Restaurant Review (Hog Island Bbq)

Good bbq is hard to come by in Hawaii ( just like Mexican cuisine) so it was through sheer serendipity that I discovered Hog Island Bbq this afternoon during an also rare opportunity of having lunch with my wife.

Hog Island is a small unassuming place in the back of a strip mall and shares a building with other ethnic restaurants such as an Italian, a Jamaican, and a Himalayan eatery.  Modest in design, there is only a small take-out counter to order from and anyone who wants to eat on location need to go to the few tables available on the second floor

For lunch, I ended up ordering a very delicious Brisket sandwich w/side cole slaw.  The brisket was served at 7oz on a nice chewy French Roll and the cole slaw was done very well having been made in a "chop" style as opposed to the traditional "shredded" style.

My wife decided on going with the hefty Mix Bbq plate which was a 1/4 rack pork ribs, 6 oz pulled pork and two sides (bbq beans and mac/cheese).  While very tasty, the surprise star of this dish was the Mac & Cheese comprised of 4 distinct cheeses with a nice crunchy Parmesan crust on top.

Like any bbq joint, the price for lunch was not cheap ($26 for two) but it is certainly worth a visit once in awhile when the craving for good bbq strikes.

Thanks for reading!

Food Challenge Update (Chicken and Peas Tagine)

During the week, I'm usually in a rush to cook anything and usually I look at what I have in the fridge for inspiration for my dishes.  As we are trying to encourage our 3 year old to eat more vegetables, I felt that doing a dish using peas (in the freezer) and chicken (also in the freezer) was the way to go.  Looking online, I ran across this fantastic recipe for Tangine that happened to include ingredients of which I already had 90% of at home.  Most importantly, it gave me a chance to finally use some Saffron in a way that wasn't for a Paella or any ordinary rice dish.

Cooking the dish itself was pretty fun.  As I didn't have an actual Tangine pot, nor did I want to buy one at this time, I just used a Dutch Oven.  While I'm sure, the actual end result was probably different had I actually used a Tangine to make this, the end result was pretty tasty.  What made this particular dish interesting was that I never put my burner higher then the 1st setting and just left it there for 2 hours.  The low heat extracted so much flavor from what amounts to 5 ingredients and 7 spices.

With regards to the food challenge, this is where it stands:

1. Cardamom
2. All Spice
3. Cloves
4. Almond Extract
5. Pumpkin Spice
6. Garam Masala
7. Vanilla Beans
8. Saffron
9. Nutmeg
10. Ground Mustard
11. Turmeric
12. Coriander
13. Sage
14. Thyme
15. Celery Seed
16. Tarragon
17. Cumin

I still got a lot of work.....

Thanks for reading

Restaurant Review: Marukame Udon

Growing up in Hawaii, and for the most part a mile outside of Waikiki, there are certain absolute truths about the cuisine in that area. 

#1- Food is always more expensive in Waikiki
#2- There are no good places to eat in Waikiki

Recently Marukame Udon, a Japan chain, opened up in the center of Waikiki forcing me to change my perception of those first 2 truths.  While most people who visit from the mainland US have a perception that Waikiki is for the Japanese, there really aren't many Japanese restaurants in this area so Marukame is a welcome addition.  Honestly, who needs yet another Cheesecake Factory or Margaritaville?

Marukame Udon is what could be best described as "Fast Food" noodles.  Set up to be served in a cafeteria style setting, they only sell a few things on their menu, udon and assorted tempura.

  To order, a customer tells the counter worker which of the 5 different udon bowls he wants, then moves on down the line to receive their noodles from another counter attendant.  After receiving your noodles, you can choose from about 8 different tempura dishes to accompany your bowl.

It's worth noting that in the front of the store, there is a dedicated worker who's only job is to make the noodles during his entire shift.  This is not to different from the workers I've seen in Old Town, San Diego who spend all day making tortillas in front of their respective restaurants. 

Today, I shared my dinner with my son and we went with a bowl of Onatama Udon (noodles in broth with soft poached egg).  As my side dish, I order some tempura asparagus, fried chicken, and a musubi (rice ball) with dried fish.  Total cost with a soft drink, $7+. 

The taste of the food itself was passable.   The broth was a little on the tepid side, since they go through such high volume, but still very enjoyable.  I ended up only having one bite of the noodles as my son pretty much finished the whole bowl by himself.  The tempura was crisp and the musubi packed a lot of flavor, but he rice was a little too wet.  Still for the price I paid, it was certainly a very good meal that I would go back for, provided I can find free parking in Waikiki.

With Waikiki having gone through a face-lift over the last 10 years, Marukame is certainly a welcome addition for the budget traveler.  Definitely recommended for visitors who want a filling satisfying lunch but don't want to pay too much in Waikiki. 

Thanks for reading

My Favorite Food Movie: Tampopo

Some weeks are busier than others.  This is one of those weeks where a lot of things are happening at the same time and I barely have time to think about new things to cook or foods to explore.  Still, I don't want to leave the 1 or 2 of you who read this blog without material from me so I decided to share my favorite foodie movie of all time:  Tampopo

Released in 1985, this movie is about one woman's quest to make understand the nuances of making ramen after being told by a passing truck driver that her noodles are terrible and takes her on an adventure of personal and culinary discovery.  What I like about this movie is that it is very quirky and unapologetic about it's feelings on food and foodies alike.  Right from the beginning we are invited in on a conversation between a "master" and a "student" talking about how to approach a bowl of ramen correctly thereby maximizing the eating experience.

