Kalihi Eats: Arirang Bar-B-Q Korean Cuisine

Hidden gems in Kalihi, a.k.a. “God’s Country”, a.k.a. “The Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe” are still and always have been plentiful. Where Arirang Bar-B-Q Korean Cuisine restaurant not surprisingly, really — based on said trends in this charming old school Palama area of this district of Honolulu — is certainly no exception.

Arirang is tucked away at the back end of a strip mall on the corner of Dillingham Boulevard and Kokea Street, across the street from Honolulu Community College. If that isn’t descriptive enough where to find the place, just look for the towering radio antenna in the palama area of Kalihi that’s based right next door to them.

Diner E and his wife really enjoyed their dining experience on previous visits to Arirang, and he highly recommended we try it. Where on this recent Friday visit, we arrived just before the lunch hour rush, and the place was empty, save for the 2-person band made up of the very friendly owner and her cook (both of whom originally from South Korea) hustling to get out a HUGE takeout phone order that looked like about 20 plates.

Hustlin’ ‘n bustin’ okole aside, of course they were more than happy to accommodate us, where upon seating ourselves in the nicely decorated, clean and cozy Korean-themed dining room, the owner quickly brought the menu and ice water to our table. Here’s a look at Arirang’s menu…

Here’s a look around the restaurant….

Check out this carved wood model of a vintage Korean Warship, which has striking similarity to Viking ship design…

They also have this live Ginseng Root that was on display in a tall glass jar in the corner where we sat…

After placing our order, the owner brought our utensils to the table, where like every true Korean restaurant does, they provide a stainless steel spoon to eat your rice and soup with…

I suppose if we were Korean, she would have provided us the more challenging-to-use Korean style Stainless Steel Chopsticks, but we’re not, so we get the easier-to-grip disposable wooden chopsticks.

Out next on our table we’re given a trio of their house Banchan dishes, including Kim Chee, Korean Style Shoyu Potatoes and Japchae…

Soon following our Banchan, we were brought a bowl each of this pipin’ hot Korean style Seaweed Soup…

In a timely basis, upon finishing our Seaweed Soup starter, our dishes arrived at the table, where we begin with Arirang veteran Diner E’s Meat Jun and Kalbi Combo’ plate…

Next we have Diner A’s dish, Arirang’s Meat Jun and BBQ Chicken combo…

The meat jun dishes are accompanied with Arirang’s house Gochujang dipping sauce…

…which this sauce was so delicious, next time I’d like to get a bottle of it to-go for home use if they offer it.

Last but never least, for me, whenever I try a new Korean Restaurant, first and foremost, I always must try  the most iconic dish of Korean cuisine (or at least it’s ingrained as such here in Hawaii), where here I have Arirang’s take on Kalbi in all its char-grilled shoyu, sugar, sesame, chili and garlic marinaded-beef glory…

Same dish at a “profile” angle…

Adding yet more variety to the Banchan sides Arirang offers, each entree dish also includes a serving of Mul Kim Chee (watery Kim Chee), Sigeumchi namul (parboiled marinaded spinach) and Kong Namul (seasoned bean sprouts)…

Well, everythign looks deeee-lish! Now let’s dig in!…

How is it? Yumm-erz! Straight off the top, 4 SPAM Musubi for Arirang’s Kalbi! The marinade flavor profile is spot-on and tastes great, while having good penetration in the fibers of the beef, which was very tender. I won’t say prime-grade beef tender, but good enough where it didn’t require much effort to chew into it. Most importantly, like every Kalbi should be cooked, Arirang lives up to the “B-B-Q” part of their name (and don’t get all technical on me about the difference between “BBQ” and “Grilling”, because I do know the difference!), putting them all-important “Kogi” flame grilled sear marks on the shortribs all along its flanks. Very nice. And very tasty!

I got to try some of the meat jun from Diner E’s plate, which I must say was also 4-SPAM Musubi EXCELLENT!…

The flour and egg batter had great flavor, body and texture and not greasy at all, while the marinaded beef was absolutely delicious and tender as  can be.

Adding to the excellent meat jun is their also-excellent house Gochujang sauce, that had the perfect balance of heat, acidity, salty and sweet, and really brought out the “Umami” factor in the Meat Jun. Perfect 5 SPAM Musubi on that sauce!

