After recently discovering what I’ve proclaimed to be “Da’ Bes’ Freekin’ Laulau on da’ island” over at Highway Inn in Waipahu, I’ve been sort of bent lately on finding another Hawaiian food eatery on the island that might be able to top them.

Which leads me here to today at Windward Poi Bowl in the 96744, baby! Kaneohe peeps in da’ house say “ya-yah!”. say “yah-yah!”. Say “woot-woot!” Now one more time, say “woot-woot!”. lol

Everytime I’ve driven past this place, I was always curious about their Hawaiian grindz. Then I asked Diner AC, a Kamehameha school grad (endorsing the Hawaiian heritage credibility) and windward-side resident what she thought of Windward Poi Bowl, and she said “pretty good!”. Shoots ‘den, I going check ‘em out, and that’s just what I did.

Like most hole-in-the-walls, there’s a very small dining room, in this case with a very clean, laid-back tropical theme going on…

In case you’re going to ask if Windward Poi Bowl has any affiliation with Ala Moana Poi Bowl, no they don’t. Different owners. The owner of Windward Poi Bowl is Brian Hayasaka.

Let’s check out Windward Poi Bowl’s menu board…

Here they have a visual aid chart of their various container serving sizes…

The Wasabi Poke sounded good on its own, but nah, not with my Hawaiian food. Wasabi not going match. With this meal, Poke gotta be prepared the tradional Hawaiian style way wit’ da Limu Kohu (red seaweed)  and Inamona (roasted, crushed Kukui Nut).

They have more photos of their menu items on the other side here…

This is a neat bowl…

I want one to keep my precious Kauai salt ponds Ala’e salt in.

I told Lei, the very friendly server, that I only wanted poi with my meal and no rice, and that I also wanted Squid Luau as part of the meal. To which she suggested I get “Brian’s Combo”. This is described as having “The Works”, including Laulau, Kalua Pork, Pipikaula, Lomi Salmon, AND your choice of either Chicken Long Rice or Chicken Luau and Rice or Poi.

Perfect! Finally a Hawaiian food restaurant that gives me some of just about everything at one comfortable price. The only thing I had to pay a dollar more for was the upgrade to Squid Luau instead of Chicken Luau. No problem, hook me up!

So here we have “Brian’s Combo” with a Squid Luau “upgrade”…

Windward Poi Bowl – Brian’s Combo: “The Works” includes Laulau, Kalua Pork, Pipikaula, Lomi Salmon AND choice of Chicken Long Rice or Chicken Luau and Rice or Poi. $10.95 (plus $1 dollar more for Squid Luau “upgrade” as shown).

I’m just a little disappointed they used the “dreaded” white styrofoam clamshell takeout container, a.k.a. “WSCTC”. What happened to the partitioned paper cafeteria tray they have depicted in the photo? Oh well.

Let’s zoom in for a closer inspection of each dish, starting with the main attraction, da’ Laulau…

This buggah’ is MASSIVE. Bigger than my fist. The only complaint I have is that it’s not served still wrapped in the Ti Leaf. I really think the Ti Leaf “purse” is an important part of the presentation when it comes to Laulau, while also reassuring you it will have the uniquely “Hawaiian” flavor imparted by the Ti Leaf.

Moving on over to the Kalua Pig and Pipikaula…

In the back row we have our Lomi Salmon…

Visual chunks of salted salmon in there. Good sign. Green onion, check. White onion, check. fresh (not overripe) Tomato, check.

Finally, da’ Squid Luau “upgrade”…

Hmmmm, looks kinda’ “milky”, which I’m assuming this one’s gonna’ have a strong Coconut Milk flavor, which personally I LOVE! Some folks don’t like the Coconut flavor to be that strong, but I do. As long as it’s not TOO SWEET! That was the problem I had with the Squid Luau from Kanak Attack.

Enough looking. It’s time for kaukau! Let’s go back to that freekin’ beeg Laulau, cut it open and have a bite…

No Butterfish, but at least there’s two sizeable strips of pork fat in there for that burst of FLAVAH. And look at all those layers of Luau leaves. Choke! Love it! I actually enjoy eating the luau leaf part of the Laulau as much as the pork that’s in it, so for me this is a big plus! Taste-wise, this Laulau overall is a WINNAH!

Salted with Hawaiian salt just right, really punching out the flavors of the fork-tender, super-moist Luau leaves, pork and pork fat.  Has it dethroned the current holder of “Da’ Best Freekin’ Laulau” at Highway Inn? No, not quite. But I applaud it, and give it a very tasty 3 SPAM Musubi. Had it been wrapped in Ti Leaf it would have got a 4. Had it had butterfish, probably a 5.

Now let’s sample da’ Kalua Pig and da’ Pipikaula…

Da’ Kalua Pig is also winnahz! Super moist, perfectly seasoned with Hawaiian Salt, with a natural “Imu-like” smoked flavor to it, without being too subtle or overpowering. 4 SPAM Musubi on the Kalua Pig.

So far, so good!

As for the Pipikaula, nah, pass. It’s almost exactly like the one at Highway Inn, which for me at least, tasted like nothing more than a piece of beef that’s been cooked beyond Kingdom Come, while being very bland. My leather belt probably tastes better than this. Well not that bad, but you know what I’m sayin’. Actually, after putting some Hawaiian salt on it that helped. So I’ll still give at least a 1 SPAM Musubi.

Now let’s sample da’ Lomi Salmon, because you know, after you eat one bite Kalua Pig, you gotta’ chase da’ buggah wit’ da’ Lomi…

Lomi Salmon’s good. Real ono. Fresh-tasting. Generous pieces of salt salmon, while not being too salty. 4 SPAM Musubi. The Maui onion that’s served alongside it was a winnah as well. Supah sweet da’ buggah! Whack dat’ with some lomi salmon and chase ‘em wit’ da’ poi, whoooo, broke da’ mout’!

While I’m at it, the Poi, which tasted like Taro brand, was very fresh as well, and most importantly, not watered down to SOUP! 5 SPAM Musubi for the Poi. Better be, after all this place is named ‘Poi Bowl’!

Now let’s try da’ Squid Luau…

The flavor is OUTSTANDING. Lovin’ it. Strong unsweetened coconut flavor that’s intensely flavored with the flavor of cooked Luau leaves, while being salt-seasoned perfectly. There’s a pretty good amount of very tender, not rubbery Tako in it that you can also taste its flavor in the luau-leaf infused coconut milk “broth”.

But texture-wise, whoah brah, what is dis? Waihe’e ‘kine Squid watah or what? lol It was so loose and runny, I practically could have drank this out of a straw! May I suggest to Brian he take some of that generous amount of Luau leaves he’s wrapping the Laulau with and throw some in the pot with the Squid Luau!

Was still really ono though. Even as runny as it was, flavor-wise I give it a very solid 5 SPAM Musubi. The soupyness was a substantial deficit though, so for that, overall we’ll have to give the Squid Luau a still highly respectable 3 SPAM Musubi.

Summing it up, I give Windward Poi Bowl’s ‘Brian’s Combo’ a supah ono 3 SPAM Musubi rating. I’m impressed!  Thicken the Squid Luau with more Luau leaves, serve da’ laulau still wrapped in da’ Ti Leaf, fix the Pipikaula, and finally serve the food on a cafeteria tray type of paper plate and this could be a 4 or 5-SPAM Musubi’er!

Windward Poi Bowl
45-1117 Kamehameha Hwy.
Suite #106
Kaneohe, Hawaii  96744
Tel. 808-236-2695

Business hours:
Monday – Friday: 11am to 2pm/5pm to 8pm
Saturday: 11am to 8pm
Sunday: closed

The Tasty Island Rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

Contrary to the title here, this certainly isn’t my first-ever visit to Kin Wah Chop Suey, as I’ve been here countless times during the 80’s when I lived in Kaneohe. I mean COUNTLESS times; like at least once or twice a month, as this was my parent’s favorite neighborhood family restaurant. Mr. Chang, the original owner and cook who hailed from down the street at Mui Kwai Restaurant, has since since retired, and Kin Wah is now operated by his niece.

I’m naming this review “First Taste”, as while good, I don’t consider the spread we had for lunch on this visit a “Complete Kin Wah Experience”. What I mean by that is having a full course FEAST like we always used to do for dinner.

We’re talking the works, including Abalone Soup, Salted Duck Egg, Egg Fuyong (one of my favorites!), Beef Broccoli, Mongolian Beef, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, Kau Yuk and Bun (Charsiu Bau), Sweet and Sour Shrimp, Roast Duck, Cold Ginger Chicken, Crispy Gau Gee, Crispy Wunton, and my sister’s all-time favorite, their cake noodle.

Completing the “Kin Wah Experience” was our regular waitress who spoke as much English as I can speak Chinese, which is barely to none at all. In her heavy Chinese accent she would take our order, then after writing it all down, she would repeat what we’re getting like this (provided with English translations):

“Kay, you foh geh wuh oh’da Abba’ Soo, Bee’ Baw (O.K., you folks are getting one order Abalone Soup, Beef Broccoli), Mah’goh Bee’, Shee Shau Spay Wee (Mongolian Beef, Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs), Kau Yuk Buh, Shee Shau Shee’, Woah Dock, wuh o’dah Saw Duh Eh (Kau Yuk and Bun, Sweet & Sour Shrimp, Roast Duck, one order Salt Duck Egg), Kou’ Gee’ Chih, Aye Foo-yuh, Keepee Gau Gee, Keepee Wontuh and Kay Nooh’ (Cold Ginger Chicken, Egg Fuyong, Crispy Gau Gee, Crispy Wonton, and Cake Noodle).”

I kid you not! I am not making that up. She NEVER pronounced the entire name or word. It was always cut short like that. Right down to the “Fai’lai” (Fried Rice) or “Wai’ Lai” (White Rice) to the “Eye Wah” (Ice Water). I swear, I used to fall off my chair rolling everytime we went there! LOL! Really sweet lady though.

And in all fairness, had that been me working in an American Restaurant in Hong Kong trying to read off the menu in very broken Chinese, I don’t think I could get past the first item or sentence. I mean, we did understand what she was saying, at least!

Anyhow, fast-forward to yesterday (March 17, 2010), here I was picking up a takeout plate from Kin Wah Chop Suey, where I happened to stumble upon an old family friend of ours who invited me to have lunch with him and his daughter. A very simple affair of single dishes ordered for each person versus the family style system as mentioned above.

With that, Uncle Eddie, who is a retired aircraft mechanic for United Airlines, ordered the Ap To Mein (sp?), a.k.a. Pot Roast Duck Noodle Soup…

Kin Wah Chop Suey -- Pot Roast Duck with Noodle Soup. $7.75

His lovely daughter “Diner D” ordered the Tofu with Vegetables and Chow Mein Noodles…

Kin Wah -- Tofu with Vegetables and Oyster Sauce (and Black Bean Chili Paste). $6.50

And yours truly ordered the Kin Wah Special Plate “B”…

Kin Wah -- Special Plate “B”: Kau Yuk, Spareribs, Beef Broccoli, Crisp Gau Gee, Fried Shrimp and Rice. $6.75

Wow, that’s a ton of food for just $6.75!

Here’s another angle of plate “B”…

As for the taste, it’s just like I remember Kin Wah to be from back in the day. The  Crispy Gau Gee (“Keepee Gau”), Fried Shrimp (“Fai Shee) Kau Yuk (Charsiu) Sweet & Sour Spareribs (“Shee Shau Spay Wih’) and Beef  Broccoli (“Bee’ Boh) were all really good. I especially love their Crispy Gau Gee (“Keepee Gau”) that’s packed generously with pork, encased by a very tasty golden brown ‘n crispy (“keepee”) wonton wrapper…

Dip that buggah in da’ shoyu and coleman’s mustard ,and winnahz!

Summing it up, I give Kin Wah’s Special Plate “B” 4 SPAM Musubi, adding an extra point for superb value.

Uncle’s daughter gave a thumbs-up for her Tofu with Vegetable and Chow Mein dish as well…

While it looks rather plain as is, it’s served with a Black Bean Chili sauce on the side that she used to dip the stuff in as she ate it.

As for Uncle’s Pot Roast Duck with Noodle Soup, he thought it was, “eh, ok”…

The broth was just “eh, ok” and so was the duck.. just “eh, ok”. That’s all he had to say about it, which means Kin Wah’s Ap To Mein gets 1 SPAM Musubi.

Our table also ordered a couple Jin Dui…

Although I didn’t eat any Jin Dui, as I was stuffed, having not even being able to finish half of my Plate “B”.

As said earlier, I had come here to pick-up a takeout plate, which is what we have here with Special  Plate “A”….

Kin Wah -- Special Plate “A”: Beef with Broccoli, Go Lo Mein, Lemon Chicken, Crispy Wun Ton & Rice. $6

I took this home for my girlfriend to have for dinner, to which she gave it overall 3 SPAM Musubi, Noting it probably would have got a higher rating had it been eaten freshly-made right then and there at the restaurant. She really liked their Crispy Wun Tons, which also was one of my sister’s favorites from Kin Wah back in the day.

Kin Wah Chop Suey is still located in the same place after all these years, which actually add up to decades now. That would be in a tiny business plaza across from Windward City Shopping Center, with Masa and Joyce Okazuya as their nextdoor neighbor. The decor inside still looks the same as well.

Looking forward to when I can come here again with a large group in tow for a “Complete Kin Wah Experience”, wokin’ ‘n rollin’ some “Keepee Gau Gee” and “Shee Shau Shee”!

Kin Wah Chop Suey
45-888 Kam Highway
Kaneohe, Hawaii  96744
Tel. 247-4812
www.KinWahChopSuey.com

Business hours: Open daily 10am to 9pm

Menu (<—click to download PDF (2 pages)

The Tasty Island rating (for “first tasting”):

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

Related links:
Kin Wah Chop Suey -- Yelp user reviews

Local Kine Grindz hosts’ Lina Girl and Braddah Sam Visits Kin Wah Chop Suey…

A little more Chinese restaurant humor for your entertainment….

