Kalihi Eats: Bob's Bar-B-Que

Yesterday for lunch our gang had the “ono’s” for some grilled grindz, so we headed on over to Bob’s Bar-B-Que at the corner of Waikamilo Road and Dillingham Boulevard in Kalihi.

Bob’s often packs a major working-class crowd during the 12 O’clock lunch hour, with most parking stalls taken, so lucky we arrived before the rush and got in and out quickly.

This may appear to be your typical old-school plate lunch stand, but what really sets Bob’s apart isn’t how it looks, but how it SMELLS! As in billows of barbecue smoke wafting out from the exhaust vent, which immediately hit you once you’re in the lot, tempting to draw you in.

So let’s see what they got!

I love when there’s numbered pictures to refer to on a menu board. Every take-out restaurant should get into this practice. Makes deciding and ordering so much easier!

And that’s just their featured items. Behind the window is the main menu board that includes much more, including breakfast. There’s everything from Saimin, to baked beans, to their famous Chocolate Malts. I’ll run through a little more on that later.

Diner “E”, our official Kalihi Eats tour conductor, decided on his usual: the combo plate, this time the (#21) Kalbi Shortribs Combo…

Diner “A” went for the (#6) Mix Plate…

I also was in full “T-Rex mode” and went for the New York Steak…

There’s an area on the right side to sit down and eat….

The area view and property itself isn’t gonna’ attain 5-star status anytime soon, but it serves a functional purpose and is quite good at it. We had to scoot back to the office, so we ordered take-out.

Well, as is usually (or more like always) the case, the menu pictures were much prettier than what was actually served. But hey, this is take-out, not Roy’s or John Dominis, so our only concern was da’ flavah!

Diner “A”‘s order: Plate #6 – Mixed Plate: Kalbi, Teri Beef, Teri Chicken, $7.35 (click view full size image)

Here’s a macro shot of that stack of a barbecue dream…

Flame-grilled Teriyaki Beef, Kalbi Shortribs, and Teriyaki Chicken

Witness the moist teriyaki and kalbi glaze, accentuated by those “papa’a” sear markings for the maximum boost in flavor. You just KNOW this is somethin’ ono! And it was all very moist, tender and cooked to perfection.

And when I said flamin’ grill, it was really flamin’…

Here we have Diner “E”‘s dish…

Diner “E”‘s order: Plate #21 – Kalbi Shortribs Combo with Fried Shrimp/Scallop, $7.60

What impressed me as much as that most excellent Kalbi (which they shared a piece for me to try), was how well the golden crispy shrimp went along with it. You’d think these two heavy-hitters would clash, but they actually go really well together. The shrimp aren’t very big, but the batter makes up for it in volume and clean, crispness…

Looking for excellent barbecued surf ‘n turf on a budget, look no further than Bob’s combo plates. This is the one to order.

Diner “E” also ordered a side of their Giant Fries…

#26 – Giant Fries, $2.75

I LOVE thick-cut fries like this. These are similar to the seasoned wedges at KFC, very tender and moist inside, with a mildly-spiced, crispy thin batter sealing the deal. This and one of their burgers would be fantastic. It also complimented my order quite well.

Speaking of which, here’s my plate..

Diner “P”s order: New York Steak, $7.30

OK, this place is all about grillin’ and BBQ, so you’d think they’d ace a steak, right? Nope. Compared to the other two plates my partners in crime enjoyed, my New York Steak here was rather disappointing. Shucks.

Just looking at it, doesn’t it almost look like it came out of a frying pan, and not off a grill? Where’s the cross-hatched sear markings? Also, the finely chopped garlic, salt and pepper seasoning tasted a bit bitter, thanks to the garlic being burnt by the open flame on the grill.

For presentation, and to check on its doneness, I cut it into bite size pieces, here…

New York Steak

That looks better, but what I think made this order fall short was that this cut of New York Strip tasted and had the texture of a previously-frozen steak, which, if was the case, robbed it of flavor and moisture. Thankfully it was still tender and cooked medium-rare as ordered, but still. While I won’t say it was bad, it wasn’t as great as I had hoped it would be. While I’m not expecting prime beef for just $7.30, just the fact that it was called “New York Steak” at a “Bar-B-Que” joint had my expectations high. Blazin’ Steaks got them beat here.

The front counter had a bin of condiments, including a bottle labeled “steak sauce”. Hoping it was A-1 (my favorite!), it turned out to be just shoyu mixed with Worcestershire sauce. Bleh.

Of course all the orders came with 2 scoops rice and mac’ salad. The mac salad was really good. Creamy, with a just grated carrots and chopped parsley.

Diner “E” also liked his side order of house-made Kim Chee, which he said was flavorful and on the mild side, which he prefers over the really hot stuff. He said they used to include the Kim Chee with the Kalbi combo, but now it’s a side order.

Next time I’m getting the combo plate. That Kalbi is up there with the best I’ve ever had. That, along with those golden crispy panko-crusted shrimp is a winner.

I’ll go over a few items on the take-out menu that stand out…

How about The Big Kahuna, which is a breakfast plate that includes 3 eggs (any style), choice of ham, bacon, links, corned beef hash, Portuguese or Vienna sausage, with 2 scoops rice, 2 slices of toast and 2 pancakes. All that for $6.25. OMG!

