The Adventures of Tin-Tin

Honolulu, HI--Side Street Inn

We had dinner here on our last night in Honolulu. Even though my digestive system was dying from all the fatty greasy food I was eating all week, I had to save some room for the famous fried pork chops and fried rice at Side Street Inn. Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's) celebrated his birthday here and it's famous for being a local spors bar where celebrity chefs hang out. That being said, how bad could it be?

The fried pork chops were simple but so juicy and crispy. And the fried rice had some dashi, green onions, char siu and bits of linguica. It was very tasty and unlike any fried rice I have ever had. This was some serious Asian-style comfort food. All that was missing was a fried egg but I didn't mind. I had enough cholesterol issues that night.

I heard the mother of the owner (Colin Nishida) still makes the wontons by hand. These were actually my favorite that night. Served with a little hot mustard which I mixed with some soy sauce, I couldn't get enough.

Then when we got home, the Hawaii episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations featured Side Street Inn. I had no idea they had so many different types of food there! I missed out and went straight for the fried food. Apparently they have all sorts of Chinese food, fried chicken and other tasty treats. I think I just looked at the menu and zeroed in on the pork chops and fried rice (and fried wontons). I will definitely be back for more.

SIDE STREET INN

1225 Hopaka St
Honolulu, HI 96814

(808) 591-0253   

Honolulu, HI--3660 on the Rise

I had heard so many good things about Chef Russell Siu and his innovative use of local ingredients at 3660 on the Rise.  One of my favorite dishes was the ahi katsu. Wrapped in nori, deep-fried and served with a wasabi gingery buttery sauce--the dish incorporated very familiar Asian flavors but in combinations and textures I had never experienced before.

One of the other treats of the night was an entree which had a trio of chicken, filet mignon, and maybe more ahi? I can't remember. What I do remember is that I LOVED IT!

This was one of the more memorable meals of my life. I get so dramatic sometimes... :)

3660 on the Rise

3660 Waialae Ave Frnt
Honolulu, HI 96816

(808) 737-1177   

Honolulu, HI--Beard Papa

I used to feel compelled to go to a McDonald's whenever I was travelling far from home. It was cool to see what was the same and what was different. I don't go to McDonald's that much anymore, but I couldn't really pass up trying the breakfast sandwiches at Beard Papa. Sure, we have a couple Beard Papas in the Bay Area, but I don't think any of them have sandwiches.

We tried the portuguese sausage sandwich and the bacon sandwich as well. I think they forgot to heat up the sausage sandwich because the cheese was cold. :( The bacon sandwich was excellent though. It was like a crossaint sandwich.

They also had egg salad, chicken and some other sandwiches and snacks. The classic vanilla cream puff remains my favorite.

Beard Papa

227 Lewers St., Suite 126

Honolulu, HI, 96815

(808) 926-8247

 

Honolulu, HI--Leonard's Malasadas

So. These are the infamous malasadas from Leonard's. What can I say? It's deep fried dough.

Sprinkled with crunchy sugar and filled with creamy custards...

My limit is two malasadas in one minute. After that, I will need half a day to recover.

Leonard's Bakery

933 Kapahulu Ave

Honolulu, HI, 96816

(808) 737-5591

Honolulu, HI--Eggs N' Things

J and I recently made a trip to Honolulu to scope out the ceremony and reception venues. While we were there, we made sure to stop by some foodie haunts. One of our first stops was Eggs N' Things. This place is super popular...especially with Japanese tourists. I had pancakes on my mind...

And I got em! The banana pancakes were sooo tasty and fluffy. I was humming Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes song the entire time.

They had an assortment of tropical syrups. My favorite was the coconut.

We also tried their omelettes--which you can get with a side of rice. I didn't order vienna sausages, spam or corned beef hash but I saw that others did. Hawaii is so filipino friendly! :)

Eggs n Things

1911 Kalakaua Ave

Honolulu, HI, 96815

(808) 949-0820

   

The Gourmet Ghetto

Today we had a mini-adventure through Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto--a little piece of Shattuck Avenue that has some really fantastic places to eat.