Because corned beef and cabbage was on sale so incredibly CHEAP over the last week or so, our gang in the office decided to throw a little St. Patrick’s Day “pre-party” celebration of our own. We took advantage of the 97 cents per pound corned beef tip cuts deal at Foodland, as well as their “how can they make any money on that?” 17 cents per pound local head of cabbage. With that, we had a virtual Corned Beef ‘n Cabbage lunchtime FEAST for just a little over $2 per person between the five of us. Only 2 BUCKS! Sweet.

They say the highly marbleized cheaper point cuts, while having more flavor because of it, can sometimes be TOO fatty compared to the more expensive yet leaner flat cut. Thankfully with the thrifty tips we had chosen for this meal, the ratio of beef to fat was well in favor of beef, so the luck of the Irish was with us!

Diner C saved energy expense and time by precooking the corned beef in her pressure cooker at home, which only took 1 hour for 6 pounds of corned beef tips. Just an hour! This in comparison to the conventional method in a regular pot or dutch oven on the stovetop, which would have taken about 3 hours or more for the same amount. Or 6 hours or more in a slow cooker.

So that there is 6 pounds (a little less actually after cooking down) of fork tender corned beef tips. Notice next to it we have two types mustard: the classic yellow American Mustard and deli style spicy brown mustard. I prefer the spicy brown deli style for the added kick, but yellow works for me too.

And of course a pot full of tender cooked cabbage in the heavily seasoned broth from the corned beef….

Then the other very important part of this dish, the tender potatoes and carrots, which also have been cooked in the same pot with corned beef…

While personally the potatoes are enough starch for me with this dish, in Hawaii there’s always room for rice, and with that we had both white and brown rice joining the party…

Looks like the only thing missing is the Guinness Stout, but we’re “on the clock” so no having that.

Now let’s see how various folks chose to plate their Corned Beef and Cabbage…

Yes, that’s FURIKAKE sprinkled on the white rice there. Furikake Rice with Corned Beef and Cabbage? Only in Hawaii my friends. Only in Hawaii. lol Looks like this diner opted out of the carrots and potatoes.

Here this diner likes to SMOTHER their slabs (that’s really what they were) of Corned Beef with a huge pile of tasty cabbage piled over it…

Finally we have a fan of corned beef served with yellow mustard on it…

Another plating strategy…

This was my plate, where you see I’m experimenting (notice I like to do that?) by adding a Dill Pickle to the party…

The train of thought being that if a Dill Pickle goes great with a deli style Reuben Sandwich, it should work out well with this close relative of his. Did it work? Eh, not really. Perhaps a sweet dill pickle may have been better, but this one was too acidic and overpowered the corned beef. Notice I “gas” (pour a lot of) the Spicy Brown Deli Mustard. The way it brings out the complex seasonings and beefy flavor of the tender corned beef is so delicious. Whoever thought of pairing mustard with Corned Beef is a genius.

Notice I also put Furikake on my white rice just to see how it would match with the dish, and you know what? They paired with each other really well! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about that, as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue (a.k.a. L&L Drive Inn) holds an annual St. Patrick’s Day Musubi Eating Contest, where the musubi has a slice of corned beef on it, while the rice is covered on all sides with green furikake to tie in with the holiday theme.

Looking at the way each of us served our own plate, this has me thinking: while I haven’t researched it online yet, I wonder if psychologists or scientists have ever studied human personality traits and the way that correlates to how individuals choose and plate their food in a kitchen or at a buffet line? The results of that study might turn out very interesting! On that note, my Teriyaki SPAM Macadamia Nut Ice Cream and now a Dill Pickle with my Corned Beef and Cabbage may indicated I’m a RISK TAKER. lol

What I do know is that sure was a lot of DELICIOUS food for a price that would make any Leprechaun be singin’ de’ luck of the Irish. 5 SPAM Musubi!

Well here’s to a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you tomorrow. Hope you too enjoy your Corned Beef ‘n Cabbage feast!

For the Grindz of the Day today (actually consumed on Saturday) we have a plate of Fish ‘n Chips from Teddy’s Bigger Burgers in Hawaii Kai. For takeout, it doesn’t come served on a paper plate as shown, but in separate white paper bags for the fish and the chips (fries).

The counter guy convinced me to “upgrade” to garlic fries (chips) for 50 cents more. With that, I was expecting there to be actual pieces of minced garlic and perhaps herbs laced all over it (like Gordon Biersch), but instead was disappointed to find they just sprinkle it with bottled garlic salt seasoning. Hah?

I should have asked more questions about it before going that route, as I didn’t care for this faux version of Garlic Fries at all. Teddy’s regular fries are excellent, but in my  opinion this garlic seasoning stuff totally ruined what would have otherwise been a perfectly cooked batch of fries.  Needless to say I gave most of it to our pets. At least they liked it.

As for the fish part, the beer-type batter had a nice ‘n golden brown, crunchy, slightly airy texture and OK flavor, but could have used some herbs and seasonings in it. I’m just spoiled by Alexander’s (in Kihei, Maui) seasoned Tempura-based fish ‘n chips batter in that regard, who still holds my “Best Fish ‘n Chips in Hawaii” award.

According to Teddy’s menu, the fish in it is Pollock, which for me is too mild and really just characterless in flavor. While I don’t expect a burger joint to ace fish ‘n chips, it’s not a hard thing to do if they use the right fish. They should seriously consider Mahimahi. I mean common’, this restaurant is in Hawaii, not Alaska. It would taste so much better with Mahi, and I’d be willing to pay extra for its superior flavor over Pollock.

I’ll give them points for being super tender and moist though. So tender that one fillet broke in half just by picking it up. The included malt vinegar and lemon always provides  nice acidic contrast to it, while their tartar was rather flavorless. Almost like plain mayo’, and not enough relish in it. Personally I prefer cocktail sauce for dipping my fish ‘n chips, which is something I learned from Alexander’s. The kick from the horseradish in the tomato sauce base of the cocktail sauce really enhances the flavor of the batter-crusted deep fried fish fillet. You should try it.

Summing it up, I’ll give Teddy’s Fish ‘n Garlic Chips 1 SPAM Musubi. Next time I’ll stick with what they’re really good at – the burgers. No garlic salt on my fries, thank you very much.

Next up we have these here Kalua Pork Okinawan Sweet Potato Mini Cakes from Kahai Street Kitchen…

Take the corned beef hash patty concept and swap out the corned beef for Kalua Pork and Russett potato for Okinawan purple sweet potato, roll into a ball, coat in panko and fry ‘em up and you have these here Mini Cakes. And I must say, they’re mighty tasty! The sweet potato compliments the smokey ‘n savory Kalua Pork quite nicely. It’s served with a Hoisin Aioli Sauce, but I preferred them as is with no sauce.

Very creative, that’s for sure. Rating it, I’d say 3 SPAM Musubi.

Which has me now wondering how Corned Beef would taste with the Okinawan Sweet Potato? While I’m skeptical, I won’t knock it ’til I try it! With St. Patrick’s Day just two days away, I’ll have to put back on my “Food Scientist” hat and do some experimenting! Hopefully it won’t turn out like my Teriyaki SPAM Macadamia Nut ice cream NIGHTMARE-ON-A-PLATE. lol

*************************************************************************************

On another note, from the east side of Oahu, a bunch of changes have been happening at Aina Haina Shopping Center in the last year or so. For starters, Chuck E Cheese, who was a tenant there for decades has moved out of Aina Haina since December 2008 and is now open for business in City Square shoppping Center in Kapalama (Kalihi), taking the (very large) space of the former Grocery Outlet.

More recently back in February of this year, Foodland reopened their Aina Haina store after months of extensive renovations — essentially an entire overhaul — and are now rebranded as ‘Foodland Farm’…

If you’re familiar with this Foodland location’s former layout, you’ll be in for a shocking surprise once you step through the front door. My initial impression while walking through this new ‘Foodland Farms’ for the first time is that they’re trying to look like (and compete with) Whole Foods. Which is totally fine by me, as long as their PRICES don’t resemble Whole Foods, a.k.a. “Whole Paycheck”.

Designwise, like Safeway’s new look, Foodland Farms has that rustic countryside market theme going on. They’ve even gotten rid of the white commercial floor tiles in favor of bare concrete floors, although that part is a  little too “rustic” in my opinion, as the floors now look kinda’ beat up in some areas.

As expected based on Foodland’s recently renovated other stores, a full service deli and meat counter has been added and stands as the centerpiece of the store just as you pass the front checkout counter. Their poke counter situated on the side is also substantial in size; both of which this former location didn’t have before.

Being rebadged as ‘Foodland Farms’, the new produce department, which is now located in the front of the store, is certainly much more impressive than previous, with a even wider variety of local and and organic produce, all of which looked to be culled for quality and freshness.

Their meat department, which is still in the back, while wasn’t very big to begin with in the former layout, doesn’t look any bigger or smaller the way it is now. Just slightly rearranged.

Other new features include a full-service florist (which takes up a considerable amount of space in the corner of the produce department area), an R. Fields Wine staffed outlet and a Gelato Bar. all these “bells ‘n whistles” additions have obviously consumed plenty of floor space that once served where runs of gondolas (product shelves) once were. And with that, it looks like they may have gotten rid of a lot of skus (products) from their former layout in the process.

While I’m not clear exactly which products may have been sacrificed for sake of making the selection at Foodland Farms more “upscale”, the impression is it’s now practically half interactive market (the deli and poke counters, R. Field outlet, florist) and half grocery store, and not really a ’supermarket’ anymore.

One thing that stands out that matches their new look is the staff’s genuinely friendly attitude and for the most part great customer service, so BIG, BIG shaka on that!

There’s great video coverage of the new Foodland Farms in Aina Haina provided by the team at Hawaii News Now. Check it out at that link.

Next door to Foodland Farms, taking the space of former longtime tenant Komokata Japanese Restaurant is a new Genki Sushi Restaurant…

While I didn’t take “inventory” on my latest visit, as it currently stands, most of the other tenants in the shopping center remain the same. Where as you may already know, the Aina Haina McDonald’s is the first one to have opened in Hawaii back in 1968.

When you think of a local plate lunch, the first thing that comes to mind are two scoops rice, one scoop mac’ salad and a huge helping of an entree fit for an energy-starved truck driver, right? Yet how about the plate or container which those are served on?

As you all know, the food service industry has embraced the ambiguous white styrofoam “clamshell” takeout container, which in my humble opinion is too sterile, lacks character and degrades presentation.

Take for example this Boneless Chicken and Teriyaki Beef Plate from Richie’s Drive Inn, circa 2008….

Ah yes, the classic paper plate with a cardboard box as its protective carrying vessel. I LOVE THAT! Isn’t this exciting?! Me thinks so.

Now fast-forward to 2010, even Richie’s has done away with this method, going the white styrofoam “clamshell” takeout container route, or as we’ll conveniently abbreviate here by acronym from now on as the “WSCTC”…

Now tell me which plate lunch presentation looks better to you: the one on the paper plate in the box, or the one in the “WSCTC”? I think it will depend on what you grew up with, which being for me having grown up in the 70’s and 80’s, obviously I’m going with the paper plate (wow, I make the 70’s and 80’s sound ANCIENT lol).

For those of you paper plate “traditionalists” (like me), rejoice! For Rainbow Drive In on Kapahulu avenue still sells their plate lunches on paper plates encased in a white cardboad box…

Including the square piece of butcher paper on top to keep the food hot!…

While I don’t work in the industry, I’m sure economics have lots to do with everyone going the “WSCTC” route, which may cost around 10-25 cents per container,  versus say 35-50 cents for the paper plate, box and paper lining that Rainbow’s Drive Inn still uses. If I’m wrong on those figures, please correct me, as those are just “guesstimates”.

Now if you REALLY wanna’ talk “old school”, check out how this Okazuya on Kauai in Koloa town sells their stuff…

Brah, nevah’ (never) mind da’ (the) plate. Just slap (place) one sheet wax papah’ (paper) inside da’ box and throw everything on top (of) that! lol Classic! I love, love, love, love, love this!

This, in comparison to, for example St. Louis Delicatessen (Okazuya), who now also goes the “WSCTC” route…

Then there’s those who still embrace the classic “Chinette” paper plate, although they don’t put it in the white box. One of which would be Jin Joo Korean Restaurant in Waimalu Shopping Center…

Here, they simply cover and wrap the paper plate with tin foil to keep the food protected and hot.

The one true “old school” plate I don’t have a photo to share of is from Kanda “Kewalo” Lunch Wagon. Remember them? Their plates used to be served on this really porous, thick paper plate that I don’t think are even made anymore. They would line the plate with wax paper, put the food on that, cover it with another square (on a round plate) sheet of wax paper, then wrap that in butcher paper bound by rubber bands. If you ordered multiple plates, they would stack them on an empty soda case box. The ULTIMATE “old school” method of plate lunch presentation!

Now when it comes to Hawaiian food, the classic way to serve it is in them light green ABS plastic partitioned school cafeteria trays. Whereas at a luau or for takeout, would be in the disposable paper version of that like they do here at Highway Inn…

This way, the “juices” from the Squid Luau, Chicken Long Rice and Lomi Salmon won’t run into one another. That is, if I HAD Squid Luau and Chicken Long Rice on that plate, which I don’t. Dam-it. lol Oh, did I say Highway Inn makes da’ BEST Lau Lau on the island? Well they do!

Interestingly, Helena’s Hawaiian Food doesn’t even use that, but puts each item in their own separate container for takeout…

For those of you who don’t know, that would be Poi on the top left, Haupia on the top right, Helena’s AWESOME Pipikaula (dried and fried beef) on the bottom left, and Hawaiian Beef Stew on the bottom right.

Now in comparison, here we have another very old school place at Alica’s Market, now going the modern “WSCTC” route with their Hawaiian food plate..