Whatever you do, don’t tell the doctor about that one. Actually, don’t even tell doc you eat at Bob’s. It’s our “little” secret. lol

Then there’s the Giant Burger for $3.40, OR, how’s this? The FAT BOY BURGER, which is a Teri Burger with fried egg on it. Whoah!

Other feature barbecue plates included Baby Back Pork Ribs, Polish Sausage (with Bob’s Baked Beans), Hamburger Steak, Loco Moco, Grilled Saba and BBQ Pork Chops, and that’s still just half of it.

Bob’s Bar-B-Que also offers Picnic Packs which include equal portions of Kalbi Shortribs, Teriyaki Beef and Teriyaki or Hibachi Chicken in packs based on people count, which amounts to $5.50 per person.

Bob’s also does catering, including all their favorites and then some. It’s quite a list, and looks pretty much within the ballpark on prices.

Here you can see they’re on the opposite corner of those Golden Arch guys…

Bob’s Bar-B-Que is located at 1366 Dillingham Blvd., on the opposing corner of McDonald’s and Midas.

Bob’s Bar-B-Que
1366 Dillingham Blvd (at Waikamilo Rd.)
Tel. 808-842-3663
Fax. 808-842-3662
6am to 10pm Monday-Thursday, 6am to 11pm Friday & Saturday, 7am to 10pm Sunday.

The Tasty Island Rating:

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

Note: This is a combined rating of Diner “A”‘s mixed plate, which he gave 4 SPAM Musubi, Diner “E”‘s plate, which was given 3 SPAM Musubi, and my plate, which was given 1 SPAM Musubi.

Related links:
• Bob’s Bar-B-Que – ‘Ono Kine Grindz review
• Bob’s Bar-B-Que features tasty grinds at low prices – Honolulu Advertiser review

Okazuya "Chowfundamentals" at St. Louis Delicatessen

When it comes to the back-to-basics, simple-is-best approach to Okazuya-style grindz, St. Louis Delicatessen is where it’s at.

This classic Okazuya shop, located at the corner of Waialae and 3rd avenue, across the St. Louis-Chaminade campus, has been here for decades and is still owned and operated by the same local Okinawan family.

Their signature Chowfun noodles are the foundation to their keep-it-simple approach, and above (or more often underneath) everything else, is THE item to order here.

Full serving Chowfun noodles, $2.00

The simplest execution of ever-so-slightly flavored Chowfun noodles (Hula brand we think), julienned carrots and string beans. That’s it. The flavoring is difficult to detect what exactly they’ve got in there. It doesn’t taste like oyster sauce, but perhaps a combination of chicken stock and/or dashi, and maybe perhaps just dash of shoyu. It’s just on the verge of tasting outright plain, yet there’s “something” in it that’s their secret. That verge-of-being-plain flavor is what makes them the perfect compliment with all the savory items that go with it.

Continuing this simple-is-best approach are all the “goodies” to complete the meal…

Pomai’s custom “oda”, $6.75

Here above on this custom order of mine we have: (top to bottom) vegetable tempura, shrimp tempura, potato tempura, nori musubi, nishime, fried chicken, potato hash and luncheon meat, over a bed of their signature chowfun noodles.

Diner “E”‘s order…

Diner “E”‘s custom “oda”, $6.70

Shown above on Diner “E”‘s plate is: (top to bottom) vegetable tempura, nishime, long rice, cone sushi (aburage), potato hash and fried chicken, over a half serving of chowfun noodles.

Diner “A”‘s order…

Diner “A”‘s order: Plate B, $6.50

Diner “A”‘s order shown above includes: (top to bottom) cone sushi (aburage), musubi (plain), potato tempura, fried chicken, luncheon meat, shrimp tempura, over a half serving of their signature chowfun noodles.

Just look at how much Okazuya grindz you get for under $7! Unless you’re really, really hungry, I swear any one of these plates could easily feed two, possibly even three adults. My eyes were certainly bigger than my stomach on my particular order, as it kept me busy nibbling away at that over a four hour period just to rebuild my appetite and finish it.

I already explained their signature chowfun noodles, so now let’s into detail on the rest of the items here.

First we must clarify on the tempura selections here. As you notice the, the batter isn’t your traditional Japanese style that’s delicate and flaky, but more “local style”, having a more glutenous and chewy texture to it. This applies to the vegetable and shrimp tempura.

Going back to simple again, the vegetable tempura is just carrots and string beans; the same thing used in the chowfun. But the combination works beautifully. I love this tempura! The shrimp size in that tempura is kinda’ small, but the flavor of it sure does permeate throughout the thick, glutenous batter its encapsulated in.

The potato “tempura” is the most interesting here, as it’s essentially a traditional Okinawan Andagi, with a thin sliver of sweet potato (not the purple Okinawan type) in the middle of it…

Potato “Andagi” Tempura

What’s interesting is how the flavor of this thin piece of sweet potato really punches through in that slightly sweet, chewy, nicely crusted Andagi “shell”.

The fried chicken is pretty much just your basic recipe, very crisp and crunchy on the outside, tender and moist inside. Simple. This goes great with that nori musubi.

