Return to Kiwami Ramen

Posted on November 30, 2009 by pomai

Kiwami Ramen – Ume-Shio Dip Noodle

Mention ume, and probably the first thing that will come to mind is omusubi…

Ume Musubi with Ah Fook’s mild and hot Portuguese Sausage (with Takuan in the center)

So when I seen Ume-Shio Tsukemen, a.k.a. “Dip Noodle” on the menu at Kiwami Ramen on my first-time visit last week, I just had to return and try it, which is what I did last night.

Could this tart and salty pickled Japanese plum really work in a ramen dish? We shall soon find out!

Reader Milo, who spent a lot of time in Fukuoka, Japan, knows specifically which style of ramen he prefers (Kyushu Tonkotsu), questioned this idea of putting ume in ramen with some good points made, and I pretty much agree with his thought on it. Yet I’m willing to think outside the box, or make that “think outside the bowl” every now and then, such as I’m doing here.

As for this “Dip Noodle” or Tsukemen, it almost literally is “outside the bowl”, as the noodles are served separately from the broth. So we have two parts here that break with normal convention, with one that there’s an ume it, and two that it’s tsukemen style. Add to that, the broth its served in is shio style, which is a lighter, salt-flavored soup, where as you know, I’m more a shoyu ramen kinda’ guy, but what the heck, we’ll bend over backwards this time.

Although I mentioned in my last write-up that I wouldn’t order this, never say never, as I actually ended up ordering a small bowl of Charshu Don (Japanese style roast pork on rice) to start my meal just to try it out…

Kiwami Ramen – Charsu Rice (small). $2.50

I was a little disappointed the small size didn’t have the boiled egg in it, and the charsu was cut into little cubes, while I see the larger bowls have charsu in full slices. It still looks good though.

Let’s try it…

The sauce on it tastes kinda’ like teriyaki but there’s another element to it I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Whatever it is, it really enhances it, and would be lacking without it. I already mentioned from my last visit that I really like Kiwami’s Charsu, and this is a great optional way to enjoy it if you’re more in the mood for rice than ramen. The charsu is fall-part tender and packed with a great savory, mildly sweet flavor, while the rice it’s served with tastes like good quality stuff.

Yet as I suspected and why I said I’d probably “never” order this, it did indeed turn out being like more of the same thing when eaten along with my Ume-Shio Tsukemen. Kinda’ like eating a baked potato with a side order of french fries, to help you understand where I’m coming from.

Even without the boiled egg, and that it was overkill when eaten along with ramen, in and of itself I give Kiwami Ramen’s Charsu Rice a very, very tasty 3-SPAM Musubi.

Next time I visit Kiwami (I’m already a fan so I’ll be back repeatedly!), I’m gonna’ have to remember to ask the server how often they get questioned on why they don’t serve Gyoza. That’s the only thing I think is really missing here. Molly already answered that question in a comment, saying “The waiter replied that the owner-chef wanted to present an authentic Japanese ramen experience and gyoza was a Chinese item in his mind.” WHAT-EH-VERZ. lol

O.K., my Ume-Shio Tsukemen has arrived, let’s try it out…

Kiwami Ramen – Ume-Shio Dip Noodle. $10.00

As already explained, with the “Dip Noodle”, the broth – in this case Shio style – is served in a separate bowl from the noodles. As for the ramen noodles, the waitress will ask if you it served warm or cold. I opted for warm. Makes better sense to me. Why would I want to dip cold noodles in a hot broth?

This was my first time trying ramen served Tsukemen style, so luckily all the patrons in the restaurant were Nihonjin (Japanese natives), and the young Japanese fellah sitting right next to me had just ordered dip noodle himself, so I took some tips (candidly) watching him eat first. It’s very simple, yet I wanted to make sure I was eating it properly how the Japanese do it.

You simply grab some ramen noodles and dip them in the broth then have it…

Kiwami Ramen – Ume-Shio Dip Noodle.

I notice some Japanese folks – especially the younger ones – like to hold up their ramen noodles really high above the bowl after they pick it up, briefly obvserving it, then blow it to cool before taking a bite. Then there’s some who prefer to slouch their head down to the bowl and put the noodles directly in their mouth in a shoveling fashion.

I also noticed some folks would truly observe their ramen before eating it, just like The Ramen Girl’s Chef Maezumi taught ‘Abbey’ to do.Then they would lower their head towards the bowl and waft the broth’s aroma towards their nose.

It’s really quite fascinating. In fact, I stayed a good ten extra minutes finishing my Kirin Beer while being entertained watching Nihonjin folks eat ramen. Choto Omoshiroi (kinda’ amusing)! lol

Of course, it’s very polite to make a slurping sound as you eat ramen. Not slurping tells the chef or staff that you don’t enjoy their ramen and is considered rude.

Anyway, hai, itadakimasu!…

I taste the midly-salty Shio broth, but not a hint of umezuke. The shio broth is delicious though! I’d certainly consider ordering the shio ramen in the regular style (noodles in broth) in a future visit. There’s still some chicken flavoring in it, but it’s very subtle. I thought for Tsukemen the broth would be more intense, but it wasn’t at all.

Am I sold on this “Dip Noodle” style? Not really. It’s good, but IMO, the noodles gotta’ be in the broth. Gotta’. No other way. That’s just my opinion. Hey, if you like Tsukemen, great, but personally I wouldn’t order it like this again.

I don’t think the flavor of the broth adheres as much to the noodle when just briefly dipped in like this. Versus with regular ramen, the hot noodles are immersed in the hot broth and they both have time to “harmonize” with each other. Where as with Tsukemen, I feel like I’m eating two different things. Sorry, for me it just doesn’t have the same harmony traditional ramen has. At least not with this one. Maybe there’s another one out there that will change my mind, which we have yet to see.

Now that we got the tsukemen part out of the way, what about the Ume? Well, as I said, it didn’t impart any of its tart flavor into the broth, which is what I was expecting — and a little skeptical whether I’d like that — but thankfully it didn’t. I did save it for last though, nibbling at it with some ramen noodles and charsu…

I was hoping the Ume would compliment the noodles the same way it compliments rice with its highly contrasting flavor, but it didn’t. It was more like an accessory or add-on, not having any significant roll that made up the overall character of the dish, save for perhaps the novelty of adding a little red color for presentation’s sake. Don’t get me wrong though, the Ume didn’t “hurt” the ramen, but neither did it enhance it. Does the ume make this ramen worth $10? Obviously not. IMO, if you insist on trying their tsukemen, the Shoyu Dip Noodle would be a better deal at $8.75.

Rounding it up, the key parts of its sum by way of the broth, charsu and ramen noodles (this time the thin style) are all each and of themselves EXCELLENT and worth a rating of 4 SPAM Musubi each. Factor in my opinion of what I thought of the dish served tsukemen style, along with the ume’s (lacking) roll in it, and the unwarranted higher-than-average price, and I’m going with 2-SPAM Musubi rating for Kiwami’s Ume-Shio Dip Noodle.

Ssshhhh, don’t tell the chef, but when nobody was looking (at least I hope so), I ended up turning my Tsukemen back into regular ramen by pouring the broth in the bowl with the noodles…

Now that’s more like it! As you see, the dip noodle broth had the same amount of Charsu and menma as a regular bowl of Ramen. If chef does see this, he’ll probably just say “Gaijin Baka!” (stupid foreigner). lol Well, that is kinda’ rude changing the dish like that, so my apologies if I offended anyone, but I liked it much better this way. At least I know now that “dip noodle isn’t for me.

It just occurred to me that Sam Sato’s Dry Noodle dish is similar to Tsukemen, except I think Sam Sato’s has an edge because they flavor their noodles with Oyster sauce, so the noodles already have something going on its own, and it’s not entirely relying on the external broth for flavor, but more for moisture (texture). Plus it’s saimin, not ramen, so you can’t really compare the two.

So let’s see now what I shall try on my next visit to Kiwami Ramen…

It’ll either be the Goma Miso or the Shoyu “AO” Ramen.

