birthday weekend

Chicken, bleu cheese, roasted pepper, and olive pizza.


Dinner at Imanas Tei with my mom and brother



Gobo Fry

Shabu shabu salad

Assorted sushi set B

Saba, salmon, and uni.

Hamachi

aquarium + random!!

Went to the Waikiki Aquarium with Dan. Super bummed they got rid of the sea horse/leafy sea dragon exhibit. But for $6 as kama'aina it's still a pretty amazing bargain. Took some photos with my phone!









And to sum this post up and be a complete ass about it, salmon onion and spicy ahi from Genki Sushi (which I ate on a completely separate and unrelated day).

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! :)