Category — Eating out in Hawaii

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

Last week we went riding around the North Shore with our friends. What did they want? To see waves and eat garlic shrimp!

The waves were kind of flat that day (considering it was winter on the North Shore), but we were successful with the second item of business!

We were driving around Oahu counter-clockwise, which is very unusual for us. So when we got to Giovanni’s Shimp Truck in Kahuku, we weren’t quite hungry yet. We decided to keep going and checked out some beaches instead.

When we finally got around to Haleiwa, we were nice and hungry and now definitely ready for Giovanni’s Haleiwa Shrimp Truck! We were lucky with our timing, no line!

Here is their very simple menu.

And here of course is the Shrimp Scampi Plate. I like mine with lots of lemon squeezed over it!

Have you had it before? If you have, I bet your mouth is watering right about now. I know mine is just from thinking about it!

Here is a round up of my favorite eating out dishes experienced here at Made Healthier this year!

1. Highway Inn – Beef Stew Combo

Whenever I get that craving for beef stew, I have to go to Highway Inn in Waipahu! The beef stew is more on the soupy/tangy side, just how I like it. And don’t forget to check out their a la carte items and poke!

2. Longhi’s – Prime Ribeye Steak

Though our experience here didn’t start out the greatest, the night did end very well with some ono food (and even fireworks!). This steak was actually my dad’s order that he let me taste. Well actually he was sitting next to me so I kept stealing pieces from his plate! He said he liked my dish better though, so it was really more like a trading system. I’d give him some, he’d give me some. I don’t know why we didn’t just switch plates.

3. Le Bistro – Colorado Rack of Lamb

This is from my recent birthday post. I love rack of lamb, as long as it comes with a tasty, savory sauce. This one at Le Bistro does not disappoint!

4. Westin Nagoya Castle – Steak with Sakura Sauce

Many of my favorite meals and dishes this year took place when we were in Japan. In this meal we had this sakura steak along with sakura tea, sakura cake, and many other delectable things. Even though it was a buffet, everything was so pretty – and this steak was so tender and juicy!

5. Tokyo, Japan – Sushi

When we were in Tokyo, our friends picked us up for a sushi dinner near Tsukiji. The whole evening was just awesome. Friends, sushi, hanging out in Tokyo – what more could anyone want?

6. Shizuoka, Japan – Green Tea Ice Cream

We had had this particular ice cream cone at a green tea farm in Shizuoka. It was so creamy with a deliciously strong green tea flavor! I will never think of green tea ice cream the same way again…

7. Kunio Restaurant – Teishoku Combo

When we are hungry and craving Japanese food on Oahu, we often stop by Kunio Japanese Restaurant. They have tasty teishoku combos – with many choices to choose from. Some of our favorite combo choices are: sashimi, miso butterfish, yakitori, and tempura!

8. Yama’s Fish Market – Ahi Poke

As I began this post at a Hawaiian food restaurant, so we will end this list of onolicious grindz at another Hawaiian restaurant. No matter what you order here at Yamas, be sure to also get a side order of poke. I can never leave here without either some shoyu or limu ahi poke…makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

Well that’s it, my favorite 8 eating out experiences of this past year. Hmm, it’s not too good to reminisce about your favorite foods right before bed. I think it may be time for a late night snack…

To all the readers of Made Healthier, I hope you all have an awesomely fun and safe New Year!!

Aloha,
Lori

My friend at work has been enjoying dinners at Le Bistro in Niu Valley this past year and it has been killing me! I’m not a breakfast person so imagine coming in to work and getting the latest report on an empty stomach…we had escargot, and beef samplers, and lamb, and…. I’d be drooling with nothing more than a slice of sweet bread to mop it up.

But it’s all good, we love exchanging our foodie stories every week and often get new ideas for places to eat. By this month though, I must have heard at least three Le Bistro dinner stories. So when my husband asked where I wanted to go for my birthday, without hesitation I said, Le Bistro!

Here are several shots of the Le Bistro menu…click on them to see the larger version.

To start we were offered some warm, crusty french bread and lavosh.

My mom really likes lavosh, I know she would’ve enjoyed these.

We each ordered one appetizer. I couldn’t resist ordering some Pacific Northwest oysters on the half shell…

And he got the french onion soup that my coworker recommended. Nice and hot right out of the oven…

Being both very happy and content so far, we got even happier when we saw and tasted our entrees.

I had my rack of lamb…

Mmm, mmm good!

For his entree he ordered the Beef Quartet which was a special. It came with four little sampler plates, all of them done very well.

Côte de Boeuf – Rib Eye Steak with Beef Marrow Sauce

Short Ribs Braised with Red Wine and Peppercorns

Kobe Slider – Hamburger Stuffed with Stilton and Foie Gras

Petite Filet Mignon with Port Wine Sauce

All four of these were great, but if I had to choose I’d say my favorite from his quartet was the Filet Mignon with Port Wine Sauce. His favorite was the Short Ribs Braised with Red Wine and Peppercorns.

And the folks at Le Bistro were so nice, they gave me this pretty dessert complimentary since we were there celebrating my birthday!

I highly recommend Le Bistro for any occasion you may have coming up – birthdays, anniversaries, vernal equinox, whatever.

Hmm, one of my brothers has a birthday coming up in January. I wonder if I can persuade the family to choose this restaurant?

Le Bistro Restaurant – Niu Valley
Address: 5730 Kalanianaole Hwy, Honolulu, Hawaii 96821
Phone: (808) 373-7990

I really like dim sum. And for those like me, there are two new places to go to in Aiea.

The first is Golden Lion in Waimalu (by City Mill and Safeway). I went here once for dinner several weeks after they hired their new dim sum chef. It was pretty good, but a bit cramped inside. The waitress we had was really nice though.

The second place in Aiea, the one I’ve been back to about 3 times already, is Imperial Chinese Restaurant. This one is located in Westridge Shopping Center (across the street from Circuit City and Anna Miller’s, near Central Pacific Bank).

Here are my photos from my very first visit…

Dim sum plates are either $2.75 or $3.75 and there is a picture menu. There aren’t any carts here, they are all made to order.

Bean Curd Roll

Steamed Char Siu Manapua

Half Moon

Mochi Rice with Chicken

Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein

And of course for dessert…Custard Tart.

One other item that I’ve ordered on return visits, and that I really enjoy, is the fried taro, also called taro puffs at other places.

And the best part about this place (for me at least) is that they serve dim sum all day from 10:30 am to 9:30 pm! I like to sleep in on the weekends so this is perfect! Typically we get there around 1:30 or 2:30 pm.

My favorite items: Mochi rice with chicken and the noodle dishes
My husband’s favorite items: Taro puffs and custard tart

I won’t say that it’s as good as Legend’s or some of those other places…but the food is good, the restaurant is clean and spacious, the workers are really nice, and it is super convenient if you are around Pearlridge when you get a craving for dim sum!

Imperial Chinese Restaurant
98-150 Kaonohi St #C115, Aiea, Hawaii 96701
(808) 484-0188

Since we were both off this Election Day, we decided to go out for dim sum for lunch! I was being indecisive so I called up my mom for her recommendation. She named a couple of her favorites and I finally decided on Legend Seafood Restaurant.

It was a late lunch so luckily we got a table right away, cause I was starving! To start off, we got one of our favorites…look funn. Here we tried the Beef Look Funn ($4.15), very tasty!

Another of my favorites, Mochi Rice in Lotus Leaf ($3.15).

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