this week

Friday, met up with V...we had lunch at Moke's Bread and Breakfast in Kaimuki.

I think this is in the space where Kan Zaman used to be.

This place has breakfast type foods, as well as sandwiches.

V tried their smoked ahi melt...her sandwich looked so good!

I tried their Honey Butter Biscuit plate...this came with a grilled biscuit, their honey butter, eggs done your way (I chose over medium) and your choice of meat (I chose portuguese sausage).

We enjoyed our food and glad we tried this place but the interior of this place has everything bouncing off the walls which made for shouting conversations...sigh

Dinner was a solo pupu party...I bought the mini chirashi from Aloha Cones and added edamame and avocado.

Bummed that they moved from Pearlridge to Kalihi (old Kam Bakery building).

Their parking is kind of krazy, would definitely recommend parking in their 2nd lot (located below the lot behind the building)

Saturday, Breakfast with relatives at Liliha Bakery on Nimitz.

Since the time we met up was later than my breakfast time, I had this for my lunch...grilled cornbread with portuguese sausage.

Their cornbread was so dry...bummer.

Dinner with BFF at La Tour Cafe...their curry chicken salad was too spicy for my liking.

Sunday, Open House.

According to the realtor, there were 8 groups that came to the Open House and several families that were interested.

In the evening, we had a 7 year service for my mom.

It is actually 6 years since she has passed but the way they count years in Japan makes it 7...so fast, yet not really.

Aunty M1 arranged for her friends to perform the service (thank you!).

Dinner was from Roast Duck Kitchen...so much food! roast chicken, cake noodle, roast pork, char siu, some salads from Down to Earth (curry quinoa and pono potato salad).

Aunty M brought Haupia Chiffon Cake from Cake Works. (thank you!)

My mom loved coconut as well as chinese food, I think she would've approved of this dinner.

Monday, 2nd showing for a family that came to the Sunday Open House.

I went to Starbucks to wait out the hour during the showing.

Bummed that the nitro cold brew I ordered wasn't even cold.

That evening...we got an offer from the family!

Tuesday, we put in a counter offer.

Lunch with Aunty M and Aunty V at Kalapawai Cafe in Kapolei.

I had their reuben with a salad...so good!

Thanks for lunch Aunty V!

I also got to drive Aunty M's loaner which was a Mini Countryman which was more like an SUV.

Bummed that it was automatic, I love driving, especially if it is a manual (stick shift) car.

Wednesday, Uncle H and Aunty V took the remaining cement pots that we had lying around the garden.

Aunty V said that it is hard to come by these cement types pots, I'm glad it is going to a good home. (Thank you!)

That evening, the family accepted our counter offer...whoo!

Thursday, heat and humidity have been pretty krazy this summer/fall...

Tried a new (to me) tea by Shaka Tea...mamaki (Hawaiian nettle), pineapple, mint and sweetened with monk fruit.

I'm glad I tried this and would prefer this unsweetened.

Barricade situation on a part of our neighborhood, luckily it didn't affect our street, but many had to stay at a nearby recreation center.

I was also worried that with the news, the buyers might change their mind...am glad the situation ended peacefully at midnight.

Rounding out the week though was this sunset.

Hope you have a nice weekend.

Moke's Bread & Breakfast
1127 11th Avenue
Kaimuki, Hawaii
Phone: 808.367.0571
Hours: 6:30-14:00

thanks for today

Went to see "Won't You Be My Neighbor", the documentary about Mr Rogers.

Did you grow up in this era?

For those of you too young to know about Mr Rogers, please look him up on YouTube.

I feel he was influential in my childhood.

His voice, his songs, his message (that we matter and that we are loved) resonate in what I think we need in the world especially these days.

Have you gone to the movies lately?!

It's been ages since I've seen a movie in the US and I was shocked at the price of popcorn.

I should've brought snacks in to the movies, but didn't, so I bought a bag of hurricane-style (butter, furikake and kakimochi) popcorn afterwards from L1 Iniki, a shop in Pearlridge, which turned out to be my very late lunch.

Still, it was a good day.

