Hinode Rice Man

That’s me and what I’ll be dressed as in costume tonight for Halloween in Waikiki.

In case you haven’t noticed, on the bag of Hinode Rice — Hawaii’s favorite brand — there’s a mascot. They’ve changed his design recently where “Hinode Rice Man” looks a bit more caucasian now, and he no longer is holding a pair of chopsticks. But I like the former mascot design better, as it looks more “anime” like, and the chopsticks give him so much more character, therefore that’s what I modeled my costume design as.

It’s probably going to be a pain in the you-know-what carrying that faux bowl of rice (with Ume in the center) around (which is made of posterboard and packing popcorn foam), so if I get tired of carrying it, I’ll probably just give it away or toss it. The oversized (for “anime-like” exaggeration) chinaman style hat is also made of posterboard, cut into a huge circle, slit down the back and shaped into a cone, being stapled together in back. The “anime” style eyes are made of white posterboard glued onto a pair of sunglasses, where my visibility is actually as good as, well, wearing a pair of sunglasses.

I thought of doing this on a last-minute whim, yet I think the results came out pretty darned good! Especially considering how quick and cheap it was to make. And I haven’t seen anyone do “Hinode Rice Man” yet, except for one crude costume (what may have been provided by the Hinode Rice vendor) that made an appearance at a local supermarket with Lani Moo mascot. By I have to humbly say, I like my take on “Hinode Rice Man” better.

Anyways, if you plan on hitting Waikiki tonight for Halloween (even though it’s a Sunday night, it’s going to GO OFF as always), look out for Hinode Rice Man and say hello. That’s me! See ya’ there!

Things To Do
Honolulu

Ala Moana Eats: Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar

Well OK, Shokudo isn’t exactly IN Ala Moana (shopping) Center, yet right along its flanks at the ground floor of the Ala Moana Pacific Center (a business high rise building) on the makai-Ewa (south-west) corner of Kaheka Street and Kapiolani Boulevard, with neighboring restaurant Angelo Pietro.

They’ve been around for years now, having won many accolades, including the Honolulu Magazine’s Hale Aina Award in 2006 and 2007, yet this was a first time visit for three of five in our party, including yours truly.

Speaking of party, we were here on this Aloha Friday lunch time visit in celebration of Diner A’s belated birthday.Woo hoo!

As always, first let’s case the joint…

Those two separate dining room areas shown above are divided by the substantially-sized bar that is the centerpiece of the restaurant…

Without further ado, let’s check out Shokudo’s current menu (as of 10.22.10), which is the same for both lunch and dinner…

Shokudo’s Lunch Bento Box specials, available until 4pm daily…

The Chef’s Recommendations…

Shokudo’s service on our visit right at their 11:30am opening was practically fast food drive-through quick, with our appetizers arriving at our table seemingly within just a few minutes of being ordered, starting with the Chicken Karaage…

Shokudo – Chicken Karaage served with Homemade Spicy Tartar Sauce. $9.95

The Chicken Karaage “spicy” dipping sauce…

Let’s try it…

Off to a good start, these bite-size morsels of Chicken Karaage were pipin’ hot, super-moist ‘n tender, while the batter that’s post-dipped in a sweetened shoyu-dashi sauce was intricately crispy ‘n “soaky” good. The aioli-like, red pepper-laced dipping sauce was a little odd in combination with it, not being the greatest pairing, yet it worked. 2 SPAM Musubi.

Immediately following this, Shokudo’s Agedashi Tofu landed on the table, with the shaved bonito flakes topping it still curling like tiny slithering snakes, ala Medusa, which turned out being quite amusing…

Shokudo – Agedashi Tofu: Lightly battered and fried tofu served with light soy dashi broth. $7.45

Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner! Such a simple dish, yet so, so oishii! Love it!

Three rather cliche, yet very accurate words immediately come to mind about this tofu: CREAMY-SILKY-SMOOTH.  That essential description, combined with the light soy sauce and savory bonito that melts into it is, well, melt-in-your-mouth DELICIOUS! 5 SPAM Musubi. I seriously could order just a plate of this Tofu and call it a day.

Shokudo – Yukari French Fries: Fried shoestring potatoes sprinkled with Shiso salt seasoning. $4.45

While the name “Yukari French Fries” and concept of Shiso Salt may sound exotic, in reality they tasted pretty much like your standard McDonald’s French Fries. Which isn’t a bad thing, as I myself believe McDonald’s French Fries totally rock.Diner E claimed the Shiso Salt added an “ume” element to the flavor profile, but I didn’t get that. Diner A chimed in, asking whether it would be a sin to ask for ketchup here. Good gracious, next thing we know, we’ll be seeing Tater Tot Sushi! lol

Wait, “Tater Tot Sushi” you say? Well kinda’, yeah! Specifically in the form of the final part of our fantastic appetizer spread, Shokudo’s Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice…

Shokudo – Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice: Crispy sushi rice topped with spicy raw tuna and jalapeno. $12.45

Another fantastic dish. A deep-fried Nigiri sushi is simply brilliant. Then you  have that golden-fried flavor and texture of the rice being topped with very-tasting, finely minced raw Ahi in a spicy mayo sauce, with the home run being hit by the thin slice of Jalapeno pepper and BAM!

4 SPAM Musubi on Shokudo’s Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice. This is definitely a must-try for anyone a fan of spicy ahi.

Just as we were at the point of finishing off our wonderful spread of appetizers, our server (and kitchen staff) was on it, with our entrees immediately arriving thereafter, beginning with Diner E’s Combination Bento Lunch Box..

