Wish I Could Be Back On That Rock in the Middle of the Sea

Burned some pictures for Kris and realized I never posted food pics from our last Hawaii trip in January!

Frist stop: not Zippy's.  Always Chun Wah Kam.

Aaron craves roast pork. 

Featured here: roast pork, spicy pork with eggplant, and fried udon

My plate: chow fun with choi sum and tofu

Tropical Iceland at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center

Strawberry ice (fluffy shave ice with real strawberry and milk)

Dinner with the parents at Souvaly Thai Cuisine

Each person's rice comes in a fancy box

My choice: Ong Choy with garlic and chicken

Mom's choice: yellow curry

Pad Thai

Aaron's choice: Crispy fried chicken

Dad's choice: Seafood combination

Poke Stop in Waipahu

Went here with dad expecting them to have a soft shell crab hamburger we had read about, but no such luck.  It wasn't even on the menu.  They didn't have any ahi for the day, and the food was less than impressive.  I couldn't eat the poke, but dad and Aaron said the spicy ahi was delicious.

Dad got the surf and turf.  The beef wasn't so good and the shrimp didn't have flavor.

Aaron got the soft shell crab sandwich which wa ok, but not great.

My crab cake sandwich was tasty, full of crab, and I liked it.

Kaitie had been craving bruschetta for months.. in her pregnancy.

Aaron came over to make it for her

We all enjoyed it (and ordered pizza too)

Hiroshi's Eurasian Tapas

Aaron and I met Co after work one day at restaurant row.

Everything here was fancy and delicious.  In lieu of bread and butter, they give you a puffed rice cracker with a wasabi aioli.  I thought it was great, the puffed rice tasted like kaki mochi.

I got a lychee soda and Aaron got a lilikoi soda.  It was delicious.

First up: Portugese sausage potstickers.

with Nalo tatsoi, sweet corn, kim chi foam, and truffled ponzu sauce

2nd course: Misoyaki Big Island Butterfish

with wilted Nalo tatsoi, lemon-ume gelee, and baby bok choy

3rd: Grilled Japanese Mongo Squid

with roasted shiitake mushrooms, yamagobo, green beans, thyme and nampala butter sauce

4th: LaBelle Farms Foie Gras Sushi

with teriyaki glaze and essence of shiso

5th: Steamed Kurobuta Pork Belly
with torched brie cheese, ginger, shiso, fresh Hau`ula tomato-scallion salad, nori wrapped musubi and adobo sauce

Chocolate cake ooze

with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate sauce

Lemon cake

with strawberry azuki bean ice cream and fresh whipped cream

Bananas Foster Cream Puff

with chocolate lollipop truffles and Hawaiian vanilla bean dip

We also picked up a few cupcakes at Hokulani

Port wine black cherry

Guittard chocolate organic peanut butter

Waialua chocolate fudge

Vanilla cupcake injected with an ounce of fudge and topped with buttercream frosting

Trip to the North Shore with Kris

Aaron's bacon cheeseburger

Kua `aina in Haleiwa

Dinner at Buca di Beppo

Shrimp Fra Diavlo

Eggplant Parmesean

Quattro al Forno

Finally made it to Boots and Kimo's to see what all the fuss is about

This is what the fuss is about: mac nut pancakes.

The fuss is well deserved.  There are long waits at this restaurant, but this mac nut sauce is worth it.  It's buttery and just sweet enough.  You would think it's too sweet or too rich, but it's not either.  It's just right.  It's perfection on a pancake.

My fried rice omelete: so delicious.

Aaron's pulehu short ribs: amazing salty goodness went perfectly with the sweet mac nut sauce

Swirl in Windward Mall

Kooky Kookie crumble: iced oatmeal cookies crumbled over a caramel apple

Kris's rockin rocky road caramel apple

Off the Wall

Met with Kathryn and Chad for some Okinawan fusion

Started with ika geso: Fried cuttlefish served with wasabi ketchup

Yakitori bacon wrapped shrimp

Bubu arare Karaage Chicken

The piece de resistance: Shoyu Pork Andagi

andagi, an Okinawan fried donut, filled with pork and topped with a teriyaki sauce, green onion, and ginger.  It takes 20-30min to make, so you need to tell your waiter at the beginning of your meal that you want them.  Make sure you do, they are not to be missed.

Meaty Goodness

Joey was in town!  So we went and had dinner.  It's the first time he's seen the bump since I've been prego.. He stepped out of the car, giggled, and said, "woah."  haha  We were initially going to go to Hash House A-Go-Go.  We parked right out front which hardly ever happens because it's always so crowded.. then we realized they're closed on Monday nights.  Not a problem, though.  We just walked right down the street to the Tractor Room, Hash House's sister restaurant.

