regal bakery

Finally got a chance to try Regal Bakery's maple bacon doughnut.

Their prices have gone up since the last time I was here.

I went to service my brother's car yesterday.

Since it was estimated to take about 2 hours, I walked to Regal Bakery, bought a maple bacon doughnut, then walked to Starbucks on Paiea Street.

They had seats inside by one of their windows, and since it was so grossly humid outside, I ate my doughnut inside with an iced coffee.

The doughnut was really soft, almost mushy, probably from the glaze and topping. The maple flavor seemed a bit fake to me and overall this was a bit too sweet.

But I'm glad they didn't skimp on the amount of bacon on there.

Don't think I would get this doughnut again but I'm glad I tried this.

bogart's cafe

There are a lot of Hawaii eateries that have brought shops to Japan. They start off in Tokyo and then if they are popular they spread themselves around Japan.

While I am happy that a piece of "home" can be found here, I haven't checked out most because I don't want to be disappointed.

There is something about eateries that come from Hawaii that lose their "local" feel about them.

Well, the other day, I was in the area, so I decided to check out Bogart's Cafe.

I've never been to the one in Hawaii, so I didn't know what to expect.

I liked that the feel to the place was laid back and that they were playing Hawaiian music.

They are apparently popular for their eggs benedict, pancakes and açaí bowl.

Instead I ordered their BLT...900 yen and a drink...300 yen.

If you've been reading this blog, you know that "bacon" is hard to come by in Japan, usually you get what we call "Canadian bacon". It is rare if you ever get something crispy.

Well, the bacon was hard.as.rock. I mean how long do you have to cook bacon for it to get that hard?!

One of my friend on Tabera (Japan's Instagram for food) said, "you should've left it on your plate"...um, no, if I am paying 900 yen for it, I am eating it all, as bad as it was...eep!

The fries were crisp but had pepper all over it, I know some people like to dip their fries in catsup & pepper but it was a bit overwhelming for me...

So, will I go back there? No.

I do want to try Bogart's in Hawaii though....have a nice week!

easy

Whoo! the last day of November was weird. At about eleven-ish at night the wind picked up and it sounded like a mini typhoon outside.

The temperature dropped about 10 degrees and was in single digits all day on the first day of December.

But get this, they are forecasting the temps to go back up over the weekend. Definitely weird weather this year.

Hope the weather is cooperating for you where you are...I saw the photo for this recipe on Pinterest and had to try the recipe.

The recipe doesn't take many ingredients and is really easy to put together.

I had 2 slices of bacon in my fridge, so I went out to buy two small pieces of chicken breast which in Japanese is called "sasami" (sah-sah-mee).

There are other pieces called "mune" (moo-nay) which are the whole chicken breast, the "sasami" is a smaller, leaner piece.

Since my bacon wasn't long, I cut the slice in half instead of the third that the recipe suggests.

The sasami is shaped like a teardrop, so I cut the chicken into fourths.

I paired a big piece with a little piece of chicken and wrapped a piece of bacon around the two pieces, the pieces barely stayed shut, so I used a toothpick.

Then I put 1 tablespoon of packed brown sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder and dipped each piece in, then used a spoon to spoon over the mixture on each to coat.

I baked them off in a 350F (180C) oven for 30 minutes.

NOTES: this was delicious and easy! I wish I had made more. Next time, I think I would cut back the amount of sugar/chili powder, since I ended up throwing most of the mixture out. I still wish our bacon were thinner sliced.

This would definitely be good as a pupu (appetizer) or even packed in a bento (boxed lunch).

It's Friday, and rain is forecasted for today and tomorrow, hope you have a great weekend, we hope to check out some fall foliage on Sunday!

hawaii eats

In some parts of the world it is already 2011.

In Hawaii...we still have many hours to go.

This was one of the first things I had (when my stomach could handle)....bacon!

The BLT (bacon lettuce tomato) from Kua'Aina.

Actually had wanted the BLAT (bacon lettuce avocado tomato), but they had run out of avocado.

Oh well, just happy to have had my crispy bacon fix.

Happy New Year everyone!

tor road deli

The other week when Satoshi and I went to Kobe, I stopped in Le Dimanche to pick up a few items.

When I came out, I spotted Tor Road Deli.

I had heard of them, but didn't realize they were right across the street from Le Dimanche.

Satoshi and I popped in and picked up some bacon and bologna. Everything that we bought happened to be 30% off and came out to 977 yen (about US$9.77).

I was surprised that the bacon had many slices, usually you can only get about 4 or 5 from other brands for just about the same price.

The package of bacon had 10 slices and the bologna had 10 slices (I counted).

Though there wasn't enough fat to make the bacon crisp.