Speaking of musubi, this is also another basic that St. Louis Okazuya excels at. The musubi has great integrity, and doesn’t fall apart like some other places’ musubi have a tendency of doing. The nori version (compared to the plain) has a piece of seedless Ume inside. That alone is worth the extra 10 cents.

The Nishime is another winner here. The broth has a deeply simmered dashi flavor, and the daikon, kombu and carrots are all tender and just soaking in the “onoliciousness” of that broth (hey, new word!).

The luncheon meat is the “institutional type” (not SPAM) found in that white square can, simply fried up. This also goes great with the nori musubi.

The potato hash is more potato than corned beef, and a bit loose (falls apart), so there’s better out there, but still, it works.

Diner “E” loves their long rice (a regular item for him), which is he says is also a simple recipe (he’s guessing) of shoyu, sugar, with the noodles cooked in chicken stock. Sounds good to me.

That pretty much covers our favorites at St. Louis Deli. I’d say the ultimate way to enjoy this type of food is to go buy your plates, then head on over to a beach park, either Ala Moana or up Diamond Head-Kahala side. Go for a swim to build up your hunger, then head back on the sand and dig into your St. Louis Okazuya lunch plate. The filling starch and salty, savory meats just hits da’ spot, along with the ambience of salty air and blue ocean just hits da’ spot. Das’ da’ best’est’est’est!

Here’s the menu*…

*Current as of this writing.

The front of the shop…

St. Louis Delicatessen shop front

Truly a hidden gem! The inside of the shop is very cramped, with only enough standing space for about 6 people max.. I arrived to pick up this order at around 10:30am, which when I walked in, there were only 2 people inside. Within minutes of me standing there, a line had already built leading out the door. Folks, as hidden as this place is, they are very popular, so don’t underestimate anything! And with most Okazuya shops, when food items run out, it’s out. That’s it. No more. Arimasen. So I’d recommend going early for best selection. At least before noon.

Located next door (to the left) of St. Louis Drive In on the corner of Waialae and 3rd avenue…

Remember, don’t get confused with St. Louis Drive In, or that sign. St. Louis Delicatessen is an unaffiliated business that’s NEXT DOOR!

So if you want Okazuya style grindz that’s fundamentally simple, yet absolutely delicious, at an unbeatable value, check out St. Louis Delicatessen.

St. Louis Delicatessen
3147 Waialae avenue
Tel. 732-0955
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 8am – 1:30pm (closed Sundays and Mondays)

The Tasty Island Rating:

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

The Best Poke in Honolulu is at Ono Seafood

Fresh, made-to-order Ahi Poke: Diced fresh raw Ahi (Tuna), Ogo (seaweed), White Onion, Green Onion, Hawaiian Chili Pepper, Shoyu & Sesame Oil, $12.00/lb.

It’s true. The best. That’s their slogan, and I agree!

Most places that sell Poke usually have it made in advance in large service pans on display in refrigerator cases, deli style. The problem with this is, if you don’t get there early when it was just made, after hours of sitting, the salt and/or shoyu in the marinade tends to eventually “cook” the delicate raw fish, causing it to stiffen and lose that buttery texture. The onions get soggy too. Eventually, the moisture in the fish escapes and makes the marinade watery, and just overall not good Poke.

Enter Ono Seafood, where the Poke is always made-to-order using fresh, top quality ingredients.

Ono Seafood is a small hole-in-the-wall store located on the ground floor of an inconspicuous low-rise apartment complex about halfway up (or down, depending where you’re coming from) on the Diamond Head (east) side of Kapahulu Avenue. Blink or sneeze and you can easily miss it. A recognizable landmark to help find them is Shell Gas Station; Ono Seafood is just next door makai-bound.

If you’re not familiar where Kapahulu avenue is, it’s on the east end of Waikiki, so it’s nearby if you’re a visitor staying in a hotel in that area.

Oh, and do not confuse Ono Seafood here with Ono Hawaiian Food, which is just a few blocks makai (towards the ocean) on the same street. Ono Hawaiian Food is a small restaurant that specializes in exactly what it’s named: “Ono Hawaiian Food”!

Upon entering this very small store, to your left is a refrigerator stocked with various dried and smoked seafood pupus. More on that later. There’s also a refrigerator display case in front next to the service counter that’s mostly empty, except to store the whole tako and slabs of Ahi to be to sliced up for the made-to-order poke. Visually, very low key.

Here you can see the very straight forward menu board…

As you see, the Ahi Poke is currently $12 per pound, which is on the high end, but believe when I say, this poke is worth every single ounce, right down to the last little piece of ogo.

If you look at the bottom center of the menu, those are the ingredients you select to go into your poke. Very simple, yet so effective. Choose White Onion, Green Onion, Hawaiian Salt, Chili Pepper, Kukui Nut, Sesame Oil, Ogo and Shoyu. Choose all of the above, or some of the above. Up to you. It’s all included in the current $12/lb. price. Once you tell them what you want in it, they quickly combine each ingredient in a mixing bowl, toss it up, put in the container, weigh it and it’s done. Very fast.

We always choose everything except the Kukui Nut, only because my girlfriend doesn’t care for that. Otherwise, I’d throw that in too. You can order it in quarter, half, three-quarter, or one pound-plus increments of quantity.