Our first stop was The Cheeseboard Collective. I was a bit intimidated by all the people waiting for cheese. Everyone seemed to know what they wanted and how they were going to get it. I knew neither.

After frequenting their sister bakery, Arizmendi, I figured the pizza was somewhere behind the counter. I was so wrong! It was in a different storefront a few feet down the street. The pizzas were already hot and ready since they only make one kind of pizza per day. Today's pizza was pistachio, roasted cauliflower, roasted onions, mozzarella onions, montalban cheese, garlic olive oil and Italian parsley. I figured a vegetarian pizza would be tasty, but this one blew my mind. Maybe it was the montalban cheese...maybe it was the pistachios.

We also went to Poulet, a French deli. I needed some ice cream because my throat hurt so I bought a tiny serving of Hagen Daz. Then the bread pudding caught my eye. The bread pudding was eggy and sweet. Some parts tasted caramelly almost like a cannele! I loved it.

We did not order chicken at Poulet even though this place is chicken-themed (and probably famous for chicken)--the main reason being that we were still stuffed from the bacon cheeseburger we shared at Barney's down the street. They use Niman Ranch beef, if that means anything to you. I don't always notice the difference, but here I could tell the beef tasted beefy. And the bacon...Oh bacon--glorious bacon!

On the way back to our car, I decided to get some cheese at the Cheeseboard. Afterall, that is what they are famous for, right? I picked up a card from the counter (you don't take a number to be waited on, you take a playing card) and I got a joker. SWEET! I was next because jokers just show their card to the clerk and cut in front of everyone. I waited patiently for someone to finish waiting on their customers (I estimated about 20 people packed in that tiny space vying for some attention from the cheesemongers). Then I said "HELLO! I GOT A JOKER!!!!" The lady behind the counter who heard me seemed more excited that I did when she yelled "YAY! We got a joker!!!" It was the yellowy nasty looking playing card if you're wondering.

After watching Ratatouille I had to try the mimolette which I saw scribbled on the big chalkboard. The lady scurried around checking every shelf and all the fridges. She asked me how I heard about it and I said "The rat in that Disney movie 'Ratatouille' mentioned it and I saw it on the board." She smirked.

Mimollete tastes like a very strong nutty parmesan but looks like a canteloupe.

I also asked for a camembert. I did not know what I was in for. They had several kinds and she let me try them all! I love that woman. The first one was mild but had a strange after taste. The second one I liked much more because it was pungent but the after taste was much more pleasant. The third one smacked me in the mouth and said "take that! WHIIEEEEFFF" and i could taste it the rest of the day. I opted for the second one which was nice and gooey.

The nice lady at the Cheeseboard gave me the box for the camembert, too. Me loves cheese acoutrements.

 

Pittsburgh--The Culture

Here are some more pics from our trip to Pittsburgh. We took this one while we were on the Duquesne Incline. You can't tell, but it was really really cold and really really windy.

J and I also went to a Steelers game. It was really cold. and windy. and wet.

Hooray for my telephoto lens! Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten such a close shot of such tight pants! hahahaha.

Shopping around the Strip District was one of the highlights of my trip. They have lots of interesting food stores and shops. This mural reminds me of Lupe Fiasco's album cover.

This would make a great present for some people I know...   

Some fine examples of "Pittsburghese"--Pittsburgh's unofficial language.

We also visited the Andy Warhol Museum. He's one wacky dude.

He wore corsets after he was shot in 1968. In addition to being really fashion forward, the corset's purpose was to protect and immobilize his torso.

The museum had a lot of very sexual pieces.

And a pillow room! Makes sense...

Did I mention Pittsburgh was cold and windy?

          

Pittsburgh, PA--the Food!!!

I've neglected my blog. Yes, it's true. But I had good reason. Besides the usual excuses about work being hectic, I went to Pittsburgh, PA for six days to meet my future in-laws and see what/who made my J who he is today.

