hangang

Got to try Hangang with V

It was blazing, so I had the cold noodles with kalbi

The kalbi was so tender! and tasty 

The banchan was delicious too, so much variety

Even if it was blazing, V ordered the jjigae (I think), her lunch also came with the kalbi

V shared avocados and a HUGE Kamiya papaya

Always fun catching up with V.

Thanks for today V!

Hangang

1246 Waimanu Street

Honolulu, Hawaii

Open daily: 11:00-16:00 (lunch), 17:00-23:00 (dinner)

merriman's

Lunch with friend Mineko at Merriman's located in the Anaha Building (I think)

Beautiful restaurant.

Bag o' biscuits...housemade buttermilk biscuits served warm, so soft and delicious with butter.

Fresh fish sandwich, on this day was Mahi, Moroccan Spices, Lime Crushed Avocado, Hau'ula Tomatoes, Sprouts, Chipotle Sauce, I ate this with a knife and fork...delicious.

Fresh fish, shrimp and chips...Hana Koa Brewing Co. ‘Breaktime’ Beer-Battered Catch of the Day & Wild Shrimp, Rosemary Sea Salt Fries, Malt Vinegar Aioli, Lemon...Mineko ordered this and said she enjoyed this.

Homemade ice cream : chocolate with waffle "cone"

Homemade coffee ice cream with waffle cone : this was complimentary since we were celebrating Mineko's "retirement"

Lots to catch up on, it was nice to have lunch with her.

Before our lunch, I bought a lei for Mineko for her retirement from Le Flowers, in Mo'ili'ili.

Thanks for today Mineko!

Merriman's

1108 Auahi Street

Honolulu, Hawaii

Phone: 808.215.0022

Open daily : 11:00-21:00

this week

Friday, met up with V, she had the "last" of her avocados to share.

We had lunch at Ohana Hale Marketplace (OHM).

It is the perfect place to get out of the heat & humidity.

We tried a ginger tumeric smoothie from Miko and the Juice...delicious...lots of citrus in this and the ginger and tumeric are pretty strong in a good way.

And bun cha gio from L & K Pho & Sandwich, a shop which Jalna wrote about here.

I thought the spring rolls were a little sweet.

The lady working there calls everyone "honey" and she gives lots of spring rolls for this dish.

She runs the place by herself so it does take some time for orders to come out...be prepared.

Or like she told the guy before us, "next time you call ahead, so you no need wait, honey"

In the middle of the marketplace are seats and tables to enjoy your food, there is also live entertainment.

I'm glad we got to try this place and look forward to trying other booths.

Saturday, BFF and I went to Royal Kitchen to get our manapua fix.

We prefer the baked type.

I also tried their coconut filled one and lup cheong.

All so good!

Dinner was at Kalapawai Cafe in Kapolei...little did we know that the menu goes kind of "fancy" after 17:00....

I ordered their watermelon salad...not quite what I had envisioned...

My version would have had salad greens (maybe arugula or baby leaf), "cubed" watermelon, feta cheese "sprinkles", the sprinkle of mac nuts and balsamic drizzle...

Afterwards we went next door to Lanikai Juice...where I ordered the Kailua Monkey (banana, peanut butter, organic soy milk, chocolate whey protein, honey)...

next time I'm having "this" for dinner...

Sunday, BFF and I went to Rainbow's for lunch...I had their BBQ Beef Sandwich and a slush.

So so good!

How awesome are these watermelon carvings Satoshi saw at the Ikegami Festival?

Dinner was at Aunty M's where we had Sam's Club pizza...during the year, the fam has been comparing Sam's and Costco's pizzas.

Sam's is the winner because their crust and toppings have a balanced ratio.

Going home, there was a stabbing on the freeway, WT? luckily, I got off the freeway and took the back roads down to Nimitz Highway instead of sitting in traffic...took this photo of the sunset before we got in the car....

Monday, Aunty M1 gave us a dragon fruit....it was my first time to peel this and luckily, youtube had a tutorial.

I love technology!

Tuesday, Malia has been hiding in the back of my closet, I guess because it is quiet and dark there and also because Aunty Kat has no clue as to where she is...I swear she disappeared...

Wednesday, met up with Flickr friend, Rex...every summer we've been trying to eat at W & M, but always end up elsewhere, finally, we had lunch there, parking is always krazy here, but we were both lucky to each get a stall.

I had the cheeseburger...so good! while Rex had their HAL special.

Always fun talking with Rex, he's super tech savvy and keeps me up to date on things regarding iPhones and such.

