Foodventures in Pearlridge

Church's Chicken and Charley's
Kea and I met Jamie, Dave, and their two boys at the food court in Pearlridge Uptown. Had a great time playing with the 2 1/2 year old, who was shy at first, but was soon showing us all his cars. The newborn slept the whole time.

Anyway, Kea was not really in the mood for the stuff at that food court so we ended up splitting a chicken tender meal (with mashed potatoes) from Church's Chicken and a bacon and cheese fries from Charley's. The verdict: Church's Chicken is not as good as Popeye's. Had less batter and not much taste. Charley's bacon and cheese fries, however, we both like better than Jack in the Box potato wedges. It's more crunchy.

Off the Wall
A few hours later we went for second dinner. Thought about trying Kuru Kuru Sushi but they still had a line at 8:30 pm. Ended up around the corner at Off the Wall, a place I'd read good things about in The Honolulu Advertiser. Kea especially was in the mood for sushi and I thought bar food would be a good option for a smaller meal since we had eaten a little earlier.

Anyway, we loved it and think it fulfills a great need in the Pearl City area. The Kuru Kuru overflow should seriously just make their way to Off the Wall; they serve sushi, sashimi, poke--the usual as well as more innovative stuff. We had the Naked Spicy Ahi Poke Musubi. I guess it's naked because there's no nori. It's like four rectangles of rice with poke on top and spicy sauce. So good. Real nice amount of heat. Seriously, though, we were thinking that Off the Wall should make some kind of sign in/on a car and park it right outside Kuru Kuru...

Off the Wall is great as an izakaya style restaurant: you know, drinks and pupus. Seems like there aren't that many of these kinds of places on the Leeward side. They serve entrees as well but Kea said they looked kind of small. And honestly I rather eat pupus--have my rice in sushi form and save room for the good stuff. As for drinks, they serve sake and beer. Looked like they had Budweiser, Bud Light, Kirin, and Heineken on tap. The waitress said they open late-night on Fridays--until 1 and serve a limited pupu menu from 10:00. Speaking of the waitress, she was super friendly, professional, and helpful.

I find that it's easy to spend a lot of money when eating izakaya-style and this is no different. Prices are a little on the steep side (e.g. $8 for four bite-sized pieces of ahi poke musubi) but everything is so good that it's worth it. The place is also well-decorated in contrast to its neighbors; Pearl Kai has a lot of good food but most places don't seem to pay any attention to decor.

Anyway, back to the food. In addition to the sushi and musubi, we also ordered Fukuoka style tonkatsu, which had choi sum wrapped in bacon wrapped in pork. So good. I think this was my favorite thing. We also had shrimp wrapped in bacon; I think both of us are more bacon fans than shrimp fans. It was like eating smoky shrimp. Yum...

Also had pork andagi. This was kind of weird. We were both excited to try it, but ultimately Kea liked it more than I did. The andagi was good. And the pork was ginger-y, which I liked, but I'm not sure if I liked the whole package. It wasn't a sure thing like the tonkatsu. It was interesting, though, something to try at least once if not something to go back to again and again.

Still want to try the bittermelon and the other kinds of pork. Looking forward to going back again!

Milano Freezer in Aiea, HI

This place has been open for a few years in that strip mall by Pearlridge (the one with Tony Roma's) but I never cared to go. Not sure why; probably something about the design didn't appeal to me. I have heard that a couple of friends are fans though and also saw their website featuring their cute logo. Along with the fact that this is one of the few places in Hawai'i to get gelato, these convinced me to give it a try. That and I was getting cabin fever just cruising at home while Kea played poker with his friends. (Still rather stay home by myself than watch him play though.)

Anyway, we ended up at Milano Freezer at 9:45 on a Saturday night. The shop was empty. Even all the parking stalls in front of it were empty! I was worried the place was closed, but the sign said it doesn't close until 11:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

The young woman working was very cheerful. Kea commented that she was the happiest customer service employee he'd ever seen. She offered us samples of as many flavors we wanted. I tried the stracciatella first but was a little disappointed; it was a little on the bland side. I ended up ordering the chili chocolate. I was so excited about this flavor. It was nice and chocolate-y with a little burn afterward. I had it with pineapple and mac nuts on top.