Shokudo – Combination Lunch Box: Teriyaki Chicken, Assorted Tempura, Edamame, Salad, Rice & Miso Soup. $13.95

Angle B-1-A.859-AB (lol)…

Not close enough? K-den, here’s angle C-2.621.9 BZ…

Under that light, delicate and crispy tempura batter are the usual suspects, including 2 medium-sized shrimp tails, Japanese cucumber and purple sweet potato.

Continuing to eat up my camera’s flash card memory, soon thereafter precious hard drive space, and ultimately thereafter your internet bandwidth usage viewing this web page, angle D of the Teriyaki Chicken…

Here Diner E shows off the rather generous helpings of cubed tofu in the included side of Miso Soup…

He also noted the miso soup broth was right on point, being neither too strong nor weak, with enough “bottom” to it.

The Bento Lunch also includes this here tossed green salad…

The verdict? Overall Diner E gives Shokudo’s Combination Bento Lunch Box a solid 3 SPAM Musubi of approval. Oishii, and very filling, he also noted, where he could barely finish the last Tempura. Especially after indulging in the apps we ordered.

Next we have Diner AA’s choice (formerly known as Diner AC), the Garlic Shrimp Rice Ishiyaki hot pot…

Shokudo – Ishiyaki Garlic Shrimp Rice: Local favorite garlic shrimp comes with rice and mixed in sizzling hot 500 degree F. stone pot. $12.45

This actually arrives with just the garlic shrimp in the sizzling hot stone pot, where the server adds and mixes in the white rice tableside…

This is where we need “Smell-O-Vision to really do this dish justice, if you know what I mean. The sizzling hot stone pot fries the rice, giving it a nice and toasty flavor and texture. The stone pot retains plenty of heat and it continues to toast-cook the rice for about least 10 minutes right in front of you. Nice.

Diner AA shared some with me and I thought it was absolutely delicious. You could really taste the garlic and shrimp, but of course the best part was the toasty flavor and texture of the rice, along with what tasted like a little shoyu in there. Solid 3 SPAM Musubi on Shokudo’s Garlic Shrimp Ishiyaki.

Then we have Diner C’s dish, or make that bowl of Shokudo’s Spicy Miso Ramen…

That’s the only shot I got of it, yet I’ll just say Diner C really enjoyed the spicy miso broth, and noted that the ramen noodles were cooked to al dente perfection. 3 SPAM Musubi. And who would’ve thought of coming to Shokudo for ramen? Well they’ve got some and it’s respectably good!

In fact, I too also decided to give Shokudo’s take on ramen a shot (I’m back on my ramen kick folks!), where I went for their take on the venerable local favorite, Oxtail…

Shokudo – Oxtail Ramen. $9.95

Oh yes, finely grated ginger and shoyu, or as I like to call it, “God’s Dipping Sauce”.  Such a simple concoction, yet I swear, it could probably make vanilla or chocolate ice cream taste even better than it already is. Well OK, maybe not ice cream, but you get the idea. In fact, I started using grated ginger and shoyu as a dipping sauce for my home-made sauteed ribeye steak, and I tell ya’, it’s a winner! Gives my former favorite A1 Steak Sauce a run for the money!

Time to take inventory. Inventory? On what? Oxtails of course! As in how many are included in the bowl and how big each on is, starting with this one…

Small Oxtail part #808-1, check.

Large Oxtail part #808-2, check.

And that’s it. Yet you know what? That was PERFECT. After all was said and done and I finished the entire bowl of ramen (and I did finish it right down to the last drop), it was just the right amount of meat to compliment the ramen noodles and broth without overpowering it. In other words, it still tasted like Japanese Ramen, not Oxtail Soup, which is a GOOD thing in this case.

That said, best of all was the BROTH. Fantastic. There was just an ever so slight flavor accent from the beefy oxtails, yet it also had hints of chicken stock for added dimension. Rounding it out was the Beni Shoga (pickled ginger), which as you might imagine if you’re a foodie fan of the stuff, know Beni Shoga totally compliments any meat or fish dish, where in this case are the oxtails. On top of that, anytime you have chicken broth that’s laced heavily with ginger, it’s always a winner as well (think Chicken Long Rice), and this Oxtail Ramen broth was a shining example of that fantastic marriage of flavors.

If there’s anything I’d complain about, is that the Oxtails in and of themselves tasted like they were boiled and simmered in plain water without any seasoning, so they were actually kinda’ boring when fished out of the broth and eaten as is. Also, being kinda’ “dried out”, they didn’t even absorb much of the flavor of the excellent broth.

Of course, once it hit the shoyu and grated ginger, a.k.a. “God’s Dipping Sauce”, the world begins to turn once again and all is great for these Ramen-blessed Oxtails…

Roll her in the sauce…

Ah, that’s much, much better. See, this is the kind of eating “moment” where you just close your eyes, take a bite, and realize how good life is. Seriously.

But seriously again, to nitpick, I’d also complain that these Oxtails could have used a few more hours in the pot to tenderize them more. While I don’t want the meat fibers too “loose” like pulled pork, these were practically on the verge of being tough, with a notable sinew quality about it.

As it stands, the broth in this Oxtail Ramen pretty much ROCKED, while the Oxtails themselves needed just a little more TLC, at least in this particular bowl I received on this visit.

Overall, I give Shokudo’s Oxtail Ramen a solid 3 SPAM Musubi. The broth was absolutely superb, as were the noodles. Work on the Oxtails as noted above, and perhaps add some Menma in there and this could be an award-winning 5-SPAM Musubi bowl of ramen by Honolulu standards (which isn’t saying much compared to Japan, but hey, gotta’ try!).

