Restaurant review: Marukame Udon in Honolulu (Waikiki)

While on vacation in Hawaii, my travel companion lead me to this little place on Kuhio drive, in the Waikiki (tourist) district. This is a chain of udon noodle shops with multiple locations in the United States, including two in Honolulu (this one, plus a location downtown). Marukame is noteworthy because they prepare the noodles…

Takeout Review: Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken in Haleiwa

During a much-needed vacation in Hawaii, we road tripped up to the north shore, to the surf community of Haleiwa. There, just off the Kamehameha highway that leads into town, adjacent the Malama supermarket, there’s a dusty gravel lot. This is the weekend home to Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken. Their operation moves around between several…

Restaurant review: Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin (Honolulu)

During a spring vacation in Hawaii, I read some excellent reviews for a small tonkatsu (japanese style fried pork cutlet) place on Beach Walk in Honolulu.  Being close to where I was staying, I decided to check the place out. Ginza Bairin is a chain of japanese tonkatsu restaurants, with locations in Japan, China, Korea…

Restaurant review: The Pig and the Lady (Chinatown, Honolulu)

During a spring holiday in Hawaii, I met a friend for dinner at The Pig and the Lady. P & L is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in Honolulu’s Chinatown I had read numerous glowing reviews and received several recommendations for this place, so I had to check it out.  I made reservations three weeks…

Restaurant review: Asahi Grill

For one of the last nights of my winter vacation, I met with my cousin, and his best friend at the Asahi Grill in the Kaakako neighborhood. This is very much a no-frills place, producing simple “local” cuisine.  To be clear, “local cuisine” in hawaii is a fusion of polynesian, chinese, japanese, korean, philipino and portuguese…

Restaurant review: Yajima-Ya

One the first night of my winter vacation, I met my aunt and cousin for dinner a casual local place in the Moana/Makiki neighbourhood. This was a relatively new place, transformed from what was a more traditional japanese restaurant called Hinone Mizunone.  From what I can tell, the owners of this restaurant also operate a…

Restaurant review: The Rice Place

During a winter vacation in Honolulu, my cousin picked me up and took me to a new place in the Kakaako/Ward neighborhood called The Rice Place. This is a small fusion place, with a menu that combines various asian and north american cuisines. We started with the Lettuce Wrap Rice Flour Crepe. This is what vietnamese…

Restaurant review: Chogajib

This was my last night of my vacation.  My cousin decided to take me to a new Korean restaurant that he had noticed. Chogajib Korean Restaurant is a modest place in a small strip mall in the Ala Moana neighborhood, near Wal-Mart. We started with a selection of complimentary appetizers. This included cabbage kimchi (top…

Takeout review: Harbor Pub & Pizza

After a long busy day, I returned to hotel to relax and veg out on the couch watching television.  When dinner time rolled around, I still didn’t have the inclination to go out to out into the hot night, so I decided to pick some place close by.  I chose the Harbor Pub & Pizza,…

Restaurant review: Wailana Coffee House

I woke up with a craving for a heavy breakfast and headed for the Wailana Coffee House.  It’s a family run 24 hour coffee-house in Waikiki, just a hop, skip and a jump from the hotel.  I’d walked past the restaurant many many times in past visits and decided it was time to give it…

Street food review: Waiola Shave Ice

With Hawaii’s year round warm weather, staying cool is part of daily life.  The local specialty is “shave ice”.  This is an evolved version of our community fair “shaved ice”.   “Shaved ice” tends to be course ground ice in a paper cup, drizzled with flavored syrup.  Hawaii “shave ice” is a very fine ice…

Street food review: Hula Dog

Hula Dog is a local  of hot dog chain that serves hot dogs with a distinct Hawaiian flavors. They start by slipping a (unsplit) roll over a searing hot steel tube, toasting the bun from the inside out. Once toasted, they remove the roll, and partially fill the tube with two flavored sauces, then  they insert a…