mr donut's & bakery

Not sure when or how I heard about Mr Donut's, but I do remember that Jalna, checked them out.

FYI: They are not the same company as Mister Donut (MisDo) in Japan.

Anyway, since I was near the shop yesterday, I went to check them out.

I bought their apple fritter...HUGE!

Bummer though not much apple in it.

If I do go back to the area, I wouldn't mind trying the doughnut holes...

Mr Donut's & Bakery
134 Bishop Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.545.2961
Open 24 hours

fete hawaii & honolulu coffee

Met up with family friend, D, for lunch at Fete Hawaii.

When we got there the place was pretty empty but when we left it was packed!

I ordered the Eggplant Tartine : Grilled Fête toast, red pepper feta, Babaganoush, fried zucchini...delicious!

D chose the Brunch Sausage Sandwich : Italian sausage, sunny local egg, cheddar, maple syrup, brioche bun, field greens, frites,
bread & butter pickles, ketchup

D's sandwich was messy eats, but he said it was delicious.

Bummer that the ketchup they served the fries with was a bit watery...

D also gave me these macarons from Honolulu Coffee.

They were delicious, most were cream filled.

My favorite was the coconut (not pictured).

Downtown is still quite scary to me with all the homeless walking around, but it was nice to meet up & catch up with D.

Thanks for today, D!

Fete Hawaii
2 North Hotel Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.369.1390
Hours: Mondays-Thursdays 11:00-22:00
Fridays: 11:00-23:00
Saturday 11:00-23:00
Pau Hana (Happy Hour) Mondays-Saturdays 14:00-17:30
Closed: Sundays

harbor pier 38 & via gelato

Met up with Mineko today.

We had lunch at Harbor Pier 38.

I'm glad this place wasn't crowded, so we got to chat & lunch leisurely.

We shared this crab & artichoke dip...super creamy!

I had their reuben...not too sure what was making this so salty...the chips or the meat inside the sandwich...

Mineko had their clam linguini...looked delicious!

After lunch we went to Via Gelato.

We both got affogatos.

I chose Mint Chip, while Mineko chose Green Tea.

Surprisingly Green Tea matched with a shot of espresso.

I enjoyed how the mint flavor of my gelato wasn't overpowering.

Mineko gave me some omiyage...a lipstick & these chocolates by Pierre Marcolini...I think I will share these with Satoshi when he visits in a couple of weeks.

It was great catching up with Mineko, I hope she had a nice time too.

Thanks for a great day!

p.s. I hope you can view the photos...when I pressed preview, I couldn't see any of the photos...

tacos zarate

Since the last visit to Tacos Zarate, they moved to Kahala.

In the spot where Antonio's Pizza and Honolulu Burger Company used to be.

S, BFF and I went to check them out for lunch today.

The space is clean and bigger than when they were on King Street.

I ordered the Carne Asada Nachos and a small drink.

The server made a mistake and gave me a large drink.

Loved the cheese sauce and the carne asada was super tender.

Will definitely be back to try other things on their menu.

It was nice catching up with S and BFF too! (Thank you!)

Tacos Zarate (UPDATE: closing 6/16/2018)
4210 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.892.1565
Hours: 11:00-21:00
Closed Sundays

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

la tour cafe

I think I tried this sandwich back in December when I came back for a family emergency...

I love all the "stuff" in this sandwich from La Tour Cafe...

Albacore tuna salad with cranberries, fennel seeds, capers, almonds, avocado & hummus...their housemade chips are super crispy too.

Gotta try to recreate this one.

What did you have for lunch?