Trust me, order at least a pound. After one bite, you’ll want much, much more! This Poke has got to arguably not only be the best Ahi Poke in Honolulu, but on the entire island or state! The bite from the chili pepper, aroma from the sesame oil, and crunchy texture of the onions and ogo are just a magical combination with the top-quality Ahi, which just melts in your mouth like “buttah”… like “BUTTAH” I tell ya! The made-to-order freshness can’t be beat. The pictures here don’t even do it justice. You have to get some from there and try it yourself.

A good tip if you’re buying poke from here is to bring a small cooler with ice and keep it chilled and keep is as fresh as can be. This is very important. Poke sitting in the trunk of a car sitting in the hot sun? Not good. Ice cold Poke? Good! Ono!

Now let’s look what’s in that refrigerator to the left…

Dried Ahi and Spicy Smoked Tako

Dried Tako, Dried Shrimp (Opae), Smoked Tako and Boiled Peanuts

Tako Kama, Fish Jerky, Namasu and Kinilau

Sashimi Tray

Kukui Nuts (Inamona)

Good Lord, this is heaven. Folks, if someone shows up to your party with a cooler full of the stuff above, make friends with them… really good friends. lol!

1 pound Boiled Peanuts and 1 pound Ahi Poke

Their boiled peanuts are the bomb too. Nice and el dente, still slightly crunchy, with the perfect balance of salt and wetness. They run $2.50 per pound.

Best of all they’re consistent. We go here at least two or three times a month for the Ahi Poke, and it’s always top notch. For real, Ono Seafood is where to go for the best Poke in Honolulu. Guaranz!

Ono Sea Food Products, Inc.
747 Kapahulu Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
Tel. 808-732-4806

The Tasty Island rating:

(5) Superb. Worthy of repeat visits or purchases. (Broke Da’ Mout’!)

Related Links:
• Ono Seafood– Yelp user review listing

Hole Lot of Flavor at Puka Dog Waikiki

Puka Dog with Orginal Garlic Lemon sauce, Pineapple relish, ketchup and Guava Mustard (click to expand image)

Or a whole lotta’ hype? That was the question running through my mind upon my first visit to Puka Dog in Waikiki this past weekend.

As you may know, the Travel Channel featured Puka Dog not once, but twice: the first being on “Hot Dog Heavens”, which featured their original Kauai location; and the second time most recently on Anthony Bourdain’s Hawaii episode of “No Reservations”, which paid a visit to this location on Oahu. Not to mention coverage by Bon Appetite magazine, Modern Bride and Travelocity.com, as well as various local media outlets.

Puka Dog’s second location here in Waikiki is located on Kuhio Avenue in the Waikiki Town Center , which is sort of interconnected with the labyrinth of small businesses on the back-end of the Waikiki International Marketplace. So if you’re coming from Kalakaua avenue, enter the International Marketplace and walk all the way towards the back end towards Kuhio and there they are…

Puka Dog Waikiki – Waikiki Town Center, 2301 Kuhio Avenue

The establishment consumes about as much floor space as a small Subway sandwich shop (probably even smaller actually), with predominantly a main service counter that includes all that’s needed to serve up their “simple” menu, and a few small patio tables to dine on both inside and outside the door. As you may notice there’s double doors, which indicate that this place can generate quite a line at peak times, as the manager on duty mentioned. Luckily I arrived at a post-peak 9pm, so it was slow. Which was nice, as it gave me time to really chat up with the staff on duty. This also made service as attentive as it could get. I felt pampered.

The 3-step ordering system is straightforward, as you can see by the menu board here (literally a “board”!)…

Click menu to expand size

First comes the bun, which here’s how that looks before and after the “Puka” (hole) is put into it…

The bun is like a roll-size version of a typical loaf of white sandwich bread; soft, airy and pliable inside, with that said type of brown crust outside. Just your basic white bun.

Taking it to nother level, we go to the next step, where to get that “puka”, this roll is basically impaled on one of these special heated metal rods that resemble some sort of medieval torchure chamber device…

This takes several minutes. As you see, it not only makes the puka, but also toasts the inside and heats the bun to make it more supple – that’s a good thing. It’s put on there with the paper wrapper on to help hold in the heat, which is also a smart idea.

I zoomed in too tight on this odd piece of kitchen equipment, as it’s really a complete “Puka Dog system” if you will, that also includes a conveyor-like heated roller element path below that which does double duty and cooks the hot dogs at the same time. They’re then stored in a warmer bin at the end of the run, here…

Skinless Polish sausages

It really is a neat, all-in-one system that I’m sure they have patents (pending) over. One reviewer on another site said (speculated?) the manufacturers who build McDonald’s industrial kitchen equipment are behind this “machine”.

Continuing on the order, I asked for some sauce and relish recommendations from Joanne, the very friendly and courteous manager on duty, to which she mentioned a few popular combinations (I can’t remember what those were), but in the end said, “braddah, just go with the flow, and get what you feel like.. you can’t go wrong either way!”.

Well, as simple as the menu itself is, there’s a subset of that 3-step system in the form of over 12 relishes and sauces you must choose from. This sort of negates that simplicity and makes the final decision on what to order almost a brain-buster.