Kiwami Ramen
Waikiki Shopping Plaza (in the Waikiki Food Court, basement level)
2250 Kalakaua avenue
Tel. 924-6724
www.Kiwami-Ramen.com

Business hours:
Open Daily for lunch from 11am to 2:30pm and dinner from 5pm to 10pm (closed between 2:30pm and 5pm)

The Tasty Island rating (for Ume-Shio Ramen):

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it.

“If you cook with your head, it can be full of noise. You must learn to cook from a quieter place deep inside you.

Each Ramen that you prepare is a gift to your customer. The food that you serve becomes a part of them. It contains your spirit. That’s why your ramen must be an expression of love. A gift from your heart.

If you feel pain and sadness, begin by putting your tears in your broth.”

– Ramen Chef Maezumi’s mother

Return to Alicia's Market

Posted on November 28, 2009 by pomai

When we visited Alicia’s Market for lunch this past Wednesday, I took notice that there was new artwork up out in front depicting their signature dishes. You can see it in the photo above, where they’re mounted on panels in front of the railing of the apartment building above the market.

Let’s check it out, starting from one end to the other, as it takes up almost the entire span of the building…

Very nice work! Makes me hungry and I’m not even in the store yet! It’s almost like a menu board. All they need to do is put numbers on each one so that when you walk in, you just tell the guy you want “#4”. They should make T-Shirts of each one and sell it.

Even if that didn’t grab your attention and do the job, once you enter Alicia’s, the combined aroma of fresh produce, hot boiled Virginia Peanuts, Chinese style roasted meats, fresh fish and steaming Hawaiian foods is almost guaranteed to have your mouth watering and your stomach growling.

I LOVE the smell of places like that! The Ward Farmers Market used to have that, and thankfully places like Masa and Joyce Okazuya and Fish Market, Marujyu and Alicia’s Market still does.

So what shall we have for lunch today?

Well, Diner E’s favorite from Alicia’s is their Charsiu Turkey Tails, so he got a combination plate of that, along with their Charsiu Pork Ribs…

Alicia’s Market – Roasted Turkey Tails and Charsiu Pork Ribs combination plate. $8.95

I decided to try Alicia’s Hawaiian Plate…

Alicia’s Market – Hawaiian Plate: Pork Laulau, Kalua Pig, Lomi Salmon and Poi. $10.75

Well whaddaya’ say? They serve their Laulau with the Ti Leaf still wrapped on it! Finally! For me, a laulau just isn’t complete without that provided in the presentation, as you KNOW it’s going to taste just how laulau should. Some places cut cost by steaming the laulau either without ti leaves, or they put the Ti leaves in the steamer in bulk fashion, not individually on each laulau. Yet, not here at Alicia’s, thank goodness. They’re already up 1 SPAM Musubi point for that alone.

Usually I talk about my order last, but since I’ve already started, might as well continue, where here let’s take a better look at this gem of a Laulau…

To those who love Laulau and Hawaiian food in general, this photo is sheer beauty. Just beautiful.

OK, my mouth’s really watering now, so let’s open it up and dig in already!…

Ooooohhh…aaaaaahhhhhh…ooooohhhh…aaaahhhhh. Notice the thick layer of dark green colored steamed luau (Hawaiian taro) leaves wrapped around the pork nestled within.

Let’s cut through the luau leaves and check out what’s inside…

There’s tender, moist chunks of luau-steamed pork that just falls apart as you stick your fork into it.

Unfortunately there wasn’t any butterfish in it, which is the ultimate flavoring ingredient in a laulau, but to make up for that, it looks like they deliberately put in a generous chunk of pork fat to kick the flavor up a notch…

Of course it can’t compare to butterfish, but for the cost (very cheap), pork fat will do the job in keeping the whole laulau moist, tender and absolutely ono! I’ll just have to lay off fatty foods for a while after that (which was actually impossible with Thanksgiving right around the corner).

What I like to do is take some of the tender pork, a good helping of the tender luau leaves and just a little bit of the pork fat all one spoon and down it like that, then chase it with a spoonful of the lomi salmon, then the poi. Broke da’ mout’!

I have to say, this is one the best laulau I’ve had in a while, even without the butterfish. It was seasoned with just the right amount of Hawaiian salt, while the luau leaves were cooked perfectly, as was the pork inside. Solid 4 SPAM Musubi for their laulau. Better than Young’s and better than People’s Cafe (although I highly respect both of them, too!)

Now let’s sample Alicia’s Kalua Pig…

A little on the salty side, but WINNAHZ! Chase it with the poi and it’s perfect! There’s a distinctive hint of Kiawe (or liquid?) smoke just packing it with flavor, while being super tender and juicy, thanks to the pork fat mixed into this as well (just like how I make mine). Another solid 4 SPAM Musubi for their kinda’ salt, nicely-smoked, super tender and juicy Kalua Pig.

Now’s let’s sample Alicia’s Lomi Salmon…

Oh, this is certainly Lomi Salmon alright, and not no “Lomi Tomato”. You can readily see the diced cubes of salted salmon throughout. Thankfully the salted salmon wasn’t too salty, so it actually made their lomi salmon work in great harmony with the salty Kalua Pig, kinda’ giving it a salsa-like complimentary flavor. Solid 4 SPAM Musubi for the Lomi Salmon.

Which only leaves one thing left, yet still one of the most important parts that – pun intended – “glues everything together”, which would the poi…

This is Taro Brand poi, which they’ve thinned down to the consistency of, as appropriate for the time, turkey gravy. Yes, it was about as thin as a thick turkey gravy. Which is fine with me. Better than NO POI. For me, I just don’t enjoy Hawaiian food without poi. Eating Hawaiian Food with rice, to me personally would be like eating Sushi that was made with mashed potatoes instead of sushi rice. Ya’ know? lol Seriously though, with Hawaiian food, for me it’s gotta’ be with poi or pass.

Here’s how I like to whack my Kalua Pig…

Oh yeah, you know it!

Very very solid 4 SPAM Musubi for Alicia’s Hawaiian Plate. It would probably be a 5 if it were served restaurant style in Hawaiian style bowls or on a “luau plate” (them green resin school cafeteria trays).

Moving on to Diner E’s Charsiu Turkey Tail and Charsiu Pork Ribs plate…

Diner E gave me a sample of the pork ribs and turkey tails and I gotta’ say, it’s absolutely ONO! Really, really good, and probably as good of a charsiu as you’ll find even in Chinatown, yet you get the best of all worlds with everything else they have to offer from Alicia’s Market!

You know what I wouldn’t mind trying, is buying some of Alicia’s Charsiu Pork Ribs and putting it in a bowl of Saimin. I bet da’ buggah’ would taste awesome like that!

Of course the turkey tails are also super delicious thanks to that being the fattest part of the bird. Certainly a tasty occasional indulgence.

But, yeah, Alicia’s charsiu sauce is just right. Not overpowering, having just enough sugar and other Chinese seasonings to bring out the flavor of the roasted meats. They should sell their Charsiu sauce in bottles. I called and they said they don’t, but they should. Maybe they no reveal da’ “Ancient Chinese Secret”. lol

Let’s check out their Macaroni Salad…

Notice there’s a couple pieces of Kim Chee next to it. That’s a nice touch. The mac salad is certainly different, but in a good way! The Mayonnaise is a little watery, yet chilled so cold it was agreeable, while the macaroni was cooked perfectly al dente. It had tuna and peas in it – two things we normally DON’T like in our mac salad – yet you know what? We liked it in this one! I’m giving their Mac’ Salad a very tasty 3 SPAM Musubi.

That said, overall, Diner E gave his Charsiu Turkey Tails and Charsiu Pork Ribs Combination Plate from Alicia’s a solid 3 SPAM Musubi.

