Grindz of the Day: Tatsuo's, Chef Hardy's Veal Burger, McD's Saimin & Filipino Faves

Tatsuo’s Hamburger Steak & Smoked Chicken combo’ plate

We begin today’s “Grindz of the Day” with a spread we enjoyed several “Aloha Friday’s” ago at Tatsuo’s, which is pretty much your typical plate lunch joint, albeit, kicked up notches unknown to mankind, of course, located in the heart of the industrial Sand Island area of scenic Kalihi Kai.

Here at Tatsuo’s on this visit, I ordered a combination Beef Stew and Harm Ha Pork plate…

Tastuo’s Beef Stew & Harm Ha Pork combo’ plate

What is “Harm Ha Pork”, you might ask? Well, Harm Ha is a Chinese fermented shrimp paste that has a VERY pungent odor akin to Filipino Bagaong, along with a flavor profile that must be acquired in order to be appreciated. My mother LOVES Chinese food, and with that, I grew up eating stuff like this. Like Tripe (stew), Harm Ha smells pretty nasty to the uninitiated as it’s being heated in the pan. Yet, once you TASTE the final result in a dish such as this Harm Ha Pork, you quickly >>>at least should<<< appreciate it, if not LOVE IT! I know I do!

Tastuo’s Beef Stew & Harm Ha Pork combo’ plate

In this version made by Tatsuo’s, they used ground pork, which was the only thing I didn’t care for, as I’m used to this dish using whole pieces of pork, not ground-up. Aside of that, the Ung Choy (Chinese Water Spinach) was  cooked perfectly al dente if you will, while the balance of salty “shrimpiness” from the Harm Ha was pretty much spot-on.

Tastuo’s Beef Stew & Harm Ha Pork combo’ plate

As for the Beef Stew, pretty standard fare, with a basic tomato-based taste, yet I think could have used either beef stock or simmering longer to extract more savory goodness from the cuts of actual beef cuts in it. The celery, carrots and potatoes still had al dente integrity and weren’t rendered to “mush”, so thumbs-up on that.

Rice was cooked perfectly of course. Greens were crispy-fresh, served with an also standard fare Thousand Island’s Dressing.

Off to a good start, I give Tatsuo’s Harm Ha Pork & Beef Stew Plate Lunch combo 2-SPAM Musubi.

Next up we have Diner E’s Hamburger Steak “Gauge Plate”, by which he uses to measure every joint in this genre for their “Plate Lunch Savvy”…

Tatsuo’s Hamburger Steak mini plate

Sauteed onions? Check. Deep (and I mean DEEP), rich ‘n savory brown gravy? Check. Two char-grilled hand-formed beef patties? Check. Rice? Check. Game on!

Notice for the salad, for the most part, we all choose the tossed salad nowadays, as, well, we’re not getting any younger, and Mac’ Sal’ isn’t so kind in maintaining our “girlish” figure. Not that a heaping helping of hamburger smothered in gravy over white rice is so kind to that either, but hey, we gotta’ make some concessions somewhere. lol

And how is Tatsuo’s Hamburger Steak? Diner “Saimin Kaukau” E gives it a solid 3 SPAM Musubi, which to you and me would be FIVE!!!

Finally from Tastsuo’s on this visit, we have a combination Hamburger Steak and Smoked Chicken (yes, SMOKED CHICKEN) combo’ plate…

Tastuo’s Hamburger Steak & Smoked Chicken combo’ plate

O.M.G. That smoked chicken is AWESOME! Broke da’ mout’! I was skeptical about it before tasting it, because it was an item that had been sitting in a warmer on the deli line, yet one bite and I was absolutely HOOKED! Smoked meats (whether pork, beef, poultry or seafoods) can either be on or off-putting, depending how well the smoke-infused flavor comes across on your palate. In this case, the chicken is extremely tender and juicy inside, with the just the right balance of smokiness and seasoning on the skin, while being permeated just a little within the meat fibers.

Tatsuo’s Smoked Chicken

I’m most DEFINITELY going to have to try smoking some chicken on my next “run”. While I didn’t ask, I’m guessing the “secret” is in the brine.

I also got to try a taste of the gravy from the Hamburger Steak, and WOW. Also AMAZING, and most definitely one of the best Hamburger Steak gravy I’ve had in my most recent collective memory..

That said, Diner A gives his Smoked Chicken and Hamburger Steak combo’ plate from Tatsuo’s an “I’ll be back for more!” 5 SPAM Musubi!

Next up, from KCC Farmers’ Market, we have a Gourmet Veal Burger by Michel’s Executive Chef Hardy…

Chef Hardy’s Gourmet Veal Burger

Awwwe, ain’t them Hibiscus’ adorning the display model “purdy”?! lol

Here’s mine…

Chef Hardy’s Gourmet Veal Burger

Witness the beautifully grill-toasted Onion Roll Bun…

Chef Hardy’s Gourmet Veal Burger

Let’s do this…

Chef Hardy’s Gourmet Veal Burger

The finely-chopped red peppers laced within the veal certainly had an impact on the flavor profile, giving it a sort of south-western appeal if you will. It was surprisingly juicy, considering how lean veal is, yet can’t compare with good ole beef.

Chef Hardy’s Gourmet Veal Burger

There was also a distinct seasoning either coating or mixed within the veal patty, yet ironically, I couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what the parts of its sum were. The cucumber was certainly a welcome and refreshing, crispy touch, and something I’d certainly try doing in a home burger-making project. Winner!

Summing it up, I give Chef Hardy’s Gourmet Veal Burger 2 SPAM Musubi.

Michel’s Chef Hardy cooks up gourmet Veal Burgers at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market

Learn more about Hawaiian Ranchers free range grass-fed Veal here…

Next, we stop by McDonald’s Waikiki location on Kalakaua avenue, right across Duke’s Statue, where I attempted to confirm whether their Saimin recipe truly needs help or not…

McDonald’s (Waikiki) Saimin. $2.85

That’s a cool ‘Hawaiianized” logo design with the polynesian canoe, although I think they should add the name “Saimin” in a script font going across the yellow double arches to boldly identify what exactly this is.

Let’s see what’s in the “bowl”…

McDonald’s (Waikiki) Saimin. $2.85

All the right stuff’s in there, including Kamaboko, Charsiu, Sliced Egg Omelet and Nori, except for one other standard garnish that must noted as absent is Green Onion. Ack!

Now, before I take a bite of this bowl from the Waikiki Kalakaua avenue location, you may remember about a year ago I reviewed McDonald’s Saimin from their Hawaii Kai Shopping Center location, which I was sadly disappointed by.

So let’s see if that was just a blunder, or an ongoing problem that needs fixing. Let’s do this…

McDonald’s (Waikiki) Saimin. $2.85

Meh. Still the same extremely BLAND broth, as if I’m eating “Hot Saimin Water”.  Like SERIOUSLY. The noodles are also “pasty”, while not entirely soggy, leaning more towards that end of the cooked doneness spectrum.

McDonald’s (Waikiki) Saimin. $2.85

The best part about this saimin was the single slice of Charsiu, which was very tender and packed with authentic Charsiu flavor on the edge.

Summing it up, I give McDonald’s Saimin on this second try -1 SPAM Musubi, which is a first on this blog. Bottom line, FIX the BROTH! Go visit Palace Saimin in Kalihi for the REAL SAIMIN DEAL!

Finally, hot on the heels of my previous review of Jollibee in Waipahu, we have some REAL Filipino grindz from an “unknown” vendor in the Maunakea Marketplace Food Court in Honolulu Chinatown…

(clockwise from top left) Dinuguan, Tinola, Pork Adobo and Pinakbet

A closer look, starting with the Pork Adobo (Pork simmered in Shoyu, Vinegar, Peppercorns and Bayleaf)…

Pinakbet (Bitter Melon, Eggplant, String Beans, Tomato, Pork and Shrimp)…

Dinuguan (Pig’s Blood Stew)…

Tinola (Chicken, Green Papaya, Malungay and Ginger soup)…

The Tinola could use more Malungay leaves IMO, but still, the broth ROCKED. Laced heavily with ginger, while throwing out a subtle-yet-distinguishable “chicken-ee” punch. Rounding it out, the green papaya chunks were cooked perfectly al dente, along with the malungay leaves adding that added dimension of texture and flavor to this soup that it could never do without.

The Dinuguan, Pinakbet and Pork Adobo were also all AWESOME, and as good as I’ve had from anywhere else, giving this “no name” filipino food vendor in Chinatown Honolulu’s food court a “Masarap-sarap” (really delicious) 5-SPAM Musubi!

Speaking of favorite Filipino dishes, for today’s BONUS ‘Grindz of the Day’ feature, I also recently made Chicken Tinola using my handy-dandy new Pressure Cooker, where here’s how it turned out…

Pomai’s pressure-cooked Tinola

Diner C got me the Malungay leaves from Pu’uhale Market, located in that little blue building on the corner of Pu’uhale Road and Dillingham Boulevard, where Wild Bean Espresso was located, across the street from OCCC.

Malungay from Pu’uhale Market. $1.50/bunch

I got the green Papaya from Don Quijote, which ran $1.49/lb., while for the chicken I used drumsticks that I carefully deboned and cut into chunks (Diner C recommends using a whole roasting chicken for this dish). For the broth, I first made a basic chicken stock using a miripoix (onion, celery and carrots), along with the chicken drumsticks bones. This took 45 minutes in the pressure cooker, which yielded FANTASTIC results, and tasted as if I had been simmering it for HOURS. Of course I could have just as easily used canned chicken stock, but I wanted to test my new pressure cooker out, so decided to make the entire dish from scratch.

Then to make the Tinola, to the strained chicken stock, I simply added CHOKE (plenty) ginger, along with the chicken, cubed green papaya and malungay leaves and let it cook under pressure for a speedy 5 minutes, finishing it off using the natural pressure release, after which yielded the final result you see here…

Pomai’s pressure-cooked Tinola

It turned out FANTASTIC. The chicken pieces were tender and cooked all the way through, while the green papaya was cooked perfectly al dente, leaning a little towards the firm side, which is good, as when I heat it up for leftovers, it will still have some firmness. But what REALLY separates this from any other chicken soup are the malungay leaves, which really do impart a flavor that’s difficult to describe, but you know it’s there, and it would certainly be lacking that “somethin’-somethin’ without it.

I LOVE Tinola! It’s so comforting, medicinal (think Chicken Noodle Soup), delicious, and best of all, so easy to make! Chicken, Ginger, Green Papaya, Chicken Stock and Malungay leaves and that’s it. Try it!

Things To Do
Honolulu

Grindz of the Day: Arirang, Monarch Seafoods & Chocolate-covered Bacon

Arirang Bar-B-Q Korean Quisine – Fish Jun

Repeat visits are an obvious indicator we really dig the place, which brings us back once again to several spots.

We begin today’s “Grindz of the Day” with lunch at Arirang, where this past Aloha Friday Diner A and yours truly visited as we BOTH had da’ “ono’s” (craving) for Fish Jun.

Before I continue, I must note that there’s an ongoing “debate” on where exactly “Jun” originated. Namely “Meat Jun”.  Many folks on the mainland think it must be a “Hawaii thing”, because the Korean restaurants in their neck of the woods don’t have such a dish.

I found this interesting discussion over at WOWGRINDS.com on the subject, where lots of comments have helped to dispel the “Meat Jun Mystery”. One comment reads, “So I discovered this watching this korean show and the Kwangju region in Korea is known for the dish we call “meat jeon.” In korean it’s yukjeon (??), yuk meaning ‘meat.’ So it’s not a local Hawaiian invention, but maybe some Korean from that region brought it over and revised it.” Plus many other insightful comments you should click on over and read if you’re interested.

Apparently the “myth” part is due to how differently the name is SPELLED, as based on the common denominator of that discussion, the PROPER way to spell “Meat Jun” is “Meat Jeon”. or more properly than that, “Gogi Jeon” or “Yukjeon”.

To make it even more confusing, the various Korean restaurants around Oahu each have a slightly different way of spelling it. Arirang and Ah-Lang Korean Restaurant spells it “Meat Jun”, Soon’s Kal-Bi Drive-In spells it “Meat Jhun”, while Jin Joo Korean Restaurant spells it “Meat Chun”. ACK!!

Anyhow, if you have more information on Meat Jun or variation of the dish that you’ve encountered, I’d love to hear about it.

