Category — Eating out in Hawaii

A couple weeks ago we were able to go to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner, Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas! I love this place, the sauces are so good, I’ve always enjoyed every appetizer, entree, and dessert that I’ve had here.

First up were two things to start off with. In the top photo is one of his specialties, Sizzlin’ Moi Carpaccio. Very delicious moi (Pacific Threadfin) with ginger, Hauula tomato, tofu, and truffled ponzu sauce.

We also had Hiroshi’s Tofu Salad. This included Mrs. Cheng’s tofu, Hauula tomatoes, kaiware sprouts, salmon skin, garlic and ginger chips, sakura shrimp and sesame soy dressing.

For one of our entrees we had the Steamed Onaga, which is a snapper. This had fresh grated Big island ginger, tomato concasse, choi sum & roasted garlic soy brown butter as a sauce. Delicious!!

We also had the Panko Crusted Mekajiki which is a broadbill swordfish. This came with roasted shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, fresh thyme, Thai basil & roasted garlic soy butter sauce. I also loved this, especially the shiitake mushrooms in the roasted garlic soy butter sauce, so good!

And since we were celebrating a birthday, we got the complimentary dessert above. An all around absolutely delicious meal!

For lots more photos from our previous dinner at Hiroshi’s, click here!

Website: www.hiroshihawaii.com
Address: 500 Ala Moana Blvd, Restaurant Row
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

For the past couple of months we’ve been going to the Kailua Farmer’s Market on Thursday afternoons. I love the KCC Farmer’s Market…it’s just that it’s really hard for me to wake up early on Saturdays!

So this Kailua one is perfect. Lots of ono food, and at the very comfortable hour of 5:00 pm.

Take a look around…

Here’s just a small selection of some of the foods we’ve been eating…

Best taro sweet bread I’ve ever had!

Spanish Rice and Pastele

Lumpia

Sea Asparagus Vegetarian Bento

Baklava

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Depending on the week different vendors are there, but we can always find something good to eat or snack on!

Location: Kailua Town, behind Long’s
Hours: Thursdays, 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm (get there early for the best selection!)

After going to watch a concert on the Windward side a while back, we went with my mom for a drive around Kailua looking for a restaurant that was still open for a late lunch. Craving Japanese food we decided on Noboru near Down to Earth in Kailua.

Since it was after the time that most folks eat lunch, we started off having the restaurant all to ourselves.

The two of us both got the Special Lunch Bento and my mom had the Grilled Salmon Teishoku.

Today’s Special Lunch Bento was sashimi, tempura (we asked for all vegetable tempura), and grilled salmon.

The portion size was a little small for the price, but everything was very tasty!

My mom ordered the Grilled Salmon Teishoku which I thought was odd since for $1.00 more you could get our Special Lunch Bento that had the grilled salmon PLUS sashimi and tempura. But it turns out she made a great choice!

After tasting her salmon, it was clearly a better cut and quality. Much more fatty and moist! Still to this day she says this is the best grilled salmon she has ever had!

Noboru Japanese Restaurant
Address: 201 Hamakua Dr # 102, Kailua, HI 96734-3984
Phone: (808) 261-3033

Hi guys! I’m still alive, just super busy starting a new job this year. I have photos from back in May just waiting on my camera…but until I have time to get those together, here’s a little something to tide you over.

This weekend we went out to celebrate my mom’s birthday at one of our favorite fine dining restaurants – Hiroshi’s. On Oahu, I think Hiroshi’s and Le Bistro are my two favorite restaurants.

There were six of us here this night. My hubby still being the good vegetarian went with their vegetarian 4 course menu. Above was a miso eggplant he had – very good!

The picture up at the very top of the post was an appetizer we shared – Seared Foie Gras & Crispy Hamakua Mushroom with white truffle oil and fresh raspberry reduction. My younger brother loved this!

My older brother had the Sizzlin’ Kona Kampachi Carpaccio above as his appetizer.

I had the Marinated Moi “In Bag” for my appetizer. It came with shiitake mushrooms, Hauula tomato concasse, and a delicious sauce of truffle butter and chili pepper water-konbu broth.

For dinner my dad had the August Locally Grown Four Course Menu. It included Pepper Seared Ahi Sushi, Bacon Wrapped Kauai Shrimp & Nalo Green Salad, Maui Cattle Beef Eggplant “Sandwich”, and an Island Banana “Puff” for dessert.

My mom and I shared entrees switching plates half way. We got the duck special of the night that you see below.

As well as the Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass. I really enjoyed this fish – it came with Hauula tomato concasse, baby bok choy, ume musubi & ogo-miso ginger brown butter sauce.

