honu2's Profile
Inexpensive Chinese Banquet in Honolulu
My recommendation would be Happy Day in Kaimuki or Mei Sum on the edge of Chinatown.
Happy Day has the advantage of having two or three private rooms and a lot of experience with banquets for birthdays, funerals, etc. Lisa Lum, who is the manger there, is very easy to work with--if price is your main consideration, II suggest calling her in advance and telling her what you want and the price you want to pay
Lunch near Maui Airport?
The Maui Culinary Institute is close to the airport, in the Maui Community College complex. If they're open (school may not be in session), the selection of foods in the food court offered vary from made to order sandwiches to sushi and quality is excellent.
Luau: Honolulu or Maui?
Probably an attempt this year to limit protesters to the sidewalk outside the church grounds.
Adventurous family looking for chowhound worthy food maui/oahu
Mini Garden appears to have closed. Went by there about 2 weeks ago and the windows were papered over.
Are any of the Entertainment Book Coupon Restaurants Chowhound Worthy?
If you're staying in Waikiki, the Hau Tree Lanai located beachside in the New Otani Hotel would make for pleasant al fresco dining.
Luau: Honolulu or Maui?
Don't know whether you'll be in Honolulu around June 11 (King Kamehameha Day), but Kawaihao Church usually puts on their annual luau around that date as part of their celebration. Kawaihao Church is the premiere native Hawaiian church. Its luau will give you a less glitzy but probably more authentic experience than the Feast at Lele.
Kind of depends on what you consider the "best experience."
Top 50 best Chinese restaurants in the U.S.
Both restaurants have the same address and phone number?
Adega Portuguese/Brazilian
I went there for lunch recently, ordered sausage and kale soup; fried calamari and a chicken sandwich that was served with a whole lot of pickles and some very soggy French Fries. The sandwich was good, the calamari was passable, the rest forgettable. Service was extremenly slow, even though we appeared to be the only table ordering off the menu. Rest of the patrons were having their $12 buffet which appeared to have three entree and salad. Maybe their true calling is as a bar.
House Without A Key
There is a promenade from the Hilton that passes the HWAK, but I'm not sure that there is an actual entrance. If there is not, you can backtrack a little and get to Ena Road by cutting through the commercial arcade in the hotel next door, which I believe is the Reef. The arcade does have access from the beach.
Headed back to Honolulu
Our office recently relocated to 1132 Bishop and so I have been trying out various restaurants all of which would qualify as "within walking distance of Aloha Tower." The ones I like so far are: Brasserie du Vin, Soul de Cuba, Indigo, JJDolans (pizza) and Epic all close to the Hawaii Theater. Also rediscovered Murphy's--it has great comfort food like pies (Fridays) Sheperds Pie and a lot of different draught beers. Also liked the fixed price Saturday (only) dinners at Cafe 81/2 on Alakea next to Mandalay; reservations required. Downtown at the State Art Museum is good for lunch.
Cheaper (but still good) meals can be had at: Mailee which is a Thai stall at the Maunakea Market Place, Bruno's Forno on Maunakea, Mei Sum (dim sum) on Nuuanu; Maria Bonita on Hotel St., which is a 8 table Mexican restaurant; Little Village, Duc's Bistro.
And don't forget you can take out Chinese Roast Duck from Nam Fong and feast at home.
Coffee (both roasted and green)
Oops, forgot to mention Maui Coffee Roasters which is very close to the airport in Maui. (near Costco, as a matter of fact) They sell Maui coffee.
Coffee (both roasted and green)
The Ono Gelato Company, 815 Front St., Lahaina sells both delicious gelato and Maui estate grown coffee. (Either can be enjoyed on their small but attractive deck extending over the water; see their website) . I later noticed that the same Maui coffee could be ordered for the single drip cups and purchased in bags at the Beach Bum coffee place in Honolulu . The bagged Maui coffee was also sold in Lahaina at the ABC store across Front St from Ono Gelato.
Chinese New Year 2012 Maui
Maui is not the place to seek out Chinese food or restaurants when one is used to and desires the quality of the best Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel valley or in the San Francisco area. Perhaps this will change when wealthy tourists from China discover Maui, but for now why don't you (1) ask a Chinese restaurant owner to prepare the kind of meal that you want for the New Year but lower your expectations; or (2) substitute some other kind of meal at a splurge Maui restaurant; or (3) call the Chinese restaurants on Maui and find out if they have a special menus. You can, of course, also fly to Oahu for the day.
