mom's birthday

God, sometimes I feel I'm the epitome of an Asian-American. A food blog. Fascination with phone charms. Almost a hundred photos of my cat ON MY PHONE.

Fuck it. I like food. I ate at Cafe Sistina for mom's birthday and even though she had a bit of a cry because they ran out of vanilla ice cream it was still a pretty nice night. These photos are awful because I didn't want to use the flash and I didn't really want to spend 99% of dinner photographing it.

We were greeted by a dog. And bizzare menus. Then my brother complained that the cola tasted funny and we traded drinks. He took my iced tea and added five sugars to it. Escargot with polenta, a little too buttery but still tasty. Caprese. Holy crap was this dressing amazing. Perfect olive oil/balsamic vinigarette combo. My mom and some bread. My mom got some kind of spinach fettucini seafood spectacular. I couldn't eat it but it looked and smelled amazing. She said it was slightly spicy, just right. Craig got lasagna. Craig always gets lasagna. And me? Well I got some chicken penne something something in a creamy tomato sauce. It was a little dry and bland. I was pretty disappointed. After her teary-eyed bit, mom said really loudly that she should be able to get some kind of dessert for her birthday. So the waiter brought a slice of cheesecake. She didn't even eat it! Anyway, this is the only decent group photo the waiter could take. He was a really nice guy, but didn't speak English super well and wasn't familiar with cameras.

Anyway, Cafe Sistina is really affordable considering the atmosphere and service and food. While I was a little disappointed with my entree, the appetizers made me more than happy and my mom and brother seemed really satisfied with their food. I'll just be sure to order something without chicken next time.

backlog

Dinner with my dad and step mom. Banana splits to follow!



Dinner with my mom (impromptu) at Cafe Laufer. Salmon + Rye and their Chinese Chicken Salad. Won ton overload. I love that it's such a quaint cafe!

todaaaaay!

Dan and I hiked Diamond Head. He's a hiking newbie so seemed fitting to do the easiest hike on Oahu.





It was pretty hazy but still really nice! Maybe a sunset hike in the near future. Note to self: buy some legit shoes. Keds just don't cut it.

Before that we ate at J&J Bistro which is a pretty awesome French-Laotian place that is relatively reasonable in price. I got the "De Afternoon Tea" set which was about $15. It came with a pot of tea (English Breakfast!) and a entree set that included a mini turkey croissant sandwich, ham and corn quiche, crab ragoon, scone with orange marmalade, and a smoked salmon with avocado spread on a slice of french baguette bread! Oh, and dessert, which was a chocolate coffee mouse cake, red velvet cake, and a small orange tart. Dan got a pizza!! It was super good.






I gotta work on updating with greater frequency. I promise, a backlog of photos will be coming up real quick!

sweet.

so i have a yelp...

http://needfoods.yelp.com/

most of my reviews are dated. i hardly get on yelp except when i'm angry or drunk (which kind of goes hand in hand, i know). i'll try and write reviews more often. i should also work on jazzing it up-- most are so dull. but most yelpers seem to overkill on their reviews. personally, i just want to know 1) what you ate, 2) how did it taste, 3) how was the service, 4) is it worth it? and it seems like the ones that get tons of "compliments" or "cool" ratings are reviews that are ridiculously long and elaborate analogies to some popular movie or song or whatever. hardly mention what exactly happened at the restaurant.

other than that, i guess my friend juvana wants me to make black sugar cinnamon buns and i have no idea how. mostly because the black sugar i have at home is block like. asian market adventure soon to find some that is actually edible!

pizza rant

MAN. so i really really love papa john's pizza. i don't really know what it is about the garden fresh pizza (maybe the deliciously sweet tomatoes, or maybe it's the crunchy bell peppers?) but i am hooked. absolutely. and guess what? i really really love papa john's because they allow online ordering. AND they post all their specials up there. gasp! the internet has officially made me fat.

i guess i'm excited because i do not like ordering over the phone. i always get way too caught up with the specials that the employee kind of barfs out at the beginning of the phone call. this leaves me feeling overwhelmed with options that i haven't had time to consider, and me being indecisive makes it all the harder. i can't even tell you how many times i've hung up on pizza places which in the end made me opt to not even get pizza because i was afraid if i called back they'd recognize my voice.

anyway, the internet has oversimplified this dilemma and has eliminated what was really preventing me from ordering delivery. now i don't know what i'm doing but i'm eating pizza three times a day several times a week. yes, this is horribly unhealthy (hence garden fresh, i figured the veggies make up for something) but god. i can't help it.

which is what brings me to this point. they're onto me, papa john's that is. i got this in the mail today, just after i had ordered pizza.

oh man. THEY KNOW THAT I'M HOOKED! i know for sure now. i only have till august 28th to take advantage of this deal (which is an amazing deal). even if i can't eat more than two slices in one sitting, i can always freeze whatever the second pizza is and eat it over time.

what is wrong with me?!