My younger brother had the Almond Crusted Mahimahi with seasonal vegetables, angel hair potato & Hiroshi’s original miso cream sauce. This is was also very good, Hiroshi is just amazing with his sauces!

For her birthday my mom was presented with this Hawaiian Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta dessert. We all shared it and it was excellent like everything else this evening.

I didn’t photograph everything we had that night (I was just too busy eating!) but you can check out their website for more photos and menu information.

Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas

Website: www.hiroshihawaii.com
Address: 500 Ala Moana Blvd, Restaurant Row
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Finding vegetarian places to eat out here in Hawaii isn’t always easy. But we’ve found Down to Earth to be a great place to pick up lunch while grocery shopping!

On this day we had a couple burgers and a bowl of chili. Everything was delicious! And the really good part is now that Circuit City is gone in Aiea, there is a ton of parking at the Pearlridge location.

Here’s a look at their menu…

If you’re in the area, check out the vegetarian groceries as well as eats at Down to Earth!

Website: www.downtoearth.org

Our new favorite place to eat when in the Ward area is Mocha Java Cafe in Ward Centre. We are trying to eat vegetarian these days and this place has a very nice selection of vegetarian dishes to try!

Up at the top is the Vegetarian Szechuan Stir Fry – Tofu, peppers, and onions in a shoyu based sauce. If you are afraid of heat, don’t worry…this is a very mild dish.

Here is the Vegetarian Burrito – Whole wheat tortilla filled with vegetarian beans, potatoes, peppers, onions, served with brown rice, salad, and salsa.

This below is the Veggie Stir Fry – Italian veggies, bean sprouts, cabbage, with shoyu based sauce, served with brown rice.

Whenever we’ve come here there seems to be at least two homemade soups on special. Here is a cup of Italian Vegetable Soup that we got to share.

Next is one of my favorites, Vegetarian Curry Chapati – Italian veggies and potatoes in a curry sauce, wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, served with chutney, brown rice, and salad.

On the outside the Chapati below looks just like the Vegetarian Burrito, but inside it is very different. It is a mild Indian style curry coating all of the veggies inside. This makes for a very satisfying and hearty meal!

And finally, here is the Vegetarian Hash – Red potatoes, pepper, onions, crumbled veggie burger, topped with low fat cheese and served with sour cream. If you like potatoes, this is the dish for you!

If any of you are vegetarians looking for somewhere to eat on Oahu, this is a great place to try. Or if you are just concerned about your health and want to try eating healthier this is also the place for you.

For any of the dishes that uses eggs, you can replace it with either egg whites or Egg Beaters for a small additional charge. Also, the brown rice, whole wheat tortillas, and toss salad (instead of mac), make Mocha Java Cafe a great place to eat for any meal of the day!

Hours
Monday – Thursday, 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday and Saturday, 7:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Phone: 808.591.9023
Address: 1200 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
Ward Centre, On the Ewa end near Kakaako Kitchen and Kua Aina

Back in June of 2008 I did a post about Off the Wall’s restaurant opening in Pearl Kai Shopping Center. Time sure does fly and I felt it was a good time to do a little update to see how they are doing now.

New hours of operation are located at the bottom of this post and there are all kinds of interesting specials these days…

Pau Hana Specials Nightly, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Friday and Saturdays – $3.00 Draft pints and pupu specials
Wednesdays and Thursdays – 50% off on all Takara sakes and sakes by the glass
Sundays – Free Keiki Meal (3-9 years old, with purchase of an adult entree, one child meal per adult)

and the coolest attraction…

1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 8:30 pm – Live Okinawan Music!

And now, on to our food for this evening. At the top is what my brother ordered, the Spicy Ahi Katsu Donburi. He was very happy with his choice!

Below is the Goya Champuru. It’s a really popular dish that is basically a bittermelon Okinawan stir fry.

My husband tried to get this in the vegetarian version but I think there was a little miscommunication and we received the bittermelon and pork version instead. It worked out though because my dad hadn’t ordered an entree, just appetizers that my brother and I mostly ate…so my dad took the goya and pork champuru which he really loved and my husband ordered another of the vegetarian version.

And one last thing, in the Goya Champuru you see above, it was ordered without egg. We’re trying to be mindful about our cholesterol these days and try to avoid eggs whenever possible. My dad and I both agreed that it was still very delicious even without the egg!

Here are some of those pupus that we had…

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Ika Nankotsu

Yakitori Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

For my entree I had the Yasai Champuru which is an Okinawan style vegetable stir fry. The vegetables had a light yet tasty sauce, I’d definitely get this again!

And while we were waiting for the Vegetarian Goya Champuru they brought out some cute little andagi for us, yum!