The prices were steep. It ended up being about $11 for mine and Kea combined. (Kea got a medium and we both got toppings, which cost extra.) To be fair, though, the servings were generous. The cups were packed full--so much so that the toppings could barely stick to the top. In the future, Kea and I should probably share--like James and Kristy did with their green tea with mochi.

One thing that confused me was that there was no clear divisions between gelato and frozen yogurt in the display case. So I'm not entirely sure which was which...

Another plus, however, was the packed pints. There was low-fat, dairy-free, sugar-free, and a variety of interesting flavors in each category. Great for those with dietary restrictions. Again, the prices are steep (I believe $7-$10 for the different pre-packed sizes) but they'd be nice for a special occasion.

I wouldn't wholeheartedly recommend Milano Freezer without trying out more flavors. I'm still a little undecided about the chili chocolate after having an entire serving. After awhile the burn started to make me think I had a sore throat. And yet, it's so rare to find a spicy chocolate flavor, it's nice to know that's one place I can find it.

Menchie's Mililani Town Center

Finally got to try one of these new frozen yogurt places. Menchie's just opened in Mililani within the past month or so. I think their name sounds weird but oh well. The decor and all their marketing is cute so that helps.

We walk in and along the back wall are the self-serve frozen yogurt machines--just like the kind you see the workers using at TCBY or Dairy Queen. The flavors are paired so that you can get swirled versions too. And the workers will give you little cups so that you can sample some flavors before you choose. We tried chocolate mint, which was good; Kea ended up getting this swirled with strawberry. We tried Cable Car Chocolate (no idea why it's called that--maybe it's supposed to taste like Ghirardelli's?) swirled with vanilla. For some reason that was not good. We tried pistachio swirled with cake batter--and this is what I ended up getting. I think cake batter flavors are getting better; I find it's one of my favorites these days. Peanut butter was also good. I guess they change the flavors out regularly.

Then, to the right of the frozen yogurt is the topping bar. There was hot fudge and caramel; a whole bunch of candies, nuts, cereals, and crumbled cookies; and some fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas, kiwi, lychee), mochi, and other items (e.g. azuki beans). I just went with graham crackers on mine because I wasn't sure what matched with pistachio. Kea went crazy with hot fudge, shredded coconut, some kind of nuts, graham crackers, and who knows what else.

I found it a little stressful trying to decide on flavors and combinations, but I'm weird like that. I also had trouble with the ratio of toppings to yogurt. Need to go back and practice! And I hate that their only size is this huge cup so obviously it encourages you to eat a lot. I was worried about what the price would come out to but it was under $7 for both of us combined so that's not too bad I suppose.

Martini Madness at Indigo and Mei Sum

Indigo has been Kea's and my favorite pau hana spot for several years now. We remember when the draw was $2.75 martinis. Now they're up to $4, but still a pretty good deal. This place used to be totally packed too--it was impossible to get a table or even some counter space to rest your drink. Nowadays, I guess all the kids go to Bar 35.

Bar 35 does have good pizza and a nice selection of beer, but I prefer Indigo. I guess it means I am old. Or I prefer martinis to beer. Or it might have something to do with the ambiance. The "Orient chic" decor of Indigo is pretty gross, but I think I like the way the space is set up better. More versatile seating for different sized groups I think.

Anyway, Indigo now has it's lack of crowds going for it too. We were there on a Friday and it was empty. I was worried that they no longer had Martini Madness, but they do. This means that the free buffet they put out lasts longer. It's not great--mostly salads and other veggie items, but free food is awesome no matter what it is. We also ordered fries--and while the Sriracha ketchup was not as good as in the past, the serving of fries seemed bigger. The fries were also really good--looked and tasted like McDonald's fries.