Last but of course not least, we have birthday boy Diner A’s dish, the Chef’s Recommendation Seafood Crispy Noodle…

Shokudo – Chef’s Recommendation Seafood  Crispy Noodle: Crispy noodle with assorted seafood and vegetables in a savory gravy. $12.95

Angle B…

The verdict? Diner A enjoyed the flavor profile of the “savory gravy” and the seafood and vegetables were cooked perfectly, yet he wasn’t so fond of the crispy noodles, finding it TOO crispy. Like the kind you would add to an Oriental Chicken Salad for crunch. Which as you could imagine, works great as a texture accent to a salad, but wouldn’t be ideal if that were the predominant starch in your dish. I mean, these noodles were cracker-crispy. Then again, the description does say Seafood Crispy Noodle, so I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, with that, he gives this dish 1 SPAM Musubi.

Bringing redemption for our guest of honor, Diner A, Shokudo provided a complimentary Happy Birthday dish of their famous Honey Toast…

Shokudo – Honey Toast with Chocolate (compliments of the house for the birthday guest)

Here it is deconstructed…

Let’s try this…

Oh man, this stuff is really ono! The flavor and texture of of the toasted Japanese style bread is PERFECT, where you can really taste the flavor of the honey that seems to be caramelized on the crust from either the baking or post-toasting process.

The complimentary birthday Honey Toast includes just one toast, while the regular menu order of Honey Toast includes two…

Shokudo – Honey Toast. $7.45

To illustrate just how thick these slices of toast are and overall how big the portion is, here’s the regular menu order in scale compared to an iPhone…

Yes, each toast is about as thick as an iPhone is wide. So this is certainly a dessert that can adequately be shared on the table.

Here this one is deconstructed, where you can see they basically toast this thick slice of honey-flavored Japanese style bread, then cut out the center part, cut it in cubes and put it back in, add a scoop of ice cream, then drizzle it with more honey, or you can opt to add chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, strawberry puree, sweet red bean (Azuki) or Oreo Cookie & Cream for $1 more. BRIL-LI-ANT! I tell you them Japanese so smart!

Our only complaint is that they don’t give enough vanilla ice cream, where the ratio of ice cream-to-honey toast is off.

The verdict? 4 SPAM Musubi on Shokudo’s Honey Toast Bread. Give more vanilla ice cream (and perhaps offer other ice cream flavor options, such as Roselani’s Haupia!) and this will certainly be 5-SPAM Musubi certified. Still do not leave Shokudo without ordering their Honey Toast. Oishii to da’ max! Highly recommended!

Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar
Ala Moana Pacific Center
1585 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 814
Honolulu, Hawaii  96814

Tel. (808) 941-3701
web: www.ShokudoJapanese.com

*Free parking in building with validation.

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Related links:
• Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar – Yelp user reviews

Things To Do
Honolulu

Airport Eats: Big Kahuna's Pizza 'n Stuffs

Ha ha, I like that. “Pizza ‘N Stuffs”. Like all kinds of odda’ stuffs (other things), such as sandwiches, desserts, and of course their famous Cheese Balls, which I’ve been begging to try, and finally got around to doing so.

Running errands in the Mapunapuna area this past Wednesday, I decided to drop by Big Kahuna’s relocated Pizzeria, now situated at the Airport Trade Center across from Byron’s Drive In on Paiea Street, near the airport, having moved years ago from their former location not far away from there, right across Nimitz highway in the Mapunapuna business district.

Fittingly for their name, the decor inside the restaurant has that familiar “Shack-like” kitschy tropical tiki bar theme going on…

Being located near Hickam AFB, it’s no wonder they’re our fighter pilots’ favorite…

More cool art on the wall…

Proclaiming to have da’ best pizza in Hawaii…

Well let’s find out if this is true, where Diner A, E and yours truly each ordered Da’ Big Kahuna’s personal-sized pizzas to go, plus a side of their famous Cheese Balls…

Let’s start with Da’ Big Kahuna’s Garlic Cheese Balls…

The real deal…

They’re certainly cheesy alright…

Being called “Cheese Balls”, I thought they were literally big balls of solid cheese, but it turns out they’re actually baked buns that are smothered with melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese over it, and sitting in garlic butter.

The verdict? Ono! The combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheese is kinda’ salty, as is the bread, as is the garlic butter, which of course makes this thing taste pretty darned good. It’s also very “garlic-ee”. Most notably though is the roll itself, which has a really nice and pillow-ee texture, while having just the right amount of glutenous bite to it, along with a tasty golden brown crust. Excellent. Simply put, plenty of melted cheese on a great bread roll that’s deeply saturated with garlic butter certainly works for me. If there’s anything to improve, I’d say the cheese needed a little more time in the oven to melt, and speaking of cheese, more of it please. Otherwise, fantastic and worthy of a solid 3 SPAM Musubi rating.

Now for the star attractions, Da’ Big Kahuna’s pizzas, beginning with Diner A’s choice, the “Meat Lovers”…

Da’ Big Kahuna’s – Meat Lovers pizza:  pepperoni, bacon, kalua pork, italian sausage, ham, portuguese sausage & beef brisket. 7” personal pan – $7.55 (shown), 12” medium pan – $19.95

Diner E’s choice, Da’ Kanaka (Hawaiian)…

Da’ Big Kahuna Pizza – Oven roasted, shredded kalua pork, placed on a layer of our hawaiian sweet & tangy bbq sauce & topped w/green onions. 7” personal pan-$7.25 (shown), 12” medium pan-$19.45

Last but never least, yours truly decided on trying Da’ Big Kahuna’s “Da’ Sumo Special” Pizza, which I suppose is their idea of what a Sumo wrestler could eat; as in just about everything, including the kitchen sink…

Da’ Big Kahuna Pizza – Pepperoni, ham, italian sausage, bacon, portuguese sausage, kalua pork, onions, fresh mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, & black olives. this one “broke da mouth”. 7” personal pan-$7.25 (shown) 12” medium pan-$19.45

OK, time for a crust check…

Certainly nice ‘n golden-brown toasty, without appearing burnt. Also notice these pizzas have a substantial lip on the crust like deep-dish, although it’s not really built-up with toppings like a deep dish.

