure I pissed off the sushi chef in the beginning, and I feel bad. I had laid the menu open leaning against the counter and he kept saying something to me but I couldn’t hear him so he had to raise his voice. -_- My menu was blocking him from putting this down…

The serving dish for my sushi! That faux pas aside, the meal was extraordinary.

Grilled Beef Tongue. Delicious! Great taste and prepared well.

Stewed Miso Based Beef – flavorful. This dish really packs a punch and I think it would go great over rice. Alone, I think it’s very strong.

One of their signature dishes, Seafood Dynamite. It looks as good as it tastes. Also very flavorful – big chunks of seafood smothered in a creamy sauce.

Salmon Nigiri. Oh. My. God. I don’t think I’ve had good quality salmon until this meal. I mean seriously. This was my favorite of the night. It was so flavorful – what have I been eating all my life? I can’t believe how much better it was at Imanas. It was so good that I had to order another one. Definitely recommended.

Kaki Nigiri (Oyster) – it was good! But to be fair, this was served after the salmon and I was still thinking about the salmon. If you like fresh oysters, you’ll love this.

Unagi Roll. Very good, unagi and avocado served up nicely.

Spicy Tuna Roll. I just had to get my spicy tuna fix in. Honestly, I wouldn’t waste my time getting rolls next time. I would just want the nigiri!

Fresh Scallop Nigiri – delicious. Meaty, fresh, soft yet firm (does that make sense?) – highly recommended!

Mirugai (Geoduck Clam) Nigiri. I haven’t had geoduck clam in such a long time so I definitely wanted to try this. This is very expensive and while it tasted great, it is very pricey so I can’t recommend it fully. The taste of the clam is crunchy and has a good taste of the ocean which is what I always loved.

Obviously, the whole meal was amazing. And we were in and out in like an hour so they are very prompt with their service. The only downside to sitting at the sushi bar is that you not able to order their shabu shabu or nabe which is something they are also known for. I would definitely love to come to this restaurant again! Their parking is horrendous though, they share a very small lot with another popular restaurant which makes it worst! But I would definitely consider Imanas Tei as one of the best Japanese restaurants on the island.

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Fukuya Pt. 2 – Honolulu, HI

Feb24

Here’s my sequel to my first Fukuya visit. I thought I hadn’t taken a picture! I tend to only go super early in the morning, meaning before 7am so not everything is always ready. No nori chicken in sight! So here is the lackluster encore…

Clockwise from top left, fried tofu block, shiso musubi, chow fun and fried chicken.

Fried Tofu Block – Flavorless. Only somewhat flavorful where the dressing is. Felt a bit cheated since it’s just a plain raw piece of tofu with some dressing on top.

Shiso Musubi – This is one of their more popular offerings but I wasn’t a fan. I generally like herb0y things but wasn’t a fan of this.

Chow Fun – Not great, not bad. I can’t get into okazuya chow fun.

Fried Chicken – Well it was already cold when I ate it…nothing memorable.

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Sushi Bay – Kapolei, HI

Jan29

Sushi Bay is a fairly new sushi restaurant in the Kapolei Shopping Center. Anytime there is a new sushi anything – I’m down to clown. Okay, I don’t know where that phrase comes from, I heard it on Parks and Recreation and I really just wanted to give it a shot. Sushi Bay will undoubtedly be compared to Genki Sushi and Kuru Kuru Sushi. Well after trying it, I’d say it’s almost an exact copy to Kuru Kuru Sushi but dare I say…better! They do have a few more items than Kuru Kuru and serve the same big slices of fish as Kuru Kuru (Genki’s serving sizes pale in comparison to both). Ahhh…let’s let the pictures tell the story.

Garlic Hamachi – $2.80, yummmmy…so good!

Onion Salmon – $2.80

Hamachi – $2.80, there’s bits of green onion on this and in another dish. That’s the only small complaint, they’re a bit sloppy in that regard.

Ika – $1.50 (hi green onion/furikake again!)

Ahi Poke – $2.20, delicious! And it doesn’t come with limu which I prefer.

Mix Don – $8.99, half Spicy Tuna and half Ahi Poke. Topped off with sliced onions and a slice of ahi and salmon. Heavenly.

Avocado Chicken – $2.20, here is something new that I had to try! Sorry that the avocado is browning but it was delicious! It’s just a slice of avocado topped which karaage chicken. Well not just…it was good!

We came on a weekday at about 10:30 am and they already had diners! This place definitely picked up as we ate. I hope they get successful enough to branch out and open in town. They offer a lot of other noodle and rice bowl dishes too which I enjoy! If you’re ever out in Kapolei, give them a try. I like the Target and Costco in Kapolei because it’s much slower than the ones in town.

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Tonkatsu Yachiyo – Tsukiji, Japan

Jan26

So we visited Tsukiji and guess what we had for lunch?! You guessed it! ….char siu and tonkatsu! Forreals. So if you want to try the place I tried, look for the sushi shop with the super long line and go into the doors to the left of it. LOL! I seriously actually did do some research before heading to Japan and had a brilliant resource. If you haven’t been, go to Tokyo Cuisine Guide! This blog is in English and he put in so much great details for each restaurant! Having his blog is much more useful than any published guide book. Unfortunately life has gotten quite busy for him as of late so he hasn’t updated recently but I still feel like all the stuff on his blog is still very useful!

You know how I found this blog? So I’m totally obsessed with the show Soko Ga Shiritai even though it’s over 20 years old…and I just LOVE it when they do their food specials. Well on one of their 1000 yen shows, they showcased Kitchen Carrot. This cute restaurant run by a cute little couple had these bambucha sizzling steak plates and I always drooled when I saw the clips. So I did a google search on Kitchen Carrot and got onto this blog and what a find! For the Kitchen Carrot post, go here. Great to see that they still exist and that the food they serve is still the same! Anyway, sorry for the babbling. Here’s the restaurant we went to! They didn’t know a single word of English. It was an interesting meal…lol.

Tsukiji!

Trying to navigate our way through the shops! (Hi Linda!)

My char siu meal. Awesomely cooked eggs and char siu…I do not regret going here!

Mandatory gratuitous egg shot!

Look at the giant ebi fry. This was Linda’s and she loved it! Was ono.

This is the picture we pointed at to order because we are not fluent in Japanese…lol

Original Tonkatsu Yachiyo post from Tokyo Cuisine Guide:

http://tokyofood.blog128.fc2.com/blog-entry-46.html

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Kani Doraku – Shinjuku, Japan

Jan24

If you’ve been to Japan, you have probably seen the sign for this restaurant. They are located all over Japan and we definitely had to give this place a try while we were there! Kani Doraku is definitely not a cheap restaurant but I believe it’s worth every cent. And worth every cent from Linda. We came here for her birthday and she treated! Thank you so much, it was such a memorable and delicious meal.

You can’t miss this business sign!

Check out their chopstick holder, it’s the details that count!

Their own chopsticks? It’s on now. And it includes a tool to help take the crab meat out! Genius.

Gotta try some hot sake…I’m not an alcohol girl. Hahaha. There are so many great pictures coming, so get ready (over 20)! Continue reading →

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maybeitsjenny

Hawaii based food blog with foodie travels!