scratch kitchen & bakeshop

I wrote about Scratch earlier this summer.

Since Satoshi was coming for the week, I asked Rex if he would like to meet up at Scratch for lunch.

He said he had some time, so Satoshi and I met up with him for a late lunch.

I ordered the Calentado--Spice rubbed shredded beef, sofrito rice, deep fried jalapeno, salsa verde

This oozy egg surprised me.

Also, that deep fried jalapeno surprised me too, I bit into it thinking it was fried okra...

I loved the spice rub of the beef, smoky and the combination of flavors were tex-mex.

Apparently this is a breakfast dish served in Columbia.

Satoshi went with their Creole Shrimp 'n Grits--Smoked cheddar polenta, andouille, fried eggs, red eye gravy

He really enjoyed this. Of course he ate the shrimp heads too.

At first Rex said that he was going to order the Tiramisu pancakes, which he had tried before.

Instead he tried their BC Burger--Big Island beef, crispy bacon, smoked cheddar, spicy guac, "bacon" english muffin, crispy smashed taters

He said he was glad he chose this.

Chef Chan sent out these baked goods---carrot cake scone with a cream cheese topping, peach & marscapone turnover, bacon chocolate chip cookie and a peanut butter honey muffin--which, even if we were full, we demolished them! Thank you Chef!

This is another great place to gather for brunch. I'm glad we got to check it out and I'm glad Rex got to meet Satoshi.

We'll be back.

Scratch Kitchen & Bakeshop (UPDATE: 2019 this location closed)
1030 Smith Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.536.1669
Hours: Day: Tuesdays-Sundays 8:30-14:30, Night: Thursdays-Saturdays 17:30-21:30
Closed Mondays

tucker & bevvy

Met up with Deb at Tucker & Bevvy.

According to the internet, Tucker and Bevvy is a slang term meaning "food and drink" in Australian.

There are many items on their menu, decisions decisions...

We ordered the Kale and Quinoa Salad, this comes with kale, quinoa, roasted kabocha (pumpkin), tamari roasted seeds (pumpkin & sunflower) and 2 poached eggs.

The poached eggs I thought could have been a little more oozy.

But the salad...wow! I really enjoyed this. Lots of crunch from the seeds and I think the kale salad was dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.

I want to re-create this!

We also ordered a side order of rosti. This is similar to what we call hash browns. So crispy and not mushy in the center...love!

Lastly we ordered the Tim Tam waffles. Almost everyone we've seen on social media has ordered this.

If you don't know what a Tim Tam is, you can read about it here.

Thank goodness the waffle wasn't sweetened because the Tim Tams and vanilla ice cream made things super sweet. Oh, and if you feel there is not enough sweetness with the ice cream and biscuits, feel free to use the maple syrup that they give on the side...oy!

Even though it was super sweet, this was a nice way to end the meal.

As for beverages, we both ordered their fresh pressed juices.

Deb had their Bevvy Q--watermelon and red apple. While I chose their Sunrise--carrot, orange and ginger. So refreshing and good!

Waitress Sondra made things fun and cheery. And the food was really nice! I'm also glad I got a chance to spend some more time with Deb. I hope she enjoyed this brunch as much as I did...I'll be back.

Tucker & Bevvy (2018 UPDATE: this location closed)
Hee Hing Plaza, #203
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.732.0050
Open daily 6:30-14:30

sweet e's cafe

Got a chance to meet up with my good friend, Gaye. We decided to brunch at Sweet E's Cafe in Kapahulu.

I had forgotten how teeny the parking was at Kilohana Square.

Gaye ordered the Homemade Corned Beef Hash Eggs Benedict.

We shared....super tasty corned beef hash and here's the oozy egg...love!

I ordered the Stuffed French Toast with Blueberry Cream Cheese.

We shared this one too. We loved that this wasn't sickly sweet.

This is a great place to brunch! I'll be back.

Some cute goodies from Gaye, those Hello Kitty items are to keep your earphone cords or any other cords from tangling...thank you!

It's always fun spending time with Gaye, I hope she had a nice time too!

Thanks Gaye!

Sweet E's Cafe (UPDATE 2016: they moved to 1006 Kapahulu Avenue, same hours and phone number)
Kilohana Square
1061 Kapahulu Avenue, Suite #185
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.737.7771
Open everyday from 7:00-14:00

the nook

It had been awhile since our last foodie adventure, but I was lucky that blog friend, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen had some time to meet up.

We chose The Nook which recently opened in Puck's Alley.

The place is teeny.

Kinda loud with everyone crammed in there eating and chatting.

But, the food was good.

Deb went with their pork belly benedict--poached eggs, crispy pork belly, English muffin, hollandaise. This also came with some potatoes and toast!

Talk about carbs...

She let me try part of the pork belly and it was really crispy and with the gravy, it was delicious!

I went with the malasada breakfast sandwich (pictured above).

The malasada "bun" holds a house-made pork sausage and an over easy egg.

Look at that ooze!

Sweet and savory, perfect balance.

Deb tried their iced tea of the day and I went with their house-made lilikoi soda.

We were kinda of scared of their metal straws though...

It was fun trying a new place and catching up with her.

There are other items on their menu that I wouldn't mind trying, I'll be back!

Oh and Deb was so sweet to share with me some teas and a Trader Joes chocolate bar! I can't wait to try them. (Thank you!)

Thanks for another great foodie adventure, Deb! I hope you enjoyed our adventure too.

The Nook
Puck's Alley
1035 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.942.2222
Open Tuesday-Sunday 7:00-15:00

koko head cafe

Went to check out the newly opened Koko Head Cafe with my two aunties. This restaurant is in the old 12th Avenue Grill spot and they only serve brunch.

We waited close to an hour for a table. FYI: Your whole party has to be there to be seated.

We shared the following dishes: The cornflake coated french toast this comes with billionaire’s bacon,creamy black pepper maple, frosted flake gelato.

Pillows of french toast coated with cornflakes then deep fried. Kinda reminded me of malasadas...so good!

Kitchen sink salad...this changes daily and depends on what ingredients they have.

This particular day was a "green goddess" theme.

Loved the dill in the dressing.

We wondered how they got the cucumbers to become "stars".

The Don Buri Chen...Miso smoked pork, five spice pork belly, French-style scrambled eggs, house-made pickles, chicharron, sushi rice.

Our chicharron had been sitting while we were finishing up our salad, so this was hard.as.rock.

But, the smoked pork and the pork belly were awesome!

The place is quite noisy so don't expect to have much conversation. Just take in what everyone else is ordering.

There was one party of older people and the guy pulled out his smartphone. The waiter asked him, "Would you like me to take a photo of you folks?"

And the guy said,"Nah, I just wanted to take a picture of the food!"...too cute!

Despite the wait and noise, the food is good...I hope to bring Satoshi here.

I'll be back.

Koko Head Cafe
1145C 12th Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone:808.732.89.20
Open from 7:00-14:30