Not to confuse you any more, but another popular version of this flour and egg-battered Korean favorite is what we have here today in the form of Fish Jun…

Arirang Bar-B-Q Korean Quisine – Fish Jun. $8.95 (lunch price)

Or should I spell that Fish Jhun? Or Fish Junn? Or Fish Chun? Or Fish Jeon? Or Fish Joon? Or how about Fish June? lol

That was Diner A’s plate. Here’s mine, where in this shot I’ve broken a piece in half to reveal the super-moist and flaky Mahimahi within…

Arirang Bar-B-Q Korean Quisine – Fish Jun. $8.95 (lunch price)

The key here being they use Mahimahi, which makes for an EXCELLENT Fish Jun, as in my experience over the years, Mahimahi has always been the best type of fish for this dish. Reason being, Mahi has a good amount of oil in the flesh, offering a savory-yet-tame, sort of “buttery” white meat flavor that’s not “fishy” at all, while having a super moist, tender and flaky texture that just melts in your mouth. Awesome.

Rest assured, Mahimahi is what you’ll get in your Fish Jun at Arirang, as it specifically says that right on the menu. Whereas, many places don’t specify, so you never know what may be in it: could be (the cheaper) haddock, pollock or even talapia (not from the Ala Wai Canal of course). I’d love to sample how Ono, a.k.a. Wahoo tastes in Jun (or Junn or Jeon or June) form.

Notice how they cut the egg and flour-battered Mahimahi here, where they’re shaped like medalions that measure approximately 4″Lx3″Wx1/4″ thickness each, with four of them on this lunch-sized portion.

Most “Jun” dishes are served with a dipping sauce that’s pretty much like a simplified version of Japanese Ponzu;  in this case, made with soy sauce, vinegar and sugar…

That said, let’s hit it!..

First of all, as described above, the mahi has a buttery, mildy-savory flavor and is super moist ‘n tender. And it’s cooked to absolute PERFECTION. The flour and egg batter has a nice crunch going on, while being very lightly seasoned with what tastes like just salt, if even that. The egg flavor helps to amplify the wonderful taste of the Mahi within, underscoring the JUN in this Fish Jun.

If there’s one complaint, I’d just say the default “Jun” sauce they provide was too mild, as if the soy sauce (shoyu) they use was the low sodium variety, or something like that, as the sauce tasted like it was watered down.

Not to fret though, as we clearly remember the EXCELLENT house-made Gochujang sauce Arirang put on our table the last time we were here, so we requested that…

OK, let’s try again wit’ da’ Gochujang action…

I’ll put it to you this way: even though the default “ponzu style” Jun dipping sauce was on the mild side, it was still “MONEY”. Now with Arirang’s AWESOME house-made Gochujang sauce joining this Fish Jun party, it is “BANK”!!! Or so Guy Fieri would have said it. Serious “Bank”. Like 5 SPAM Musubi “Bank”. So, so delicious. I swear, if you’re looking for an EXCELLENT Fish Jun, you need to head on over to Arirang. High, HIGHLY recommended.

I’m gonna’ tease you with a few more bite-through shots so you can see just how moist and tender this broke da’ mout’ winnahz Mahimahi-based Fisch Jgeonng was…

Here I combined the default “Jun” Sauce with the Gochujang Sauce at about 3:1 ratio…

Oh yeah, now THAT’s rockin’!  You get a little tang, a little sweet, some heat, along with a savory “bottom” thanks to the miso they use in the Gochujang sauce, which really is its “secret”. In fact, I’m surprised our server admitted that they use that. Yet you can clearly taste there’s miso in the Gochujang sauce. All I know is you could pour that stuff on anything and it would taste good.

Not that this it needs a sauce, as just like the Angry Korean Lady’s Meat Jun and Chive Jun, this Fish Jun is SCUMPTIOUS just by itself, and the sauces are really just icing on an already fantastic cake.

Summing it up, “Bank” 5 SPAM for Arirang’s Fish Jun (jeon, jeong, june, jhun, junn, joon, whatevahz…)

Speaking of “Bank”, also winning top honors is Arirang’s EXCELLENT Banchan side dishes…

Arirang’s Kim Chee is certainly “Money”, while their Korean style Shoyu Potatoes are “BANK”!!! As Diner A noted, they almost “Taste like Shoyu Chicken”, where you could just as well order a plate of this stuff as the main entree along with rice and call it a day. It’s that “meaty”.

Look at how that deep ‘n savory, sweetened shoyu “goodness” penetrates the outer layer of the fork-tender red potatoes…

Rewinding to the beginning of our Fish Jun “experience” on this visit, we enjoyed the included house seaweed soup…

I asked our server if they had the Korean Stainless Steel Chopsticks to accompany the Korean Stainless Steel Spoon, but they didn’t have them.

As Diner A described it, “It’s like sipping on a hot bowl of the ocean”, is the best way to describe it. Seriously, as simple as this Kombu-based soup is, it’s LOVELY. Next time I come here, I’m going to ask them how to make it, so I can do it at home before EVERY meal. Heart-warming, soul-soothing good stuff!

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Moving on to our next “Grindz of the Day”, we go back a week to the previous Aloha Friday, where Diner A and yours truly returned yet again to Monarch Seafoods. This time around where Diner A “hanahou’d” their AWESOME Fried Poke, making that his single entree choice, while I decided to try their Spicy Calamari…

Monarch Seafoods – Spicy Thai Calamari Steak (left) and Fried Poke (right) plates

Let’s zoom in…

Monarch Seafoods – Deep Fried Poke. $7.95

All I can say is, in the battered ‘n fried fish category, next to the Fish Jun featured previously in this post, Monarch Seafood’s Fired Poke is as GOOD AS IT GETS!

Especially when it’s coated in Monarch’s KILLER house dressing…

It tastes like they marinade the ahi — which tastes VERY FRESH (not old stuff) — in some sort of shoyu-based marinade, then they coat it katsu style, taking a dredge in flour, egg and panko, then hitting the deep fryer to give it that “GBD” doneness, with no more and no less. So the Ahi within remains SUPER moist and succulent, especially when combined with that very tasty marinade it’s SOAKED with. FREAKIN’ AWESOME STUFF. PERIOD.

Another “Bank” 5 SPAM Musubi for Monarch Seafood’s Fried Poke. Make sure if you order this to ask for extra house dressing. Liquid Gold I tell ya’, Liquid Gold.

Now let’s check out Monarch’s Spicy Calamari…

Monarch Seafoods – Spicy Thai Calamari Steak. $7.95

These Panko-crusted Calamari (squid) “steaks” are some “tik” (thick) buggahz (suckers)…

As for the “Spicy” factor”, it both appears and tastes like, before hitting the panko and flour batter station, they basically coat the calamari steaks with the same Mae Ploy Sweet Thai Chili Sauce that’s used for dipping after the fact.

As you know, Calamari (squid) is very mild in flavor, as this was, while it was also notably tender, as you know how Calamari can be rubbery if over or undercooked. So “props” to Monarch on that. The panko and thick flour batter didn’t stick well to the Calamari within, yet for what it’s worth, added a nice flavor and texture contrast to it. While the Mae Ploy Sweet Thai Chili Sauce works for Wonton-wrapped stuff, I don’t think it works quite as well with pank0-battered stuff, as was the case here. By far, Monarch’s AWESOME house creamy dressing (the yellow-greenish stuff) is THE ONE to dip the “Spicy Calamari” into.

Spice-wise, it wasn’t hot at all, as Mae Ploy Sweet Thai Chili Sauce is very mild by default (at least to my palate).

Summing it up, I give Monarch Seafood’s Spicy Calamari 3 SPAM Musubi. Which really is saying a lot for someone who isn’t particularly a Calamari fan. If you are, you definitely need to try this.

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Last but never least, we round up today’s “Grindz of the Day” with two of just about everyone’s FAVORITE foods: BACON and CHOCOLATE.

If you’re a Food Network and Travel Channel “Foodie Junkie” like I am, you probably already at least seen it. Yet so far on Oahu, it’s not that commonly found on restaurant menus. Yet recently I was at Eat Cafe, where I noticed they had it sort of “scribbled” on their chalkboard menu as kind of an afterthought. And I thought, “Hmmmmmmm, I wonder?”

Since I had two huge SLABS of Costo-issue sliced Maple flavored smoked bacon in my fridge, I immediately went online to find out how to make the stuff.

As advertised, it’s literally Chocolate-covered Bacon, no more, no less. With Valentine’s Day right behind us, we naturally had a surplus of chocolates hangin’ around – most notably a bunch of Dark Chocolate, as that’s my girlfriend’s favorite.

So I began my Chocolate-covered Bacon quest by first baking half a slab of thick-cut Maple flavored smoked bacon in the oven until it reached a slight “rubberyness”, and not to the point of being “crunchy-crispy”, as I personally don’t like my bacon (over) done that way.

Then I took about 1 cup’s worth of Giradelli brand dark chocolate squares and “nuked” it on low heat in the microwave until it melted. I was a little disappointed that it came out kinda’ clumpy, so I looked online what the base of chocolate is, and it said oil. So I turned around and “tempered” the chocolate by adding a pat of butter to thin it into a usable viscosity.

After the cooked bacon cooled to room temperature, I then proceeded to coat each slice on all surfaces with the butter-tempered dark Giradelli chocolate. Then I stuck it in the refrigerator to “set” the chocolate, where out it came a few hours later looking like this…

The lighting exposure in that shot makes it look like milk chocolate. Here’s another angle that’s more color-accurate…

I SO can’t wait to try this.

Here’s a macro cross-cut shot of one of these Dark Chocolate-covered Bacon slices…

How is it? CRAZY. TASTY indeed, yet simply NUTS. The combination of the sweet, deep and robust dark chocolate, along with the salty, smokey, savory goodness of the bacon WORKS, yet your brain is like “WTH is this?!!!”. That’s the best way I can describe it upon first bite.

Yet, after about the third bite, it becomes pretty addictive. Mainly out of denial that this actually does taste good. But it does! Genius.

If there’s anything I’d improve on, it would be to cook the bacon more crispy, as the congealed fat at the doneness I baked the bacon (ha ha) was a little strange on the palate. I also need to work on my chocolate tempering skills to get it where it’s like “candy”, whereas on this first take, it was kinda’ “messy”. But those are just “minah ‘kine stuffs” (nothing serious).

All I can say is if you like bacon and if you like chocolate, chances are pretty likely you’ll LOVE Chocolate-covered Bacon. I’m personally not a chocolate person, so I can’t really appreciate that element, yet I’ll vouch for the sweet, robust ‘n savory thing going on with this unique hybrid “invention”. 3 SPAM Musubi.

Things To Do
Honolulu

Waipahu Eats: Sato's Okazuya "Famous" Fried Noodles

Sato’s Okazuya “Famous” Fried Noodles

Fans of this popular genre of local style eatery know that each Okazuya has their own claim-to-fame dish.

Well, enter Sato’s Okazuya in Waipahu, where their Fried Noodles reign supreme. So much so, I’ve taken the liberty to tag them as “FAMOUS”!  Where, “Best Fried Noodles in town” is pretty much the common description given by reviewers on Yelp. Where, if this is true (as we shall soon find out), then this adds yet another reason to head out to Waipa-HU! (say the “HU!” part in a dramatically higher tone of voice ‘por dee ahk-sent) for some seriously ono ‘kine grindz. Where, in this old plantation town on Oahu’s west side, you can also get a mighty fine Fish Patty at Tanioka’s, some “wow, das’ some winnahz! ” Laulau at Highway Inn, “Triple-D certified” Poke at Elmer Guzman’s Poke Stop, and definitely some “masarap-sarap” Spanish Rolls at Nanding’s Bakery… just to name a few!

Sato’s Okazuya is tucked away amongst a row of small businesses in the Y-H building, located on Hanawai Circle, right up the street around the corner of Bank of Hawaii on Farrington Highway in Waipahu. As you enter the parking lot from Hanawai Circle, to the right will be the Waipahu Festival Marketplace…

Notice in the background the old Oahu Sugar Mill smoke stack still stands to this day.

Across the lot you’ll find Sato’s Okazuya in the Y-H Building…

As “old school”  hole-in-the-wall as it gets…

Typical of this type of limited-space eatery, Sato’s Okazuya offers minimal seating accommodations (two 4-place tables and one 2-place table), with the center of attention being the service counter that doubles as a window-faced food display featuring what’s (hopefully still) available for the day…

I’ve heard the wait here for their famous Fried Noodles can be long, making it wise to call ahead for your order. Yet I took a chance and walked in, where around my noon-time arrival (considered LATE by most Okazuya standards), thankfully there was plenty of Fried Noodles that had just been cooked, sitting in a warmer pan awaiting me and a few other fellow patrons who were there for the same thing…

Right above the noodles on the display counter, they have three sizes of takeout containers marked with the prices to help you quickly make your choice…

Check out that extra-large (XL) takeout container on da’ left… sheesh, da’ buggah is MASSIVE! Never seen that sized “plate” before, and thankfully so, as the last thing we need are local plate lunch joints offering “super-sized” plate lunches. Not that many don’t already do so, except they just pile da’ grindz VERTICALLY. lol.