 

We got to try the famous Primanti Bros sandwich. It is made with super light and fluffy Italian bread--a staple it seems in these parts. And yes, that is a fat stack of french fries and coleslaw in that cheesesteak sandwich. It is the #2 most popular thing on the menu!

The #1 thing on the menu is beer...

Another famous sandwich I had was Wholey's fish sandwich. J said he got to eat these sandwiches as a youngster...

Simple yet so good. Crispy fried fish filets, soft bread and lots of tartar sauce.

The Pennsylvania Macaroni Company was a foodie find if I ever saw one. Look at all that cheese!

The highlight of the trip for me was having some authentic pierogies. Pierogies Plus was featured on Food Nation with Bobby Flay and is famous in the area. It was so hard to find but so worth the trouble!

It may not look like much in this picture, but these were the best potato cheese pierogies I have ever had in my life! They were smothered in butter and soft sweet onions.

 

I had a lot of fun but I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of Pittsburgh's foodie scene.

Destination Wedding-Why Do We Bother?

Lots of people ask me why. I was tooling around on WeddingBee.com and found this interesting post on what people really think of destination weddings. I'm experiencing some backlash from certain kuripots as well as some "once in a lifetime" excitement from friends and family who are really looking forward to our Big Day.

My reasons for wanting a destination wedding seemed to coincide with another destination bride-to-be so I decided to blog about my own reasons.

1. We wanted to keep the wedding small, and this is easy to do with a destination wedding.

2. My parents and my brother and I have never been to Hawaii and it would be fun to be there together with our closest friends and family. And honestly as the years go by and as we are all getting older and living our own lives, family vacations are going to be rare.

3. My parents would never go on vacation if I didn't force them to.

4. Even with travel expenses, it would cheaper to have the wedding in Hawaii with 60 or so guests rather than If we had the wedding in the Bay Area where the guest list could soar to 200.

5. Our friends and family are scattered throughout California and the east coast. If they're gonna travel to be at our wedding, might as well make it to a fabulous destination!

6. My grandma has never been to Hawaii and she said she would like to go before she cannot walk anymore.

7. Everytime I researched wedding venues in the Bay Area, vendor pricing and my actual budget (in light of my massive student loan debt load), I'd have a panic attack. I seriously considered eloping--many many times (something I knew I would regret later).

8. I found an awesome wedding planner who can help me stay within my budget and still have a great wedding.

9. I'd rather have a small special and memorable wedding than a big boring expensive one where everyone is in a rush to go home afterwards.

10. We aren't getting married to make other people happy, but we do want to share our happiness in celebrating the Big Day with our closest family and friends in a very special place.

And to quote meduzagirl's eloquent words: "To the poster who says that destination weddings are a pain in the ass for guests, I say: 'just don't come!'  We have a lot of friends and family who can't make it, and we are okay with that."

Image from blog.Webshots.com

Gilroy Garlic Festival 2007

Today we went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. This was my first time going so I was very excited. I guess they were cooking shrimp scampi in these huge firey pans.

C and S tried out this really cool bread slicer. It lasts over 200 hours of cutting time! I wonder if it just starts to give out at around 199 or if 200 is the point of complete failure.

Everyone always says you HAVE to try the garlic ice cream, so we did...Not at this stall though. We stood in line for free garlic soft serve. I bet the ice cream would have been better. I thought the soft serve was just okay. The garlic wasn't overpowering at all. Like J said, "It's like eating vanilla ice cream after eating garlic fries."

Even though it was the Garlic Festival, I felt more drawn to non-garlicky food. For instance, this funnel cake with bavarian cream and fudge sauce caught my eye. Screw the garlic ice cream! I'm eating fried batter!!!

Check out this huge garlic bulb!

All in all, it was a pretty good day. We left at around 2pm right when it got unbearably hot so I was glad to have arrived early-ish (noon) when it wasn't so hot. I am also glad I got to eat a funnel cake. Diet's not really doing so good today. But at least I didn't get sunburned (I think).