10Feb / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Vietnamese Sandwich | $10.99
nguoi (pork belly), cha lua (pork bologna), pate, house mayonnaise, cucumber, sweet onion, pickled carrot/daikon, cilantro, soy sauce

I think…I THINK I FOUND MY FAVORITE BANH MI place. Sorry for the caps. What a name for a place huh? It’s called No Name BBQ Sandwich. I highly suggest calling your order in first, they make it fresh and it’s a tiny little place run by a cute little couple so it takes a bit of time.

I was so hungry, I wanted to open it in the car to take a quick bite. Oh how fast does a quick bite turn into THE ENTIRE SANDWICH IN MY BELLY. The bread was so light and crunchy and warm…and I…I just couldn’t resist. It was the perfect sandwich and oh my gosh, they give SO MUCH CILANTRO. IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE. Anyway, I hope you folks will give them a try. No lemongrass chicken here but who cares, try something else, live a little. Trust me.

Udon Salad

An oldie but goodie, I brushed off the cobwebs to make this dish recently. I just love how it looks pre-mixed. Got to use my fancy carrying case too! Super easy recipe, check out my old post here. Refreshing, can’t go wrong!

Carry Along Shrimp

My coworkers talk about this recipe all the time, you can find it at the Electric Kitchen, here. This is my first time cooking it and trying it. Great dish! We threw it in the airfryer for about 10 minutes at 400°F. I think it tastes great, howw would I tweak it? I think I would add a bit less sugar. Delicious though!

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03Feb / 2023

Mixed Plate Friday

Mai Musubi Set A Bento | $12.00
salmon musubi/konbu musubi

I am really digging Mai Musubi being in Manoa now. Makes it so easy to grab and go food in the morning! I’ve noticed they get some bentos out earlier in the morning now! I think I got this bento at like 6:30 AM? Yay! Score! Love their musubis, not a huge fan of the chicken karaage, was kind of hard and of course cold (no can help the cold). All in all, great value for the quality.

Chicken & Mushrooms | $16.00
boneless fried chicken, cremini mushroom sauce, white rice, potato mac salad

LOL chicken and mushrooms. Okay, I just call this mushroom chicken because I love mushroom chicken. I was waiting forevers for Hamada General Store to have this as a special and be able to actually get down there to get it!! We called right when they opened to place our order. Good thing, they sold out FAST. It was a good dish! They fry the chicken very well. This has actually made me want to make it myself. Although I don’t need fried chicken, maybe I can do an oven baked chicken. Yum Yum Yum.

Kimchee Fried Rice | $14.99

Okay, let’s see who is an old fut like me. Do you folks remember when Taiyo Ramen used to be on the other side of Ala Moana? Before the current Target building (or former Nordstrom), it was a small building that contained Taiyo Ramen. I remember this so clearly! Man, they have been around forever and I used to always go and eat their kimchee fried rice. They are still alive and kicking in their current location. They will close when they close down that plot of land. I’m assuming it’s another development. As if we need more developments in Ala Moana. I am still sad when I think of all the great places on Keeaumoku that closed. Blah!

Anyway, I decided to grab my last kimchee fried rice before they close. No set date yet so if you have a craving, go go go! I say last because I did not feel good after eating this. Maybe I overdid it? I don’t know, but I felt quesy after and didn’t even eat dinner that night cause of it. I will say, in the past when I’ve gotten their food…felt super heavy with MSG seasoning. I think had the strongest reaction to MSG with this restaurant. Anyway, I think it’s just me so no use me as the guide. Also, if you want extra kimchee, just ask!

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23Dec / 2022

Hormone Dedesuke – Ginza, Japan

One of the goals in Japan was to try some good A5 Wagyu. We were hungry and just trying to find a restaurant for dinner and stumbled upon Hormone Dedesuke. We weren’t sold on it initially and did a lot of back and forth before we finally went in. I’m glad we did, it turned out great! Pricey but it’s A5 wagyu, what do you expect??