As you stand there with your mind and stomach trying to come to terms of whether to make your dog taste fruity, or zesty and spicy, the prominent array of condiment taps on the main counter loudly reminds you of the many choices at hand…

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

I can see this alone holding up long lines, as customers constantly change their minds as their order is being taken. I was no exception, exchanging flavor requests more times than Barack and Hillary trade political jabs. lol

If you’re still not convinced you chose the right one, they do have a samples you can try before ordering…

Puka Dog relish and mustard samples

Having either Polish or vegetarian sausages to choose, I went with the Polish, which IIRC, according to the manager, was made from a combination of pork, beef and chicken. Pork eh? So I’m thinkin’ what goes better with pork but Pineapple, where you get that whole savory-sweet-tangy thing goin’ on.

So my final “condimental decision” was the original mild garlic sauce, pineapple relish, Guava Mustard AND ketchup, which they squeeze and pump into your bun before sticking in the dog. Here’s a cross-cut view of that Puka Dog…

So how is this much-discussed Puka Dog? Excellent. Much better than I expected considering the hype and sort of “gimmicky” concept the idea seems at first hand. What I think is key to my favorable impression is first of all that they toasted my bun nicely, which really punched the flavor of the savory, moderately-salty Polish sausage throughout the bun.

Some reviewers have complained that the bun-to-sausage ratio of the Puka Dog is too high (too much bun), but I didn’t think so. If they made the sausage just a tad bigger, that may dispell most of those sentiments, but for me, the ratio was perfect. The key was the powerful, wonderful flavor of the skinless Polish sausage itself, which pretty much predominated all else. Thank goodness they got the most important part of this equations – the hot dog – right!

As for the garlic lemon sauce, it seemed like a mayonnaise-based garlic infusion, similar to the one featured at the Great Hawaiian Hot Dog stand. I couldn’t taste the “lemon” in it though, probably because I had already sipped the lemonade before digging into the dog, so my palate was already acclimated to anything acidic.

The Pineapple relish had a slight texture to it; not like pickle-based relish, but at it had some texture and not as “saucy” like some of the other “relishes” available there. Pineapple turned out to be a good choice for the savory-salty Polish sausage, acting as an effective palate buffer, and tying everything together.

Next time I’d certainly omit the ketchup and perhaps even the garlic “sauce”, but even with that, as complex as all those flavors were, the fantastic flavor of the Polish sausage shined through it all and made the overall experience quite delicious and memorable.

As for size, this thing is massive. Look at in scale to my hand holding it…

I’d estimate the bun is approximately 8-9″ length end-to-end. The total package ‘got some heft to it as well.

I also ordered a the fresh-squeezed lemonade…

Lemonade station. I missed getting a photo of the lemonade squeezer, which is just to the right of here.

It’s a simple recipe of fresh lemons, granulated sugar, water and ice. I’ve read some reviews that said their lemonade was too sweet, but mine was perfectly balanced in all its components. The refreshing coolness and acidity of the lemonade is also a good compliment to the richness and complexity of the Puka Dog.

A Puka Dog and fresh-squeezed lemonade, $9.25

One thing you can’t deny is how catchy the name “Puka Dog” truly is. It’s marketing brilliance. With that, they have no shortage of collectible memorabilia for the visitors to take back with them…

They also have their own “Puka” version of Shave Ice, where they put ice cream, Azuki beans, tapioca balls and other goodies in a “Puka” in the middle of the Shave Ice. Wow. I didn’t get a price on that, but this is one professional-lookin’ Shave Ice machine, so I’m willing to bet they’re quite good at it…

As for suggestions, I’m wondering if they ever looked at our local sausage manufacturers such as Redondo’s? Also, while the fruity relishes are great for the tourist crowd, you now how locals love their teriyaki. They might wanna’ consider adding that flavor, and also maybe a Chili dog version. A portuguese sausage, eggs and cheese breakfast Puka Dog might also be a hit. They should also experiment with heartier bun recipes such as sourdough and other specialty seasoned breads, such as the ones Subway has introduced. Oh my, the possibilities!

It ended up being a hole lotta’ loot: at $6.25 for a Puka Dog, and $3.00 for medium-sized fresh-squeezed lemonade drink, this likely isn’t something you’d bring the entire family to on a weekly basis, but more of an indulgent, impulsive treat. Thankfully I received a 10% off Kama’aina Discount card for future visits, which is certainly an incentive to return.

Besides, I just can’t help but wonder how the other relishes that Puka Dog offers taste along with their fantastic Polish dog, as well as what their vegetarian dog tastes like. To which I’ll certainly indulge in this “treat” again.

Hype and price aside, I’d have to agree with their slogan that Puka Dog truly is “a Hole Lot of Flavor”.

ISLAND OF KAUAI
Poipu Shopping Village
2360 Kiahuna Plantation Dr.
KOLOA /HAWAII 96756
808-742-6044
Monday – Sunday
11 AM to 6 PM

ISLAND OF OAHU
Waikiki Town Center
2301 Kuhio Avenue # 2
HONOLULU/ HAWAII 96815
Phone: 808 924-7887
Monday – Sunday
10 AM to 10 PM

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Related links:
• PukaDog.com
• Puka Dog reviews on Yelp
• Puka Dog Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs on KGMB9 News

Meadow Gold Tropical Fruit Yogurts: Part II

Continuing from last month’s sampling of Meadow Gold’s Papaya, Lychee, Pineapple and Haupia yogurts, here we have the Guava, Strawberry Kiwi and Mango flavors.