As always  a required angle, the cross-cut view…

And a closer look at “Da Kanaka” Kalua Pig ‘n Cheese pizza…

And  the verdict on the pizzas? Diner A really, really enjoyed his “Meat Lovers” version, quickly proclaming it a 3 SPAM Musubi affair and ready to head back to Da’ Big Kahuna’s for more!

Diner E was more scrutinizing, giving “Da Kanaka” Kalua Pig ‘n Cheese Pizza 1 SPAM Musubi. Which was for good reason, as the Kalua Pig on the pizza was dried out from the baking process,  having an almost cardboard texture to it. He did note though that the crust was good, even though he’s more a fan of thin crust (like Boston’s), and best of all, the sweet BBQ sauce that the Kalua Pig, melted cheese and green onions sat on was a really nice compliment that glued it together well. We swapped slices, and I’d give “Da Kanaka” a 2, yet Diner E gives it 1.

Finally, Diner P (that’s me) gives “Da Sumo Special” 2 SPAM Musubi. I found the crust to be nicely toasted and very tasty, albeit a bit “spongee”, kinda’ like Costco’s pizza crust, which, while decent, I’ve never been a fan of.  As I expected, the “everything including the kitchen sink” combination of pepperoni, ham, italian sausage, bacon, portuguese sausage, kalua pork, onions, fresh mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and black olives toppings pretty much was “lost”. Meaning, I couldn’t really palate exactly what this pizza  really is, versus, say a plain-yet-definitive Pepperoni Pizza.

Still, a delicious pizza that I give 2 SPAM Musubi, and like Diner A, I’d certainly return again to try more topping varieties that Big Kahuna has to offer. In a future visit, I’m definitely got dibs on either the Grilled Eggplant or the Shrimp Scampi Pizza. Hey now!

While a 7″ diameter personal pizza may sound small, being that it’s sort of “deep dish” (yet not really), it’s quite filling, where I could only eat half in one sitting and saved the other half for later. Yet Diner A enjoyed his pizza so much that he polished the box!…

Burp. Ah, that was deliciouso!

Da’ Big Kahuna’s Pizza ‘N Stuffs
550 Paiea Street in the Airport Trade Center (near HNL)
Honolulu, Hawaii  96815

Tel. (808) 833-5588
Fax. (808) 8333-5098
web: www.BigKahunasPizza.net

The Tasty Island Rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase.

Things To Do
Honolulu

A Catered Luncheon by CPK

Photo courtesy of CPK.com

Twas that time again to throw yet another office party, this time with the festivities for our tummies provided by California Pizza Kitchen. Really, CPK does catering? Well now they do, as according to their website, this is being badged as a NEW service.

Their catering menu includes a wide variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads, pizzas, pastas, desserts and other house specialties to choose from.

Despite CPK being obviously known for their pizzas, we decided to try something different and went with their catered sandwich combos instead, as we’ve already done numerous pizza parties in the past. Rounding out our lunch was CPK’s BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad and their Assorted Sweets Platter, plus a few other goodies provided by the friendly neighborhood Costco.

Let’s check out the spread, starting with the salad..

California Pizza Kitchen catering – BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad: Chopped lettuce, black beans, sweet corn, jicama, cilantro, basil, crispy tortilla chips, Monterey jack cheese, topped with BBQ chicken breast, fresh diced roma tomatoes and fresh green onions

A side angle…

Now for the sandwiches…

California Pizza Kitchen catering – Grilled Dijon Chicken sandwich: Marinated grilled chicken breast, sliced fresh roma tomatoes, shredded lettuce and dijon honey mustard on garlic cheese focaccia bread

A closer look…

Club Gobble-gobble…

California Pizza Kitchen – California Club: Oven roasted turkey breast with applewood smoked bacon, sliced fresh roma tomatoes, fresh avocado, shredded lettuce and mayo on garlic cheese focaccia bread

A closer look inside the club…

Yo’ Tony, yo’ Bobby…

California Pizza Kitchen catering – Italian sandwich: Spicy Capicola ham, salami and pepperoni topped with Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses, basil and shredded lettuce tossed with herb-mustard Parmesan vinaigrette on herb onion focaccia bread

A closer look…

As part of CPK’s catering package, they provides their signature salad dressings and BBQ sauce in these handy-dandy squeeze bottles…

CPK’s price also includes plastic utensils and napkins based on the head-count of your order.

Alternating sources, adding some “crunch with serious kick” to the bunch, we have Stonemill Kitchens Spinach & Artichoke Parmesan Dip and Tortilla Chips from Costco…

Stonemill Kitchens Spinach & Artichoke Parmesan Dip and Tortilla Chips from Costco

What the heck, a closer look at this dip, because well, I could just as well fill up a Jacuzzi with the stuff and lounge in it, it’s that good!…

Stonemill Kitchens Spinach & Artichoke Parmesan Dip

For dessert, we have several platters of assorted sweets from CPK…

California Pizza Kitchen – Assorted Sweets Platter (cut-up into small single-serving portions): Toffee Blondie Bar, Brownie, Pecan Bar, Chocolate Chunk Cookie, Snickerdoodle, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

The cookies, before being cut into quarters…

Finally, a Red Velvet Cake from Costco…

As always, let’s have a look at a few plates that just rolled off the “assembly line”…

Looking at that generous dollop of melted, ooey-gooey, rich ‘n cheesy Spinach & Artichoke Parmesan on there, in retrospect, I should have put some of it inside my CPK sandwich, which would have REALLY kicked it a few notches!