Our waitress was a nice young lady from the Phillippines so her English was great. Whew. They have a wagyu set you can choose but I would opt against it, you don’t get to choose what cuts of meat the kitchen gives you. She basically pointed at the good ones and said don’t expect that if you order the set. So yeah, we went ala carte on our own. One thing I didn’t love, the service charge? Sitting fee? Service charge? This was the only restaurant we encountered that.

Yay for vegetables. The only veggies to be grilled are the corn, asparagus and mushrooms. Yup, you eat the big hunking chunks of cabbage raw. It was fine. It was seasoned with sesame oil and salt and pepper. I liked it.

Beef Tongue (unsure if this was A5 lol, kidding) | ¥1800

The tongue was good. But I don’t think I’ve had bad tongue (that’s what she said).

Flap Meat | ¥2420

Oh yum, first of the A5 courses. Delicious. Yup, you grill it yourself. I laugh cause the sign looks like it says flop meat. LOL.

A5 Sirloin | ¥4800

I gotta say, I would never choose a sirloin over other cuts but I think the sirloin was my favorite cut of the night. It was so good. I mean all the meats were melt in your mouth kine tender but this one just had a special touch.

A5 Rib Roast | ¥4800

Look at the hunk of fat you use to I guess season the grill, mmmm. I liked that they included wasabi, it was a nice topper to cut into the richness of the meat. They give dipping sauces, it’s very similar to Korean BBQ sauces.

Bibimbap | ¥1300

This might sound silly but dang this bibimbap was good. Like, maybe one of my favorites I have ever had of all time. Crazy right. I just loved the seasoning and vegetables they used. It was just…made perfect. I loved it. I’ll dream about it. I had weird cravings during this trip, because TMI, I was PMSing. 🙂 Meal well enjoyed!

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19Dec / 2022

2022 Japan – Day 1

Hi everyone! I am back! I am soo happy and relieved to report that I did not get sick once during my trip. Sick as in travel sick. I did incredibly well on the plane rides/train rides/bus rides. It might be a mixture of things but I also tried Bonine this time around and since I did well this trip, I guess Bonine will be the thing I take from here on out.

My flight in and out of Japan was through Hawaiian Airlines. They had a killer deal flying in and out of Narita so we had to snatch it up! It was around $687 round trip? Sounds good to me! We decided to do half the trip in Tokyo and half the trip in Osaka, instead of train-ing it, we decided to take a domestic flight. That was an interesting trip. Maybe I’ll do a side post on it.

For our first night, we threw down our stuff and headed to grab some dinner before resting for the night. I was actually looking for Ippudo and this place was closer so we just went for it. It was okay. We got tripped up by the machine because it was all in Japanese and only a few buttons had pictures lol.

Well first off, the char siu is hard as a rock. They slice it up ice cold and just throw it on top of the ramen. Who wants hard pieces of meat? The egg and noodles were good. The broth was…RICH. All in all, I wouldn’t go back again but was nice to start the trip off with some ramen!

Just another example of how Japan does everything better. This is their Starbucks Reserve. Our hotel was in Ginza so we spent the first day of the trip just staying within Ginza. This Starbucks was super close to our hotel. It was a bit confusing for me, you order downstairs and then go upstairs for seating. My drink was prepared upstairs but the sandwich I asked for was served to me on a tray downstairs. Their English wasn’t great haha.

I got the Winter Cinnamon Latte! I just couldn’t resist. I just noticed I paid ¥940 for a cup of coffee. What is blended? Oops! I just went for it.

Look at how cute the coffee is! The design, the whole cinnamon stick. The drink was lovely. Nice and mild, not bitter and just a nice touch of cinnamon.

Just a deli meat sandwich. Very dry. No mayo at all. It was okay, not great.

My friend’s plate! And look! They have the lemon loaf cake in Japan too! Very different. Very dense – it’s not bad but not great. I wouldn’t get it again, just stick to the one in Hawaii. I don’t wanna clog this post up with too many pictures! More posts to come!

