oh my grill

I'm back, will post some of things I ate and did in Hawaii...

One place I tried while in Hawaii was Oh My Grill, they have a couple of places on Oahu and where I stayed in Pearl City they took over the spot that La Tour Cafe used to be in 

I tried their mini sweet sour spareribs…huge! portion but some pieces were soft and some were not

Just enough sweet and sour for me

Their mac salad has tuna in it, if that’s your thing, I don’t mind tuna but was just glad it wasn’t over mayonnaised

cute forks!

All sorts of local dishes, would go back to try other items

Oh My Grill

1140 Kuala Street

Pearl City, Hawaii

Open daily: 10:00-24:00

this week

Friday started off with this beautiful sunrise.

Bought some items from Nagoya Bakery...egg tart (super flaky crust!) and coconut cross raisin bread (the bread is huge, so I had this for 2 meals, not much coconut but still delicious)

Solo pupu party dinner...Uproll Cafe's sexy salmon salad, Foodland's Kolohe Mix and Underwood's Rose Bubbles.

Saturday, lunch from Taqueria El Ranchero.

I tried their tamales.

Living the sheltered food life that I have, it was my first time to try tamales.

Shredded meat is wrapped in a corn "dough" then steamed in a corn leaf.

I bought one pork and one chicken.

I also brought home a little of their housemade pico de gallo to put on the tamales.

I enjoyed these...the ratio of "dough" to meat was balanced, the pico de gallo added a nice kick.

I'm glad I tried these.

In the afternoon, we met with the Realtor to fill out some paperwork.

Sunday, major heat and humidity!

I think the weather dude said that we've been having high heat and humidity every day of September! ack!

At one point in the afternoon, I couldn't stand the heat and ran up to Aunty Kalei's to get some shave ice.

Tropical Summer (pineapple, coconut, watermelon) plus lemon peel...so good and took our minds off of the heat for a bit.

It was my first time trying this place and I'm glad I did!

I like how Aunty Kalei, puts the shave ice into a styrofoam bowl with a cover for take out...not ecologically friendly, but was super appreciated since I drove up myself and couldn't hold anything on the ride home.

Just before going to Sunday dinner, we purged some of our board games by giving them to the library.

Sunday dinner at Aunty M's...pot roast, salad, 3-bean salad

Dessert was from Flamingo's Express.

They are known for their banana pie, but I was too scared to try it, so I played it safe and bought their apple.

It was so good, flaky crust, lots of apple, not too sweet.

Monday, still hot and humid...gah!

Lunch from La Tour Cafe...pepperoni hand pie.

I had wanted to try their beef curry one, but they had sold out.

This was flaky and delicious...it was just too hot to eat something like this on a hot and humid day though.

Lychee Mango with Lemon Peel shave ice...the day before, Aunty Kalei made a mistake with our order, so she gave us the one she made as a mistake.

She insisted on the making the order right and that she wouldn't take money for it (I did sneak some $$ into her tip jar though).

She also told me, "just keep the shave ice in the freezer and take this out when you are watching your Korean dramas"...sorry, Aunty, but I don't watch K-dramas.

Still, this was perfect with all the krazy heat and humidity we've been having.

Dinner was La Tour's buffalo chicken salad...enough for 2 meals!

Spicy chicken, olives, roasted corn, red onion, bleu cheese dressing...love!

Tuesday, Aunty M1 adopted our dining table. (thank you!)

Thankful for all the meals, conversations this table has seen.

After the movers left with the table, I brought more things to JCCH.

Lunch from Shaloha...shawarma sandwich (grilled chicken, hummus and veggies in a pita).

I like how HUGE these sandwiches are...enough for 2 meals!

Wednesday, doughnuts from Donut King.

Love their chocolate coconut cake donut and tried their blueberry cake donut.

The blueberry was kind of "fake" tasting, but super moist!

I got carded at Tamura's!

It felt WAY nicer than being asked if I qualify for the "senior discount" or being called "ma'am".

Can't wait to try this porter and cola!

Thursday dinner from Hughley's Southern Cuisine.

I tried their 1/2 rack, collards, baked beans and corn bread.

So good! Their corn bread is super buttery! And their ribs are fall off the bone tender.