To the left and right of the Fried Noodles pan, you can sort of see the other warmer pans next to it are already “Elvis” (gone), as were most of the musubi and other prepared Okazu selections in this part of the display case….

Speaking of selection, here’s Sato Okazuya’ menu board…

Apparently the Pork Chops & Fried Noodles is one of their most popular combos, yet I came here specifically just to try their “famous” Fried Noodles so I could savor it in all its own glory, which really, as is, can be considered an all-in-one meal.

The very first thing I asked the server was, “Where do you get your noodles from?” To which she immediately revealed Sato’s sources their noodles from Okahara Saimin Factory. Well I’ll be darned! Finally a place that doesn’t get their noodles from Sun Noodle Factory, whom seems currently has at least 90% of Oahu’s ramen and saimin shop market (amongst others) locked in. I actually was surprised they outsource their noodles, as I thought a place with such a reputation as theirs would still be making their own in-house (if they ever did do that).

Spock da’ bottles of what looks like some kinda’ “secret sauce” by the Fried Noodles prep area. half-shoyu/half-oyster sauce, perhaps?

So here now I FINALLY get to taste for myself what everyone is raving about…

Sato’s Okazuya – Fried Noodles (large). $7

Let me start by saying that, while I enjoy eating it occasionally, I’m certainly not particularly a Fried Noodles enthusiast myself, per se. So I don’t have many other places to compare this to, with the only other Fried Noodles consumed in recent memory being from none other than Zippy’s. I definitely much prefer this “local style” saimin-influenced version of the dish, as I’m (loosely) so NOT a fan of Chinese style Fried Noodles, mainly because of the flavorings in the sauce, and also because it’s often kinda’ greasy (at least in my experiences). Especially if they use Hoisin (uggh) or too much Oyster Sauce.

Zippy’s – Fried Noodles (notice they put SPAM in theirs)

Being this is an Okazuya and saimin stand, I’d say Sato’s Fried Noodles is essentially a bowl of  Saimin (same noodles), sans the liquid broth, thrown into a wok and fried along with an ever-slight addition of julienned carrots and cabbage and some “secret sauce”.  Then, like the typical “standard” Saimin you’ll find at most stands, it’s topped with finely chopped charsiu, ham and green onions.

Sam Sato’s – Dry Noodle, a.k.a. “Dry Mein”

In fact, speaking of the Sato name, this reminds me a lot of the also very popular Dry Noodle, a.k.a. “Dry Mein” offered at Sam Sato’s in Wailuku, Maui. Except with Sam Sato’s Dry Mein, they kick it up a notch by also providing a small bowl of broth on the side so you can “wet” your noodles. Because you know, we all like “wetting our noodle”. lol

OK, time for the moment of truth, let’s do this…

Right off the bat, EXCELLENT texture. Kinda’ rubbery ‘n chewy in a VERY GOOD WAY, and certainly not “pasty”. I think that firm-yet-tender chewiness is what makes it stand out the most and is its greatest virtue.

There’s an ever-so-slight oily coating, yet certainly not greasy whatsoever, with just enough of a slick surface coating all the noodles to prevent them from sticking together into one clumpy mess. These Fried Noodles remain in individual strands, so more props on that, and also once again for having just the right amount of oil coating.

Flavor-wise, just like Sam Sato’s “Dry Mein”, Sato’s Fried Noodles (don’t confuse the two!), it’s kinda tough to really tell exactly what’s going on (in) here in their “secret sauce”. It’s sorta’ “dashi-ish”, yet there may also be if just a TAD of Oyster Sauce, but not much. There’s definitely some “shoyu action” to boost the “Umami factor”. They may also be using chicken broth in there somehow as it’s being fried up. The julienned carrots and cabbage added some “earth tones” to the flavor and texture profile, yet there’s very, very little in it.

Which underscores the “less is best” concept that Sato’s theory on Fried Noodles is that it should be kept as SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, as I too firmly believe is THE way to go with most “local style” noodle dishes, whether it be Mac’ Salad, Chow Fun, Saimin or this.

Speaking of which, what underscores this tasting essentially like Saimin in fried form is the chopped Charsiu, ham and green onions. Both the Charsiu and ham were very moist, tender and flavorful, while the Charsiu was particularly OUTSTANDING here. I really noticed that, even with what sparse bits and pieces were mixed throughout my generously portioned large plate of Fried Noodles.

At $7 for the large Fried No0dles, it’s easily enough to fill you up, or would also be an adequate portion if you were to split it among 2-4 people along with another entree, such as, oh say, their pork chops. In fact I shared 2 small bowls from my plate with my coworkers so they could try it and still had enough to leave me carbo-loaded ‘n STUFFED after all was said and done.

Summing it up, I give Sato’s Okazuya “Famous” Fried Noodles a “Simple is always best!” 5 SPAM Musubi, and definitely “in it to win it” for Oahu’s BEST local style Fried Noodles. Looks like we’re going to have to hold a “Best Fried Noodles on the Island” SHOOTOUT some time in the future!

Sato’s Okazuya
94-235 Hanawai Circle (turn off Farrington Highway at the corner of Bank of Hawaii)
Waipahu, Hawaii  96797

Tel. (808) 677-5503

Business Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 7:30am to 2:00pm
Saturday: 7″30am to 1:00pm
Sunday & Monday: Closed

The Tasty Island rating:

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

P.S. At least in my opinion, most of the best okazuya delis (and many other types of restaurants) on Oahu are owned and operated by local Okinawan families (Sato’s is the exception, as they’re originally from Sapporo, Japan). Where back on the Ryukyu islands motherland, SPAM (and other competing luncheon meat brands) remain very popular, and is often incorporated into some of Okinawa’s most traditional dishes.

You regular readers of this blog may recall my recent post featuring my entry for Hormel’s contest to pick a winning design for their new, soon-to-hit the shelves SPAM’ Hawaii collector’s edition can label. In a comment by regular reader “Debbie-chan”, she  pointed out the special 70th Year Anniversary of SPAM in Okinawa collector’s can, to which she so kindly eMailed me a few EXCELLENT photos she took of her own copy.

Well, here it is!…

Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

That is pretty. darned. COOL! I Especially like the masked Japanese “kimono” style artwork that makes up the “70” font. If you can read Japanese, I’d really appreciate if you could translate the entire backside of the label for us in a comment, onegaishimasu.

Debbie-chan noted that the artwork has a similar style to the one that graces this “Yonaha Toru presents Kachashii a go-go” CD cover…

Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

It also reminds me of the illustrated character designs in the Crayon Shinchan anime series, which by-the-way is a RIOT! I sure miss that show, which KIKU-TV used to air here with GREAT subtitle work. Unfortately, KIKU had to give the reels back to the producer, as Asahi TV in Japan bought the rights to the show. Boo! Anyhow, look up “Crayon Shinchan” on YouTube and watch a few episodes… funny (and often naughty) stuff!

While on the subject of SPAM, Debbie-chan also sent me this photo of an “Okinawa Burger”, which was (or still is?) available at MOS BURGER locations in Naha, Okinawa…

MOS BURGER’s (Naha, Okinawa locations) “Okinawa Burger”. Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

Get the heck outta’ here… a slice of fried SPAM and egg on a “bed” of Nori encased by a rice “bun”? Simply BRILLIANT! I SO need to try making this! My guess is that rice “bun” is made by pressing a tightly compacted small ball of white rice onto a saute pan on about medium heat and browning it ever so slightly. I dig how the Nori acts as the “lettuce”. Genius.

I tell you, when it comes to cookin’, dem’ Uchinanchu folks know how it’s done RIGHT!

Mahalo Debbie-chan for all the fun ‘n cool pics!

 

Things To Do
Honolulu

Kalihi Kai Eats: Monarch Seafoods

For today’s review we’re back in Kalihi, where it’s repeatedly and affectionately designated here on this blog as “The Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe”, a.k.a. “God’s Country”. This time around at yet another hole-in-the-wall gem over at Monarch Seafoods, located next door mauka (towards the Koolau mountain range) of Chun Wah Kam Noodle Factory on Kalihi Street, with Bank of Hawaii’s Dillingham Boulevard branch also adjacent to them if that will help you find them.

Monarch Seafoods is a fish distributor that also offers catering services, as well as what we’re sampling here in this review from their daily takeout operation. And the place is strictly takeout with no dine-in seating.

Without further ado, here’s their most current menu as of this writing…

Upon entering, you’ll find the customer service area is rather small, where as little as 10 people waiting in line for their order can already make it feel crowded. Yet that’s how it is at most hole-in-the-wall gems. Here’s the front end service counter, made up mostly of a refrigerated display case filled with a goldmine of ono kine grindz…

Being a seafood purveyor — with nearby Honolulu’s fish auction block right down the street, mind you — naturally there’s no shortage of fresh fish and prepared Poke to be had here…

Of course they also have prepared bento lunches ready to go…

Next time I visit here, I definitely need to try “Pop’s Homemade Banana Cream Pie”, as that’s one of my favorite kinds of pie…

So on this first-time visit, Diner A decided to go “Surf ‘n Turf” and chose a mixed plate of Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke and Hamburger Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions…

Mixed Plate of Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke and Hamburger Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms ‘n Onions and House Nalo (as in Waimanalo) Greens. $8.45

A closer look…

OMG, Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke is da bomb!…

Seemingly simple, yet easy to mess up if done the wrong way. Yet Monarch NAILS this, as the thoroughly cooked-through Ahi cube is seasoned with just the right amount of what tastes like a shoyu-based marinade (because you know, it’s Poke), while the Panko crust is offers a wonderful “GBD” taste and texture contrast to the delightfully tender and moist Ahi meat. Superb indeed. In fact, , just drop a bunch of these absolutely scrumptiously onolicious Deep Fried Poke bites in a big bowl along with a case or two of ice cold Heinekens amongst a bunch of you and your best friends, and you’ve got one heck of a great paina (party)!

They provide a chili Aioli sauce for the Deep Fried Poke, but both Diner A and I agree what REALLY makes this OUTRAGEOUSLY OFF THE CHARTS is their AMAZING House Salad Dressing…

Chili Aioli Sauce (left) and Monarch’s signature House Salad Dressing (right)

I swear, you could dip your car bumper in Monarch’s salad dressing and it’d taste awesome. Seriously, if you ever visit this place, ASK FOR EXTRA DRESSING. Trust me, you’ll thank me (and them for giving you an extra cup) for that tip.  It goes great with, well, EVERYTHING.

To explain it, it’s got a sweet ‘n sour-meets-creamy flavor profile goin’ on, with a subtle hint of garlic. It sort of reminds me of Costco’s Parisian Dressing that comes with that salad kit they sell. But this one BLOWS that and is by far one of the BEST salad dressings I’ve ever tasted in recent memory.

As for the Hamburger Steak, the gravy is solid (tasting that is), also sporting garlic undertones, with plenty of depth and “beefy-ness”, while having perfect thickness and body. The single hamburger patty was on the small side, yet according to Diner A it was seasoned nicely and had all the right fillers that make a hamburger steak taste like it should.

Overall, Diner A gives Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke and Hamburger Steak mixed plate a super solid 4 SPAM Musubi.

Next up is yours truly, where I just had to go with what everyone on Yelp raves about, which is Monarch’s ever-popular Nori-wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi…

Monarch Seafoods – Nori-wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi with Nalo Greens and Brown Rice. $8.95

A closer look…

What nobody on Yelp mentions nor probably haven’t tried experimenting with, is dipping the Nori-wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi roll in their AMAZING House Dressing!…

Oh man, I tell ya’, that dressing takes what is already an awesome dish to levels unknown to mankind. Bam! You can see they drizzle the Nori-Wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi with Wasabi, which is great. Then you add the creamy, sort of garlic-ee, sweet ‘n sour element from the dressing and, I swear, it  just makes you wanna’ roll your eyeballs backwards in your noggin. lol Seriously, so ono!

Construction-wise, it appears they take a thinly-sliced slab of ahi and top it with minced imitation crab that’s mixed with other ingredients I couldn’t quite pinpoint, although I’m sure there’s at least some mayonnaise in it. They take that and roll it up all wrapped up in several multiple layers of nori maki, then it gets a quick dredge in tempura batter then deep fried. You know, the kinda’ thing Kahai Street Kitchen right down the street would probably do.