Alicia’s Market
267 Mokauea St.
Honolulu, HI 96819
Tel. 841-1921

Business Hours:
Monday – Friday 8am to 7pm
Saturday 8am – 6:30pm
Sunday Closed

Download Alicia’s Market take-out menu here!…
Alicia’s Market Menu (55k PDF document)

The Tasty Island Rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Related links:
• Kalihi Eats: Alicia’s Market – The Tasty Island

Hawaii Prince Hotel Thanksgiving-To-Go

Posted on November 27, 2009 by pomai

Hawaii Prince Hotel’s Prince Court Thanksgiving-To-Go packaged feast 2009

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving yesterday.

For the meal, this year we decided to try out the Thankgiving-To-Go packaged feast from the Hawaii Prince Hotel’s Prince Court Restaurant.

For $120 pre-ordered, their TTG package included a fully-cooked, warm (not hot) Macadamia Nut Honey Glazed Turkey…

Cornbread, Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing (shown here uncooked)…

Garlic Mash Potatoes…

Giblet Gravy…

Maple-glazed Yams…

Fresh-baked Rolls…

and Pumpkin Pie…

It comes packed with an instruction sheet on how to properly heat everything up for service…

Click on image above to read legible instructions

Like all the turkey-to-go meals from the hotels we’ve had before, Hawaii Prince had drive-through pick-up service, which ours was scheduled for 1pm on Thanksgiving Day…

The van parked in front stored all the ttg boxes, while the blue tent across the driveway was where you drove up, presented your purchase ticket and received the two boxes of goods. That part was very quick and efficient.

What we were disappointed by though, was that once we unpacked the boxes, we discovered the side dishes needed to be heated-up. We had the impression from the ad that the entire meal was going to be hot and ready to serve — not just the turkey. Which is why we didn’t mind the comparably higher price. That higher price also had us expecting preparations for each dish that had a more gourmet flair, which it did indeed sound like on paper.

After having to transfer all the side dishes out of the non-oven-safe plastic containers they’re packed in into metal pans and pots, it pretty much negates the “ready-to-serve” selling point of what a “Thanksgiving to Go” meal really should be. In this case, you end up washing almost an equal amount of pots and pans as you would had you made everything from scratch, not to mention the added time it takes to conventionally heat everything up.

Oh brother, we’ve been through this before with past “TTG” packages.

I say this now, and I’ll say it again, if you’re a restaurant offering a TTG package that needs to be heated up, PUT EVERYTHING IN OVEN-SAFE DISPOSABLE BAKING TINS, NOT PLASTIC FOAM CONTAINERS! If that costs a little more, it’s worth it, even if you have to pass that expense on to the customer. At $120, we should have AT LEAST gotten oven-safe and stovetop-safe baking tins with this TTG package.

And don’t say, “You could or should have just threw it in the microwave.” Heck no! That’s as good as relegating this meal as LEFTOVERS.

So anyway, after going through that whole song and dance once again in the kitchen, we had everything completely cooked, hot and ready for a late Thanksgiving Day lunch…

After an appointment with Dr. Electric Knife, here’s the entire Macadamia Nut Honey-Glazed Turkey all carved and ready to plate…

As you can probably tell yourself, the two intact dark meat drumsticks flank the sides, followed inward by the two breasts cut into serving-size slices, followed in the center with miscellaneous pieces of white to dark meat from the remaining areas of this what we estimate to be approximately 12-pound bird.

Here’s their Cornbread, Sausage and Chestnut stuffing (technically ‘dressing’), now fully cooked…

The heated Garlic Mash Potatoes…

Yeah, we’re all about “presentation” on this occasion, aren’t we? Just look at the beautiful cookware and dishware we’re using to serve the food. lol

Maple-glazed Yams…

Cranberry Sauce..

Finally, their Pumpkin Pie…

Now hold on. Since this TTG meal suggested it would serve 4-6 people, and we had about 12, with most of the additional folks being teenagers and young children, I roasted an additional turkey to supplement the spread.

In which case I had a young 14.6 pound turkey which I brined with a solution of 1/2 cup Hawaiian Salt, 1/4 cup golden sugar, 4 bay leaves and a handful of peppercorns in enough water to cover the turkey in a slightly-used disposable styrofoam cooler lined with a new trash bag for sanitation…

Since my refrigerator didn’t have enough room, I brined it for 24 hours in the plastic bag-lined covered cooler, keeping ice cubes in a Ziploc® bag floating on the brine water surface to maintain a sub-40ºF temperature.

Here my brined young turkey all pau roasting and resting before carving…

For seasoning, I simply rubbed the skin all over with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkled with fresh cracked black black pepper. No salt, as there’s enough penetrated in the meat from the brine.

Along with the additional turkey, since this is our favorite side dish, we cooked a pan of ‘Stovetop’ Stuffing, enhanced with celery, onions, Italian Sausage, Ham and Bacon…

Here’s one of the breasts cut into serving-size slices…

This should give you an idea how MOIST the meat was from this brined bird…

I barely needed a knife to carve this bird. Only thing, the breast wasn’t as moist as it was in comparison to the brined bird I roasted last year. Which I think was because this was a smaller turkey, and perhaps this time I cooked it a little longer than I should have in the convection oven.

Here’s my brined young turkey all carved and ready for service…

Regardless, I must humbly admit everyone yesterday at our gathering yesterday declared my brined and simply-seasoned young turkey superior in flavor and moistness to Hawaii Prince Hotel’s Macadamia Nut Honey-Glazed bird.

Speaking of which, you’re probably wondering how the Macadamia Nuts worked as far as complimenting the Prince Court’s Turkey skin or meat,where I’d have to say, nothing much at all. It looked good slightly caramelized on top, yet all it did was fall off as you carved it, which I placed back on the slices for service. There wasn’t this revelation of a new marriage in culinary heaven of a “Macadamia Nut-flavored Turkey”, which sounds AWESOME on paper, yet stops at that.

Let’s check out a couple of assembled turkey plates from this pretty much back-to-basics spread…

I didn’t get a shot of my turkey gravy, but I also must humbly admit everyone declared mines FAR, FAR , FAR superior to Hawaii Prince Hotel’s “Giblet” Gravy? Giblet Gravy? Are they kidding me?

I have to say myself, their gravy was one of the “LAMEST” turkey gravy I’ve had in YEARS. Swanson’s turkey TV Dinner gravy is better than this.

The gravy used in the plate on top is from the Hawaii Prince Hotel. The gravy used in the plate below is the one I made. Notice my gravy has a slightly darker color, while you can also visually see speckles of giblet, neck meat and pan fond in it.

The best way I can describe Hawaii Prince Hotel’s “Giblet” turkey gravy is that it tasted like Gerber baby food “gravy”. Seriously. It just didn’t have any character, and hardly, if at all tasted like they used drippings from the roasted turkeys to make it. It also tasted starchy, like they added flour last minute to thicken it.

Here’s how I made my gravy. First I took the giblets, which include the liver, heart and gizzard, plus the turkey neck, along with chopped onions, celery and carrots (the trinity) in water and chicken broth and made a stock. Simmered for 2 hours, then strained it. Then added the cooked turkey parts (except the neckbones) back into the strained stock and ran an immersion blender to break it up into particle-sized pieces. Then set that aside in the refrigerator.

After the brined young turkey was done, I removed it from the roasting pan and set that aside to rest. Since there was mostly just fat drippings in the roasting pan, I augmented that with a pat of butter and sprinkled enough AP Flour to make a roux in the roasting pan on the stovet0p. Cooked out the roux until medium brown, then added the turkey stock I made earlier to the pan, adding it warm so that it combined easier with the roux. Adding it slowly, I kept whisking briskly to incorporate. Checked for seasoning, which surprisingly didn’t need any additional salt. Like I always do, to make more gravy, I used packaged dehydrated Turkey gravy to the scratch made gravy. So I initially had about 1 quart of scratch made turkey gravy, then added another 7.5 cups to the yield through additonal packages of turkey gravy and water mix. Finished with another pat of butter for that finishing flavor and glossy sheen. Works like a charm.

Getting back to the Hawaii Prince Hotel’s TTG, their stuffing was also a little strange, with this odd acidic twang to it, which we couldn’t pinpoint what that was. It wasn’t bad, but just different. Being we’re more familiar with it, we preferred our doctored Stovetop dressing much more.

