Jin Din Rou Hawaii

Met up with some friends for dinner at the newly opened Jin Din Rou! The restaurant picked Honolulu as their newest location in addition to 4 existing operations in/around Tokyo and 2 in Taipei. They are most famous for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings), one of my absolute favorite treats of all time.

Sorry, I forgot to write down prices, they did not have takeout menus available yet, and the menu on their website shows prices for the Tokyo locations in Japanese yen. But my overall impression is that pricing for xiao long bao was quite reasonable, and pricing for all other items were average, except for the fact that portions were characteristically Japanese (well presented, but small).

Xiao Long Bao! Little, delicate purses filled with pork and hot soup. According to the directions provided on “how to eat xiao long bao”, you’re supposed to break the skin, drink the soup, then dip it in black vinegar and enjoy with fresh slivers of ginger. For me, there’s only one way to eat my xiao long bao: by popping the whole thing in my mouth and enjoying the burst of flavor (and of course, burning my tongue in the process).

Traditional xiao long bao

Oolong flavored xiao long bao – similar in flavor to the traditional, but with a hint of tea flavor and tannins

Shrimp Wontons with Spicy Sauce

Tantanmen – with lots of freshly ground sesame

Shrimp and BBQ Pork Omelette

Beef with Bamboo Shoots and Bell Peppers

Pork and Sweet Potatoes in a Sweet and Sour Sauce

Nothing too exciting to share about the ala carte menu items, but I know I’ll be going back again and again just for the xiao long bao.

I’ve posed this question before, but does anyone know where else I can try good xiao long bao in Honolulu?

MENU: View the menu on their website. Menus are for Japan locations and prices are listed in yen, but the item list is very similar to the Hawaii location.

Jin Din Rou Hawaii
1491 South King Street, Suite 105
Honolulu, HI 96814
808.947.1133

Weekdays 11:00a-3:00p, 5:00p-12:00a
Sundays & Holidays 11:00a-3:30p, 5:00p-10:00p

Sweet Home Cafe

Recently I finally had the chance to try the Taiwanese style hot pot that’s all the rage right now. I feel like with the recent craze in hot pot, frozen yogurt and shave ice, a new generation of Asian business owners and consumers are really gaining momentum in the food industry. But let me focus my attention back to the restaurant that deserves our full attention.

Sweet Home Cafe, I love you.

This was my pick for my birthday girls’ night because I had heard of it so many times, and have witnessed the long lines outside at all hours of the night. What, I wondered, was all the fuss about? It turns out that all the fuss is about an incredibly satisfying, fun dining experience that packs so much value for your buck. No wonder it attracts crowds of young people and other cash-strapped customers like me.

If you haven’t yet been here, the system is quite simple: you select the broth(s) of your choice ranging in price from $5.95 to $12.95. If all of you agree on a broth, 3-4 people can easily share one pot of broth. If not, they have sectioned pots for you to enjoy 2 different broths. Then, go to town picking out the ingredients to put inside: thin shabu-shabu style meats, seafood, veggies, tofu, mushrooms, and a gazillion different kinds of fishcakes. The meats are prepared in the kitchen, but everything else is self-serve from their huge refrigerators. The dishes are color-coded by price: $2.75 for green and white plates, $3.75 for red and yellow plates, and $4-something for blue plates I think. (Note: there is a 90 minute time limit which should be enough time especially since they take your order while you’re waiting and swiftly bring everything out to you).

6 Fabulous things that make Sweet Home Cafe so fabulous:

• Broths are all natural, no MSG
• Free rice
• Free refills on the broth
• Free selection of 17 different sauces and condiments including chopped chinese parsley, fried garlic, sesame sauce, miso sauce, spicy sauce, etc. With this complete arsenal of dipping flavors, I could just cook the ingredients in plain water and it would still be good.
• Free Taiwanese shave ice dessert
• They pack up the leftover soup for you to take home, which you can enjoy with noodles for a whole other meal

Here we tried the house special broth and healthy herb broth. The house special broth is a clear beef based broth with chinese parsley, star anise and bay leaf, and had a similar flavor to pho broth. The milky broth was the healthy herb broth with a sweet nutty flavor and had a ton of what looked like ancient Chinese medicinal herbs and dried fruits and nuts inside. The broths are mild and not very salty, which is perfect because there’s the dipping sauces and the ingredients add their own flavor.

Here’s our pot after everything’s been added.  At the very end, Japanese style would be to add rice to make porridge or noodles (and they do have noodles) to enjoy all that flavor deposited by all those ingredients, but we were just too full. I enjoyed the soup the next day with some noodles and the amount of umami in the soup was just unbelievable.

