mmm-yoso – Page 399

Just a Reminder….

November 10, 2006 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events

*** An update; the Four Q team ended up taking first place in pulled pork, second in brisket, third in chicken and third overall. Reports can be found at You Gonna Eat That, The SoulFusionKitchen, and The Survival Gourmet.

Just got back from a nice visit…ahem, food and drinks with the Four-Q BBQ Team at the Imperial Beach Beachfront BBQ Competition.

The big day is tomorrow, as "turn in" starts as noon.

I had the a chance to chat with the team of Food Bloggers turned BBQ competitors; Professor Salt(and Katie), Sylvie from Soul Fusion Kitchen, and Neil from The Survival Gourmet, as they attempt to win the California State BBQ Championship. The team generously shared their pre-contest meal with me.

And if it’s any indication……..I think they’ll do very well.

I was impressed at the effort and dedication it takes to compete in an BBQ event. Though as Professor Salt says…"It’s not the cooker…it’s the cook that matters".

FYI, things start getting hot and heavy starting at about noon!

Beachfront BBQ Competition

800 Seacoast Drive

Imperial Beach, CA 91932

Maui: Aloha Mixed Plate

November 7, 2006 mmm-yoso Maui, Plate Lunch, Travel

**** Aloha Mixed Plate has closed

Aloha Mixed Plate had been recommended by several people I know. The bad part is, that all those who recommended AMP had really not had a "good" plate lunch before. On the positive side, if it tastes good and is well prepared, it's still ono, right?

Aloha Mixed Plate is located right behind the Maui Cannery Mall on Front Street. At first we thought we'd grab a couple of Banh Mi at Ba-Le in the mall, but I must admit I kinda freaked out….Banh Mi was going for four bucks, each! Ouch. So we decided to give AMP a try.

After walking up the stairs to the dining area and having a seat…we waited, and waited…finally deciding that perhaps we should get a take-out order. We placed our order and after a short wait drove back to the condo.

The Furikake Garlic Fries($3.50):

These weren't bad, but fell short on flavor. I had thought this would be a really good combination, and I'm still sure it could be, but it would need to have more furikake and garlic.

The Missus ordered the "Chinese" Roast Duck(say what!!! – $6.95):

To be honest this is about "Chinese" (the menu didn't say Chinese-style or Local style Chinese, but Chinese) as anything that Paul Fleming "Chang" would cook up, with very little five spice flavoring. The duck was not bad, though. The portion size was pretty good, and the meat while a bit tough, had a decent duck flavor.

The "Alii" Plate($12.95), had Kalua Pork & Cabbage, Lau Lau……

Lomi Salmon, Poi, and Haupia:

First off the Kalua Pork was terrible…dry with no flavor. You can tell by the color, it was very bland. Tasted like boiled pork.

The Lau Lau on the other hand was not bad, even though it looked like it was steamed in foil. The pork had absorbed the flavor from the luau leaves, and was moist. No butterfish or salted fish in this version, and especially no piece of fatty pork, I think the Lau Lau was kept tame to not freak out any tourists.

The Lomi Lomi Salmon was not very good, much too fishy. Too much tomato, not enough onion, and lousy fish.

The poi was runny, and weak, but the Haupia, even though it really had a more pudding like texture tasted pretty good.

The one and only Aloha Mixed Plate($8.75), had Shoyu Chicken, Teriyaki Beef, and Grilled Mahi Mahi:

The Shoyu Chicken had a nice flavor, but was tough and very dry, same with the Beef. You could tell it was marinated with local-style teriyaki…not as sweet, and with hints of ginger. Much to my surprise, the Mahi Mahi(Dolphin-Fish/Dorado) was pretty good, with a nicely grilled crust, and very moist, and not hint of any off putting fishy flavor.

By Lahaina standards, the prices at AMP are pretty reasonable, though in our opinion not as good in taste and quality(it's cheaper, though) as Honokowai Okazuya & Deli .