The end result is Ahi that’s super moist and imparted with plenty of “Umami” thanks to the Nori and (imitation) crab meat surrounding both sides of it, while you get that “decadent crunch” factor from the lightly crispy tempura coating it’s encased in. Genius.

As for the Nalo Greens, they were super fresh ‘n crispy, and incredibly packed into the left corner pocket of my plate. Where after I finished the Ahi, I was able to fill the entire main entree section with my salad!…

I tell ya’, it was like having a refreshing appetizer salad after the main dish!

Summing it up, 4 SPAM Musubi for Monarch’s Nori-Wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi. Use real crab meat and I’d give it 5. Trade out the crab for lobster and I’d probably give it a TEN! Bu-Ya!

We enjoyed our lunch from Monarch Seafoods so much, that we made a hana hou (encore) visit just a week later! This time around with Diner EY (different guy than Diner E) in tow, where he decided to give their Garlic Roast Pork plate a spin…

Monarch Seafoods – Roast Pork with Gravy. $7.95

I got a taste of the gravy, and can cofirm it’s certainly “garlic-ee”, yet not obnoxiously so. In words of Rap Replinger’s “Aunty Marialani”, it’s “jussssssss right”. Go check ’em now, check ’em now, go. lol  Diner EY also gave a thumbs-up of approval for the roast pork, saying it was fork tender and packed with flavor. 4 SPAM Musubi.

This time around, Diner A decided to try Monarch’s Crab Cake, Mochiko Chicken and Fried Poke Bento…

Monarch Seafoods – Bento: Crab Cake, Mochiko Chicken and Fried Poke. $7.95

The crab cake…

How was it? 3 SPAM Musubi.

Finally, yours truly laid it down this time with Monarch’s Garlic Butter Sauteed Tiger Prawns with Zucchini and Mushrooms over Linguine pasta…

Monarch Seafoods – Garlic Butter Sauteed Tiger Prawns with Zucchini and Mushrooms over Linguine. $8.95

A closer look…

How was it? Eh, it’s OK but nothing really worth writing home or here about. It wasn’t drenched in garlic butter as much as I would have liked, while the tails were on the verge of being overcooked and rubbery. They also weren’t as sweet as I was expecting it to be. As for the pasta, the linguine was cooked perfectly al dente, but the “cream” sauce just did not work. It literally tasted like somewhat thickened canned cream, while having barely any seasoning or flavor, whatsoever. Someone please pass me some butter and fresh grated parm’ please. I gotta say though, there were generous slices of zucchini and sauteed white mushrooms in it, yet even then, the really lame, plain Jane cream sauce didn’t lend them a helping hand in flavor ‘tat all.

Summing it up, I give Monarch’s Garlic Butter Tiger Prawns 1 SPAM Musubi, which I’m being generous at even that. Thankfully, again, I had their awesome House Salad Dressing to save the day and make a lame plate at least decent enough to eat.

Regardless,

Leave it use to take advantage of a scale when we see one, where here we weighed my Nori Wrapped, Crab-stuffed Ahi plate on our first visit, which clocked in at 1.065 pounds…

So if they charged us $11.95 per pound (the average price of their fresh raw ahi), this plate would have totaled out at $12.73. Thankfully that plate is just $8.95, which is truly a bargain for a truly inspirational and creative seafood dish you’d easily pay 3 or more times that in a finer dining restaurant.  Gotta’ love Kalihi for that.

Monarch Seafoods
515 Kalihi St
Honolulu, Hawaii  96819

Tel. (808) 841-7877

Monarch Seafoods & Catering menu (71k 2-page PDF document download; current as of 1.11)

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Things To Do
Honolulu

Grindz of the Day: Ilima Restaurant & Catering, Hana No Sato, Kahai Street Kitchen, Young's Fish Market, Don Quijote & OnoPops

Ilima Catering – Saimin Supreme: garnished with Teri’ Beef, Ham, Tofu and Green Onions (double order). $6

Well that’s a long post title. But eh, whatevahz. lol

Anyhow, back in November, Diner E took me to have lunch at Ilima Restaurant & Catering, a truly “old school, Triple-D” kinda’ place, located in the heart of industrial Mapunapuna near HNL airport.  According to Ilima’s successive owner (as of 1978) Paul Suyap (and his lovely wife, Florence), the original owner, Masaji Uyehara, opened Ilima Restaurant & Catering for business 57 years ago in this very same Mapunapuna spot…

FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO (1954)!!!!!!!! Wow.

With that, check out Ilima’s relatively “50’s-like” value-priced menu…

Wow, what a selection of local favorite comfort foods, all at GREAT prices!

There’s a small dining area to the right of a narrow galley fronting the service counter….

See, I wasn’t kidding when I said this place is “old school”. Seriously OLD SCHOOL! Notice the brown plastic catering warmer cube transport containers on that back wall.

With that, on this visit, Diner E decided to try Ilima’s Veal Cutlet plate…

Ilima Restaurant & Catering – Veal Cutlet Plate. $6

Good Lord and Hail Mary in Jesus’ name. Looking at that, I just wanna’  light up the fireplace (pretending I have one) on a chilly winter night and curl up on my sofa, pop in a Blu-Ray and eat that VERY slowly, savoring every bite as I enjoy the movie from beginning to end. lol Seriously, if that doesn’t make you hungry, I don’t what will! Looks SO ONO!!!!!!!!

A “profile” angle…

Last but certainly not least for this mouth-watering Veal Cutlet plate, the ever-important “cross-cut” view of the cutlet itself…

Sheesh, I tell ya’, I wanna’ drink TANK that GRAVY just looking at it! lol

And how is it? “Diner “Saimin Kaukau” E immediately gave it a thumbs-up, super-solid 3 SPAM Musubi of approval, which to you and I would either be 4 or 5 SPAM Musubi. All I know is I hope tonight I have a wonderful dream of savoring a plate of Ilima’s Veal Cutlet by my fireplace while watching a movie. lol

On this particular late November day entering our “chilly” (at least by Hawaiian standards) winter season here in the islands, I remember I was “jonesing” for either saimin or ramen, and thankfully Ilima’s had me covered, where I immediately set my sight on their “Saimin Supreme”. Saimin Supreme? Great name! HOOK. ME. UP! Yet for just $3, I assumed it wasn’t going to be enough to fill me up, so I requested to double my order in the same bowl, which the owner was more than happy to oblige…

Ilima Catering – Saimin Supreme, garnished with Teri’ Beef, Ham, Tofu and Green Onion. $6 (double portion order; $3 regular order)

I asked the owner how they make their broth, and he said it was simply dashi-based, which is absolutely A-OK with me, as, quite frankly, I’m not particularly a fan of saimin broths that taste heavily like shrimp shells,  which some other saimin houses tend to make theirs. To note, like most restaurants that serve saimin or ramen here on Oahu, Ilima sources their noodles from Sun Noodle Factory, which I’ll say time and time again, I’m a HUGE fan of.

That said, the broth was spot-on, with just enough dashi to give it that  depth and “Umami” factor, while the noodles were cooked perfectly al dente. Ultimately, the most important thing to point out about this particular bowl of Saimin is how the Teri’ Beef actually ADDED to it, and wasn’t a distraction.  I  was afraid the Teri’ Beef flavor would overpower the saimin broth and noodles, but it turned out very COMPLIMENTARY. Sweet. While I would have preferred the more traditional Chinese style Charsiu over the American-style ham, for what it’s worth, it worked. I also missed having Kamaboko in it, yet the Tofu was nice, albeit an obviously neutral-flavored garnishment touch.

Summing it up, I give Ilima Restaurant and Catering’s “Saimin Supreme” a super-solid 3 SPAM Musubi. Where if I may, my only suggestion to improve on, would be to switch out the American ham for Chinese Charsiu, and add Kamaboko. To which I’m most confident this would then easily achieve 4 or 5 SPAM Musubi Saimin “Supreme” stardom. Yay!

While on the subject of “oriental noodle soup”, moving along to our next venue, we land smack the center of Waikiki on Koa Street behind the Hyatt Regency & Spa Hotel over at Hana No Sato, where on this also first time visit, I couldn’t resist trying their Shoyu Ramen…

Hana No Sato – Shoyu Ramen. $8.00

Remember what I said a moment ago about curling up on the sofa with the fireplace lit, while watching a movie and DEVOURING that incredible looking, gravy-covered Veal Cutlet plate from Ilima’s? Well, OK, if you want, simply switch out the Veal Cutlet plate for this bowl of Shoyu Ramen from Hana No Sato and I’d be just as happy a camper! Seriously! lol

First I observe the bowl and go into my usual deep spiritual trance as I take in the “mana” (spirit) of what I’m about to partake on. Because, you know, Japanese Ramen is DEEP STUFF. Breath in the aroma of the hot, steaming broth. Appreciate it. Let it uplift your heart. Your “Tamashii”. OK, hai, itadaki masu….

Sugoi! Oishii-to-da’ max desu yo (my new hybrid word)!  Oh man, this is some mighty onolicious Shoyu Ramen! I won’t say it’s Tokyo style, because it ain’t. Yet for what it’s worth, this one is rockin’ it!

The (again) Sun Noodle Factory-sourced ramen noodles were cooked perfectly, while the broth had a complexity, yet simplicity all its own. I’d almost go on a limb and say it tasted “saimin-like”, yet in a GREAT WAY, that quite honestly I don’t think any local saimin house in the islands could ever achieve. Reason I say that is because owner Shogo-san is from Japan, and Nihonjin just have an understanding of the complex ingredients that make a great ramen that us local folks would never understand unless we lived there and/or worked in an authentic ramen-ya.

Anyhoo, let’s try the Charsiu…

Not bad. Can’t touch Goma Tei’s superior, melt-in-the-mouth, oh-so-fatty-good rolled pork belly Charsiu, yet for what it’s worth, this thinly-sliced simmered pork loin works. Thankfully Hana No Sato also includes Menma (marinaded bamboo shoots), which of course add an extra dimension of “Umaminess” to the broth, as well as the stringy-rubbery texture while you chew it along with the soft noodles. I am SUCH a menma fan, you don’t even know! Between that and mushrooms, I don’t need any meat. Just that and I’m good!

Here’s the main man of Hana No Sato, chef/all-around-cool-dude Shogo-san…

Hana No Sato’s main dining counter…

Up next we return once again to what is probably my ichiban favorite “hole-in-the-wall plate lunch joint-gone-gourmet”, over at the ALWAYS FAN-TA-BULOUS Kahai Street Kitchen in the ever-so-scenic and picturesque industrial area of Kalihi Kai. This time around, where on two recent visits I tried their Nori-rolled Kataifi-wrapped Mahi Mahi plate…

Kahai Street Kitchen – Nori Rolled Kataifi Wrapped Mahi Mahi: Mahi Mahi rolled in Nori and Shredded Phyllo Dough, Fried to a golden brown Served with Wasabi Tartar. Choice of White or Brown Rice & Potato Mac or Tossed Salad. $8.50

Are you kidding me? This would EASILY run you three times that price in a Waikiki restaurant, yet don’t let the price fool you. Kahai Street Kitchen owner/Chef Nao Iwata has already proven he really KNOWS his stuff, and this was absolutely no exception, where it was PERFECTLY EXECUTED.

Behold this beauty…

Melts-in-the-mouth tender, moist ‘n flaky Mahimahi? CHECK!…

Then factor in the blast of “Umami” from the Nori that’s generously wrapping the Mahimahi filet, along with that delicately golden crispy ‘n stringy texture of the Kataifi, bringing it all home with the fat-meets-zesty heat punch of the Wasabi Aioli sauce and POW! That is seriously GOOD EATS (mahalo A.B.). No better way to put it. Nothing else to say but 5 SPAM MUSUBI for Kahai Street Kitchen’s Kataifi Mahimahi!

Several weeks later I decided to try their “Hamburger Club”…

The “profile” angle…

A quarter-slice…

The verdict? Unfortunately the burger patty was overcooked, while there was just too much going on. Thinking positively, now if they would just stuff this Club Burger with Crab and Artichoke, then wrap it all up in Nori and Kataifi and then deep fry it, then we’ll be TALKIN’! lol

Summing up KSK’s Club Burger, 1 SPAM Musubi.

Finally, I returned to Kahai Street Kitchen for yet another take on Mahimahi, this time in the form of being (as suggested above) crusted with Crab, Artichoke and Spinach…

Kahai Street Kitchen – Crab, Artichoke and Spinach Crusted Mahi Mahi. Served with White Wine Sauce. $8.50

Common now. If you seen “Mahi Mahi crusted with Crab and Artichoke” listed on the menu, could you resist? You can’t! At least I couldn’t!

