Sunday, January 31, 2021

TBD HAWAII BY VIKRAM GARG

TBD HAWAII BY VIKRAM GARG
LOTUS HOTEL
2885 KALAKAUA AVENUE
HONOLULU, HI 96815
808-791-5164

Venturing out on the town with my gals since Keli was not working.  It seems so rare nowadays that all three of us get do go out for a nice dinner.  Most nights spent at home and with Keli working two jobs, she usually is catching late night fast food.  We drove to Waikiki and found a site that we had not seen a months if not a year.  People were out at the beach and on the streets of Waikiki in masses. Parking along Kapiolani Park was full.  It was like pre-COVID.  I had a few restaurants on my radar but both were booked on a Saturday night.  Kept looking and found TBD Hawaii which I had never heard of.  Checked it out and learned that the Chef came from the Halekulani Hotel which has great food.  Located in the Lotus Hotel at the steps of Diamond Head, TBD is a beautiful restaurant on the second floor.  Old Timers like me will remember this as the location of Bobby McGee's which in its day was "THE" nightclub to be at on weekends.  We arrived and were greeted.  Temperatures taken and contact tracing complete we were seated against the back wall where they have couch like seating. My gals immediately grabbed the couch and left me on the outside.  Most couples here huddle up on these couches and the couple next to us did a little making out.  Menus are obtained by scanning the code on a card.  The menu ca4me up quickly on our phones and was easy to navigate.  I cannot see restaurants going back to paper or plastic menus in the future if scanning is this easy.  We all chose the Tasting Menu ($59) which includes four courses; Appetizer, Soup or Salad, Entree and Dessert.  The Foie Gras Gyoza was amazing.  Soft dumplings filled with Foie Gras.  I could have eaten a dozen of these but only took a small bite to taste to keep my low carb diet somewhat intact.  The Ahi Tartar served with a Shrimp Chip was also delicious as were the Shrimp Escargot.  Loved the buttery garlicky Shrimp.  We all went with the Caesar Salad which was nicely chilled and topped with Bacon and big Parmesan Crisps.  I enjoyed the Lamb Shank which was served in a Tomato Sauce.  The Lamb was a bit tough but overall the dish was good.  The Rice Pilaf was dominated by a cinnamon flavor.  I did not eat the rice.  My Daughter had the Pork Chop which I tried a liked.  She said it was good.  My Wife had the Ribeye which she thought was small and just ok.  I loved the Popsicle dessert and took a bite of the Banana Caramel and loved it too. Overall I liked TBD Hawaii.  The food, atmosphere and service were all very good to me.  I like the feel of the place too and would not mind just hanging out in the bar area and sipping a glass of bubbly.
Word is that this restaurant will close in June.  Turns out they opened the restaurant with a closing date of two years announced upon the opening date. Hope they remain open.  


TBD HAWAII BY VIKRAM GARG

AHI TARTAR

FOIE GRAS GYOZA

SHRIMP ESCARGOT

CAESAR SALAD

LAMB SHANK

RIBEYE

PORK CHOP

THE POPSICLE 

THESE WAS SO DELICIOUS

BANANA BALLS WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

OUT WITH MY GALS!

 

Saturday, January 30, 2021

SAIGON RESTAURANT

SAIGON RESTAURANT
3624 WAIALAE AVENUE
HONOLULU, HI 96816
808-735-4242
HOURS:  Daily 11AM - 8PM / Closed Monday

