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Monday, August 28, 2017

CHOI'S GARDEN

CHOI'S GARDEN
1303 RYCROFT STREET
HONOLULU, HI  96814
808-596-7555
HOURS:  Daily 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
www.facebook.com/choisgarden/

Enjoyed our meal at Choi's Garden.  Loved the look and feel of the place and the service was excellent.  They really seemed to care about customers from greeting us to packing up leftovers.
We started with the Seafood Pancake ($16.99).  Could not taste too much seafood but the little Pancake/Pizza tasted ok.  Probably would not order again though.  Next up was a ton of side dishes and soup that were all really good.  The Kim Chee was excellent as were some of the other vegetable dishes.  Loved the sides.  The Signature Spicy BBQ Pork ($21.99) was good but not too spicy.  Served over onions which was a nice taste with the Pork.  My favorite dish was the Spicy Chicken.  Loved it and really wanted to eat the entire plate but saved some to take home and it was just as good the next day.  We like Choi's Garden and would love to go back again and try more of their food.

CHOI'S GARDEN

CHOI'S GARDEN
CHOI'S GARDEN IS TOTALLY REMODELED AND LOOKING GREAT
CLEAN, BRIGHT AND MODERN
CHOI'S GARDEN MENU IS HUGE













BIBIMBAP
SOUP AND A TON OF SIDE DISHES INCLUDED
ASSORTED VEGETABLES
SEAFOOD PANCAKE
SPICY BBQ PORK
SPICY CHICKEN PLATE

Thursday, August 24, 2017

PUKA'S

PUKA'S
WHOLE FOODS KAHALA MALL
4211 WAIALAE AVENUE
HONOLULU, HI  96816
808-738-0820
HOURS:  Daily 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM

In a nutshell Puka's sucks.  The menu sucks, the food sucks and the service is not good.  Probably the worst Sushi I have ever eaten in my entire life.  The Sushi from a 7-11 is better.  This stuff was almost uneatable and every plate tasted the same.  I don't know if it is the Chef or ingredients but this Sushi is terrible.  The Cauliflower Nachos ($8) was decent but pretty darn bland and tasteless.  The Smoked Salmon Toast ($8) was not toasted.  The bread was probably toasted for two seconds because it was like eating bread from a bag.  Amazing they can serve toast that is not toasted.  The Firecracker Roll ($5), Shrimp and Avocado Roll ($5) and the Spicy Crab Meat California Roll ($6) were all terrible and pretty much tasted the same.  Nothing had flavor and my goodness the Vegan Black Rice...yuck!!!!   Sorry to see a restaurant in such a great location suck as bad as this place does.

SMOKED SALMON TOAST WAS NOT TOASTED AT PUKA'S

PUKA'S KAHALA MALL
SMALL RESTAURANT ADJACENT TO WHOLE FOODS MARKET
PUKA'S MENU
PUKA'S DAILY SPECIALS
PUKA'S DRINK MENU
CAULIFLOWER NACHOS
FIRECRACKER ROLL
CRAB MEAT AND AVOCADO

SHRIMP AND AVOCADO

SEARED AHI AND SHRIMP CHEF SALAD

SEARED AHI AND TUNA CHEF SALAD
DINNER AT HOME

My girls wanted something light for dinner so I prepared this nice Chef Salad with Seared Ahi, Grilled Shrimp, Ham, Egg, Roasted Corn, Avocado, Bacon and Cheese.  Yes...it was yummy!


BEEF TACOS

BEEF TACO'S 
DINNER AT HOME

Taco's are probably one of my most favorite foods.  Problem is you cannot get good Taco's in Hawaii.  I always make my own using either Ground Beef, Shredded Beef, Shredded Chicken or Fish.  My taste is for Crunchy Taco's over Soft Taco's.  I like lots of fresh crisp Lettuce, Cheddar Cheese and lots of Onions, Hot Sauce and Pico de Gallo.  

BEEF TACOS






Thursday, August 17, 2017

BUFFALO CHICKEN STRIPS

BUFFALO CHICKEN STRIPS
DINNER AT HOME

I was craving Hot Wings but we only had Chicken Strips in the freezer so I dug up a recipe using Franks Hot Sauce, Butter and Spices.  Coated the Chicken Strips in seasoned flour and then did egg wash a Panko Bread Crumbs.  Fried them up in a pan in a little oil.  Served with Celery and Carrots and Bob's Big Boy Bleu Cheese Dressing.  My girls said they were delicious!