Aloha Mixed Plate
1285 Front St
Lahaina, HI 96761

Da Nang Food to Go

November 6, 2006 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Da Nang Food to Go has closed

I'm not quite sure how many times I've passed this little restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard. And I've lost count of the times I've attempted to find parking within a reasonable distance to Da Nang Food to Go. This little restaurant has but 7 little parking stalls that is shared between 3 businesses, and maybe the few stalls in the parking lot of the 7-11 next door, and the curb out front is a no parking zone. So, each time we drove past Da Nang Restaurant, we'd always end up somewhere else…possibly Nhu Y, which is right up the street, or Thien Thanh. But there's a reason we've been pretty persistent about getting a meal here….just read the signs.

Yep, it says Banh Bot Loc, Banh Beo, and most of all Bun Bo Hue. A quick look at the map and you'll see that the city of Da Nang is located in Central Vietnam, South of Hue, and right smack dab on the South China Sea. Even more reason to try and grab a meal here.

We finally figured that we would need to eat there during the evening when the businesses around the restaurant were closed, and indeed on a recent Monday evening the entire parking lot(all 7 stalls) were empty. We felt like we hit the lottery! The interior of this little restaurant is….well quite small, and most of the business seems geared toward take out orders.

The menu at Da Nang Food to Go is small, and limited to mostly Central Vietnamese style dishes. Which for us is a good thing….it usually means a pretty darn good bowl of Bun Bo Hue.

We started with an order of Banh Bot Loc($3.00):

A plate of 8 plump and moist and sticky tapioca flour dumplings made it's way to our table…we could smell the freshly fried shallots, which started our stomachs rumbling. These Banh Bot Loc didn't have an abundance of the smokey, tea like flavor imparted by being wrapped and steamed in banana leaves for a long period of time, but each dumpling held a very tasty piece of shrimp, and a small piece of pork that was a bit less fatty and tough as is normal for Banh Bot Loc. The Nuoc Mam Cham, was slightly spicy and sweet, almost approaching the flavor of sweet chili sauce.

Our garnishes arrived as we were eating our Banh Bot Loc.

In this case mostly bean sprouts….

The Missus ordered Her latest favorite soup Bun Rieu($5.00):

This version of Bun Rieu had a very cloudy broth, with a pronounced sour flavor. It wasn't bad…just different. The noodles were the standard "Bun", the version a bit thinner than the noodles in Bun Bo Hue. The noodles were firm and a perfect al dente. The best thing about the soup was the very good fish cake, and the wonderfully flavored seafood "meatball". The fish cake had a wonderful flavor, and texture. Fried tofu topped everything off. We noticed that this version of Bun Rieu did not have as much tomato as other versions we've had. To sum it up, a not bad bowl of piping hot soup.

I of course had the Bun Bo Hue (no blood – $5.00):

As with the Bun Rieu, this slightly spicy broth was on the cloudy side, and the broth a bit more sour, and not as pungent than I'm used to. The noodles were good and firm. The slices of beef and tendon were okay, on the tough and dry side, and the Pork Hock was most skin. What made this bowl of Bun Bo Hue stand out was the Gio Lua (lean sausage), it had a very strong smokey fragrance, the large pieces of black pepper added a nice zip, and the flavor of the sausage was also a bit more "porky-meaty" than what I'm used too. The dark color also made it a bit unique.

We found out that Da Nang, as many restaurants do, makes their own Gio Lua. In fact, as we ate three people came in to buy the Gio Lua…who knows, I may drop by and pick up one of these banana leaf-wrapped, meat-paste product myself……

Though in our opinion the Bun Bo Hue and Bun Rieu at Da Nang is not as good as Mein Trung, I'd still give it a try again….and order something else like the Bun Mit Thit Ba Roi(Vermicelli with Pork and Jackfruit), or the Bun Mang Vit(Vermicelli, Bamboo shoot and Duck soup), or the Mi Quang, or…….after all, I'm guessing you all are getting pretty tired of my obsession with Bun Bo Hue by now!