The Garlic Mash Potatoes were pretty good, and it was nice to see chunks of red potatoes with the peel on it, giving it a rustic look an texture. You could certainly taste the garlic.

I also liked their Cranberry Sauce, finding it had a good balance of sweet and acidic, and complimenting the turkey quite well. Although not as good as our own scratch-made Li Hing Cranberry Sauce…

This Li Hing Cranberry Sauce is made in a food processor with cranberries, oranges with peel, Fuji apple, cane sugar and Li Hing Powder. As you can probably figure out, the Li Hing powder really enhances the natural flavors of the acidic fruits in this sauce. When you eat it along with the savory turkey, it’s like POW! s So ono!

Again, back to HPH, their buns were also just OK, yet weren’t as soft and supple as the ones we also had from, of all places, Costco.

Their Pumpkin Pie was pretty good. For that I’ll give them 2 SPAM Musubi.

Speaking of Costco, we also had a giant Apple Pie from there…

And this most EXCELLENT Pumpkin-Custard Pie from a bakery in Kaimuki…

Pumpkin-Custard you say? Hai, as the pumpkin layer is underneath…

Oh man, this Pumpkin-Custard Pie (from a bakery in Kaimuki) is a winnah! Solid 4 SPAM Musubi.

While I don’t usually grade my own cooking, if I must say so myself, I’m giving my turkey and gravy this year a very solid 3 SPAM Musubi. 4 or 5 for the gravy alone, which was reflected by those commenting while eating it.

As for the Hawaii Prince Hotel’s (Prince Court) Thanksgiving-To-Go, overall I’m going with 1 SPAM Musubi. The gravy and stuffing need a major overhaul, while for the price and based on their ad’s punchline, all the side dishes should have been hot and ready to serve at best, or at least packed in containers that can be conveniently popped in the oven or on the stovetop as shipped.

On The Tasty Island, 1 SPAM Musubi isn’t bad — it’s average — yet far less than I expect from the Hawaii Prince Hotel and their highly-regarded Prince Court Restaurant.

What? Hawaii Prince Hotel Prince Court Thankgiving-to-Go
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? By phone from the hotel, $120 pre-order.
Big Shaka to: Organized and efficient ordering and drive-through pick-up system. Turkey was warm, fully-cooked and ready to eat.
No shaka to: Sides were shipped unexpectedly cold, and to top that, packed in containers that weren’t oven-safe for heating. Turkey on the small side (12 lbs.). Macadamia Nut honey-glazed finish sounded better on paper than it did on the palate. Disappointing gravy and stuffing.
The Tasty Island rating: 1 SPAM Musubi

Related links:
• Orders now taken for turkey dinners – The Honolulu Advertiser
• Waikiki Eats: Prince Court Sunday Brunch Buffet – The Tasty Island
• Turkey Talk – The Tasty Island
• After Turkey There’s Jook – The Tasty Island

Waikiki Eats: Kiwami Ramen

Posted on November 23, 2009 by pomai

Kiwami Ramen – Shoyu Thick Noodle Ramen

I knew it wouldn’t take very long after watching the film The Ramen Girl that I’d be on the hunt once again for that “perfect bowl” of ramen. Which landed me this time around at Kiwami Ramen in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. The restaurant is located in the food court in the basement, just an escalator down from bustling Kalakaua avenue…

Here’s the shop front…

That man sitting there is Hans “Takamiyama” Franz, the Grand Master Ramen Chef from Austria. Nah, just kidding. lol He’s just hangin’ out in the food court.

The shop’s decor is similar to Goma Tei, with an asian-inspired, clean contemporary look and feel…

Also similar to Goma Tei, there’s a split counter where the server tends the customers from the center aisle, along with private tables on the side. When it comes to Ramen shops, I much prefer eating at the counter, as I feel more “immersed” in the experience.

Here’s the menu on the shop window, which is all in Nihongo (Japanese language)…

If you can read that, great, otherwise, visit their website for the Eigo (English language) version of their menu.

Instead of a plastic food display that you usually find in front of Japanese restaurants, Kiwami Ramen has beautifully photographed posters of their most popular dishes…

Chef Yasuyoshi Sato was there in the kitchen at the time of my visit, so I was confident that the ramen being served was made to his exact specifications. My friendly server girl who I had a nice conversation with about all things ramen mentioned that the former owner of Daruma Ramen (remember them?) was there in the kitchen talking with Chef Sato. Apparently they’re friends, as she said he’s there almost every evening at 9:30pm. I’d like to ask if he’d consider reopening Daruma, which I still think was one of the best ramen shops to exist this side of Japan.

Several Yelp users recommended Kiwami’s Tsukemen, or “Dip Noodle” like you see in the poster above. Which sounds great, but since this was my first time at Kiwami, I had to go with my standard “gauge bowl” as an introduction, so I ordered the Shoyu Ramen, opting for the ‘Thick Noodle’ style…

Kiwami Ramen – Shoyu Thick Noodle Ramen. $9.25

Ah, oishisou (looks delicious)!

“Thick Noodle’ style you say? Hai, as Kiwami’s ramen noodle is available in two gauges of thickness. I have yet to see or try the non-thick noodle, and I was expecting the ‘Thick Noodle’ to be like Udon, but it turned out being more like spaghetti in gauge.

Wait, now before I lift a spoon or chopsticks, from the film The Ramen Girl, I must make note of Chef Maezumi’s “ramen philosophy 101″…

A bowl of Ramen is a self-contained universe. With life from the sea, the mountains and the earth. All existing in perfect harmony. Harmony is essential. What holds it all together is the broth. The broth gives life to the ramen. Understand? So with that in mind, observe the ramen. Observe the ramen. — Chef Maezumi

I’m looking at it. Looking at it. Looking at it. Smelling it. Absorbing its ichinen (life force).

O.K., I’m ready now. Hai, Itadakimasu (let’s eat)!

First let’s have a taste of the most important part of all, the broth…

Whoah, Oishii yo! Excellent, excellent, excellent. We’re off to a GREAT start!

According to their website, the broth is made with chicken. “Chicken feet and fruits are boiled together for over 5 hours. Since we use the whole chicken, it contains lots of collagen and it makes the soup taste very mild.” Interesting. I’m used to pork-based ramen broth, and I was admittedly skeptical of it being made any other way, but I’m now convinced a chicken-based ramen broth can be just as tasty.

As you can see, there’s an abundant amount of chicken fat floating in the broth, which of course adds plenty of flavor and a wonderful, silky texture to the noodles as they slip through the surface. I did taste just a little hint of sweetness thanks to the fruits I suppose. Choto sweet, and very hearty, with enough complexity about it to know you’re not going to be able to duplicate this broth at home anytime soon.

Now let’s try the ‘Thick Noodle’…

Really nice body and substance to it thanks to the added thickness. It was cooked perfectly katame (al dente), and as mentioned earlier, had a wonderful silky, texture thanks to the globules of chicken fat in the broth kissing it as it leaves the bowl.

Now let’s try the Charshu (Roast Pork)…

Ding-ding-ding, we have another winner! A nicely-browned edge, with all the right flavors of marinade, while the generously-thick slice of pork just falls apart in your mouth as you bite into it. It’s similar in flavor and texture to the excellent charshu at Goma Tei, except it doesn’t appear to be rolled-up pork belly like Goma Tei’s. Unfortunately they don’t have a charshumen (same as shoyu ramen, but with more charshu toppings), but the menu does list charshu ala carte for $2. Not sure if that’s just one slice or what.

Notice there’s also a generous amount of Menma (marinaded bamboo shoots) in it…

Even the menma here is just about perfect in flavor and texture, with enough of it to accompany just about every bite of the thick ramen noodles as you slurp away at your bowl. While they don’t have one here, some Ramen Shops have what they call Menma Ramen, which like Charshumen, is the same broth, just with more Menma toppings.

