grylt

We had another errand to run on Friday, so we stopped into GRYLT (grilled) in the Manoa Marketplace.

Some of my twitter friends had tweeted about it and they sounded good so we went to check them out.

Um, if you open at 11:00, I think you should be ready for business, not still running around behind the counter at 11:15 when we walked in the door.

The Braised Kalbi sandwich which is on their menu and apparently the special sandwich of the month, was not available...I can see if we came mid-day after the lunch crowd, but at the beginning of the day?! WT?!

I ordered the Mediterranean salad with shrimp, it was supposed to come with caramelized pecans, bleu cheese, balsamic onions, sun-dried tomatoes, apple slices and baby spinach...please caramelize the pecans they were totally stale and soft because they weren't caramelized.

Partly our fault for not checking, but utensils should be given with items being taken out...luckily we ate at home...we ordered more things but I won't go into much detail only to say that the steak they served was very tender.

These guys have only been open since mid-June, but if things are this spotty, unorganized and slow, I don't know that they will last...hope to see you around next year when I'm home.

GRYLT (UPDATE: 2018 this location closed)
Manoa Marketplace
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.988.7832

the patisserie

Taking a little break from baking, we went to pick-up some lunch from The Patisserie.

They opened a little cafe in Waimalu, I think some time last year.

Mom ordered a roast beef sandwich on honey whole wheat, she chose all the veggies and added some swiss cheese.

Dad wanted a turkey sandwich on honey whole wheat, we also added all the veggies and kept his sandwich without cheese. (no photo)

Their sandwiches were packed with meat!

Another good thing is that they wrap each half in parchment paper, so you could save your other half if you were having dessert...ahem!

I ordered the B.L.A.T. on 10-grain, I didn't get to chose veggies but I opted not to put any cheese in there.

I loved this sandwich, it may look like it was mostly lettuce but there was avocado and crispy bacon in every bite!

Of course, we also ordered a slice of black forest cake, a slice of apple pie and a chocolate donut.

Mom thought the black forest cake was so-so.

The apple pie that Dad ate, he said was good.

And the donut that I ordered was moist, though the chocolate that was piped in the center was way too sweet for me.

My only peeve was the refrigerated case with the donuts in them had some moths in there (alive!)...eew!

The prices of the sandwiches were really reasonable, the veggies fresh and delicious too.

We'll be back for sandwiches and cakes, and maybe donuts if they clean out that case.

The Patisserie (UPDATE: 2014 this shop is closed)
Waimalu Shopping Plaza
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.484.1299

phở my lien

This week I'm kinda busy helping my mom bake and get things together for O-bon and her church's bon dance which is next week.

Last week, she kinda injured her shoulder (nothing major just from overuse) so I had to help the ladies at her church cook chili in her place.

Most days, I usually take her around to do some of her errands...lifting the heavy items and doing the driving.

Tuesday was the only day this week that I had free to meet up with my Aunty M1 for lunch.

We decided to try Phở My Lien, a Vietnamese place in the Westridge Shopping Center.

I had seen a photo that one of my Flickr friends had taken of her food and asked her about it.

Apparently this shop was in Waikiki before and moved out to Aiea last year?!. With the weather being too hot for phở, my Aunty and I chose bún (rice vermicelli) dishes.

I chose Bún chả giò (topped with spring rolls) while my Aunty chose to top hers with grilled chicken (sorry don't know the name).

I loved all the fresh herbs (mint, thai basil), bean sprouts, peanuts and lettuce tucked underneath the bún.

Really refreshing and filling!

It was nice catching up with my Aunty and trying a new place...we'll be back.
(Thanks for lunch Aunty!)

Phở My Lien
Westridge Shopping Center 2F
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.488.4900

hawaii drinks

Tried this Big Swell IPA by Maui Brewing Co. 6.8% alcohol

Fruity with a little bitter after taste...good.

Note to self: need more chips to go with this.

yogurtland

Two years ago, Yogurtland teamed up with Tokidoki which I wrote up here.

This year it is with Hello Kitty (Sanrio)...cute Hello Kitty & Chococat spoons and cups.

Sunday's weather was perfect for some fro-yo and chatting with a good friend.

things I'm liking (disliking)

Some random things I'm liking and disliking starting with the disliking...

Pizza slices served from the warmer when infact, a new fresh pan comes out right in front of me while I'm ordering at ZPizza.

If there is a next time here, I'm ordering off the menu instead of just slices so I can get some "hot" food.

Kit N Kitchen's portuguese sausage mushroom spaghetti...while I enjoyed the "stuff" on top of the pasta, the consistency was a bit too soupy for my liking.

I did enjoy the bite of pork chimichurri that my cousin's wife gave me though, tender and lots of garlic flavor.

How cute is this one?! I think it is a french bull dog?!

Just sat there while I snapped its pic while sticking its tongue out at me.

Loving the fig relish from Deb...so good with some type of melty cheese.

It also went nicely with baked chicken nuggets too...thanks Deb!

Lastly, loving the miniature plumerias I see on my walks...so cute!

What are you liking (disliking)?

ZPizza (UPDATE: 2018 closed)
Ward Centre
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.596.0066

Kit N Kitchen (UPDATE: 2018 closed)
1010 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.942.7622

hawaii re-visits

Last year I wrote about having lunch with Nate at Lam's Garden.

Yesterday, we met up at Lam's Garden and he brought his cute grand-daughter along too.

We again ordered the minute chicken with cake noodle...so good. Cake noodle is something I don't see often in Japan, so good!

Stuffed bittermelon, Nate's favorite...these bittermelons were...bitter! but very tasty, though I think I like Nate's recipe for stuffed bittermelon better.

Ika (squid) with sin choi (pickled mustard cabbage). This was my first time trying this but I really liked it.

The squid was chewy and the sin choi had a sweet sour flavor, really tasty.

It was nice to catch-up with Nate and to meet his grand-daughter.

Thanks for lunch Nate!