the food

WARNING: this post is long and you may gain weight after reading it…

Checked out the “new” Foodland Farms in Pearl City…during the 3 weeks I tried their salads, the burrito station, mediterranean snack, turkey cranberry sandwich and kalua pig bowl

Uncle’s Ice Cream Sandwich, 1 sandwich is 2 servings!

So good though!

We also checked out the new H Mart which opened in July in Pearl City, the fresh fruit & veggie area was impressive, but they need to invest in a scale! 

Other than that, everything seemed overpriced and their food court was so teeny! meh!

Kamehameha Bakery…glazed croissant, malasada and HUGE apple fritter

Down to Earth…bird bars and carob bar

Used to be able to wrap your own bird bars with a parchment from their showcase, now they are already wrapped

Target…snacks 

Was disappointed with Target as you need a valid driver’s license or state ID to write a check, a passport was not acceptable identification…

Rainbow’s Drive In…chili fries and slush

BFF was disappointed with their BBQ meat, it was thicker and not so tender.

Cookie Corner… BFF introduced me to Brownie Cookies at Cookie Corner, so rich and delicious.

La Tour Cafe…food has sadly gone down hill and everything is a la carte now, oh and they are cashless ONLY!

Royal Kitchen…BFF introduced me to their Dim Sum Box, $10.68 tax included.

baked manapua, pork hash, half moon, rice cake and choice of chow fun or chow mein…so good!

I noticed they have a snack box on their menu, everything I just mentioned without the rice cake, so will try that one next time since I will eat rice cake but it isn’t my fave.

Checked out Kim Chee 7 for the first time (I think), so much food! I got the Mixed Plate Special A, $16.50, at least 3 meals!

Meat jun, mandoo, BBQ beef, BBQ chicken 

Even if it was blazing, I bought all sorts of new (to me) chocolate candies and some favorites too.

Big Island’s Tex Drive In’s malasadas were huge, but sadly seemed under cooked…meh!

KTA Supermerket’s soba salad, so ono!

and their chocolate doughnut, super moist!

Not so ono was their sushi which had a live bug walking around on it…ack!

On a trip to the Volcano, I got to try a gravy burger from Volcano Store.

Apparently this is a local favorite, just a patty and some brown gravy in a bun, so simple but so ono!

In Hilo, we had intended to take out for our meals, but ended up having dinner with Aunty M's classmates at their home…they made delicious Hawaiian food

The next day we had brunch with another classmate of Aunty M’s at Kuhio Grille.

They have a shop in Hilo as well as Kaimuki.

I tried their taro corned beef hash, scrambled egg & probably the best hash browns I’ve had in a long time.

For both of these gatherings I masked when not eating.

Our flight was delayed on the way back to Honolulu, the day before my license renewal!

Talk about stress eating!

We also got together at Aunty M1’s and Aunty M’s for a Sunday and a Saturday dinner.

Aunty M1 made banana cream pie, hadn’t had this in ages!

Aunty M made Italian delight, which I’ve written about here.

Appreciate the Aunties inviting BFF too.

Baker Dudes…macadamia sticky buns, so buttery, yum!

Brug Bakery…moo milk bread, so moist and chocolatey, neko pan filled with strawberry butter cream, monkey pull bread and hokkaido frank…everything was ono! 

Aunty M also shared with me Brug’s cranberry cream cheese bread and coconut bread.

The cranberry cream cheese was too sweet, but I loved the coconut bread.

I also bought some local items to take home from Aloha Sunrise Granola, Big Island Coffee Roasters, NOH Foods (char siu mix), Big Island Candies (they do not accept checks!), Big Island Delights (ate this at Hilo airport & brought back Coconut cookies for BFF) and Maui Nui (venison sticks)

We also received many snacks from Aunty M, Aunty M1, BFF W and Cousin C and enjoyed mango from Aunty V and cherry plums from Aunty M...Thank you!

Over the 3 weeks, I had culture shock from seeing everyone with masks in Japan, to not too many with masks in Hawaii.

Though I loved seeing the really big local men in Hawaii wearing Hello Kitty masks!

And as I wrote in this post, I also had culture shock about using cash and checks...

