University Ave. Eats: Spot's Inn

This past Wednesday Diner A, E and yours truly decided to sample da’ grinds from Spot’s Inn’ new location at Puck’s Alley on University avenue.

As in three months new, after being on hiatus since August 2008 when owners John and Seiko closed their former location on Dillingham boulevard near HCC where they’ve previously been for over 13 years. That place is now home to the Vietnamese-meets-local plate lunch joint called Mix Plate Cafe, a slightly reinvented version of the place that took over Spot’s Inn to begin with named Pho Dillingham Grill.

Without further ado, let’s check out Spot’s Inn’ new Puck’s Alley-on-University avenue digs out, starting from the front and working our way in and around, ehem, “Da’ Spot”…

“Nam Myoho Renge Kyo”…

Spot’s Inn is named after owner Seiko’s Dalmation named “Spot”…

The menu…

Spot’s Inn’ weekly specials for the month of April 2010…

Spot’s Inn’ catering menu…

Breakfast on Saturdays…

Spot’s Inn’ daily specials for the day of Wednesday, April 28, 2010…

Along with their cooked-to-order menu items are prepared Japanese favorites ready for takeout, such as Inari (cone) sushi …

Spot’s Inn – Cone Sushi. $1.75

Maki Sushi…

Spot’s Inn – Futomaki. $1.75

Omusubi…

Spot’s Inn – Omusubi. $1.25 each

Spam Musubi (yay!)…

Spot’s Inn – Spam Musubi. $1.25 each

Kabocha (Japanese Pumpkin)…

Spot’s Inn – Kabocha. $3.50

Nishime…

Spot’s Inn – Nishime. $3.25

Kimpira Gobo…

Spot’s Inn – Kimpira Gobo. $3.50

Everything sounds and looks good, except I was hoping there’d be more seafood selections on the menu, if not the daily specials. Looks like my only choices today are going to be either the deep-fried Mahi or the Crab & Bacon on Grilled Bread Sandwich. So I chose the latter…

Spot’s Inn – Crab & Bacon on Grilled Bread Sandwich with Fries. $8.25

The menu says the sandwiches come with either macaroni or toss salad, but apparently they’ve added fries as an option, which came with it by default. Cool with that.

Diner E chose his usual “gauge plate”, the one, the only, Hamburger Steak; this time “lightening up” with the mini version…

Spot’s Inn – Hamburger Steak with Sauteed Onions and Brown Gravy. $4.75 (mini plate)

All entrees except Spaghetti include toss or mac’ salad…

Spot’s Inn – Macaroni Salad

Diner A decided to try the Spot’s Inn Bento…

Spot’s Inn Bento – Teri Hamburger Steak, Chicken Katsu, Mahi, Spam, Takuwon & Rice. $8.25

I couldn’t resist the Nishime and Kabocha, so I picked up one each of those two for dinner later…

Kabocha. $3.50

Nishime. $3.25

So how is it? Let’s start with Diner E’s mini Hamburger Steak plate…

He said the house-made patty was pretty good, being moist inside with the desirable “old school style” bread filler that he prefers his hamburger steak to have. While of course those seared grill marks added plenty of flavor to the hamburger patty party.

As for the gravy, it had too much cornstarch thickener, giving it an undesirable gelatinous consistency, lacking that silkiness of a properly-thickened flour-based gravy. Flavorwise, it lacked depth and “beefyness”, which you can already tell by the color. It wasn’t a bad gravy, but just not as great as the greats.

He thought the Mac’ Salad was rather plain like just straight-up mayo’, and lacking that “cool and creamy” note we look for. Seiko-san, hint: add “sukoshi” milk.

Summing it up, Diner E gives Spot’s Inn Hamburger Steak 2 SPAM Musubi.

Now let’s see what Diner A thinks of the Spot’s Inn Bento…

Like the Hamburger Steak plate, looks like them Food Rules got left in the car out in the parking lot with this one. Oh, OK, one piece of Takuwon (how they spell it), so we’ll count that as a “veggie” I guess. But Diner A didn’t even eat that and gave it to me! lol Shoots, you know me and Tsukemono are best friends.

The only thing I got to sample from his plate was the Chicken Katsu, and I must say, if there’s one thing I’d definitely order when returning here is their Chicken Katsu. It’s excellent!…

Notice how moist and tender the chicken is, while the panko crust is deep-fried to “GBD” (golden-brown-delicious) perfection. It tastes like they marinade the chicken in something. Perhaps a light teriyaki or maybe mirin and/or sake. Not sure, but it definitely isn’t just plain chicken. Best of all, they serve with authentic Japanese style Tonkatsu sauce! Hooooooraaaaay! Finally someone’s on the same page I’m on when it comes to good Katsu. All that’s missing is the bed of cabbage underneath it.

Speaking of bed of cabbage, being Seiko-san is from Japan, I’m surprised she doesn’t put Furikake on this bento. Really surprised. It really could use it if you ask me.

But yeah, definitely consider the Chicken Katsu if you hit Spot’s. This alone is a winner. And make sure to ask for extra ‘Katsu sauce, because the teeny-weeny container they provided with this bento was barely enough for the three pieces on this plate.

He also enjoyed the panko-crusted deep-fried Mahi…

Moist, flakey and reasonably flavored, even if it had been from frozen. This came with the usual deep-fried fish accompanyment, tartar sauce.

He also gave a thumbs-up to the grilled Teriyaki burger patty, noting the nicely-thickened glazed flavor it provided, and of course the added punch from the cross-hatch seared grill markings. Gotta’ love that. While it was cooked to a perfect medium doneness and not dried out.

The regular SPAM was a bit salty for him, as he’s used to the lower Sodium Lite SPAM he uses at home, but never-the-less a welcome addition to this “meatfest” of a plate.

Summing it up, Diner A gives the Spot’s Inn Bento a very solid 3 SPAM Musubi.

Now let’s check out my Crab & Bacon on Grilled Bread Sandwich…

Let’s have a peek under the hood…

A bit skimpy there on the bacon. The menu says they use “real crab”, but I dunno’, this looks like the imitation stuff to me…

To describe the taste, this reminds of Subway’s Seafood and Crab Sub. When it said “Real Crab”, I was expecting the crab part to have a complex, more gourmet flare to it, but this turns out being your ordinary seafood “salad” mixture of mayonnaise, celery and crab; which I suppose in this case is a combination of both real and imitation  crab.

The smokey porkyness of the bacon helped a bit, I’ll give it that. While the lettuce and tomato are always welcome guests in my “house of bread”. Speaking of which, the nicely toasted and buttery Japanese style white bread alone elevated this sandwich from being just 1 SPAM Musubi to 2. The fries were pretty good actually for store-bought frozen stuff, which I don’t have a problem with. Nice and crispy outside, perfectly salted and steamy tender inside.

Later that evening I had the Kabocha and Nishime for dinner, and I must say, they both were excellent. The Kabocha were simmered in a mildly sweet dashi-like broth and were cooked perfectly al dente, while the skin retained some “bite” to it. The Nishime had all the right stuff in it, including my favorite, Konnyaku, Hasu and Daikon. While everything was deeply permeated with the flavor from the savory, and again slightly sweet Nishime broth. I give those both a solid 4 SPAM Musubi.

On a return visit, I’d probably order the Chicken Katsu mini plate, along with a side of either the Kabocha or Nishime. Those are all winners at Spot’s Inn.

Spot’s Inn
1035 University Avenue #104
Honolulu, Hawaii  96826

Tel. (808) 941-4554

Business hours:
Monday: Friday 10:30am to 8pm
Saturday: 8am to 8pm
Sunday: Closed

Spot’s Inn menu PDF download (2 pages; current as of 4/10)

The Tasty Island rating:

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it.

2010 Waikiki Spam Jam

Being that the iconic SPAM Musubi symbolizes the ratings here on The Tasty Island, we can’t miss the happenings at the Waikiki Spam Jam. This time being their 8th annual event, taking place this past weekend on Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 4pm to 10pm on the blocked-off street of Kalakaua avenue in Waikiki.

Following is a pictorial walkthrough of this year’s Spam Jam festivities, along with descriptions and commentary wherever applicable to further immerse you in the experience. Because an “experience” is really what it is at a Waikiki Spam Jam. Enjoy!