youtube + cooking

it's july! this means birthday month, it's-really-summer celebration, and bbq time! normally i'm not excited for any of these things because hawaii summers are especially brutal (although i know that my friends living off island are experiencing humidity that is just as bad) but i don't know! this year i'm trying to stay optimistic and happy. i'm hoping this carries on till my birthday at the end of this month!

so for those of you who aren't in close contact with me... or you don't really read this blog.. i've been really aching to get a canon ae-1. i managed to for the amazing price of $60 including shipping!

hello new friend. i can't wait to wind you up and get you going!

but in more food related news...

when i cook i'm kind of retarded when it comes to recipes. i mean, i don't know, it says continuously stir. am i stirring vigorously? lightly? when do i stop? why doesn't it say? i need to be told exactly what to do. that's why i love youtube. i can type anything into the search bar and someone has probably made a video on it. it's way more awesome than most recipe websites because instead of simply offering you a photo of what it should look like when you're done, they give you a step-by-step process on how to make it!

personally, my favorite food blogger is chef john with food wishes.

i subscribed to his blog some aeons ago and am almost afraid to go on youtube these days because i can't stop myself from drooling. yesterday, i caught this video (above) and realized oh snap! carbonara is super easy to make. i have all those ingredients right now! inspiring me to actually cook which is so great! his videos are probably one of the best on youtube in terms of quality. you see the exact steps one by one laid out. he also offers the recipes on his website.

anyway you guys should check his stuff out if you're wondering what to make yourself for dinner. so many great videos to choose from!

brother's birthday

back in may my brother turned 20. he really likes italian food, so we decided to go where we normally go: arancinos. a lot of people tell me this place is inconsistent. but when your mom is friends with most of the staff and the owner, they tend to kick the service up a notch. we eat here really often. family gatherings, birthdays, when my mom's friends are in town, when they introduce a new item to the menu. we're irregular regulars, so to speak.

bread. mom usually eats this with balsamic vinegar + olive oil. i just it eat it plain, because it's already baked with seasonings.

blurry photo of my penne arrabita. it's a sort of spicy tomato based sauce with penne pasta. super delicious.

my mom always gets the same thing. tobiko and calamari spaghetti and a glass of merlot.

my brother, craigin, and his lasagna. also what he always gets. the portion is enormous.

mom, again.

blurry photo of the bar.

i suppose i don't know what real italian food is supposed to taste like, as i've never been to italy or been served by real authentic italian chefs. but in terms of flavor/portion/price, arancino's is always satisfying to me. i really like the duck pizza they have. it's duck, looking a lot similar to bacon but thicker cut, atop a thin hand made crust. topped with mozzarella cheese. and normally as a starter we get the bagna cauda. it an assortment of vegetables (celery, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, beans, etc) with an anchovy olive oil garlic dipping sauce.

if you haven't been here i'd absolutely recommend it. it can get a bit pricey (peroni beer is like $6 a bottle here) but the portions are big enough to satisfy me. i usually leave with left overs. they have two locations: one in the marriot hotel and the other on beachwalk.

Raraya Review!

So at the beginning of this year, my mom had to find a new tenant for the studio she rents out. Among the applicants was Chef Aoki, a slender very a-typical asian man who had was looking for a more affordable place to live. My mom was hesitant to let him move in; she prefers quiet students. But when he illustrated his daily work schedule it became apparent that he'd be spending little time here because he owns a ramen shop on South King! MY DREAM COME TRUE. I was thrilled at the idea of a new ramen shop in Hawaii. And with the owner as my neighbor, I was so sure to get some serious deals (can you say discount?)

Situated on South King between Piikoi and Pensacola, Raraya is super easy to miss. They offer parking but it's relatively limited; street parking is always readily available. Aoki received his training in Yokohama, so his style of ramen is very unusual for the local scene, a type of broth and noodle I was unfamiliar with but so excited to try.

Personally, if you're going to make me a bowl of ramen it damn better well be pork based broth. Tonkotsu ramen has an amazing flavor unmatched by it's miso and shoyu based counterparts. This just so happens to be Raraya's specialty. Boiling the marrow for three days to prepare the broth shows true dedication to amazing flavor. Two words: simply delicious.

I can see why most locals are hesitant to try this place. The noodles are thick, like saimin, but the restaurant allows you to really customize your ramen experience. Soup too oily? Get a little less. Noodles too thick? They offer thinner ones. Basically even if your first experience isn't mind-blowing like mine was I can assure you that whatever you didn't like can be changed for something you will.

My brother (who does not read/understand Japanese) struggled to understand the menu as it was a bit confusing for English speakers. So he chose to eat the Mini Loco Moco Curry. Very similar to the local staple, the only difference being that instead of gravy the rice was covered in beef curry with vegetables. Even for the mini, the portion was ridiculously huge.

In the top corner there, barely visible, is the gyoza we ordered as well! This paired really well with the ramen. Unlike most places, I believe Aoki pours a potato-starch mixture towards the end of frying, creating an extra crispy bottom that adds more crunch to the usually soft texture.