It was sad to see that there were so many businesses that had closed over the past 3 years too.

Overall, it was a delicious 3 weeks, I didn't get to visit all the usual places, many new places, nor did I get to meet up with friends on this trip, but I’m thankful I was able to do what I travelled to Hawaii for.

I'm also thankful for all the support from family and BFF, especially Aunty M and BFF, W for taking time out to drive me to different places.

If you're interested as to what movies I watched on my flights, "F9", "Sing 2", "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and “Encanto”

Still hopeful the pandemic will be over soon, and then maybe we can all travel without having to PCR or mask.

And am thankful I was able to return to Japan safely, it was stressful worrying about “the test”.

Have also been hearing horror stories of Japanese stuck overseas because they tested positive.

If you'd like to check out other photos from this adventure, click here.

things I don't eat in japan anymore...

You may or may not have noticed that I don't post about certain food stuffs anymore....

like McDonald's...It was a couple of years ago that they apparently found human teeth in the chicken nuggets here...eew!

Mister Donut...a couple of years ago, whenever I had eaten here, the doughnuts were dry and oily...blah

Oreos...the ones they sell in Japan, used to be made in Japan, now they are made in China.

Are there any foods you don't eat anymore?

out and about

Near the Toramon area is Atago Shrine.

Apparently this shrine is on the highest hill in Tokyo but the super tall buildings surrounding it, makes it feel teeny.

A samurai apparently rode his horse up these steps in a minute, which now symbolizes success.

We cheated and took the elevator up...we did walk the steps down though.

Take your time it is really steep.

Lunch was at a shop we stumbled upon, Benikatsu (Red Scorpion).

Buy your ticket from the machine then give it to the owner/chef.

He'll ask you what amount of noodles you want and the level of spiciness of your dish.

I chose the normal amount and the least spicy for my shirunashi tan tan men (tan tan men without soup).

Satoshi chose the normal amount of noodles and least spicy for his tan tan men (with soup).

He also added rice (which was free).

While you are waiting for your dish, the owner gives you some blanched moyashi (bean sprouts) topped with niku miso (meat miso mixture).

Eat half while you are waiting then add some to your noodles.

I thought this was a brilliant way to eat tan tan men as you don't lose all the bits in the soup because it is separate.

The char siu is so tender it melts in your mouth.

We'll be back to try other items on the menu.

About 20 minutes away is Hamarikyu Gardens.

A huge park in the middle of the concrete jungle.

The 300 year old pine was amazing to see.

As well as the field of cosmos.

We'll be back to see the other parts of the park when the weather gets cooler.

About 15 minutes away from Hamarikyu Gardens is Kyu-Shiba Rikyu Gardens.

This garden is a smaller and quite noisy in comparison to Hamarikyu.

If you plan to see both gardens, buy the ticket that combines the admission, you'll save a little money if you do.

Coffee floats were a must afterwards.

The weather is still blazing, hopefully we'll see some Autumn temps soon.

Still, we were glad to be out and about.

Benikatsu (Red Scorpion) (UPDATTE: no longer in business)
3-1-12 Nishishinbashi
Minato, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3436.2455
Closed: Sundays
Hours: Weekdays 11:00-21:00, Saturdays 11:00-15:00

Cafe La Mille (UPDATE: no longer in business)
2-4-1 Hamamatsucho, World Trade Center Bldg B1F
Minato, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3435.5422
Hours: Mondays-Tuesdays 9:00-21:00, Wednesdays-Fridays 9:00-22:30, Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays 11:00-19:30

kyosaimi nomura

　Kyosaimi Nomura is a shop I stumbled upon while surfing Tabelog (kind of like Yelp but mainly for restaurants).

The company specializes in pre-made foods that are sold online as well a used at various restaurants.

Satoshi and I both tried the Miyabi Gozen...1080 yen (tax included).

12 different items all presented in tiny glass bowls/cups on a wooden tray.

A huge yuba (bean curd skin) donburi (rice topped with yuba and a thick sauce) and a bowl of miso soup also comes with the meal.

I really liked all the items and the tiny bowls/cups were nice to look at too.