The Tractor Room's focus: Meat and booze.

We had never been here for dinner before.  We always think of these restaurants as breakfast places (I've blogged about Hash House previously) because of the huge portions and great food.  The ambience is very sophisticated farmer.  Animal skulls hang from the walls, leather is used for many accents, and tractor/farm paraphernalia is found randomly around the room.  The furniture is dark, and the light fixtures are a mix of interesting chandeliers and light fixtures. 

Farm decor

The menu isn't very extensive, but everything on it sounds delish.  view the menu here!!  There are lots of interesting appetizers, and interestingly prepared meats.  We went during happy hour, but didn't end up getting anything off the happy hour menu.  We all got burgers; delicious burgers.

My prime beef burger topped with goat cheese and caramelized onions

Those criss-cut fries are delicious

Aaron's lamb burger with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and smoked bacon

Joey's braised buffalo sloppy joe with horseradish sour cream, caramelized onions, and shredded buffalo meat with an amazing bbq/asian sauce over it; so full of flavor and combined so well with the creamy sauce

..Joey seemed to push himself to the limit so he could finish that sandwich

Sloppy Joey and the big meat

Anniversary Day Trip

To celebrate our anniversary (married for a year as of 4-4-10, but together for 4 years as of 4-3-10), Aaron and I decided to be LA tourists.  I only had one day off from work because last minute the pharmacy closed for Easter (woo!), and it was an easy day trip.  Plus, we've never really done LA together. 

First stop: Philippe's. AMAZING french dip sandwiches. The outside and inside are very casual. The seating is dark brown benches, and for some reason, the concrete floors are sprinkled with what looks like sawdust.

You walk up to the counter and everyone is dressed in '50s gear. The counter ladies just take your order and make it, while runners take your cash and give it to a register girl at a second counter behind the food counter. It's an odd set up, but I guess it works.

Pick from pork, beef, ham, lamb, or turkey

Add a side or two if you'd like

Both sides of the roll are dipped in a super flavorful jus and in goes the tender slices of flavorful meat.

That's all there is to it.

..unless you want to put the super spicy horseradish sauce at every table in a squirt bottle.

The sandwich really doesn't need it, but it's almost irrisistable..

The burny, horseradish sauce clearing your sinuses: it hurts so good.

Aaron got macaroni salad and I got coleslaw, both were good, but not outstanding.

Lemonade was $.75 a glass

..and everything was served on weird cardboard eggcrate material

even the tray was that pressed material you get a dozen eggs in

Next stop: La Brea Tar Pits

My very first time!

Mammoth (not the wooly variety.. those weren't found in La Brea)

Dire wolf skulls.. lots of them..

Posing in front of a tar covered tree

Isn't he handsome??

Next Stop: Universal City Walk

Sparky's Mini Donuts

Fresh off the conveyor belt, warm and melty in your mouth.

We got cinnamon sugar on ours

They were REALLY good

Next Stop: Hollywood walk of fame/Mann's Chinese Theatre

..where we saw Gene Simmons' son Nick!

He was just hangin out with friends, taking pics with the dressed up people (seen here with E. Scissorhands)

I was pretty excited about it

Aaron and Sam L. Jackson

(..ok, it was the wax version of him)

Mmm.. Year Old Wedding Cake

I know it's tradition, but since when have Aaron and I been all about tradition?  I mean, we had a skeleton bride and groom on our wedding cake.  In lieu of saving the top tier of our wedding cake, freezing it for a year, burrowing to the back of the freezer, scraping off the freezer burn, and cautiously and nervously taking small bitefuls of year old wedding cake, I thought it might be nice to go back to Flour Power, the makers of our wedding cake, and buy a new cake to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.  That's right, people; it's been a whole year that Aaron and I have been husband and wife.  It seems like the last year flew by.  Now we're expecting a baby and we're still happy and in love and all that mushy stuff. 

Here's a quick throwback to that wonderful day and that wonderful cake:

  

I wanted to get a tiny cake topper sized cake in the chocolate peanut butter flavor which was one of the flavors we had in our wedding cake.  It has a layer of chocolate cake, peanut butter folded into the mousse layer, and a layer of fudge.  It sounds so rich and decadent, but it all works really well together.  I usually always prefer non-chocolate flavors, but this cake is amazing.  I called to place the order, but being that it's Easter weekend, they limit the flavors and sizes of cake they make so I had to get a 9" round which feeds 14-16 people instead of the 7" round (their smallest cake) which feeds 8-10.  It's ok, it just means we can share it with a few loved ones. 