Da Nang Food to Go (aka Quan an Da Nang)
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Saturday “Stuffs”

November 4, 2006 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

*** An updated post on Dae Jang Keum can be found here.

Here’s some updates and notes.

Boo Cho has gone through several Owners over the last few years. So I guess that the newest set of owners have decided that a name change was necessary, So Boo Cho has become Dae Jang Keum, or Dae Jang Kuem, depending on which sign you read……

The restaurant has sure gone through a major face lift, new glass doors, the bar next door, has been renovated as well. I haven’t had a chance to eat there yet, but will make sure to check it out soon.

One other restaurant has changed names, Ko Hayang Jip is now Go-Ba-Woo. I keep forgetting to mention the name change.

We’ve visited twice since the name change, and the food and menu is still the same.

Go Ba Woo BBQ
4373 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

I’m guessing that Chopstix is doing rather well. Chopstix Too has just opened in the former Samurai Sam’s location across from Mitsuwa Marketplace.

Chopstix Too
4380 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

A few other upcoming events.

We saw this sign posted on Clairemont Drive.

In case you’re interested.

Imperial Beach Beachfront BBQ Competition.

Yes, a real BBQ contest sanctioned by the California Barbecue Association. The event will take place on November 10th and 11th. We’ll be there for sure, since one of our favorite fellow Food Bloggers Professor Salt, and the Four-Q BBQ Team, made up of fellow Food Bloggers will be competing.

You can read about it on You gonna eat that?

Good luck Four-Q!

Logo courtesy Four-Q BBQ team

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

China Chef

November 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** An updated post on China Chef has closed

I recently received an Email from BruceT who mentioned a new Sichuan style restaurant located on Mira Mesa Boulevard. In the Email Bruce mentions cold Sichuan dishes….which meant a visit post haste.

As you approach the restaurant you arrive at the proverbial "fork in the road". Go toward the left, and you'll arrive at a rather generic Chinese Fast Food style restaurant, to the right you'll arrive at "Heavenly Kitchen Sichuan Dishes…." Hard choice, huh?

As we entered we saw the cold appetizers…this indeed looked like our destination. All the usual suspects from the thinly sliced Pig Ear to Fu Qi Fei Pien were in view.

The restaurant itself is fairly small with just a few tables.

As we looked over then menu, we noticed a few strangely familiar dishes like Spicy Fish Slices with Golden Mushroom, and Cumin Flavored Lamb. So while I selected a few appetizers, the Missus had a conversation with our Server. It seems that one of the new Owners is one of the former Chefs from Dede's on Convoy, thus the familiar dishes. According to the waitress he is originally from Chonqing, and this version of China Chef has been open since the end of August.

Here's our 3 appetizer plate(3 appetizers – $5.45):

The pickled greens and soybeans had a strange overly bitter flavor, and left an oily film on in my mouth, the marinated bamboo shoots looked really good, but were bland except for the flavor of sesame oil. The Fu Qi Fei Pien was not bad, but was lacking in Sichuan peppercorns, and the pieces were not cut into uniform slices, still it wasn't too bad.

Since we've eaten at Dede's we decided to try some different dishes, and started with the Chinese Bacon(Howie – it's your La Rou Chao La dish) with Spicy Green Pepper($7.95):

Slices of cured Pork Belly is stir fried with Leeks and dried red chilies. As expected the dish was on the salty side, though not as greasy as I thought it would be. The dish was surprisingly spicy, a very much "in your face" spicy.

Rice Crust with Chicken($8.95):

Not a good rendition of this classic dish, the sauce was on the watery side, and the usual deep chicken flavor was lacking.