I think the next time we come to Kyoto early in the morning, we might try their breakfast...we'll be back.

Kyosaimi Nomura
224 Hashibenzen-cho
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 050.5589.7541
Hours: 7:00-20:00

shokuyoku no aki

During a krazy hot Summer, there are some that lose their appetites.

I have (unfortunately) never experienced this...ahem!

Now that Autumn is rolling around, the Japanese have a saying..."shokuyoku no aki" (literally appetite of autumn) because there are so many delicious things to look forward to during this time of year.

(chestnuts, different types of mushrooms, grapes, pears and different types of seafood...much much more).

I personally look forward to chestnuts, pears and figs.

What are the foods you look forward to in Autumn?

odds & ends

Some odds and ends that never made it to a regular posts...papaya (Thanks Aunty!)

Ba-Le's lumpia. I don't care for their iceberg lettuce, so I just bought the lumpia and put it on top of my own salad, drizzling the nuoc cham as dressing..so good!

1st time trying Chicken Assagio at Assagio's. This was on an outing with BFF. The dish was so flavorful with the capers, olives and roasted red bell peppers! (Thanks BFF!)

Palama Market's kimbap...still $3.50 plus tax but the rolls seem to be getting a little "skinnier".

Tanioka's bento (teri beef & mochiko chicken) and a bag of their boiled peanuts...yum!

Nanding's pan de coco (filled with coconut), lup cheong roll and chicken empanada. It was my first time trying the pan de coco and empanada...love them both!

Homemade fried rice with some char siu and portuguese sausage....mmm!

Chinese chicken salad...love this salad!

Zippy's small chili rice.

Waialua Soda Works' Root Beer.

Chun Wah Kam's char siu buns. This version's meat to bun ratio beats their manapua (char siu bao), hands down.

Cold Brew Coffees...when Hurricane Iselle was approaching, I made up a batch of cold brewed coffees. Decaf for my brother and Regular for me...I figured if we didn't have electricity, we'd at least still have coffee for a couple of days...

Tanioka's poke salad. It's actually just a salad that comes with 1/4 pound of your choice of poke for $6.95 plus tax. Not bad and the salad is huge!

So, some usual suspects as well as some new tries at old favorites...what have you been enjoying?

'ulu

It was my first time trying 'ulu (pronounced ooh-loo in Hawaiian...breadfruit a.k.a. artocarpus altilis.

When I was younger I was a really picky eater and whenever my mom baked these in the oven, the smell really turned me off.

I'm glad I tried it.

I think my Aunty said she baked it then sauteed it with butter.

The texture was a bit "spongy", but the taste reminded me of sweet potato...delicious.

liliha bakery nimitz

The second location of Liliha Bakery opened recently on Nimitz. This is where Sam Choy's BL & C(breakfast lunch & crab)restaurant used to be.

The place is huge!

But...since they "just opened"...it is krazy chaotic!

Be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes (or more) for a table.

And while perusing the menu over and over for that 30 minutes trying to decide what to eat, don't get too hungry for too many items...

They aren't serving their full menu...yet.

Um, then don't show me your full menu if you aren't serving everything that is printed on it...ahem!

Anyway, in the end, we all ordered different breakfast items (for dinner).

I had their two eggs (over easy) this came with choice of protein, which I chose portuguese sausage. It also comes with a scoop of rice and toast or butter roll, I chose butter roll.

The butter roll comes with their fluorescent jelly.

My brother and Aunty had their loco moco, which they enjoyed.

And then we ended with cocoa puffs.

Still delicious!

So, they still need to work out lots of kinks, and parking may become a problem, but all the best to this location!

Thanks Aunty for dinner!

Liliha Bakery Nimitz
580 N. Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.537.2488

keeping cool

Way back, I wrote about keeping cool using glass dishes...here.

Well, I took out our Ryukyu glasses for summer (Ryukyu is another name for Okinawa)...it does look "cooling" doesn't it.

During summer I look forward to all the "hiyashi" & "rei" (cold) dishes...like this reimen at Chaina...750 yen.

I like this version with a little kim chee...spicy and cool...

I learned something new, eat more chilis to boost your spirits during the rainy season...

Summer is here!