I'm glad I saw this, it's not a trendy movie and will probably never be shown in Japan.

It was nice reconnecting...Thank you Mr Rogers

arirang bbq

Saturday, V contacted me, she had some avocados and wondered if I had some time to meet up.

Wednesday, I had an appointment, so we planned to meet up for lunch after that.

Near the area my appointment was at, is V's favorite place for Korean food, Arirang BBQ.

Apparently this place used to be at the Moanalua Shopping Center and moved to Kalihi.

A tiny shop, this place is run by two ladies that make everything from scratch.

No MSG is used.

I tried the Bi bim kook soo...cold noodles, veggies and some beef.

I got the mild and it was just enough spicy for me.

(That's V's banchan in the photo)..and even though it was super humid, she ordered their Hot Beef Vegetable Soup.

It was nice to catch up with her.

Besides the avocados, V also gave us all these other goodies.

Like Ubae, which uses ube (ooh-bay...Filipino for purple sweet potato) and sells these tiny cheesecakes...a little too sweet but I'm glad she gave these to me to try.

The avocados were creamy and delicious.

There was also peanut and mac nut candies from Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery.

And a nori almond snack which I'm planning to bring back with me to Japan.

It was nice chatting with V and I appreciate her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Thank you V, for lunch, meeting up and for all these goodies.

Arirang BBQ (2021: no longer in business)
1111 Dillingham Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.848.0803
Closed Sundays
Hours: 11:00-20:00

Ubae
1284 Kalihi Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.439.3224
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 9:00-18:00, Sundays 9:00-16:00

hawaiian pie company

Went to Hawaiian Pie Company, since I saw that they had bread pudding as their special.

The guy working behind the counter wasn't too informed and didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked him.

Then when I told him I wanted to get the coconut mini pie...he didn't even know that they had them in their showcase...dude!

Anyway, the pie is filled with lots of coconut...love!

I'm glad I tried this, I'll be back.

back to hawaiian pie company

I recently saw that Hawaiian Pie Company had custard tarts as their special of the day, so since I happened to be in the area, I stopped in and picked up one.

Looking at the size of the container, I am pretty sure that their tarts are the same size as their mini pies.

The difference is that the tarts are a short crust (shortening) and the mini pies have a flaky crust (butter).

Whenever I pass through Chinatown, I pick up a Lee's custard tart $1.25 tax included.

The Hawaiian Pie Company's is larger and costs a little more too...$3.66 (tax included).

Straight out of the fridge is how I like custard pie...this one was so good!

I'll be back!

hawaiian pie company

Hawaiian Pie Company is a tiny shop located at the corner of Waiakamilo and Colburn in Kalihi.

Apparently they are related to Holy Bakery Manoa & Big Island.

My brother and I recently tried their Mini Caramel Apple Pie...$6 plus tax.

I halved my half and tried one half cold, straight out of the refrig and one half heated up.

When I worked at Lion Coffee, my supervisor once told me that most foods taste good hot, but the test is if they taste just as good cold.

Which is why I tried the pie cold too.

The crust is super buttery, so heated up is the way to go.

I hope to try their mini coconut pie next time I'm home...I'll be back.

Hawaiian Pie Company
508 Waiakamilo Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone:808.988.7828
Open: Tuesday-Friday 7:00-16:00, Saturday 9:00-16:00 (or sooner if sold out

harbor pier 38

Got to meet up with my cousin, G, and his family at Harbor Pier 38 for lunch.

The interior of the restaurant is huge! I'm glad that they keep the windows open so that the noise from chatter doesn't linger.

Some restaurants are so noisy that it makes conversation inaudible.

My cousin and I had the ahi tuna melt (the name is a little redundant...ahi is tuna in Hawaiian).

You can choose how you wanted the fish cooked and we both got it medium rare.

The wasabi aioli that was on the bun had a lot of heat.

The cross cut potato chips were light and crispy! And they served it with what tasted like a clam dip...good stuff!

My cousin's wife had the soup of the day (asparagus) and their seafood skillet.

It was nice to catch up with them.

