Tag Archive | Japanese Food

Sushi King – Moilili, Hawaii

Oh my gosh. People really got whipped into a frenzy over the storms huh? I think I am being a bit too nonchalant about all this. In fact, I need to go to Target for a general shopping trip and am afraid of what I will encounter. I shall report back if it was chaos. I hope you folks are all ready for the storms…and that everyone stays safe. Hopefully when it hits land, it will be much weaker. I’ll try to schedule out my posts as soon as I can to have it all ready. Hope you folks had a good start to the week. I was super tired this morning but coffee really perked me up. I’ve become one of those people. A person that NEEDS coffee. I heard a cup of coffee is good for you. I just need to cut back on the sugar…

Anyway! Just a quick update of a recent late night dinner at Sushi King. They have late night specials that start at 10:30 pm. This is the dish my cousin had for her return night dinner. The Chirashi Special is $15.95. Do I think it’s worth it? Sure, it might be but I think I would prefer getting my sashimi/nigiri fix at other places…

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Izakaya Gazen – Kaimuki, HI

Jul17

I’ve had my ups and downs with Izakaya Gazen but am happy to report that all my ups have been in recent visits. I think it was my first visit that I had just a terrible time, mediocre food, INSANELY slow service, etc. I feel like they have now picked up their game and the food and service both are good! We came for a meal the other week and it was a good meal again! Let me share the pictures with you.

Fries with Nori Seasoning and Wasabi Mayo Dip

Here’s the dip. The fries were good! Hot out of the fryer, great dip too! They serve it with some skinny deep fried sticks. Looks like deep fried like spaghetti to me, nothing great. I think it’s a bit too hard to bite into anyhow. They are generous with the fries so I’m good with just the fries.

Cabbage with Ikura and Yogurt Dressing

I don’t think this is one of the more popular salads but it should be! It was delish! My dining companion doesn’t like salad so I had it all to myself. They are quite generous with the ikura…so much so that it was kinda salty at the end since it was all balls (hehe). But it’s a great salad, very refreshing. I’m not a fan of purple cabbage so I picked most of that off but still felt satisfied after eating it!

Our new tradition. We must get salmon nigiri from all the restaurants! How was it? Eh, it was all right. Nothing special, nothing compared to Torae Torae.

Hamachi Nigiri – this was all Kristian. He can put in his two cents but he liked it a lot. He enjoyed it more than the salmon. Looks good ah?

Rib Eye Steak with a Ponzu Sauce

Noodle Omelette! So good! It took a while to come out but was worth the wait! I was super full from the salad so I only took one bite at the restaurant. I had to eat the rest as take-out and it was still delicious! I would definitely recommend it!

Previous Post on Izakaya Gazen

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Restaurant Do-ne Japanese Food – Honolulu, HI

Jul3

Restaurant Do-ne Japanese Food is a cute little Japanese restaurant that opened up recently. It’s pretty hard to find if you don’t know where it is, and the parking can be a bit confusing but at least there is parking! You gotta turn into the lot that is located behind the building, just go straight into the lot and park along the back. There are stalls on the side but they are reserved for another business. There is a map of this parking located on their door which is kind of pointless cause you already parked…haha but I digress. It’s a small shop so I went super early to get seated right away. Luckily I did because a big group of Japanese folks came in and took up almost the entire restaurant after us. That’s a good sign of a good restaurant, native Japanese people coming in droves. So how was the food? Delicious! Join me, won’t you?

Salmon Ikura Don Set – $13.50
Doesn’t this look fantastic? What a great deal! And the detail in the side dishes? It makes a big difference I think.

Great quality fish – generous for the price!

Seasoned Tuna Don – my dining companion got the same set but got the seasoned tuna instead. Doesn’t that look great? The ahi is so red and no white stringy things! Delish.

Salad with a delicious dressing! The dressing was onion based and tasted great.

Seasoned eggplant with bonito flakes. Delicious!

Seasoned Kabocha. Good, not great. I believe it was a bit firmer than I would like.

I don’t know the exact name of this but it was agedashi tofu dish. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great meal! Great service and great food.

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Izakaya Torae Torae Part 2!

Jun24

Yes I went back! And it was so good. I called in late for a seat during a weekend and got seating at the counter. That’s great! I’m fine with that. For the post of my first visit, go here. Let’s get to the post!

Spicy Tuna Don – pretty good. I think it’s not worth it to get something like this here. Spicy tuna is a way to cover up not so good quality ahi – you should just order the good stuff!

Hamachi Carpaccio – delicious! I love the touch of truffle oil. Highly recommended!