That said, on my next visit I’ve got my sight set on Arirang’s Mahi Mahi Fish Jun!

As for the Korean style Seaweed Soup we were started off with, that was equally satisfying, with the broth having a Kombu-like flavor to it that was fairly simple-tasting and light, yet very delicious…

Rounding out this “tasty town” party is their excellent Banchan side dishes, which were all as good as it gets as far my experiences eating at various Korean restaurants around the island. The Kimchi had this sort of Umami factor to it just like the Gochujang sauce…

My favorite Banchan of all is the Korean style shoyu potatoes, where Arirang’s were by far some of the best I’ve had, thanks in part due to them being made with red potatoes, which have a more ideal texture for this type of preparation, while the skin added an extra dimension to its overall appeal…

Arirang’s Japchae Korean style Long Rice Noodle banchan could have just as well been my main entree, as it was also that delicious and a satisfying dish in itself…

The owner was so kind to bring us refills of our banchan along the course of the meal, which made our experience dining here that much better!…

This time around she added Ggakdugi Kim Chee(Daikon) to the spread (shown front-center in photo above), which I liked even better than the cabbage kimchi!

Towards the end of our meal a pot of Korean style green tea was brought to the table, which is always appreciated to help break down the fats from the meat and help settle the stomach…

Americans as a whole would be that much healthier and live longer if the practice of drinking hot green tea after each meal were incorporated into our dietary culture, but that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon.

All that said, our lunch at Arirang was so onolicious, broke da’ mout’ winnahz, all three of us polished our plates!…

I was going to chime in with “Burp”, but the hot green tea eliminated any feeling of indigestion. Ha-ha!

Summing it up, Arirang Bar B-B-Q Korean Cuisine restaurant is definitely highly recommended. The owner truly takes pride in every EXCELLENT dish that comes out of her kitchen from start to finish, and she’s very, very nice! The portions and prices are family-friendly, the dining room is very clean and casual, yet nicely decorated and not “divey” at all,  and there’s plenty of parking, where even if the mall lot fills up, there’s ample street parking along Kokea street.

Arirang Bar-B-Q Korean Cuisine
1111 Dillingham Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817

Tel. (808) 848-0803

The Tasty Island rating:

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

For today’s Tasty Island Bonus Content, we stop by for dessert right up the street off Alakawa at the Iwilei Costco food court to sample their new Fresh Made Gelato!…

This, actually on a different day, as I was with Diner AA and Diner C on this “mission”. Because, you know, going to Costco is always a “mission”, or can even sometimes become an absolute SPIRITUAL experience! It can!

With Diner AA buying (big mahalo!), as is their famous buck-fitty gigantic Hot Dog & Drink Combo’, you’d be hard-pressed to find a deal in town better than Costco’s new Fresh Made Gelato, which includes 3 scoops of your choice of Pistachio, Mixed Berry and/or Stracciatella (Vanilla with Chocolate Shavings)  in a HUGE sugar waffle cone for a buck-fitty as well. Deal!

Here’s the waffle cones in a specially made holder made for high volume, quick turnaround service…

Here you see they pre-scoop the gelato in balls for speedier service to the masses…

Here Diner AA holds up her combo Gelato Cone…

Angle 2…

And here’s my Stracciatella cone…

Costco Food Court’s all-new Stracciatella Fresh Made Gelato in sugar waffle cone, angle B…

How is it? Smooth, rich ‘n creamy, dense-yet-soft like every good Italian Gelato should be, and bursting with a high quality vanilla and crunchy milk chocolate flakes flavor. Encapsulating them three scoops of goodness is a very crispy ‘n crunchy, sugar-ee, almost toffee-like waffle cone that makes it all taste that much better.

Diner AA said the Pistachio flavor was pretty good, while her favorite was the Mixed Berry flavor, which she says tasted predominantly like strawberry. So getting the combo of all three is kinda’ like a Spumoni cone if you will.

At just $1.50 for this giant 3-scoop Gelato Cone in a Waffle Cone is a tough value to beat, and the “fresh made” gelato itself was pretty darned delicious for a mass-production, for the masses product, where we give it 3-SPAM Musubi.