Favorite ideas for cooking with local ingredients (Maui or Hawaii in general)
Here are some suggestions for local pupus to have with drinks on the lanai. Purchase already prepared at Foodland or Safeway or Times deli: sushi, sashimi, poke (ahi/tuna or tako/octopus); spicy edamamae (soybeans) and maybe dried fish jerky. In the oriental snack section of the supermarket, there are packages of crunchy wasabi peas and wasabi peanuts and taro chips. Kula strawberries are pricey but a nice addition. From restaurants, consider taking out Vietnamese summer rolls or deep fried won tons or spring rolls. The Maui onion flavored Macadamia nuts are great too.
Not local, but definitely worth considering, are the frozen Spanokopita from Costco which you can pop in the oven..
Big Island in Feb.
In the village of Volcano, which is just outside Volcanoes NP, Kilauea Lodge is a B&B with an excellent restaurant. Recommend reservations in advance for the restaurant.
Shopping for good food and supplies on Maui - Advice for visiting condo cooks?
Bakery items: you might want to try banana bread or Hawaiian sweet bread (available in supermarkets) in place of muffins or pastry for breakfast. Rolf's Lavosh, sometimes available at Costco but also in supermarkets, is great with soft spreadable cheese. A local favorite are taro rolls, which are soft dinner rolls colored purple and slightly sweet and not appealing if your idea of bread is crusty and substantial.
For toast, you might want to try poha jam or lilikoi (also known as passion fruit) butter available in supermarkets. Usually there is a vendor or two at the larger farmers market selling jams and jellies using local varieties of fruit and loaves of banana bread.
If you buy the Costco tub of Kalua pig, a good use for it is pulled pork sandwiches. Add a bottle of barbecue sauce when heating the pork to give it that "southern" touch if you like. Kalua pig can also be used as a filling for quesadillas and omelettes.
Shopping for good food and supplies on Maui - Advice for visiting condo cooks?
On a hit-or-miss basis Costco has: Fresh pineapple (either whole or peeled and cut up); portuguese sausage made in Hawaii; Surfing Goat chevre; Anahola granola; Maui Estate grown coffee; local style potato salad (heavy on the mayo); Kauai prawns.
Fresh fish can be tricky for visitors to buy since in Hawaii we use names for the fish that will probably be foreign to you. I've found local fresh fish like moi, mahimahi, ono, ahi, shutome, monchong, aku, nairagi, and ulua at Costco (but not all at the same time) but unless you know how these different types of fish should be cooked, you are probably better off buyihg your fish at a supermarket like Times or Safeway where you can ask the fish man for recommended ways of preparation. Poke, which is raw fish cubes with different type of flavorings purchased at a supermarket gives you a chance to sample before you buy.
At a farmers market you can get locally grown papayas, avocados, and apple bananas and the ususal vegetables. Make sure you bring your own shopping bag.
Coffee, Coffee Pots, Tea & Tea Pots - What are Your Favorites?
I've tried a lot of different electric models (including Mr. Coffee), plus non-electric Chemex with filters, Melita cones with filters and the french press. What I like the best is a stove top moka pot (ususally called an expresso maker in the US), stainless steel rather than aluminium., where the coffee is made not by dripping water into coffee grounds but by the passage of steam. Bialetti is the best known brand; the one I use is made by Laroma. You can make expresso by using a finer grind of coffee from Ily and tamping it down or you can make strong coffee by using a regular grind of coffee (ex. Starbucks packaged Italian Roast) and not tamping it down. It definitely becomes a slow food ritual, but one with wonderful smells while the coffee is brewing.
UES MAYOR coming home for the Holidays-anything new on Oahu?
Cafe 8 1/2 serves a fanatastic fixed prixe meal Saturday (only) evenings by reservation. It/s $30 for a 4 course meal, BYOB, no corkage fee. The chef/owner Robert does a great job. The place is pretty small, so there may be only 3 or 4 parties being served for the entire evening. The restaurant is on Alakea St., right next to the Mandarin restaurant (which now occupies the place where Yong Sing was located) so there is street parking. The food is basically Italian.