Hana-koko-le-lei (I’m telling your mother), look, da’ lomi salmon juice wen’ (went) leak inside da’ odda’ (other) side wit’ (with) the Kalua Pig. lol While I’m not a fan of the “WSCTC”, I have to give Alicia’s props (points) for serving their HOUSE-MADE Laulau with the Ti Leaf still wrapped on it. And I must say, this was one MIGHTY TASTY “container” of Hawaiian grindz! Container, not plate. Get it straight! lol

While I have some problems/issues/whatever you wanna’ call it with the very sterile color, material and design of the white styrofoam clamshell takeout container, for some reason a black colored clamshell takeout container is much more appealing (and don’t call me a racist, because I’m not)…

That would be a plate (container really) of steak from where else? Blazin’ Steaks! But seriously, for some reason the black color looks so much more “elegant” if you will. Especially in contrast to the colors of the food that sits within it.

Even with this small round plate of sashimi from Alicia’s, the black plate looks so much better than if it had been that sterile white color…

I think it’s all about the color contrast that does it. With the black color, you tend to look at the food, while with white colored wares, especially if its styrofoam, your eye tends to attract more to the void of the white than the food within it. At least that’s my opinion.

Sheesh, this is getting deeper than I thought. lol

While we’re on color, what if you made it CLEAR?…

While that Tofu Poke from Alicia’s was FANTASTIC, these clear plastic vacuum-formed containers make food look CHEAP. Not bad. Just cheap. I think between white, black or clear, black plates and containers have a much richer, more elegant look to it.

So does a fantastic spread of sushi (lunchbox) like this look cheapened when placed in clear plastic…

Still tastes like a million bucks though, don’t get me wrong!

Even this otherwise delicious Greek Salad and Grilled Ahi plate from Matters of Taste (now Eat Cafe Honolulu) doesn’t look as good as it could being packed in clear plastic…

If there’s any local company that’s akamai (smart) about marketing, it would be Zippy’s. Here you see they’re in accord with my thoughts on the subject, as while they’ve long since abandoned the paper plate and box method (which they used to do), at least the’re now using BLACK styrofoam and plastic “plates”…

This would a “plate” of Zippy’s Teriyaki Beef, Mandoo, Kim Chee Fried Rice and Egg. Wow, somebody call me a doctor! lol

Now imagine if that “plate” had been white or clear? It would look so much less appealing in my humble opinion. Black is back, baby.

Then there’s the topic of plate/container shape and design. In Zippy’s case of the black container they now use as shown above, they’ve decided to go with one one main partition for where the entree goes, and a horizontal second partition to where normally goes the 2 scoops rice and 1 scoop mac’ sal’. In this case they’ve changed it up, only because the Kim Chee Fried Rice is the main entree.

Then you have their mini plate, which is round and doesn’t have any partitions at all…

Frankly, if you ask me, when it comes to plate lunches, I prefer all the hamburger steak gravy “kissing” my mac salad and rice like that. If it’s partitioned, that only leaves me the “chore” of having to scoop my rice over the “lip” and back into the sauce. Brah, that makes life that much more difficult! lol

Then there’s the single dish rectangle-shaped bento style box, like Zippy’s now uses for their Fried Noodles…

Yet, like the “traditional” paper plate, even this type of container can serve as a platform for a major mix of food, as is the Zip Pac…

Back to the white styrofoam “clamshell” takeout container, some are partioned into three sections, like this one from Tatsuo’s….

In this case, they’ve placed the rice under the chicken katsu, so the curry covering it will ooze through the rice bed (good choice), while the second partition is reserved for the namasu, and the third for the mac’ sal’. Poor mac’ sal’ is always kept away by his lonely self from the “party”. lol

Then once in a while you’ve got some places who have their priorities all wrong  (I’m saying that lightheartedly). Take for instance here at Queen Street Cafe, where they put the two scoops rice in the main section, while relegating the main entree to the little section on the side!…

Eh brah, no make! (hey man, what’s your problem?!), wassup’ wit’ ‘dat? (what is up with that?). Some places get around the “priority syndrome” by putting one scoop rice in the smaller third partition, and the other next to or underneath the main entree in the big section. This way you have rice “options” of either being smothered in gravy or not. Or as the Philly Cheese Steak folks say, “wit” or “wit’ out”.

For the mini plate, some places have scaled-down versions of the multi-partitioined white styrofoam clamshell takeout container. While others have these half-sized elongated containers, like they do here at Kanak Attack…

In Zippy’s case, instead of the 2-partioned rectangle styrofoam container, their mini plates are served on a black plastic round plate…

While at some very generous places, the mini plate is served in a regular sized plate, and the only thing “mini” about it is often just one less scoop rice! lol

Again, personally when it comes to a dish with gravy, I want that stuff all over my rice, like this SPAM JAM Loco Moco Plate…

And this Zippy’s Chili Chicken Plate…

See, again in this case, I have the tough chore of having to scoop my lonely, unsauced rice over to the side where the teriyaki is on this Zippy’s Teriyaki Meatloaf plate….

If plate lunch cooks around the state would only realize this simple concept of “rice needs to be with sauce”, life for us “grinders” wouldn’t be so difficult. lol

Plate lunches aren’t necessarily always served in takeout form. If you dine in, some places serve it up in much sturdier porcelain dishware. Like this Mahimahi and Teriyaki Chicken plate from Ethel’s Grill…

It would have been nice if they added some green on there, like say a sprig of Parsley or sprinkle of chopped green onion. What? I’m being too “fu fu”? lol

See, at least  The Shack Waikiki threw on some julienned green onion for that color contrast on this otherwise dominantly brown gravy-colored Hamburger steak plate…

Then you have the question of “to sauce or not to sauce”. As in, should the sauce be poured on your food by the cook? Or should they provide it on the side in a separate container. Where once again we’re at The Shack Waikiki with their Chicken Katsu plate, this time with the Katsu sauce served separately on the side in a container…

For some reason, the oval shape of the plate inspires the cook to place the rice at the “12 o’Clock position, like they also do here at Sam Sato’s…

And Sam Sato’s Chop Steak…

In this case, notice for “token color contrast”, the cook added a small helping of (green) peas, (orange) carrot and (light green) lettuce under the mac’ sal’. Ah heck, whatever works. lol

This is what I mean about Mr. Mac’ Sal’ always being alone, as is the case again with this plate from Boulevard Saimin…

Brah, I want that teriyaki sauce kissing my mac’! Poor guy.

Back to The Shack Waikiki, some food looks better not on a plate at all, but in a basket that’s lined with checkerboard-printed paper like this Shrimp ‘n Chips…

I still can’t figure out what it is, but something about food wrapped in or served on paper has so much appeal to me.

Then there’s the plate lunch cousin from Japan, the Bento lunch box, which most often are presented in rectangle or square single or multi-partitioned vacuum formed containers shaped like the traditional wooden box they were once served.

Like this bento from K’s Bento-Ya in Waipahu…

And this one from Marukai…

Or this one from Don Quijote, which I’ll affectionately name the “Brady Bunch Bento”…

Some foods need to be in served bowls, such as soup and saimin. Or in this case, since they’re name is ‘Poke Bowl’,  they can’t serve a ‘Poke Bowl’ on a plate or in a bento box, right? No, it has to be served in a bowl…

Then there’s the case of how those bento boxes are delivered or merchandised. Unlike plate lunches, which are prepared to order, bento lunch boxes are usually made far in advance (usually early in the morning) and kept at warm or room temperature either simply on a table for sale display…

Or in “Bento Man’s” case (Nippon Restaurant and Catering), they’re transported to neighborhood businesses for sale in coolers in the back of a van…

Yet not all bento lunches are premade, as is the case with the bento from Poke Stop, which is made-to-order…

Any other “plate lunch presentation” containers we’ve left out so far? Sure. How about the paper tray, where here we have one filled with fried noodles from the Punahou Carnival…

With all this talk of paper and plastic, surely the thought about our environment and saving the planet must come to mind, which I’m all for. One place that’s thinking “green” is Eat Cafe Honolulu in Gentry Pacific Design Center, who now serves their takeout food in 100% biodegradable, recycled materials containers…

This material seems like a hybrid blend of paper and plastic by the touch. Very interesting. Will our cars one day be made out of this stuff?

There you have it. I probably didn’t cover every style of plate or presentation around out there, but for the most part I’ve covered the most common.

Personally I wish everyone would go back to paper, preferably recycled. If not, black is back.

BWS Cafeteria – Baked pork chops in mushroom gravy with rice and salad

For yesterday’s greasy spoon pauhana Friday grindz, the three of us decided to check out Driver’s Diner near HNL. They’re located on the corner of Ualena and Ohohia street, right across the street from Royal Hawaiian Movers…

If for some inexcusable reason you don’t know where Royal Hawaiian Movers are (because you know, everyone living on Oahu should know where they are lol), than this lonely high rise office building in an otherwise low-rise industrial warehouse area still emblazoned with Wyland’s Humpback Whale mural art a little down the street should help point you in the right direction…

Once inside, you’ll find a quite large, very clean and newly renovated dining room space…

I think owners of restaurants are putting flat screen TVs in their establishment as much for themselves as they are for their guests. lol But no, that’s not the owner sitting there slacking off, but a customer. The owner is a pretty young looking Filipino guy (although all Filipino folks look young, even when they’re old!).

I wanted to ask more questions about the restaurant, but before we knew it, the lunch hour rush busted down the door and they became too busy to bother…

Once again Diner A’s made it into one of my shots, this time giving a shaka, although sometimes he’s been known to sneak in hand signs of the New York variety. lol Notice the clientele of mostly blue jeans and workboots “truck drivers” (actually they were roofers working next door). Fitting for a place named ‘Driver’s Diner’.

Actually, we had heard of this place through Lyle Galdeira and Russell Yamanoha on KHNL News 8’s latest “Cheap Eats” segment. There used to be a place on the corner of Nimitz Highway and Kalihi street named ‘Driver’s’, but we don’t think it was the same owner. That place has recently opened again under the name ‘Lotto & Bento’, which now serves Korean food.

Back to Driver’s, they didn’t have a permanent menu board, but only this dry-erase set of selections for the day…

With that, Diner A decided on trying the Cajun Grilled Ahi with Garlic Shrimp…

Diner E went for the Philly Steak Sandwich with Fries…

A look under the hood of this bad boy…

Man-o-man, that looks AWESOME!

Diner AC ordered the Laulau, which came accompanied with green “salad” (that’s pretty weird)…

Finally, yours truly decided to try their Shrimp Scampi Fetuccine (SIC on the menu as “Fetucinni”)…

Let’s have a bite…

The sauce coating the perfectly al dente Fetuccine pasta tasted like a lemon caper cream sauce, with maybe  just a slight amount of Parmesan cheese in it, but not heavily. It was more like just a thickened cream. There were also generous bite-size pieces of fresh tomato, sauteed onions and mushrooms in the mix. Overall, the sauce was just OK but a little plain tasting and lacked any herbs or “kick” if you will. I would have preferred if it were more like an Alfredo with a heavier-hitting cheesy punch to it.

Let’s try the shrimp…

They were cooked just right, but flavorwise, kinda’ plain and lacked any garlicy-buttery goodness to it that I was expecting them to have.

The green “salad” (if you want to call it that) was really lame, only consisting of cut pieces of romaine lettuce with barely a hint if none at all of dressing on it. On top of that, it was kind of wilted and not crispy fresh.

Summing up my Shrimp Scampi “Fetucinni” plate was generally a satisfying lunch thanks to the HUGE “truck driver’s portions” and perfectly al dente pasta, but lacked anything that stood out in taste. Then again, what can I expect for just $6. With that I give it 1 SPAM Musubi.

Moving on, let’s sample Diner A’s Cajun Grilled Ahi…

Diner A gave me a piece to try, and I must say, it was really, really good. Super moist, and the seasoning was DYNAMITE! It made it almost taste like a beef steak, and not fish. Thumbs way up on this!

Now let’s sample the shrimp…

Notice they’re individually deveined and left with the shells on for flavor. I didn’t try them, but Diner A RAVED about it, giving the them 4 SPAM Musubi right off the bat.

Here, Diner A shows off how jumbo-sized these shrimp are…

He noted that he enjoyed these shrimp as much as he did the ones we had at the Blue Water Shrimp Truck. He also gave a thumbs-up on the Mac’ Salad, giving our “simple, cool and creamy” seal of Mac’ Sal’ approval. They got the Mac’ Sal’ right, so that alone gives Driver’s Diner all the respect.

With that, Diner A weighed in between giving his Cajun Grilled Ahi and Shrimp plate either a 3 or 4 SPAM Musubi rating, but since they passed our critical Mac’ Sal’ test, I’ll take the liberty of awarding it a FOUR!  I must say, that Cajun Grilled Ahi was definitely in it to win it.

Diner AC gives her Laulau 2 SPAM Musubi. Not bad, not great. The “salad” not even worth mentioning. She thinks it’s a store-bought brand, not house-made. I’ll stick with Highway Inn, who I think so far makes the BEST LAULAU on the island.

Finally, let’s see what Diner “Saimin Kaukau” (Simon Cowell) E thought of his Philly Steak sammy…

Oh. My. God. In all of its downright sloppy, drippin’ ‘n oozin’, meaty ‘n cheesy glory,  doesn’t that look absolutely ONO?!!! Dammmmmmm’, I just wanna’ reach right through my monitor and take a bite of that right now! Gino’s & Pat’s, eat your heart out, baby.

“Saimin Kaukau” liked it. Thumbs up. Not way, way up, but enough to grant it 3 SPAM Musubi, which by his critical Simon Cowell standards, is considered very, very good. He noted the beef was grilled nicely and was very tender, which I tried a piece and can concur to. The grilled red bell peppers and onions added tasty fourth dimension to the toasty hoagie roll, melted swiss and grilled beef, although he said there just  might have been “something” missing, but he didn’t know what.

He was also OK with the fries. Not great, but OK.