Big Island Eats: Roy's Smoked Marlin & Smoked Ahi

Upon my usual Saturday morning stroll through KCC Farmers’ Market this past weekend, I came across an absolute TREASURE CHEST of dried and smoked fish at the Tropic Fish & Vegetable tent.

You may remember Tropic’s Market, who was a prominent anchor tenant at the Ward Farmers Market for decades. While they no longer have a retail store, they’re alive and well, located in the same Ward warehouse area behind the Farmers Market, where they continue to operate a fish and produce wholesale distribution business to local and overseas markets.

Getting to the ono ‘kine smoked fish grindz we’re reviewing today, come to find out, according to the girl working at their booth, Tropic’s is a partnership business with Hilo Fish Company on the Big Island. It’s through them that Tropic’s brings in these Smoked Ahi and Smoked Marlin products, which are manufactured by Roy’s Fishery (no affiliation with Roy Yamaguchi the restaurateur), also located on the Big Island at the south tip in Na’alehu, near Ka’u.

So let’s check out what we’ve got here, beginning with Roy’s Smoked Marlin…

As you see on the label, that’s a 5 oz. package, which costs $2.79 (great price!), vacuum-sealed for maximum freshness and shelf life. The ingredients are: Marlin, Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar, Salt, Garlic Powder, Canola Bean Oil and Red Crushed Pepper.

Hmm, interesting that they use Brown Sugar. I’ll have to try that next time I make my Big Island style Smoke Meat (pork). Usually I use unrefined cane sugar, which has a natural brown color, but doesn’t taste quite as molasses-like as brown sugar. I also notice the absence of Ginger, which I use generously in my Smoke Meat recipe, and after tasting this Smoked Marlin, I really think it would benefit with the addition of Ginger in Roy’s marinade.

Let’s unpack it and take an inventory of all pieces included in this 5 oz. package…

That would be 9 sticks of Roy’s Smoked Marlin, with each one measuring on average 5½” long x 5/8″ thickness. They were also mostly center cuts, with only a couple that were from the more stringy tail end.

As in usual Tasty Island fashion, let’s have a look at a cross-section cut…

How does it taste? Oishii, broke da’ mout’ winnnahz! I found it tasted even better after letting it get to room temperature vs. being refrigerator-cold. Like eating fine cheese, letting it get to room temperature allows the fats to “melt” out of their congealed state, providing maximum flavor impact. And man, are these packed with flavor. It has the perfect balance of marinade penetration, without the marinade taking away from the natural “meaty” flavor of the inherently-lean marlin.

That leanness makes most smoked marlin waiver on the dry side, and this one is like that as well, yet I think Roy’s reaches just the right dry-to-moist ratio. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being raw to 10 being “jerky” dry, I’d put Roy’s Smoked Marlin at about 6½. Which is perfect, as if I want Fish Jerky, I’ll buy fish jerky. When I buy Smoked Fish, I want it to still have some moisture and tenderness and not be so tough, and Roy’s NAILS it. This is EXACTLY how Smoked Fish should be on the dry-to-moist scale.

Back to the flavor profile, it’s kinda’ shoyu-ee-sweet, but not where it tastes like I’m eating Teriyaki, yet just enough where the Shoyu and sugar brings out the “Umami” factor in the smokey, meaty Marlin. It says there’s Chili Pepper Flakes in it, but I detected practically no heat whatsoever, where this would probably wouldn’t even register a single unit on the Scoville Scale.

The smokiness of it is at just the right balance as well, where you know this marlin has been smoked, yet not to the point like you’re biting into a piece of burnt Kiawe wood, if you know what I mean.

Summing it up, I give Roy’s Smoked Marlin a very solid, supah’ ono 4 SPAM Musubi. WINNER! Add some ginger and crank up the heat from the Chili Pepper Flakes in the marinade a couple notches and this would definitely earn the top 5 SPAM Musubi prize!

Next up we have Roy’s Smoked Ahi…

Roy’s Smoked Ahi costs about a dollar more than the Smoked Marlin at $3.79 for this 5 oz. vacuum-sealed package. The ingredients are: Tuna, Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar, Salt, Garlic Powder, Canola Bean Oil, Artificial Food Coloring and Red Crushed Pepper.

