GREAT EATS HAWAII: September 2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

L&L HAWAIIAN BBQ - UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

L AND L HAWAIIAN BBQ

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

L&L Hawaiian BBQ, the great local and now National restaurant chain opened a location at the University of Hawaii Athletic Complex. We were on our way to the Wahine Volleyball game and decided to try a local plate lunch. I am not a plate lunch kind of guy, unless of course it is from Kahai Street in Kalihi. A plate lunch in Hawaii usually consists of two scoops rice, macaroni salad and beef or chicken. L&L now serves "healthy" choices in addition to their fat and high calorie normal plates. I went with the Garlic Mahi Mahi ($6.50). Two pieces of Mahi Mahi served with brown rice and sliced cucumber and some greens. I could not believe they fried the fish. The Mahi Mahi was a very thin piece of fish. Maximum 1/4" thick with a light breading. Fried garlic is placed on top of the fish. That is it. No sauce or anything to compliment the fish. I could not taste the fish so I threw in the towel and didn't eat it. Finished the greens that were served with an Italian dressing in a packet from Kraft Foods. Very disappointing. My wife and daughter love the BBQ Chicken. I think it is a bit bland. L&L is a great success story and a Hawaii favorite. It is not however for me.

L&L HAWAIIAN BBQ

L&L HAWAIIAN BBQ IS LOCATED INSIDE
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ATHLETIC COMPLEX

L AND L AT U.H.

ORDER AT THE WINDOW

DINE IN OR TAKE OUT

OVERLOOKS U.H. AQUATICS COMPLEX

BBQ CHICKEN PLATE

GARLIC MAHI MAHI PLATE

THEY FRIED THE HEALTHY DISH

1/4" THICK PIECE OF MAHI MAHI BREADED AND FRIED

WAHINE VOLLEYBALL RIGHT NEXT DOOR.
WE SWEPT NEVADA 3-0

BEER STAND AT VOLLEYBALL GAME IS ONLY STEPS
FROM OUR SEATS. NO LINE TONIGHT!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

THE PINEAPPLE ROOM BY ALAN WONG

THE PINEAPPLE ROOM

MACY'S HONOLULU

Lunch at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room at Macy's in Ala Moana Shopping Center is a real treat. The service is good and the food is great. The prices reflect the location and quality of ingredients. A bit expensive but worth it. I was torn between ordering Alan Wong's Loco Moco and the Beef Short Ribs. Both looked and sounded delicious. I saw the Loco Moco at the table next to me and it looked like a photograph of perfection. Perfectly plated and cooked mass of calories and fat. I wanted it. I thought once. Twice and then felt my waist line. Fresh fish was to be eaten today. I ordered the fresh Moonchong with Chili Sauce ($20). The fish was cooked to perfection. Had the texture of Mahi Mahi and was plated with vegetables and a Miso Sauce that was wonderful. The dish comes with white or brown rice. I upgraded to Fried Rice for $1 more. The Fried Rice was good. My friend and payer of the bill (Thank You!) ordered the Pan Seared Onaga ($23). He said and I quote, "it is f@#%ing delicious. Enough said. Alan Wong's Pineapple Room is really good.
Click link below to view another post on the Pineapple Room;
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2012/04/pineapple-room-by-alan-wong-macys-ala.html

THE PINEAPPLE ROOM BY ALAN WONG

OPEN ENTRANCE AT MACY'S DEPARTMENT STORE

VIEW OF THE KITCHEN FROM DINING AREA

PLANTATION ICE TEA WITH PINEAPPLE JUICE

FRESH BAKED BREAD WITH CHILI BUTTER

PAN SEARED ONAGA

MOONCHONG FISH WITH CHILI SAUCE

FRIED RICE SIDE ADD $1.00

Sunday, September 25, 2011

DON LEE FARMS VEGGIE PATTIES

DON LEE FARMS

VEGGIE PATTIES

A walk through Costco with my new low fat mentality lead me to Don Lee Farms Veggie Patties. They look good on the box and are made with all fresh vegetables. For under $11 you get 14 fully cooked vegetable patties. At 8 grams of fat each these are well within my goal of consuming less than 15 grams of fat for each meal. I paired up the veggie burgers with Oroweat Sandwich Thins. Ultra thin buns with less than 100 calories. The Veggie Patties contain carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, breadcrumbs, sunflower seeds, wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, carrageenan, soybean oil, spice and natural flavor. I cooked them up the way the wrapper recommends. Grilled on skillet. You can also microwave or bake the patties. I added lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup and mustard. The verdict: Entire family did not really like them. They were a bit "earthy" tasting and the crunchy seeds don't remind me of eating a burger. Out of the three of us, I was the only one who finished the veggie burger. We have 11 of these veggie patties left. Don't know if I will be able to get these down anytime soon.