I'm glad I tried this place and wouldn't mind going back for their brisket.

So that was kind of my week...

My time in Hawaii is winding down, the heat and humidity still haven't stopped, though I do see more "Fall-like" weather (rain).

Hoping it is cooler where you are, have a nice weekend.

Nagoya Bakery
98-042 Kamehameha Highway
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.484.9999
Hours: 8:00-17:00

Aunty Kalei's Shave Ice
2321 Auhuhu Street
Pearl City, Hawaii
Phone: 808.343.8289
Closed Mondays & Fridays
Hours: 13:00-17:00

Flamingo's Express
98-820 Moanalua Road
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.376.8388
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 7:30-20:00, Sundays 7:30-15:00

Hughley's Southern Cuisine
99-080 Kauhale Street
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.380.4200
Closed Mondays
Hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays 11:00-20:00, Sundays 13:00-18:00

update

Friday, checked out Tamura's Fine Wine...they moved from their Kamehameha Highway location to the Old Down to Earth spot near Anna Miller's Pearlridge.

I picked up some of their ahi poke...the price of ahi (tuna) has gone up over the past couple of weeks due to low fishing yields.

The Tamura Special is a little spicy, a little sweet and perfect with some rose.

Also picked up these two sodas made by Maui Brewing Company.

Root Beer...made with cane sugar, local honey and Hawaiian vanilla.

The vanilla sort of overpowers, but I like that this uses local ingredients.

Ginger Beer...made with cane sugar, local honey and Hawaiian ginger.

I enjoyed the kick that this had from the ginger.

I'm glad I got to try these locally made sodas...perfect for the humid and hot days we've had all summer!

Saturday, dinner from The Elephant Shack.

This time around I tried their Goong Nam Prik Pao : shrimp marinated in their homemade sauce, red onions, long beans and jasmine rice.

I got this mild spicy and it was too hot for me...but, I enjoyed how flavorful this dish is and how much shrimp they give in this portion....enough food for 2 meals!

Sunday, we celebrated Aunty M's birthday.

Aunty M1 cooked up a storm (chicken long rice, kalua pig, spicy eggplant, watermelon and salad).

We brought a cake by Ted's Bakery...pineapple mac nut cheesecake.

A slightly spiced cake (I think) topped with whipped cream cheese and pineapples, mac nuts coating the sides of the cake...so good!

The taste and texture reminded me of a cake my mom used to make called Hawaiian Delite Cake...found a recipe online here.

Monday, Labor Day...BFF and I went back to Lanikai Juice in Kapolei.

This time around I tried their pitaya (dragon fruit) smoothie...super refreshing...the heat and humidity have been kind of bad this summer.

Tuesday, I went back to Roast Duck Kitchen.

This time I tried their combo, choice of two items...I chose the Oyster Sauce Chicken, Char Siu on cake noodle.

$13-something...so much food!

They also give you a gau gee...the sauce up top is the oyster sauce (I think).

The chicken is already so flavorful, that you could probably use the sauce for the cake noodle...I ended up not using the sauce at all.

The Char Siu is super tender and flavorful...a little sweet...love!

Wednesday, my folder's elastic thingy went kaput....so I went down to Daiso to pick up these long elastic hair bands...in essence, untied elastic strands...

Glad I was able to McGyver my folder.

Thursday, I had an appointment in town, so afterwards, I went to Manoa to pick up a roast turkey sandwich from Andy's for lunch.

I have been wanting to try this place for a long time, I am glad I finally did and their sandwich is so good!

The roast turkey is tender and moist.

I also added avocado, tomato and cheese.

The sandwich comes with lots of sprouts, lettuce and carrots.

And the bread (which I believe is made in house, was super soft and delicious!)

It was kind of weird figuring out what I needed to do...(order at the counter, then pay at the entrance, then go back to the counter to pick you your order), but everyone was super helpful.

Two doors down is Off the Hook Poke Market, which I've seen on social media.

I got their mini poke bowl...chose white rice and one poke (the Hawaiian Style).

then got all their toppings (tobiko (flying fish roe), green onions, bubuzuke (little rice puffs) and furikake)

Next time I'll get their poke on green salad, since they put the cold poke on warm rice...