Let’s unpack it and take inventory…

These were cut a bit smaller than the Marlin, with each strip of Smoked Ahi measuring on average about 4″ in length x 1/2″ thick. They were also mostly cut towards the tail, with only two pieces that were more forward on the fish in the center area. Also notice the second one from the right is cut from the dark meat near the bone of the fish.

Let’s check the cross-section cut…

How is it? Roy’s Smoked Ahi’ marinade flavor profile was totally identical to how I described the Smoked Marlin above. Where it differed in was of course the fact that it’s Ahi, which is inherently a fattier fish, hence the Smoked Ahi was considerably more moist and less dry than the Smoked Marlin. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being raw to 10 being “jerky” dry, I’d put Roy’s Smoked Ahi at 4½. Like the Smoked Marlin, I also think this would have benefited by having more heat factor from the Chili Peppers, as well as some added pizazz from the ginger.

Its considerably more moist texture was certainly its best attribute, as was the freshness and clean taste of the Ahi itself, where it didn’t taste “fishy” at all; surprisingly even that dark meat piece didn’t taste fishy like it does in raw form, but fairly neutral. And even though the cuts were predominantly from stringy areas of the fish, it didn’t have any stringy attribute at all when chewing it.

Summing it up, I give Roy’s Smoked Ahi, again, 4 SPAM Musubi, again also noting more kick from the Chili Pepper along with some ginger in the marinade would elevate this easily to 5 SPAM Musubi.

Oh, did I say these go GREAT with an ice cold beer? Well they do! A St. Pauli Girl to be exact, wheah’, ho brah, whack one piece smoke fish, den’ chase em wit’ one sip of da beeah, buggah stay so ono! The smokey, mildy salty “meaty” flavor of the fish when combined with the hops in the ice cold beer are like peas in a pod. I GUARANTEE you one thing: you put a plate of this Smoked Marlin and Smoked Ahi on the table at a party and GAURANZ’ that’s going to disappear first, before everything and all else on the pupu spread.  GUARANZ. Well, at least it would get wiped out if I were there! lol

With Christmas 2010 quickly creeping up on us, surely most of you have already made your gift wish list for Santa. Well here’s mine: “Dear Santa, please get me a whole box just like this from Tropic’s”…

That’s like several POUNDS of Smoked Marlin, Smoked Ahi and Dried Aku. Truly a treasure chest of da’ most ono kine grindz! “Ho Om Nom Nom Ho, Merry Christmas! Om-nom-nom-nom-nom-Ho”. lol

Before we leave Tropic’s KCCFM tent for some Tasty Island bonus content, here’s a few cases of Kahuku Papaya they had for sale…

Moving along to some bonus content for this post, it isn’t uncommon to run into local celebrity chefs and movers ‘n shakers of Hawaii’s culinary scene at the KCC Farmers’ Market, and this weekend was no exception, where Honolulu celebrity chef Alan Wong set up a booth to promote his new cookbook ‘The Blue Tomato‘…

Here’s a video by Watermark Publishing on Chef Wong’s new cookbook…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL7POFR3bS0

Ironically, he was also selling his signature Li Hing Mui Dressing, which I featured here in the form of Alan Wong’s Hamakua Tomato Salad a while ago in my write-up of my Godmother, Aunty Nalani’s 75th Birthday at Washington Place…

According to Chef Wong, his Ling Hing Mui dressing is only available exclusively at his restaurant, and currently not available for retail sale in stores. Foodland? Tamura’s? Don Quijote? Times? Safeway? Costco? Hello?!!!

They were giving out samples of the dressing drizzled on Yellow Grape Tomato halves…

This is how Chef Wong serves his Li Hing Mui dressing in the restaurant…

Alan Wong’s Hamakua Tomato Salad with Li Hing Mui Dressing

I LOVED this dressing so much when I tried it the first time at my Aunt’s birthday party several years ago, that I went as far as recreating it myself at home, which is really easy to do. Check it out…

Learn how to make Alan Wong’s Li Hing Dressing at the post, “Li Hing Everything“. Or better yet, buy a bottle of the real deal at his restaurant!