Summing up Diner E’s Philly Steak and Fries, he gives it 3 SPAM Musubi. I gotta’ say though, just lookin’ at it, I’d give it a 10!

Driver’s Diner
3006 Ualena st.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Tel. 836-1575

The Tasty Island rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

Related links:
• Cheap Eats: Driver’s Diner – KHNL News 8 (Hawaii News Now) Video Report
• Driver’s Diner – Yelp user reviews

Barbie and Ken, rejoice, for the Japanese have created dishes that have been prepared in the doll house kitchen of your dreams!

Well OK, I’m not sure if these Shokugan or “candy toys” are the same scale as America’s most famous doll couple. Yet the accuracy and attention to detail that goes into these micro-miniature replicas of food, dishware, cookware and just about everything else out there are absolutely incredible!

Which isn’t surprising, as quality, accuracy and attention to detail are synonymous with just about everything that’s made in, or at least branded by companies from the land of the rising sun. Never mind Toyota, as that’s another story.

Shokugan is the Japanese term for “candy toys”, which the toy is the main product, and usually an inferior-tasting small portion of candy is placed in the packaging just as a “bonus” if you will. Kinda’ like the stick of gum in Baseball cards, except I’ve always liked the taste of baseball card bubble gum.

Then there’s what’s known as Gashapon, which are “capsule toys”,  that are usually sold in vending machines in Japan.

Although “toy” is what they’re loosely referred as, both Gashapon and Shokugan “toys” are usually high quality, highly detailed, painted miniaturized 3-dimensional PVC plastic replicas of just about everything you can think of, where as you see is done here with, of all things, FOOD! And not surprisingly because of those said attributes, Gashapon and Shokugan “toys” are HUGE with collectors, no pun intended.

Here today I’m showing just a VERY few of probably what are HUNDREDS of Shokugan food sets that have been made; these all courtesy of Diner E’s “museum” in our office. lol

Zooming in, first up we have this Washoku Zanmai (Japanese food) set…

I goofed on the hashi (chopsticks), as it’s upside-down in this photo. Sorry ’bout that.

Notice I used a Hawaii State Quarter for visual comparison of scale. Now take a quarter out of your pocket and place it on the table, and you’ll immediately realize how TEEENY-WEENY TINY these “Shokugan Grindz” really are, yet the detail and practically edible looking appearance is truly AMAZING!  Especially for something mass-produced and priced accordingly as these are.

Here’s an even closer look…

Moving along, we have this this tray of hot dog fast food grindz….

Check that out; they even have the clear plastic cover covering the salad. Unbelievable!

They sure put the “petite” in Petite Cafe with this one…

Again, there’s no Photoshop trickery going on here. Everything shown here is exactly to scale as depicted next to that U.S. Quarter. I’m just trying to figure what the heck this is on the plate? It looks like perpaps Broccoli with melted cheese on it, along with a bowl of either soup or stew and a big (if you look at it in perspective) honkin’ split loaf of French Bread. But look at that: even the bread has the texture of the pores, plus there’s chives sprinkled on it!  That’s just crazy.

My absolute favorite though is this incredibly detailed and super-accurate Japanese Manual-Crank Shave Ice Machine…

One more angle…

My sister has a REAL machine just like that which my parents bought in Japan a long time ago. The thing is built like a TANK, made of cast iron, with a thick, machined stainless steel base plate that the block of ice spins on, and a RAZOR-SHARP stainless steel blade that shaves the ice down to powder if you want.

But looking at this Shokugan Shave Ice Machine, isn’t the realism just amazing? To think this much detail and accuracy can fit on a piece hardly larger in footprint than the face of a quarter is just mind blowing. All for around $5 at Don Quijote and Marukai’s impulse buy area at the checkouts.

Here’s the rest of Diner E’s Gashapon and Shokugan collection…

Sorry about the dust, but they’re do for a cleaning soon, which could take a whole day for all this!

All-in-all, neat stuff!

For more amazing and sometimes hilarious Gashapon and Shokugan, I highly recommend you thumb through the galleries at this website: Gashapon Shokugan

There continues to be a growing list of highly acclaimed restaurants being located in the most unexpected of places. From furniture stores, to gas stations and amusement parks, to where we are today at The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl.

The story goes that brothers Gregg and Glenn Uyeda bought the entire bowling alley back in 2006 from Mako Kobayashi, who owned and managed the business since 1970. The Uyeda brothers then spent over a year and a half and over $1.5 million in renovations, with a good chunk of their investment going into the bowling alley’s new electronic scoring system.

Yet their restaurant concept would be the “bread and butter” of their business model to take this bowling alley into the next century of viability. And with that, everything was built from the ground up for a fresh start, including a brand new kitchen, bar, dining area and lounge.

While the menu may initially appear to be what you’d find at any typical plate lunch joint around town, being that Glenn is a seasoned chef by trade, with past professional experience including a stint at Le Bernardin in New York, “under the hood” there’s a considerably higher level of sophistication and care in how each dish is prepared, yet still very reasonably priced. And to make sure the food’s always cooked right, if chef himself isn’t there overlooking the kitchen, his mother will be.

Giving Chef Uyeda a day to really bust out his chops, you can make reservations for “Tasty Tuesdays” (hey, GREAT name!), when he offers an exclusive upscale 5-course Prix Fixe menu for just $38…

Coming here for lunch this past Sunday, which was somewhat a rainy and overcast day, the place was packed…

On the backside of the restaurant facing the alley lanes is a full-service bar, where here today we have former Hot 93.9FM radio DJ “Urusai” performing bartender and manager duty…

Opposite the bar is a row of bar stools and counter where you can enjoy the grindz and perhaps a cold one while watching folks bowl…

The Alley Restaurant is full service (served by waitstaff) where you can choose to sit either in the semi-enclosed restaurant and bar, or opt for seating right outside the restaurant within the concourse of the bowling alley area…

Here’s a look at the lanes…

That oval-shaped “space-aged” keypad in the foreground is part of their new electronic scoring system, which displays the players’ scores on a large flat panel HDTV hanging above each lane. Pretty neat! I actually took those photos right before last call, but earlier just about every lane was taken.

Getting back to the restaurant, let’s check out the menu…

Oh, that’s an ice-cold glass of Stella Artois on there. The server didn’t bring a coaster, so I used the menu as one. The Alley Restaurant, Bar & Grill needs to make their own logo beer steins, with option to purchase it. Hint, hint.

While waiting for our order to arrive, a young couple sitting right next to us were nice enough to let me take a photo of their dishes that had just arrived. Here we have The Alley Mixed Plate, in this case a Loco Moco and Tasty Chicken combo’…

The Alley Mixed Plate – Loco Moco (handmade hamburger smothered in buttery brown gravy) and Tasty Chicken (Alley’s famous chicken, battered and deep-fried), 2 scoops rice and tossed green salad. $11.75

Here’s The Alley Burger and Garlic Fries…

The Alley Burger – The Alley’s homemade hamburger patty on a sweet sesame seed bun topped with lettuce and garlic fries (25¢ extra). $8.70

After about halfway through their meal, I asked them what they thought of it on a scale of 1 to 5, and they both gave it a 4, which already had me impressed, even having not tried the food yet!

The girlfriend noted how much she loves their brown gravy; so much so that she had an extra bowl of the stuff on the side! Wow, I’m gonna’ have to try that.The boyfriend noted the burger patty was cooked perfectly medium to medium rare with a great char-grilled, house-made flavor. He only wished he had added more toppings (extra cost), as, as it was, was kinda’ plain. Big thumbs up on the garlic fries.

Looks like I’ll get to try that awesome brown gravy our neighbor raved about, as my girlfriend pretty much ordered the same thing, except she opted for Mac Salad instead of tossed greens…

The Alley Mixed Plate – Loco Moco (handmade hamburger smothered in buttery brown gravy) and Tasty Chicken (Alley’s famous chicken, battered and deep-fried), 2 scoops rice and macaroni salad. $11.75

Finally for my choice, I COULD NOT RESIST trying The Alleys’ “famous” Oxtail Soup!…

Oxtail Soup – The Alley’s famous Oxtail Soup served with Ponzu Sauce and rice. $12.95

It looks like I’m in for a TREAT!  **Rubs hands together briskly with eyes wide open**

Before I continue, did any of you catch the latest episode of Travel Channel’s ‘No Reservations’ with Anthony Bourdain? The episode was titled “Obsessed”, where one segment featured several food bloggers who were almost disturbingly obsessed with food and the lengths they’d go through just for the sake of blogging about it.

Well, I’m going to further validate Bourdain’s point about a food blogger’s obsession, by dissecting this bowl of Oxtail Soup from every conceivable angle I can, just for the sake of blogging about it (which really is to share with you every nitty-gritty detail). So take that Bourdain! lol

Let’s have a closer look…

Broth has a rich brown color. Looks like lotsa’ goodies in there. Let’s do some dredging and see what we’ve got…

Wow, this bugger’s loaded with Oxtails! I see they add fresh Shiitake Mushrooms in it as well. Nice.

Getting the greens in there, we have a several whole leaves of Bok Choy…

You’re probably wondering what that red seed thing is. No it’s not an Ume, it’s a Date…

So far, am I being obsessive enough about this bowl of Oxtail Soup? No? More? OK, here’s the Ponzu sauce and grated ginger it’s accompanied with it…

Notice it has a reddish color with chili flakes and sesame seeds in there. It doesn’t taste like plain Ponzu sauce straight out of the bottle, but a modified version, yet I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what they added to it. Tastes good though!

Add the fresh grated ginger into the Ponzu sauce and the fresh Chinese Parsley into the soup…

Finally, let’s have at it…

If you’re used to eating Oxtail Soup with plain Shoyu and grated Ginger, it may takes a little getting used to the slightly acidic citrus accent of the Ponzu, but once your palate acclimates to it, it turns out complimenting beefy oxtail flavor really well. If you don’t like it, you can always pour shoyu in another bowl and add the ginger to that. I stuck with the Ponzu sauce in order to fully “experience” The Alley’s take on it. And I dig it! No, I LOVE IT!

Let’s try another bigger piece of Oxtail…

While getting this photo, the Oxtail meat was literally starting to fall off the bone and into the Ponzu Sauce, so I had to scoop this up to my mouth after getting the shot to prevent that. Every piece was that falling-apart tender, yet still packed with rich and beefy, marrowy-good Oxtail flavor.

Oh. My. God. This is so divine. These are the kinds of things that make life great. It’s the simple things like an amazing bowl of Oxtail Soup that brings meaning to the day, and this is a great day indeed, my friends. I think I’m crying tears of joy. Someone please pass me the box of Kleenex®.

Let’s sample the Shiitake Mushrooms, Bok Choy and Date…

Nice. Very nice. The whole shiitake mushrooms were slightly firm yet al dente, not wilted and lifeless. Their woodsy and robust meaty flavor paired splendidly with the Ponzu and grated ginger sauce. The mushrooms also broke the monotony as compared to if it were just Oxtails in there like it is at Kapiolani Coffee Shop.

The Date has an interesting, almost meaty flavor profile as presented here in this Oxtail Soup, yet there is some fruityness to it as well, adding that much more dimension to the senses.

Rounding out this super-hearty local soup delicacy are an abundance of peanuts…

Add to that the EXCELLENT broth that’s rich and beef with extra depth thanks to the Shiitake Mushrooms, while tasting complex-yet-simple all at the same time.

Put it all together and we have one truly AWESOME Oxtail Soup at The Alley Restaurant. 5 SPAM Musubi certified!

While I won’t say The Alley’s is “The Best Oxtail Soup” on the island, as that’s always subjective to personal taste, it’s certainly in contention to take the crown. Ultimately, whether you’re an (obsessed) Oxtail Soup fan (as I now am) or just trying this dish for the first time, The Alley’s take on this classic is almost guaranteed to have you walking out (or into the bowling alley area) with a big smile on your face. It did for me!

As for the Loco Moco and Tasty Chicken Mixed Plate, as our fellow diner attested earlier on her plate with “extra gravy on da’ side”, the Loco Moco’s brown gravy at The Alley is WINNAHZ!…

It is indeed “buttery”, but not so much where it’s unpleasantly too rich. Just enough where it’s silky smooth in texture and just melts all over that wonderfully seared ‘n juicy homemade hamburger patty, giving you this explosion of flavor as you shovel the gravy-coated burger and egg into your mouth. Awesome.

I didn’t try the Tasty Chicken (by now you should know I’m not particularly a chicken fan), but my girlfriend explained it as tasting like a slightly sweet and spicy Karaage Chicken, noting that is was very moist and tender inside, not dried-out at all.  It must be great, because this is one of their best-selling entree selections.

I did try the Mac’ Salad…

Perfect. Cool, creamy and simple, while the macaroni is cooked perfectly al dente and seasoned just right. Winnah, winnah, mac-0n-da-side dinnah. Er, lunch that is.

Summing it up, just like our dining neighbor, my girlfriend gives their Loco Moco & Tasty Chicken Mixed Plate 4 SPAM Musubi. Personally I’ll give their brown gravy and mac salad a 5!

The Alley Restaurant also offers fresh made pies and cakes either by the slice or as whole, such as this ‘Mama Mia Chocolate Cake’…

Pumpkin Crunch…

Lemon Crunch…

By the slice…

We passed on dessert on this visit, but I hear their Pecan Tart is AMAZING.

If you’re in a rush, The Alley also has a takeout window outside in front next to the restaurant entrance, where you can order everything that’s available inside to go…

There’s so much more on the menu we need to try, but this first impression has me excited to return for more and more dishes to try. No question you MUST put The Alley Restaurant on your MUST-DO list if you’re obsessed with Oxtail Soup or a fantastic Loco Moco. While if you’re obsessed with bowling, well, there really isn’t many more choices left on Oahu anyways, so looks like you HAVE TO come here!