Chibo’s Spam Okonomiyaki…

Chibo’s Spam Yakisoba…

Seafood Village’s Spam Siu Mai (steamed potstickers)…

Seafood Village’s Spam Manapua (steamed bun)…

Seafood Village’s Spam Manapua in another style…

Seafood Village Spam Dim Sum Combo…

Rumfire’s Kalua Pig Enchiladas with Ancho Chile Sauce, Spam Maui Onion Salsa and Queso Fondido, and Fiesta Spam Crab Dip…

Rumfire’s Fiesta Spam Crab Dip…

Rumfire staff crankin’ out Spam Crab Dip for the masses…

Here’s quite the “medley” of foods from the earth: asparagus, red bell peppers, roasted peppers, Hamakua Alii mushrooms, rosemary and pineapple. While I’m not sure what yet, surely a very tasty dish could be created using all of these ingredients!…

Spam Tuesdays at Rumfire!…

Volcano Nachos with Spam Chili

Spam Chili with Rice

Jimmy Buffet’s Spam Fusion Fajitas…

Gordon Biersch’ Guava Mango BBQ Spam Sliders topped with Crispy Onion Rings…

Gordon Biersch’ Sicilian Spam & Basil Pizza Bread…

Gordon Biersch’ Spam Pancit…

Gordon Biersch’ Spam Gau Gee (fried wonton) with sweet, spicy chili dipping sauce…

Gordon Biersch’ awesome Garlic Fries…

Doraku Spam Musubi…

That was literally rated 3 SPAM Musubi, and these are literally rated 5 SPAM Musubi!…

Doraku Spam Jam Roll…

Doraku keeps their grilled Spam happy by smothering them with a Teriyaki glaze…

Duke’s Spam Fried Rice…

Duke’s & Hula Grill’s Spam moco ($6 for white rice, $8 for fried rice) has two slices of Spam topped with a scrambled egg over rice, surrounded by their signature brandy shiitake cream sauce and topped with crispy onion strings…

Duke’s & Hula Grill’s Spam Moco in stages of construction…

I forgot to ask why this one got the katsu treatment…

Duke’s always incredible and very popular “Hula Pie”…

Now you are thinking what I’m thinking, right? Notice there’s macadamia nuts on there. Well, being this is a Spam Jam, they should have swapped the plain roasted Mac Nuts with SPAM Macadamia Nuts! How you figgah?

Coconut Willy’s Fried Noodles with Spam…

Coconut Willy’s Garlic Shrimp with Spiral Fries…

Cheeseburger’s Combo Spam and Cheeseburger Babies…

Cheeseburger Babies…

Shack Waikiki’s Hawaiian Spam Burger made with an all-beef burger slider patty topped with hickory-smoked Spam and a pineapple tomato relish. Accompanying it is a Hawaiian-style potato macaroni salad, mixed with hickory smoked Spam, eggs, green onion, mayonnaise and mustard…

Shack Waikiki’s Spam dog ($3) smothered in Spam chili, pineapple tomato relish, cheese and onions…

The beautiful and lovely Shack ladies…

The Shack owner Brendan workin’ the booth…

What, no Spam flavor? It would go great with pineapple! lol

I would fill my bathtub up with one of these and soak in it…

At the Hawaii Food Bank booth…

Spam Macadamia Nut samples galore…

Hamakua Plantations were handing out coupons that would donate 50% of the proceeds to the Hawaii Food Bank. Fantastic.

The owner and president of Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company, Richard Schnitzler…

It was a great honor and pleasure to hear from Richard that sales of their Spam Macadamia Nuts are doing very well due in part to the thorough review I did of the product on this blog. He even credits an account his company picked up with Target thanks to their corporate folks on the mainland seeing the review I did, which was passed on by the corporate folks at Hormel. Wow! Some “big wigs” checkin’ out this site!

At least I know my blog is doing its part in helping to promote Hawaii’s food and products industry with proof positive results.

This Week: Spam in every flavor…

For some reason, anything with “SPAM” on it doesn’t look right in front of an Apple computer store lol…

I wonder if you wear this shirt into the Apple store, would they kick you out? Or would an “Anti-virus” alarm pop-up on any computer you touch? lol

There were a few non-Spam related crafts vendors there selling their wares as well…

A different vendor (not Simply Wood Studios)…

Folks Spam in up for the camera with “Spammy” (or whatever their mascot’s name is)…

Pork Butt lol…

This poor kid was absolutely HORRIFIED by “Spammy” lol…

The revolving restaurant with the lights in the background is Top of Waikiki.

“Spammy” #1 heads into the Outrigger on the beach…

Here’s a full pallet of SPAM, which includes 100 cases at 12 per case, totaling 1,200 cans…

The closing band on stage at the First Hawaiian Bank stage was Journey Tribute band named ‘Separate Ways’, which they were SMOKIN’!…

These guys sound SPOT-ON like Journey. It was really like a free Journey concert at the Spam Jam! And everyone got totally into it.

The lead singer certainly gives Journey’s current frontman, Arnel Pineda a run for the money. He even looks kinda’ like Steve Perry. And the guitarist played Neal Schon’s signature rhythm and leads to perfection with plenty of “feel”, and not just sounding like a “copy”. If you hear of Separate Ways performing and you’re a Journey fan, I highly recommend you check their concert out.

Earlier on that evening at the Waikiki Beach Walk stage, various hula performances took place…

Closing this year’s coverage of the 2010 Waikiki Spam Jam, I leave you with the lovely “Spam Girls” Alicia and Michelle…

For coverage of previous years’ Waikiki Spam Jams, click on the following banner links…

Things To Do
Honolulu

Beyond Haute Dogs at Hank's

Hank’s Haute personal-sized Chicago Deep Dish Cheese Pizza and Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese

If you’re a “Hankster” as Hank Adaniya, the man behind the now world-famous Hank’s Haute Dog calls his regular customers, you’re likely aware of his one-of-a-kind daily specials.

Each day of the week he offers a different and super-exotic Haute Dog, including Alligator Tuesdays, Rabbit ‘n Veal Wednesdays, Buffalo Brat’ Thursdays, Lobster Fridays, Duck & Foie Gras Saturdays and Kobe Wagyu Beef Sundays.

Yet he also throws in a few other non-Haute Dog, yet still Haute-to-trot dishes alongside them. Such as on Mondays it’s Italian Beef day, which while that may sound like a wild night out for the ladies, it’s actually a sandwich, served piled high with Italian Beef and Giardiniera Italian Pickles. That still sounds like a wild night out for the ladies. lol

Then on Tuesdays it’s Hank’s Burger Day, where on Twitter he says, “You’ve tried the rest now try the best!”.

Starting this month, Hank now features “Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Wednesdays”, which a reader of my blog boasted about to me in an eMail, so I was determined to try it out.

I heard these limited supply Chicago Deep Dish personal sized Pizzas sell out quickly, so I called to find out what was the scoops, to which they indeed told me to come early if you really want one. She said they had two models: Cheese for $6.95 and Italian Sausage for $7.95, of course recommending the Italian Sausage as the better and most popular of the two.

Well apparently the crowd beat me to it, because by the time of my 12:30pm (PEAK lunch hour) arrival, the Italian Sausage model had already been erased off the board. Gone. Zero. Zip. Nodda’. Nottin’. Bummers!

And not suprisingly, the place was almost as crowded as it had been on our last visit, being still hot-off-the-heals of their big debut on Triple D on April 5th, with quite a few reruns already having since followed that.

While that Italian Sausage would have been nice (that didn’t sound right), I’m fine with just Cheese, as you’ll soon see, it’s not “just cheese”.

Without further ado, here’s Hank’s Wednesday Special, the new personal size Chicago Deep Dish Pizza…

Hank’s Haute Dogs – Chicago Deep Dish Cheese Pizza (personal size). $6.95

In the usual Tasty Island fashion, we shall now “obsessively” analyze every possible angle of this “specimen”. starting with the dimensions…

This would measure exactly 4-1/4″ diamater at the base of the pizza crust. Now let’s see how deep is “deep” here…

Turns out measuring 1-3/4″ at the highest peak of crust and sauce from the base of the crust. Wow, now that’s DEEP!

It’s sized kinda’ like a little hand-held “cupcake of Pizza love”. I wonder if there’s someone out there who calls their husband or wife that in the bedroom? “Come here you cupcake of Pizza love, you.”

With all that, you gotta’ wonder what could be filling approximately 1″x3-3/4″ of void between the crust and the sauce. Well, let’s cut in half and find out!…

My-oh-my-oh-my. Would you look at all that melted mozzarella just oozing out of it like Kilauea on a good day. Awesome!

Looking at the back of it, you see the pan they were baked in did a good job browning the crust…

That pasta next to it is Hank’s Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese, which I’ll get to shortly.

The crust itself is fantastic, and comparable to the one I always boast about from North Shore Farms. It has just the right amount of glutenous chew and airy texture to it. While the browned surface from the baking process really punches out its “crustyness”.

The mozzarella was melted to just the right point where it didn’t go running out, but sort of just drooped as a “glob”. Deep dish pizzas filled with this much cheese certainly make it a fork and knife affair, unless you’re good at managing “cheese droop” by changing the “angle of attack” as you bite through it. Ya’ know? lol I prefer using a fork and knife anyway, as I can selectively decide on each bite’s “Crust-to-Cheese-to-Sauce Ratio”.

As for the marinara sauce, it was definitely house-made and not from a can or bottle…

It had good balance of acidity, with good depth like it had been simmering for hours, while there were plenty of herbs in it, along with hints of garlic. Guaranteed that Italian Sausage would have added plenty of life to this party, yet even as is, it complimented with the crust and mass of melted Mozzarella very nicely.

Summing it up, I give Hank’s Chicago Deep Dish Cheese Pizza an ooey-cheesy-gooey delicioso 3 SPAM Musubi. Throw on more toppings like, oh say, bell peppers, mushrooms, olives and Pepperoni or Italian Sausage (my faves) and it’d definitely be a 4 or 5.

Next we have Hank’s Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese, which is part of their everyday menu…

Hank’s Haute Dogs – Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese. $4.95

Diggin’ the toasty panko bread crumbs topping it. Let’s transfer it into another container so we can get a better look at it…

I appreciate how the cheese “sauce” ever-so-gently evenly coats the penne pasta, and doesn’t downright DROWN it. Especially after that “bomb” of a blast of melted Mozzarella Cheese I just devoured in the Chicago Deep Dish.