Shrimp with Dry Red Pepper($9.45):

First off, we were impressed with all the good sized shrimp, which were not shelled, just lightly battered and fried, than stir-fried with scorched dried red chilies – think salt and pepper prawns(without the pepper) stir-fried with dried chilies. I've had several versions of this classic Chongqing Chili dish, and found this one to be a very one dimensional spicy, lacking the "buzz" of Sichuan Pepper, and the back of throat slow burn. The usual slight sweetness of these type of dishes was also missing. It was very spicy, though. Not a bad dish.

We found the dishes at China Chef to be more on the rustic side, and a bit one-dimensional. Sort of like Dede's with more heat. I may be back in the future to try out a few other dishes, the potential is there. At least you can now take care of your Sichuan craving without driving down to Convoy. You'll find the prices at China Chef to be quite reasonable (from $5.95-$12.95) as well.

China Chef Restaurant
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd #110
San Diego, CA 92126

Open Tues-Thurs 11am – 930pm
   Fri-Sat 11am – 10pm
   Sun 11am – 930pm
   Closed Mondays

Thanks for the recommendation Bruce T!

Leilani’s Cafe

November 1, 2006 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

I remember once being asked while having some sushi, "geez what do you do, drive around different neighborhoods looking for interesting places to eat?" I remember answering with an affirmative, "Yes, doesn't everybody?" And getting a strange look in return. I don't quite know how to describe the expression on that Gentleman's face, maybe pitiful amazement would suffice, but that look has remained imprinted upon my memory. And every so often when I do "take a drive", I chuckle to myself thinking about that look.

And those drives do pay off, as in the case of Leilani's Cafe. I was driving up the "quiet" part of Cass street in Pacific Beach, when the banner for Leilani's Cafe caught my eye.

Leilani's looks like another one of the almost endless number of coffee shops and cafes in the Pacific Beach area….I do think there's one on every corner. And I would have just driven past, except that I saw the Kikkoman Soy Sauce bottles sitting on the tables lining the outdoor patio tables, I can spot a Kikkoman bottle a hundred yards away…okay I'm exaggerating…make it fifty yards away. The significance of the shoyu bottle is important, telling me it's more than muffins, croissants, and sandwiches being served at Leilani's. When I got home, I did a quick search on the indispensable Southern California Plate Lunch Connection, and found a listing for Leilani's, which pretty much sealed the deal. I dropped by Leilani's on a quiet afternoon.

As I walked into the tiny cafe, I could hear the sounds of Bruddah Iz in the background. The interior of Leilani's is quite small, and the fireplace in the corner and later on, when I saw the shower stall in the restroom, it pretty much confirmed that this was a former residential studio or duplex. The walls are lined with photos of Leilani's Grandchildren, and other "local-kine" knick-knacks.

Initially, the menu seems a bit long and somewhat intimidating. The first thing that strikes you are what seems like every single type of Frappa-Zappa-Crappa-Nappa-Cuppu-cino known to mankind. It did seem as if Leilani's was just a Coffee Shop. But wait, a little to the right, and you'll start seeing familiar items.

And there among the Hot Oatmeal, and Cream Cheese Bagels, were the Loco Mocos, Spam and Eggs, and even a Spam Bagel! Most items ran in the $6 to $10 range.

Being absolutely famished, I went for the most expensive item on the menu, the Big Luau Plate ($12.50). After I placed my order, Leilani went to the tiny back kitchen, and started cooking everything up. The aroma of the food cooking triggered off some memories….it smelled like my Mom's cooking……

After a short wait(Leilani was doing all the cooking Herself), my plate arrived. Where to begin….let's start with the starch, there were two scoops of rice, with some Teri-Sauce on it(this is scary, it really is like Mom), A piece of Local-Style Teri Chicken, Kalua Pork and Cabbage, and a rather large piece of Fried Mahi Mahi. The Kalua Pork was moist, and had a nice smoky flavor, and wasn't too salty, overall it was quite good. The cabbage was a bit undercooked for my tastes, but this goes to show that it was made to order, not sitting around to to be microwaved. You can't really see it, but there was a pretty large portion of Kalua Pork and Cabbage. The fish was a simple seasoned and fried piece of Mahi Mahi. I'll readily admit that this isn't everyones cup of tea, it's a bit more fishy, and there were more than a few bones. But this is almost exactly the same way that my Mother used to fry up Aku, and other fish, no frills, simple, and the fish will stand on it's own. The fish was moist and flaky.