The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Alley Restaurant Bar & Grill
Aiea Bowl
99-115 Aiea Heights Dr, Ste 310
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 486-3499
www.AieaBowl.com

Business Hours (for the bowling Alley):
Sunday thru Thursday 7:00am to 9:30pm
Thursday thru Sunday 7:00am to 12:00am (midnight)

The Tasty Island rating:

(5) Superb. Worthy of repeat visits or purchases. (Broke Da’ Mout’!)

Related links:
• Inside: The Alley at Aiea Bowl – Metromix Honolulu
• The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl segment 1 (cooking presentation) – Hawaiiangrown TV
• The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl segment 2 (cooking presentation) – Hawaiiangrown TV
• The Alley Restaurant Bar & Grill – Yelp user reviews

For the finest dining experience in Waikiki with an oceanfront view that I could think of, the first place that came to mind that we haven’t tried yet is Michel’s at the Colony Surf. This between my girlfriend and I as private celebration of my birthday.

The Colony Surf, which used to be a hotel but has since converted to condominiums, is situated at the footside of Daimond Head crater, at the far Daimond Head (east) end of Waikiki beach, within the last cluster of high rises in Waikiki, with nextdoor neighbors including Kaimana Beach Hotel & San Souci.

So the view from Michel’s on the ground — or should I say ‘beachside’ floor is actually looking “back” at the central part of Waikiki…

We actually had made reservations at 6pm for a window seat to catch the sunset, but arrived late (Hawaiian time), so our table was given up to the next in line. But that’s OK, as the table we got was still well within view of the Waikiki beach skyline at dusk…

If you’re already wondering about me taking photos like this, there were plenty of cameras flashing during the evening, so it was pretty much a non-issue with everyone dining around us. After all, this is “tourist central”.

Here’s a few more views around the elegant, yet quite relaxed open air dining room…

The bar…

A very romantic, dimly lit ambiance at night with Waikiki lights in the background…

Completing the romantic mood, beautiful live solo instrumental classical and Hawaiian slack key songs were played right next to our table by Na Hoku Hano Hano Award winner Jeff Peterson…

Here’s how our table was set upon being seated…

So far everything looks (and sounds) FABULOUS.

OK, let’s check out the menu…

We started the dinner off with a glass each of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Director’s Cut” Cabernet Souvignon (2006)…

Francis Ford Coppola’s “Director’s Cut” Cabernet Souvignon (2006). $20/glass (or $80/bottle)

We thought of getting a whole bottle, but decided not to get smashed at Michel’s and try to focus more on the food. lol

As for the style of cuisine, while Michel’s menu is comprised mostly of French classics, there’s a splash of Pacific Rim thrown into the mix as well. All presented by Chef Eberhard “Hardy” Kintscher, who hails out of Germany (my peeps!), along with Sous Chef Jesus Guittap and Toni Kitamura.

Surprisingly Michel’s doesn’t offer complimentary dinner bread, but Lavosh and herbed butter instead…

Let’s try it…

Pretty good. I would have preferred warm dinner bread, but this works.

For appetizers, we chose the Vitello Tonnato…

Vitello Tonnato – Thin-sliced roasted veal, Yellowfin Ahi sashimi & tuna sauce served with arugula salad, tomatoes and lemon caper vinaigrette. $18

and being a French restaurant, as far as I’m concerned, the Helix Escargot Bourgogne was a MUST!…

Helix Escargot Bourgogne – Half a dozen French snails in Michel’s famous herbed-garlic butter. $18

For entree, my lovely girlfriend decided on trying one of their specials (not listed on the menu), the Potato-wrapped Moi…

This came with a Saffron Risotto…

While I decided on trying ‘Hardy’s Hawaiian Bouillabaisse’…

Hardy’s Hawaiian Bouillabaisse – An assortment of lobster, scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams, salmon and local fish in a savory saffron-tomato broth with a touch of island herbs and flavors. $38.

The Bouillabaisse includes two toasted and garlic-buttered French Baguettes…

Now let’s go over how our apps’ and entrees tasted, first sampling the Vitello Tonnato…

The Lemon Caper Vinaigrette was great. It paired very nicely with the buttery-fresh ahi sashimi and thin slices of roasted veal. The ahi and veal also paired surprisingly well when eaten together. A tasty surf-meets-turf sensation on the palate.

Summing it up, I’ll give Michel’s Vitello Tonnato 4 SPAM Musubi for the delicious Lemon Caper Vinaigrette and wonderful marriage of flavors between the very fresh Ahi sashimi and thinly-sliced roasted veal. Great dish.

Now let’s try the escargot, which I like to put directly on a french baguette like this…

Oh. My. God! This is to die for! If there is a dish that God himself invented, this is it. As simple as it may sound, that herbed garlic butter insanely delicious!

The Escargot snails are very soft, tender and pleasantly flavorful. Not chewy and rubbery at all, nor do they have any over-earthy or dirt-like taste to them. They’re almost clam-like in flavor.

While I forgot to ask, I think  their “secret” flavor enhancer in the herbed-garlic butter is the addition of finely grated, melted Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, which is evident by the globules floating within and the baked-on brown crust on top of the baking dish.

Of course we sopped up every last drop of that amazing herbed-garlic butter with the bread…

The only thing I think this dish is missing are the shells. If they were served in the Escargot shells it would have had much better presentation impact. Still, the quality and flavor of this dish is so incredible, I’m still giving Michel’s Helix Escargot Bourgogne a certified 5-SPAM Musubi seal of approval.

Looks like we’re off to a great start. Now let’s sample the entrees, starting with her Potato-wrapped Moi…

They apparently use one of those spiral vegetable slicers than can turn potatoes, carrots or any other firm fruit and vegetable into long strings. Then they wrapped it around the Moi, which they first removed all of the spine and pin bones before wrapping it, effectively making every medallion boneless. Neat! It was drizzled with a Tobiko Aioli Sauce that added a nice contrast to the flavor of the Moi.

The potato wrapped around it almost had a bacon-like flavor to it due to the deep-frying method the whole fish was cooked.

Look, they even provide the head for all you fish eyeball eaters out there…

The garlic mashed potatoes and Manoa Lettuce and Hamakua Mushroom salad were simple in preparation, yet executed perfectly, with the salad having a lightly sweetened vinaigrette on it. Light, yet very nice.

The saffron risotto was also perfectly cooked, with a silky, creamy texture and wonderfully fragrant, slightly buttery-savory flavor.

We both really enjoyed everything about this dish, agreeing this deserves a Moi-tastic 4-SPAM Musubi. If this is on the menu when/if you dine here, although it’s not one of their signature French dishes, I’d still highly recommend it.

Now let’s dig into ‘Hardy’s Hawaiian Bouillabaisse’…

Hardy’s Hawaiian Bouillabaisse – An assortment of lobster, scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams, salmon and local fish in a savory saffron-tomato broth with a touch of island herbs and flavors

The Bouillabaisse is brought to the table with the saffron-tomato broth in separate dicanter, which our waiter pours into the deep dish at the table.

Fishing around, I find an abundance of meaty sea morsels submerged beneath the broth, including these wonderfully tasty and tender scallops…

And a whole, still intact shelled giant lobster claw!…

The broth wasn’t as spectacular as I had hoped though. It certainly wasn’t as “savory” as it says on the menu. It almost tasted like all they did was combine shellfish stock with tomato paste and perhaps a few herbs or spices and that’s it. They could have just as well dumped Campbell’s Tomato Soup in there and I’d probably hardly tell the difference. There just wasn’t anything interesting or special about it. No “Wow!” or “It” factor. Ya’ know? And it’s not just me, as my girlfriend tried the broth and and a piece of the fish inside and agreed with my assessment of it.

Thankfully most of the seafood in it were fresh, flavorful and tender, except for the giant prawn in the center, which was a little rubbery at the tail.

That said, I’ll give their Bouillabaise 1 SPAM Musubi. For a restaurant of this caliber, being “just average” is painfully disappointing, but sorry, they gotta’ work on that saffron-tomato broth. It just didn’t do it for me.

In retrospect of the menu, while we both obviously were in the mood for seafood on this occasion, I really should have ordered the Rack of Lamb Orloff. I’m almost certain I would have been much happier with that choice. Oh well, next time! And believe me, will will be back at Michel’s for my girlfriend’s Birthday which comes around in June. Can’t wait!

So far three hits and one miss (average isn’t good enough for a place like this). Not bad!

Now let’s see what’s for dessert…

As promised from the start, our waiter brought me a complimentary birthday dessert, which we have a Pineapple Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cheesecake…

Pineapple Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cheese Cake. Compliments of the house in celebration of Diner P’s 1st Birthday.

My, my, my, that’s pretty.

Getting her chocolate fix on, my girlfriend ordered the Chocolate Decadence Cake…

Decadence Chocolate Cake – with fresh berries and Macadamia Nut Ice Cream. $10.00

The included Macadamia Nut Ice Cream…

I didn’t ask, but if you ask me, this tasted like Roselani’s Macadamia Nut Ice Cream. It has the same very-roasted big chunks of Mac nuts like Roselani’s, and the same full-bodied vanilla ice cream flavor.

O.K., let’s try this Decandent Chocolate Cake…

You know what? Chocalate Cake is so not my thing, so I won’t even say what I think, but my lady LOVED IT, giving it a decadently-delicious 4 SPAM Musubi seal of approval, so we’ll go with that.

Now let’s try my Pineapple Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cheesecake…

Oh. My. God! AWESOME! Ding-ding-ding, we have another WINNER! Easy 5-SPAM Musubi. Shoots, I’ll give 7 SPAM Musubi, as this masterpiece of a dessert is OFF-THE-CHARTS ono! And it was a FREE-BEE! Wheeeeeee!

The combination of the roasted Macadamia Nut crust, along with that slightly tangy, rich, buttery, not-overssweetened cheesecake layer, along with the glazed pineapples on top was INSANELY delicious.

I remember I once filled out a profile page for a website (I think it was Yahoo! personals.. nah, just kidding. lol) that asked “What would be the last thing on earth you’d want to eat leaving here?”. To which I answered “Japanese Chashumen” (pork shoyu ramen). Well, I think I’m changing that answer to “Michel’s Passion Fruit Pineapple Macadamia Nut Cheesecake”.

Wow, that was almost orgasmic. Now I need a cigarette. lol (just kidding, I dont’ smoke)

If you’re into tableside preparations, as you’ve seen on the menu, Michel’s has many dishes to choose from in every category that are presented that way…

This is the tableside-carved Chateaubriand…

Speaking of tableside, our server Larry was EXCELLENT. Maikai (job well done). He really made our dining experience at Michel’s a joy, being very knowledgeable, friendly and humorous as well. We felt pampered yet respected for our privacy as well. Couldn’t have been better. Parking is also very easy here with the complimentary (plus tip) valet service.

I’d give Michel’s 5 SPAM Musubi just for the service alone. And certainly 5 SPAM Musubi for the beautiful ambiance. How can ANY restaurant situated almost literally right on Waikiki beach not have a top-rated ambiance? Tell me one, and I’ll have to check if it’s snowing outside.

The only reason I’m not awarding Michel’s the top 5 SPAM Musubi rating on this visit was my disappointing Bouillabaise, which I must take into consideration, after all, that was my main course. Other than that, just excellent in every regard. For all the high points, Michel’s is highly recommended.

Michel’s at the Colony Surf
2895 Kalakaua avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii

Tel. 923-6552
www.MichelsHawaii.com

The Tasty Island rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Related links:
• Embracing Michel’s elegance at the Colony Surf – Honolulu Advertiser
• Improving on the classics – Midweek
• Michel’s at the Colony Surf: A Sunday Brunch Worth Repeating – HawaiiDiner.com
• Michel’s at the Colony Surf – Yelp user reviews

When it comes to Thai cuisine, Honolulu has several highly acclaimed restaurants to choose from, including Keo’s, Singha Thai and Phuket Thai, just to name a few. Well, you can add another one to that list, which our gang had lunch at this past Friday in celebration of my birthday at Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant.

Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant is still relatively new, having opened in September 2009. They’re located on the Diamond Head (east) side of Keawe street, right next to the vacant Comp USA property in Kaka’ako (slated to become a Safeway).

While previously in partnership with Wanida Tienchai, Blue Ocean is now solely owned and operated by Chivanan Phanphongsa who is a native of Bangkok. Here’s the lovely Chivanan or “Chiw”, who was on (very frantic) duty during our lunch hour visit…

The building they occupy is rather unassuming from the outside, appearing to be just another warehouse in this mostly industrial area…

You may recall back in December guest blogger Tony did a review of this place, giving it a 5 SPAM Musubi rating. Well, I was quite surprised to find a printout of that blog post from right here on the Tasty Island posted at the entrance of the restaurant!…

How flattering! When I told Chivanan I’m the owner of this blog, she immediately expressed deep gratitude and thanks (thank you Tony!) for the “5 SPAM Musubi rating”. And as you’ll soon find out, for the most part, I agree with Tony’s impression here.

Belying its surroundings, once you enter the establishment and walk into the dining room on the first floor, you’re greeted and surprised by quite an elegant setting with romantic, low level directional lighting…

The high quality solid wood tables and comfortable, well-upholstered chairs are all imported from Thailand. While completing the ambiance to make it feel like you’ve been transported back to the motherland are a number of authentic art pieces adorning the entrance and dining area…

This is the (in)famous Klong River…

I bet you them coconut pancakes that peddler is selling on that skiff would BLOW AWAY any pancakes around town here. Only problem in this scenario: too much supply and not enough (or any) demand. Unless they’re all trading with each other. lol

The front side of the dining room is made up of a full bar, with the kitchen right in back….

This is actually not the first Thai restaurant in this two-story space, as it was previously under different ownership doing business as Ploi Thai. While it also went through several incarnations as a nightclub under the name Bliss and Velvet Lounge. Retaining some of its nightclub heritage, upstairs you’ll find another full bar, dance floor and lounge…

Right about now you’re wondering when the HELL we’re gonna’ see what’s for LUNCH! lol

Alright, alright then, here’s the menu…

That’s Blue Ocean’s main menu, which is served both for lunch and dinner, where the prices for the most part seem reasonable.