Finally, a look at the sandwiches without all that darned paper wrapping covering it…

So how was it? Big thumbs-up for CPK’s very fresh-tasting focaccia bread, which had a nice, glutenous texture without being too chewy. It was also generously laced with herbs and you could really taste the grated parmesan cheese baked onto the crust. I could just as well take CPK’s focaccia bread plain by itself and be a happy camper, or perhaps make some Bruschetta out of it. Hey, there’s an idea!

I’m not particularly a fan of fowl, so the chicken dijon and turkey club didn’t win me over, but the more “meaty” Italian sure did (that didn’t sound right lol), with its generous layerings of spicy Capicola ham, salami, pepperoni, mozzarella and fontina cheeses.

Across the board, the combination of fresh, quality ingredients in every sandwich all complimented each other very well, where once again, their excellent Focaccia bread wrapped it up and tied everything together and sealed the deal, where I’d give CPK’s catered sandwich combos a very satisfying 3-SPAM Musubi.

CPK’s BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad was also a pleasant medley of flavors and textures, where especially noteworthy were the black beans, corn and jicama in the mix. I used the Herb Ranch dressing, which had a pleasant balance of acidity and creaminess, along with a zesty kick of complex herbs in it. Very nice. 3 SPAM Musubi.

Finally, CPK’s cookies and sweets were, should I say, “interesting”. Meaning, the cookies in particular had this “doughyness” about them, yet in a good way. They also weren’t too sweet, which I always note that I appreciate. And I do, as nothing can be a deal-breaker more than sweets that are TOO sweet. Being nuts about nuts, my favorite of them all was of course the Pecan Bar.3 SPAM Musubi.

I might also note, everything was neatly and carefully packed in high quality plastic trays and bowls for the salad for that professional touch.

So next time you’re looking for a caterer that does things differently than everyone else, consider CPK for your party. Winner!

California Pizza Kitchen
Catering Service
Various locations (this review is based on service from the Ala Moana Center location)

The Tasty Island rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase.

P.S. Sorry, I didn’t try Costco’s Red Velvet Cake, so have nothing to say about it.

Things To Do
Honolulu

Kaka'ako Eats: Joe Aloha Lunch Truck

While it may sound as fictitious as ‘Kukui High School‘ in the 2.0 (2010) reboot of Hawaii Five-O, ‘Joe Aloha‘ is indeed a very real catering business that sets up their lunch truck Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 2pm on Kamake’e Street (same street as Nordstrom Rack and Office Depot, heading mauka, right around the corner from Ward Entertainment Center), fronting Ala Moana Storage…

If you care so to “dine in”,  there’s seating at Joe Aloha’s for you take in the “view”…

Also giving you a landmark reference, here’s Joe Aloha’s smoker on Kamake’e, with the new and chic Moana Pacific condominium towers in the background…

If you drive straight down this way, you’ll be at Ala Moana Beach Park…

Wait? Smoker you say? Uh-huh, yes mam ‘n sir, as in slow-smoked BAR-BE-CUE MEAT, BABY!

Where, as for firewood, while I prefer whole logs and/or chunks (or whatevahz) of Kiawe (Mesquite), Joe Aloha uses “natural hardwood” pellets…

Now for Joe Aloha’s main menu…

The daily specials…

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, which must also include water in the form of drinks…

Without further ado, Joe Aloha’s smoked barbecue grindz, beginning with Diner E’s plate…

Joe Aloha – Smoked Pork Spare Ribs, Brown Rice, Tossed Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Brown Rice, Ahi Miso Soup and Drink (Facebook special). $7

Yes, mention “Facebook” and you get a drink thrown into the deal for FREE. Plus FOUR whole, super-meaty smoked BBQ pork spare ribs? Are you kidding me? What a STEAL! Oh-em-gee! (my new favorite saying).

Another variation of the same plate in Diner A form, with this one having white rice…

And finally the same order, in form for yours truly (the only difference amongst the two being bottled water vs. soda)…

I must say, the Miso Soup was a surprisingly-fantastic compliment to the BBQ Pork Ribs!…

There wasn’t anything especially outstanding about this Miso Soup (it was rather “plain-Jane”, actually), yet its savory essence-with-Japanese-flair was complimentary in every regard. Enough where I can see American-style BBQ  joints regularly incorporating Miso Soup as part of their regular menu. Seriously,  ‘fusion cuisine’ at its best!

Of course BBQ is all about MEAT, so let’s now go through an in-depth taste-and-texture test review of Joe Aloha’s take on BBQ Pork Short Ribs, savoring and salivating vicariously in photos through the three of us…

Om-nom-nom-nom. Seriously though, these pork spare ribs were cooked almost -stress – ALMOST – to perfection, being neither over nor under-done. Witness this shot, where the fibers of the meat are still intact, and not to the point of pulled pork (if you know what I mean)…

That falling-off-the-bones-yet- less-than-pulled-pork doneness affords a fine balance of chew and sensory satisfaction that’s to be coveted.

As for the seasoning of the ribs in plain form without any sauce, I must admit, there was something to be desired, as it came across as – ehem – “non-eventful”. So let’s try it with their “house” BBQ sauce, which is included with each plate…

Eh. boring. Snooze. Primarly because this sauce lacks any sweetness in “OEM” form, and is mostly acidic (“vinegary”), while also lacking any smokey element, which the ribs itself sort of surprisingly lacked. I mean, not bad, but not “BROKE DA’ MOUT”, which is actually quite easy to do.