Maui at Christmas
The coconut and guava syrups are usually beside the maple syrup but are sometimes placed by the souvenir food items like Kona coffee.
For dessert, the Roselani brand of ice cream is made in Maui and comes in these local flavors: haupia (coconut, my favorite); mango and cream, and macadamia nut. It's carried by most supermarkets and would taste great with hot chocolate sauce and a sprinkling of macadamia nuts.
I suggested Star Noodle because except for Chinese restaurants and hotel restaurants, not many restaurants are going to be open on Christmas and New Years.
Also, by going to a party menu, one can avoid the mundane stuff like sweet-sour pork and fried rice and can go to things like garlic noodles, a steamed whole fish, and salt-and-pepper shrimp/prawns served family style. In Hawaii, Chinese restaurants are used to serving large groups for celebrations like graduation, birthday parties, etc.
pepper shrimp,
Healthy in Oahu
If you're staying near Kapahulu, you might want to check out the large Safeway on Kapahulu. It has an incredible amount of prepared foods for sale, such as cut up fruit, sushi, salads, as well as a deli which sells rotisserie chicken and made-to-order sandwiches. The fish section sells a lot that could be used for light meals, i.e, poke (eat with rice which you can now buy in cooked form in small dishes that can be microwaved); cooked shrimp, cooked soy beans as a low-cal snack
Maui at Christmas
Check out www.mauimapp.com for Dec events. Suggest you celebrate the day with some "hawaiian" variation of your favorite dishes, for example, portuguese sausage and pancakes or french toast with coconut, passion fruit or guava syrup for breakfast. If you're into eating out on Christmas day, a different approach could be to call (before Christmas) Star Noodle in Lahaina and ask them to prepare a Christmas party meal for however many there are of you. If you want to splurge ask them to prepare a whole fish.
Recommendations on inexpensive cookware for college kid
If your daughter requires new cookware and in a set, suggest you buy a set from Macy's during their clearance sales, using one of their coupons. Otherwise, the least expensive way of getting new cookware that meets your requirements but don't necessarily match is to check out what's on sale at someplace like Ross. I am not sure college kids (as opposed to moms) even care about having pots and pans that match.
Fresh Turkey - Oahu
Last year I was able to obtain a fresh turkey (not organic) from Foodland. Only problem is that they won't hold it at the store until Thanksgiving. So you have to have mucho storage room in your refrigerator.
Going to Kauai for 11 days in November
If you enjoy local foods, be sure to go to the Saturday morning farmers' market at the Kauai Community College, just a little way from Costco, in Lihue. It starts at 9:30 a.m. and you have to bring your own shopping bag BUT the fresh produce will blow you away. (I wouldn't buy papayas, bananas and other fruits anywhere else!) There are also vendors with prepared foods-- pies, jams/jellies, cookies, candies, breads,soups, pasteles, fruit drinks. It's a fun way of eating your way through local specialties.
Can anyone help me find a restaurant near here?
How far is "walking distance" for you and your dad? If you can walk a half-mile, Nice Day restaurant in Liliha Square, at the corner of Liliha and Vineyard, would be a good choice. They have dim sum and pretty straight forward Cantonese dishes.
Crock pot cooking--best ideas???
If you're using a SC with a removable pot, you can prep your slow cooker meal the night before, refrigerate the pot, and then place the cold pot in the SC when you leave the next morning.
Walkable restaurant recs needed from Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children
Give the summer rolls a try some time. By the way, the Baskin and Robbins is where our president worked while a teen, and the apartment building at the corner of Punahou and Beretania is where he lived with his grandparents when he attended Punahou school.
Walkable restaurant recs needed from Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children
I like Loving Hut which is a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant. The Pho is excellent.
From the hospital, wallk down Punahou St. three blocks to King St., turn left on King. It's in a small strip mall by the Baskins and Robbins, close to the corner of Punahou and King. Very clean and comfortable for eating solo.
ground lamb -- seeking inspiration
Kofte Patties
Combine 1 lb. ground lamb; 3/4 c. finely chopped onion; 1/2 c. finely chopped parsley, 1 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp paprika; 1/4 tsp. cayenne; pepper. Shape into 4 patties. Broi 4" from heat about 10 minutes on each side.
I serve mine on toasted Kaiser rolls that have been slathered with a combination of mayonnaise and harissa.
