Japanese Breakfast

My friend and I were wandering around Ginza one morning and I just wanted to eat at one of these breakfast joints. Shoot, I don’t even know the name so I apologize but it’s really one of those in and out places that you order from the machine up front and take a seat with your tickets. They bring you your food, you grind and then you’re out. All so simple and tasty and a great value too!

Look at the picture above, everything is so clean and anything you could think of is within your finger tips. Loved it!

My set! This was like a cold udon seat with mentaiko over rice. I added on a side of natto because I wanted to okay?

Oyako Don Set

I can’t leave without leaving a gratuitous egg yolk picture. Felt kind of waste to crack the egg and separate it yourself. I feel like they could have just done it for me and saved the egg white for something? I don’t know. Threw the bonito flakes on too and mixed it with their sauce. Yummy!

My natto mixed lol

Daiki Suisan Kaiten Zushi – Osaka, Japan

This is the second time I’ve been to Daiki Suisan Kaiten Zushi, it’s not a fancy restaurant by any means but they serve up good sushi at good prices and the service is super efficient. It’s like a dream genki sushi if you will, only tastes better and is cheaper. What do I miss in Japan though? Spicy Tuna!

Can you tell I was PMSing and craving weird foods?

LOL yup, I eat like a child. I just had a hankering for hamburg steak and Japanese does it best! Or does Hamburg do it best? Hmmm…

Sorry, I don’t have a lot of details on the pricing! I can’t access their menu and it was all done through either ordering on their ipads or grabbing right off the revolving belt which was great, that belt was fully stocked at all times. If I am ever back in Osaka, I would most definitely return. Oh yeah, it’s definitely a tourist trap but I just need to brew my own green tea, mind my business and chomp down!

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.

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!

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!

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)

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.

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.

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!

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.