Let’s sample it…

The first thing that hits you is BUTTER. Very buttery. Then the flavor of the white and sharp cheddar kicks in, which gets smoothed out into a silky texture thanks to the Béchamel white sauce it’s based on. Very silky, buttery and kinda’ rich, but not so much where you feel bad eating it. You actually feel really good eating it as it’s freekin’ DELICIOUS!

Whatever the truffle oil did to enhance the 3-to-1 ratio White and Sharp Cheddar Bechamel Sauce, it did well, as you could pour this sauce over a rubbah slippah and it’d probably still taste amazing.

The penne pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, and a welcome pasta shape over elbow macaroni used in commercial Mac ‘n Cheeses. While speaking of textures,  I especially the loved the crunchy contrast of the toasted panko bread crumbs sprinkled on it, wishing there were more of that!

Summing it up, I give Hank’s Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese a haute-to-traute oishilicious 4 SPAM Musubi. Let’s see Guy top that description! lol

Speaking of Haute, we go back to Hank’s dogs, where Diner C decided to try Hank’s Brat’ on this visit…

Out of the Haute Box…

Hank’s Haute Dogs – Brat: steamed with brown mustard and sauerkraut. $6.25

Well, you know what’s next…

So how is it? Diner C said it tastes predominantly like Chicken and/or Turkey, and doesn’t think it has any beef, pork or veal in it, which is what Bratwurst is traditionally made with. The casing had a nice “snap”, while the meat inside was very moist and seasoned nicely with what she thinks it just salt and pepper. No complex spices going on here.

The Sauerkraut and Brown Mustard worked surprisingly well with the poultry-tasting dog, yet she noted that sweet relish would have kicked it up a few notches. Which is again why I ask Hank to give us “Hankster’s” a self-serve condiment bar, onegaishimasu!

Overall Diner C really enjoyed it, giving Hank’s Brat a masarap-sarap 3.5 SPAM Musubi. Since The Tasty Island doesn’t have half-musubi points yet, being we always try look at things on the bright side here, I’m going to round that out to 4 SPAM Musubi. Ou’right!

Looks like Hank has a good sense of humor lol…

Accompanying my Chicago Deep Dish and Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese, I decided to try the evidently very popular Pineapple Ice…

Hank’s Haute Dogs – Pineapple Ice. $2.25

What’s it taste like? Exactly like a Pina Colada, sans the coconut cream and rum. It’s served out of a frozen drink machine, so it has that slushy ice consistency, while the pineapple juice in it tastes 100% with nothing artificial at all about it. Brain-freeze cold, refreshing and Pineapple-ee tasty.

Summing it up, 4 SPAM Musubi on Hank’s Pineapple Ice.

If desserts are your thing, Hank has that covered as well with these offerings…

Here’s the man, the myth, the legend, and most of all, the “King of Encased Meats”, Hank Adaniya…

Hank Adaniya of Hank’s Haute Dogs at his flagship Coral street eatery on 4/21/10

Folks get a photo in front of the now world-famous Hank’s Haute Dogs…

Once again, that would be Italian Beef Sandwich Mondays, Hamburger Tuesdays and Chicago Deep Dish Wednesdays. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday? We shall see! In the mean time, don’t forget to add that STELLAR Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese to your Haute Dog order, and the Pineapple Ice, too!

Hank’s Haute Dogs
324 Coral Street  (right across from the Volvo dealership)
Honolulu, Hawaii  96813
Tel. (808) 532-HANK (4265)
www.HanksHauteDogs.com

Business hours:
Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm
Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm

Cash only, no credit cards.

Free parking on Sunday in lot behind (otherwise only street parking)

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Related links:
• Kaka’ako Eats: Hank’s Haute Dogs – The Tasty Island
• “Triple D Goes Hawaiian” Debuts Tonight! – The Tasty Island

Grindz of the Day: Koi's, BBQ Corner, 49'ers, Zippy's, Natto, Adobo, Beef Tomato & Cookie Flowers

Grindz of the Day begins today with a Shrimp Scampi plate and Garlic Ahi plate Diner A and myself picked up recently from Koi Catering and Takeout.

Remembering how long it took our food to come out on our first visit here several years ago due to big crowds in a small place, this time we phoned in our order. Which even then, by the time we arrived to pick it up, we still had to wait about 5 minutes for our plates amongst a continuously building line of other hungry patrons.

Koi’s is certainly popular, with many folks on Yelp giving them 4 and 5 star ratings….

I was actually a little bummed I had called in my order based on the menu on their website, as had I known they had Hamachi steamed Chinese style as a daily special, I would have ordered that!

Should have asked about that when we phoned-in our order. Oh well. I was also bummed when they said they sold out of crab cakes. Really? At 11am sold out already? Alrighty then.

Well, all we wanted was a really good seafood plate lunch, which Koi’s are known for, whatever that may be. So Diner A decided to get the Garlic Ahi, which is actually the same thing Diner C ordered the last time we were here. Except this time he got it in plate lunch form instead of being served on a salad…

Koi Catering & Takeout – Garlic Ahi: Fresh Island Ahi Seared with a Garlic Seasoned Blend with Koi’s Signature Sweet Wasabi Sauce. $8.45

Here you see how the Ahi fillet is cut fairly thin, fried in a garlic-seasoned blend batter and smothered in Koi’s signature Sweet Wasabi Sauce…

Cutting into it for a bite, we find it’s full of flavor thanks to that batter and very moist and tender, belying it’s thin cut where you’d expect it be overcooked and dried out, but it’s not!…

Their “signature” Sweet Wasabi sauce is also very good, with a subtle, complimentary sweetness to it and a good nose-clearing kick of distinguishable “Wasabi action” going on, while the white and black sesame seeds give it a nice nuttiness.

Their salad is a slight spin on the classic Macaroni Salad, using a medley of various pasta shapes and colors instead of the usual small macaroni elbow pasta. Otherwise, according to Diner A it tasted pretty close to classic mac’ sal’, albeit with a more interesting dimension of textures and some extra herbs that complimented without complicating it. Overall, thumbs up.

Summing up Koi’s Garlic Ahi with Sweet Wasabi sauce plate with a “kicked-up” mac-turned-pasta salad, he gives it a “last Friday of Lent delicious” 3 SPAM Musubi.

And once again, save for the other scoop of mostly untouched rice, Diner A puts his seal of approval by polishing the plate!…

While that Hamachi steamed Chinese style daily special would have been nice, I ended up quite satisfied with Koi’s Shrimp Scampi plate…

Koi Catering & Takeout – Shrimp Scampi: Tiger Shrimp (really?) sauteed with Garlic Butter and Fresh Herb on a bed of Linguine. $6.75

The shrimp were smaller than I had hoped, yet for what it’s worth, they had all the flavor, sweetness and tenderness of tails twice their size. Plus they were expertly shelled and deveined, which is always appreciated.

Just as important, the well-seasoned, garlic-infused butter coated all surfaces of the tail meat like glue, so it was Shrimp Scampi “flavortown” in every bite. OK, I’m watching too much Triple D now. lol But really, it was.

The linguine pasta was done perfectly al dente and was flavored simply by the run-off garlic butter from the scampi. Perfect. A squeeze of the lemon and it was all good.

While the accompanying buttered French Bread was wonderfully toasty and generously buttered…

If anything, it could have used some garlic in the butter for the bread, but with enough garlic in the scampi, it sufficed as is. Basically a “shrimp-ee, garlic-ee butterfest” on a plate. Can’t complain about that!

Summing up Koi’s Shrimp Scampi plate, I’ll give it a “garlic butterlicious” 3 SPAM Musubi.

Moving on to the next dish, we have a Hamburger Steak plate Diner E picked up for lunch recently from BBQ Corner…

Witness the deep-brown and ono looking brown gravy all smothered with sauteed mushrooms and onions… yum!…

Behold the holy grail of hamburgers, GRILL MARKS!…

Let’s have a taste…

Ding-ding-ding, we have a winnah! Summing it up, Diner “Saimin Kaukau” E gives BBQ Corner’s Hamburger Steak a super-solid 3 SPAM Musubi, which would probably translate to 5 SPAM Musubi if it had been me.

Good Lord, now I’m craving for a Hamburger Steak or Loco Moco plate!

Speaking of burgers, next we head on over to Aiea at Forty Niner Restaurant, where Diner A and ohana enjoyed a few of their awesome home style burgers, starting with a Cheeseburger…

A Teriyaki Burger…

And a Double Cheeseburger…

With that, Diner A says their burgers are solid 4 SPAM Musubi rated across the board.

Next we have more Facebook coupon values from Zippy’s, this time with 20% off their Chili Nachos plate…

That was mine, which is I always choose the vegetarian chili, as I love MUSHROOMS!

This is Zippy’s Chili Nacho plate with their regular Chili…

How is it? Eh, just OK. I give it 1 SPAM Musubi. Their tortilla chips are bit too greasy and “corny” for me. Plus, with 20% off discount, it seems they also give 20% less cheese. lol

Next up we have Natto on rice, except this time the rice is mixed with Grandma G’s Kim Chee Fried Rice and Charsiu Fried Rice…

Of course with my usual Natto accompaniments, Takuwan (the yellow stuff) Beni Shoga (the red stuff) and Negi (the green stuff). SPAM Musubi rating? 4!