Man, just saying “Li Hing Mui”, let alone looking at the red color of that dressing always makes me slobber and drool. lol

Finally, in honor of loyal Tasty Island reader Debbie-chan, we stop by Ono Pops KCCFM booth once again to try yet another flavor…

“Spock” my Foodland SPAM Musubi Reusable Shopping Bag sitting on the table, which is full of fresh produce and French Baguettes for my Banh Mi Sandwiches.

Here’s brother/co-owner of Ono Pops, Josh…

Josh is a Punahou grad and super nice guy. There were a couple flavors that weren’t listed on the menu board, including an Okinawan Sweet Potato Pie Ono Pop and Lemon Peel Ono Pop. Also not listed was the one I decided to try, which Josh calls “Ginger Tanical”…

Let’s unwrap it and have a better look…

Like many of the other Ono Pops flavors, Josh came up with the recipe for his “Ginger Tanical” Ono Pop himself, and boy is this thing a “doozie”, with ALL KINDS of stuff going on in it. According to him, the “Ginger Tanical” Ono Pop includes the following ingredients, which he also points out are mostly locally-produced and/or organic: fresh ginger, lime juice, orange juice, Big Island honey, Holly Thai basil, lemon grass, Lemon Verbana, Sea Asparagus and Chamomile.

Whoah! I’m not sure whether to eat this or rub it on my head get to rid of my bald spot and grow my hair back. LOL!

Seriously though, Josh said he won some kind of award last weekend with his new “Ginger Tanical” Ono Pop at an Herbal Convention? here on the island. Sorry, I forgot to write that down in my notes. I’ll ask him next week if I see him.

While it may not cure male pattern baldness or get rid of wrinkles on your skin, the “Ginger Tanical” Ono Pop certainly TASTES medicinal, yet incredibly, in an appealing and not off-putting way. That really is the best way I can describe it. It also seemed to have sort of a mood-enhancing and energizing effect, kinda’ like Prozac-meets-Red Bull, all conveniently frozen and ready to eat in one handy-dandy, very delicious and refreshing stick!

Ginger is certainly the most definitive flavor element happening here, which has a medicinal quality about it all in itself, along with a complex herbal thing in a “green way” going on in the background, thanks to all those unusual ingredients. Some of which I had to “Google” for just to spell correctly, let alone ever consuming them in my life before trying this. The addition of Kahuku Sea Asparagus is arguably the meanest “left curve” thrown into this pitch of a popsicle.

Overall, I really, really DIG this flavor, giving Josh’s new ‘Ginger Tanical” Ono Pop creation an invigorating, well-executed. wonderfully exotic and unique 4-SPAM Musubi. You gotta’ try it. Highly recommended! It’s CRAZY TASTY, both literally and figuratively!

P.S. If anyone out there has a good recipe, as well as making process for ono ‘kine Smoked Marlin (or any other fish), please share! I’m specifically looking for instructions on how to properly cure and/or brine and/or dry the fish, as well as what is the proper temperature to smoke it and how long? Mahalo in advance.

Things To Do
Honolulu

Grindz of the Day: Teddy's, Kona Brewing Co., Panda Express & Ono Pops

For today’s consecutive installment of “Grindz of the Day”, we begin with a stop by Teddy’s Bigger Burgers in Hawaii Kai, where I picked up a good ‘ole, all-American Cheeseburger. This being the “#2 Bigger Combo”, which includes a 7 oz. 100% ground chuck all-beef patty, where I had them char-grill it to medium-rare doneness by request; otherwise they cook it to medium by default .\

Usually whenever I order a burger, no matter where it is, my ichiban, no ka’ oi choice is the Swiss ‘n ‘Shroom, providing they offer that option. Yet this time I decided to think outside “my box” and go with the classic, back-to-basics Cheeseburger so I could REALLY taste the mechanics behind the face of what makes a Teddy’s Burger tick.