The piece of Teriyaki Chicken thigh was full of flavor, sweet yet not too sweet, very good! Beats that generic Hawaiian BBQ stuff any day of the week. The macaroni salad had a good amount of mayo, just enough salt, and the addition of celery was a nice flavor and texture bonus. This was a satisfying and filling(to the point of a nap) meal.

So, of course I had to make a return visit. There were two items that I was a bit interested in, Leilani's Spicy Hawaiian Fried Rice($5.75), and of course the Loco Moco($6.25). Lucky for me, I could get the best of both worlds, it's called a Hilo Style Loco Moco($8.75):

This Loco Moco featured a nicely browned hand formed hamburger patty. I'm pretty sure that the patty was almost all beef without filler, which meant a drier and tougher patty, but with a more pronounced beef flavor. The gravy was home-made, dark in color, with a mild beef flavor. The eggs were done a perfect over-medium.

The spicy fried rice was studded with pieces of Portuguese and Spicy Italian Sausage, which added great flavor. As did the shredded carrots. The rice was indeed fairly spicy…..I really enjoyed it.

The food at Leilani's has that "home cooked" signature, something that Mom or your favorite Aunty might make for you. The food may take a while longer, but it does carry that bit of TLC that is missing at those generic, corporate, all-business type restaurants.

I did manage to chat a bit with Leilani, but unfortunately didn't get much info on Her, other than She's from Hawaii…we were too busy talking about getting Local-Kine stuff in San Diego, and how she prepares Her food, and other "stuffs".

Hey even your Pooch can get a little bit of Aloha!

For some reason, I don't do very much exploratory driving anymore…maybe I need to get back into the groove…….you never know what you might find!

Leilani's is open 7 days a week, from 630 am to 2pm.

Leilani's Cafe
5109 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109

Open Daily 630am-2pm

Mien Trung Part 2

October 30, 2006 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

I first heard of Mein Trung when the Twins at Sandwich Emporium mentioned both Mein Trung and Hoai Hue Deli as having the best two versions of Bun Bo Hue in San Diego. And while we were on vacation, the ever intrepid Cathy managed a visit and write up, so please read it first here. Think of this as a sort of addendum to Her visit.

I was told that Mien Trung didn’t actually serve Bun Bo Hue in the restaurant until recently. At first the Bun Bo Hue was only made for "catering" orders, and you can still see that today, as people arrive bringing in large metal pots to be filled, returned, or picked up wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. I guess the demand was finally large enough for Mien Trung to start serving Bun Bo Hue in the little restaurant on Mesa College Drive. So let’s start with the food……

The Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet($4.99):

The Bun Bo Hue broth is very balanced, neither too sour, spicy, pungent, or oily. I’d say that the broth has a great attribute, that I really can’t put my finger on, or my tongue around, I’ll just call it that complex something extra, a rich combination of flavors that makes a good bowl of Bun Bo Hue what it is. Another mention should go to the often under appreciated noodles which are always served at an excellent al dente state, I’ve often had my Bun Bo Hue with soft over cooked noodles, noodles that have been cut, or have some short coming that I don’t enjoy. The noodles also hold form during the whole eating process. I also enjoy the Gio Lua – the lean pork sausage, this version is studded with peppercorns which are a pleasant surprise. I do end up adding a small spoon or two of fermented shrimp paste, and maybe a bit of chili oil to give the broth an added punch. I’ve found that the other meat provided are pretty pedestrian; the thick cut beef is just okay and sometimes dry and tough, the tendon served is usually two to three small pieces that are of the thick cut variety and hard to eat. On occasion, the pork hock has a good bit of meat, that always feels like a bonus…sort of like the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. This is possibly the best Bun Bo Hue in San Diego……