I’ll start with the best of these three, the Guava…

Meadow Gold Guava Lowfat Yogurt

Notice how thick it is. Much better than the batch in the first series I posted, which were much thinner. Also, there’s noticeable pieces of guava in it, not just pureed fruit “syrup” if you will. And it really tastes like natural guava, which it’s made from, of course. Winner.

Next up we have mango…

Meadow Gold Mango Lowfat Yogurt

Again, great thickness. Unfortunately, like most mango-flavored products that are processed, it lost its “mango-ness”. Know what I mean? It’s also absent of any real mango chunks, and mostly a gelatinous puree of something sort of “mystery fruity sweet”. The most genuine product to the flavor of fresh mango fruit I’ve ever tasted was the Mango Sorbet by Haagen Daaz. Other than that, nothing I’ve tried since that claimed to be “mango” ever matched the fresh version.

Finally we have the Strawberry Kiwi…

Meadow Gold Strawberry Kiwi Lowfat Yogurt

Now look at how thin this one is. Looks like those from the first group of flavors I tried. As far as flavor, the Kiwi is subtle, with strawberry taking charge, for the most part.

What if you were to inject this Strawberry Kiwi yogurt into a creme puff to replicate the REAL DEAL like this?!…

Kachan’s Strawberry & Kiwi Fruit Choux Creme

Just a thought. Heck, might work!

Anyways, in general, these are all decent yogurts that I certainly enjoyed eating, and would welcome back into my refrigerator anytime again. But to rewrap on the ones I thought were the most authentic to its origin and overall complimented the vehicle – yogurt – it would be the Haupia, Pineapple and Guava. Those three stood out screaming “tropical”, and were the most genuine to their name.

While we’re on guava, here’s a photo of the strawberry guava tree in my mother’s backyard, taken this morning…

They still need to reach ripening stage, yet measure on average about 1″ in diameter each, which is their mature size.

Here’s that red guava pictured in the photo above, cut in half…

Interestingly, as young as it is, it already had a mature flavor to it, tart, but very “guava”ee”.

Related links:
• www.LaniMoo.com
• Meadow Gold Tropical Fruit Yogurts (part I)

Grindz of the Day: Kosher Jewish Cuisine at Yudi's Deli

Yudi’s Deli – Falafel Platter, $9.99 (Click to view full size image)

There aren’t many restaurants on Oahu that feature Jewish cuisine. One hidden gem that does is Yudi’s Deli in Manoa Valley. I learned about Yudi’s – and the cuisine in general – through a coworker of mine who is Jewish.

After trying her home-made Latkes, I already knew this was food I could dig.

Shown above is a Falafel Platter from Yudi’s. It includes 5 Falafel, which are those meatball (but no meat; I think he uses fava beans and chickpeas) looking things, Babaganoush (how Yudi spells it), Hummus, 2 types of Cole Slaw, an Israeli salad (bottom left) and pita bread….

It shows only one pita here (pretty big and thick), but IIRC, it included two.

Like an appetizer, you put all that stuff on or inside the pita bread, in a cumbersome sort of way, but the overall combination of textures and flavors are fantastic. This is a vegetarian dish, making it a refreshing experience; not heavy.

Hopefully I’ll get around to doing a full review of Yudi’s soon.

Mahalo Diner “AC”!

Related Links:
• www.OahuKosher.com

Grindz of the Day: Yummy's, St. Louis Drive In, Zippy's & Costco

BBQ Mixed Plate from Yummy’s, $7.50

Actually grindz had from several different days.

The BBQ mixed plate above is from Yummy’s Korean BBQ, located at the entrance of Don Quijote on Kaheka street, near Ala Moana. Yummy’s has locations all over Oahu.

This plate was indeed quite yummy. There was so much on the plate, I actually split and shared it with my girlfriend. The chicken especially had great char-grilled flavor, moist and tender, and the Korean BBQ sauce they use is excellent. One thing I always love about Korean restaurants – and Yummy’s is no exception – is the assortment of pickled vegetables to choose. The kombu and cucumber selection here tasted kinda’ like Namasu.

As you see, they share space with Bale Sandwich.

Next on the table…

Mini Bento from St. Louis Drive In, $4.50

Not to be confused with St. Louis Delicatessen (the Okazuya) located next door (different owners). I actually drove here yesterday to grab a Chow Fun and Tempura Okazuya plate next door at the Deli, but they were closed, and I was bummed. A sign on the front said they’ll be returning April 8th. Probably went to Vegas.

St. Louis Drive In has so many menu items, it’s mind boggling. I should have ordered the “Japanese Plate”, which includes Sashimi. That would have hit the spot.

St. Louis Drive In. The wood door to the left is the entrance to St. Louis Delicatessen, who were closed on this day. Shucks.