Really did not feel like cooking and was thinking how to stay low carb with takeout food.  Decided to try my luck with some Vietnamese food and ordered it up using GrubHub.  I did not eat any of the Noodles in any of the dishes to stay low carb.  Food arrived looking good, fresh and hot from Saigon Restaurant which is not too far from home.  The portions were large, produce was super fresh and the prices were low compared to other Vietnamese restaurants.  The Grilled BBQ Pork Meat Balls ($12.75) were delicious and they provided a lot of fresh lettuce and vegetables to make the perfect wraps.  Really liked these Wraps.  The Lemon Beef Salad ($9.25) was large and included a bed of Cabbage, Carrots, Daikon, Onion and Tomato which made a nice salad.  The Chicken and Shrimp Spicy Lemongrass ($8.99) was delicious but there were more noodles than Chicken and Shrimp.  This dish also makes for great Wraps.  The Flank Steak and Brisket Pho ($8.25) for a large is a bargain.  While I did not eat the noodles, I liked the flavor of the broth and vegetables.  Very good.  My Wife had Oxtail Soup ($12.99) which she said was good but not the best.  Hey for $12.99 this is a bargain too.  Most Oxtail Soups in Hawaii sell for almost $20.  Overall this was a winner meal.  Great flavors, not too expensive and fresh.  Definitely will have this on my list for favorite Vietnamese food in Honolulu.  Only complaint is the GrubHub fees which were excessive.

GRILLED BBQ PORK MEAT BALLS

NICE PORTION OF CRISP FRESH LETTUCE TO MAKE WRAPS

DELICIOUS LIGHT AND FRESH WRAPS

DELICIOUS WRAPS

LEMON BEEF SALAD

CHICKEN AND SHRIMP SPICY LEMONGRASS

FLANK STEAK AND BRISKET PHO

PHO COMES WITH LOTS OF FRESH VEGGIES

PHO BROTH

OXTAIL SOUP

 

Friday, January 29, 2021

CRAB CRUSTED KONA KAMPACHI

DINNER AT HOME

Surprised to see fresh Kona Kampachi on sale at the market.  Normally you only see this fish in restaurants in Honolulu.  Looked super fresh so I bought some.  Got home and googled some recipes.  Saw one photo of the Kampachi with a crab crust on top.  A light went on and I remembered we had leftover Crab Cakes in the refrigerator.  Sautéed the Kampachi in butter and topped with the Crab Cakes that I reheated in butter and crushed down to make it spreadable.  Topped the Kampachi with the Crab and then made a White Wine, Shallots, Butter, Cream, Butter Sauce that made this a fine dining restaurant dinner at home on the lanai.  Damn this was delicious!

CRAB CRUSTED KONA KAMPACHI

RESTAURANT QUALITY DINNER ON THE LANAI

FRESH KONA KAMPACHI



 

CRAB CAKES AND STEAK

DINNER AT HOME

My Wife makes some pretty great Crab Cakes using a recipe from Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's Restaurants fame.  She finishes the cakes with a Yogurt Chili Oil Sauce that we copied from the Chef at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki.  The Chef was nice enough to hand write the recipe down for us.  These are fantastic Crab Cakes and the sauce takes them to another level.  We paired the Crab Cakes with a nice Ribeye with Asparagus.  What a great dinner!
Click link below for Roy's Crab Cake recipe;

HOMEMADE CRAB CAKES

RIBEYE WITH ASPARAGUS

 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

KETO AT CPK

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN
KAHALA MALL
4211 WAIALAE AVENUE
HONOLULU, HI 96816
808-737-9446
HOURS:  Daily 11AM - 10PM

Learning to eat Keto or low carb when going to restaurants has been interesting.  Luckily at CPK which is one of my Wife and Daughters favorites, the options are many.  We started with Buffalo Cauliflower which surprised everyone. This stuff was great.  Tasted like eating Buffalo Chicken Wings.  I ordered the Wedge Salad which was served chilled and with lots of bacon and a delicious dressing.  Loved it.  We went for the BBQ Chicken Pizza with Cauliflower Crust.  I took a few bites and thought they sent a regular pizza.  The crust was chewy and tasted normal.  A few more bites and the taste of Cauliflower came through but it was not overwhelming.  Wow...great low carb pizza.  Absolutely loved it.  This pizza is as good as the normal one and I would eat the Cauliflower crust pizza at CPZ all the time.  Amazed at how could this little dinner was for being low carb.  

BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER

WEDGE SALAD

BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA WITH CAULIFLOWER CRUST

COBB SALAD FOR THE WIFE

JAMBALAYA PASTA FOR MY DAUGHTER

OH...I MAY HAVE SNUCK IN A 6oz GLASS OF VINO

 

Monday, January 25, 2021

AIR FRYER BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS

DINNER AT HOME

Cooked up another delicious batch of Buffalo Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer.  I got this recipe and process down now and the Wings always come out perfect.  Start with marinating the Wings in a dry rub consisting of Flavor God Hot Wings and Ghost Pepper Seasonings plus some Frank's Red Hot dry seasoning.  Coat the Wings with a few sprays of oil and pop them in a 380 degree Air Fryer for about 30 minutes turning them at 15 minutes.  While the Wings cook I melt butter with equal amount of Frank's Hot Sauce, mix well and then pour over the cooked Wings when they are finished in the fryer.  Absolutely perfect heat and so delicious.  

AIR FRYER BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS

START WITH MY DRY SEASONING RUB

 

Sunday, January 24, 2021

EL MEXICANO

EL MEXICANO
3585 WAIALAE AVENUE
HONOLULU, HI 96816
808-200-4488
HOURS:  Daily 11AM - 3PM / 5:30PM - 9:30PM / Closed Thursday

Going off the low carb diet for you guessed it - Tacos.   Just had to try some of the Birria Tacos at the new El Mexicano restaurant on Waialae Avenue.  Entered to find the place empty but super clean.  Our temperatures were checked, hands sanitized and contact tracing info taken before sitting down at a table near the window.  Waitress was super friendly with excellent service and attitude.  They even introduced themselves by name and made sure we were enjoying our meal.  I went for the Birria Tacos ($18).  The Tacos arrived with the Onion and Cilantro on the outside which is great for presentation but I wanted them inside the taco.  Wish I would have requested more Cilantro and Onion to go inside the Tacos.  The Shredded Beef was moist and flavorful and I enjoyed the flavor of the Tortillas.  The Consume however was a bit bland and tasteless.  Really did not add much to the flavor or enhance the Tacos.  Despite this I liked the Tacos and would go back and enjoy them again.  My Wife did the Taco Trio ($15) with  Carne Asada, Carnitas and Al Pastor with Pineapple Tacos.  We both liked the Carne Asada best with the Carnitas coming in second.  The Al Pastor was good but a bit dry.  Nice amount of meat in all of the tacos and the flavors were better than most restaurants in Honolulu.  Would love to return to try a Carne Asada Burrito.  We liked the food here and the service and attitude of staff was just as good!

BIRRIA TACOS

EL MEXICANO ON WAIALAE AVENUE

CLEAN AND SOCIALLY DISTANCED SEATING

BEAUTIFUL COLORS

EL MEXICANO MENU


BIRRIA TACOS

DIP INTO THE CONSUME

THIN AND CRISPY BEEF TACOS

(left to right) CARNE ASADA, CARNITAS AND AL PASTOR TACOS

CARNE ASADA TACO

CARNITAS TACO

AL PASTOR WITH PINEAPPLE TACO

 

Saturday, January 23, 2021

SANTOS FAMILY FAVORITES DINNER PARTY

DINNER AT HOME

We had a business rep I work with and his Wife join us for a dinner on our lanai.  Thought we would pull together some Santos family favorites to enjoy with them.  Turns out they have the same tastes because they loved and ate everything.  We stayed pretty much low carb with this dinner too.  Not shown were Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese, Caesar salad with Avocado and fresh Berries with Cream for dessert.  Great evening eating and talking about life.  Blessed for nights like this.

AHI SASHIMI WITH AVOCADO

KIM CHE TAKO POKE, SPICY POKE AND FRESH AHI POKE

CHEESE AND SALUMI

TARTUFO CHEESE WITH RASPBERRY JAM

CUCUMBER, GUACAMOLE, SHRIMP, PICO DE GALLO AND CAVIAR

CRAB CAKES WITH YOGURT CHILI SAUCE

ASPARAGUS WITH HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

KING CRAB

RIBEYE STEAK

OUR FAVORITE FOODS ON THE LANAI