Pork Belly Kakuni Bowl – heaven. Last time I came here, we got the small appetizer. This is the full size on rice. SO good. Look at that egg yolk, it’s so orange! Reminds me of Japan.

Kauai Sweet Shrimp – this was the special that night. Deliciuos!

As with any good izakaya, here are the heads fried up for your pleasure. Sorry, I already ate one.

STAR OF THE NIGHT AGAIN. SALMON NIGIRI. King Salmon to be precise. Can’t be beat.

Here’s an awesome reason to sit at the bar. They give you freebies sometimes! I came back from the restroom as he was handing these over. I didn’t hear him initially so I was like, we didn’t order this. He was trying to tell us it was a free sample. So shame. I thanked him gratefully and we tried it! It was a good kimchee roll. I think it had chicken in it too, it was good! Thanks!

Yah, I had to end it with another piece of King Salmon. I just couldn’t help myself!

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Gyotaku Restaurant – Pearl City, HI

May16

Another visit to Gyotaku! I got bad service again this time so this isn’t going to be a pleasant post. We were stuffed into the corner so we were forgotten quite a bit – I felt like we were a hassle to the waiter or something. And guess what?? Their kids meals have raised so much in price! I swear it used to be about $6.99 for a kid’s meal which was a great deal. They raised it to over $8 and still serve exactly the same thing. I was not pleased but I was already there. Anyhow, I’ll just share a few pictures of my food and dessert.

I enjoy their Soba and Tempura set. Delicious.

Maki Sushi and Cone Sushi

Tempura – looks a bit shriveled and not appetizing huh? Nothing special.

I love myself some grated daikon and green onions. I need to learn how to make a good soba tsuru.

Zenzai – pretty good. It’s not thick, more soupy. A bit too sweet this time.

Nice warm dessert for a cold dining room!

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Izakaya Torae Torae – Moilili, Hawaii

Apr28

I have been so excited to try Izakaya Torae Torae since they opened up about two months ago! They are located in Moilili on McCully Street – it’s right next door to The Sushi Company and I believe they replaced a pizza place (correct me if I’m wrong). They do have parking stalls in front but it is extremely limited. Our meal was so good last night that I just had to post it up already! And how’s this for fate? A spot opened up as I was pulling in…smack dab right in front of the restaurant. It was meant to be. A warning to everyone, lots of pictures and…I definitely splurged for this meal. I have never tried Otoro before and decided to do so at this meal. No regrets!

Snow Crab and Corn Cream Croquette – $7.50

Lots of pictures of this dish on social media – how was it? I thought it was good, not great. It’s not like I could taste the crab in it so for me, it was just a cream croquette.

Pork Belly Kakuni – $8.95
Oh man, this was a great dish. Includes two good sized pieces of pork belly, daikon and a soft boiled egg. The broth tasted great – favorite meat dish of the night for sure. They have a pork belly kakuni don option – the broth on the rice would be amazing.

Ribeye Steak with Garlic Onion Sauce – $16.50

The garlic onion sauce being poured on…a bit pricey for this dish. I thought it was all right but nothing too special. The meat was tender and cooked to our specifications! I also enjoyed the bean sprouts/cabbage on the bottom, so a good dish all in all.

From left to right: Lanai Sweet Shrimp ($5.95), Hamachi ($2.95) and King Salmon Nigiri ($2.50)
This was Kristian’s selection so I will let him share his comments if he so wishes. 🙂

Shrimp Head! This is the head from the Lanai Sweet Shrimp nigiri, they offer it to you fried up with a slice of lemon. So crispy you can eat the entire head, shell and all!

From left to right: King Salmon ($2.50), Otoro (Market Price, lol), Uni Nigiri ($4.25)

I hadn’t had real salmon until I’ve had it this high quality. The freshness of the salmon, the buttery taste, you just can’t beat it. It was the cheaper option of the nigiri I had so I ordered one more. I think if I return, I would just order like 4 for myself..hahaha

Okay, I know I swore off uni pasta but I certainly didn’t swear off uni nigiri! It was very good – perfectly made. But if I had to choose between this or the salmon, I’ll get the salmon.

Star of the show! Otoro! This is the first time I have ever had this. Words cannot explain the experience. This will probably be one of the few times I have it in my life so I will forever savor it. Hehe…I was afraid to take the leap but am so glad I did. It literally melts in your mouth. I think I’m going to dream of it tonight.

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Kokoro-Tei – Moilili, HI

Mar28

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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maybeitsjenny

Hawaii based food blog with foodie travels!