Here’s their wine and drinks list…

Along with that, making it even easier on your dining out wallet is their Lunch Specials menu…

Here you get to choose one of any appetizer, soup and entree on the list, bringing you a 3-course authentic Thai feast for just $11. SU-WEET!

With that, Diner C chose the Tulip appetizer…

Tulip appetizer: Steamed ground shrimp, chicken & crabmeat in wonton wrap, served with soy vinaigrette

While Diner AC chose the Crispy Roll…

Crispy Roll appetizer: Filled with ground pork, bean thread noodles, taro and julienne vegetables. Served with a sweet chili sauce.

For the soup portion of the Lunch Special, Diner C chose the Veggie…

Veggie Soup: Mixed vegetables in clear broth

While Diner AC chose the Lemon Grass Chicken…

Lemon Grass Soup: Tradional Thai style lemon grass soup with galangal, mushroom and basil

For the entree portion of the Lunch Special, Diner C chose those Red Curry Chicken…

Red Curry Chicken: Sauteed in red curry with green beans, bell peppers, bamboo shoots and basil. $10.95 including appetizer and soup

While Diner AC chose the Pad Thai Chicken…

Pad Thai Chicken: Stir fried rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts, tofu and green onion in tamarind sauce. $10.95 lunch special, including appetizer and soup

Diner E chose an appetizer off the regular menu as his entree, going for the Blue Ocean Treasure…

Blue Ocean Treasure: Traditional Thai Chicken Satay, steamed Tulip Crispy Rolls, Shrimp-in-the-Blanket, Thai Dumplings and Somtum Salad (in the center). $13.95

This is such a big “party on a plate”, you need to view it from another angle so you can see who you wanna’ make friends with…

Blue Ocean Treasure: Traditional Thai Chicken Satay, steamed Tulip Crispy Rolls, Shrimp-in-the-Blanket, Thai Dumplings and Somtum Salad (in the center). $13.95

Variety is the spice of life with this app-turned-entree, which carries on with the included dipping sauces…

Blue Ocean Treasure Thai Dipping Sauces

The sauce to the left at the 9 o’clock position is Thai Peanut Sauce, while the one at the 6 is Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. The other three are Tulip Sauce, Thai Dumpling Sauce and Blue Ocean’s own house sauce. I tried each one and liked all of the above, as they each addressed most of the senses of taste in varying intensities.

Adding some starch to his app-turned-entree, Diner E got a side order of Sticky Thai Rice for filler…

Thai Sticky Rice

The sticky rice is served in that basket on the side, which apparently it’s steamed in a plastic bag that inserted in there to prevent the, well, sticky rice from sticking to the basket.

Diner A also went off the regular menu, choosing the Heavenly Crab Cake…

Heavenly Crab Cake: Homemade crab cakes pan fried served with dijon Mussaman curry sauce, steamed vegetables and angel hair pasta. $18.95

Last but not least, Birthday Boy Pomai (yours truly) also went off the regular menu, choosing the Paradise of Ocean…

Paradise of Ocean: Jumbo shrimps stuffed with crab meat baked to perfection. Served with Panang sauce and angel hair pasta. $20.95

I ordered the Paradise of Ocean after it being highly recommended to me by Chivanan, who told me that she always recommends this dish to her customers, so confident in it that she guarantees satisfaction or there’s no charge for it. Wow. No pun intended, I’m sold!

Here’s a closer look at these crab-stuffed shrimp tail GEMS…

Notice the inside-curl of the shrimp tail is filled (stuffed) with a big lump of minced REAL crab meat and a mixture of vegetables. Then you have that AWESOME Panang Curry sauce it’s all soaked with and OH-MY-LORD, AWESOME! So, so delicious.  Add to that the crispy deep-fried Thai Basil leaves and al dente broccoli mixed in with the nicely-flavored angel hair pasta, and this dish is indeed a WINNER! 5 SPAM Musubi and then some.

Diner A also gives his ‘Heavenly Crab Cakes’ 5 SPAM Musubi, noting  how “meaty” and just delicious the real crab meat cakes were, while the EXCELLENT Mussaman Curry it’s surrounded with completely seals the deal.

Speaking of Mussaman Curry, here’s a bowl of it that was coming out of the kitchen while I was talking with Chivanan…

Mussaman Curry: Sauteed beef in creamy Indian curry with sweet potato, carrot and roasted peanut. Served with rice. $10.95

Diner C also raved about her Red Curry Chicken entree, also giving it 5 SPAM Musubi. So far Tony was right! I tried a bite from her dish and definitely agree. 5 for sure!

What I think is Blue Ocean’s “kitchen magic” along with the EXCELLENT recipes (so far) is their super hot flaming wok, which you can really taste through the food. I just has that “it” factor. You know, that seared “smokin’ wok flavor”,  if you know what I mean. A flavor that seems you can only get with industrial gas stoves, which tastes like is the case here.

Halting the 5 SPAM roll, regardless of what was so far FANTASTIC, unfortunately Diner AC’s Pad Thai was a major flop. She noted that most good Pad Thai she’s had — including that from Phuket Thai — usually have a reddish tint to it, while Blue Ocean’s didn’t really look like that.

For comparison, here’s another Pad Thai that was leaving the kitchen while I was there talking story…

It could be that on this day, as Chivanan explained to me, her head chef had a family emergency and had just flown back to Thailand. So her current cook in the kitchen was still in training, and she was obviously struggling to keep up with logistical and food ordering issues because of that. There were several menu items we wanted to order that our server responded with being “out of”.

Diner A’s Crab Cakes also had to be sent back to the kitchen, thanks to Chivanan for catching that it first arrived at the table sans the all-important Mussaman Curry sauce. Yikes. Good catch though!

That said, could the cook-in-training possibly have forgotten to mix in the Tamarind sauce in Diner AC’s Pad Thai?  To further investigate this blunder if it is one, let’ check out the Pad Thai that Tony ordered here back in December…

I think Tony’s Pad Thai looks more reddish, having me believe the cook indeed forgot (or didn’t know) about adding the Tamarind sauce to it.

Whatever the case, Diner AC couldn’t even give it 1 SPAM Musubi, so the Pad Thai is DQ’d here. Bummers! Fortunately she tried a bite from all of our dishes, so she knows this place has potential, just not today with this dish.

Both Diner C and AC enjoyed their appetizers and soups, giving those 3 SPAM Musubi each.

Speaking of 3 SPAM Musubi, that’s Diner E’s assessment of his Blue Ocean Treasure app-turned-entree and sticky rice side dish. Everything was cooked to perfection and packed with flavor, thanks in part to the variety of included Thai dipping sauces which wonderfully rounded everything out.

As noted earlier about being out of ingredients for the menu, that was also the case for dessert, where they were also out of the mango to make the Mango Sticky Rice. Last I checked, mango season in Hawaii is in the summer, so no chance they’re getting that locally anytime soon.

So we ended up ordering the other two dessert items, the Fried Banana…

Lightly tempura sweet banana served with sweet cream sauce. $4.95

and the Fried Ice Cream…

Fried Ice Cream (Vanilla only): Vanilla flavor coated with special ingredients then deep fried and bedded with a vanilla cream sauce. $6.95

Because of the kitchen’s current logistical challenges, these desserts took painfully long to arrive on the table, being about a 20 minute wait. Even then, they forgot to bring us spoons, so by the time we dug in,  the what was rock hard frozen ice cream within was already melting…

The bed of sauce tasted like a combination of vanilla and guava or lilikoi (passion fruit). I really enjoyed the texture contrast of the panko-like crust encasing the cool and creamy vanilla ice cream. Regardless of the partially-melted state and late arrival, overall we enjoyed this, unanimously giving it 3 SPAM Musubi.

Then we have the Fried Banana…

The tempura-battered crust had a nice golden-brown crispy flavor to it, but was a little greasy. The Sweet Banana inside was also a little overripe, while thankfully the vanilla-flavored cream sauce added a smooth and pleasant contrast to the crunchy tempura crust. Overall we all thought it was pretty good, giving it 2 SPAM Musubi.

Now’s time to show off the “polished plates” from those amazing 5-SPAM Musubi rated dishes, starting with Diner A’s ‘Heavenly Crab Cakes’….

Unlike me, where I usually have enough left on my plate for a “doggy bag”, this time even I pretty much polished my ‘Paradise of Ocean’ stuffed shrimp plate…

Diner C also usually can’t finish an entire plate in one sitting, yet this time enjoyed her Red Curry Chicken so much, she also polished her plate!…

Diner E did pretty good as well…

Then we have unsatisfied Diner AC, who didn’t get anywhere near polishing her lackluster Pad Thai…

Ah yes, leave it up to The Tasty Island to provide such “tasteful” photos of “polished” plates for your viewing pleasure. lol

Still, one bad dish out of five, with three of them being 5-SPAM Musubi rated is very respectable odds in their favor.

As for the service, considering there was only one server plus owner Chivanan helping out with customer service, it was reasonably attentive. Other than the extremely delayed desserts, our other dishes came to the table very quickly.

Hopefully Blue Ocean’s head chef will return to the kitchen so that all is in order again. Even beside a couple of I think are forgivable flops, having three out of five dishes topping the charts, on this visit Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant gets 4 SPAM Musubi.

Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant
327 Keawe St. (next to the former Comp USA)
Honolulu, Hawaii

Tel. 585-9545
www.BlueOceanThaiRestaurant.com
www.BlueOceanThai.com

Business hours:
Monday -- Thursday
Lunch 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Saturday
Lunch closed
Dinner 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Sunday
Lunch closed
Dinner 5:00pm to 9:00pm

The Tasty Island Rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Related links:
• Kaka’ako Eats: Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant -- The Tasty Island
• Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant – Honolulu Star Bulletin
• Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant – Yelp user reviews
• Ploi Thai -- The Free Range Gourmet

Today we’ll do a side-by-side comparison of Macadamia Nut Ice Cream between Maui’s own Roselani Tropics Ice Cream brand and Meadow Gold’s Premium Ice Cream brand.

According to the label, Meadow Gold Dairies is based in Dallas, Texas, while Roselani Tropics Ice Cream is made right here in Hawaii on the beautiful valley isle of Maui in Wailuku.

The 1.75 quart carton of Roselani was on sale at Don Quijote last week for $5.99, while the 1.5 quart Meadow Gold brand was on sale at the same supermarket for $3.99.

Notice on the Meadow Gold label that this product features Macadamia Nuts from Hamakua Plantations.

Let’s pop the top and see what we’ve got, starting with Roselani…

Visible, sizable pieces of Macadamia Nuts, and a nicely tempered consistency.

Now the Meadow Gold…

Visible Macadamia Nuts on top, but much smaller pieces, lighter in color and more sparse. The color balance of these photos aren’t 100% accurate to how it appears in person, but I’ll say Roselani’s vanilla ice cream base has a slightly more cream-colored tint to it, while the Meadow Gold is more Ivory white.

Let’s plate a scoop of each one and have a taste…

Roselani Tropics Classic Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (left) and Meadow Gold Premium Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (right) with Caramel Syrup drizzle

How you like my sauce-squirting plating skillz with the Caramel Syrup? Stylin’ eh? lol Small ‘kine lopsided though, with the two scoops of ice cream a little too far on the right. But that’s OK, I’m just warming up.

Actually, that plate is just for show, as my “official” tasting evaluation was done with the ice cream in separate bowls with no caramel syrup to change the flavors of the ice cream itself.

So what’s the verdict? ROSELANI Tropics Macadamia Nut Ice Cream is the WINNER! As noted by it having a creamy tint to it, that reflects in its flavor as well, being creamy and full-bodied, while not being overly rich or sweet. Great balance. Most importantly, the pieces of Macadamia Nuts in it have a high quality, fresh, distinctively roasted flavor.

In comparison, the pieces of Macadamia Nuts in the Meadow Gold Ice Cream were rather bland and stale tasting, not to mention a bit smaller in size. Their Vanilla Ice Cream base had more of a low fat milk flavor, even though it’s not even touted as being “low fat”. I’m a little disappointed that the Macadamia Nuts in it didn’t measure up, as Hamakua Plantations Macadamia Nuts in the can are really good and comparable to all the other popular Hawaii brands.

Ultimately, because of the much better quality of the bigger pieces of Macadamia Nuts in Roselani’s, theirs tastes like Macadamia Nut Ice Cream, not Vanilla Ice Cream that just happens to have Macadamia Nuts mixed in it. Which at least in a side-by-side comparison here, the latter of which is how Meadow Gold tastes.

Since we’re talking Macadamia Nuts, you may recall those SPAM flavored Macadamia Nuts that were reviewed here not long ago. Well, yes, you guessed it, I decided to try adding some to a scoop of Macadamia Nut Ice Cream to see how it’d work out…

SPAM-flavored Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Surprise

Eh, it’s OK. The Vanilla Ice Cream quickly overpowers the SPAM-flavored powder coating the mac nuts. The savory flavor of the SPAM powder also doesn’t really agree with the sweetened milky ice cream, nor does the saltiness.

Then going to the EXTREME, I tried this…

“Hawaiian” Teriyaki SPAM & Pineapple Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Delight

Yes, that is exactly what you’re seeing: cubes of Hormel SPAM and Pineapple that was sauteed, then finished with a Teriyaki glaze, served with a scoop of Roselani Tropics Macadamia Nut Ice Cream, and garnished with lightly-salted whole Macadamia Nut peices, a sprinkling of Furikake and a “messily artistic” drizzle of Teriyaki glaze.  All of that artificially qualifying it to be named “Hawaiian”.

How did it taste? Horrible! lol What did you expect? Pass. Next.

Sorry, but Teriyaki and Vanilla Ice Cream DO NOT AGREE with each other. Nor did the very salty SPAM. After several bites, I immediately scraped the Teriyaki-glazed SPAM, Pineapple and sauce on the plate into a separate bowl so I could enjoy the ice cream by itself, thank you very much. I’m totally into the whole savory-sweet concept, but, bottom line, the dairy was the deal-breaker here.