BUFFALO CHICKEN STRIPS

Monday, August 14, 2017

TUSCAN CHICKEN WITH LINGUINE

TUSCAN CHICKEN WITH LINGUINE
DINNER AT HOME

Had some leftover Linguine that I cooked up with a Butter, Garlic and Parmesan Cheese Sauce and decided to cook my favorite Tuscan Chicken to go with it.  Topped with fresh Parsley and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.  Simple and delicious meal cooked up in about 30 minutes.  
Click link below for the Tuscan Chicken recipe;

TUSCAN CHICKEN WITH LINGUINE

LINGUINE WITH KING CRAB

LINGUINE WITH KING CRAB
DINNER AT HOME

The monster size King Crab Legs at Costco caught my Wife's eye and she ended up buying three legs for around $60.  Not cheap but a nice treat.  We served the Crab with Linguine in a Butter, Garlic and Parmesan Cheese Sauce that we topped with fresh Italian Parsley from our garden.  The Crab was so sweet and went well with the Pasta.  Actually had quite a bit of Crab leftover as these huge legs were filling along with the Pasta.  

KING CRAB WITH LINGUINE IN BUTTER, GARLIC AND PARMESAN CHEESE SAUSE

MONSTER ALASKAN KING CRAB LEGS

Sunday, August 13, 2017

HERRINGBONE

HERRINGBONE
INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE
2330 KALAKAUA AVE
HONOLULU, HI  96815
808-797-2435
HOURS:  Monday thru Thursday/Sunday 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
                 Friday and Saturday 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM

I have been seeing lots of posts on social media the past two weeks showing incredible photos from Herringbone.  The seafood looks amazing.  With my Daughter at the Water Park with her friends, I decided to make a date night with my Wife and try out Herringbone.  I went online and tried to make a reservation but the only time available was 8:45 PM.  Thats past my bed time so we made the decision to go in at 5:00 PM and see if we could get a table.  We arrived a bit past 5:00 and found the bar area filled with people enjoying Happy Hour and $2 Oysters until 6:00.  The hostess was all smiles and asked if we had a reservation.  We said "no" and she took our name and then took us straight to a table on the beautiful outdoor lanai.  The restaurant is absolutely spectacular.  Beautiful use of materials and color to make this place cool and comfortable.  Attire here is casual with many patrons in shorts, slippers and t-shirts.  It just feels right.  We had a nice waiter and service while slow at times (he apologized) was good.  The kitchen got slammed at about 6:00 PM and it took a little longer to get our first course out.  The menu at Herringbone is Seafood.  You would think that Honolulu has a million Seafood restaurants but there are only a handful of good ones which always amazed me.  Many of the social media posts show photos of huge Seafood Platters that look incredible.  I just had to try one on our first visit here.  The Skiff ($75) included Oysters, Shrimp, King Crab and Kona Lobster.  This was big enough for two people and really filled us up on Seafood.  Problem is we ordered a bunch more not knowing what to expect.  Next came the Buffalo Octopus ($17) which was perfectly cooked (not rubbery) and coated in what tasted like Franks Hot Sauce.  This was excellent and I highly recommend it when dining here.  As we were mowing into the Seafood Platter and Octopus, a waitress arrived with Ceviche Tostadas ($21) which we did not order. I told the waitress that we did not order the Tostadas and after looking over at our waiter, she said we may keep it as it was punched into our order ticket.  Tostadas were good but by now, the Seafood was becoming heavy and I really wanted some meat or anything but Seafood.  I could not take another bite of fish and then the Yellowtail Crudu ($23) showed up on the table.  More fish....Ahhrrggg.
I took a bite and found it to be drenched in Truffle Oil which totally masked the taste of the fish.  Could not eat another bite.  We were both were on Seafood overload by now and was craving something different.  Ordered the Margherita Flatbread ($18) and while it was a good change from the Seafood, it was quite bland for $18.  Overall we loved the Seafood Platter and Buffalo Octopus the best here.  Will definitely return to try the fresh fish and maybe a steak.

HERRINGBONE

HERRINGBONE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE
BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR SPACE
SMALL BAR FILLS UP FAST FOR HAPPY HOUR FROM 4-6 PM NIGHTLY.  $2 OYSTERS
DINING ROOM AND BAR
PLANT WALL
BAR AND RESTAURANT FILLED FOR DINNER SERVICE
RETRACTABLE CEILING OVER LANAI SEATING
KITCHEN OVERLOOKS LANAI
GET A UP CLOSE VIEW OF THE KITCHEN ACTION
BLOWFISH TREE
THEY REALLY ARE BLOWFISH.....I THINK
HERRINGBONE MENU
OYSTERS AND THE SEAFOOD PLATTERS
THE PLATES
GREENS, HOT FARE, FLATBREADS AND SIDES
VARIETY OF SAUCES FOR THE SEAFOOD PLATTER
THE SKIFF PLATTER WAS ENOUGH FOR TWO PEOPLE
BUFFALO OCTOPUS
CEVICHE TOSTADAS
TASTY LITTLE TOSTADAS
YELLOWTAIL CRUDO
MARGHERITA PIZZA