One thing I clearly remember about that ramen shop in the Ginza you always hear me reminisce and rave about, is that they used Japanese Negi, which is green onion, albeit, much, much bigger than regular green onion you see in most supermarkets here. More specifically, this ramen shop only used the white part of the Negi, not the green, and they slivered it paper-thin. It was the perfect finishing touch to what I still say was the perfect bowl of ramen I’ve ever had in my life.

That said, here, you see Kiwami Ramen uses the green part of regular green onion in their soup. Which is still good, as I do that even with my made-at-home nama ramen, but just can’t compare to the delicately-flavored thin slivers of the white part of Japanese Negi. To note, Marukai and Don Quijote carries Japanese Negi. When you see it, you’ll be amazed how big it is.

Did I enjoy my Shoyu Thick Noodle Ramen from Kiwami? This says it all…

Oishikatta, sugoi deshita (It was delicious, it was awesome)!!! Don’t mind my broken Nihongo, but I’m trying.

Service at Kiwami was quick, with my order arriving within 5 minutes, while my server was very friendly and attentive.

On my next visit I’ll try the Ume Shio Tsukemen (dip noodle). Sounds and looks interesting. I’m curious to taste how the ume (tart pickled plum) works with the noodles, charshu and the salt-based shio broth.

Reflecting what others said on Yelp, I’m a little perplexed that they don’t serve Gyoza, which is always a nice accompaniment with ramen. Some proclaim their Charshu Don (Charshu on rice) as a tasty side dish, but personally I think that’s too much of practically the same thing and wouldn’t order it.

Whatever the case, my bowl of Ramen alone (along with a glass of Kirin Biru) was more than enough to fill me up, leaving me satisfied, as well as excited to return to try more of what’s on the menu. Based my first impression, I have to say Kiwami Ramen is highly recommended.

Kiwami Ramen
Waikiki Shopping Plaza (in the Waikiki Food Court, basement level)
2250 Kalakaua avenue
Tel. 924-6724
www.Kiwami-Ramen.com

Business hours:
Open Daily for lunch from 11am to 2:30pm and dinner from 5pm to 10pm (closed between 2:30pm and 5pm)

The Tasty Island rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Related links:
• Kiwami Ramen – Ono Kine Grindz
• Kiwami Ramen: AO Hawaii – Rameniac
• Kiwami Ramen – Yelp user reviews

P.S. After I finished my bowl of ramen in the restaurant, for some mysterious reason, these Maneki Neko (good luck cats) caught the attention at the corner of my eye…

…and they magically came to life and briefly gestured in a very animated fashion with their arms and paws, which somehow, spiritually, revealed an inner truth at the depth of my soul.

I then aggressively walked up to Chef Sato and demanded to him, “I wanna cook Ramen! I wanna’ make people happy like you do. Teach me how to cook your Japanese ramen!” To which he looked at me with a blank face, then fired back, “Baka! (idiot!)” LOL! Just kidding. That’s from a key scene in The Ramen Girl.

“If you cook with your head, it can be full of noise. You must learn to cook from a quieter place deep inside you.

If you feel pain and sadness, begin by putting your tears in your broth.”

– Ramen Chef Maezumi’s mother

Things To Do
Honolulu

Leonard's Li Hing Malasada

Posted on November 21, 2009 by pomai

…while it sounds promising on paper, didn’t really work as much as we had hoped in taste.

Notice the slightly tinted pink color mixed within the granulated sugar?

There’s barely the flavor of Li Hing Mui (Chinese preserved plum), even though the powder is generously dusted on it. All you taste is the sugar (thank goodness). Whatever tangy, complex accents that was afforded by the Li Hing powder didn’t compliment the otherwise stellar deep-fried, sweetened mini-bread-ball delight that Leonard’s is famous for at all.

Still, Leonard’s Malasadas could probably be covered with motor oil and still taste great, thanks to its consistently wonderful, glutenous-meets-puffy texture inside…

We’ll just reserve Li Hing powder for acidic fruits and other culinary applications, while we continue enjoying Leonard’s Malasadas dusted with granulated sugar and injected with pudding ‘n custard. Yum!

Mahalo to Diner A for sharing it.

The Tasty Island rating:

(1) Average.

Return to Ethel's Grill

Posted on November 21, 2009 by pomai

The last time we visited Ethel’s Grill, we made the mistake of attempting to dine there right after a story had just been published about them in the daily paper. Hoping the hype had simmered by now, we made good on our promise by returning for a dine-in meal this past Friday, and thankfully this time around we were able to walk right in and get a table on the spot. Whew.

Now that we were able to sit at a table and absorb the ambience, I’d have to say the dining experience at Ethel’s really doesn’t feel like being in a public restaurant, but more like hanging out in your uncle and auny’s kitchen where you know everyone in there. Because it’s so small with adjoining tables and chairs practically rubbing at your elbow, you can’t help but make friends with those sitting around you. The place just has this leave-all-pretenses-at-the-door, “hang loose” vibe about it. Gotta’ love that.

To note, Ethel was out on hip surgery from September, and we didn’t see her there on this visit, so perhaps she’s still healing. Her son and daughter now run the place, while I suppose because of the increase in business since that newspaper article, they also have additional wait help.

Getting to the grindz, here’s what was on the menu for the day…

This is probably the most unique “menu board” on the island. lol

Here’s the specials…

Not only do you get the entree for that price, but it also includes a house salad, a bowl of Miso Soup AND a drink. Awesome!

Today they had fresh Andagi for sale, along with a variety of sandwiches….

Ethel’s Grill Special Tataki Sauce is available for sale in 48 oz. recycled jars for $13 each…

You could probably make A LOT of Tataki Sashimi with one of those.

Speaking of which, we got a side order of their popular Tataki Sashimi to sample…

Ethel’s Famous Tataki Sashimi: It’s #1 in Honolulu! Our most popular Sashimi side dish is fresh tuna, lightly seared and drizzled with Ethel’s Secret Sauce! Only $5.00!

To our delight, the owner’s son comp’d the Tataki Sashimi for us. We did’t know why either. They didn’t know I was a food blogger, so it couldn’t be that. I think they do that to earn repeat business from new customers. Anyway, mahalo to Ethel’s for the kind gesture!

Here’s the garden salad with house-made Parsley-Dijon Dressing…

Ethel’s Grill – side salad with Parsley-Dijon Dressing. Included with entree plates.

The dressing has a well-balanced blend of sweet and acidic going on, along with a subtle snap to it thanks to the parsley and mustard. Good, good stuff. While I didn’t see any available, they really should bottle and sell their salad dressing alongside their Tataki sauce. I’d buy some. For the side salad, I give it 4 SPAM Musubi for a great dressing flavor, veggie freshness and value (included with entree!).

Also arriving before the main dish is this piping hot bowl of house-made shiro (white) Miso Soup…

Ethel’s Grill – Shiro Miso Soup. Included with entree plate.

I have to say, of all the Japanese restaurants I’ve dined at in my lifetime, as simple as it is, this is one of the best Miso Soup I’ve had to date. And this isn’t even a “Japanese Restaurant” per se.

While it can’t touch the Miso Soup served with the baby black clams we used to get from this small Tonkatsu shop in Tokyo, it’s a close second. Which I believe Ethel’s probably makes their base stock with clam shells and/or meat, as it kind of does ring of that flavor. There’s small bits of tofu and what looks like egg whites (though I’m not sure), and of course chopped negi (green onion).

I’m going 5 SPAM Musubi on the shiro Miso Soup. BROKE DA’ MOUT’ WINNAH! In fact, so broke da’ mout’, Diner A wants to return and try their Miso Saimin. Sounds good!

Now to the main dish, Diner A decided to try their Mixed Plate…

Ethel’s Grill – Mixed Plate: Huge plate of Ethel’s best Mahi-mahi and Teriyaki Chicken. Yumm! No substitutions. $7.50

Are you kidding me? $7.50 for all that, plus a house salad, miso soup and drink? No wonder this tiny place packs a crowd! Not only a dine-in crowd, but there were also several customers who came in to pick up BOXES of lunch orders. Not one-zee, two-zees, but like for an entire office.