How easy to do? Well, simply add over-the-counter Hawaiian Sun Quava Jelly to the mix!…

Folks, I KID YOU NOT. All you have to do to make AMAZING BBQ Pork Ribs, is to add Guava Jelly to your favorite BBQ Sauce. I don’t care what brand or flavor of BBQ Sauce. Just add (preferably Hawaiian Sun brand) Guava Jelly to it in a ratio of 1:1 or more in favor of Guava Jelly, and you will have one KIL-LER BBQ Pork Ribs sauce. SO ONO, and best of all, so SIMPLE!

It’s the simple formula that pork and fruit compliment each other, where the sweeter the fruit, the better, while complex acidic elements and spices “bring it up from the back”. I can’t explain this “magical BBQ formula” any better than that.

With that, I’ll just finish off this post with a few more “lustful” views of these succulent slabs ‘o ribs…

Summing it up, we all agreed these pork short ribs were extremely succulent, fall-off-the-bones tender and moist, which alone deserves lots of respect.

Yet (emphasize “YET”) flavor-wise, they certainly could have used more character (or simply salt?) in its seasoning, as well as the included BBQ sauce. There also wasn’t as much smokiness to it as we expected, considering.

The Guava Jelly was certainly a welcome “doctored” addition to the ribs’ overall flavor profile, where at least for me, elevated them from a 2-SPAM Musubi rating to a 4! But I digress, as that’s my very personal opinion.

The value is certainly notable, where at for just $7  for each plate, which includes 3 to 4 super-meaty, slow-smoked pork spare ribs, a separate container of BBQ sauce,  scoop of (brown or white) rice, (fresh tossed green or mac’) salad, plus (daily-featured mis0) soup and drink (when you say you’ve seen them on of Facebook) should have anyone signing-up for seconds, thirds ‘n more!

Joe Aloha Catering
438 Kamake’e Street
Honolulu, Hawaii  96814

Tel. (808) 779- 9770
www.JoeAlohaCatering.com

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Related links:
• Joe Aloha Lunch Wagon – Yelp user reviews

Things To Do
Honolulu

Kaka'ako Eats: Stage Restaurant

If shopping for an Armoire gets you in the mood for Foie Gras, or perhaps a double dresser and night stand bed suite has you craving fine sweets, then your best bet in our fine town of Honolulu would be Stage.

There’s probably no where else on the island that you’ll find such an abundance of  finely-crafted furniture and food, all under one roof. In fact, a selection of that fine furniture from sister store Honolulu Design Center, where Stage is situated within, is exactly what you’ll dine on and enjoy as a key part of its decor in this boutique restaurant-within-a-boutique retail, uber-chic hot spot.

Let’s have a walk through…

I must admit, this place certainly invokes the “metrosexual” side of me that I never knew existed before. lol

So since there’s so much eye candy in the form of luxurious, admittedly “ornate” furniture and overall over-the-top, under-the-bottom (literally) decor theme going on here, hows about the food? Let’s check it out, starting with Stage’s dinner menu…

My-oh-my, what a spread! All created with Executive Chef Ron de Guzman at the helm…

Let’s check out what we ordered, starting with the wine, which 7 times out of 10, we usually go with Cabernet Souvignon, with this one a 2007 from Buehler Vinyards…

Following that we have an assortment of hot, fresh-baked house dinner bread…

Stage’s Pumpkin Roll was splendid, indeed…

For Act One, we began with this absolutely melt-in-the-mouth presentation of  Hamachi Sashimi adorned with a Radish Salad, Japanese Cucumber, Togarashi, Yuzu-Mustard Vinaigrette and Soy reduction…

and Ahi Poke with Avocado, Marcona Almonds, Orange Tobiko, Chives, Yuzu-Olive Oil and Wasabi…

Time for a “palate cleanser”…

Now for Act Two, we have Herb-Crusted Seared Ahi with Shiitake Mushrooms, Sake-braised Spinach and Nori Butter Sauce…

and Spanish-inspired Clams with Garlic, Butter, Spinach, White Wine, Grape Tomatoes and Croutons…

OH———–EM———-GEE.

So far, everything’s so over-the-top ONO!

Let’s cleanse our palate once again with Raspberry Sorbet…

Now it’s time to close the curtain and change the set ever-so-momentarily for Act Three, where here, next, we have Chef de Guzman’s Grilled  Colorado Lamb Chop with Marcona Almond Crust, Parsley Potato Puree, Honey Dijon and Red Wine Demi Glace…

As great lamb chops should always be cooked, to medium-rare PER-FEC-TION…

I  must also note that the Potato Puree “swipe” on the side was silky-smooth in texture and seasoned nicely, while the Red Wine Demi Glace complimenting the lamb had an intense savory edge. Just incredible.

Also featured in Act Three is the Pan-Seared Salmon with Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus, Fennel, Oven-Roasted Tomato and Whole-Grain Mustard Butter Sauce…

Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus and top-shelf fresh Salmon that’s pan-seared to perfection on the same plate? Plus a complex and earthy butter sauce to “glue” it all together? Are you kidding me! This was AH-MAZING! “O-M-G” again!

The Salmon entree was also accompanied with Stage’s ever-so-silky and wonderful mashed potatoes…

Then we have the Pan Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast with Charred Brussel Sprouts, Potato Puree and a Port Reduction…

While I’m not a fan of Duck, again, this was cooked to medium-rare inside, seared-0n-the-edge perfection, with all the right flavors in place.

Up next, Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Caramelized Onions, Mascarpone Herbed Mash Potatoes, Grilled Waialua Asparagus, Red Wine Reduction and Hollandaise Sauce…

“WOW!” and “Food of the Gods” is all I have to say. Especially when pairing this finely-prepared cut of beef with that most excellent bottle of Cabernet we selected.