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05Dec / 2022

Dell’s Kitchen and Bakery / Mio Pastology – Moilili, HI

This post will come is coming in clutch because I am posting a Japanese eatery as I prepare for my trip to JAPAN. In fact, I am announcing a break from posting because I will be on vacation for about 2 weeks. I am SO excited. It’s been much too long but wish me all the luck because I really hope I travel well this time. I even bought silly motion sickness glasses in hopes of helping me. I’ll be hitting up Tokyo and Osaka on this trip and just can’t wait to experience some nice cold weather and just awesome Japanese food and sights!

Follow me on Instagram if you haven’t already! I don’t do a lot of posts but will probably update a lot of story reels during my vacation!

Anyway, this is a double post from Dell’s Kitchen and Bakery and Mio Pastology since they’re located in the same space and we ordered from both!

Garlic Chili Chicken | $11.00
karaage chicken dressed in a chili/garlic dressing

Not my dish, seemed like both diners thought it was just alright. I don’t think they were expected it to look like this. I guess they expected maybe fried chicken with a garlic chili crisp on top? No complaints but no compliments either.

Housemade Turkey Sausage | $7.00
fresh ground turkey, garlic and oregano accompanied with cranberry mustard sauce

They had this on special since it was the day before thanksgiving. My coworker got it and generously shared with us. It tasted good! The oregano is definitely the overwhelming taste and the sauce is a cranberry mixture and a mustard sauce separately. The mustard sauce is STRONG. I mean no point in too much details since it was a seasonal offering.

Shoyu Butter (Soy Garlic + Butter Sauce) Wafu Pasta | $12.00
spaghetti, bacon, mushroom, spinach, nori katsuoboshi flakes

Shirasu Mentai (Soy Garlic Sauce) Wafu Pasta | $14.50
spaghetti, boiled shirasu, mentaiko, green onion, poached egg, katsuobushi flakes, nori

Leave it to me to get the more unique dish. I was eyeing out their natto pasta too but decided to go with this instead. I really enjoyed it. Who doesn’t enjoy eating baby fish? LOL, by the time I mixed it altogether, I couldn’t really tell what ingredient was what. All I know is that it tasted great. The only complaint? It’s a small serving. Or it’s the right serving and I just eat too much.

Anyway, I got a spicy curry pan from the bakery side (no pic, sorry) and gobbled that up too. The curry pan was good, baked. I think I may prefer baked over the deep fried curry donuts.

Take care everyone!

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02Dec / 2022

Mixed Plate Friday

Yo Mama’s Sampler Pack | $13.00
Chocolate, Pumpkin and Ube Mochi

We finally had a craft fair this year! Yay! And Yo Mama’s was a first time vendor I was super excited for. I was able to grab a sampler pack before they sold out. This was very good! Surprisingly I liked the ube one the most, to me it just tastes like butter mochi and I love butter mochi. I thought all three were good!

Mini Musubi Bento | $8.00

I went at 6AM to Mai Musubi and scored! They had some bentos ready so I was able to grab this up! I think it was a pretty good deal! I really enjoyed their tofu croquette, can tell it was homemade. It was nice and savory with umami. Yum!

Boba Milk Tea | $5.75

Original Egg Waffle | $7.50
Add Boba Topping | 50¢

Meet Fresh is a new dessert joint in Ala Moana, it’s on the street level located by Spectrum. We had a long day at the mall and had to wait for something at T-Mobile so we came down here to help with the wait time. I got the egg waffle and added boba topping because I’ve had this weird craving for egg waffles lately. I don’t know why. It was very good! Kind of pricey though.

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28Nov / 2022

Restaurant Suntory – Waikiki, HI

Restaurant Suntory was closed for a while for renovations and while I didn’t notice a big difference in our return visit, it’s not like the restaurant ever looked bad to me anyway? I can certainly say the restroom was beautiful with those awesome Japanese toilets. This visit happened just a few days ago and I still feel mortified. Let me explain. I treated my friend for a birthday meal and wanted to order a virgin mai-tai, I was informed by the waitress that they ran out of the virgin mai-tai mix but was able to make it as an alcoholic drink. Was that perhaps a bad foretelling for me? DO NOT READ NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVE AN AVERSION TO VOMIT.