As the movie goes along we meet a lot of interesting characters and the camera becomes us in this journey and a few times will move from the main character and change physical directions in the middle of a scene to follow a complete stranger just because they seem to be more interesting at the time.  If you've ever seen someone running and wondered where they were off to, this movie tries to answer those types of questions.

From a foodie standpoint, this is also where I learned about established my love of Omurice.  This particular scene in the movie spoke to me when I first saw it and really illustrates how even the simplest of foods can be viewed as the finest haute cuisine depending on your point of view.

Despite having been released over 25 years ago, I still really love this movie.  If you love food and have some time, put this on your Netflix list and give it a lookie-loo.  If my description still doesn't entice you, how about the fact that the film score are excerpts from Mahler's 1st and 3rd Symphony? 

Thanks for reading!

Eat My Perspective (Buttered Toast)

I was craving buttered toast today as I sometimes do since I was a little kid.  It occurred to me that I always toast my bread then add butter, no different then as I would get them at any diner in the US.  Writing this blog has really forced me to look at food in different ways and wondered what would happen if I buttered my bread first before toasting? 


I started with two pieces of white bread from Watanabe Bakery, my favorite place for bread:

Taking two pieces, I buttered one on both sides using 2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter (1T on each side).

(Buttered one on the right)

After toasting in a standard toaster oven for 2.5 minutes, I took them out at the same time.

(Pre-buttered toast on the left)

I then buttered the dry toast with the same amount of melted butter on each side as the first toast and let it sit for 1 minute to absorb the butter

The results were a little surprising as I really didn't think of what I would get from this experience.  I actually didn't think there would be much of a difference, but I was wrong.  

Since butter is essentially fat, the buttered bread ended up being "fried" in the toaster and what I ended up with was a bread that was very crispy with just a hint of butter in the bread.  Can I get crispy bread without the butter?  Most certainly, but this was a whole other level of crispy.  I would definitely use this when eating something light like a BLT or with a pate'.

The buttered toast, by comparison, felt very heavy and the butter ends up getting in the way of the high quality bread.  It also doesn't yield the same crispness that was so appealing with the first toast.   While this is the way I've eaten it since I can remember, I think it was a bit of a revelation how much more I like the butter before toast method. 

End of the day, it's up to the individual but I thought this experiment on a food everyone takes for granted was a good way to perhaps change our perspective.

Thanks for reading!

My First Challenge (Part III) - Pork, Mushroom, Tomato Curry

It has been a couple of weeks since my last Food Challenge entry and I felt the need to take a few more off the board.  Unfortunately, my craving for more curry took over the task of the challenge.

Based on the moderate success (or failure) of my last curry, I needed to redeem myself with another shot at a recipe from Addicted to Curry, the manga that centers around a curry shop and it's curry savant chef.

The one that caught my attention was a recipe for Mushroom Curry.  I am a big mushroom fan and am always looking for a way to include mushrooms into dishes that make sense.  Still, other than Shitake mushrooms, there really aren't many varieties in Hawaii that would be able to stand head to head with the strong flavor of curry powder.  Due to this, I decided to add some sliced pork tenderloin (an alternative to the mainstream beef choice).

 Carmelizing my onions

My 3 mushroom medley (porcinis hidden under the white buttons)

Add spices, tomatoes, mushrooms and cook

The final product (I need a better camera)

At the end of the day, I ended up with a more Indian curry as opposed to a Japanese style curry.  What I liked about this one was the sourness of the tomatoes as well as the use of yogurt (and the liquid from the tomatoes) over a stock as it's soup base.  Visually, it's not the prettiest of curries, but I would recommend it as an alternative over the usual beef curry, especially if your local Farmer's Market is having a sale on mushrooms come this fall. 

As for my spice list, here is the most recent update: 

1. Cardamom
2. All Spice
3. Cloves
4. Almond Extract
5. Pumpkin Spice
6. Garam Masala
7. Vanilla Beans
8. Saffron
9. Nutmeg
10. Ground Mustard
11. Turmeric
12. Coriander
13. Sage
14. Thyme
15. Celery Seed
16. Tarragon
17. Cumin

On a side note, I did try to use the Almond Extract with some yogurt the other day (it seemed to make sense), and it tasted awful.  I have the feeling that this one is going to be a bit of a challenge lest I just give in and make some Almond Cookies.

Thanks for reading!

My Favorite Things (Roast Duck Kitchen's Roast Pork)

Working on the road as often as I do, it's important to know where to get good, quick, satisfying food.  It's always such shame to spend $7-$10 on a meal and leave unsatisfied, full of calories that you wish wasn't in you. 

Roast Duck Kitchen is located in the Aiea Shoppping Plaza and is tucked away on the 2nd story of a 3 story strip mall.  Those familiar with this mall, it's just diagonal of Koa Pancake House at the top of the escalator.

  My friend recently turned me on to this place due to my love of all things pork.  For some reason, despite the "duck" part of their name, their roast pork is what you want to come here for.

At $8.95/lb you get a succulent and very flavorful piece of pork belly that really makes you understand the true potential of the lowly pig.  Where most Chinese places tend to over-season their pork skin, Roast Duck Kitchen, shows self-restraint and roasts the skin with a nice spice mix that enhances rather than cover the flavor of the pork.  It's also cooked just enough  so that the skin will easily separate from the belly so you can have each piece as individual pieces of gastronomic glee. 

So is it worth the trip here?  If you are one of those who think pork is the ONLY White Meat, then yes.  For the rest of you, stop by if you are in the area.  These porky jewels make for a fulfilling shared snack, a nice side dish, or a main protein for dinner. 

Thanks for reading!