Moving on, Diner “Simon Kaukau” E decided on going with the classic combination, kickin’ it up a notch with the large saimin and a hamburger deluxe…

Ethel’s Grill – Large Saimin, $3.00 and Hamburger Deluxe (with onions and tomato), $2.75

Last but never least, yours truly decided on trying their evidently popular Pork Chops…

Ethel’s Grill – Garlic Pork Chops: Deep-fried Pork Chops smothered in our special Garlic Sauce! $6.75

I still can’t over the prices. Are we still in the 80’s here?

So how is it? First let’s find out what Diner A thinks of the Mahimahi…

He thought it was pretty good. Nothing he’d drive from Ewa Beach to town for, but good. The batter tasted like standard fare. He did note the tartar sauce was exceptional, tasting scratch-made, not bottled. Hey, if the sauce is good, that always works for me!

Now let’s find out how he likes the Teriyaki Chicken…

Although through his recent memory, it can’t touch Dean’s Drive Inn, he really liked Ethel’s Teriyaki sauce. Thick, with a well-balanced sugar-to-shoyu ratio. The chicken had good sear marks and was moist and tender inside.

Overall, Diner A gives Ethel’s Mixed Plate a very solid 3 SPAM Musubi.

Now let’s see what Diner “Simon Kaukau” E thinks of his saimin (I’m going to start spelling his other nickname “Saimin Kaukau” lol)…

As you see, there’s sliced ham, kamaboko (fish cake; the pink and white thing), part of a fried egg and negi (green onion) garnishes.

Sample cuz…

He was favorable of the broth, which he thought was based on Katsuobushi or Hondashi (bonito). I had a taste of it and didn’t detect that, but more like some kind of “secret” shellfish stock, albeit very, very mild. Similar to Forty Niner Restaurant’s Saimin broth. Not really, but kinda’. Ya’ know? Maybe it’s the same stock they use to make their miso soup? He said the saimin noodles were a little overcooked; not dreadedly soggy, but enough to make note of.

Overall he was satisfied, giving his Saimin from Ethel’s 2 SPAM Musubi.

Now let’s find out what he thought of his Hamburger Deluxe…

“Eh, it’s OK” he said. It didn’t have that magical char-grilled finish that we always hope for, while the beef patty itself wasn’t anything outstanding in flavor. It was cooked right at medium, so thankfully it still had some moisture. The bun and the veggies were nice and fresh, so points for that. Overall, 2 SPAM Musubi for the Hamburger Deluxe.

Now let me try this “famous” garlic pork chops…

Whoah! Did pork chops marry pancakes? lol That’s exactly what these taste like. For realz. Like they coat it with pancake batter then deep-fry it, then coat it with Maple Syrup mixed with Teriyaki Sauce. I can’t explain it any better than that.

Did I like it? Quite a bit. I wasn’t blown away by it, but it’s really, really good. The syrup made it a little too sweet though. Scale back on that and I think it’d be better.

The pork inside was decently moist and tender, while I only wish they were boneless, as I ran into some I had to cut around. Funny enough, I didn’t really taste much garlic though.

The maple syrup (probably corn-syrup-based) Mrs. Butterworth) was the most pronounced flavor in this dish. Enough where I felt like had just finished breakfast, not lunch. Go figure. Gotta’ say though, it’s the most UNIQUE pork chops I’ve ever had.

With all things considered, I’ll give Ethel’s Garlic (ehem, Maple Syrup) Pork Chops an exotic and tasty 3 SPAM Musubi.

Saving the best for last, let’s sample Ethel’s famous Tataki Sashimi…

Oshii yo! Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner. I won’t go 5 SPAM Musubi, but definitely melts-like-buttah delicious 4 SPAM Musubi for Ethel’s Tataki Sashimi.

Thin slices of seared Ahi that just melts in your mouth. While it probably isn’t at the price they charge, this Ahi certainly tasted top-grade to me. The Tataki sauce with the slivers of marinaded garlic is delicious and not overpowering, and it truly compliments the fresh Ahi without overpowering it. While the broccoli sprouts and bean sprouts add a wonderfully “green” flavor and texture contrast to the silky ahi sashimi as well as make a nice presentation.

For the most part, a flawless dish.

Next time I come here, I might consider ordering the plate version of this, which is still an amazing bargain at just $8.00!

If you visit Ethel’s, the Tataki Sashimi is a must-order side or main dish. They also sell it in party platter size for $36.

I also wanna’ try their Shoyu Ahi Belly plate. That “#1 in Honolulu” Tripe Stew on the menu sounded tempting as well.

It doesn’t always take 4 or 5 SPAM Musubi-rated dishes for Diner A to polish his plate, as once again he lives up to his legend with Ethel’s Mixed Plate…

Of course you don’t expect anything to be left on that Tataki Sashimi plate…

Ah, oishikata. Onaka ga ippai.

Ethel’s Grill

232 Kalihi Street
Honolulu, HI 96819
(808) 847-6467

Business hours:
Mon-Sat. 5:30am to 2:00pm

Ethel’s Grill Menu (<click to download/view PDF)

The Tasty Island Rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

Related links:
• Kalihi Kai Eats: Ethel’s Grill – The Tasty Island
• Ethel’s Grill – ‘Ono Kine Grindz
• Ethel’s Grill serves sumotori-sized portions – The Honolulu Advertiser
• Cheap Eats: Ethel’s Grill – KHNL NBC NEWS 8 Honolulu
• Hungry chefs head to Ethel’s Grill – The Honolulu Advertiser
• Ethel’s Grill – Yelp user reviews

The Ramen Girl

Posted on November 19, 2009 by pomai

I was thumbing through Netflix‘ ‘Watch Instantly’ selections the other night and came across The Ramen Girl, which immediately grabbed my attention, as I’ve never heard of it before. Oddly, this American-made film was first released in theaters in Germany in February 2008, Japan in February 2009, then released direct to DVD (not shown in theaters) in the United States in May of 2009.

From IMDB, the plot summary goes like this: “Abby (Britanny Murphy), four years out of college, an aimless child of privilege, comes to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, who promptly leaves for Osaka. She wants to stay in Tokyo in hopes he’ll come back to her, but she’s miserable: she speaks little Japanese and has a dull job as a law-firm gopher. She stumbles into the neighborhood ramen shop operated by the aging master chef Maezumi (Toshiyuki Nishida) and his wife Reiko (kimiko Yo). His soup cheers Abby, so she decides to apprentice herself to him. He’s uninterested, she’s insistent, so he shouts at her and gives her all the cleaning to do. Weeks go by; she’s persistent. Will he ever actually teach her to cook? And if he does, will she bring the requisite spirit to the job?”

Since this film has been out for some time now, there’s already a number of reviews by critics, bloggers and commentors out there on the web, where the opinions about it seem quite polar in either loving it or hating it.

I’m not about to start adding movie reviews on this blog on a regular basis, but since this one revolves around one of my all-time favorite dishes, Japanese Ramen, I’d just like to share a few thoughts on it.

And if you’re going to ask if I’ve seen Tampopo yet, the answer is, ashamedly, NO. Ack! But I do have it on my NetFlix que, and can’t wait to see it!

First of all, I for one thoroughly enjoyed this film.

The abrasive synergy cast between Abby and Chef Maezumi maintained a direction that kept me on my feet, as I was expecting a little more humor and lightheartedness thrown into their teacher-student relationship, but instead they both remained mostly serious, stubborn and edgy, having you wonder when they’d eventually either strangle or kill each other instead of giving each other a hug.

My only complaint from a foodie aspect is that there wasn’t much focus on the ramen itself, its ingredients, and the specific cooking method Master Chef Maezumi employs to make it. Of course I’m not expecting a cooking show-turned-movie, but at least a little more of the aforementioned elements would have been nice to see thrown in.

Instead of the tangibles, it was more about the spiritual aspect of cooking ramen, which is referred by the Japanese as “Tamashii”. According to Chef Maezumi’s mother, ramen should be cooked from the heart, not the head.