Then we have a few dishes from “Pomai’s Kitchen”, starting with Auntie Lynn’s awesome Chicken Adobo…

Plate ’em up…

The only thing missing was Peppercorns, which I had run out of. But that’s OK, as cracked black pepper seemed to have worked out just fine. The “secret ingrediment” to this masarap-sarap (delicious) Chicken (or Pork) Adobo recipe is PAPRIKA. Yup. I’ll share the recipe with a complete cooking demo’ later.

Next from “Pomai’s Kitchen”, we have another one of my favorite comfort food dishes, local Chinese style Beef Tomato…

I actually got this recipe from Aloha World.com, and it turned out really ono, although I had to modify some quantities here and there to make it taste just the way I like it.

To me, it isn’t “true” Beef Tomato unless it has celery, bell peppers and onions in it, which I never skimp on when making it…

Flavoring the cornstarch-thickened gravy, oyster sauce and ginger are also a must. Such a simple dish, yet so, so ono!

Finally, this past Wednesday was officially “Administrative Professionals Day”, to which Diner C received this Cookie Flower Bouquet…

And to all of you who read/comment/look/lurk/drool over this blog, MAHALO!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1hglPVT24U&feature=related

More Ono Grindz at KCC Farmers' Market

This past Saturday morning I paid yet another visit to the always amazing KCC Farmers’ Market. Following are some of the onolicious grindz offered for sale that day. Enjoy!

Kabocha pumpkins and sweet Ewa onions…

Beets…

These are much larger than regular green onion, the Japanese green onion called Negi…

Notice each bunch consisting of just five or six Negi stalks is as thick as that person’s wrist. Some ramen shops in Japan only use the white part of the stalk, and not the green part, so it looks like a small white onion ring when floating in the broth.

North Shore Farms Tomatoes….

Next we have the offerings from North Shore Cattle Company, including their own Portuguese Sausage and a Cheeseburger featuring North Shore Cattle beef…

Braised Beef Eggs Benedict, eh? Sounds interesting!…

If these sample plates look dried out, they were, as I didn’t get there until 10am, and they probably had these out since opening at 7:30am. Yet at least you still get an idea what they’re offering. I suppose their lucky dog or pet pig will get these at the end of the day.

Next up are the offerings from Hawaiian Style Chili Company…

This is the chunkiest Portuguese Bean “Soup” I’ve ever seen!…

Notice these products are by Tan-da-Dan Brand®, which “Tan-da-Dan” is a local Hawaii slang that means “Big Shot” or “Big Whip”. As in, “Whoah, howz braddah, come walking into da’ club acking all Tan-Da-Dan, laddat.” (Look at that fellah strutting in the club acting like a big shot.)

Next up we have Poi Battered Fish & Organic Salad from The Hawaiian Chef….

Hawaiian Vegetarian Kabocha (pumpkin) and Apple Soup and Hawaiian Scottish Fresh Fish Chowder “Cullen Skink”…

That’s a good deal for Fish ‘n Chips. If they’re there next week, I think that’s what I’ll try.Them Poi-battered fish sound interesting and look really ono!

India Cafe…

More breakfast plates, this time from Grandma G’s…

Here’s a couple freshly-made plates of Grandma G’s famous Fried Rice…

The plate shown above was prepared especially for me as a complimentary “sampler”, as the owners are readers of my blog and wanted my honest opinion of it. Well, putting me in the spot here, while I’m not a fan of Kim Chee Fried Rice, for what it’s worth, it had good balance, without the Kim Chee being overpowering, where you could still taste the “nuttiness” of the fried rice, and it was also perfectly seasoned. I definitely liked the Charsiu Fried Rice, which the grains of rice tasted like they were laced with a little shoyu, while being toasty outside, and tender inside, and overall moist and a little sticky as whole. Which is how I prefer my fried rice, and not loose and “granular”, if you know what I mean. Very tasty.

The thick-cut Loves Portuguese Sweet Bread French Toast also was great, as was the Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage served alongside it, while of course there’s no question SPAM and eggs are gonna’ go great together . Overall I give Grandma G’s “Sampler Plate”  3 SPAM Musubi (very good).

Next we have more healthy, mostly sugar-free, Agave-sweetened pastries from StarPoint Cafe, including this full pan of scones….

Cinnamon Rolls…

Sorry, I didn’t get the name of this, but it looks ono!…

StarPoint’s Bread Pudding…

Fryin’ up some Beignets at Country Comfort Kitchen…

Beignets (pronounced bay’ney) and lumpia fresh outta’ the fryer, ready for a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar…

What I specifically came here for (besides to impulse shop), are the french rolls and Vietnamese style pickled carrots and daikon to make Banh Mi sandwiches from the (very big) Ba-Le Bakery booth…

Quenching my thirst while at the Ba-Le booth, I picked up a glass of their Thai Iced Tea…

While it may look like carrot juice, it simply tasted more like a subtly fruity and creamy asian style iced tea. Yet I don’t know what fruits and other ingredients it’s made of,  as none of the young Vietnamese ladies working the booth could comprehensively explain it to me due to speaking very little English.  What I do know is it was very tasty and refreshing, with them adding cube ices right before serving, making it extra cold and satisfying in the late morning heat. 4 SPAM Musubi on Ba-Le’s ice cold Thai Iced Tea.

Fittingly, KCC’s culinary students are at the KCC Farmers’ Market every weekend showing off their wares…

Hawaiian Heart of Palm…

Pat Arakawa of Pat’s Peanut’s is there every weekend serving up her awesome Spicy Garlic, kinda’ teriyaki style Boiled Peanuts!…

A chewy-meets-tender option to the much softer boiled peanuts are the “dry-boiled” style…

Like several other vendors there, Pat also serves SPAM Musubi, where one style also includes egg…

Where there’s peanuts, there shall be chocolate — as in the North Shore of Oahu’s very own Malie Kai Chocolates…

While farming’s most popular yield is food, there’s no shortage of non-edible, yet beautiful-to-look at flowers for sale at KCC Farmers’ Market…

That wraps it up. So what did I end up with on this KCC Farmers’ Market visit? Well first and foremost I wanted the French Rolls and Vietnamese Pickled Carrots and Daikon from Ba-Le Bakery so I could make homemade Banh Mi Sandwiches…

Super cheap too. Ba most excellent Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots are just $3 for a good-sized container, and also excellent French Rolls made by Bale Bakery are just $3 for 4 rolls!

A Banh Mi sandwich wouldn’t be complete without the greens to provide that snap and refreshingly healthy taste. So of course I had to pick up a fresh bunch each of sweet Thai Basil, Cilantro (Chinese Parsley) and Mint…

These very generously-portioned bunches of very fresh, flavorful and GREEN Thai Basil, Cilantro and Mint were just $1 each! There are certainly some killer deals at KCC Farmers’ Market, you just need to hunt a little for them. I could probably make 20 Banh Mi Sandwiches from just $3 worth of these herbs.

I also had to sample Teixeira’s Pastele and Mexican Rice mini-plate straight from Waimanalo…

How was it? The Mexican rice had too much cumin and/or paprika (or whatever spices they put in it), making it overly robust and earthy. While the Pastele’s banana masa, olives and pork were all there for the party, yet suffered by being  a bit on the dry side and not seasoned enough.

Back to the rice,  I much prefer the Puerto Rican style (flavored) Gandule Rice with my Pastele over Mexican rice.

With that, I’ll give this Pastele mini-plate 1 SPAM Musubi (average).

If there’s one dish I NEVER leave KCC Farmers’ Market without a slice in my hand, is North Shore Farms’ “totally off the hook, in-it-to-win-it” Neapolitan Pesto Pizza…

I took a slice of this to my aunt, and she was FLOORED by it, agreeing with me that this was easily the best Pizza she’s ever tasted.  Its simplicity, fresh-made and locally-grown high quality ingredients and super crust all come together making it perfection in a pie. 5 SPAM Musubi. 10 SPAM Musubi. You name it. This should be on the new Food Network show, ‘Best Thing I Ever Ate’!

Finally, I also picked up a bag of Pat’s ichiban oishii Spicy Garlic “teriyaki style” Boiled Peanuts…

I like that last “ingrediment” listed on there: Peanuts, Salt, Peppers and Aloha.

Very nice! That should be a required ingredient for all products made in Hawaii.

See you next Saturday at the KCC Farmers’ Market!

Things To Do
Honolulu

Food Rules

Well, food does “rule”, figuratively speaking, as it’s one of my favorite subjects. Yet literally there are Food Rules we should follow in order to live long and thrive.

If that last catch phrase sounded familiar, it’s Kaiser Permanente’s new slogan used in their latest ad campaign, which goes “May you live long and thrive”.

With that, I was at Kaiser Permanente’s Moanalua hospital yesterday visiting someone, when I decided before leaving to check out their ‘Sunshine Cafe’ cafeteria, where they had this FOOD RULES board up at the entrance in the hallway.

While much of it may sound like common sense, we all need to be reminded of these great tips every now and then so we make healthy choices in the kitchen, at the grocery store, or when going out to eat. Besides, if it’s posted in a hospital full of doctors and health care professionals, it’s gotta’ be sound advice.