THE FINISHED VEGGIE BURGER WITH 8 GRAMS OF FAT
AND UNDER 200 CALORIES

14 VEGGIE PATTIES FOR UNDER $11

LOW FAT THIN SANDWICH BUNS

UNCOOKED VEGGIE PATTIE RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX

PAN GRILL FOR JUST A FEW MINUTES ON EACH SIDE

ULTRA THIN BUN - LOW CALORIES AND LOW FAT

NICE GRILL MARKS ON BOTH SIDES OF VEGGIE PATTIES

KONA BREWING COMPANY - KOKO MARINA

KONA BREWING COMPANY

KOKO MARINA

HAWAII KAI, HAWAII

We have lived in East Honolulu for four years now. Why we have never dined at the Kona Brewing Company is beyond me. The restaurant is perched on a great corner lot overlooking Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai. On a day like today, the views are simply beautiful. The beauty of the water and the mountains make you feel really lucky to live in Hawaii. We were greeted by two young hostess and quickly seated on the covered patio overlooking the Marina. The place was pretty busy. Pizza, Fish Tacos, Salads, Burgers and Fresh Fish were going by our table on trays and being served to happy customers who were also sampling some of the house crafted beers. I ordered a small Greek Salad ($9). The salad included Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Olives, Onion and Feta Cheese. Served with a nice Balsamic Dressing. Not a bad salad but I think $9 was a bit to expensive. I ordered a 10" Wild Mushroom Pizza for the table ($18). The description on the menu listed Mushrooms, Mozzarella Cheese, Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic, Red Onions and Roasted Red Peppers. The pizza we received was covered in Feta Cheese and contained no tomato sauce. The cheese was totally overpowering. I could not eat one slice. The Roasted Garlic was good but was just thrown on the pizza in whole cloves. The mushrooms were non existent. At over $5 per slice for this pizza it was a huge disappointment. Should of asked for my money back. $18 down the drain and we left the entire pizza on the table less a few bites and scrapings of the toppings. My daughter enjoyed the Kids Meal Pigs in a Blanket ($7). Two small hot dogs wrapped in pizza dough and served with some fresh fruit. No complaints. The Ahi Salad ($16) was a large plate of greens topped with a perfectly cooked rare Ahi Tuna that was topped with sesame seeds and a really good dressing. This was a very good piece of fish. Glad my wife allowed me to eat a few bites. I will go back here soon. There are a lot of good things on the menu and I want to give this place another chance. Just will stay way clear of the Wild Mushroom Pizza with no mushrooms and Feta Cheese. NOTE: COULD NOT POST PHOTOS BECAUSE THE RED CANOPY ABOVE MADE ALL OF THE PHOTOS RED.

KONA BREWING COMPANY AT KOKO MARINA

PULL UP YOUR BOAT AND ORDER A BEER

BEAUTIFUL MARINA VIEW FRONTS RESTAURANT AND BAR

ENCLOSED PATIO DINING OVERLOOKING MARINA

PIGS IN A BLANKET KIDS MEAL

WILD MUSHROOM PIZZA - 10" IS $18
(Photos are red from the canopy above patio seating)

INSIDE DINING WITH OPEN KITCHEN

POPEYES CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH COLE SLAW

POPEYE'S CHICKEN SANDWICH

WITH COLE SLAW

Had to try the Popeye's Chicken Sandwich with Cole Slaw again. Was craving this at lunch last week. I order up the standard chicken sandwich and then cover it in Popeye's Cole Slaw. This sandwich is awesome! I really love it. The all white meat chicken breast is always gigantic and very moist. The Cole Slaw adds flavor, texture and an entirely different taste to the chicken. This should be on the menu. Below is link to another post on this great sandwich.

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2011/08/popeyes-fried-chicken.html

POPEYE'S CHCKEN SANDWICH WITH COLE SLAW

PAN SEARED MAHI MAHI - DINNER AT HOME

PAN SEARED MAHI MAHI

DINNER AT HOME

While the price of fresh Mahi Mahi has gone through the roof, it still is one of our favorite pieces of fish to cook at home. We did a roasted garlic, caper, parsley and butter topping here.

ALOHA STADIUM - HAWAII WARRIOR FOOTBALL

ALOHA STADIUM

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Enjoyed the 56-14 rout of U.C. Davis. Reminded me of the good old days when Colt Brennan led us to an undefeated season and Sugar Bowl. Back to reality now, we were playing UC Davis. Oh well.....Cruising around Aloha Stadium after visiting Washington Huskies Stadium made me feel good about where we get to watch our games. Washington does not sell beer in the stadium and your food choices are hot dogs and popcorn and that is about it. On the mainland, it appears that the fans come to watch the game and not eat and drink. Aloha Stadium is a bit different. There is live music before the games, dozens of food choices and beer stands just about every 10 feet around the stadium. If you come early, there are picnic tables where you can sit down, eat and people watch. You can buy a steak or garlic chicken plate, cheesesteaks, Huli Huli (BBQ) Chicken Plates, Greek Food, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Dip n' Dots, Roasted Nuts, Cotton Candy, Woody's Hot Dogs, Pastrami Sandwiches, Pizza and a host of other fan friendly food. The Warrior Dog is $7. This is a huge thick and juicy dog with lots of flavor. My only complaint is that the bun is only big enough for half of the dog. The Greek Gyro ($7.50) is the absolute flavor bomb. Filled with thinly sliced meat, crisp lettuce, tomato and a yogurt based dressing. The Gyro is the perfect sandwich for the second half after you have consumed a few of those cold beverages that are available every ten feet. Speaking of the beer, they cost around $7 each and are served by some great people who really try to enjoy themselves. The Roasted Corn ($5) is also a good choice. Easy to eat and delicious. They offer a large variety of seasonings to put on the corn. We went with Cayenne Pepper and Garlic. Wow.....the corn had some real heat. Loved it. There are a lot of concession stands at Aloha Stadium that have televisions where you can monitor the action. Also bank ATM machines where you can pick up some cash to keep the beer stands busy. On a 80 degree night with clear skies and the smell of plumeria in the air, there is no better place on earth to watch or eat at a football game. GO BOWS!