Only thing is, the way this ramen philosophy of “Tamashii” is applied in this film, would seem contradictory to the character of master Chef Maezumi, who himself is broken-hearted, constantly boozing away his sorrows over his long lost “prodigal” son, who he hasn’t spoke with for more than five years. If this is the case, why is Chef Maezumi able to create Ramen with the “Tamashii” of happiness, when he himself isn’t in that state of mind?

Well whatever the case, he does. And this is where Abby comes into the picture as another broken-hearted soul after her boyfriend dumps her, only for her to soon be overcome by a state of happiness and joy after a mysterious “guiding wind” leads her to Chef Maezumi’s Ramen shop where she enjoys a bowl of his delicious “tamashii” Ramen. Thinking this is where she will find her true calling and meaning in life, she returns to Maezumi’s Ramen Shop not just insisting, but demanding Chef Maezumi teach her his craft.

I appreciated that the Japanese cast spoke their native tongue with subtitles, versus having one who spoke English. This, along with the authentically designed set really immerses you into believing you’re watching a real-life event unfold in an actual existing Ramen shop in Tokyo.

The movie could have unfolded several ways, and the path it takes will either frustrate you or have you pleasantly surprised, which I was a little of both. For that I think the writer and director has done their job well.

Except for one or two scenes that I think could have been either deleted or abbreviated, the movie has a good flow, the acting by all parties is acceptable, to good, to excellent (with exception to a few very quirky extras), while the set and cinematography helped present the story exactly how it should have been viewed.

Some reviewers claim The Ramen Girl has, ehem, “inspirations” from Tampopo and Lost in Translation, and while I haven’t seen those two films yet, I think in and on its own, The Ramen Girl deserves respect.

Being a Japanese Ramen fan, I probably enjoyed this film as much for that reason as any other aspect of it, as I could actually see myself in her shoes so to speak as “The Ramen Boy”. Well maybe not because I was dumped in Tokyo, but because I’d be just as eager and willing to learn as Abby was in how to make the perfect bowl of Japanese Ramen. I’m still on that journey.

If you’re on NetFlix, you can currently watch The Ramen Girl on demand. Otherwise, I think it’s worth a rental or a discount DVD purchase. Recommended.

The Ramen Girl
Starring Britanny Murphy and Toshiyuki Nishida
Directed by Robert Allan Ackerman
Written by Becca Topol
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

The Tasty Island rating:

(3) Very Good

The Ramen Girl trailer

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GYSwiaNz2o

Here’s a recently-consumed bowl of Shoyu Ramen from Goma Tei Restaurant…

Ramen Nakamura Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen…

Kurume Shio Nama Ramen…

Myojo Shio Nama Ramen…

Return to Dean's Drive Inn

Posted on November 15, 2009 by pomai

Dean’s Drive Inn – Teriyaki Beef Plate. $9.25

Dean’s Teriyaki Beef Plate was so ono the last time we tried this place, this Friday we decided to have a hana hou encore.

Dean’s Drive Inn has a substantial selection on their everyday and daily specials menu, where for today’s specials, this is what they had to offer….

Which hasn’t changed much from our last visit, except for a couple new dishes and the soups of the day.

Dean’s also continues to be a one-stop-shop, including your app (the salad or soup), entree, AND dessert…

Getting back to the main dish, Diner A chose the awesome Teriyaki Beef plate shown above, while Diner E decided on trying their 1/3 Pound Maui Burger Deluxe…

Dean’s Drive Inn – 1/2 Pound Maui Burger Deluxe, with Soup, Toss Salad or Fries. $8.25

While yours truly decided to try the Island Fresh Kaku (Barracuda) with Soy Ginger Sauce…

Dean’s Drive Inn – Island Fresh Kaku (Barracuda) with Soy Ginger Sauce, Brown Rice and Portuguese Bean Soup (not shown yet). $9.25

What’s great about Dean’s is the option of choosing either macaroni salad, tossed salad or soup as your side dish. In which both Diner E and myself chose the Portuguese Bean Soup….

Dean’s Drive Inn – Portuguese Bean Soup

Now to answer the ongoing question: how is it?

First let’s peek what’s inside Diner E’s 1/2 Pound Maui Burger Deluxe…

Dean’s Drive Inn – 1/2 Pound Maui Burger Deluxe

Diner E noted the patty was seasoned well with plenty of beefy flavor, although he would have preferred it done more medium than medium-well, which is how it arrived on the table. There was an adequate amount of mayonnaise spread on the very fresh bun, which was highly appreciated after having the burger from North Shore Grinds, where the burger bun was on the verge of staleness.

The lettuce, tomato and onions were crispy fresh as well. Summing it up, Diner “Simon Kaukau” E gives his 1/2 Pound Maui Burger Deluxe from Dean’s Drive Inn 2 SPAM Musubi.

Moving on to the Portuguese Bean Soup…

Good body with a silky smooth texture. The broth is a little “meaty”, but more tomato-like. It did lack one very important flavoring component that defines a good local style Portuguese Bean Soup, and that would be smoked hamhocks, which I couldn’t detect any hint of. It did have a generous amount of “goodies” in it, including tender macaroni noodles, potatoes, cabbage, small chunks of Portuguese sausage, and of course the tender Kidney beans.

Even without the hamhock-based stock, I’m still giving this PBS a really ono 3 SPAM Musubi. Add the hamhocks and I’d give it a 4 or 5.

Next let’s sample my Island Fresh Kaku…

To be honest I’ve never had Kaku (Barracuda) before, therefore I was expecting it to taste similar to Ono (Wahoo) just because they look similar (as a live game fish), and you know what? I was right! Very similar flavor, texture and color.

As you see in the photo above, Dean is very generous in covering it with finely minced ginger, which is A-OK with me! Love ginger. It was cooked more medium-well, where you know me how I tend to like fish more medium-rare. It also didn’t have enough shoyu in the sauce, tasting more like just an infused ginger-oil “sauce”. I was also hoping it was going to be grilled, not sauteed, which it was the latter. Still delicious and worth a solid 2 SPAM Musubi rating.

Finally we once again have a plate of Dean’s AMAZING Teriyaki Beef, this time for Diner A to savor every bite…

Notice Dean’s Teriyaki beef steak is cut thick – not the more traditional thin cut you normally see at plate lunch stands. It’s also incredibly tender, with the koge (charred) edges in all the right places.

What seals the deal here is Dean’s AWESOME Teriyaki sauce, that has bit of charred “speckles” infused in it. See here how it just glistens with perfect thickness, coating this piece of beef…

See the charred bits of “goodness” floating in the sauce? That my friends = Supah Ono, broke-da-mout’ Flavah! So tender, so beefy, so good, with a perfect sugar-to-shoyu ratio. This has got to be one of, if not THE BEST Teriyaki Beef Plate on the island. Seriously.

Not leaving the other all-important side to a great Teriyaki Beef, we have Dean’s Macaroni Salad…

Another triumph in all its simplicity, and seasoned just right. Money.

Diner A was so awestruck at the deliciousness of Dean’s Teriyaki Beef Plate, he quickly declared it a very, very, very solid 5 SPAM Musubi, polishing the plate to prove it…

Burp.

In fact, he loved it so much, he actually wanted more even after finishing that entire regular-sized plate. Wow!

That’s it. Next time we stop by Dean’s Drive Inn, I got dibs on the Teriyaki Beef!

Dean’s Drive Inn
Adon Plaza
45-773 Kamehameha hwy.
Kaneohe, HI 96744

Tel. 247-1300

Business hours*:
Sun – Thurs. 11am to 6pm
Fri 11am to 4pm
Sat closed
*Hours and days subject to change.

The Tasty Island rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

Kalihi Eats: Alii Grill Lunch Wagon

Posted on November 15, 2009 by pomai

Continuing in our effort to populate the list of lunch wagons visited by the Tasty Island, this past week we checked out da’ grindz at Ali’i Grill Lunch Wagon in front of Eki Cyclery.

We discovered they had a lunch wagon while searching online for information about Ali’i Grill, a restaurant in downtown on Bishop street which reader Spotty highly recommended in the People’s Cafe post.