We had the bologna one morning as a bologna and cheese sandwich. They also gave us a packet of french mustard, it tasted like French's yellow mustard and went nicely with the bologna.

This deli was different from what I imagined a deli to be like; more meats and no salads. I think in French they call this type of deli a charcuterie.

They even have a sandwich room on the 2nd floor, which I think you can order and eat sandwiches there.

I'm glad we got to try some of their items. I will buy from them the next time I go to Hankyu department store or Kobe.

Tor Road Delicatessen
2-6-5 Kitanagasa-dori
Chuo, Kobe
Phone: 078.331.6535
Closed Wednesdays

bacon + dark chocolate

Actually I had this post in draft mode for awhile. Better late than never posting it.

After trying this bar, I was determined to try making a dark version.

With one piece of bacon, I made two mediants--just melted some 60% dark chocolate chips, sprinkled the bacon and then poured the melted chocolate onto parchment paper, then let it chill.

I think I need to tweak it a bit more, needs more saltiness.

Still a great combination though and my version had more bacon.

odds & ends

In Japan, they have different types of strawberries. This one is called Amaou.

Not sure if this is what is called an acrostic, but the name comes from A: Akai (red)
Ma: Marui (round)
O: Ookii (big)
U: Umai (delicious)

These guys were definitely big, round and delicious! Perfect for dipping in dark chocolate. (Mom says that this is an acronym not an acrostic...thanks Mom!)

So, without butter, I used only olive oil for these banana nib muffins. As I baked the muffins, I realized I didn't put in any eggs or vanilla extract either! They came out a bit dense, but they were really moist, probably because of the bananas.

Some "old-fashioned" bacon that I found. Only 6 slices in a package...won't tell you the price. Of all the brands I've found, this one cooks up the crispiest! With a brand name like, Butz, I wonder if there is some kind of hidden message? (Maybe?)

A new brand of candied yuzu (citron). Saw a segment on television where they were making these. It takes about 6 months to make a batch. They soak the citron peels in sugar water for several days then, air dry them r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y, then add more sugar.

These peels are so delicious! Makes your mouth pucker because they are so sour. They are brownish, because they don't add any coloring.

Well, they have finally started building. It looks like it will be 3 (or probably 4) new houses on the lot next door. All I know is that the scaffolding is as high as our building (3 stories)! If you notice the 2 cement slabs, each is for a house.

The newest macaron flavor at Starbucks is lemon. A bright yellow outside with a tart lemony gel filling. Delicious!

I had lunch with my host-mom the other day. I like having lunch with her, it gives us time to bond and she always tells me about the newest food trends. I wanted to share what she told me...egoma oil. Egoma is in the same family as shiso (perilla/beefsteak plant) and the leaves are found in Korean cuisine, maybe the oil too? She said that if you have high cholesterol, this oil will help bring it down and is better than olive oil. The only thing with this oil is that it is expensive and has a very short shelf life.

Hope you have a nice weekend, next week is Golden Week here.

bacon+chocolate=yum?...!

I first learned about this bar from Chocolate Obsession and then Sourdough Monkey Wrangler tried it.

I made note of it and found it at the Honolulu Chocolate Company, so I picked it up. Kind of a weird combination, right? maybe. It is a 41% deep milk chocolate, with smoked salt and bacon bits.

But, if you're like me, you sometimes crave, sweet and salty things at certain times of the month (too much information? maybe), this is definitely something to soothe those cravings.

As soon as it hit my tongue, I could taste the smoked salt, then the milk chocolate and then some of the bacon. And then I had to put the bar away for fear of eating the whole thing in one sitting.

I liked it. If you get a chance, you should try it.

b.l.t.

Recently, Nate of Hwnpake in Okinawa, sent me a care package (Thank you!) Inside was a package of BACON, mayo, egg noodles, wafers, lots of szechuan peppercorns, seasoned salts and haw flakes.

So, the other day for lunch, Satoshi and I had B.L.T.s, though you can't see the bacon, it was super crispy and delicious! (If there is one thing that I can't find on mainland Japan, it is crispy bacon. Though you'd know that already if you've been reading this blog.)

I also hadn't had haw flakes in ages to the point where I had forgotten how they tasted. Still it was nice to receive all those goodies.

Thanks Nate you really made my day!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

trying to re-create a fav

Everytime I go home and Satoshi has a chance to join up with me, we head to Kua'aina in Haleiwa. Satoshi has his avocado burger and I always order the BLT + avocado.

After finding crispy bacon, I wanted to re-create this sandwich, so I bought an avocado yesterday.

To my disappointment, the avocado wasn't ripe...I guess I should have known when the knife didn't go in nicely. Hopefully, it will ripen nicely without going bad. Maybe I can make guacamole with it or something....