Thursday, got an email from the realtor, he will be mass mailing some realtors and planning to have an open house on the Sunday after Labor Day. (Hoping this will spark some interest in our property)

Lunch was from Roast Duck Kitchen...this tiny shop mainly sells roast duck, roast pork, roast chicken and char siu.

I got their roast chicken plate and a gau gee (long fried won ton).

The chicken was tender and very moist.

And I also enjoyed the gau gee, it is stuffed to the gills!

Bummer that the rice was really dry and the cabbage underneath the chicken really oily.

Still, I'm glad I tried this place and there was definitely enough food for two meals...I want to go back to try the cake noodle with oyster sauce chicken and char siu.

That was more or less my week...it is still gross and humid.

It is the end of August, seems so fast, yet it doesn't.

Hoping we'll get an offer in the coming weeks that I am here...have a nice weekend.

Miko and the Juice : UPDATE OHM CLOSED
333 Ward Avenue (inside OHM)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.861.5046
Hours: 10:00-20:00 (Mondays-Saturdays), 10:00-17:00 (Sundays)

L & K Pho & Sandwich : UPDATE OHM CLOSED
333 Ward Avenue (inside OHM)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.722.9730
Hours: 10:00-20:00

Roast Duck Kitchen
99-115 Aiea Heights Drive, Aiea Shopping Center 2nd floor
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.486.0005
Closed Mondays
Hours: 9:00-17:00

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)

saying goodbye

Ryan's Grill will be closing its doors this weekend.

Late last year, we were sad to learn of it.

If you've been reading our blog, you'll know this was where Satoshi and I went on our first date.

Though with all the "newer" eateries popping up with each visit home, I have to admit that we haven't been back since 2007! (though I did go with my Aunty M back in 2009...)

It was a great place to get together for drinks, pupus (appetizers), birthdays and other events.

Satoshi said he favorite food there was the blackened seared ahi (yellow fin tuna) while I really enjoyed the frozen li hing margaritas.

Thanks for the good memories we are sad to see you go.

Have a nice weekend!

scratch kitchen & meatery

Met up with Jalna, Mich, K, V & Leslie for brunch at Scratch Kitchen & Meatery at Ward.

They don't take reservations, so Jalna wanted to be there when they opened, so we met up at 9:00.

Luckily, V was with us because as soon as the doors opened, she zipped right in...thanks V!

Most of us ordered the Yoga Bowl...crispy brussels sprouts, root vegetables, brown rice-farro, roasted chickpeas, sunny egg, tahini (?)

Mich had the benny but on this day, they didn't have english muffins so they instead served them on brioche.

Her son had their milk & cereal pancakes.

V had their smoked salmon sandwich...huge!

I was a bit disappointed with this bowl...most all the brussels sprouts and sweet potato was burnt...the sweet potato undercooked too.

Still it was nice catching up with everyone.

I received these calamansi & cookies from Mich & her son...am gonna squeeze the calamansi into juice. (Thank you!)

Honolulu Aunty gave me this cute tote! (Thank you!)

V gave us this cute Foodland bag, poke stuffs & coffee (Thank you!)

Leslie made these delicious vegan cookies (Thank you!)

Jalna shared her mi goreng stash and also some of her creative projects...AND she treated all of us to brunch (Thank you Thank you!)

It was so nice to put faces to blogs & comments.

Thanks for arranging today and again for treating us Jalna!

Scratch Kitchen & Meatery
1170 Auahi Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.589.1669
Hours:
Monday-Sunday 9:00-15:00 (brunch/lunch)
Monday-Saturday 17:00-21:00 (dinner)

piggy smalls

Met up with long time friend, Len for lunch at Piggy Smalls.

It is the second restaurant by The Pig & the Lady and is located in the old space of Kua'Aina in Ward Centre.

Man, the whole Kaka'ako area has changed...more parking near the Ward Centre, more condos...super unrecognizable.

In fact, July 30th, Ward Warehouse closed its door for good...sad, yeah?!

I ordered the LFC, which stands for Laotion Fried Chicken.

The chicken is double fried, doused with their money sauce, and sits on kaffir, fried shallots and peanut slaw

Messy eats but really good...spicy, sweet, salty and sour.

Len had their J. LUDOVICO CHICKEN PHO...spiced local chicken broth, ginger, calamansi, aromatic herbs, fresh rice noodles.

It is always nice to catch up with him and I am glad we have continued our friendship over the years.

I noticed they do take out too...I'll be back.

Thanks Len!

Piggy Smalls (UPDATE:2023 closed)
1200 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.777.3588
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays: 11:00 - 21:30*
(*15:00-17:00 take out & limited menu outdoor dining only)
Sundays: 11:00-16:00