After we ate to our hearts’ content, they brought out a huge bowl of Taiwanese style shave ice with all kinds of yummy toppings for us to share.

This entire meal for 4 was only $54.00 before tax and tip! The service here is extremely attentive and warm, and with people sharing tables when it gets busy, it really feels like you’re in their home’s bustling kitchen. It’s the combination of value, service, and the sheer fun of creating your perfect hot pot that makes this place so attractive.  I am hopelessly in love and can’t wait to return with my hubby. The long wait? It suddenly doesn’t matter anymore – love is blind.

Sweet Home Cafe
(inside Old Stadium Mall, by Kozo Sushi)
2334 S. King St.
Honolulu, HI 96826
808.947.3707
Daily 4:00p-11:00p

Retirement Banquet

Saturday night my husband and I were invited to a retirement party at the Ala Moana Hotel for one of his tennis friends. It was a huge party with about 250 guests and after being cooped up all day with the tsunami scare, everyone was ready for a good party!

The meal was Chinese banquet style, with platters of food served on lazy susans. We started off with Spring Rolls and Hot and Sour Soup.

Then Stir Fried Shrimp with Walnuts and Crispy Taro Duck. The Duck was so delicious.

Sweet and Sour Pork, Chicken with Ginger and Green Onion Sauce, and Tenderloin of Beef with Mushrooms.

Lastly, dessert was a slice of cake.

We had a blast! In true local style, there was a hosted bar, a live band, a slide show of course, and even a photo booth where they printed out photos on the spot as souvenirs. I absolutely LOVE attending weddings and banquets. As a former catering manager, it is so much fun for me to experience the food and service at various venues and observe every little detail that went into the party planning. And with every life celebration, it’s all about showing appreciation for and being with the friends and family who’ve supported you along the way. Congratulations to the guest of honor!

P.F Chang’s Waikiki

Yes! I can eat solid food now!

The girls and I got together for our September dinner at P.F. Chang’s in Waikiki, the restaurant of choice for Erin, our birthday girl. The restaurant is located on the ground level of Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, facing Lewers Street. The restaurant was a little dark inside, thus the quality of the photos are not the brightest.

We shared everything family style, starting off with my favorite appetizer, Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($10.50). They serve a well-seasoned chicken and water chestnut filling that you wrap your self with chilled iceberg lettuce. The lettuce is always cut into perfect circles – I wonder what they do with the edges of the lettuce? Perhaps that’s where the “Chicken Chopped Salad ($11.95)” comes in… (By the way, if you run out of lettuce, you can ask for refills).

P.F. Chang's - Lettuce Wraps ($10.50)

For our entrees we ordered a balance of everything (all entrees are served with rice):

Shrimp with Candied Walnuts ($18.50) – this is my favorite shrimp dish here. When I first ordered it I was surprised to see it served with melon balls, but it actually goes well with the saltiness of the shrimp.

P.F. Chang's - Shrimp with Candied Walnuts ($18.50)

Chicken with Black Bean Sauce ($15.95) - simple dish made of exactly just that: tender pieces of chicken breast stir fried in black bean sauce. So yummy over rice.

P.F. Chang's - Chicken with Black Bean Sauce ($15.95)

Lo Mein with Beef ($12.25) – the standard noodles stir fried with veggies and beef. This dish was only so-so.

P.F. Chang's - Lo Mein with Beef ($12.25)

Stir-fried Eggplant ($9.95) – delicious in a sweet spicy sauce.

P.F. Chang's - Eggplant ($9.95)

And a sweet surprise – complimentary mini dessert shooters ($2.75/each), since I knew one of the servers. Strawberry cheesecake on the left and red velvet cake on the right provided the perfect amount of sweetness to end a savory meal.

P.F. Chang's - Mini Desserts ($2.75/ea)

Everything here is fresh and tasty, and the service is consistently friendly and quick. I call P.F. Chang’s “the Chinese version of California Pizza Kitchen” – they’re both modern, American, family friendly, and you know exactly what you’re getting every time in terms of the quality of food and service.