Anyway, I’m not a drinker but I have never had bad reactions before. I HAD A BAD REACTION. I think I only had half the drink and by the middle of the meal, I was incredibly drowsy and tired. I didn’t want to move too much because I felt like I would get dizzy. It was awful. I stopped eating and just sat there wanting to just sleep. I couldn’t sleep at the restaurant of course. Finally the check comes (which felt like forever) and I signed off on it and excused myself to go outside. Well guess what, I started throwing up as I walked out. I tried my best to cover my mouth but I know things got out (sorry for the TMI) and I ran into the bathroom and it was awful. I also got it in the stall but wiped it down as much as I could. I felt awful both physically and mentally. But I didn’t have the energy or strength to feel bad, I wiped myself off as much as I could (yeah, it got all over my clothes too) and sat outside to wait for my friend. I don’t know how obvious it was but when my friend went to get a parking validation and I sat waiting for him outside, the manager came out and gave me a cold towel and asked if I was okay. He quickly left but what a sweet gesture. It was one of those disposable wet towels they give you at your meals but that was so nice. I will remember that and felt so bad because I am sure they had to clean up after me. Mortified. Anyway, the waitress shared they only validate for an hour but if we are kamaaina we can go downstairs to the service counter to get additional validation. My friend couldn’t find the counter she spoke up so we just left. I wanted to GET HOME. Anyway, I’ll share the pictures of the food and now officially know that I will never drink rum ever again.

Salmon Sashimi | $20.00

A nice appetizer to share. Nice cuts of salmon!

Salmon Salad | $18.00

I decided to get a salmon salad and mini rice bowl as my meal. This salad is very similar to the one they serve at Katsumidori. It’s very good, I loved it. I didn’t love regurgitating it all night but it was a good salad.

Deep Fried Shrimp Cake | $14.00

This was good. My friend was giggling at the placement of the pepper and the balls, grow up. Hahahaha nah. I didn’t get to try it fresh that night but tasted pretty good heated up the next day.

Mini Rice Bowl with Grilled Eel “Kabayaki” | $15.00

My main dish. Once again, I couldn’t eat it that night so I had it reheated. Was good. I don’t know, I can’t tell the difference between “good” eel and just the kine you buy in the supermarket, you know?

U.S. Prime Filet Steak with Sesame Sauce | $42.00

My friend’s dish, he enjoyed it. I don’t wanna talk about it. Hahaha but it’s nice because it comes out already sliced so it’s easy to eat. Doesn’t come with rice or anything, kind of silly to me. You gonna pay $42 for this, should come with rice and miso soup at least? That’s what’s lacking at Suntory, good teishoku sets.

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23Nov / 2022

Recipe: Tuna Tofu Patties

Okay lol. I made this recipe and must have messed it up somehow. It became a tuna tofu scramble and I’m okay with that. I was actually really rushed for time that day and the mixture was not working with me when I tried to form patties. I gave up and just stir fried it all up.

I don’t know where I messed up, I did double the recipe but followed it exactly. Anyway, I really enjoyed how this tasted so I’ll share the recipe as is.

2 blocks of firm tofu after I pressed it to drain, crumbled it up real nice. Is this considered okara?

I can’t find my grater for the life of me so I use a vegetable peeler to peel out long strips and then hand mince the carrots. I was not having it so you can see the different sizes. It’s okay, it makes for a better texture, lol. What do you think I did wrong for it not to form into patties?

Anyway, no Mixed Plate Friday post this week! Enjoy your thanksgiving and I hope you get some super good Black Friday deals!

Tuna Tofu Patties

Ingredients
1 block firm tofu (about 14 ounces)
1 (5-6 ounce) can tuna
1 egg
2 tablespoons panko (or breadcrumbs)
1 small carrot, grated
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions
First you must crumble the tofu. To do that, drain as much moisture as you can from the tofu. I do this by putting the tofu block in a colander. Put a plate on directly on top of the tofu. Then put a canned good (or cup filled with water) on top of that plate to weigh it down. Let sit for 15 minutes. Then you crumble the tofu (use your hands) into a bowl.
In a mixing bowl, combine the crumbled tofu with the tuna, egg, panko, carrots, onions, green onions, and ginger.
Mix everything until it’s well combined. Then season the mixture with the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
Gently form into small 2-inch patties. Pan fry the patties on each side for 3-5 minutes. Serve hot, with a bowl of rice or as a side dish to a larger meal! Enjoy ^_^

Recipe is from Onolicious Hawaii.