Located at the Makai-Diamond Head side of 3rd and Waialae avenue

Next up…

Corned Beef Sandwich combo from Zippy’s, $4.70

I can’t call them “Jippy’s” with this deal. They’ve amazingly underpriced themselves here with this massive Corned Beef Sandwich combo, which includes fries and a drink. This isn’t any canned or packaged stuff, but the real deal, piled with thick slices of freshly boiled corned beef and cabbage, laid upon an onion roll bun buttered with mayonnaise.

This is actually diner “E”‘s dish, as he proudly holds it up here after taking a few bites…

“Hurry up and take the damned picture… I wanna’ eat!”

This is a special that occurs only one day out of the month, so you need to check their website when exactly it will be available again. As you see, he gave this a solid 3 SPAM Musubi (very good) rating.

Finally…

Supreme Pizza from Costco, $1.99

Another one of Diner “E”‘s grinds of the day. What can I say? It’s a buck-ninety-nine. It’s pizza. It’s “Costco huge”.

Personally I don’t care for the crust on Costco’s pizza, finding it to be “spongee”. Neither do I like their sauce. On the cheap, I’ll take Little Caesar’s over them any day. Of course if it’s free I’ll eat it. lol

Looking at the prices here, I think I need to rename this site “Honolulu Cheap Eats”. DDL would love that!

Vegetarian Chow Fun Noodles Recipe

Oodles of Vegetarian Chow Fun noodles

Mention Chow Fun noodles to anyone who grew up in Hawaii, and chances are what immediately comes to mind is the “Manapua Man”, or an Okazuya. For the latter, my pick for “best Chow Fun” goes to Matsumoto’s on Gulick, and the “keep it simple” approach to perfection at St. Louis Delicatessen on Waialae.

Chow Fun is another of those seemingly simple dishes, yet it can also be ambiguously complex, with so many interpretations, and no “local standard”. It’s easy to mess up it up by overdoing it and adding too many ingredients, where it ends up “lost”.

Recently a new member on a discussion board I frequent shared a recipe for her “Vegetarian Chow Fun”, which had me intrigued to try, since she mentioned she used to operate an Okazuya shop herself.

I’m assuming it’s called “vegetarian” due to the lack of chicken, charsiu or luncheon meat in it, which is most often what Chow Fun is prepared with here in the islands. But what had me most curious was the use of Hijiki, which I’ve never cooked with before.

So I went for it. Here’s the recipe…

—————————————————————–

Vegetarian Chow Fun Noodles
by kani-lehua
Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 1 package dried chow fun noodles (Hula brand)
• Shiitake mushrooms (don’t forget to soak them first, julienned)
• Carrots and onions, julienned
• Green onions, chopped (for garnish)
• Broccoli and zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 can water chestnuts (the ones already sliced)
• Hijiki (dried black looking seaweed, soak in water to rehydrate)
• Oil for stir frying
• Sesame oil for drizzling when everthing is pau cooked.
• Grated ginger and garlic (according to taste)
• 2T shoyu (i guess you could sub bragg’s amino acids, but i don’t know)
• 1T vegetarian style oyster sauce (if no more, use regular)

Boil noodles until al dente. You have to keep checking on them. app. 9 minutes. rinse in cold water and drain. Cut noodles in half and set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, saute the garlic and ginger (do not burn) for app. 1-2 minutes in the oil. add the shoyu or bragg’s and oyster sauce. mix until well blended.

Stir fry all the veggies until al dente. Add the cooled noodles and heat through. Drizzle with sesame oil (don’t over do it) and then toss in the hijiki at the end.

—————————————————————–

What’s obviously the most important factor in this recipe is the type of Chow Fun noodles, as in this case is called for HULA BRAND…

Hula Brand Chow Funn, purchased recently at Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center on GOB clearance for just 50 cents a bag!

Interestingly, when uncooked and dry, these noodles appear “pasty” and delicate, but once they begin to cook in the water, they really tighten-up and become resilient. I think that has something to do with the Potassium Carbonate in it. I’d go as far saying you could make a darned tasty Fetuccini Alfredo out of this.

What’s nice about this package is that it includes 4 individual servings bundled up separately, which should come in handy for restaurant service.

Here’s the cooked Chow Fun (Funn), perfectly al dente…

So while that’s set aside, you saute all the veggies…

When these are all cooked, throw the cooked Chow Fun into the pan with it, combine and finish the dish according to the instructions in the recipe above.

I actually rushed this job, not paying particular attention to how I cut the veggies, as you can tell. As far as the quantity of veggies, it’s really up to you. For that one package of Chow Funn, I used half a Zucchini, 1 large carrot, and about 8 medium-sized Shiitake mushrooms. I also only used only about 1/3 of the can of sliced water chestnuts, as any more than that looked like it would have been too much.

I must note, sometimes the noodles may be sticky or dry from sitting, so when I added them in, I also sprinkled some water and a drizzle of extra cooking oil to “loosen” it up. That worked. I also had to readjust by adding a little more Oyster Sauce.

Speaking of Oyster sauce, that’s another key ingredient here, as that’s the main “flavorizer”. In this preparation, I used Shirakiku brand Premium Oyster Sauce, which was fantastic. Others swear by the Lee Kum Kee brand. Up to you.

I added very very little Sesame oil at the end, as the stuff can be overpowering. But what little was added gave it that “nuttyness” that helped punch out the flavor of the Shiitake mushrooms.

That first photo shows the finished dish in the pan, all done and ready to serve.