I guess I'll just be thankful for a B.L.T. with crispy bacon in it.

guess what I found...

bacon...crispy bacon.

Only thing is I won't tell you how much I paid for it or how many slices were in the package. You would freak!

I bought scones and Earl Grey croissants for our breakfast today. The scones were too dry, but the croissants were nice and flaky.

I will tell you this...I'm getting good at frothing milk....

Have a good week!

h.l.t.

After seeing Nate's post, I wanted a B.L.T. too, so when I went to the supermarket I picked some up.

Japanese bacon is actually more like ham, totally disappointing. Doesn't get crispy. (Anyone living on Honshu that has a great crispy bacon brand, please let me know what you are using. I'd really like to try it.)

At least Nate had sent me some Best Foods mayonnaise (Thanks Nate!). The sandwich actually reminded me of ham sandwiches after Thanksgiving or Christmas, so I think I'll call it an H.L.T. rather than a B.L.T.

And while I'm on the topic of sandwiches, check out this sign...I don't know that I would want to eat a sand witch. would you? I can't believe these people paid for this sign....

ku-cha-ne-ku-cha-ne

I've learned a new saying from Satoshi...it's called "ku-cha-ne-ku-cha-ne". What does it mean? "eat-sleep, eat-sleep"...because that pretty much sums up what we've up to since he's come home. (wait a minute, since I've come home too!)
Friday, with all the changes going on in Waikiki, Satoshi was curious to see what was happening. We walked from Hilton Hawaiian Village ALL the way to the end of Waikiki. A majority of hotels are going under renovations and along with these renovations are the property name changes. Boy, I can't even keep them straight! Anyway, while walking through Waikiki I saw this group of people having a surf lesson. (Hang ten!)

And people gazing at the ocean. (You know, I miss not having benches to rest on in Japan--they are obsolete!)

Lunch was at Ryan's Grill. This place holds a special place in our hearts because it is where we went on our first date.

I was surprised to find out that they serve all of their menu items all day. We started off with some seared ahi (tuna), this tuna is coated with togarashi(chili) and sesame seeds. And served with a wasabi(japanese horseradish)-ginger aioli. They used to use a cajun spice on the outside of the ahi, but this version was still very tasty.

Fried calamari with a black bean aioli and a chili cucumber salad. This version was very light, previously they had a tex-mex flavor to it.


French onion soup--rich broth, cheese and onions...how can you go wrong?

Romaine lettuce with maytag blue cheese crumbles, slivered almonds and egg--crunchy goodness.

Saturday, Satoshi had to leave to go back for work. So, for breakfast, we hunted out one of his favorites...loco moco.

I had seen a restaurant called Koa Pancake House while we drove in Wahiawa the other day, and somehow that had stuck in my mind. I looked in the phone book and was pleased to find a location in Waipahu.

Satoshi couldn't decide between loco moco and eggs benedict (another of his favorites)...so he ordered both! Both servings were huge, as usual. The eggs for the benedict weren't runny, so he was a bit disappointed, but said that everything was delicious still the same.

I ordered the chocolate chip short stack with eggs and bacon. The pancakes were light and fluffy and had LOTS of chocolate chips inside.

The bacon could have been a bit crispier, but went well with maple syrup on them.

So, it is back to the grindstone for Satoshi...Everyone including me was sad that Satoshi had such a short stay.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Ryan's Grill
Ward Centre
1200 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu
Phone: 808.591.9132

Koa Pancake House
Waipahu Town Center
94-050 Farrington Hwy C1-2
Waipahu
Phone: 808.671.7172

eat your beans!

When mothers tell their children to "eat their beans", I don't think they had this in mind...dessert today was an "ichigo daifuku". "Ichigo" means strawberry, "Daifuku" is a thin mochi (rice cake) filled with sweet bean paste. This daifuku version uses cannellini bean paste that is sweetened, called "shiro-an"--"shiro" means white and "an" means sweet bean paste. In Hawaii, a lot of "shiro-an" is made from lima beans. Anyway, the strawberry goes into the middle, then is wrapped in the sweet cannellini bean paste, then the whole thing is wrapped with a very thin mochi (rice cake)...still, I'm eating them, aren't I?

For dinner tonight, I was inspired by Michele's blog, Oswego Tea, to re-create her dish, Pasta Carbonara because One, it looked so good and Two, I just had to find crispy bacon (plus three, I think I have PMS...). Her recipe is no longer online. For some reason or other, most of the bacon here is like thin sliced ham and no matter how long you cook it, it doesn't get crispy.

So, this is the results(kind of dark photo, sorry!)...it tasted ooh-la-la!! Thanks for the idea, Michele!

p.s. Satoshi will be having this for breakfast tomorrow morning :)