A food blog
Happy Fathers Day to D! I couldn’t have dreamed of a better father to our children; no one is more hard working and devoted. To Nomz he is pure fun and love. To the three of us, he is our world.
Special soufflé pancakes this morning for Papa:
Wishing all fathers (including mine in Japan) a wonderful day,
Wishing all mothers a wonderful day! We spent our Sunday morning at the Farmers Market as usual then had a delicious brunch at Denny’s. This Grand Slam Slugger for $8.00 including coffee and juice is possibly the best value in town!
Being a mother has been the greatest blessing in my life. We’ve always wanted to have another child after Nomz, and after 2 and a half years of trying, three miscarriages and surgery, we’re thrilled to be expecting our second child this fall! Nomz is so excited to have a little brother or sister and we know she’ll be the best big sister ever. Thank you D for making this and all of my dreams come true, and thank you Nomz for the greatest privilege of being your Mama.
We were busy on Thursday so we celebrated Girls Day this weekend.
Traditional chirashi sushi with ikura and imitation crab, clam soup, and crab cream croquettes and sunomono with cucumber and wakame. Nomz wanted to wear her yukata for the occasion. This year she ate the chirashi and croquette and told me 「今日の献立気に入ったよ」 (I like tonight’s menu). Words that every chef wants to hear!
Today we picked up some bentos from Kokoro-tei and headed to the beach. This Nori Bento ($3.80) could possibly be the cheapest lunch one can find in Honolulu. Despite the price, it’s a decent meal of tempura chikuwa (fishcake), fried fish, kinpira gobo and tsukemono on top of rice seasoned with bonito flakes and nori. Delicious!!
After lunch at Maui Mike’s we drove to Haleiwa to visit the new & improved Matsumoto Shave Ice. We hadn’t been to Haleiwa in a while and were surprised to see so many changes and new stores! Haleiwa Store Lots, the shopping center that houses the new Matsumoto Shave Ice, is brand new and boasts a good size parking lot in the back as well as public restrooms.
The new Matsumoto Store is bright, open, and streamlined. I was delighted to see they kept the old store sign.
The ordering process is like an assembly line: first, study the menu and place your order with this guy: size (small $2.75, large $4.00), add-ons (ice cream, azuki bean, mochi balls, condensed milk) and choice of up to three flavors.
He’ll write your order on a bowl and hand you the empty bowl to take to the next step: payment.
Then your bowl will be passed on to the next friendly employee who will collect the finely shaved ice and shape it into a mound and add any add-ons.
Then it’s on to the syrup person who will pour generous amounts of your chosen flavors onto the ice.
I think this new system has resulted in shorter lines, although the long lines never really bothered me before. It adds to the anticipation, don’t you think?
Here’s our THE WORKS: large shave ice + ice cream + azuki beans + mochi balls + condensed milk + yuzu (my choice) + strawberry cream (D choice) + bubble gum (Nomz choice). As you can guess, it tasted, well… SWEET and the flavors all just melted together at some point. But it was soft and delicate and delicious and such a fun treat! I definitely recommend the ice cream and mochi balls.
There’s a nice big courtyard with seating to sit and enjoy the shave ice.
Matsumoto’s has been in business since 1951 and it was so nice to see this iconic store settled into its new but still charming home.
Maui Mike’s serves my favorite roast chicken on the island. It’s moist, perfectly seasoned, and cheap! If you’re on your way to the North Shore a stop in Wahiawa for their delicious chicken is definitely worth it.
The restaurant is always crowded and parking is sometimes limited. This small lot in the back of the store can fill up quickly, so you’ll either have to wait for a stall, or find parking elsewhere.
You can order a quarter chicken or half chicken, served with rice or fries and your choice of a dipping sauce. They also have sandwiches made with shredded white meat, etc. Once you order your food you’ll receive a playing card instead of a number to be called when ready.
Here are the rows of chickens spinning around in the fire for an even, slow roast.
And finally, “Queen of Diamonds!” our food was ready! My quarter chicken ($5.89) with rice and smokey BBQ sauce. The quarter chicken was a good size for a snack, but I’ll definitely get the half chicken next time.
D’s Maui Wowie Melt Sandwich ($8.59 w/ fries & drink) with white meat, cheese and honey mustard sauce
With our stomachs full we made our way to Dole Plantation for some fun feeding the fish and then to Haleiwa for dessert…
Maui Mike’s recently opened a second location in Kailua too!