I hope to bring Satoshi here the next time.

Thanks G and family for lunch and for a great day!

Harbor Pier 38 (UPDATE: January 2018 closed)
next door to Nico's at Pier 38
1129 Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.550.3740
Hours: Lunch: 10:00-15:00, Happy Hour: 15:00-18:00, Dinner: 17:00-21:00

primo popcorn

Tried Primo Popcorn recently.

They have so many variations, it was hard to choose from.

I tried their "Kalakoa" which means an assortment of colors in Hawaiian.

This popcorn was a bit too sweet for my liking, but it was interesting trying to figure out what flavor each color was.

I also tried the Aunty Leo's Chex Mix.

They have the standard cereals and a little furikake which is usually found in the chex mix in Hawaii.

What makes their version different is that they add popcorn and then the whole thing is caramelized.

The sweet and salty is pretty addicting.

They are kind of pricey as everyday "snackage", so I'll be back whenever I need gifts.

Primo Popcorn
120 Sand Island Access Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.729.7322
Closed Sundays

mitsu-ken

Mom and I recently checked out Mitsu-ken's new location...yup, they moved from that teeny shop and into another teeny shop, BUT now with lots of parking.

Mom went with their fried saimin bento...$6.25 + tax...not much "stuff" in their fried saimin, so she wasn't too impressed with that, but their garlic chicken pieces were huge.

I went with their mini bento...$4.50 + tax

Big improvement with their parking, their lines are still quite long and their food is still delicious...we'll be back.

Mitsu-ken
2300 N. King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.848.5573
Open Tuesdays-Saturdays 5:00-13:00

hawaii shops

If you like checking out the vendors in Chinatown, but maybe don't like the parking situation there, then check out the Chinatown Marketplace located in the City Square Shopping Center in Kalihi.

This place opened recently and there is lots of free parking and quite a number of vendors. An eating area is also in the works.

There is no main phone line and I think each vendor has their own hours and days off.

We'll be back.

Chinatown Marketplace (next to DMV)
City Square Shopping Center
Kalihi, Hawaii
Phone: none listed

finally!

Did you know it took us 3 tries to get a chance to try Mitsu-ken's?

The first time...we went on the day they were closed...no wonder we found parking on the street...ha!

The second time...we went on the day that they having construction done on the street in front and weren't gonna have any water, so they were closed...boo!

The third time...we went after trying to order take out at another place, only to find out they didn't have what we wanted.

So we stood in Mitsu-ken's l-o-n-g line. The line is long because there really is no "shop" to go into, just a cart with hot foods pushed in front of the doorway "creating" an order window.

We ordered their Mitsu-ken bento...US$6.25 + tax.

3 generous pieces of their garlic chicken, teri beef, a shoyu weiner and shoyu spam, lots of rice and an egg omlet (that's how it is spelled).

A ton of food but their garlic chicken is delicious. Very crispy. Driving home, the garlic smell was strong, but not so overpowering while eating it.

Their teri beef was gristly, a bit on the tough side but well soaked.

There is no parking unless you find some on the street, but I'm glad we got to try this place.

We'll be back.

Mitsu-ken (UPDATE: as of 2013, they have moved to a new location)
1223 North School Street
Kalihi, Hawaii
Phone: 808.848.5573
Open Tuesdays-Saturdays 5:00-13:00

hawaii revisits

I went back to Kamehameha Bakery to check out some of their other items.

A couple chocolate glazed, an apple fritter & two small ensemadas...everything totalled under $5 (with tax)!

The apple fritter could use a touch more apple, but, it reminded me of an apple-cinnamon bread that was deep fried then glazed with sugar...yum!

The chocolate glazed are their glazed doughnuts topped with a sweet chocolate. Really melt in your mouth soft and delicious.

My mom enjoyed her ensemada and froze the other one for another day.

Definitely a great place and relatively reasonably priced.

kenny's

"Kenny's in the Kam Shopping Center in Kalihi", okay I've probably dated myself with that but anyway, it had been ages since we'd checked this place out.