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21Nov / 2022

I-NABA – Moilili, HI

I freaking love soba. I love zaru soba. I think my first brush with zaru soba was when I worked at a bento take-out place. Technically wasn’t supposed to but when we had bentos leftover at end of day, we would take one or two. I had two favorites, tuna tamadon and zaru soba combo. The zaru soba came with like a california roll – was the best.

Sorry for the side story. I think we can all agree that I-NABA is the OG and does soba so well. On a whim, we came here for lunch and thankfully it was right when they opened so we could get a seat. The restaurant filled up pretty nicely after that. Short post today, only got two pictures to share!

Tempura Soba A | $21.00
Upgrade large size | +$3.00
2 shrimps, veggie tempura and zaru soba (pictured) or kake soba

This set also comes with rice! Sorry I forgot all the choices, was it sushi rice, white rice and mixed mushroom rice? Of course gotta get the mixed mushroom rice! This wasn’t my dish but it was thoroughly enjoyed!

Bara Chirashi Bowl & Soba | $25.00
Upgrade to regular size | +$3.00
chopped some kinds of sashimi over sushi rice, also comes with half size zaru soba or kake soba (I chose zaru)

I can’t recall if I upgraded to regular size soba but knowing me, I absolutely must have. I mean, I’m there for the soba! So delicious. Really hit the spot because I was craving soba and a chirashi bowl. Yes, pricey. I’m a broken record but was worth it. Also, wow, if you in a rush to eat somewhere, come here. They bring out your food FAST. Almost too fast. Nah nah, let’s leave it as a good thing.

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18Nov / 2022

Mixed Plate Friday

Did you folks have a nice Halloween? Okay, it’s been like 2 weeks already but I didn’t get to post this. First time making those mummy hot dogs for the office. I didn’t have yellow mustard so ketchup eyes it is. Make em zombie mummies (sure why not). I didn’t know the recipe calls for a half slice of american cheese too. I thought it was odd. I don’t think you need the cheese. I also made a pan of fudgy brownies that morning, called them graveyard soil or something. Morbid. But it was a nice day because we had a bunch of little kiddos come by the office, they are always so cute. I really missed that during the pandemic.

Char Siu Look Funn | $3 per roll

Used to get a few look funn places in Chinatown but it seems like Chi Kong Look Funn Factory is the last man standing? They only make this so you know it’s gotta be good and yes, it is good. I think this picture shows two rolls. I cut it up myself and make my own dipping sauce. My dipping sauce includes sesame oil, hot sauce, sweet soy sauce and regular soy sauce. I’m extra in all aspect of my life.

Healthy Vegetable Bento | $13.98
combination of our daily homemade sozai with mixed grain rice

I love Kokoro Tei and don’t eat there nearly as much as I want to. Well, I guess it’s a good thing. I bring home lunch to work daily so it’s good I not out there spending too much money. I really enjoy their sozai so I don’t care what comes in it. Just load it up! This one had the following:

From top, clockwise:
Hijiki: Seaweed salad with carrots
Shiraae: Mashed tofu with spring vegetables
Nasu: Simmered eggplant with grated ginger
Kinpira Renkon: Braised lotus root with carrots and sesame
Okura: Sesame seasoned okra
Kabocha: Simmered winter squash

I loved all of it, even the nasu. And if you know me, you know I don’t like eggplant but they make it so good. Give it a try!

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maybeitsjenny

Tag Archives: Japanese Food

Mixed Plate Friday

Mixed Plate Friday

Hormone Dedesuke – Ginza, Japan

2022 Japan – Day 1

Dell’s Kitchen and Bakery / Mio Pastology – Moilili, HI

Mixed Plate Friday

Restaurant Suntory – Waikiki, HI

Recipe: Tuna Tofu Patties

Tuna Tofu Patties

I-NABA – Moilili, HI

Mixed Plate Friday