Although you can enlarge that photo and read it from there, I’ll retype it here so you can easily copy and paste it and make your own poster that I would recommend you put up in your kitchen. That way it will be “in your face” every day, and you and your family members will live a happier life through proper diet. I already made my own FOOD RULES poster with these tips that I put on my fridge.
_____________________________________________________

FOOD RULES
by Michael Pollan

• Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored.

• Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself.

• Eat your colors.

• Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.

• Avoid food products containing ingredients that a 3rd grader can’t pronounce.

• Eat mostly plants. Especially leaves.

• Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.

• Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.

• Avoid food products that make health claims.

• Buy smaller plates and glasses.

• Do all your eating at the table.

• Treat treats as treats.

• Buy your snacks at the farmers market.

• Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

• Eat meals.

• Eat food (as opposed to eating edible, food-like substances).

May you live long and thrive.
_____________________________________________________

Not stopping there, I’ve come up with more Food Rules, with a little bit of a local Hawaii twist!

Poke Stop’s Deep-Fried Whole Moi with Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water and Ponzu sauce, Mesclun Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Brown Rice

FOOD RULES
by The Tasty Island

• When ordering a plate lunch, opt for brown rice instead of white. (see plate above)

• When ordering a plate lunch, opt for tossed greens with a light dressing instead of macaroni salad. (see plate above)

• When ordering a plate lunch, opt for fish instead of meat; preferably grilled, baked or steamed, and not deep-fried. (unlike the plate depicted above lol)

• If the above options aren’t available, don’t order a plate lunch and get a salad instead. If that isn’t available, go somewhere else!

• Instead of regular, order the mini-plate.

• Choose water instead of soda or sugar-sweetened juices.

• Treat SPAM as a treat, and not a meat.

• Go easy on the shoyu. (sodium)

• Go easy on the mayo’. (fat)

Not to sound like a hypocrite, personally I know for a fact that I don’t always follow those rules, yet I know I should and I do at least try to.

Besides, I like leev’ one supah’ long time an’ ‘trive, laddat! (I want to live a super-long time and thrive!) lol

A Marukai Musubi Fest

Last Friday I took Diner C and E to the Marukai Wholesale Mart on Kamehameha highway (end of Dillingham blvd.), as they were both interested in becoming members, but wanted to check it out first. Being that I usually shop at Marukai’s Ward Farmers Market location, this is actually the first time I’ve been to their Dillingham warehouse club store in YEARS, and I must say, it’s VERY impressive! Primarily because it’s way, way, way, WAY bigger than the Ward Farmers Market location.

As far as Japanese food is concerned, Marukai’s main warehouse-sized store is probably the closest you can get next to a plane ticket to Tokyo, making Shirokiya look like a 7 Eleven. Well, that’s exaggerating quite a bit, but this gives you an idea just how big it is.

Actually I LOVE Shirokiya too, and I hope they stick around for generations to come. It’s definitely my number one go-to store whenever I’m at Ala Moana.

Like Shirokiya, along with a variety of imported Japanese housewares and groceries, Marukai has a HUGE selection of takeout bento boxes and ala carte prepared Japanese and local foods to choose. I’d say Shirokiya has a few more made-to-order specialty items, but Dillingham Marukai has their share too, depending when you go.

On our visit this past Friday, the ladies behind the counter were preparing fresh ‘n HOT! Omusubi like I’m featuring here, and also Okonomiya Shrimp Tempura Nigiri Sushi. Well, it wasn’t named exactly that, but that’s essentially what it was, and it looked mighty oishii!

Actually, there’s so many types of bento to choose, it got kinda’ frustrating, as it kept me in an indecisive state. Don’t you hate that? “Ooh! Salmon! No, no wait, ooh! Mochiko Chicken! No, no, look at this one, get Saba, Teriyaki Beef and Shrimp Tempura, but ah, no more Sekihan Rice in this one. Ooh, but look this one, get Salmon on top Sekihan Rice, but ah, I no like da’ Tsukemono selection in ‘dis one. But wow, check this one out, get Musubi, hot dog, fried chicken and edamame, but ah, too heavy.”. You know da’ kine? lol Frustrating I tell you, when get so many ono looking bento boxes for choose!

Then Diner C came walking up to me with an Omusubi in her hand and I was like “where did you find that?!” She pointed out where they were, where one look at the freshly-made and hot Omusubi selections and I was SOLD!  Today it’s gonna’ be an Omusubi Fest! Yay!

So we got back to the office with the following grinds, starting with Diner E’s “Fry Fest”…

That would be a fried chicken drumstick, Kabocha (Pumpkin) tempura and vegetable tempura.

For starch, Diner E went with one of his (and my) favorites, Sekihan (red bean) Sticky Rice…

For the main course, Diner C decided on getting a grilled Saba fillet, which is one of my faves too…

For starch, she went with California Roll Maki Sushi…

Marukai had a 20% off all Tsukemono sale during this visit, so Diner C also picked up this pack of seasoned Iriko…

And what I must say is probably the best Tsukemono I’ve tasted yet, this container of Kyuri Kim Chee Prepared Cucumber…

Let me tell you, if you’re looking for one onolicious pupu of the vegetable variety, THIS IS IT! Why they name it Kim Chee I don’t know, as it doesn’t taste like that at all, save for the pepper flakes. But there’s no Kouchujang sauce in it. According to the label, its ingredients are: Cucumber Radish, Garlic, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Distilled Vinegar, Spice, MSG, Citric Acid, Sorbic Acid and Food Coloring. It’s also made in Japan.

To explain it, it’s crunchy and tender, yet slightly chewy too. Flavorwise, it’s kinda’ like a pickle, but not as acidic, or in other cases not that sweet. It’s almost meaty in a cucumber way, definitely having that “Umami” factor.

You just gotta’ try it to understand. Go to Marukai and look this one up. I can almost gaurantee you’ll think it’s “da’ bomb”. I think it’s freekin’ AWESOME! Thank goodness Marukai had samples of each Tsukemono, or I probably would have passed this one up without knowing it. Check    it    out!

Moving along, Diner C also picked up some Omusubi to take home for the kids, including Inaka Musubi Spam, Sukiyaki Beef Musubi, Butterfish Musubi and Inaka Musubi Furikake/Ume…

What does “Inaka” mean? Not that it matters, as whatever it is, it sounds good! lol

Which brings us to my selection, which were five, yes FIVE Omusubi!…

That would be Inaka Musubi Salmon, Inaka Musubi Konbu (Seasoned Seaweed), Butter Fish Musubi, Inaka Musubi Yukari/Takuan and Inaka Musubi Furikake/Ume.  Check out the prices! Yasui desu yo (cheap)!

Part of what makes Japanese products so great and high quality is their consistent attention to detail. Especially when it comes to presentation and packaging, and these Omsubi are no exception. Check out how each one is wrapped either in a type of breathable paper, or these individually heat-sealed, tamper-proof clear wrappers…

The heat from the freshly-cooked rice steamed up the bag, so when it arrived at the table, it was supple and moist, like it came straight from the maker’s hands. Love that.

OK, let’s bus’ ’em out and check it out, starting with the Salmon Omusubi…

As always in Tasty Island fashion, a cross-cut view…

How is it? Delicious! The rice was perfectly cooked with just the right “stick” and not falling apart. It was also seasoned perfect, with only a mild hint of salt, yet enough to bring out the flavor of the very moist and distinctively-flavored salmon. While the nori was soft, which is how I like it to be on Omusubi. 4 SPAM (o)Musubi for this one.

Next we have the Butter Fish Omusubi…

Cross-cut view…

At first glance, I thought it was made with Sekihan rice, but then after Diner E pointed it out, I realized it was actually a small-grain rice mixed with barley and wheat grains. Or something like that. It reminded me of one of the macrobiotic Omusubi from Manabu’s.

But WOW! This one is, as J.J. from the 70’s sitcom ‘Good Times’ used to exclaim, “DAH-AI-NO-MITE!” The slightly crunchy texture of the grains, along with the delicate small grain rice, savory element of the Butter Fish on top, along with the earthiness of the Nori is one fantastic combo’! Oishii to da’ max! 5 SPAM (o)Musubi for sure!

Damned, that Butter Fish Omusubi was good.

Next we have the Furikake Ume Omusubi…

I don’t know what it is, but something about the combination of colors between the dark green nori, white rice and red ume always makes my mouth salivate. Just like looking at Pickled Mango. Does it do that for you? Sure does for me.

I think because I know how supah’ ONO those three things taste when eaten together like this!

Cutting it in half, there’s no hidden surprises inside…

The large, flatted seedless ume is the “meat” here, and a mighty oishii one at that. I love how that acidic twang of the ume tastes in contrast to the neutral white rice, while again that earthiness of the Nori rounds it out beautifully. I really don’t think it needs the Furikake, as the Nori does the enough, with the Furikake turning a little more “complex” than I prefer. Still delicious though. I’ll give this one 4 SPAM (o)Musubi too. Can’t go wrong with Ume, nori and rice!

Then we have the Konbu Omusubi…

Cut in half, we find there’s a generous serving of seasoned Konbu Tsukemono packed under that Nori…

How is it? The seasoned Konbu (seaweed) has an intense, almost savory flavor, tasting similar to Korean Taegu, which is seasoned dried cod. That flavor in combination with the nori is a little too intense, yet the neutral white rice does help somewhat to buffer that intensity.  I’ll give this 2 SPAM (o) Musubi.