Their Hawaiian Style poke was spicier than what I envisioned...I'm glad I got to try them!

So that was my week...need to clean for the upcoming Sunday Open house, send us some good mojo...

Hope your week was a good one and have a nice weekend.

Andy's Sandwiches & Smoothies
2904 E Manoa Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.988.6161
Closed Saturdays
Hours: 7:00-17:00 (Mondays-Thursdays), 7:00-16:00 (Fridays), 7:00-14:30 (Sundays)

Off the Hook Poke Market
2908 E Manoa Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.800.6865
Closed Sundays
Hours: 11:00-18:00

this week

Friday, met up with Instagram friend @cre808 ...turns out we went to the same high school but different graduating class, still, small world yeah?!

It was fun talking with her.

She was nice to give us all this omiyage (thank you!) and introduce us to Yuzu Jelly Soda from Uproll Cafe.

Forgot Friday was a holiday and I was thankful she could meet up on her day off (Thank you!)

Saturday, my brother and I did some errands.

Dinner was a solo pupu party...cole slaw, ahi limu poke (tuna with a type of seaweed), oyster sauce poke, chips and Maui Brewing's Coconut Hiwa Porter.

Sunday, the big day!

Vacuumed and got the house ready for the Open House.

BFF let me hang out with her until 17:00.

When I got home the realtor left us a note...11 people came and 2 seem interested....crossing fingers the house sells quickly!

Dinner was from Palisades Drive Inn...mini sweet sour spareribs.

Monday, met up with family friend D at Chubbies.

Always fun talking story with him. (Thank you!)

Afterwards I roamed the aisles of Whole Foods in Kaka'ako...got some items from their salad bar for dinner.

Tuesday, lunch from Uproll Cafe.

Tried their Ahi Lover...fresh ahi (tuna), green onion, cucumber, takuwan (pickled radish), ginger sauce...I added carrots, lettuce and fried onions...and also got a yuzu jelly soda.

This is a massive futomaki (literally fat roll!)

So good with all the "goodies" in it, want to try some of the other items on their menu.

Wednesday, lunch with Jalna and Mich.

It has been awhile since we've been able to get together.

We met up at Goma Tei.

I tried their Won Ton Tan Tan...meh, I'm a ramen snob.

Their housemade noodles seemed a bit dry almost like wheat pasta sometimes can be and the tan tan soup a bit watery.

Their won ton are delicious, but HUGE filled with shrimp and other ingredients.

Jalna shared some of her handmade cards as well as some omiyage from her trip to Hokkaido. (Thank you!)

Mich shared some dark chocolates and 'ulu chips. (Thank you!)

It was nice to spend time with them and catch up on things.

In the afternoon was a 2nd showing for a couple that came to the Sunday Open House...We'll see what happens

Dinner with BFF at La Tour Cafe.

This time around I tried their Thit Khia Loaded Fries : coconut juice braised pork, white sauce, carrot & daikon pickles, cucumber, red onions, fried garlic, cilantro

Too bad they didn't serve this in a bigger container, it was so hard to eat!

Loved the braised pork, which kind of reminded me of the sweet char siu I grew up with...but, I would've enjoyed this if there were more chunky pieces rather than sparse and thinly sliced pieces.

Their fries are super crispy and delicious.

Thursday, drove out to Wahiawa because I wanted to check out Taqueria El Ranchero.

This restaurant is open from 7:00 in the morning!

They serve breakfast everyday from 7:00-noon.

I know if I lived closer, I would be picking up breakfast from this place (often).

I ordered their Burrito Grande...I chose chorizo which is made in house and is spicy!

I also chose black beans...the burrito comes with pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, rice and cheese.

It was so HUGE, that I had it for 2 meals.

I also tried watermelon agua fresca (literally fresh water) for the first time.

They make this in house too and while it was a little too sweet, with the gross humidity this really hit the spot!

I hope to go back to try some other things on their menu.

All in all, heat and humidity were pretty evil this week. Not as bad as Japan, but pretty close.

More photos here if you are interested.

Hope it is cooler where you are, have a nice weekend.