Today was Martin Luther King Day, and what a gorgeous day it was! I’m sure many people spent the day outdoors enjoying the last moments of their three day weekend. We packed bentos and headed to one of our favorite spots, Puu Ualakaa State Park at the very top of tantalus. The views from the lookout are breathtaking, and the park has a well maintained parking lot and picnic area, as well as the various hiking trails.
We kicked off our new year with a traditional family blessing ceremony and mochi pounding at the Honbushin International Center. What a family-friendly gem of an event!
It was held from 9:00am-3:00pm, but when we arrived at 9:00am there was already a considerable amount of people in line to register for the mochi pounding. You register by family/group (donation of $10~; or a donation of more than $20 will get you a “thank you pass” – more on this later) and receive a number and tickets for complimentary bowl of ozoni. We were #68. Then you just have to pass the time until your turn.
Nomz had fun playing in the (free) bounce house with all of her friends.
And of course, we ate all kinds of mochi: our complimentary bowl of ozoni (fresh mochi in hot broth), kinako ($2; ground soy bean powder & sugar), anko ($2; with sweet azuki bean paste), in tonjiru ($3; in pork miso soup), and yakimochi ($2; grilled with shoyu and nori).
There were other items like teriyaki beef sticks, shave ice, oden, and musubi, but the main food items for sale were mochi served various ways. There was also a market selling fresh vegetables grown right on Honbushin grounds.
As for the wait, be forewarned – it’s incredibly long so it’s best to come prepared to spend the day. There’s plenty of food and live entertainment to enjoy. We arrived at 9:00am, but it wasn’t until nearly 1:00pm that we finally got our turn at making mochi. A donation of more than $20 will get you a “thank you” pass which gives you priority access in line – we will definitely do this next year. The logistics of this event makes the long line inevitable – mochi rice must be freshly steamed, and each family receives a generous amount of rice which they are responsible for pounding from start to finish (with the help of friendly volunteers) and in turn, can take the whole batch home!
The last time I pounded mochi was in preschool in Japan, and nowadays even in Japan it’s rare to find an opportunity to make mochi using the authentic usu (wooden vessel) and kine (very heavy wooden mallet). It was SO MUCH FUN!! The volunteers instructed us to first knead the mochi with a thinner mallet, then showed us how to rhythmically pound it, taking turns in a circle as a family. Nomz and I quickly got tired, so D of course carried us to the finish line with his super strength. The experience was definitely worth the wait.
After the whole process (which took about 10 minutes), volunteers helped us roll and shape the mochi to pack in a take-home container. It was about 5 pounds of mochi total. Fresh, warm, soft, pillowy and gooey, heavenly mochi. Now that I’ve had freshly pounded mochi, I’ve been spoiled. The packaged supermarket kind is just not gonna do it for me anymore…
After all the mochi we had at the event, we went home and enjoyed more still-warm mochi with butter & shoyu, with cheddar cheese, and with peanut butter & jelly. The rest went into the freezer, sure to only last for a short while.
We are already looking forward to next year!
Happy New Year! I am so grateful for all that 2015 brought me, and wish for another year filled with blessings.
I kicked off the new year with a get together with some dear long-time friends at Central Bakery in Kahala. It’s a recently opened bakery and Italian restaurant in one, located in the same lot as the Olive Tree Cafe by Kahala Mall.
At the entrance is a bread counter showcasing various French breads for sale: epi, brioche, campagne to name a few. I got to sample many of these during the course of our lunch. They also have pastries available for takeout.
The daytime menu includes brunch items like French toast, as well as classic sandwiches croque monsieur and open face tartines, and a full list of pasta dishes.
We were first served and assortment of house breads: olive, cranberry & walnut, cream cheese, etc. Although I love dense, chewy breads like campagne, it seemed they were all a bit too dense for my friends’ liking.
Here’s the penne arrabbiata ($14.00) and a side salad.
and my selection of 3 kinds of Tartines($14.00): ricotta cheese & ham, salmon & avocado, prosciutto, mozzarella & tomato:
and the classic croque monsieur ($14.00) topped with béchamel sauce:
I thought the lunch was actually quite a nice value: a nice, sit-down meal in a stylish eatery for under $20.00. Next time I would love to return for dinner and try more of their Italian dishes.
For D’s birthday breakfast…
Honolulu Eats 
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