It just so happened to be the Waikiki Ho’olaulea that night, so Kalakaua Avenue was blocked off with tent after tent of food booths and live entertainment. After dinner we walked around and checked out the crowd, but too bad we were too stuffed to check out any of the food…

OVERALL: GOOD
PRICE RANGE:$5.95-11.95 for appetizers, $8.95-25.95 for entrees. Click here to view the menu on their website.
MY BILL:$22.00 including my portion of the birthday girl’s meal (the ever resourceful birthday girl brought a coupon for 1 free entree)
RETURNING?: Yes

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
Royal Hawaiian Center
2201 Kalakaua Avenue #116
Honolulu, HI 96815
808.628.6760
Mon-Thu 11:00a-11:00p
Fri, Sat 11:00a-12:00 midnight

Jook

Ugh. Just got my wisdom teeth pulled and am restricted to a liquid diet. My dentist said “for the first few days, you’re going to be eating a lot of yogurt, ice cream, and pudding”, but no can since those items are all loaded with sugar.

So I made one of my favorite dishes: jook (Chinese rice porridge). This is a must-have dish for local people after Thanksgiving Day, utilizing the leftover turkey bones. Every culture has their version of porridge (okayu, cream of wheat, etc.) but I think this is my favorite.

The recipe is very simple: 10 Cups water to 1 cup uncooked rice, sliced ginger, a whole turkey or chicken carcass (I just buy a whole roasted chicken from Foodland, let my husband eat the meat, and use the bones), salt. Throw in a pot and simmer for 2 hours. Garnish with chopped green onions and Chinese parsley. I like mine drizzled with a little sesame oil.

Every time I’m sick or have oral surgery, I sincerely appreciate all aspects of my health that allow me to enjoy my passion: food. I’m thankful for my functioning taste buds, my sense of smell, my teeth and jaws to chew, and my healthy appetite.

Manapua from Island Manapua Factory

My boss’s mother brought us manapua from Island Manapua Factory, one of my favorites! They have several locations with the main ones in Kalihi and in Manoa. When my father-in-law is visiting from Maui, this is a must-stop omiyage spot for him.

Manapua is what I had known all my life as char siu bao or 肉まん nikuman, but I never heard it by the name manapua until I moved to Hawaii. The two popular options are baked and steamed, and Island Manapua offers both with various fillings like char siu, oyster chicken, lup cheong, to name a few. Also serving tasty Chinese noodles and side dishes for take-out, this is one of my all time favorites for a cheap and satisfying lunch.

I helped myself to a sampling of each item from the box of goodies:

• Steamed Char Siu Manapua ($1.25)
• Baked Curry Chicken Manapua ($1.25)
• White Rice Cake ($0.75)
• Deep fried mochi ball with sweet bean paste – Jin Dui? ($0.95)

Island Manapua Factory
Manoa Marketplace, ground level by Bank of Hawaii
2752 Woodlawn Drive #5-113
Honolulu, HI 96817
808.988.5441
Mon-Fri 7:30a-8:00p
Sat 7:30a-7:00p
Sun 8:30a-5:00p
 

Little Village Noodle House

I met up with some friends for dinner. The three of us started out as colleagues, working together in the food and beverage/hospitality industry. None of us work for that same company anymore, but we share a passion for food and a mutual respect that has evolved into a friendship over the years. We meet for quarterly “board meetings” which usually involve discovering a new great restaurant in town, talking shop, and lots of gossip.  

At the suggestion of one of the boardmembers and guided by our Chinese boardmember (who claims he was practically raised in Chinatown), this quarter’s meeting took place at Little Village Noodle House in Chinatown, followed by a short walking tour of the surrounding area. Chinatown is one of those places I hardly visit simply because I don’t know it very well. I never knew where to park, and it seemed “scary” at night. However tonight I discovered a lively food scene with an abundance of interesting eateries (which by the way, are far from just Chinese food) and that  parking actually exists. There’s paid parking lots on every block, and Little Village Noodle House actually has its own free (2 hours) parking lot next to the restaurant.

This Chinese restaurant in the heart of Chinatown is surprisingly modern; I’ve never seen French Fries and Pecan Spinach Salad on any Chinese menu until now!

We enjoyed:

• Green Onion Pancakes ($3.95)

Little Village - Green Onion Pancakes ($3.95)

• Pan Fried Beef ($9.75)

Little Village - Pan Fried Beef ($9.75)

• Lamb Stew Hot Pot ($11.95)

Little Village - Lamb Stew Hot Pot ($11.95)

• Eggplant with Garlic Sauce ($8.95)

Little Village - Eggplant with Garlic Sauce ($8.95)

• Dried String Beans ($8.95)
• Singapore Rice Noodles ($8.25)

Little Village - Singapore Rice Noodles ($8.25)

• Steamed Rice ($1.50)

Everything was fresh, tasty and went well with steamed rice and tea because the dishes tended to be heavily seasoned. The hit of the evening was the Pan Fried Beef, crispy strips of beef in a salty-sweet-spicy sauce. Although, I must lastly add that their prices are higher than what I expected.