Check it out…

The verdict? Yum! (I couldn’t say “ono” lest I confuse you with whether this is Mahimahi or Ono the fish lol). It didn’t have as much “impact” as the Nori and Kataifi-wrapped version, yet the added fattiness from the mayo-based Crab and Artichoke, along with the generous garlic in there had plenty-oh-punch on the palate. 3 SPAM Musubi.I also must note the Linguine pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, simply flavored with a light drizzle of EVOO, finely-chopped parsley, salt ‘n pep’. Nice. The slices of perfectly toasted French Baguettes were also a welcoming touch.

Next we have a BROKE DA’ MOUT’ Kalua Pig and Lomi Salmon plate from Young’s Fish Market, compliments of a private invitation to a product expo’ by IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS (mahaloz Cynthia!)…

While I personally find eating Hawaiian food with RICE almost a tragedy (if not an insult) vs. with POI, I understand the cost and demand/popularity considerations for not providing the latter. Thankfully Young’s completely REDEEMS any hangups I have on that by providing absolutely BROKE DA’ MOUT’ ONO Kalua Pig! It’s super moist thanks to copious amounts of pork fat, while being perfectly smoked, having a truly genuine Imu (traditional Hawaiian underground oven) flavor. I don’t know if Young’s actually does Imu-roast their pig, as this just as well may be oven-roasted with the help of liquid smoke and Ti leaves, yet for all I care, Young’s NAILS Kalua Pig (that didn’t sound right, but you know what I mean). lol

They also hit a home run on the Lomi Salmon, with generous chunks of salt salmon, immediately reminding you this is Lomi Salmon and NOT “Lomi Tomato”. Perfect balance of salt as well. What’s nice is the Lomi Salmon sort of is a psuedo-replacement for Poi, where the combination of the salted salmon along with the savory, smoked pulled pork flavor compliment each other in a truly “Hawaiian style” way eating experience. Ya’ know?

Summing it up, solid 5 SPAM Musubi for Young’s Kalua Pig and Lomi Salmon plate. 10 SPAM Musubi if had Poi!

Speaking of Young’s Fish Market, one of Oahu’s most respected purveyor of Hawaiian food, lately their Laulau hasn’t been quite up to snuff, with the Luau leaves being under-steamed and tough, while the filling hasn’t been seasoned with enough Hawaiian salt, and basically overall disappointing. That said, my Kuliou’ou cousins recently made a batch of homemade Laulau for a family fundraiser that was OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING!…

I didn’t get a photo of it cut open for service, but I’ll just say again, it was OFF THE CHARTS ONO!!! WOW LAU “Kuliou’ou” LAU!

Speaking of foods in wrapped-up form, one of my all-time favorite meals-on-the-go is Musubi. More specifically and simply, UME MUSUBI. That’s it. I don’t need no SPAM or this or that (although there is a time and place for it).  Just Ume and I’m GOOD! Where thanks to convenience, I regularly get myself an Ume Musubi from the Kaheha Street Don Quijote Omusubi counter, which is located adjacent to their meat and fish department…

Like the absolutely AWESOME Musubi-Ya Iyasume in Waikiki (next door to Hana No Sat0), DQ’s Omusubi uses Premium-grade rice…

Where’s the beef? Or actually, the Ume? Have a bite and you shall see, grass hopper…

Ahh, oooohhhh, aaaaahhhh.

My only complaint is that they don’t add ANY seasoning (salt) to the rice, so it depends entirely on the saltiness from the Ume and robust undertone from the Nori for flavor. Otherwise the premium-grade rice is cooked to perfection, with just the right amount of “stick”. All-in-all, 3 SPAM Musubi. Or, err, make that 3 Ume Musubi! lol

Finally for today’s “Grindz of the Day”, we’re back yet again at KCC Farmers’ Market this past Saturday morning to try another flavor. Where on this visit I decided to sample yet another NEW FLAVAH!…

I asked Joe which one he liked more, to which he immediately pointed me to the Apple Banana-Mac Nut,  where here they are chillin’ in the chest…

I’m shivering just looking at that (a good thing)! lol

The selling point for me on this was the fact that Joe said these were generously laced with real chunks of Macadamia Nuts, which you shall soon see he wasn’t kidding!

Here’s OnoPops all-new for January ’11 “Apple Banana-Mac Nut” flavor, unwrapped and about to be completely DEVOURED by yours truly…

It certainly has a “Banana-ish” color to it, along with what appears to be chunks of Mac Nuts in it.

The “profile” angle…

It also looks frosty-cold, which is a welcome sight on a hot Hawaiian Saturday morning at the foot of Diamond Head crater (where KCC is located).

OK, let’s do this…

And?  It’s definitely “Banana-ee” in flavor profile (the other descriptor to “Banana-ish” lol), with a hint of acicidity due to it being sourced from Apple Bananas, which have that edge of tartness to them.

As for the Macadamia part of the equation, Joe was not kidding when he said there’s CHOKE NUTS in this Banana Pop (that didn’t sound right lol). Check it out…

See it? Here’s more as I eat my way through…

Summing it up, this is DEFINITELY A KEEPER and needs to make OnoPops already long list of regular menu items. I can just imagine this being dipped in Chocolate, either milk or dark variety for added “oomph”. Rating? 5 SPAM Musubi! WINNAH WINNAH MAC NUT ‘BANANA POP DINNAH.. or, err, dessert, that is. Or in my case this past Saturday morning, breakfast.

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

Kalihi Eats: Gulick Delicatessen

Gulick Delicatessen is one of the most recognized and well established Okazuya on Oahu, having been in business on Gulick Avenue in the heart of Kalihi, a.k.a. “God’s Country”,, a.k.a. “The Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe” for over 30 years.

Founded by the Takara family,  the new generation has since remodeled the original location, as well as opened a second Gulick Delicatessen on King Street at the former King’s Bakery location recently in 2007 under the ownership of son’s Cory Makishi and Lee Takara, along with Lee’s wife, Denise. This new location also sports a hip new local Japanese restaurant named Kochi by Gulick Deli.

As mentioned earlier, they’ve done a nice remodel to their shop on Gulick Avenue, with contemporary ceramic-tiled walls and new stainless steel warmers and refrigerator display cases in front…

Like Masa & Joyce, Marujyu and a few others, along with the prepared Okazu selections on display to pick and choose, there’s also a menu board where you can order plate lunches in set form, breakfast plates and other specialties they have to offer…

Yet, I don’t know about you, but when it comes to an Okazuya, the Okazu line where you get to pick and choose is what it’s all about for me. LOVE that. Plus, I don’t have to wait for anything to be cooked. It’s in and out in a snap.

With that, let’s check out what was on the Okazu line at the original Gulick Deli on this lunch hour visit, which specifically was yesterday, Friday, September 10th…

Wow, what a spread! All the usual Okazuya suspects are there. The only things missing that I would have liked is Kabocha (pumpkin) and specialty fishcakes, which Nuuanu Okazuya is known for.

What’s nice about Gulick is they put a SIGN in front of each item with the description, and more importantly the PRICE, so you know exactly what you’re plate is going to cost. Some Okazuya shops don’t do this, and I’ve been sticker shocked a couple times when the counter person rang up my bill. Not here. Mind you, even here it will add up if you’re not careful — especially if you choose with your eyes only, and not your stomach or wallet in mind.

That said, on this visit I walked out with this plate from Gulick…

Gulick Delicatessen (original location) – Okazu plate (clockwise from top left): Ume Musubi, Furikake Musubi, Vegetable Tempura, Maki Kombu and Nishime. $7.55

Diner E put the pedal to the metal, coming out with this V-8 of a plate…

Gulick Delicatessen (original location) – Okazu plate (clockwise from top left): Vegetable Tempura, Tofu Patty (hidden underneath) Shoyu Chicken, Inari (Cone) Sushi, Gobo Kinpira, Nishime, Kombu Maki and Chow Fun noodles. $12.50

Whoah! Here’s that same plate taken apart so we can itemize it better…

Back to my plate, here’s where I was kinda bummed: the “gravy” from the Nishime had spilled over the plate divider and all but demolished and ruined my Ume Musubi on the bottom left…

Look at it… it’s a mess! Whah! Whah! I’m so sad! Whah!

As it turned out, both Musubi had “rice issues”. You regular readers of this blog may recall my last post on Musubi-ya Iyasume, who I raved about as being EXPERTS in making a GREAT Musubi. Well, in contrast, the musubi at Gulick simply paled in comparison. The musubi rice here didn’t taste seasoned at all with salt, while being on the dry side (yet still acceptable), and most importantly, was WAY TOO LOOSE. Even the Furikake Musubi that didn’t get damaged by the Nishime gravy practically fell apart in my hand as I tried to eat it. NOT good.

The only saving grace here was the Ume (duh) and the Furikake (double “duh”), where I reluctantly give Gulick’s Musubi even 1 SPAM Musubi (average), but I’ll go with that.

Note to Gulick management: if you’re going to offer as many Musubi selections as you do, you MUST cook and season your rice properly. Must! Invest in a better rice cooker (Grant’s Grill did!), and/or perhaps better quality ‘premium’ rice. If Iyasume does it, so can you!

Things can only get better from here, which for the most part thankfully it does, where next let’s check out the Nishime…

Shiitake Mushrooms? Check. Maki Konbu? Check. Fried Tofu? Check. Konnyaku? Check. Daikon? Check. Carrots? Check. Everything all cooked Al Dente and well saturated with the Nishime gravy? Check, check and check.

Oishii desu ka? CHECK! Omai! Really good!

There was just one problem both Diner E and I noticed, which is that the fried tofu tasted a little sour, like it was beyond its freshness date. Not repulsive, but detectable. Other than that isolated component, the Nishime as a whole for me was fantastic, where I easily award it 4 SPAM Musubi. Throw in FRESH fried tofu and I’d easily give Gulick’s Nishime a solid 5 for the slam dunk.

Next let’s try Gulick’s Maki Kombu…

Gulick Delicatessen – Maki Kombu: Kombu (seaweed) wrapped around chicken, carrot, takenoko (bamboo shoots) and gobo (burdock root) and tied with Kannpyo (calabash/gourd).

Both Diner E and I have just one problem with this: it’s WAY TOO BIG. This is like the Japanese equivalent of “why make the burger 1 story high when you can make it 10″ approach. Just look at how big it is in the previous photos. It’s HUGE, measuring 4″ in length by 1-1/2” diameter. I’d rather have it being a tiny compact morsel where I eat the whole thing in one fell swoop, not nibble at it section by section. Ya’ know? I just want to taste all the ingredients TOGETHER, not separately, which you’re sort of forced to do in this super-sized Maki Kombu form.

Other than that issue, the flavor and texture of the components combined was spot on, and everything was well saturated with the sauce. I also noticed a distinct ginger accent to it, which was really nice.

Summing it up, I give Gulick’s Maki Kombo 3 SPAM Musubi, where believe it or not, if they scale down the size, I’d say it can only get better.

Only one thing left on my plate to share my thoughts on, where actually this photo is from Diner E’s plate, which is the Vegetable Tempura (on the right next to the cone sushi)…

Winners. The vegetable tempura batter has a nicely seasoned flavor and delicately-crispy texture that’s quite unique and unlike tempura I’ve had from other Okazuya establishments. This is definitely one of their “MONEY” items and worth driving out of your way for. Best of all it didn’t taste greasy, while the medley of veggies and Kamaboko (fish cake) all brought their A-game to this party. Summing it up, 4 SPAM Musubi for Gulick’s Vegetable Tempura.

Back to Diner E’s plate, check out how tender and juicy the Shoyu Chicken was…

A closer look at the Gobo Kinpira (left) and Tofu Patty (right, in chopsticks)…

Diner E enjoyed the Gobo Kinpira, while noting it was on the sweet side, which he thought was good, but noted could have used a little more spicy hot in the form of Togarashi. The Tofu Patty was just “a-aight”, but not a choice he’d make again.

Finally, we have Gulick’s all-important Okazu dish, the Chow Fun…

“Too busy” says Diner E. Too much carrots and cabbage. The seasoning was also too pronounced, where, like Mac’ Salad, both Diner E and yours truly believe in the “Simple is best” approach to this dish. Which St. Louis Delicatessen remains the reigning KING of Okazuya-style Chow Funn Noodles.