Had that been a scoop of rice instead of ice cream in the center, by all estimates, of course it would have worked out. But God, as shown, that was so NOT good. “Hawaiian” Teriyaki SPAM & Pineapple Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Delight“? More like DISGUST!

Yet hey, at least give me a pat on the back for trying.

Rounding it up, I think Roselani’s Tropic Ice Macadamia Nut Cream is worth the extra price for the superior taste and texture of the roasted Macadamia Nuts in it, and full-bodied character of the Vanilla Ice Cream, not to mention supporting a local company.

What? Roselani Classic Macadamia Nut Ice Cream
Who makes it? Maui Soda and Ice Works, Ltd. Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. www.Roselani.com
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? Don Quijote (Kaheka), $5.99 sale price.
What are the ingredients? Milkfat and non-fat milk solids, cane sugar, macadamia nuts, corn syrup solids, mono and diglycerides, locust bean gum, guar gum, carraggeenan, vanilla flavoring, annatto color.
What are the nutritional values? Per 1/2 cup serving: 150 calories with 80 calories from fat; total fat 9 grams; saturated fat 5 grams; trans fat 0 grams; cholesterol 20mg; sodium 35mg; total carbohydrates 14 grams; dietary fiber 0 grams; sugars 12 grams; protien 2 grams. Vitamin A 4%; vitamin C 0%, calcium 8%; iron 0%.
Big shaka to: Full-bodied, creamy vanilla ice cream. Generous chunks of fresh-tasting, distinctively roasted Macadamia Nuts. Attractive label design.
No shaka to: The food industry tricking consumers by giving less product for the same price (1.75 quart vs. a full half-gallon ice cream carton).Teriyaki, SPAM and Ice Cream.
SPAM Musubi rating: 4

What? Meadow Gold Premium Macadamia Nut Ice Cream featuring Hamakua Plantations Macadamia Nuts
Who makes it? Meadow Gold Dairies in Dallas, Texas www.lanimoo.com
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? Don Quijote (Kaheka), $3.99 sale price
What are the ingredients? Milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, corn syrup, macadamias, high fructose corn syrup, sweetcream buttermilk, whey, contains less than 2% of guar gum, mono & diglycerides, xanthan gum, polysorbate 80, cellulose gum, carrageenan, natural and artificial flavors, annatto extract (color).
What are the nutritional values? Per 1/2 cup serving: 150 calories; 80 calories from fat; 10 grams total fat; 4.5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 25mg cholesterol, 30mg sodium, 14 grams total carbohydrate, 0 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugar; 2 grams protien. 6% Vitamin A; 0% vitamin C, 6% calcium; 0% iron.
Big shaka to: A decent ice cream if not compared side-by-side with a much better brand.  Lower price. Uses ingredients made in Hawaii (Hamakua Plantations).
No shaka to: The very small pieces of Macadamia nuts are bland and stale tasting in comparison to Roselani. Vanilla ice cream base lacks “character”. The food industry tricking consumers by giving less product for the same price (1.5 quart vs. a full half-gallon ice cream carton).
SPAM Musubi Rating: 2

Those of you “Kalihiians” know Richie’s Drive Inn, where we’re back again for the supah’ ono, budget-crunchin’, scale-bustin’ plate lunch grinds!

As what McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Jack in the Box has done for the all-American burgers and fries, Richie’s Drive Inn does for the local Hawaii plate lunch: QUICK, CHEAP and GOOD.  And in some instances, GREAT! So quick in fact that, just like the aforementioned national chains, Richie’s Drive Inn also offers drive-thru plate lunch service!

Here’s a look at Kalihi’s own Richie’s Drive Inn menu board on this updated February 2010 visit…

No question, Richie’s version of the “ultimate combo” is ‘Richie’s Special Chili Dog Plate with Small Drink’…

Which, here’s how it looks…

Richie’s Special Chili Dog Plate with Small Drink. $5.29

Yeah, that looks really sloppy, but you know you know you want a bite. Admit it! lol

Moving on to the next order on this visit, Diner C decided on trying Richie’s Drive Inn’s Saba plate…

Saba Plate. $6.50

While Diner A continued the craving for fish, this time going for Richie’s Mahimahi plate…

Mahimahi Plate. $6.50

As always, last but MOST definitely not least in this case, we have my order, which was Richie’s Beef Stew and Lau Lau Combo plate…

Beef Stew with Lau Lau. $7.20

Get a load of that massive carrot in the beef stew. It’s almost as big as my forearm!

This plate had soooooo much HEFT to it upon carry it, that we just had to put in on the scale and weigh it…

Looking at the digital readout, it tips the scale at a hefty 2 lbs. 5.0 oz.. 2.3 POUNDS! That’s CRAZY! We like to describe plate lunches that pack heft like this as “Poundage“. Needless to say, I certainly wasn’t able to “polish” (clean) this plate in one sitting.  A “second wind’er” for sure.

What’s a little different about Richie’s Beef Stew is that instead of smaller bite-size pieces of beef, potatoes and carrots, this serving had just 1 massive half of a whole potato, about 3/4 of a whole carrot, and one giant piece of beef about half the size of my fist….

Taste wise, it’s also a little different, tasting like there’s at least a little chili powder and/or ceyenne pepper in it, as it had a hint of spiciness. It was also kinda’ salty. Not to the point of being inedible, but certainly noticeable. It did have a very hearty, beefy base flavor, so points on that. Also, because of their large size, the big, tender chunk of beef, potato and carrot still had integrity and weren’t mush, so points on that as well.

It’s a pretty good beef stew. Not the best I’ve ever had, but satisfying never-the-less. 2 SPAM Musubi for that.

Now let’s check out the Lau Lau…

Cut in half…

Lots of pork belly fat in there. A small piece of butterfish (that small piece hanging off to the left on the right side half). Decent amount of layered luau (taro) leaves. Very tender and moist all around. ALTHOUGH, this Lau Lau was very BLAND, which I’m guessing is because this may have been in the freezer for a long time, robbing it of all its natural flavors. Especially after just recently tasting the SUPERIOR Laulau at Highway Inn, this one really pales in comparison. 1 SPAM Musubi, getting a one for good portion and moist ‘n tender doneness. Glad I tried it, but next time I’ll stick with their most excellent Chili Dog Plate.

Now Richie’s Mac’ Salad…

Now THAT’S what you call MAC’ SALAD! Right off the bat, 5 SPAM Musubi. Easy.

Cool, creamy, simple, seasoned just right, with perfectly al dente macaroni noodles. Winnahz! So winnahz, next time I hit Richie’s, I’m gonna’ request a “Mac Salad Plate”: essentially a giant heap of mac salad as the “main entree” with 2 scoops rice and for the salad? What else? 1 scoop Mac’ Sal’! lol

As for Richie’s Chili Dog Plate, that’s another winnah’ and definitely my favorite dish from the joint…

It’s also one of the best plate lunch deals in town. For just $5.29 you get a huge serving of their onolicious “Better than Zippy’s” Chili (yes, I said that), not one but TWO hot dogs (Bar S brand we think), 1 scoop of their AWESOME Mac’ Sal, 2 scoops rice, AND a small drink!

Moving along, here you can see how moist and tender Diner A’s Mahimahi was…

And ditto for Diner C’s Saba…

Summing it up, I give my 2-plus pound Beef Stew and Lau Lau “Poundage” Combo 2 SPAM Musubi, while Diner A, C and E gave their respective plates 3 SPAM Musubi.

Diner E enjoyed Richie’s Chili Dog Plate so much, he polished it…

Richie’s Drive Inn
1178 N. King Street
Tel. 842-4004

(located across the post office, near Waikamilo home road and Farrington High School)

Related links:
• Richie’s Drive Inn – ‘Ono Kine Grindz review

The Tasty Island rating:

Related links:
• Drive-Thru Plate Lunches at Richie’s Drive Inn – The Tasty Island
• Richie’s Drive Inn – Yelp user reviews

P.S. Regarding the statewide Hawaii Tsunami warning, I can see the Ala Wai Canal from my place, and in the past half hour (between 12-12:30pm), the tide has drastically gone up, and now is way down, with a significant current drawing the water outward towards the ocean as the water recedes.

A little over a year ago we were here on Dillingham Boulevard sampling the eats from what was then a new restaurant called Pho Dillingham & Grill, which had taken the place of the popular Spot’s Inn. Well, here we are today again where the name has already changed to ‘Mix Plate Cafe’. That was quick!

It turns out Pho Dillingham & Grill was owned and operated by Ben and his SISTER, but the sister has since left to the mainland. So now Ben owns and operates the slightly revamped Mix Plate Cafe, this time in partnership with his father-in-law.

That said, not surprisingly Mix Plate Cafe’s menu is very much similar to what was offered under the former ‘Pho Dillingham & Grill’…

Here’s the specials of the day…

In retrospect, I REALLY wish I had ordered this Pho Sashimi…

I’m just wondering whether you’re supposed to dip the raw ahi sashimi in the hot Pho broth? Seems to be “poho” (waste), but I won’t knock it ’til I try it.

This place also has a wide assortment of gelatinous Vietnamese desserts, starting with these Sticky Rice & Blackeye Bean with Sweetened Coconut Milk cups…

Rainbow Cocktail…

And Coconut Gelatin (disregard the labels in front, as they’re all the same)…

As for the place, they’ve certainly done some upgrading, including the addition of elegantly styled dining tables and chairs…

Overall, the place has a really clean, fresh and new feel to it, which can be welcoming in otherwise aging towns such as Kalihi. Old School “weathered” places have their charm, but a face lift is always appreciated, as they’ve done so well here.

Getting right to our takeout (stress TAKEOUT) order, Diner E chose the Vietnamese-French side of the fence, going hanahou (one more time) with their Bánh Mì sandwich…

Bánh Mì Vietnamese sandwich with BBQ Pork. $6.00

Speaking of French (the bread roll bun part), along with this sandwich he got fries…

French Fries. $1.95

Like Diner E, I  chose the same thing as before when they were Pho Dillingham & Grill, this time around once again ordering the Pho Combination (Phở Dặc Biệt)…

Pho Combination (Phở Dặc Biệt). $8.25

On that Pho veggie’ plate shown above is Thai Basil, Culantro (that long leafy green with the thorny edges), Bean Sprouts and (very HOT!) Asian Chili, plus a wedge of lime underneath.

Here’s the broth…

Looks “beefy”, amongst the other complex flavors that go into a typical Pho broth.

Of course if you order the Pho when dining in, the broth, noodles and meats are served together in one (porcelain) bowl, with just the veggies on the side.

Now that we’ve covered the Vietnamese side, let’s move on to the American — or more specifically — the “local” side of their menu, where Diner A decided to try Mix Plate Cafe’s Hamburger Steak…

Hamburger Steak plate. $8.50

Beautiful cross-hatched grill markings on that Hamburger Steak Patty!  Although it must be further noted that gravy’s thickness, color, depth and quantity is quite lacking. Same sentiment for the state of “sauteedness” (famous modified words) of the onions on top.

Starting off the tasting part of this review, Diner A proclaimed he was very happy with every aspect of the char-grilled, house-made hamburger steak patty, , while also giving a thumbs up for the brown gravy’s flavor. His complaint on that part was that there wasn’t enough gravy, while for $8.50, thought it should have had two patties, not just one.

Now for the Mac’ Sal’…

When it comes to local style plate lunches, no matter how good the entree is, if the Mac Sal’ isn’t up to par, it pretty much negates the entire dish. And Mix Plate Cafe’s Mac’ Sal’ got a big THUMBS DOWN from Diner A, noting it had this “weird, tangy taste”. Not spoiled (been there, done that), but just not good. So “not good” that he ended up tossing most of it in the trash.

That said, Diner A gives  Mix Plate Cafe’s Hamburger Steak Plate 1 SPam Musubi. Fix the Mac’ Sal’ recipe, add more of a thickened gravy, and there could be great potential in their hamburger steak.

Then we have Diner E’s Bahn Mi, where here he shows off the grilled pork and various veggies tucked inside…

His gripe on the last visit with the Bahn Mi Sandwich was the absence of Cilantro. Well this time around they added Cilantro, yet there were hardly any Cilantro leaves, but mostly STEMS! Ack! Also the Vietnamese pickled vegetables was almost all carrot, and hardly any daikon, which is one of his favorite ingredients that “makes’ this sandwich. Yikes. That Green Chili Pepper was also WAY TOO HOT for his palate. He quickly took it out.

The Banh Mi Roll also suffered the same chewy texture and lacky of crunch on the outer crust like it was on his last visit here.

Overall, it wasn’t a BAD Banh Mi sandwich, but just not as great as he’s so accustomed to getting at the particular Bale location he frequents. Summing it up, he gives Mix Plate Cafe’s Banh Mi 1 SPAM Musubi. Oh, the fries were cooked and salted perfectly. 3 SPAM Musubi for that.

Now let’s take “inventory” of the “hardware” in this bowl of Pho…

Thin slices of raw beef that will quickly cook in the hot broth? Check. Slices of cooked flank steak? Check. Slices of beef tendon? Check. Cooked Vermicelli noodles? Check. Sliced white and green onion? Check.

Now to add the “software”, the Pho stock…

Finally to complete the dish, we add the “peripherals”, the veggies and the included hoisin sauce…

First of all, I must REITERATE, them green (deceptively) Jalapeno-looking Asian green Chili slices are PHO ‘KIN HOT! lol  Seriously, unless you’re a “Scoville Junkie”, don’t add them to the bowl! Just those two slices I added made the entire broth tip toward the mid-level spicy side.

Let’s sample it…

The sticky Vermicelli noodles were all clumped together at the bottom, so it took some wiggling with my chopsticks to loosen them. Thankfully they were perfectly al dente. Of course I LOVE all the fresh veggies. The combination of the Thai Basil, Culantro and Bean Sprouts along with that mildly beefy broth is great.