Rounding out this Omusubi Fest, we have a Yukari Takuan Omusubi…

I didn’t cut this one in half, as like the others for the most part, there’s not much else to see.

How is it? Oishii of course! I love the pungent, aromatic flavor Takuan, and this brand was a good one, having a good balance of sweet and acidic going on. The purple-colored Yukari seasoning added an extra salty kick to the rice, punching out the whole deal as I ate through it. Very solid 4 SPAM (o)Musubi for this one. In fact, when I go back to Marukai, I”d probably get this Yukari Takuan Omusubi, the Ume Omusubi and the Butter Fish Omusubi and I’d be set.

Diner E also really enjoyed his Marukai “Fry Fest”, noting the fried chicken had a tasty and crispy batter, while being moist, tender and flavorful inside…

Diner E is Okinawan, but I dunno’ now. I think he’s going “Yobo” on us, as check out his Korean Stainless Steel Chopsticks! He even said he’s getting hooked on Korean TV Soaps! Ha ha ha ha! lol

Here he shows off his perfectly cooked and very tasty Kabocha Tempura from the “inside”…

Diner C also gave a thumbs-up to her Grilled Saba, Cali’ Rolls and of course that AWESOME Kim Chee Cucumber Tsukemeno!

The Tsukemono also went extremely well with my omusubi spread, like here where I put some Iriko on my Ume Omusubi…

Whoah, bully, whack da’ buggah’ laddat, broke da’ mout’ winnahz, cuz! Oh sorry, I momentarily went “moke” on you. It was so good, I lost my mind. lol

Marukai has two locations on Oahu. Their main Warehouse Mart store is located on the far Ewa end of Dillingham Boulevard where it then becomes Kamehameha highway, with a smaller store in Ward Farmers Market on Auahi street in Kaka’ako (near Ala Moana).

The Ward location now occupies the entire space in Farmers Market, right up to the Diamond Head end where Tropic Fish and Vegetable Market used to be. That whole side space where Tropics and Haili’s used to be is now Marukai’s ‘Zakka Avenue’ store, which was formerly called the ’99 Cent Store’.

While everything in the Zakka store are still considered “value priced”, most items are higher than 99 cents now. You also need a Marukai membership now to shop at the Zakka Avenue (formerly 99 Cents) store.

Membership at Marukai on Oahu is $15, which includes a card for you and one other member of your household. Renewals thereafter are just $10 anually, so it’ s a pretty good deal.

If you’re looking for a great selection of imported Japanese groceries, housewares products, and prepared Japanese foods to go, all at great prices for their members, head on over to Marukai!

Marukai Warehouse Mart
2310 Kamehameha Hwy
Honolulu, HI 96819

Tel. (808) 845-5051
www.MarukaiHawaii.com

Business Hours:
Monday through Friday: 8:30am – 8pm
Saturday: 8am – 8pm
Sunday: 8am – 6pm

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Things To Do
Honolulu

Cup Noodles Gets "Souper-Sized"

Diner A had brought this BUCKET-sized version of Cup Noodle for lunch recently, and taken aback by it’s unusually large size, I was like “Whoah, what the heck is that?!”

Made by Nissin, the same folks who make ‘Cup Noodles’, they’ve decided to badge this product with the very Americanized name “Souper Meal”. This is new to me.

Yet showing my lack of awareness in the instant ramen industry, apparently the ‘Souper Meal’ has been on the market for years now, as The Impulsive Buy did a thorough review of this product way back in 2005. which back then they had the ‘Cup Noodle’ name on the label.

Which has us  wondering why they didn’t simply name it “Tub Noodle” or “Bucket Noodle”.  Sound too “janitorial” perhaps? I suppose “Souper Meal”, an obvious play on “soup”, has broader market appeal, especially in the states.

Looking at the photo of the “Souper Meal” on the label, it does indeed look more like a western soup than Japanese ramen; the former of which I’m guessing they’re hoping U.S. consumers will think it is and throw it in the shopping cart. Especially at the bargain price these things sell for, which Diner A picked them up at Walmart for just a $1 each.

Yet for the non-observant impulse shopper, the label does in fact say ‘RAMEN NOODLE’ in small black print on the bottom. Gotcha’!

Just like any other instant ramen, they come in various flavors, including what we have here with Shrimp and Chicken. The shrimp version is especially funky, having a tomato and garlic flavored broth, which is unheard of with traditional Japanese Ramen.

Helping to provide some scale as to how big this super-sized ‘Souper Meal’ is, here’s a side-by-side comparison with its much, much older, yet half-sized brother and “college grub” staple, Nissin Cup Noodles…

2.5 oz. for the Cup Noodles versus 4.3 oz. for the Souper Meal to be exact. You know that “ginormous” tub of margarine you can buy at Costco or Sam’s? Well, the ‘Souper Meal’ container isn’t much smaller than that.

Great, just what American needs. As if instant ramen weren’t already bad enough with its high sodium soup base and deep-fried noodles packing plenty of saturated fat, now their marketing geniuses have decided we need nearly twice the amount in “one serving”.

Looking at the NUTRITION FACTS, here’s the breakdown:

Souper Meal Shrimp flavor
Serving Size: 1/2 container (61g)
Serving per Container: 2
Net wt. 4.3 oz. (122 g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories	280
Calories From Fat	110
		% Daily Value
Total Fat	12 g	18 %
Saturated Fat	6 g	30 %
Trans Fat	0 g	0 %
Cholesterol	5 mg	2 %
Sodium	1020 mg	43 %
Total Carbohydrate	38 g	13 %
Dietary Fiber	2 g	8 %
Sugar	1 g
Protein	6 g
Vitamin A		30 %
Vitamin C		0 %
Calcium		4 %
Iron		8 %

Cup Noodles Shrimp flavor
Serving Size: 2.25 oz (64 g)
Serving per Container: 1
Net wt. 2.25 oz (64 g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories	300
Calories From Fat	120
		% Daily Value
Total Fat	13 g	20 %
Saturated Fat	7 g	35 %
Trans Fat	0 g	0 %
Cholesterol	5 mg	2 %
Sodium	1180 mg	49 %
Total Carbohydrate	38 g	13 %
Dietary Fiber	1 g	6 %
Sugar	1 g
Protein	7 g
Vitamin A		6 %
Vitamin C		0 %
Calcium		4 %
Iron		2

Notice they try to trick us with the Souper Meal by giving the nutritional facts for a 1/2  serving, yet we all know this is intended to be eaten entirely by one person in one sitting. So adding it up, you’re getting a whopping 26 grams of fat and 2040 milligrams of sodium if you whack an entire Souper Meal yourself. Which makes the Souper Meal no less “evil” than KFC’s new and notorious ‘Double Down’.

While the Cup Noodles is as instant as it gets, with the soup base and dehydrated “accoutrements” already mixed in with the noodles, the Souper Meal requires “advanced ramen chef skills”, as it comes with 3 separate packets: 1) the soup base powder; 2) the dehyrated veggies; and 3) the “flavor enhancer”.  Sheesh. Sounds complicated. lol

Here we see a typical instant ramen’s fried, dehydrated brick — or in this case — disk-like uncooked state…

I suppose at this point, if I were about 20 years less my current age and had my own YouTube channel, I’d be doing all kinds of “shenanigans” with this thing  just for the sake of your entertainment, but I’m not, so we’ll just carry on as is. lol

Unlike the far superior nama (fresh) ramen products include a liquid soup base, instant ramen most commonly includes a mega-sodium, mega-MSG packed dehydrated (powered) soup base…

While the powdered soup bases bother me just because of what it is and how it tastes, I actually find the dehydrated toppings turn out quite fresh and tasty once they’re brought back to life…

I’m just not really cool with peas and carrots in ramen, even if it’s instant. That’s plain just WEIRD if you ask me. I mean, I’ll still eat it, but if I had a choice, I’d prefer they put in dehydrated kombu and egg or tofu. So if you see a guy in front of the Nissin factory holding up a sign that says “NO PEAS & CARROTS!”, that’d be me. lol

Here’s that Shrimp with Garlic & Tomato ‘Souper Meal’, all done cooking, or should I say “nuking”….

The powdered soup base and dehydrated veggies are added with the water at the beginning stage, where it then requires 4 minutes and 30 seconds in the nuker. Then you let it sit covered for a minute or so to “set”, and just prior to being served you stir in the “flavor enhancer”, which looks like oil mixed with some sort of MSG-based protein agent (see the orange stuff on the lid in the photo above).

Voila, a chicken-flavored “Souper Meal”…

Doesn’t that look oishii? lol Corn in ramen. Good grief. lol The green stuff is cabbage. I’m cool with that. But, oh, I keep forgetting, this isn’t really “ramen”, it’s a ‘Souper Meal’.

A freshly-brewed Cup Noodle compared with a partially consumed Chicken Souper Meal…

Let’s see how the noodles itself compares…

The fatter profile Souper Meal noodles were a little more al dente if you will, yet just like Cup Noodles — and most other instant ramen noodles for that matter – they both still have that “pastiness” about them. Also, can you even use the term “al dente” for instant ramen noodles?

As for the soup broth, I’ve never been a fan of Cup Noodles’, and the Souper Meal hasn’t really improved on it by much. If anything, being CHICKEN FLAVOR, all it really tasted like is the Cup Noodle broth with the addition of chicken bouillon cubes. It also has this very subtle curry flavor to it. Subtle, but there, making it taste just plain weird. At least for me anyway.