Time for the finale, starting with Stage’ Trio dessert…

Vietnamese Style Coffee Flan, made with Monjari Chocolate Crunch, Coconut Sorbet, Chocolate Sauce and Candied Hazelnuts…

Wrapping it up, in honor of my wonderful girlfriend’s birthday, Stage’s ‘Asian Sundae’, made with Green Tea Frozen Custard, Coconut Tapioca, Whipped Cream, Kinako-Walnut Caramel and Mixed Yuzu-Berry Compote…

For curtain call, we send a big shoutout to our most excellent server, Scott…

As well as Chef de Guzman and all the supporting kitchen staff, tonight’s dinner was a masterpiece!

Stage Restaurant
Honolulu Design Center
1250 Kapiolani Blvd, 2nd Floor (adjacent to Amuse Wine Bar)
Honolulu, HI 96814

Tel. (808) 237-5429
www.StageRestaurantHawaii.com

Stage Restaurant lunch and dinner menu (pdf download)

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Things To Do
Honolulu

HCC Eats: Cheeseburger Hawaii Lunch Truck

Hot off the heels (or grill) of our recent visit to Honolulu Burger Co., this past Friday Diner E and yours truly came across yet another burger joint, this time in the form of a lunch truck operated by Cheeseburger, a chain with brick ‘n mortar Hawaii locations in Waikiki and Lahaina, Maui, as well as Nevada and Florida.

Their kitschy old Hawaii memorabilia-themed meals-on-wheels was found parked near the entrance of the campus cafeteria at Honolulu Community College, right up the street mauka of the Iwilei Costco.

We originally went there with the intention of sampling da’ grindz at HCC’s campus cafeteria, but the sign on the door said they were closed on Fridays. So being that Cheeseburger’s truck capitalizes on the opportunity and parks right in front there on this particular day, it was pretty much a no-brainer to give this mobile alternative a try.

Getting right to it, let’s check out their menu…

OK, so their regular all-American menu is why I’ve named it a “lunch truck”. Yet I suppose you can also call it a “lunch wagon”, as even here, local style plate lunches are thrown into the mix to cover all student body demographics…

Wow, a plate lunch that also includes a green bottle import beer? Now there’s a “moke” dream come true! lol Nah but, no alcohol is served here — they’re just using the brewer’s chalkboard.

What’s nice is everything here is priced as a complete meal, where the burgers and sandwiches all include fries and a drink, plus you can upgrade to Onion Rings or Sweet Potato Fries for just $1.25 more.

What also nice is, if you care to “dine in” while enjoying the wonderful ambiance of  bustling Dillingham Boulevard in the heart of Kalihi (a.k.a. “God’s Country”, a.k.a. “The Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe), there’s covered seating conveniently located right there in front of da’ truck…

With that,  while not “dining in” (out), otherwise like Honolulu Burger Co., Diner E ordered his usual “gauge” burger here, this time sampling Cheeseburger’s take on “The Teriyaki Standard” (because, you know, there are standards) in the form of their ‘Island Style Cheeseburger’…

Cheeseburger lunch truck – Island Style Cheeseburger : Teriyaki Cheese Burger with a slice of Grilled Pineapple, topped with sliced iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion and “special sauce” on a toasted white bread bun. Served with (upgraded) Sweet Potato Fries and (included) Drink (not shown). $8.25

Here’s another “profile” angle of the plate…

My “gauge” burger of course is the Swiss ‘n Shroom, where here at Cheeseburger they prefer calling it the ‘Shroom and Swiss’…

Cheeseburger lunch truck – Shroom and Swiss Cheeseburger, topped with slice iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion and “special sauce” on a toasted white bread bun. Served with (uprgraded) Sweet Potato Fries and (included) drink (not shown). $8.25

Lookin’ good there, with a generous helping of  sauteed white mushrooms covering the thoroughly melted swiss cheese, which in turn is completely covering the 90/10 lean-to-fat ratio Y. Hata-sourced all beef burger patty.

The “profile” angle of the same plate, with my drink of choice, Hawaiian Springs Young Natural Artesian Water…

Here now is my Shroom ‘n Swiss in fully-assembled form, where you see it’s quite a stacker!..

Open wide and say “ahhhhh”!…

As you see, this stacker of a swiss ‘n shroom burger is pretty much dwarfing my hand. After several eye-closing, savoring bites…

So how is it? Winnahs! Ono!

I was skeptical all the way until this point, from the moment the server told me A) they “grill” their burgers on a flat top griddle (GRIDDLE, NOT GRILL!), and B) that the patty was preformed (a.k.a. institutional) 90/10 beef, which most burger enthusiasts may argue is too lean (less flavor).  But wow, hey! This is one mighty fine example of the classic Swiss ‘n Shroom’r, with almost all the right things in place.

Which there’s several reasons I can immediately point out in why I’m so fond of it. First and foremost, while Cheeseburger’s “institutional” preformed 90/10 patty can’t touch the open range grass-fed Big Island beef, nor was it ideally char-grilled, for what it’s worth, it was cooked to a nicely-crusted finish, while retaining a decent amount of moisture  inside. While its beefy flavor really popped thanks to the patty itself being well seasoned with salt and pepper. I can certainly taste when or when not a patty has been seasoned while cooking on the grill/griddle, and these were, thank goodness.

The same well-seasoned flavor also applied to the very generous helping of tender ‘n mighty tasty sauteed white mushrooms, while gluing all that together was the als0-tasty and thoroughly melted Swiss Cheese. In fact, the swiss cheese had much better flavor on this burger than the one that topped my Mushroom Mushroom Burger from Honolulu Burger Co..

Not stopping there, the cook also performed the crucial (almost to the point of being “kosher”-crucial) step of TOASTING THE BUN, where it’s split in the center. Very,very important, and thankfully, check! Done!