What I learned that I LOVE about Teddy’s burgers so much and what I really DON’T LIKE about them is this…

I LOVE the fresh, soft ‘n supple and most importantly TOASTED Potato Bun. Joining the love fest is that super tasty and juicy char-grilled 100% chuck all-beef, no-fillers patty, as well as the also-fresh ‘n cripsy leaf lettuce, tomato and slice of onion. Not to mention their grillmaster knows exactly when to yank the burger off the grill at medium-rare doness, while making sure the American cheese is completely melted on top of it. Sounds like Burgers 101 class, but you know as well as I do how often some places can seriously mess those basic rules up. Not here at Teddy’s, as they consistently turn out fabulously-executed burgers, where it’s down to a science as well as art for them.

What I DON’T like is their “Signature Sauce”. Sorry Teddy’s, but this does not work for me. What Teddy’s sauce tastes like (that doesn’t sound right) is essentially mayonnaise and BBQ sauce, with perhaps if I shall guess at any other “secrets”, perhaps a dash of Tobasco and/or Worcestershire and or Thousand Islands Dressing. But basically I’m guessing based on my close assessment of the sauce is that it’s primarily Mayo’ and BBQ Sauce. And one thing I don’t like my burger to taste like is ether Bacon or BBQ in a pork sense of the genre. I want my burger to taste like BEEF and beef only. So no, pass on Teddy’s Signature Sauce for me, as from now on when I hit them up, I’ll special-request Mayonnaise instead, thank you very much.

Along with the pungent Mayo-BBQ Sauce stuff, another no-go here is the pickles. I usually like pickles in my burger, but for some reason, Teddy’s is too pronounced, where I find, along with that sauce, those two toppings completely overcome my psychological insistence on tasting the BEEF and everything beef in the patty that those two components ultimately end up masking.

OK, enough ranting. I think I thought too deep about this cheeseburger. lol

As for Teddy’s fries, they’re definitely a winner, always deep-fried to perfection, thick-cut, with a tender, steamy interior, delicately-crispy “GBD” exterior and salted just right.

Summing it up, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers will and always has rocked, just from now, I’ll hold on their signature sauce and the pickles.

Next stop, just outside Teddy’s and around the corner in Koko Marina Center, literally ON the marina waterfront next to the boat slips, we stop by for some great live music, house-made custom beers and pub grub at Kona Brewing Co…

Kona Brewing Co. – “Hula Hefeweizen” ($5) on the left and “Fire Rock” Pale Ale beer ($3 special) on the right, centered by KBC’s Niu Valley Nachos ($8 half order)

All of their in-house draft beers on tap are subtitled “Pints of Paradise”, which Kona Brewing Co. has no shame in their game in spicing up all the menu items with “Hawaiianized”, island-themed nicknames.

Here you see we have “Niu Valley Nachos”, which as you may know, Niu Valley is just a few miles down the Kalaniana’ole Highway heading west on the east side of Oahu near Hawaii Kai.

Back to the beer, KBC describes their “Hula Hefeweizen” like this: “Medium to full-bodied with a pronounced banana/herbal flavor
and aroma. This beer’s unique flavor profile is a result of the special type of yeast strain used to brew the beer.”

Then we have the “Fire Rock” Pale Ale, which KBC describes it like this: “Sit back and relax with the bold hop flavor and bright copper glow of Fire Rock Pale Ale. Go slow and enjoy the flow of this Hawaiian-style brew.”

Sounds “fluffy”, but how does it taste? Exactly as they said it, “bold hop flavor and bright copper glow”. It’s certainly a “man’s beer”, as at least speaking for my girlfriend who tends to like more “fruity” and smooth beers (a.k.a. “girly beers”), the Fire Rock may come across to the unitiated at first as tasting somewhat bitter and too bold. Really though, like many other bold beers, the Fire Rock is one of those that quickly acclimates to your palate after just a few sips, then it completely smooths out, turning absolutely fragrant and not bitter at all. Good stuff.

What makes the Fire Rock even more smooth and fragrant is the PRICE, where KBC-HK frequently runs this flavor as a special of the day for just $3 a pint. Nice! Nice price, indeed. $3 for a chilled pint of custom-brewed beer while overlooking the beautiful Hawaii Kai Marina, not to mention the many beautiful people that frequent this place and also-chilled out, relaxed and clean, cozy atmosphere, plus complimentary live music by some of Hawaii’s top musicians? Can’t go wrong with that!