What we had this night was just a small selection of what they currently have on their menu. On previous occasions we have also enjoyed the Okinawan “Rafute” Pork, Fukuoka Style Tonkatsu, and Grilled NY Strip Steak.

And if you are looking for lunch time take out, Off the Wall currently has a selection of $5.00 lunch specials. Choices are: Hamburger and 21 oz soft drink, Chef’s Chicken Special, Kalbi Grilled Pork Chops, Fish Special of the Day, and Okinawan Soba. This is quite a bargain at $5.00 each!

Website: offthewallhawaii.com

Hours
Take Out Lunch: Wednesday – Friday, 11:00am – 2:00 pm
Dinner and Drinks: Wednesday – Saturday, 5:00 pm – 9:30 pm; Sunday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Phone: 808.486.WALL
Address: 98-199 Kamehameha Hwy, B-10, Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Pearl Kai Shopping Center

Specializing in vegetarian dim sum and Buddhist cuisine, this vegetarian version of the popular Legend’s Restaurant was such a great find!

If you know where the regular Legend’s dim sum restaurant is, this location is situated just across the walkway. It’s much smaller than the original restaurant which makes it much easier to get a seat and take your pick of the dim sum offerings.

Here is what we had…

Vegetarian Look Fun (picture at the top)

Vegetarian Mochi Rice in Lotus Leaf

Vegetarian Char Siu Bao…well no char siu, just tofu…Tofu Bao?

Vegetarian Bean Curd Roll

Vegetarian Half Moon – I think this was my favorite…or the Look Fun.

And finally Custard Tarts. The one that is pale in color is made with just egg whites, much healthier!

Dim sum plates come in three different prices. These all happened to be Medium plates which run $2.50. Our total bill after a filling 8 plates was $20.00 + tax. This is definitely our new favorite weekend lunch spot!

Hours: 10:30 am – 2:00 pm (Closed Wednesdays)
Address: 100 N. Beretania St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Inside the Chinese Cultural Plaza
Phone: (808) 532-8218

This weekend we were hanging out in a picture frame shop where we ran into one of my dad’s friends, a local photography teacher. We had a good time at the shop looking at oil paintings, watercolors, and some interesting chalk landscapes done by the owner of the frame shop.

After this my dad’s friend came with us to a nearby camera shop to pick up a few things. When we were done, we decided to all go out to lunch at Big City.

We ordered off of the Weekend Brunch menu and above you see my dad’s order, Roasted Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Haupia Creme Sauce. Mmmmm.

I had the Citrus Grilled Salmon Salad.

And my mom had the Smoked Turkey and Cranberry Sandwich.

I have to say, those pancakes at the top…so good! I kept stealing pieces off my dad’s plate!

For more info on their menu, locations, or hours – check out their website: http://bigcitydinerhawaii.com

When you have a birthday coming up, how far ahead to you start thinking about where you want to have your birthday dinner? For me, I start thinking about it maybe 3 to 4 weeks prior to the day. And in the case of my younger brother, he also had his sights set for quite a while on somewhere in particular…India Cafe.

It’s nothing compared to a birthday dinner at let’s say Le Bistro, but he did choose wisely. His goal, to introduce the rest of us to one of his favorite lunch places.

You see, whenever he had suggested India Cafe for past dinners, everyone would basically shoot the idea down and we’d end up eating somewhere else. But he knew for his birthday, whatever he chose we pretty much had to agree with. Very smart. And I’m glad he chose this restaurant because for some reason, I guess fear of the unknown, I would’ve never gone there on my own.

Okay, on to the evening. We ordered a lot of food that night because we were there with a fairly large group. In addition to our family we also invited our Tokyo friends (the ones that made the shabu shabu the other night) and also two new friends from Tokyo, another couple visiting from Japan. So we had four Tokyoites, my parents, the two of us, and my younger brother.

And here again is what we ordered…

Going clockwise from the upper left we had Naan (North Indian flatbread), Chicken Curry (whole pieces of chicken thighs in a mild red curry sauce), Spinach Tofu Korma (tofu in a creamy spinach sauce), Jasmine Rice, Lamb Masala (slow cooked lamb in a mild South Indian curry sauce), and Potato Masala (slow cooked with cloves and cinnamon).

My brother’s favorites: Chicken Curry, Spinach Tofu Korma, and Potato Masala.
My favorites: Lamb Masala, Chicken Curry, Naan, Potato Masala

So now that the unknown is now known…what do I think? A little pricey but the food was tasty. I’m definitely glad we tried it out.

India Cafe
Address: 1016 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
Located in Kilohana Square
Phone: (808) 737-4600