Here's the run-down on the martinis we had:

• Lychee: Seemed sweeter than in the past. I didn't like it as much as I used to.
• Strawberry Lychee: Our friend Will claimed it tasted the same as the Lychee but this was after he'd had a few.
  
• Lemon Drop: My drink of choice that night.
• Blueberry: Tasted like sour blueberry candy. I would've ordered this if I drank more.
• Razzmatazz: Sour. Others liked it, but I was not a fan.
• Chocolate: Strong. Drink of choice for a few in the group.
• Woo woo: James ordered this twice so I guess it was good.
• En Fuego: Too salty.
  
• Vodka: Kea likes these but mostly orders them for the olives. (I only like the olives.)
• Tony Soprano: Will said it was good, but again, he'd had a few.
• Tropical Splendor: Tastes like juice. This is an old favorite of mine.

One of the reasons we like going to Indigo is so we can walk over to Mei Sum after, eat, and sober up. (This is Kea's favorite part actually.) Although dim sum is supposed to be for breakfast or lunch, Mei Sum serves it all day. My favorite dim sum were the shrimp and chive dumpling and the bean curd roll. I usually like the spinach and scallop dumpling but it was too fishy this time. The chicken and vegetable cake noodle was satisfying, but the chicken didn't look so appetizing--maybe we'll try it with beef next time. Others had the jellyfish--and liked it a lot.

Kamuela, Hawai'i

Here's a report on some of the food we bought in Kamuela last weekend.

Farmer's Market
Crepes: Kea's mom had been talking up the crepes so we made sure to grab one. We got there late, after some ingredients had run out, and we didn't make the best decisions for filling, but it was still good. We had cheese, mushrooms, and Portuguese sausage. I would advise against the mushrooms as they are canned; if I had known, I wouldn't have chosen them. We wanted spinach but they had run out. I think the cheese goes with the crepe perfectly and the Portuguese sausage was too much; next time I would go with lighter fillings because the taste of the crepe is good enough!

Ice pops: I had a coffee and cream ice pop and Kea had a coconut one. I liked mine better. Still yet, I think they need to put less water in their ice pops. I haven't made ice pops in a long time but it seemed this was the problem. I could see ice crystals in it and I think the flavor would have been stronger with less water.

Fried green tomatoes: So good. Who would've thought you'd find fried green tomatoes in Hawai'i? They had whole cherry tomatoes and sliced regular ones. I liked the regular ones for higher batter to fruit ratio. Also some of the cherry tomatoes were too big for me to eat in one bite! (I am a small person with a small mouth.)

Church Row
Also bought kulolo from one of the churches in Church Row. We were so excited for kulolo since it's so hard to find, but one of the pieces we bought was too dry. It was our fault: they told us to pick which one we want and we picked wrong. So choose wisely if you go!

Foodland Bentos
For our drive up Mauna Kea, we picked up some bentos from Foodland. We tried both the teri katsu bento and the ribs. Both had good flavor, but I preferred the katsu. Love the idea of teri katsu so it's already flavored and there's no need for tonkatsu sauce, which could get kind of messy if you are eating with the bento in your lap. The ribs had a funny flavor to me, but maybe I'm just not a ribs person. Kea liked it.

Airplane food: Northwest Airlines

When I fly from home, I usually take some spam musubis with me so I can last the flight. On this occasion, however, I didn't have that opportunity and ended up buying some food on the plane. I was very wary since the prices are so high, but some of it turned out to be pretty good.

First, I bought the fruit and yogurt, which I think was $3. I think they advertised it as Greek yogurt and it was definitely better than the stuff I usually get at the grocery store. The problem was the fruits though--blueberries and strawberries. I think the blueberries were fresh, the strawberries may have been frozen, and there was juice in the cup that did not look very appetizing. In addition, I didn't find this very filling.