The Missus has found a new favorite noodle soup; it’s the Bun Rieu, She alternates between the Bun Rieu($4.50):

and the Bun Rieu Oc Dac Biet(Oc=snails $5.75):

She enjoyed these soups so much, that we had to return 5 times in the two weeks after we had returned to San Diego from our vacation. For those who’ve never had Bun Rieu, it’s a seafood based broth, traditionally made from a dark brown crab found in rice paddies. The crab is cleaned, than pound into a paste, shells and all, and strained several times. Eventually after this process is completed, the crab liquid is clarified, and the remaining meat is formed into patties. The soup is than made with the crab liquid, tomatoes, and other seasonings, resulting in Bun Bo Hue. I really don’t know how this soup is made, but it’s mighty good. You can still see the tasty "crab cake" that is provided, along with fried bean curd. The soup has an additional slightly sour flavor, and the fried shallots, sliced onion, and cilantro add wonderful flavor to the broth. You’ll find that the "Bun" is slightly thinner than the variety used for Bun Bo Hue. The Oc’, or snails really don’t have much flavor, and some Nuoc Mam Cham is provided for the slightly rubbery snails. After having this a few times, the Missus grew tired of them, and now gets Her own variation. She now asks for Bun Rieu "Dac Biet", while placing Her hands about 18 inches apart, and now gets a jumbo size bowl of Bun Rieu. You could say it’s the "Rieu thing"!

So while the Missus has been enjoying Her Bun Rieu, I’ve been exploring a few other dishes, like the Bun Mang Vit(Rice Vermicelli Soup with Bamboo Shoots and Duck$4.99):

The broth for the soup is on the lighter side, and the taste of the reconstituted dried bamboo shoots adds a woodsy flavor. Overall, I found the duck to be rather flavorless, and to me there really wasn’t enough bamboo in the soup. The soup comes with the usual topping of cilantro, fried shallots, and sliced onions. I still prefer the version at Chinese Kitchen, mainly for the amount of bamboo, and the flavorful duck. The broth at Mien Trung is more complex.

I also had a chance to try the Hen Xuc Banh Trang($4.99), and interesting appetizer, sort of like Chip n’ Dip with an attitude:

A plate of stir fried baby clams, topped with sliced onions and cilantro is the "dip". The clams are very mildly spicy, with the distinct taste of black pepper. A large toasted Sesame Cracker(the chip) is provided for scooping purposes.

I found the clams to be somewhat gritty, and the Missus thought the whole dish to be somewhat fishy. Funny thing, I took the leftover clams(it was quite a bit), and used them in my packaged ramen broth, and man did it taste good!

We also partook of a few of the Central Vietnamese "Banh" (Steamed Cake) dishes. Starting with the Banh Beo($3.75):

Man this was alot of Banh Beo! It was kind of on the dry side, but did it have alot of ground dried shrimp on it, but it never tasted very fishy. It was all topped off with two slices of Gio Lua.

The Banh Bot Loc($3.75):

These steamed tapioca flour dumplings filled with a piece of shrimp and pork is steamed and served in a piece of banana leaf that adds a wonderful smoky, almost tea like flavor to the dumpling. The Missus enjoyed the flavor, though thought the pork was very tough. It was served with a little dish of Nuoc Mam(fish sauce), with sliced red chilies in it that was super spicy…as in burn your lips of spicy.

The Ban Nam La($3.75), which Cathy covers in detail:

As I mentioned at the outset, for more details please read Cathy’s post on Mien Trung. Mien Trung has been added to rotation, the Missus peeked over my shoulder as I was typing this up, and said "mmmm, we need to get that this week!"