Service at Gulick Deli was friendly and quick, prices are “competitive”, while street parking in this suburban neighborhood location can be hit or miss, depending how busy they are when you arrive and/or how far you’re willing to walk.

On a future visit, I must try their “high ticket item” Butterfish, while for some reason I’m intrigued in sampling their Pinak Bet (notice the spelling). Which is what’s so great about the typical Okazuya in Hawaii, where the’s so much cultural diversity under one roof that you can mix and match on one plate. Love that.

It’s GREAT to see “old school” mom ‘n pop Hawaii businesses such as this place still thriving, thanks to the next generation of ohana carrying the torch. Long live Gulick Delicatessen!

Gulick Delicatessen
1512 Gulick Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii   96819
Tel. (808) 847-1461

The Tasty Island rating:

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

Things To Do
Honolulu

Grindz of the Day: Byron's, Pancakes & Waffles, L&L, Coco Ichibanya, Zippy's, Yummy's and Kahai St. Kitchen

First up for today’s edition of “Grindz of the Day”, we have a Strawberry Slush Float “Shake” from Byron’s Drive-In.  Another one of many signature items a coworker of mine absoluted RAVED about and insisted I try it.  Well, apparently they got my order wrong, as even though I specifically told the cashier at Byron’s I wanted a Slush Shake, it turns out I was given a Strawberry Slush Float.

Not knowing the difference or bothering to ponder it, and without anyone with  me to tell me otherwise, in retrospect, this is indeed a Slush Float and not a Slush Shake, as you see the Vanilla ice cream floating on top of the Strawberry Slush…

Hey, who am I to know? Looks close enough to be a shake to me. The ice cream was soft enough. Besides, what the heck does a Slush Shake look like? Well, after taking a minute or two to thoroughly stir it, THIS is what a Strawberry Slush Shake should look like…

This, as my coworker explained, the Strawberry Slush Float and Slush Shake are the same thing, save for the Shake being put under the mixer to combine it evenly.

So how is it? WAY TOO SWEET for me. The combination of the artificially-flavored strawberry syrup, even though diluted in the slush, when combined with the also-sweet Vanilla ice cream is like a one-two punch. My coworker confessed she has a major sweet-tooth, so that explains her deep affection for this concoction, yet for me, pass. I barely could finish half of it before tossing it. I gotta’ say though, the Strawberry Slush itself had a nice finely-crushed ice texture, kinda’ like a “Liquid Shave Ice”.

How’s that for a new concept, eh? “Liquid Shave Ice”! Take all of those exotic Shave Ice flavors like Li Hing Mui, Pistachio, Coconut, Bubble Gum, etc. and, instead of the “usual” Shave Ice (a solid state snow cone), offer Slush!

Speaking of Shave Ice, along with my sweeter-than-Willy Wonka Strawberry Float “Shake”, I ordered another Hawaii favorite, a Loco Moco…

Thankfully I went with the mini version, as I could barely even finish this.  Honestly, I haven’t had a Loco Moco for quite a while for the simple reason that’s it’s way too much indulgence that my dwindling metabolism and aging body can barely afford anymore, as really, lots of the foods I feature on this blog are. Yet for now we wont’ dwell on that, enjoy the moment, and live for today. Grindz of the Day that is.

But yeah, the classic “loosen the belt buckle” Loco Moco here from Byron’s, that begins with a bed of white rice, topped by a house-made beef burger patty, which is then topped with an egg (sunnyside-up always my choice) and then smothered with brown gravy, while being accompanied by a scoop of Mac’ Sal’.

As you can tell, the burger patty was griddled (fried), not char-grilled as I always prefer. Yet aside of that shortcoming, it was cooked to medium perfection, being very moist and nicely seasoned.

Of course the most crucial element of a Loco Moco is the gravy, and Byron’s pretty much nails it. Deep, rich, thick and beefy, although I must also note it did taste like it could be based on that packaged “just add water” McCormick’s stuff. Which I really don’t have a problem with, as I enjoy packaged gravies, even though one reader once said “you lose all credentials” when I once said that before. Whatevahz.You go spend 10 hours making stock to make gravy. I’ll be ready to eat in minutes.

One thing I really like as a finishing touch on my Loco Moco are sauteed onions, which obviously Bryon’s doesn’t do, but that would have been great.

One of the best  parts of eating any gravy-laden plate lunch is when the gravy “kisses” the mac salad…

You get that creamy, rich mayo’ combined with the beefy flavor of the thick gravy, put some of that on your fork and lick it like, oh never mind. Just, mmm-mmm-yum, so ono! I think this very notion is what inspired Zippy’s to add “Mac Salad Sauce” to their Chili Moco. Brilliant!

Summing it up, I give Byron’s Drive In Loco Moco a solid 3 SPAM Musubi, while their Slush Float “Shake” gets 1. Surely you sweet tooth’ers will think more highly of it.

Staying on topic with the theme of “indulgent and decadent”, moving on to our next “Grindz of the Day”, we have some plates Diner A and family enjoyed a few weeks ago at the new Pancakes & Waffles in City Square Shopping Center in Kapalama. First off we have a Fried Rice, Eggs and Breakfast Links plate…

Good to see they use round paper plates, and not them dreaded non-eco-friendly, sterile and unfashionable white styrofoam clamshell containers.

Next up, what? Hamburger patty, eggs and brown gravy over plain ‘old boring white rice not enough to excite that inner Loco Moco desire deep within you? Then you need to hook up with a Fried Rice Loco Moco…

Be still my beating heart! Insane.

Next up, the last time we visited Pancakes & Waffles, it seemed all the rage here wasn’t their Pancakes or their Waffles, but actually more people around us were eating their Fried Chicken. So Diner A satisfied all our curiosities by ordering that on this visit…

These are some substantially-sized clucker thighs, as you see compared in scale to Diner A’s hand here….

They be T-Rex thighs.

Instead of Honey Butter, he opted for Ranch dressing as a dipping sauce for the fried chicken…

I suppose one way to look at it is, well, at this point, no sense ordering a diet soda and tossed green salad to accompany this meal. lol

Look at how juicy and tender the meat is…

While the battered crust is super “crisp’ety-crunch’ety” and well-seasoned….

IIRC, Diner A commented that it reminded him of Woolworth’s famous fried chicken. Remember that? That was one of the best things about going to Woolworth’s. As soon as you walk in the store, the combined aroma of scented candles, new clothes, coffee, popcorn and fried chicken would almost literally smack you in the face. Loved that! RIP Woolworth’s.

Anyhow, like our experience at Pancakes & Waffles, Diner A’s weekend brunch there with the family also was a 3 SPAM Musubi affair. Oh, and not to fret. They went to the beach afterwards to swim it all off.

Moving on, we get some stuffs from L&L Drive In/Hawaiian BBQ/whatever they call it, starting with this bowl of Saimin…

That looks to me like Japanese style Ramen Chashu. Check it out..

Like seemingly 90% of Hawaii’s restaurant industry uses, I’m going to guess these noodles are sourced from Sun Noodle Factory…

I got a sip of the broth, which tasted like your standard Dashi and Shoyu broth, while not getting much added flavor from the Charsiu (roast pork).

Summing it up, Diner A gives L&L’s Saimin 2 SPAM Musubi. Cheap, decent and satisfying.

The classic accompaniment to Saimin is a Hamburger, which Diner A added to his L&L Drive In meal here…

Personally, I’d pay extra to make it a ‘Deluxe’, as my burger MUST have Lettuce, Tomato and Onion on it. Cheese too, of course! Plain like this just doesn’t work for me. Biting into it, not much excitement going on…

Pretty much a plain-old griddle-cooked hamburger that I’m putting way too much writing effort into. Sorry to waste your bandwidth and time having to download these last two pictures and read all this blabbering. lol

Nah, but at least he gave it 2 SPAM Musubi, as the burger patty was moist and well-seasoned,  and of course it went quite well with the decent Saimin from L&L.

Getting a little more “exotic”, Diner E tried L&L’s Fried Shrimp Sandwich…

I don’t know why, but of all the dishes featured so far on today’s edition of “Grindz of the Day”, this Shrimp Sandwich is the one I crave most right about now. I think because I haven’t had shrimp for a couple of weeks now and could really go for some at this moment. Besides, honestly I’ve never had a Shrimp in sandwich form before, which I’m sure some of you will blast me for that.

The bite shot doesn’t reveal much, as evidently the shrimp tails in here are very small…

What is this, an Opae Sandwich? lol  Still, Diner E actually really enjoyed it, giving it a very solid 2 SPAM Musubi, which is favorable by his super-critical standards.

Speaking of chain restaurants (L&L Drive In continues to expand all over the US and internationally), next we have a Tonkatsu Curry takeout plate from Coco Ichibanya Curry House…

This generous portion of Tonkatsu and beef-based spicy curry and tsukemono comes in at a wallet-friendly $6.75.

Their curry tastes similar to the store-bought S&B brand, with a subtle sweetness to it that is typical of Japanese curries. If you go to Tokyo, you’ll find curry houses all over the place. Even their “spicy” curry isn’t hot at all. Notice it doesn’t have any kinds of vegetables in it, but acts more like a gravy for the tonkatsu and rice than as a stew.

The tonkatsu itself was right on point. The panko was evenly coated and deep-fried to “GBD” perfection, while the boneless pork was flavorful, moist and tender.

What’s nice is the specially-made takeout container is partitioned to isolate the curry “gravy” so it doesn’t make the crunchy tonkatsu soggy while in transit.

Summing it up, a very solid 3 SPAM Musubi for Coco Ichibanya Curry House’ Tonkatsu Curry takeout plate.

One last note on this place, I noticed lots of folks in there ordering the curry that had fresh grated cheddar cheese sprinkled on it and melted over, which looked GOOD! I’m so going to try that next time!

Still on restaurant chains, now we’re back at zippity-zip-zip Zippy’s for one of their Facebook coupon specials, the $5 Spaghetti Fried Chicken plate…

Zippy’s Spaghetti isn’t going to put Assagio’s out business anytime soon, but for what it’s worth, it works. You get that, plus fried chicken, plus mac salad, plus toasted french bread for just $5? Can’t go wrong!

One more chain restaurant, we’re back at Yummy’s Korean BBQ, this time with a Kalbi & Chicken Katsu mixed plate…

Yummy’s is getting a bit pricey as far as plate lunch joints go, as this mixed plate rang up to almost $11. Still, I must say their 4-choice banchan is, well, YUMMY! I especially love their Korean Potatoes and Korean style Potato salad, which are two of the choices on this plate. They also do really good job at making Chicken Katsu. My only complaint is Yummy’s Worcesterhire-based katsu sauce. Pass. Not to worry, as I have lots of my own Japanese Tonkatsu sauce to use on it. Kalbi is solid. Char-grilled and smokey-tasting with a deeply-marinaded sauce. Overall a very solid 4 SPAM here. The banchan makes it.

Finally, we’re back at Kahai Street Kitchen, one of our all-time favorite haute plate lunch haunts, where today we have this delicious-looking plate…

This is Kahai Street Kitchen’s special of the day, Baked Chicken in a Boursin Cheese Cream Sauce and topped with Tomato Provencal. It’s served with a Tossed Green Salad with Kahai Street Kitchen’s EXCELLENT house dressing and steamed “Hapa” (brown and white) rice.

Price of admission? $7. Just seven bucks! You’d easily pay at least four times that price for a dish prepared exactly the same way at a white table cloth restaurant. Actually, the folks from our accounting department ordered this in bulk for a party they were throwing. Needless to say, everyone told me they LOVED it, which I’m not surprised, as Kahai Street Kitchen always delivers. Nao and the gang there REALLY know how to cook!

That’s all I’ve got for now. After posting this, it’s made me hungry, so I’m off right now for yet another “Grindz of the Day”!

Things To Do
Honolulu

Lunch Wagons Chase Job Sites

It’s easy to figure out where to find business if you’re a lunch wagon owner. Among the obvious places like industrial areas (Campbell Industrial Park and Mapunapuna are “Lunch Wagon Heaven”), simply go where there’s a big construction project  under way. One of which now in its beginning phase is Lowe’s, who just started construction of their second store on Oahu in the Iwilei area, where they’ll be setting up shop next to, yup, you guessed it, Home Depot. Both of which will be/are also just a stone’s throw away from City Mill.

If not already, I suppose now we can officially call Iwilei “Big Box Alley”, as along with those three major retailers in this area of Honolulu, you’ll also find Costco, Best Buy, and coming soon, Party City, Ba-Le Bakery (a.k.a. Latour Bakehouse and Cafe) and a bunch of other smaller businesses that will share the former Wayerhaeuser building on the corner of Alakawa Street and Nimitz Highway.