Last but certainly not least, unlike Honolulu Burgr Co., who uses fresh-cut white sweet onions, Cheeseburger uses fresh-cut RED ONIONS for their burgers, and THIS is where I personally think is what separates the two, with huge points in favor of the red onion. There’s just something so simple yet complimentary about the red onion’s flavor profile that makes all the difference between an “eh, so-so? Burger” to being a “Yeah!” burger! Like, Seriously. Seriously!

As for Cheeseburger’s “special sauce”, it tasted pretty much like your usual thinned-down Thousand Islands Dressing (essentially ketchup and mayo’), where while I prefer simple ‘n plain ‘ole mayo, this worked…

Summing up Cheeseburger’s take on the classic Swiss ‘n Shroom (or vise-versa; however you wanna’ say it), I was pleasantly surprised, given the circumstances (griddled institutional burgers from a lunch truck) and give their take on this visit a very solid, absolutely incredibly tasty 3 SPAM Musubi!  Enough where I’d “Hana hou” it (go back for more)!

Back to Diner E’s ‘Island Style Cheeseburger’, let’s check it out in built form…

Witness the Teriyaki sauce “juicyness” on the top of the bun, where you know that’s just gotta’ be some “crazy-tasty” goodness (in the words of Diner A). Also witness the slightly “papa’a”  (a.k.a. “Koge”, a.k.a. “burnt edges) on the slice of pineapple topping the teriyaki burger patty with melted American cheese on it. Can I get anymore descriptive than that?

Continuing on,we need to check the requisite Tasty Island cross-cut view of this baddy (after a few tasty bites, of course!)…

The verdict from Diner E? “Eh,so-so”. First of all, he didn’t care for the addition of the ‘Island Style’ grilled pineapple slice, finding it non-complimentary to both the melted American Cheese, as well as the Teriyaki-coated beef patty.

The Shack also offers an almost entirely identical burger to this called the ‘Island Burger’, which I myself tried, and thought was just “OK”, but not something I’d order on a regular basis. What i think is, whoever thought of this ‘Island Burger’ concept of combining a pineapple with teriyaki, weren’t thinking about complimentary physical flavors, but marketing flavor by sound via combining two familiar food names often associated with Hawaii.

Anyhow, Diner E also complained that the bun had a stale texture, which was contrary to my thought on it, where I personally found my bun was nicely-toasted and quite supple.

Ultimately, yet not surprisingly, the key contrast for Diner E was his recent memory of the FAR-SUPERIOR Big Island free-range hand-formed 1/3 pound burger patty featured at Honolulu Burger Co., that ultimately made Cheeseburger’s burger — or perhaps ANY burger for that matter PAIL in comparison. Which of course is an unfair comparison (because, you know, anything made in Hawaii RULES!), yet must be noted.

Not much more commentary about his burger other than that, where he sums up Cheeseburger’s ‘Island Style Cheeseburger’ with 1 SPAM Musubi.

Speaking of which, in light of Honolulu Burger Company’s absolutely SUPERB Sweet Potato Fries, how does Cheeseburger’s take on it stack up?…

They’re Yam-based and quite flavorful in and of themselves and certainly have potential, yet they weren’t seasoned adequately with salt and lacked the delicately-crispy texture on the outside that HBC’s was so good about. I’m not even sure if they were deep-fried, as they were rather greaseless in a lifeless way, if I shall nitpick it.

Still, a good accompaniment that I’d say is worth the extra $1.25, where their suble sweetness was a wonderful contrast to the savyry burger. Some help in the form of their deep-frying method (if it’s even cooked that way) and a few taps more of the salt shaker, and Cheeseburger’s Sweet Potato Fries would really pull it off.

Summing it up, I’d DEFINITELY return repeatedly for Cheeseburger lunch truck’s onolicious, well-seasoned, RED ONION!-laced Mushroom and Swiss Burger, while I think their Sweet Potato Fries have star potential if/when executed properly. Plus, the price is certainly right at $8.25 for the complete combo, and the convenient location near the Iwilei Costco works for me.

Cheeseburger Hawaii “Aloha on Wheels” Lunch Truck
Honolulu Community College campus
Tel. (808) 852-7146 for more info’

www.Cheeseburgerland.com

The Tasty Island rating

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it. (Ono)

P.S. Diner A’s Teriyaki Prime Burger combo plate from Zippy’s on the same day…

Zippy’s Teriyaki Prime Burger combo, including fries and medium drink. $6.25

Yum-yum potato bun!…

P.S.S. (can I say that? lol), I sampled my first Ono Pop at KCC Farmers’ Market this past weekend…

That’s quite a spread of exotic paletas popsicle flavors, so instead of driving myself nuts trying to decide which one to choose, I simply asked the owner which one is HIS favorite, which he quickly handed me the Butter Mochi…

Let’s have a bite…

The verdict?  Full-bodied in a frozen, somewhat gelatinous mochi kind of way. Definitely a butter accent going on, while not being TOO sweet, which I always appreciate. Overall, very tasty and accurate in flavor and texture to what it’s described as.

My only complaint is that it tasted a little freezer-burnt, being contrary to them being touted as being fresh-made.

While $3 seems a bit steep for a popsicle, one must take into consideration the ingredients this particular Butter Mochi Paletas Ono Pop lists: Island Milk, White Star Mochiko Flour, Naked Cow Dairy Butter, Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk, Local Eggs, Pure Hawaiian Vanilla and Island Sea Salt. Very nice!

Summing it up, I give Ono Pop’s Butter Mochi flavor 3 SPAM Musubi. Loose the “frost bite factor” and it could be a 5!

On my next visit, I’m all over that Ume Thai Basil Ono Pop.

Things To Do
Honolulu