Note that I also added Beni Shoga on the right side (red stuff), which goes well with anything savory.

What does bring savoriness to the table here is of course the Shiitake mushrooms, but also the Oyster sauce, along with the way the garlic, ginger and onions are sauteed in the oil before everything goes in.

The Hijiki added a “seafood” like element to it, along with it’s crunchy texture, yet I added just enough, but not too much where it may have been overpowering. You have to be careful how much you add in.

As for the “vegetarian” part, most carnivores would be hard-pressed to find anything “not meaty” about this dish. It doesn’t miss the chicken, char siu or luncheon meat at all.

Now the devil on my right shoulder knocks on my brain and says, “Wait a minute? No meat you say? Well, let’s add some on top of it, Okazuya style!”
So I added a cooked Teriyaki Winner on top. This kine..

I swear, these are one of the BEST hot dogs on the market. I’m not really a huge Teriyaki fan, and I try not to eat too many hot dogs for health reasons, but for what it’s worth, this one has that perfect balance of savory-sweet going on, with hint of shoyu-laced depth that’s unlike any other hot dog I’ve ever had. Knowing how popular Teriyaki is in Hawaii, If Costco sold these at their concession, they’d probably move containers full of the stuff.

The devil made me do it…

I think I’ll name this one “Da’ Hana-koko-lele” Okazuya plate

Hey, this was somethin’ yum! There’s almost this “surf ‘n turf” thing going on with the combination of the Hijiki and the savory-sweet hot dog. I’d take out the Shiitake mushrooms next time though, if I’m gonna’ “carnivorize” this Chow Fun, as that, combined with the porky wiener was a little too “meaty”. Still ono though.

Back to the original recipe, this Vegetarian Chow Fun recipe, as is, turned out to be a winner. It’s relatively cheap and easy to make, and best of all, it can be served as a delicious, satisfying, nutritionally balanced, guilt-free (if you resist the hotdog!), all-in-one meal.

Mahalo kani-lehua for sharing it!

Aloha to Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center

Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center closed their retail outlet yesterday, March 31, 2008, to focus on their Wholesale distribution division, DBA Tropic Fish Hawaii

The headline in today’s Honolulu Star Bulletin read “Aloha Means Goodbye”, covering the epic final day of passenger flights for Aloha Airlines yesterday, March 31, 2008, ending an era of 62 years of inter-island service in Hawaii that began in 1946.

What you might also want to be aware of is that Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center in Ward Farmer’s Market also shut their doors yesterday for good, after being in business there for over 56 years.

While “aloha” does mean “goodbye”, fortunately for Tropic it also means “hello”.

Goodbye retail, hello wholesale. According to Hawaii Business Magazine, the family owners of Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center are closing their retail operation to restructure and focus on their more lucrative wholesale produce and seafood distribution division. They will be partnering with the parent company of Hilo Fish Company to form what will be named Tropic Fish Hawaii, effective today.

Kiyoshi and Katherine Tanoue opened Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center in 1951 as a small retail market, at a time when Farmer’s Market was just part of an obscure industrial warehouse cluster between “backroads” Auahi and Queen street. From these humble beginnings, they would slowly progress into becoming one of Hawaii’s top 250 businesses in the state.

This was taken just this past month, where the cracked seed station has already been removed from the countertop on the left, as well as many of the gandola shelving for the grocery items on the right.

Along with locally-supplied, reasonably-priced fresh island produce and seafood (as well as freezers-full of older stuff), it was a full-fledged mom ‘n pop convenience mini-mart, with everything from American to Asian groceries, snacks, cracked seed, beverages and liquor, to fresh-made sandwiches, musubi and bento lunches.

One of many ono and very affordable bento lunches from Tropics

An aunt of mine who used to operate a Hawaiian food catering business, relied on Tropics as a primary resource for specialty produce such as Luau leaves, taro root and sweet potato, where they could order in bulk quantities at discounted rates. They also often supplied fresh-caught island crab, tako and various types of fish needed for the menu.

Limu Kohu (shown), fresh Akule, Opelu, Menpachi, Monchong and many other hard-to-find locally-caught seafoods were often available Tropics

Haili’s and Marukai still have 2 more years on their lease contract at Ward before any development changes are due to happen to the building they’re currently in. When that does happen, both Haili’s and Marukai employees have told me their plans are (hopefully) to relocate within a nearby area. Thank goodness.

As seen in this 2006 photo, now that Tropics is gone, all that will continue to remain today, of what was once a bustling farmer’s market in every sense of the word, are Marukai, Lin’s and Haili’s. Sharing a small corner space of Haili’s is Stanley’s Chicken Market.

They say change is inevitable, and it’s wonderful to hear Tropic has been able to reinvent themselves and go in new directions. Yet it’s also difficult to say goodbye to the “good ole days”. While it’s almost surreal to have “Aloha Airlines” and “good ole days” in one sentence or paragraph about a bygone era, unless something drastically happens soon, such will be the case. More than surreal, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.

Now that Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center is gone, Haili’s Hawaiian Foods must carry the torch as the last of the original tenants dating back to the “good ole days” at Ward Farmer’s Market.

P.S. To all the ohana of Aloha Airlines, my prayers and thoughts are with you.
God Bless.