So with all this construction now under way in Iwilei, of course there’s lots of hungry workers – mostly men with big appetites – who’ll be need to be fed. Where here we have this lunch wagon who recently set-up shop right in front of the Lowe’s Iwilei job site on Pacific Street…

Check out angle 2 and 3 of Sandy’s “Tsukenjo look-alike” Lunchwagon II at those links

Wait, wait, wait  a minute! That’s Tsukenjo’s! Tsukenjo’s Lunch Wagon! Tsukenjo’s is back! No, no, no, sorry to say, but the classic red (originally orange) Tsukenjo’s Lunch Wagon from Ward Avenue isn’t back.

This is actually another one of them “no name” lunch wagons, who I’m informally naming it “Sandy’s Lunch Wagon II” by the grace of the owner and operator, Milton Gainy, who told me his wife Sandy is the cook, and actually runs another lunch wagon at a different location under that name. He said they’ve been in business over 24 years running their lunchwagons, so I was certainly confident that the grub here would be good.

As for “chasing job sites”, Milton notes that before this chosen location, he was at the site of the Craigside retirement home complex, while past stints before that included the retirement home construction project near the grounds of St. Patrick’s School on the East side of Oahu.

Here’s their menu for the day…

Prices are right, that’s for sure. Most of the usual lunch wagon plate lunch suspects are there, while I might note, for you health-conscious folks (like me), this particular wagon doesn’t offer brown rice or tossed salad. Yet, willing to sacrifice and take in some empty calories of white rice and mac for a day, I went ahead and ordered a Meat Loaf and Roast Pork Mix Plate, cuz you know, gotta’ sample…

Sandy’s Lunch Wagon II – Roast Pork and Meat Loaf Mix Plate. $6.50

All that for just $6.50? I can feed myself TWICE with this! This will definitely be a “second-wind’er” for me to finish all of it.

Notice I’m a “pepper freak”, especially when an entree involves lots of gravy as it does here.

Here’s a closer, torn-apart view of the fork-tender, super-flavorful roasted pork and also the flavor-packed meat loaf…

The gravy itself, to be honest, tasted like store-bought just-add-water packaged Turkey Gravy, so that didn’t initially “wow” me. But once I took a bite of that roast pork and meat loaf I was like, “Yum!!!” Equally “yummers” was the Mac’ Sal’…

Super-duper simple, cool and creamy, with no odd tangy flavors. This tasted pretty much like our favorite Waianae Drive Inn Mac’ Salad.

Overall it was an “as good as mama’s home cookin’ can get”, really ono plate lunch that I easily give a solid 3 SPAM Musubi.

On another day in a spot just yards up the street in front of Lowe’s Iwilei construction site we found Food Trip Lunch Wagon…

Filipino food? Shoots, I’m so there! This lunch wagon (err, van) is one of three that are owned and operated by Alex Daquito, who we have here…

Alex says his other wagons operate in the downtown Honolulu area, with one by the post office. What’s nice about this particular wagon is the food is on display to the customers “Okazuya style”, so you can see what you’re choosing before committing to it…

Here’s Food Trip’s menu for the day…

The prices…

Alex was proud to point out that his ‘Food Trip’ Lunch Wagon was chosen as one of 12 “Best Lunch Wagons on Oahu” by the Honolulu Advertiser (RIP)…

Following are all the Filipino delicacies he had for sale on this particular day…

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Pinakbet

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Pork Apritada Stew (Mechado style)

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Pork Pepper Steak

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Chicken Papaya (Tinola)

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Chicken Adobo

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Pancit (Bihon)

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Rice

Sometimes I wish I could walk into my kitchen and find a spread like this magically awaiting me. That’d be s’weet!

Well, maybe not that, but as the next best thing, Alex was kind enough to make me a Filipino grindz “Mega-Mix”, putting a little of EVERYTHING on one plate! Check it out…

Food Trip – “Mega-Mix” Plate: (clockwise from top left) Pork Apritada Stew, Chicken Adobo, Pancit Bihon, Tinola (Chicken Papaya soup), Pork Pepper Steak, Rice and Pinakbet. $8

Yes, a little of everything you seen in the previous food service pan photos is stuffed onto the plate here. Nice!

My favorite of all was the fork-tender Pork Apritada, which definitely had a Mechado-like flavor profile…

I give that alone a solid 4 SPAM Musubi, borderline 5. My second favorite was the Pinakbet…

You could taste the bitterness from the bitter melon, yet it wasn’t overwhelming, but just enough to separate it from the other entrees where you know you’re eating Pinakbet, and not, say, Pork Guisantes.

The Tinola (Chicken Papaya) was excellent as well…

Both the chicken and green papaya was fork tender and saturated  well with the chicken broth flavor, with my only gripe being that it wasn’t served separately in a bowl with all that glorious broth. I’d just as well bring my own Tupperware bowl and tell Alex to fill it up with Tinola. I LOVE this soup!

The Chicken Adobo had just the right blend of of shoyu and vinegar, with probably my only gripe on that one being it was the dry type, not the “soupy” adobo. Like Dinuguan, I like my adobo “soupy”. I also would prefer pork adobo over chicken adobo, as it has much better flavor in my opinion. Still, this is good.

The Pork Pepper Steak was a winner, being super soft and tender (it’s tenderized Chinese style), while the Pancit Bihon, along with just about everything else won a thumbs-up of approval from our resident Filipino food expert and Manila native, Diner C.

Here we have a few more plates from Food Trip Lunch Wagon that other folks in our office ordered…

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Chicken Adobo, Pancit Bihon, Pork Pepper Steak and Pinakbet

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Chicken Adobo, Pancit Bihon, Pork Pepper Steak, Pinakbet, Pork Apritada and Rice

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Pancit Bihon

Food Trip Lunch Wagon – Pancit Bihon, Garlic Fried Chicken and Rice

To find out what the daily specials are and where the Food Trip Lunch Wagons is currently located, give Alex Daquito a call at (808) 341-8282.

It must have unofficially been “Filipino Food Day”, because ironically the same day we had all this for lunch, Diner C brought a bowl of her Dinengdeng to share with us…

Dinengdeng

Diner C’s Dinengdeng is a Filipino soup made with Ocra, Alukon, Kalamungay, Cherry Tomatoes and Chicken Stock. It has an interesting and unusual, subtly “green” and “earthy” flavor, along with a gelatinous texture to the broth. All I can say other than that is it’s really delicious! Masarap-sarap! You gotta’ try it.

Last but DEFINITELY not least, while some lunch wagons may chase construction sites, it’s the other way around here, where men from construction sites end up chasing this, ehem, “lunch wagon” parked in front of Puuhale Market on the corner of Puuhale Road and Dillingham Boulevard…

Yes, you read right, this zebra-striped truck is named ‘Wild Bean Espresso‘. Where, no, you’re not going to find the likes of teriyaki beef, rice and mac’ salad plate lunches or garlic buttered shrimp. And no, the people that work in it aren’t the usual “mom ‘n pop” type of folks.

As the name implies (cough-cough, chuckle-chuckle), the gist of Wild Bean Espresso is fresh-made coffee lattes, mochas and smoothies served up by a crew of lingerie-clad Barista beauties. Once again, coffee lattes, mochas and smoothies served up by a crew of lingerie-clad Barista beauties. Got that? Well, apparently the rest of town has, as not surprisingly, a business like this is going to stir curiosity as well as controversy, as they’ve already made the local TV news… twice!

Part of the controversy, or should I say oddity of it, is that first of all it’s located right across the street from the Oahu Correctional Community Center prison…

Secondly, about a block up the street on Puuhale Road sits a church, while also nearby are a few schools.

Well, since I was in the area the other week running errands, upon a quick phone call of approval from my girlfriend, I decided to stop by and see for myself what all the fuss is about.

Sure enough, adorned in a pink and black two-piece g-string teddy, I was greeted by Roxy, a very friendly gal who was the only one working at the time of my visit….

Wild Bean Espresso Barista, Roxy

I can’t remember the last time I felt like I was blushing, but I definitely felt that way when I first walked up to the window here. It was just kinda’ like one of those, “Is that really what I’m looking at?” surreal kind of moments. Especially considering the aforementioned surrounding area.

Well it’s real alright, including the made-to-order lattes, mochas and smoothies they have to offer…

I should have asked what “Yummy Hot Links” are. Breakfast sausages perhaps? The only solid food items I noticed available for sale were fresh bananas.

I asked Roxy what the most popular drink was, which she quickly pointed me to the White Chocolate Mocha, so that’s what I got…

Wild Bean Espresso – White Chocolate Mocha. $4 (plus $1 tip)

I’m not a Starbucks regular (in fact, I hardly drink coffee anymore), so I can’t compare it with them, but for what it’s worth, this White Chocolate Mocha was great. It had good body and a robust-meets-creamy-sweet flavor (no pun intended). And since it’s been a while since I had a cup of coffee,  the caffeine really wound me up. Stress, the caffeine really wound me up. Ha ha!

Needless to say, there was a tip jar on the counter which was full of, you guessed it, dollar bills. lol

Apparently the “sex sells, and so does coffee too” business model is working for this operation, as Wild Bean Espresso will soon be expanding to a second location on Keawe Street in the Kaka’ako area.

What do you think of this business concept? Cast your vote!

Things To Do
Honolulu

Palama Eats: Grant's Grill Mandoo Express

Tucked away in the corner of King’s Gate Plaza on the corner of Dillingham Boulevard and North King Street in the Palama area of Kalihi, is the new Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express.

Owner Grant Hamura (no relation to Hamura Saimin on Kauai) explained that he started out volunteering with other folks at his church, New Hope Chapel, doing benefit fundraisers selling the foods he now serves at his restaurant.  He then decided to turn it into a business and opened Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express just three months ago in May 2010. In fact, they’re so new here, Grant’s Grill has yet to put up a sign of their own, where as of this writing, you see here former business operator Kang’s still has their sign up on the building over this spot….

Notable neighbors of Grant’s include Jiffy Lube and KFC, while across the street on the Diamond Head side of Dillingham Boulevard is Jack in the Box, and Mayor Wrights Housing on the mauka side of King Street. K, you can find ’em? Shoots ‘den. Go check ’em now, go.

Here we have owner Grant Hamura on the right in black shirt, along with his trusty assistant Ben…

Assistant Ben on the left (grey shirt) and owner Grant Hamura on the right (black shirt)

Grant’s previous life included cooking stints at Angelo Pietro’s for two years and Ryan’s Grill for four years. Still, he says most of the recipes are handed down from his mother, who I might add is a very nice, wonderful lady that you’ll often find helping out at the shop.

Here’s Korea-native and “Mandoo Machine Expert”, Sharon, who comes in on a weekly basis to help when they run the machine…

Now the business sub-name ‘Mandoo Express’ is there for good reason, as Grant’s Mandoo are made in-house from scratch, right down to the Wonton Pi wrapper, which come in three varieties. The ones shown here are made with Carrot Juice, imparting a golden color to the dough, while there’s also a green colored Mandoo wrapper that’s made with Sesame leaves, and a third type done in the standard plain white flour mandoo wrapper.

Most impressive and unique about their operation is this high-tech machine they have designed specifically to crank out Mandoo in volume…

If I didn’t tell you what this was, you’d probably just as well think it’s some sort of fancy shave ice maker. lol Seriously though, according to Ben, as far as they know, this “Mandoo Machine”, which I’ve given the make-believe model number “GGMEX-5000” (Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express-5000) is the only one of its kind in Hawaii. It was shipped from Korea many years ago, where now it performs regular service at Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express. What would would have been cool is if Grant named his business ‘Grant’s Mandoo Machine’. Ha? How you figgah? Catchy, eh?!!

There you see wrapped in bags are sheets of raw mandoo wrapper dough  that were used to feed the machine.

Here’s the first stage of the machine where the mandoo filling, which is a combination of ground pork, beef, glass noodles, cabbage, chives, onion, and seasoning with NO MSG, are placed in this funnel feeder…

This funnel part feeds the mandoo filling through a tube inside the machine that “magically” combines it with the mandoo wrapper dough which gets encased around it like a “Mandoo Sausage” if you will, and extrudes it out the other side where the mandoo-shaped dies are…

Yet another marvel in modern industrial engineering.

The top die is what gives the mandoo its shape as it spins and pinches the extruded dough-encased filling from the feeder in front of it onto the bottom flat die. That Mandoo die makes three pieces in one revolution, so you can imagine how fast this thing cranks out mandoo. From this it drops the finished mandoo pieces onto a conveyor belt that feeds to to a table where staff quickly pick them off and arrange them on stainless steel steamer stackers in sets of fourteen mandoo each.