Summing it up, on basis of an initial tasting, I’ll give Nissin’s Chicken with Vegetable Medley ‘Souper Meal’ 1 SPAM Musubi.

Thankfully the superior fresh nama ramen can be found at most supermarkets around Hawaii today. I’ll stick with that, thank you very much.

Yamachan Shoyu Nama Ramen with Chicken Soup Base, Chashu, Menma and Negi

On a final note, earlier when we were looking over the nutritional numbers of the super-sized “why don’t we bastardize Japanese Ramen for all its worth” Souper Meal, KFC’s new and notorious ‘Double Down’ was brought up. Have any of you tried it yet?

KFC Double Down – Two KFC Original Recipe Boneless Fried Chicken Breast “buns” with Bacon, American Cheese and KFC Sauce sandwiched between them

Substituting the bun for meat isn’t the part that bothers me. It’s what they put in between it that does.

What is with fast food restaurants and their penchant for slamming our poor cardiovascular systems with more, more and MORE bacon and cheese? I mean, enough already!

I think they should have been at least somewhat “responsible” and put either their Coleslaw in there, or better yet, fresh lettuce and tomato. Or you’d think they would have at least done that with the Grilled KFC Double Down, but NOOOOOO, even that one gets the Baco-Cheese-Inator treatment. Sheesh!

Yet even being “Baco-Cheese-Inated”, is the Double Down really the baddest guy to hit town? How about this “innocent” ‘Souper Meal’?

Let’s compare the important nutritional (or lack there of) numbers here:

KFC Double Down:
Serving size: 1 “sandwich”
540 Calories
32 grams of fat
1,380 milligrams of sodium

Nissin Souper Meal:
Serving size: 1 container (4.3 oz.)
560 Calories
24 grams of fat
2040 milligrams of sodium

Take your pick.

Restaurant-hopping with The Honolulu Advertiser

Check out the TGIF section in today’s (4/16/10) edition of the Honolulu Advertiser, where the cover story is “How to Have a Progressive Dinner“.

In there you’ll find yours truly featured as one of three Oahu-based food bloggers mapping our own ‘Progressive Dinner’ route on the island.

Joining me on this foodie trek are fellow food bloggers Stanley Ehara of AkuEats.com with the theme “Waikiki on Foot”, and Edward Morita of BakersHours.com with the theme “For the Love of Foie Gras”.

Also contributing are Mari Taketa, Martha Cheng, and of course Kawehi Haug, the Advertiser’s Entertainment Editor.

I chose the theme “On the Beach”, which actually was originally submitted as “A Progressive Dinner on Waikiki Beach”, hence the restaurants that I chose.

Speaking of which, ironically, and without knowing it would turn out this way, both Stanley and I chose Waikiki as the theme. His on a walking tour and mine on the beach. Also ironically and without knowing it, both Edward and I landed at Michel’s for dessert! Very interesting.

I’ll definitely have to try Michel’s Flambe Strawberries and Foie Gras on Tiramisu Ice Cream, which Edward says is one of his favorite desserts in Honolulu. And Edward, you must try their Pineapple Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cheesecakes! One of the best cheescakes in the WORLD!

In case you don’t know what a progressive dinner is, here’s how Kawehi Haug, the staff writer who put this whole thing together explains it: “A social trend in the 1970s and ’80s, progressive dinners were essentially mobile potlucks. A group of eaters would go from home to home, with homeowners preparing and hosting different courses of a meal.”

Because of the limitation of print, we were given up to 250 words to do this. Well, since we’re not confined by space here, without further ado, here’s my entire uncut submission for Kawehi Haug’s ‘Restaurant-hopping‘ feature…

A Progressive Dinner on Waikiki Beach

By Pomai Souza
TastyIslandHawaii.com

Whether it’s a special occasion or just to relax and “play tourist”, Waikiki beach is a great place for kama’aina to come and enjoy the fantastic live entertainment, onolicious food and of course that million dollar view we are so blessed with.

If I were to organized a progressive dinner, I’d theme it “Waikiki Beach”, where I’d begin by having everyone meet for pupus and drinks at Duke’s On the Sand at the Outrigger Waikiki.

Henry Kapono performs live every Sunday afternoon at Duke’s Waikiki

Preferably on a Sunday when Henry Kapono plays, turning Duke’s into one of the most happening spots this side of Daimond Head crater. It’s such a special moment in time, that Henry even wrote a song about it aptly named “Duke’s on Sunday”. Best of all, it happens every weekend.

The drinks and pupus at Duke’s are fantastic as well. While not being the cheapest place in town, as they don’t have a “pauhana hour” or special Kama’aina discounts, still reasonably priced considering the location right on the beach and free live music by one of the biggest names in Hawaii’s entertainment industry.

As back-to-basics as it may sound, I especially love their “Beach Fries”, which are waffle-cut with a mild spice seasoning. Personally I think it’s one of the best fries on the island.

Beach Fries – seasoned and waffle cut

Another popular pupu on their Barefoot Bar menu is “Duke’s Nachos”, which as “bar food” as it is, somehow those negative ions from the ocean that’s just footsteps away makes the simplest of dishes like these taste that much more “onolicious”.

“Duke’s Nachos” with beans, cheddar cheese, jalapeños, black olives, cilantro, guacamole and sour cream

Duke’s Waikiki Hot Wings and Mango BBQ Baby Back Ribs are also fantastic, with bold ‘n tasty sauces. I’d go as far as saying their ribs give Tony Roma’s a run for the money. Their Ahi Poke has also left me quite impressed.

Moving on to the next location for the main course and perhaps a few appetizers, we’d sit down for dinner on a beachside table at Ocean House in the Outrigger Reef Hotel, which is just a hop, skip and a jump from Duke’s further up Waikiki beach heading Ewa.

Pan Seared Kona Kampachi – Topped with Shoyu, Ginger Vinaigrette, Citrus Beurre Blanc and Jasmine Rice,

I’ve had some of the best seafood dishes at Ocean House, including their Pan Seared Kona Kampachi and the Parmesan Crusted Opah Picatta; both of which were to die for.. They have the freshest catch, while their recipes and preparations are outstanding.

For those in the party who may not care for or be in the mood for seafood, Ocean House also serves a fabulous Slow Roasted Hawaiian Salt Prime Rib, as well as chicken and steaks.

“Hawaiian Salt” Slow Roasted Prime Rib Au Jus

Ocean House features fresh, locally grown organic produce and fresh-baked breads, Their plantation home decor setting feels elegant, yet casual and relaxed at the same time, while their service is always great. Just like Duke’s, they’re situated right on Waikiki beach, so them negative ions enhance this already elevated dining experience that much more.

For dessert and a nightcap, we’d all share a cab and head on over to the footsteps of Diamond Head at Michel’s in the Colony Surf. Sticking with the theme, like Duke’s and Ocean House, Michel’s is literally right on the beach, albeit a bit further down, where you’re looking back at the heart of Waikiki instead of from it.

Reason I choose Michel’s is because it was here that I’ve had the most INCREDIBLE cheesecake in the WORLD, which would be their Pineapple Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cheese Cake.

Pineapple Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cheese Cake with Roasted Macadamia Nuts and Creme Anglaise.

Never mind that it was a complimentary dessert for my birthday. All I know is it’s by far the BEST Cheesecake I’ve ever had the pleasure of indulging into. If it’s not your birthday, you can still order it for $10, yet let me tell you, it tastes like a million bucks. Hats off to Executive chef Eberhard “Hardy” Kintscher for doing such a fine job on this dessert.

Michel’s also features a number of dishes prepared tableside, including dessert classics such as Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Foster done “Hawaiian Style”.

Being a French restaurant, of course they have an extensive wine list and service bar for them nightcaps. Not to forget the Dessert Martinis on the menu, with such dreamy names as “The Fantasy”, “Chocolate Classic” and “Perfection” with Bailey’s Irish Creme and Three Olives Shot Espresso.

Michel’s also has live entertainment nightly, where you can catch the nahenahe slack key and classical guitar stylings of virtuoso Jeff Peterson Thursday, Friday through Saturday evening, the soothing melodies of Shareen Lum on Harp on Sunday evenings, with Chad Kim and Richard Woltz filling in the beginning of the week.

That would round out the evening covering the entire span of Waikiki beach, putting the bookends to what should be a diverse and interesting Progressive Dinner experience.. It starts off casual, yet full of excitement with the live entertainment and fun crowd at Duke’s, toning it down with a quiet and relaxed dinner at Ocean House, and ending the meal on a sophisticated note over at Michel’s.

Sounds like we’ve got a plan.

For more details and photos of these restaurants, see these Tasty Island pages:

• Burgers ‘n Fries at Duke’s Waikiki
• Pacific Rim Perfection at Ocean House
• Waikiki Eats: Michel’s at the Colony Surf

Once again, check out the TGIF section in today’s Aloha Friday (4/16/10) edition of the Honolulu Advertiser!

If you read online, click on the link ‘Bloggers Food Map’ at the beginning of the ‘Restaurant-hopping’ article.

Mahalo Kawehi! The whole thing looks and sounds onolicious! Now to get some friends together and do it!