As for the “Niu Valley Nachos”, KBC describes it like this: “Yellow Corn Kettle Chips layered with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, black beans, green chiles, tomatoes, black olives, corn, jalapeños and a side of salsa. Sour cream upon request.” In this case we opted for the Kalua Pig version, which ran $8 for that “half order”, which was more than plenty to share between the two of us. Surprisingly the Kalua Pig retained its moisture and didn’t get dried out after being put under the broiler to melt the cheese. It also tasted like genuine Kalua Pig and not just plain ‘ole pulled pork, which often is the case when restaurants say something has “Kalua Pig” in it. This tasted like real-deal stuff.

Next up on our pupu spread, we have KBC’s Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil…

Kona Brewing Co. – Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil:  Local vine-ripened tomatoes, whole basil leaves and fresh mozzarella cheese served with toasted spent grain focaccia, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.” $8.

What? No fancy-shmancy “Hawaiianized” nickname for this one? Just “Tomato, Mozarella and Basil”? How vanilla! lol OK then, I’ll come up with an name. How’s about we call this the “Koko Marina Caprese” or “Koko Marina TMB”. Works for me.

Anyhow, what I’ll now name the “Koko Marina Caprese” (Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil) comes with a pre-sliced, house-made, fresh-baked loaf of KBC’s Spent Grain Focaccia Bread…

Let’s put some on a slice of Foccacia and have a taste…

The verdict? The large basil leaves were fresh, crisp and vibrant, the Mozzarella cheese smooth ‘n creamy and tomato tight ‘n fruity. However I think the Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil on it could have been better quality, as the one drizzled on this was too subtle. The Olive Oil definitely wasn’t EVOO, which would have been much better. The foccacia bread certainly rocked, so add a point or two for that alone, where I’d go as far as saying I’d be willing to pay for some of their Foccacia Bread to take home for later.

Rounding up our love of all things cheese on this particular evening, we ordered a plate of KBC’s Garlic Cheese Bread…

Kona Brewing Co. – Garlic Cheese Bread: Fire Rock focaccia bread with garlic aioli, provolone and
parmesan cheeses toasted and served with a side of marinara. $7

And what? No “Hawaiianized” nickname for the Garlic Cheese Bread either? K’den, I’ll go ahead and name this one “Lava Bread”. Or perhaps “Pahoe’hoe Bread”. Get it? Firerock (volcanic) Focaccia bread with Melted Cheese on it, with the cheese being the molten lava.

Anyhow, this “Lava Bread” is certainly piled thick with ooey-gooey, melted cheesy goodness melded with a strong garlic flavor. All topping their OEM pizza crust, which is pretty darned good, with just the right amount of salt to bring out the doughs flavor. It has a well-balanced glutenous chew, being neither too tough nor crumbly, along with toasty goodness underneath in all the right spots, without tasting burnt in any particular spots. Their cooks are on it when it comes to pizza oven management.

The marinara dipping sauce has lots of texture and full of herbal complexity, where I’d be just as happy tossing some fettuccine pasta into the stuff and calling it a day.

Summing it up, 3 SPAM Musubi for KBC’s Garlic Cheese Bread. Next time I gotta’ try the Mac Nut Pesto version of this.

On a previous visit to KBC, I tried their Lavaman Red Ale, which was the special of the day at the time…

Kona Brewing Co. – Lavaman Red Ale: “This full-bodied beer is deep red in color with a malty sweetness. The subtle hint of chocolate malt flavor is balanced by a unique blend of Pacific Northwest and European hop varieties.” $3/pint special of the day

Hmmm, subtle hint of chocolate malt, eh? I don’t remember getting that. Perhaps because I wasn’t really looking for it, whereas even though not doing so, I could certainly taste the coffee flavor in the Pipeline Porter right from the start. This one was certainly a little sweeter and a bit more smooth immediately upon firt impression in comparison to the Fire Rock Pale Ale.

Ultimately, ah, whatevahz, I like ’em both, especially for just $3 a pint!