Since our 2nd try for Mitsu-Ken's was a bust, we popped into Kenny's to grab some things for lunch.

We ordered their yaki saimin (fried saimin), look at all the "goodies" on top too.

Their beef sticks...boy were these tender and very meaty.

And their chinese chicken salad, okay not much "goodies" on this one and their dressing could've been more "powerful" (more vinegary).

Gotta say that while their food is delicious, they are pricey! For these 3 items we paid close to $25!

Though, I guess it was a good deal since we had the rest of these foods (minus the beef sticks) for dinner...

Kenny's (UPDATE: 7/2015 they are no longer in business)
1620 North School Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.841.0931

meg's drive-in

We stopped in to Meg's Drive-In to pick up something for lunch the other day.

I had never eaten here and neither had my mom, so we checked it out.

I chose the BBQ burger deluxe...$2-something. The "deluxe" part is the addition of lettuce, onions and tomato.

Um, the patty was so teeny, because I think they are homemade. I know if a guy got this burger, there would be complaints.

Lacking in any BBQ taste (western or asian), I will give them props for giving me lots of lettuce (maybe to cover up the size of the patty?!..oy!)

On the other hand, my mom chose their fish burger deluxe...$3-something. Again, the deluxe was the addition of lettuce, onions and tomato.

Her fish was so BIG, though her lettuce was kinda sad looking and her tomato was green.

Mixed reviews on this place. If you know of what we should try here, tell us, we may be back, maybe.

Meg's Drive-In
743 Waiakamilo Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.845.3943

kamehameha bakery

I had seen many people posting about this bakery, Kamehameha Bakery.

Their trending item is their poi glazed doughnuts (the black-ish looking orbs).

We tried getting our hands on these a couple of times, but they were always sold out.

You know why? They open at 2 a.m.! So, of course when you go at 10 a.m. they are sold out of these babies.

On Saturday, luck was with us, we were early, and even though there was a line out the door, it moved fast.

We purchased 6 poi glazed, 2 very large ensemada, 1 long john and 1 glazed. $9-something, which isn't too bad considering the ensemada is the size of someone's face!

No poi taste, and the bright purple will shock you, but the poi glazed are good and soft.

The glazed was good also, nice and soft like Krispy Kreme only better.

Mom enjoyed the ensemada and long john. The long john cream tasted a little like haupia.

We'll be back!

Kamehameha Bakery
1339 North School Street (UPDATE: moved to City Square Shopping Center, 1284 Kalani Street, C106)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.845-5831
Monday-Friday 2:00-16:00
Saturday & Sunday 3:00-12:00

gulick delicatessen

Stopped into Gulick Delicatessen last week to pick up some lunch.

Mom chose their sweet sour spareribs and a cone sushi. I chose their spicy chicken and a tuna musubi.

Their ribs were tender and meaty, lots of flavor too.

Unfortunately, even though their cone sushi had lots of "stuff" in it, it was kinda lacking on flavor.

I liked their spicy chicken, it had kind of a hoisin sauce flavor, with a spicy kick.

My only peeve was there were bits of chicken bone in the fried coating because they chop their chicken thighs before frying....not good for the teeth.

Still, the pieces they gave me were really meaty and quite tender.

The tuna musubi was good too! Lots of tuna filling and that crunchy takuan, who knew the two went so well together.

Total for our plate was $8-something. They had many other interesting things on their menu, we'll be back!

Gulick Delicatessen
1512 Gulick Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.847.1461

alicia's market

Realizing I've never been to Alicia's Market, we stopped in to pick up some lunch as well as foods for the week so we wouldn't have to cook.

I chose their 1 choice mini plate with poke (po-kay)...$9.95 and chose their char siu and spicy ahi (yellow fin tuna) poke.

Each plate comes with rice, salad and some kim chee. Their salad is delicious, with lots of "stuff" in it, kinda similar to how my mom makes her potato mac salad.

Would you believe the poke was hotter than the kim chee?! I kid you not.

Mom chose the 1 choice mini plate...$6.95 and chose their char siu ribs.