Uproll Cafe
Pearl Highlands Center Food Court
Pearl City, Hawaii
Phone: 808.567.7655
Hours: 11:00-20:00 (Monday-Saturdays), 11:00-18:00 (Sundays)

Goma Tei
Kahala Mall
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.732.9188
Hours: 11:00-21:30 (Mondays-Thursdays), 11:00-22:00 (Fridays & Saturdays), 11:00-21:00 (Sundays)

Taqueria El Ranchero
823 California Avenue
Wahiawa, Hawaii
Phone: 808.621.9000
Hours: 7:00-24:00 (Mondays-Fridays), 7:00-26:00 (Saturdays-Sundays)

update

Friday, some "me" time...I went to see this movie...(photo from wikipedia)

It was my first time in an IMAX theatre where the chairs reclined (glad I was the first one in the theatre so I could take some photos).

Late lunch...Tanioka's ahi patty musubi.

Dinner was a solo pupu party (boiled peanuts & mochiko chicken from Tanioka's, salad, ume arare & Waikiki Brewing's black strapp molasses porter)

When you first open the can, you can really smell the molasses.

Saturday, lunch with BFF and friend S at Assagio's...meatball sandwich (Thanks for lunch W)

It was nice spending some time with S and W.

Dinner was at the PC Bon Dance with Val...this was at the church that my mom used to be a member of.

Their congregation is getting older and smaller, so it was sad to see how little baked goods they had to sell and how small the crowd for the Bon Dance was.

Dinner was chili rice and some andagi.

Sunday, dinner at Aunty M's was an assortment of pupus and salad.

It was nice to see Aunty's friends, MJ and BJ.

Monday, the photographer and the realtor came to take photos of the house.

While the photographer took photos of the exterior of the house, the realtor and I opened the windows, shades, turned on the lights, prepping for the interior shots.

10 minutes or so and they were done.

Lunch was from The Elephant Shack, this time around I tried the Yum Pla...fried fish tossed in fresh chili-lime jus with cilantro, red onions, scallion, grape tomatoes served w/jasmine rice.

This was so good! The fish had a thin batter and was fried nicely.

I had this for 2 meals.

Wednesday, I have been sleeping in the living room because it has been humid and the living room has the ceiling fan.

Sleeping on the sofa next to a window is not good, especially when your "furry niece" decides to use you as a springboard to look out said window to check out the cats or mongoose?! roaming about outside at 4 a.m.!

And while I thought I was through purging, my brother and I whittled down some of the stuff that was still in the cupboards.

When my mom renovated the house, she definitely built her dream kitchen, filling it with her gadgets and containers.

She also made storage to fit EVERYTHING, so her cupboards went DEEP! and WIDE...she had a LOT of cupboards.

2 counter tops filled with things packed in the backseat and trunk of the car...

The guy working at Salvation Army was snarky, probably having a bad day...yelling at one person donating things to put their items onto the loading dock.

Yelling at me that I should've put everything into boxes because they will get injured because of all the glass items...geez.

Lunch was from Nanding's.

Chicken empanada and macapuno (coconut strings) ensamada.

How have I not known about macapuno?!

Though it is different from desiccated coconut...more gelatinous...a bit too sweet from the syrup the coconut strings are packed in.

Still, I'm glad I got to try it.

The realtor sent the photos of the house, it came out nice, if I do say so.

Since I cannot use the photographer's photos, check out my photos here.

Thursday, the house went on the market.

Open house this Sunday.

After that, the realtor gives us 1 day notice when he has an appointment to show and we need to be cleaned and ready...stress!

A trip to the library to bring in a few more items to donate.

Lunch with Aunty M and Aunty V at Hamada General Store.

When my cousin P saw my post, she commented, "Again? How many times have you been there?"

Yes, if you've been keeping track this is my third time there in the three weeks that this place has been open...

This time around I tried the Fried Ahi Katsu...this had heat, sweet and savory, they should make this into a sandwich!

V, also said she's been here a couple more times after we went last Thursday.

Hope this place will continue to succeed.

Basically this was my week...the humidity as well as the heat are still lingering, though we did get some rain Thursday night.

It's a holiday today, Admissions Day.

Oh, and if you were wondering, that missing troll was spotted in Aunty V's garden (hope this made you smile).

Have a nice weekend.