I requested butter cream frosting instead of the whipped cream with white chocolate shavings because we really don't like white chocolate.. and butter cream is yummy smelling and tasting

I asked that the writing be in black since those were the colors of our wedding cake a year ago

Aaron said I should put my hand on his so we could cut into it together

Oh that wonderful first piece of light moist cake, oh so peanut buttery mousse, and thick fudgey chocolatey deliciousness

Having a little of each of the layers in one mouthful is essential to get the full effect of how amazing it truly is

Commence devouring

Lump and Bump Lemons

The lemon tree in our back yard has been pretty fruitful, and Aaron suggested I go pick them before he and Mike trim the tree and clean up the jungle of a yard the recent rains have caused.  The lemons are a little scary and bumpy looking, but plentiful.  So, we turned our lump and bump lemons into lump and bump lemonade.

The tree

Lump and bumps

Relatively large lemon crop

Blossoms and baby lump and bump

I ventured into our jungle-like yard to harvest the lemons.  It turned out to be pretty dangerous, there are some pretty nasty thorns on our lemon tree!  (I have the scrapes all over my hands to prove it!)  Aaron was playing fetch with Miso while I gathered the large lumpy fruit. 

Picking the lemons

Two bags full.. Aaron told me I should stop since we probably wouldn't use all of them

Miso sitting nicely, waiting for daddy to throw the ball

Miso's true love: ball.

Washed lemons

As large as the lemons were, they were not very juicy.  It was a pretty dry summer, and with water conservation going on, the lemon tree probably didn't get enough hydration.  After we cut into the lemon, the flesh of the fruit was sparse and almost pulling away from the rind.  I tasted the lemon juice, and it still tasted good, though, so we continued with our lemonade making.

Juicing lemons

Pouring lemonade

Delicious finished product

Overall, a fun and fruitful project.  We still have a little bit of our lemonade left and a bag full of lemons.  Just enough to make another pitcher of our signature lump and bump lemonade!

Nozomi is a Homie

This evening my wife and i had one of the best japanese meals i have had in a very long time. We went to a place I have never heard of  called Nozomi situated on the infamous Convoy street. It's a cozy little sushi place with wooden walls and low cielings that gives the feel of an actual place in japan even though i have never been there.

 I started with this appetizer called the Dragon Ball. The menu did not specify what it was, but i saw the avocado in the picture and figured hey i love avocado why not try it. It turns out that this lovely little concotion is layered avocado slices wrapped around a ball of some of the best spicy tuna. They serve it on a small plate with a spoon and its surrounded by this sweet sauce and a pile of the crispy flakes that usually is sprinkled on crunchy rolls.

 We also had the best miso soup ever. It was velvety and rich like no other broth, it definetly had the umami in it.

 Nicole got the Nabayaki Udon which had floating islands of fried tofu, delicate shrimp tempura, a boiled egg, and numerous veggies. Later she found out that it's not so good to save and microwave later haha.

 

We also ordered a standard issue crunchy roll, but when it arrived it was on a huge platter and covered in a snow drift of crunchy particles and topped with what seemed like fried ramen, but nik said it tasted like potato chips.

 I ordered the Spicy Chicken Bento. It was a nice sized bento wth all the trimmings, but what really made it shine was the delicious dressing on the salad. We have all had the drizzly, ginger slop that usually gets passed off as dressing, but this dressing was glorious. It was thick and creamy and tangy , it coated my mouth with fantastic japanese sunshine and made me feel like i was being kissed on the inside. 

So please go and try Nozomi, it is a gem among a sea of the japanese places that are content and just serving passable fare to whiteys that don't know any better hahaha

Dim Sum (and pizza) Night

Mom gave us a Dim Sum cook book when we went home for Christmas.  We were excited to try it out, so we invited the homies over for dim sum night.  Aaron spent most of Sunday shopping and prepping.  He fought all the Asians scrambling and pushing at 99 Ranch, he battled all the large carts full of bulk at Costco, and hunted all over San Diego to find won ton wrappers.  He managed to make it home and finished all his prep without much more trouble.  Finally, shortly before he had to pick me up from work, a couple hours before everyone came over for dinner, Aaron started steaming the dim sum so he could just do a quick re-heating when everyone got here.... and dropped half the dim sum on the floor.  The look on his face was not good when he walked up to the pharmacy.  He told me what happened and we went to pick up a couple pizzas on our way home.

He did manage to save a good crop of the yummy morsels.  We got to try three types: duck and spinach, pork and cilantro, and pork with shrimp.  They were all really good.  So was the pizza and the company!

(L-R): duck, pork, shrimp & pork