Their char siu and char siu ribs are delicious, very meaty and flavorful. She liked the salad too because it actually had veggies in it, not like some plate lunch places that serve mac salad with just macaroni and mayo in it.

We also picked up their roast chicken, shoyu style. You can get it as is (whole) or they can chop it up for you.

We asked them to chop it up for us and everything gets chopped, even the drumsticks!

The flavor of this chicken is mild on the shoyu but still very tasty. I think this one cost $9-something?!

And lastly, we picked up some fried ahi (yellow fin tuna) belly...$7-something.

This was good, just enough salt, a very thin outer coating and with a squeeze of that lemon, it was perfect with some rice!

A really tiny store but lots of things to choose from. Parking can be kinda slim during their peak times but we'll be back.

Alicia's Market
267 Mokauea Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.841.1921
Open Mondays-Fridays 8:00-19:00, Saturdays 8:00-18:00

libby manapua

On our way home from an errand the other day, Mom and I popped into Libby Manapua Shop.

This place has been around for ages and yet it was my first time trying their food, sad yeah?!

We ordered 4 pork manapua (char siu bao), 4 pork hash and a veggie roll to try.

Take-out these days means styrofoam containers, but "way back when" all our take-out orders in Hawaii came in these types of "pie boxes" made of thin cardboard?! I'm happy to see Libby hasn't changed their style.

Their manapua "breading" is so soft and chewy and the inside is filled to a nice "bread-filling" ratio.

The pork hash was also good too, it was filled with so much meat that the outsides were falling off!

The veggie roll was too hard and chewy...meh!

We'll just stick to the manapua and pork hash...we'll be back!

Libby Manapua Shop (UPDATE: 2019 out of business)
410 Kalihi Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.841.2253
Open Tuesdays-Sundays 6:00-14:00

kahai street kitchen

Another errand means another chance to try a new place for lunch...we recently tried Kahai Street Kitchen.

You should know that my mom has this list of places she wants to try, my dad is not a foodie, so he isn't interested in eating out, so every time I come home, we try to knock off as many places from her list as possible.

This shop is located in a busy industrial area and the bad part is that they have no parking.

So, while my mom jumped out to order, I circled many many times.

We got a side order of sweet potato fries...a little limp by the time we got home, but very flavorful.

The boneless short ribs were very tasty, though some pieces had lots of gristle.

Cooked to medium rare, this was quite tender. The meat was marinated in a teriyaki sauce.

The garlic chicken was very moist and tasty.

The sauce was shoyu based, not a lot of garlic flavor, but it was still very flavorful.

All in all nice sized portions for the three of us and delicious...we also appreciated only 1 scoop of rice per plate (usually when there are 2 scoops, like most plate lunches serve, we end up having leftover rice).

We'll be back.

Kahai Street Kitchen (UPDATE: 2018 moved to Moiliili)
237 Kalihi Street (corner of Kahai/Kalihi)
Phone: 808.845.0320
Tuesday-Thursday 10:30-13:30
Friday 10:00-13:30

pancakes & waffles

When I made plans to meet up with my friend, Len, we intended to try Liliha Bakery.

Then I saw something on FB (Facebook) which mentioned them being closed on Mondays...so I contacted him and we decided to check out Pancakes and Waffles in Kapalama instead.

I had seen posts on the place www.onokinegrindz.net (new site no longer up) and here...their photos will make you drool!

We got there a little after 12:30 and the parking was crazy as it was peak lunch hour. Luckily we circled once and were able to find a stall.

The menu has so many choices that you may have a hard time deciding...we did!

I chose the bacon waffles...4 crispy pieces of bacon baked into a waffle. How brilliant is that?!

Len chose their Strawberries and Cream waffle, this comes with a lot of whipped cream and strawberry sauce topping.

Each plate comes with some whipped butter. There is maple syrup and other condiments on the table.

After we ate everything on our plates we were full! It was a great place, the food comes out rather quickly and we were able to find seats without having to wait.

Thanks for a great lunch Len!

Pancakes & Waffles (City Square Shopping Center)
1284 Kalani Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.847.7770
Open: 6:30-14:00