Restaurant review: Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar & Grill

On our last night in Honolulu, our hosts took us to Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar & Grill (Pupu means appetizer…. to us, this would be analogous to a Tapas Bar & Grill). Uncle Bo’s looks like a pub.  But the menu is pretty expansive for a pub. We started with a warm spinach salad with walnuts, feta,…

Restaurant review: Kaka’ako Kitchen

Kaka’ako Kitchen, located in the midst of the Ward Centers shopping district, bills itself as “gourmet plate lunch” haven.  “Plate lunch” is a distinctly local term in Hawaii, basically referring to a combo-meal, usually consisting of an entrée and two sides (those two sides are frequently rice and macaroni salad). It does appear that the…

Restaurant review: Inferno’s Wood Fire Pizza

Our first night in Honolulu, and our hosts took us to a newly opened place (well new, as in, opened within the last 6 months), near the Ward center shopping plaza called Inferno’s Wood Fire Pizza. This is a curious establishment, because it opens for a short five hours a day, from 4pm to 9pm.  After…

Street food review: Eat the Street

Once a month, there’s a food truck rally in the parking lot of the Honolulu Market, in the Ala Moana-Kakaako neighborhood.  Here about 15-20 food trucks set up on the outer edges of the parking lot,  leaving organizers to set up sponsor tents in the center, and entertainment stages on ends of the lot. The middle…

Restaurant review: Nico’s Fish Market on Pier 38

Nico’s Fish Market on Pier 38 is a very casual sit down restaurant located at the end of pier 38, off the Nimitz Highway, near Honolulu’s Chinatown. It’s in the midst of a collection of light industrial warehouses, including the location of the city’s daily fish auction, where the local fisherman sell their haul. By…

Takeout review: Yummy Korean BBQ

Our hotel was a short walk from the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the largest shopping center in Hawaii, and the largest open air shopping center in the world.  It’s a bit odd walking through the complex since the common walk ways are open air (meaning it’s humid and 28-30C), only to pass by store fronts…

Restaurant review: Champa Thai

I picked up a groupon type deal for Champa Thai several weeks before travelling to Honolulu, and by the time we arrived, we had about a week to use it before the deal expired.  No pressure! 🙂 We had a party of four this time, and we were seated immediately upon arrival. After examining the…

Restaurant review: Blue Water Shrimp and Fish Market

I took a late November break from the grey and rain of Vancouver, and spent a week and half in the sun, visiting my relatives in Honolulu, and eating voraciously. First notable stop was at the International Market Place, and the food court therein where we tried the Blue Water Shrimp and Fish Market. There’s…