OVERALL: GOOD
PRICE RANGE: $4.75-$8.50 for appetizers, $6.75-$20.00 for entrees, $6.50-$9.50 for rice and noodle dishes. Visit their website here to view the current menu.
MY BILL: Around $16.00. I wasn’t paying attention when we split the bill.
RETURNING?: Probably not, only because there are so many different restaurants I want to try in Chinatown next, and so little time.

Little Village Noodle House
1113 Smith Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
808.545.3008
Sun-Thu 10:30a-10:30p
Fri-Sat 10:30a-12:00a

Waikiki Lau Yee Chai

One of our office favorites for lunch is Waikiki Lau Yee Chai located in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. I’m a huge fan of Chinese food all around (in fact, I don’t think there’s a Chinese restaurant I don’t like) and this one is my favorite in Waikiki because it’s so affordable.

My coworker and I both ordered the Pan Fried Look Fun with Beef & Black Bean Sauce. I wonder what the secret is for making the beef so tender…

Lau Yee Chai - Look Fun with Beef & Black Bean Sauce ($6.90)

Lunch entrees are around $7.00 and most are served with Egg Drop Soup. They offer a discount for travel agents, but they often extend that discount to us as a courtesy, even through we’re not travel agents.

The best $7.00 lunch ever.

OVERALL: GOOD
PRICE RANGE: $6.20-$7.95 for all entrees. Click here to view the menu.
MY BILL: $7.00
RETURNING?: Absolutely

Waikiki Lau Yee Chai
(5th Floor of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza)
2250 Kalakaua Avenue
Honoulu, HI 96815
808.923.1112
Lunch: Mon-Sat 11:00a-2:00p 
Dinner: banquets only

Sendai Eats – Wrap Up

I’m actually back in Hawaii now and my life is right back where it left off: crazy busy. There are lots more Sendai eats to report on, but I’ll condense everything into one post to save time. You’d think being on vacation would leave me lots of leisurely time for activities like reading a book, watching TV, and posting on my blog, but I was surprisingly busy in Japan. I was busy taking twice daily baths, eating good food, and going to bed early.

もちぶた館 Tonkatsu Mochibutakan

My father’s latest favorite find is Mochibutakan, an establishment that offers tonkatsu and onsen in one location. Yup, that’s onsen as in hot spring bath. Apparently taking a bath in an onsen and then eating tonkatsu is a “Why didn’t anyone think of this before?” kind of logical combination to the Japanese people, because at 12:00pm for lunch on a Sunday, the place was packed with a line out the door! They serve up Mochibuta, a local brand of pork raised with natural feed and a focus on a healthy living environment. That must be the reason it tastes so light and has none of the “porkiness” sometimes found in supermarket pork.

I skipped the bath and went straight for the food. I had the Tonkatsu Gozen that included a big juicy pork cutlet, rice, tonjiru, tsukemono, kobachi, and dessert (what a deal at 900 yen!).

Mochibutakan - Tonkatsu Gozen

 

蔵 Ramen Kura

Our family has always loved ramen. Now my brother and his family are about to embark on an incredible journey in pursuit of the perfect bowl of ramen (more details on this later). It’s hard to find good ramen outside of Japan, but in Honolulu you can get a decent bowl of ramen at Tenka Ippin on Kapahulu Avenue.

Ramen Kura, located in the small town of Shichigahama, is the town’s most popular ramen joint. We waited outside in line in the winter cold but the ramen was worth the wait. I had the Kura Original Ramen (550 yen) and Gyoza (300 yen). The soup had a rich flavor brought out by simmering pork bones and various other ingredients overnight.

Kura - Kura Original Ramen

謝朋殿 Shahouden Chinese Restaurant

We ventured into Sendai City for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.  We had:

• Sichuan Mabo Tofu (1000 yen): This was our favorite of the evening, with freshly cracked Sichuan pepper.
• Egg Soup (800 yen)
• Vegetables Stir Fried with Sea Salt (1000 yen)
• Celery Dumplings (600 yen): Served with a yummy coconut sauce
• Xiaolongbao (500 yen/2pc): This is actually what we were after. These dumplings are filled with HOT broth that you have to try not to spill as you bite in.

Shahouden - Celery Dumplings

Shahouden - Xiaolongbao

Does anyone know where I can get good Xiaolongbao in Honolulu?