Ended up buying the fruit and cheese plate a few hours later. (This was a Seattle to Honolulu flight.) I was really happy with this item. It was about $6, I think. It came with three kinds of cheese. One was on the softer side, about the consistency of brie. The next, a little harder, was smoky. And the third was hard enough that it would crumble. It had veins in it and tasted like a Thanksgiving herb--maybe sage or thyme. Each piece was about 1-1.5" squared. I looked at it and knew it would be filling. The plate also came with a few pecans, a small bunch of grapes, a couple of dried apricots, and two kinds of crackers. It was heaven--for airplane food.

The photos show something similar to the fruit and cheese plate I had.

Rosepepper in Nashville

We had planned to go to the Family Wash, which, from what I gather is a hip ex-laundromat that specializes in Shepherd's pie--with the vegetarian version even better than the meat. Unfortunately, they were closed on Monday. :(

So we ended up at the nearby Rosepepper instead. One friend had previously been unimpressed with it so we were nervous. It turned out to be a good place to hang out and for my friend Stacey to catch up with her old friends. The restaurant was not busy (although we couldn't get an outdoor table) and we were able to hang out after we finished eating. First, drinks: margaritas and mojitos were strong! The mojito was a bit on the sweet side, but I guess that's typical. Chips and salsa were complimentary and the three salsas were great. I liked the hotter red one best and was a fan of the green one as well.

For appetizers, we had a cheese dip and avocado fries. The avocado was like tempura--it was a little strange, but the dipping sauce was good. As strange as it was, I kept eating it anyway. The cheese dip was also good.

I ordered tamales which were not good. I haven't had many tamales but I think the meal for this one was over processed or something; it was almost clay-like. For what it's worth, I did prefer the pork tamale to the chicken; the chicken was too dry and the pork had more flavor. Stacey had some kind of sizzling steak thing--she didn't love her dish either. Our other friend won--he got enchiladas with chile verde and a fried egg on it. I didn't try it but apparently it had a nice heat and he and Stacey really liked it.

P.M. in Nashville

We had a late-night dinner at P.M. It seemed like that was one of its strengths--that it stayed open late. Another plus was the outdoor seating. It reminded me of being in Thailand. Is outdoor seating a tourist thing?

Anyway, I guess they are an Asian fusion restaurant. I really enjoyed the lettuce wraps. Also liked the summer rolls; to be honest, I've had better, but this is Tennessee, after all. The P.M. roll, which had peanut sauce, was also okay. I really really did not like the raw fish here. I suppose I should've known better. One of my friends also ordered the fried rice; based on the one bite I had, I was not impressed. I really hope my friends get to visit me in Hawai'i. I'd love to take them to have Vietnamese food and sushi in Hawai'i.

Tennessee Coffee Adventures

Cornersville: A town without espresso
Spent a few days in my friend's hometown of Cornersville, Tennessee--where there is no espresso. Seriously, no Starbucks. Based on that, I've concluded that Cornersville is smaller than Kamuela, Hawai'i. Over the past few days, I've learned that I can drink weak coffee (Biggby's and Sparty's in East Lansing and old-school drip I guess) black. When I put soy, it gets that soy taste so fast. Anyways, this is a handy discovery--especially for those times when soy is not available.

Daily Starbucks runs
After Cornersville, we spent several nights with another friend's parents in Murfreesboro. These are like those kind of parents that keep up with current music. They also make Starbucks runs every morning--and not for the cheap stuff either. On the plus side, they've gotten to know the emmployees and will sometimes get their drinks comp'd. It happened once when we were there--between the five of us, almost $20 worth of free drinks!

I was also persuaded to try an iced mocha since that was the drink of choice of my friend and his mom. I learned/remembered that soy is much better in iced than hot drinks. And the mocha was not as sweet as I'd thought/remembered. Still got to be a little too much for me about half way through the tall. Maybe try one less pump next time.

Also learned that requesting a "teeny tiny splash of soy" for my Americanos gets me what I want.

Bongo Java and Fido in Nashville
Given the parental preference for (and treating to) Starbucks, I wondered whether there were other great places for espresso in Tennessee. We did also visit Bongo Java and Fido, which are related. They had some specialty drinks with cute names and their Americano was nice and strong also.