Overall, I was absolutely stuffed and barely managed to drink all of my soup. My brother wasn't even able to eat half of his meal. And while I wasn't given a discount as I had hoped, it didn't put a damper in my meal. Since the weather has been so gloomy lately, I've been dreaming of their thick soup and seriously can't wait till the next time I eat there. This isn't just a plug for my mom's tenant. Really. This ramen is just that good.

Sushi @ Hanamaru

So back in '06 I worked at this restaurant called Restaurant Suntory. It's in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Japanese dining, predominately washoku (western style Japanese cuisine) and teppanyaki. But there was also a sushi counter! And this is where I met Kishimoto. He's a really funny guy but kind of quirky. He also hits on my mom all the time. I probably should have taken a photo but alas! I did not.

ANYWAY. Kishimoto now works as a sushi chef at Hanamaru Restaurant! Located on South King, it's incredibly close to the University and other Japanese dining. It is also a washoku/sushi restaurant (think fancier version of Sushi King). The prices are incredibly reasonable. The first time I went was when they first opened and it sucked. But lately my mom and I have been going and the service has been much better! Not to mention the quality of food has definitely improved. Moili'ili is such a Japanese neighborhood, on the real.




Here's an awful photo of my umeshu! Plum wine is amazingly sweet and I feel pairs well with sashimi and other seafood. I ordered the kaki-fry set (oyster fry). It was six amazing pieces of deep fried oysters. It also comes with a tossed salad, miso soup, rice, and tsukemono (picked vegetables). I was elated!



My mom ordered a number of different sushi, which I did not photograph. But the portions are decent sized; they don't skimp out on you like some sushi bars do. We also ordered the special of the evening, white-fish sashimi. Here's a video of her trying to name all the fish on the sushi clock!

It was an assortment of white fish, I can't recall exactly which. But five pieces of three types of fish and it was $18. For dessert I had shiratama shiruko (mochi in azuki soup). It was chilled and not too sweet. I enjoyed it a lot!

Anyway that was my experience at Hanamaru. Tottemo oishikatta! :)

ughh deliciousness

So I realized my food banner above was lacking. And to be honest it was really annoying me. Plus, i discovered this very stretchy layout template that has allowed me to break the awkward alignment rules (in your face, Dave and the internet).

I don't really know where I was going with that thought. But moving on! I decided to chronicle previous eats that I have photographed and shared on Facebook but was forced to spare details because... well.. people usually fill themselves with intense hate when you go into detail about how delicious something was (gee, makes you wonder how this blog will ever become a success, right?).

SO HERE IS A FUN FACT. I really (bleep)ing love hamburgers. I don't know why; I just like the taste of beef! Although the Kua'aina Burger in Ward Centre isn't exactly as great as it's Haleiwa counterpart, I'm never disappointed with the size and flavor of the meal.

Top: 1/3 lb Hamburger with grilled onions. Below: 1/3 lb Cheeseburger with Provolone. Large basket of fries on the side!

Offered in third-pound and half-pound patties, these burgers are always juicy and filling. I love that the veggies are always so fresh! Even the lettuce is always leafy, they always cut off the stiff stalk of it. If Haleiwa wasn't so inconvenient I would go there everyday!

For our one year anniversary, Kenji and I got breakfast at Lulu's Restaurant in Waikiki. I got the Magnum P.I. Burger, which ended up being 10x bigger and more delicious than I had anticipated.

It came with this amazing veggie salad! I wish I could remember what the dressing was called. Anyway! We went to the beach after and I totally kanak'd on the beach. Ended up with slight sunburn.

That's all for burger photos. Sorry that I'm lacking. Still getting into the habit of taking photos of everything and trying to compile it into something tangible.

so the first real food post

I guess if you know me, you probably know that I have some serious obsession with food. Yes, I'm guilty of being a glutton and I'm perfectly fine with that! Although I haven't quite mastered the craft of cooking on my own you can trust that I'm getting there fast!

I'm hoping to post photos of things I've made, ate, seen, would like to try, etc. But for now, here is my review on Cafe Maharani! Located on South King next to Down to Earth, it's a quaint restaurant. Seating is limited! During the summer of 2009 I went there with my friend Angel! Don't mind the fact that we both look incredibly awful; it was the most humid day ever. It was my first time eating Indian cuisine; it was a cultured day overall!

The Tandoori Chicken Kebab Platter! + Naan and Rice

Angel

Me!

Angel in front of the restaurant

Me again!

The food was incredibly spicy but was well complimented with the raita (yogurt) sauce. The rice was well seasoned, and the naan very hot and crispy! The two of us have small stomachs, so we only ordered this one platter and still had leftovers. The service was nice (with the exception of the waiter spilling a bit of water on me on accident). There is a flat screen mounted on the wall playing Bollywood movies in the background. The sound is hard to hear because the restaurant is usually very packed, but made for fun visual entertainment while we were waiting for our food.

The only real downside is the fact that Angel's cup was somewhat rusty and had a distinct metallic flavor in the water. Although this was easily fixed when we requested another cup, it's unlikely that they actually got rid of that rusty one.

Okay, I guess I should probably work on my food journalism, because to be honest this review sucks. Oh well.

Love,
Arisa