Interestingly, this wagon roves from one location to another throughout the morning, finishing its route for the peak lunch hour rush in front of Eki Cyclery on Dillingham boulevard. Here’s their daily schedule…

Alii Grill Wagon Location:
9 am to 9:20 am
Honolulu Ford
at 1370 N King

9:40 am to 9:22 am
Cutter Volkswagon
at 800 Ala Moana
on backside on Auahi St.

10 am to 10:15 am
Pluegrer Acura
at 777 Ala Moana Blvd
on the Koula St. side

10:20 am to 10:45 am
State Building
at 919 Ala Moana
corner of Ward and Ala Moana

11:15 am to 1 pm
Eki Cyclry
at 1603 Dilingham

Wow, they don’t give much of a window of opportunity at each morning time location.

You may recall a while back we visited Tani’s Lunch Wagon, which used to occupy this same spot at Eki Cyclery. Turns out Tani’s sold the wagon to Ali’i Grill, so the wagon you see here is the same one Tani’s had, just renamed under new ownership.

So let’s check out what’s on the menu for the day…

What I love about a menu like this with just a few selections is it’s so much easier to decide what to order. Whew.

Here’s the Banana Bread, which is sourced from Wally Ho’s Garage & Grill in Aiea…

Diner E decided to try the baked chicken, although what he didn’t expect is that this baked chicken is served with White – not brown- gravy…

Alii Grill Lunch Wagon – Baked Chicken mini plate. $5.00

Since Diner E passed on his usual Hamburger Steak “gauge plate”, Diner A jumped at the opportunity and ordered it…

Alii Grill Lunch Wagon – Hamburger Steak with Onions regular plate. $6.50

Finally, yours truly continues to struggle maintaining his “girlish figure”, and wanted to try the ‘Ali’i Grill Salad’, which is made with Romaine lettuce and a spring mix, topped with grilled chicken breas, candied walnuts, mandarin oranges and an oriental dressing. But the devil got the best of me and tempted me to get the Roast Pork plate instead…

Alii Grill Lunch Wagon – Roast Pork regular plate. $6.75

First and foremost, these regular plates are HUGE. There’s easily enough on my roast pork plate to feed two hungry adults, which it ended up being two separate meals for me, being able to only finish half of it in one sitting.

The gravy was good, but not as “brown” in depth and character as I had hoped. It almost tasted like packaged Turkey gravy, which I have no complaints with, as I like that stuff. Hence it almost made it seem as though I was eating turkey and gravy, except with a porky twist. Throw in some cranberry sauce, candied yams and stuffing and I’d have a complete Thanksgiving meal!

The pork was very moist, flavorful and tender, except my only preference is that they cut it in thin slices (like turkey; go figure) versus how they cut it here in large, almost bigger-than-bite-size cubes.

Their mac salad was ono. Cool, creamy, simple and seasoned just right. Diner E and A noted that the macaroni noodles were slightly undercooked and a bit on the firm side, but I like it like that. Much better than soggy. And you gotta’ love when da’ brown gravy blends in at the bottom like this…

Tani’s roast pork plate was almost a striking resemblance to the superior roast pork from the late Kanda “Kewalo” lunch wagon, and I was hoping Alii ‘Grill used the same recipe Tani’s had, but apparently not. Yet it’s still decent and worthy of a 3 SPAM Musubi rating.

Diner A wasn’t “wowed” by his hamburger steak plate, mainly because he also felt the gravy didn’t have enough depth. Although he did say the hand-formed beef patties were seasoned nicely and overall had good flavor and moisture…

With that, he gives his Hamburger Steak plate 2 SPAM Musubi.

Diner E was originally turned off by being surprised to get white gravy (which they don’t specify on the menu), but ended up really enjoying it. The baked chicken beneath was very moist, tender and flavorful…

Again, part of the comfort food goodness is having the white gravy kiss the mac salad…

That said, Diner “Simon Kaukau” E gave his Roasted Chicken mini plate from Alii Grill 2 SPAM Musubi.

For dessert, Diner A brought some of his wife’s Strawberry Guri-Guri to share. Here he is stirring it up from frozen to get it back to creamy consistency…

Serve it up…

Diner Cy’s home-made strawberry Guri-Guri

Alii Grill Lunch Wagon
Parked in front of Eki Cyclery from 11:15am to 1pm
1603 Dillingham Blvd.
Honolulu, Hawaii

Tel. 528-ALII

www.AliiGrill.com

The Tasty Island rating:

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it. (Ono)

Food, Fun & Games at Twins 3rd Birthday

Posted on November 14, 2009 by pomai

A friend of ours recently celebrated her twin boy and girl’s 3rd birthday with friends and family, where, as usual with most parties thrown in Hawaii, the spread of food was wonderfully diverse.

Of course, since it was a birthday for toddlers and guests their age, you gotta’ have the kind of foods kids especially enjoy eating. Oh, like say, hot dogs…

Redondo’s Winner Hot Dog with Diner PM’s Salsa on it (made by and for an adult of course)

And hamburgers, where as in this case, we have sliders…

Now gearing more towards the adults, Diner PM made this salsa, which was EXCELLENT…

Accompanying the salsa and tortilla chips were these also super-duper-delicious Mediterranean Olive Spread and Cream Cheese on Croccantini apps…

Some Gouda Cheese, Grapes and Apples..

For the dads and uncles sucken’ ’em up, gotta’ get da’ pupus, including the protocol Shoyu Ahi Poke…

Shoyu Ahi Poke from Fresh Catch in Kaimuki

and Spicy Ahi Poke…

Spicy Ahi Poke from Fresh Catch in Kaimuki

Where there’s Poke, you’ll usually also find Edamame (boiled or steamed soy beans)…

Pleasing both kids and adults, some Garlic Tempura French Fries…

Complimenting these deep-fried delights, there was Eggplant Katsu and Eggplant Tempura…

One of the most common entrees you’ll find at a typical party in Hawaii is Chicken Katsu…

Another favorite for kids and adults alike, Spaghetti…

Noodles…

What I found particularly interesting about this spaghetti (besides the delicioso scratch-made sauce), is that it appeared they put sprigs of fresh Rosemary in the water while the noodles boiled. Brilliant! I’m gonna’ have to try doing that one day.

Flying back to Hawaii from Italy, there was a huge pot of Kalua Pig and Cabbage…

Along with its usual sidekick, Chicken Long Rice…

If you’re wondering where’s the chicken, it’s at the bottom. You gotta’ scoop for it. lol Was ono!

Of course, a backyard birthday party would never be complete without firing up da’ Hibachi…

These are choice-quality tri-tip and skirt beef steaks: one seasoned simply with Hawaiian Salt and Pepper, and the other with Halm’s Korean Barbecue Sauce (awesome stuff!). Here’s some of them, all pau and ready for kaukau…

Compliments to the grillmaster for perfectly-cooked, medium-rare, onolicious steaks!…

For sweets, there was this Blueberry Jello…

First time trying Blueberry Jello, and gotta’ say, while I’m not a Jello fan, I really liked this flavor!

Finally, feast your eyes on these awesomely-decorated (as Duff on Ace of Cakes would say) birthday cakes for the two keiki from Liliha Bakery…

Little Mermaid Birthday Cake from Liliha Bakery

and for the boy…

Spider Man Birthday Cake from Liliha Bakery

Even cakes are taking advantage of computer technology nowadays. Neat!

Not only did these Liliha Bakery Birthday Cakes look great, they TASTED great as well!…

The cake on the left has Chantilly frosting… my favorite!

Along with the great food was plenty of fun for the keiki, including coloring books…

And this guessing game…

As you can probably figure out, you take an entry sheet and write down how many pieces of candy you think/guess are in each numbered container and submit it in the empty jar. Which, actually the adults participated in this game too, including yours truly, who won (guessed the closest) in 3 out of the 9 containers of candy. Of course, I gave my prizes to the kids.

Then there was this game that’s like pin the tail on the donkey, except it’s Dinosaurs…