The thin slices of raw beef cooked quickly once the hot broth was added in. That’s always nice to have in combination with the greens.

Then there’s them stiff, “doggy treat” like pieces of beef tendon to bite into…

I like that tendon stuff. Chewing on it kinda’ does make me feel like a dog. lol

Overall, while I’m still not qualified to judge was makes a great, good or bad bowl of Pho, I enjoyed this one. I’m pretty sure their broth isn’t going to win any “best of the best” awards by Pho enthusiasts, yet it was never-the-less tasty enough that I finished every last drop. There were generous portions of noodles and sliced meats, and VERY generous portions of fresh veggies, which is what I love the most about eating Pho.

Summing it up, I give Mix Plate Cafe’s Pho Dac Biet 2 SPAM Musubi.

While I enjoy it on occasion, you know I’m not usually a dessert person (there’s many food blogs out there that LOVE the stuff), but couldn’t resist sampling that “Sticky Ricey thingy”…

Sticky Rice & Blackeye Bean with Sweetened Coconut. $2.25

As advertised, the rice is very sticky like mochi, with a slightly sweetened flavor to it, while the blackeye beans tastes sort of like a cross between Azuki and Kidney beans. The thickened and sweetened coconut milk topping is no question the “icing on the cake” that makes this work and would be sorely missed without it. Think of this as a “soup” version of coconut-flavored sweet mochi with beans in it, and that’s what this tastes like. Pretty good. 2 SPAM Musubi.

Mix Plate Cafe
(formerly Pho Dillingham & Grill > formerly Spot’s Inn)
1111 Dillingham Blvd. #E9
Honolulu, Hawaii  96817
Tel. 841-4664

Takeout Menu (<click to download PDF; 2 pages)

Business hours:
Monday – Friday 8am to 11pm
Saturday 9am to 11pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm

The Tasty Island rating:

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it.

Related links:
• Kalihi Eats: Pho Dillingham & Grill – The Tasty Island
• Mix Plate Cafe – Yelp user reviews

Several evenings ago I took my mother and aunt out for dinner in celebration of aunt’s birthday at Assagio Italiano Ristorante in Hawaii Kai. Assagio has five locations on Oahu now, with the newest one recently opened in Kahala, while there’s also another one in Ala Moana Center, Mililani and Kailua.

Yet I think the location in Koko Marina Center in Hawaii Kai, situated right on the marina waterfront is by far is the one to go to if the view outside matters to you. Here’s exactly what you’ll see looking out the window during sunset from the restaurant here…

Panoramic view of Hawaii Kai Marina from Assagio at Koko Marina Center (click to enlarge)

Inside, the dining room is impeccably clean, cozy, elegant and romantic, with dimmed lighting (after sunset) to suit the mood.

Getting to their menu, which you can view via PDF at Assaggio’s website, it’s HUGE. Actually a bit too much, making it difficult to decide what you REALLY wanna’ try or feel like eating.

As soon as we sat down, a basket of their complimentary Italian-French Table Bread was immediately brought to the table…

While a compound herb butter or balsamic vinegar and EVOO would have been nice, it’s served with back-to-basics butter…

This house-made bread arrived piping hot, with a crisp and flaky crust, while being soft and supple inside…

Flavor-wise, it tastes just like the excellent French Bread from Safeway’s bakery. While just like the afforementioned store-bought loaf, the piping hot state it arrives in is a big plus, as that “fresh baked bread smell” hits your olfactory senses, which also allows the cold butter to  melt on, in and spread evenly. This simple yet excellent bread is “bottomless” (free refills), but I’d use restraint no matter how much you enjoy it, lest you carbo-overload and not have room to finish the massive plate of pasta that will soon follow. Hard to do, I know.

My mother and aunt both “eat like birds” (have very small appetites) and discouraged me from getting any appetizers, but we had to try at least something, so decided on trying the Eggplant Rollatini…

Assaggio – Eggplant Rollatini: Eggplant Rolled and Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese and Simmered in Tomato Sauce
with Mozzarella Cheese. $9.90.

For the main course, after having eaten very light over the past week, aunty the birthday girl was craving something meaty tonight, so from the Faranacci pasta selections, decided on trying the Sausage and Meatball Combination over Angel Hair Pasta…

Assaggio – Sausage & Meatball Combination over Angel Hair Pasta. $15.90 (small portion)

Mom also had been eating light over the past week, so on this occasion went for something “meaty”, choosing the Sausage Olio over Fettucini…

Assaggio – Sausage Olio: Sliced Sausage Pan Fried in Olive Oil, Garlic, and Anchovies. $15.90 (small portion)

Finally, yours truly couldn’t resist trying Assagio’s take on the classic Osso Bucco…

Assagio – Osso Bucco and Shrimp Scallop Alla Bolla: Braised Veal Shank with Onions, Garlic with a Lightly Seasoned Tomato Sauce. Jumbo Shrimp and Sea Scallops Pan Fried in Olive Oil, Garlic with Snow Peas in a White Wine Butter Sauce. $28.90

For dinner wine, I chose a Napa Valley Merlot…

…which was most EXCELLENT paired with that Eggplant Rollotini app’, and also helped that Osso Bucco and Shrimp along where it needed it as you’ll read in a bit.

Speaking of which, back to the Eggplant Rollatini app’, here you see the melted Ricotta cheese within’…

Of all the dishes we ordered, this appetizer was certainly everyone’s favorite. So much that we all agreed we’d consider ordering this as a main entree on a future visit. The eggplant was melt-in-the-mouth tender inside, with a wonderfully crispy crust that seemed to have been dusted with seasoned flour before they baked it, as it had this nice gritty texture contrast to the soft eggplant flesh beneath as you bite into it. Then you’ve got that creamy melted Ricotta within it that’s laced with herbs, and that ooey-gooey melted mozzarella and tomato sauce swimming around it that brings it all home. Excellent, excellent dish. Solid 4 SPAM Musubi.

Moving on, let’s have a closer look at aunty’s Meatball and Sausage Combo with Angel Hair Pasta. where here’s how that single giant meatball and sausage looks cut in slices…

I didn’t try the sausage, but did try a bite of the meatball, which I found was very soft, yet dense, having me guess there’s plenty of bread crumb filler in it. Flavor-wise, it tasted like a simple mixture of perhaps ground beef, pork, and a few herbs, including basil. The tomato-based sauce was also simple yet delicious. She raved about all aspects of the dish, giving it 4 SPAM Musubi, after I explained to her how my rating system works.

Then we have mom’s Sausage Olio…

I didn’t get to try these sausages either, but mom sure did rave about it, going as far as asking if they offered it for sale over the counter. They did say all their sausages are made in-house. She also loved the rustic flavors of the garlic and anchovies with the olive oil mixed all into the fetuccini. Based this blog’s rating system, she also gives her dish 4 SPAM Musubi.

Last but not least, we have my Osso Bucco with shrimp, where as you know, the “money” is the flavor-packed melted marrow in the core of the Veal Shank bone…

Actually, while this tiny marrow-picking fork is cute, it really would be better if it were a tiny spoon, as the 3-pronged fork was almost useless in getting the stuff out. Not to fret, as my butter knife got the job done.

The generous amount veal shank meat around the bone was fall-apart tender, succulent and juicy…

Yet the tomato sauce the shank was smothered in somehow reminded me of — believe it or not– local style plate lunch beef stew. While they probably used wine in the braising liquid, I certainly couldn’t taste any veal or beef stock, which would have given it that depth I was hoping for, but it lacked.

Then we have the “surf” side of this dish…

The white wine butter sauce was subtle, yet did a good job keeping the fetuccini lubricated and flavored without overpowering it.  What had me disappointed were that the scallops and shrimp both lacked any garlic and olive oil pan-seared edges, which is the key element of this half of the dish. Particularly, the Jumbo Shrimp, which while was properly peeled and deveined, could just as well have been “borrowed” from a (boiled) Shrimp Cocktail app’ that didn’t make it out, as they were a bit rubbery, dry and just characterless. Fortunately at least the scallops were succulent and tender.

Summing up the Osso Bucco and Shrimp Alla Bolla it gets 2 SPAM Musubi.

For dessert we shared a slice of the Strawberry Marble Cheesecake…

This isn’t on their regular dessert menu, but a limited time offer for Valentine’s, which they still had some left. As you see, there’s a birthday candle on it, which Assaggio so kindly provided this compliments of the house in honor of for our guest. And it was DELICIOUS! Not too sweet, while that chocolate cookie crust was to die for. 4 SPAM Musubi on that.

The service was first rate, with our server Michelle being friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. Water glasses were kept full. Our menu items arrived in a snap, with the appetizer from time to order to on the table within 10 minutes, and the main dishes arrived in a timely, speedy succession to it. They also granted us a prime window seat overlooking the marina that we requested for in our phone reservation, which made the visit that much more enjoyable and appreciative of genuinely considerate staff.

While I’m not exactly raving about the Osso Bucco and Shrimp Alla Bolla on this visit, I have dined here a number of times before and have had fantastic dishes in the past, and my two guests tonight certainly enjoyed theirs.  Good, (for the most part) simple Italian cuisine, reasonable prices, great service, elegant decor, and a wonderful marina waterfront location, Assaggio Italiano Restaurant in beautiful Hawaii Kai is highly recommended.

Assaggio Ristorante Italiano
Koko Marina Center in Hawaii Kai
7192 Kalianaole highway
Honolulu, Hawaii 96825

Tel. 396-0756
www.AssaggioHi.com

The Tasty Island Rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Related links:
• Assaggio Ristorante Italiano (Hawaii Kai location) – Yelp User Reviews
• Assaggio Ristorante Italiano (Ala Moana location) – Yelp User Reviews

That would make for an epic-sounding title of a sci fi/horror film about a giant blob of Squid Luau attacking the city of Honolulu. I can just picture the key scene: “Oh my God! It’s… it’s… it’s SQUID LUAU! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! RRRUN!!!!”  LOL

But seriously, we returned for lunch this past Aloha Friday at Kanak Attack, that hole-in-wall introduced here just a few weeks ago that’s buried deep within the confines of Nimitz Business Center. This time to our surprise there was a line formed long outside the entrance!…

Could the revelation of the place on this blog have anything to do with that? Dunno’. I do know certain dishes were already disappearing by the time we got there around 11:30am.

Like this tray of Stuffed Salmon, which is already half gone and it isn’t even noon yet…

Another hot seller was their Pork Chops…

I had my eyes on that ‘tick and chunky Hawaiian Beef Stew they were servin’ up…

Da’ buggah’ looked so ono on da’ plate wit’ rice (it looked really good plated-up with rice).

Then there were these massive Grilled Hamachi Kama (Ahi Tuna Collar)…

While I have yet to try it, I’m really curious how their fried chicken tastes…

Here’s the menu for the day…

After that AWESOME Lau Lau plate I had from Highway Inn just a few days prior, it left me longing for Squid Luau, so I decided to give Kanak Attack’s a try…

Mmmmmmm, doesn’t that look YUMMY?! lol

Diner A was also in seafood mode, choosing the Grilled Hamachi Kama…

Along with that, he also got a bowl of Seafood Curry…

In there are large chunks of Mahimahi, sliced calamari and whole small shrimp tails.

While Diner E continues his love of all things Teriyaki, going for the Teriyaki Hamburger Steak mini plate…

I was kinda’ reluctant to order Squid Luau here, as they don’t offer it with Poi, and it really doesn’t go well with rice, IMO. Neither does it go well with Mac’ Sal’. Yet I went for it anyway to satisfy my craving for it.

Unfortunately it turned out this Squid Luau was WAY too sweet. Either they’re using sweetened Coconut Milk or adding sugar in it. Whatever it is, way too sweet. There was a fair amount of Tako (Octopus) in it (what’s incorrectly referred by this dish as “Squid”), and it was all Luau leaves (not Spinach) that were cooked down to tender-soft consistency, so a point for that. But again, that over-sweet flavor profile was a deal breaker for me.

Summing my plate up, I give Kanak Attack’s Squid Luau plate a barely making it 1 SPAM Musubi (average). It has potential to be  a 4 or 5 Spammer if they lose the sweet and offer Poi as an option to rice with their Hawaiian food.

Diner A really enjoyed his Hamachi Kama, which was meaty, moist and tender with that great fatty tuna flavor you get from the collar bone area of the fish…

He also liked the flavor of the curry itself in the Seafood Curry Stew, noting UNLIKE my Squid Luau, this curry didn’t have any sweetness in it, which he appreciated.

Look at this critter he found in there…

Is that a baby Tako (octopus) or is that squid? I can’t tell. Overall, he gives his Hamachi Kama and Seafood Curry Stew 3 SPAM Musubi (very good).

Finally we have Diner E’s Teriyaki Hamburger Steak…

He gave a thumbs-up on the Teri’ sauce, and we all give thumbs-up on their Mac’ Sal’, but he wasn’t impressed with their  house-made beef patties, which he thought were really plain. As if all they did was mix ground beef with some salt and pepper. He prefers his hamburger steak to have bread filler, the “old school” way. It also lacked any seared edges, looking and tasting as if it had been steamed. Which I don’t understand, as this place has the grill to do it, as was evident by that beautifully char-grilled steak I had on the last visit. Ron, please char-grill your burger patties!

With that he gives Kanak Attack’s Teriyaki Hamburger Steak mini plate 1 SPAM Musubi (average). At least grill the patty and it’ll get a much better rating.

If you decide to try this place, here’s where you’ll find them (the operative word being “FIND”)…

Kanak Attack Catering
Nimitz Business Center
1130 N. Nimitz Highway
Building C, Suite 110
Honolulu, Hawaii  96817
Tel. 521-4131

Business hours:
Tuesday through Friday 10:30am to 1:30pm
Saturday & Sunday closed for catering
Monday closed

Related links:
• Iwilei Eats: Kanak Attack – The Tasty Island
• Kanak Attack — Yelp user reviews