From here they go to the steamer station, where they’re steamed in stacks of 4 (56 mandoo total each) and steamed for exactly 4 minutes (the rule being 1 minute per stack)…

Within minutes, out they come piping hot and ready to grind!…

After being steamed to fully cook the wrapper and filling, mandoo that aren’t served immediately are placed on restaurant pans and placed in industrial kitchen freezers that individually quick freeze (IQF) them…

This “IQF” process preserves the mandoo’s fresh taste and texture. When ready to serve, they’re re-steamed or thrown in the deep-fryer.

Better than I could ever explain in words or photos, I shot an exclusive video today of Grant’s “GGMEX-5000” Mandoo Machine in action. Check it out here!…

Man, that “GGMEX-5000 Mandoo Machine” is one neat piece of hardware! A work of industrial art!

Mandoo Express’ fresh-made-from-scratch, IQF’d, no MSG, ready-to-heat and serve Mandoo are packaged in Ziploc bags of 50 each which sell for the following prices:
• 1 to 9 bags: $20/bag (40 cents each)
• 10-19 bags: $18/bag (36 cents each)
• 20 or more bags: $15/bag (30 cents each)

So next time you’ve got a party and you wanna’ add some onolicious locally-made mandoo to the spread, you know who to call!

Moving on to the takeout side of the operation, here on our first-time visit we have Grant’s posted menu items of the day…

On our return visit the following week, these were the menu items for the day…

Here’s Grant’s regular takeout and catering menu…

Speaking of takeout, that’s pretty much the only option, as there isn’t much seating here, save for a couple small table sets, mainly to sit while waiting for your order.

Getting right to it, showcasing a combination of four recent visits, here’s what landed on our table…

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Kal-bi (boneless). $8

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Kal-bi (boneless). $8

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Kal-bi (boneless). $8

Grant’s Grill – Boneless Kal-bi and Garlic Fried Chicken combo plate. $8.50

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – BBQ Spare Ribs & Garlic Fried Chicken Combo. $8.50

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – BBQ Spare Ribs & Garlic Fried Chicken Combo. $8.50

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Garlic Fried Chicken Combo. $7.50

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Aku Bone. $7.20

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Aku Bone

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – 2 Scoops white rice, Potato-Mac Salad and Kim Chee (includes with Aku Bone plate)

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Mandoo Plate. $7.50

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Steak with Onions plate. $7.50

That’s everything we tried. Note, that ‘Steak with Onions’ plate is supposed to be ‘Steak with Onions & Mushrooms’, but it turned out Grant didn’t have mushrooms in-stock on that particular visit. No mushrooms? Ack! That’s my favorite part!

Being only three months in business, evidently Grant’s Grill is still going through some “growing pains”, yet the good far outweigh the bad as you’ll soon read about.

Now I’ll go into describing how each dish tasted starting in reverse from the last plate shown here, which happened to be the most recently consumed, the ‘Steak with Onions’ (sans mushrooms) plate.

Regardless of it NOT HAVING MUSHROOMS!, it still turned out absolutely onolicious. The first thing Grant asked was “How do you want your steak done?” which I quickly shot back, “RARE!”. Like “still mooing” rare. I usually shoot rare and hope it comes out ideally just less than medium-rare, and it usually turns out that way, as it did here at Grant’s…

Perfect. Also notice small kine “koge” (sear markings) action going on, which is always appreciated for that flame-grilled taste, which Grant’s indeed has an open flame grill, and none of this flattop griddle nonsense. As the name suggests, Grant really GRILLS!

Here, spock one ‘noddah steak slice…

Grant says he uses chuck steak, which is notoriously tough and not commonly used for quick, dry grilling methods. Yet like all the meat he serves, he applies his “tenderizing magic” to it and it turned out being just as tender as a choice ribeye or NY strip, only being slightly less flavorful than the more expensive cuts due to less fat marbling. Grant seasons his steak simply with garlic powder (again no MSG), kosher salt and pepper, where after the steak is seared on the grill, it gets a sautee in some butter, which is A-OK with me. Mo’ buttah’, mo’ bettah! In fact, I’ve been on a Steak Au Poivre kick lately, which I’ll blog about in the near future.

Grant has all the condiments you’ll need to make the meal complete, including Tobasco, Worcestershire, Shoyu, ketchup, BBQ Sauce, and my favorite steak companion, the one, the only A1 Steak Sauce…

Love A1. I can practically drink the stuff. Oh, and the sauteed onions were caramelized well, with just enough sweetness and robust flavor to compliment the beef.

Summing up Grant’s Steak with Onions, for what it’s worth (just $7.50 for a good-sized portion), I give it a perfectly-cooked (rare/medium-rare), very tender, char-grilled ‘n buttery onolicous 3-SPAM Musubi, anticipating it would easily get a 4 had there been ‘SHROOMS in the mix. Next time.

While we’re on beef, by far my favorite dish by Grant so far is the boneless Kal-bi, which here you see how generous the portion is…

Like the steak, there’s distinguishable sear markings or “koge action” goin’ on. while also like the steak, these slices of boneless Kal-bi shortribs were as tender as ever.

Here you see how he cooks the Kal-bi around rare/medium-rare so it’s super moist inside…

What’s very noticeable is how deeply-penetrated the Kal-bi marinade is into the meat fibers, which I must point out tastes more like a hybrid Teriyaki-Kalbi than straight-up Korean style Kalbi. I think this is due it not having a noticeable accent of sesame and hot pepper in its flavor profile, but more just shoyu-sugar and perhaps garlic and just a little ginger.

Usually I don’t care for meats that are over-saturated with marinade, as it often drowns out the flavor of the meat itself. Yet somehow Grant pulls it off well with this one. Really well. As in 4-SPAM Musubi well, which is what I give Grant’s absolutely oishii, “worth the drive into town for it” Boneless Kal-bi.

Now let’s sample the OTHER star of the show, the Fried Mandoo…

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Mandoo

Again, the mandoo filling is a combination of ground pork, ground beef, glass noodles, cabbage, chives, onion, and seasoning, sans MSG. I like the texture of the fried mandoo, as it has a crunchy outer crust, along with a slightly chewy layer beneath it. Thickness-wise, the wrapper is not too thick nor too thin. The filling tastes well balanced while also having a complexity that separates it from Japanese style Gyoza or Chinese wontons. Delicious, really. Further kicking it up a notch is the mandoo sauce that comes with it, which is your standard shoyu, sugar and vinegar combination. That’s always a winner with potstickers in any form.

While I’m not a veteran mandoo “eater”/expert by any means, as far as personal tastes, the texture and flavor of the wrapper and filling of this fried mandoo is right on point for me, where I’d give it an “I’d order a whole plate of the stuff” 3 SPAM Musubi.

On a subsequent visit, Grant hit me up with a sampler plate of his Steamed Mandoo…

This came hot-off-the-press from his “GGMEX-5000 Mandoo Machine” (actually more directly from the steamer pot), and you know what? I like the steamed version much more than the fried version. In the steamed version you can taste the actual flavor of the dough more, as it’s not masked by the oil from the deep-frying process, while for that same reason you can also taste the complex flavor of the filling more.

There you can see the glass noodles intermixed with the ground pork and beef, along with the chives. Dip that buggah in the sauce and it’s all good. So good, I’d highly recommend you try the steamed Mandoo before settling on the usual Fried version and compare them, as I give Grant’s Steamed Mandoo 4 SPAM Musubi. Ono stuff!

While we’re rollin’ on all good things Korean, let’s try the Kim Chee…

On a good note, the Won Bok cabbage is well-saturated with the Kim Chee marinade, while on a low note, texture-wise, it’s a little softer/soggier than I like (I like Kim Chee that has some crunch) and also a little too mild, spice-wise. Still a decent and satisfying Kim Chee that I wouldn’t do without on any Kal-bi plate, which overall I’ll give it 2 SPAM Musubi.

Along with Kim Chee, also included is Potato-Mac Salad, so now let’s sample that…

In that photo above I spread it out to hopefully show what’s in it, to not much avail. What is in it are cut red potatoes with the skin on, three types of parsley and relish. Yes, relish. That relish part may sound like it would resemble tartar sauce in flavor and overall off-putting to the “Mac Salad Purist” like we consider ourselves, but you know what? I kinda’ like it in this application! It adds a subtle and quite interesting “zippity-twang” to it that, after a few plates of the stuff, you get used to and appreciate this slight deviance. On top of that, overall it’s fresh, cool and creamy, which is what matters most in any good mac’ salad. With that, I give Grant’s Potato-Mac Sal’ an “I’ve grown to admire it”, very tasty 3 SPAM Musubi.

Moving on to another entree, we have Grant’s BBQ Spare Ribs…

Needless to say, it’s fall-off-the-bone tender, with again, good “koge action” (seared edges) goin’ on, while the sauce tastes like a localized version of your typical American tomato-based BBQ Sauce. The tomato in this case coming from Ketchup (very “local), along with other stuff, which I’m guessing one of is shoyu.

This plate was ordered by both Diner A and “Saimin Kaukau” E, who both unanimously gave Grant’s BBQ Spare Ribs a very solid 3 SPAM Musubi.

Next we have Grant’s Garlic Fried Chicken…

As you see, the chicken meat is glistening with moisture, while really the best part is the batter, which has this light and crispy, yet sort glutenous texture to it. Underlying that battered crust are undertones of sweet and spicy going on, along with just the right amount of garlic kick. Diner E noted that this Garlic Fried Chicken BLOWS AWAY both Sugoi’s and Mitsuken. Wow.

That said, both Diner A, who was the main “eater” of this entree gives Grant’s Garlic Fried Chicken another very solid 3 SPAM Musubi. Not a 4 or 5? No, and I’ll explain why shortly.

Next up we have Diner E’s Aku Bones…

According to Grant, this one is also seasoned simply with Garlic Salt and pepper, then char-grilled. Here inside you see the meat easily pulls right off the Aku Bones…

I’ll admit, personally I’m sooo not an Aku fan, not so hot for its fishy, “dark meat” flavor, so I can’t be a fair judge on what’s a good or not good Aku Bone. I do know what good seasoning tastes like and think this one lack in that department. I really think this should be “Teriyakified”, reaping the benefits of “Umami” from the shoyu and sugar. As it stands, after trying one of the MANY Aku Bones PILED HIGH on this $7.25 plate, flavor-wise I’m giving 1 SPAM Musubi, while portion wise I give it 5!

Now one thing that was, ehem, a “sticking” issue at Grant’s Grill was his rice…

On all but the most recent visit, the rice was kinda hardened and dried out like it had been sitting out uncovered in the pot the whole day, and as good as fodder for fried rice. Just really bad rice. Either his rice cooker doesn’t have a good “keep warm” function or something, but we complained to him about it and he promised to fix it. Well, thankfully he’s followed-up on that promise, actually going out and buying a new rice cooker, and after having it with my grilled steak, I can now say his rice is VERY GOOD! Before it was negative 3 SPAM Musubi. Now it’s positive 3 SPAM Musubi. Just had to point that out, because you know how us locals take our rice very seriously. lol

Once again, if there’s one plate you MUST TRY at Grant’s is his boneless, super-tender, well-marinaded grilled Kal-bi. I ordered it twice and went crazy for it on both occasions. Between Grant’s Grill, Dean’s Drive Inn in Kaneohe and Kahai Street Kitchen in Kalihi Kai, I’m torn between who of the three makes DA’ BES’ Teriyaki/Kalbi style beef.

Grant’s Grill – Boneless Kal-bi and Fried Mandoo

Grant’s Grill – Hot-off-the-GGMEX-5000-Press Steamed Mandoo

I do know Grant has that amazing “GGMEX-5000 Mandoo Machine”, which alone is fascinating. He also fixed his “rice issues”, so thank God for that. He believes in using only the freshest ingredients and using no MSG in any of his cooking. Portions are very generous, the price is certainly right.

All that in consideration, overall the entrees that come out of Grant’s kitchen are done very well and right. plus on top of that, Grant is one heck of a nice guy. Go check him out! Highly recommended!

Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express
555 N. King Street #110
Honolulu, Hawaii  96817

Tel. (808) 354-7776 or (808) 330-2557

Business Hours:
Tuesday ~ Friday: 10am to 4:30pm

Takeout Menu (<–download 2-page PDF document)

The Tasty Island SPAM Musubi rating:

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

Related links:
• Grant’s Grill Mandoo Express – Yelp user reviews

Things To Do
Honolulu