Things To Do
Honolulu

Poke Stop's "Triple D" Tees

While in the area yesterday, I dropped by Poke Stop in Waipahu to pick-up lunch, hoping to see if there were any “Triple D-ish” stuff happening there. This coming hot-off-the-heels of our recent visit to Hank’s Haute Dogs. When to my unexpected delight, chef and owner Elmer Guzman happened to be in the house!

Super nice guy, and he was more than happy to talk with me about the taping with Guy Fieri and the ‘Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” a.k.a. “Triple D” show taping at his newer Poke Stop location in Mililani.

Being the fan that I am of the show, the first and foremost question I had for Chef Elmer was “What did Guy eat!?” Turns out this was easy for him to answer, as he went as far as creating custom t-shirts for sale of each dish Guy ate. Now that’s “MONEY”!

Let’s check ’em out, starting with the “Kapakahi Poke”…

This shirt design includes a description of the dish, including an English translation of the Hawaiian word “Kapakahi” which literally means “the best of both worlds”. Yet when used in context of pidgin english slang, “Kapakahi” can also loosely mean “anything goes”, “all mixed up” or “scattered”.  For example, “Whoah, look braddah’z house, stay all kapakahi, laddat’.”

Ironically, I had a sample of their Kapakahi Ahi & Opihi Poke the last time I was here…

Kapakahi Ahi & Opihi Poke

Gotta’ say, ‘dis buggah’ was broke da’ mout’ winnahz! And I’m not really an Opihi fan, but when combined like this, along with the garlic, green onion and seasoning, it’s really ono. Great flavor and texture contrast.

Moving on to the next dish, Guy also tried the Furikake Salmon Poke, as illustrated by this tee…

The actual Furikake Salmon Poke bin label indicates “As seen on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives”…

Surely a fish Guy hasn’t tried before is O’io, or Hawaiian Bonefish…

Finally, the fish of ancient Hawaiian royalty, Moi…

That one’s my favorite. Very, ehem, “playful” design!

Speaking of which, that’s what I ordered, which I’ll get to in a bit.

One more Triple D tribute tee is Poke Stop’s “Da Guy” design..

Notice the likeness of Guy’s spiked “do”, shades and goatie, with just a silhouette of the Triple D logo.

All of these shirts very nicely done. Hats off to the artist! Want one?  They’re $15 each at Poke Stop.

Chef Elmer told me he’s working on a brand new website for Poke Stop, so right now their website is down for construction. While I forgot to ask, I’ll assume he’ll have these shirts for sale online when it goes back live.

Speaking of Chef, here’s the man, the myth, the legend…

Chef Elmer Guzman @ Waipahu Poke Stop. 4/14/10

Here, Chef Elmer shows a map they just put up that will pinmark customers from abroad who were lead to Poke Stop by Triple D…

Such is the scale of being on a nationally-televised TV show. It’d be really cool if they had a flat screen computer monitor up on the wall displaying Google Earth, and pinmark it that way!

At the center of those t-shirts is a montage of photos taken during the Triple D taping…

I asked Elmer why Triple D taped at Mililani and not Waipahu, which is just around the corner from Highway Inn where they also taped at, and he said primarily because the newer Mililani location is bigger. I’m guessing that gives the crew more room to handle all the production equipment without knocking stuff over.

If you watch ‘No Reservations’, there was an episode in I think Thailand where Bourdain’s cameraman knocked down a shelf of stuff in a restaurant they were filming at, and the owners did not look happy. lol

Here’s Guy spraying his signature “Guy Ate Here” stencil on the wall at Poke Stop’s Mililani location…

Now that we all know what Guy ate at Poke Stop, only thing to do next is tune in to the Food Network on May 3rd, when Poke Stop will be featured on Triple D!

Well, that’s not the ONLY thing to do next, as we are here to EAT, right?  Along with an extensive regular menu, they also have a few daily specials…

In another irony, I actually ordered the deep-fried Moi before Chef Elmer told me that this was one of the dishes on Triple D’s menu. But really,  it doesn’t take much deciding in picking this when it’s just $10 for the whole fish. Albeit a smaller one, yet more than adequate!

Here’s how it looked…

Poke Stop daily special – Fried Whole Moi, served with Hawaiian Chili Pepper Watah (water), Ponzu, Mesclun Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Brown Rice. $9.95

Watching them prepare it, it looked like it was dredged in cornstarch before hitting the deep fryer. Notice the requisite whole fish cross-hatch score marks, which helps it to cook evenly and also makes it easy for the diner to pluck the meat off.

Here it is after a drizzle of Ponzu, Hawaiian Chili Peppah Watah and a squeeze of lemon…

Come to papa…

The super moist Moi meat pulls right off the bone and onto the fork.

Check it out, it’s like “buttah”….

You know what? Let’s just say aloha to da’ bones, pulling it out in one fell swoop!…

Now it’s ALL MOI MEAT, baby, skin ‘n all!…

Sitting in that citrus-laced Ponzu and Hawaiian Chili Peppah Watah sauce, buggah’ stay broke da’ mout’ winnahz!…

It was seasoned with just the right amount of salt and pepper, while that crispy cornstarch-battered skin added fantastic texture contrast to the delicate, clean and flavorful Moi meat beneath it.

They say in ancient Hawaiian times, Moi was reserved only for the Ali’i or royalty, and if you were a layperson caught eating it, it would mean death. Well, thankfully times have changed, as this is one mighty tasty fish. Wherever I dine, if whole Moi’s on the menu, whether it’s steamed or deep-fried, chances are I’ll pick that over any other seafood dish.

And you gotta’ dig the “local touch” they do by providing Hawaiian Chili Peppah Watah for the dish, which is becoming more and more rare to find nowadays…

This is like Hawaii’s version of Tobasco, made simply by pickling the VERY HOT Hawaiian Chili Peppers in a solution of water, salt and vinegar. Folks like to add it to plate lunches, fish, grilled meat or just about anything that’s good with some “heat”.

The simple, crispy and fresh Mesclun Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette married well with the complexity and depth of the Moi, while the brown rice provided an adequate starch foundation to it all.

Overall, I give Poke Stop’s Fried Whole Moi a Triple-Delicious 4 SPAM Musubi.

Now Diner A’s $5 Poke Stop Steak Plate? That was another story!…

Poke Stop’s $5 Steak Plate

We’ve all heard the saying that you get what you pay for. Well, this took that saying to a whole new level, or should I say reduced it to a much LOWER level. While the seasoning was fantastic, consisting of what tasted like crispy onions, garlic, salt ‘n pep’ and green onions, the steak itself was TOUGH AS A RUBBAH SLIPPAH!  OMG! It was really bad.

Seriously, if you have a rubbah slippah around the house that’s clean enough to do it (yeah, right), try bite into it, then notice your teeth immediately get rejected from proceeding to bite any further into the firm rubber, quickly rebounding your jaw back open. That’s exactly how tough this was, I kid you not.

Part, if not all of the problem is you can see there’s practically no tenderizing fat marbling or sections of it at all within this cut…

I’m guessing this was either top round or X-TREME lean chuck roast; either of which came from cattle that was being fed basketballs as their daily diet. lol

As it stands, this wasn’t even worth $1, as it turned out almost entirely inedible. So bad I’m not even going to include it in this writing’s total SPAM Musubi scores. It’s essentially DQ’d, but we MUST let chef know so he fixes the problem or just takes it off the menu and sticks with the better quality Pulehu steak on the regular menu. Or maybe it’s just Diner A’s fault for being a cheapskate. lol

Thankfully Poke Stop has TOTALLY REDEEMED THEMSELVES with their supah’ ono Oreo Cookie Cheesecake!…

Poke Stop Oreo Cheesecake, $4.95

Did I hear God suddenly stop the music in Heaven as we all take hold of this beaut’?!!! Oh yeah, you know you wanna’ piece of that, I know you do. I do!

The texture was sorta’ “mousse-ish”, having an airiness to it, while it wasn’t too rich, which I always appreciate when it comes to desserts. One thing I can’t stand are things that are so sweet I’m ready to make a dental appointment the next day. This wasn’t like that at all, while also not being overbearing with chocolate. It was basically exactly what you’d expect an Oreo Cookie Cheesecake to taste like, and a mighty fine one at that. Just add a glass of milk and I’d be set!

If there’s just one thing I would have asked for is that the crust be more crisp, as it was on the soggy side, but ah, minahz. This is still, ehem, “in it to win it”!

Summing it up, Diner AC, Diner C and yours truly had a bite and we all unanimously give Poke Stop’s Oreo Cheesecake 4 SPAM Musubi.

Once again, don’t forget to tune into the Food Network on May 3rd to catch Guy’s Triple D hit-up Poke Stop in Mililani!

Poke Stop
95-040 Farrington hwy
E-4 in the Waipahu Town Center
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
(808) 676-8100

Also:
Poke Stop
95-1840 Meheula Prkwy
Mililani, HI 96789
(808) 626-3400

Follow Chef Elmer Guzman on Twitter:
Twitter.com/PokeStop

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Related links:
• Poke Stop on KHON2 with Manolo Morales (part 1)
• Poke Stop on KHON2 with Manolo Morales (part 2)
• Waipahu Eats: Poke Stop – The Tasty Island
• Poke Stop (Waipahu) – Yelp user reviews
• Poke Stop (Mililani) – Yelp user reviews