On top of the great beer, food and beautiful waterfront view of Hawaii Kai Marina, KBC also offers the nahenahe (sweet sounds) music of Kiho’alu (slack key) legend Ledward Ka’apana every Sunday from 5 to 7pm…

That’s Ledward Ka’apana on lead guitar and vocals with the loud red boots, along with his sister Lei on Uke and vocals as well, while bringing up the back is Jesse on bass (my girlfriend’s cousin) in the Palaka shirt.

A panoramic view of Hawaii Kai Marina, looking west from Koko Marina, with KBC on the left overshadowed by the sunset  (photo taken 12/05/10 during sundown; click to enlarge and use your browser’s horizontal scroll button to pan)…

Next up, while most folks, lincluding  yours truly,  am dubious of chain restaurants — plus on top of that — chain restaurants with an ethnic theme, Panda Express has DELIVERED BIG TIME in the form of their new Kobari Beef dish. Folks, this thing ROCKS! Check it out…

As the sign clearly says, “Ask for FREE sample”, that is indeed what you MUST do on your next Hawaii Kai Costco run, or any any other run for that matter, providing there’s a Panda Express within the vicinity.

Like many of you may have the perception of, I was reluctant to accept Panda Express as a respectable Chinese food joint. Yet you know what? TOTALLY RESPECTABLE. It turns out, more like ADMIRABLE, as well as one of those rare eateries I’ve now become a regular of. At least speaking for the Hawaii Kai Towne Center location, which is situated about smack center between Costco and City Mill.

But, yeah, walk into Panda Express and ask them for a sample of any and every dish that looks interesting to you, to which the server will hand your choice over on a toothpick. Of course, don’t forget to try the Kobari Beef, because this one is GREAT!…

Panda Express (Hawaii Kai Towne Center location) Kobari Beef and Spicy Chicken 2-choice plate. $8

On the plate shown above are (clockwise from top left) Panda Express’ Kobari Beef, Spicy Chicken, which tastes and has the same texture as Sweet & Sour Shrimp, albeit with a spicy kick, and Chow Mein noodles.

Another angle…

Here’s the same entree choices of Panda Express Kobari Beef and Spicy Chicken, in this version having white rice as the starch…

To be specific, Panda Express’ tastes a little spicy, yet not intolerably hot. It has a deeply-marinated Shoyu/whatever other secret ingredients are in that sauce. Ultimately, plus on top of that, it has that wonderfully smokey, aromatic flavor that totally punches out the flavor of the tender strips of Kobari sauce-laced beef from being seared at high temperature in a FLAMING WOK, which as you may recall Chef Sam Choy highly advocates.

That’s pretty much my best way to describe Panda Express’ Kobari Beef. YOU just need to try it for yourself and be the judge. For me, I give Panda Express’ Kobari Beef a RESOUNDING 5 SPAM MUSUBI! Seriously.

Rounding off today’s “Grindz of the Day”, we stop by yet for another visit to KCC Farmers’ Market’ Ono Pops booth to sample yet another one of their “Exotic Hawaiian Popsicle” flavors…

With that, I couldn’t resist trying the first-listed flavor of the day, the Ume Thai Basil…

Ono Pops Ume-Thai Basil water-based popsicle. $3

Cool “Inspector Ume Man” logo label design. Let’s check it out unwrapped…

Looks like little bits ‘n pieces of Umeboshi in there, which apparently gives this water-based popsicle an overall pinkish hue. Let’s have a bite…

First impression? SALTY. Very salty, more so than sweet, while also not being as “Ume acidic” (tart) as I had hoped. You can certainly taste the Umeboshi (a Japanese pickled plum/apricot preserved in Vinegar and salt, Tsukemono style).

Yet at the same time, I feel the Thai Basil gets in the way of the Ume’s flavor, with it’s somewhat clashing licorice element. I think they should keep this one simple and eliminate the Thai Basil, where if anything, I’d go with Li Hing powder over Thai Basil for that exotic 3rd dimension of flavor for this chilly pop.

As it stand, I give Ono Pop’s water-based Ume-Thai Basil flavor 1 SPAM Musubi.

I so have dibs next weekend on Ono Pops‘ Watermelon Hibiscus Lemon Peel flavor, which the owner told me has bits of Lemon Peel in it.

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