The service at Mien Trung is quick, and the folks are friendly, and the soup is always served hot.

Mien Trung
7530 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Tues-Sun 11am-8pm

Fall Back the mmm-yoso Way – Brunch at the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel

October 29, 2006 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Buffets, yoso-silly

*** The Hanalei Hotel is now a Crowne Plaza Hotel, and the Sunday Brunch is no more…..

Coming from Hawaii, I’ve always thought the time changes for Daylight Saving Time to be quite strange. I’ve read about the Rationales for DST, and well as the criticisms. To most of us, it just means changing our clocks. Over the last 3 years or so, we’ve found a new rationale for DST, or at least the "Fall Back" portion. After thinking about whole process, we had come to the conclusion that gaining an extra hour during the last Sunday of October meant, not an extra hour of sleep, but an extra hour of digestion……get the drift? Thus, we’ve made a sort of tradition of having Sunday Brunch on Fall Back Sunday, and putting that extra hour of digestion to good use.

We rarely partake of Sunday Brunch, but have 2 favorite brunches in San Diego, one a bit more on the expensive side, Le Fountainebleu at the Westgate Hotel runs about $40 per person, and the Sunday Brunch at the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel, which runs about $25 per person. I won’t go into great detail about these brunches, mainly because I’d just be going over what you can find at Jim, The Sunday Brunchmasters Site. Jim goes over the info and offerings at the Red Lion Hanalei Brunch here.

I’ll just post a few photos.

As with most brunches of any price, you mileage will vary. At this brunch, we’re not particularly fond of the shrimp and crab legs, nor the "sushi"…but, the shrimp is peeled, and the crab legs are already halved, and if you love "rolls" you might find the sushi to be pretty good. We also are not big fans of the chafing dish items.

But as those photos above show, one of the items we love at this brunch is the smoked salmon.

The Missus will eat about a pound of the stuff. We also enjoy the Kona Coffee, the Champagne(sorry don’t remember the brand), and most of all, the service. We’ve always had good service at the Red Lion Hanalei. For example on this visit, it was quite packed, and we didn’t want to deal with the crowds, and since it was a very pleasant morning we were seated outside. I asked for a ramekin for the "Jus", and not knowing that it’s not among the plates, the very nice young man, told me to hold on a second, ran into the kitchen and brought me a ramekin, before I had a chance to tell him not to go out his way. The Missus went so far as to ask the Young Man manning the carving station for the bone from the leg of lamb….for guess who? Let’s just say "Da Boyz" loved it, and when our Server found out She brought us a "doggie bag"(literally) for it. And to top things off, when we were presented with our bill, the Young Lady told us that she had a few extra $2 off coupons, so She used them for us! How’s that for service!

Here’s Frankie’s bone.

Today the Lamb was very good, better than on our previous 2 visits.

Of course you can’t forget about the desserts.

I don’t have a real sweet tooth, but the Missus says the selection is nice. And of course the chocolate tower. The Missus needs to be under supervision whenever She gets close to one of these, I’m always worried that She’ll stick some chicken or shrimp under the fountain and make me eat it. She has been known to cause fountain malfunctions by using too much chocolate, and the Brunchmaster was a witness to one of these incidents.

Just ignore the rice in the photo…it’s a long story. For dessert I just had some pineapple to help me optimize that extra hour of digestion.

Overall I think we made great use of the extra hour, what do you think? How did you use that extra hour???? Oh and what about losing that hour in March? Well, you just have to eat faster! LOL!

All the info you need to know for this brunch can be found here.

Thanks for putting up with this silliness and indulging me. Tomorrow it’s back to stuff like this:

Maui: Home Maid Bakery

October 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Bakery, Desserts, Maui, Travel

There is a Japanese tradition of giving gifts when returning from a trip, these gifts are called Omiyage. In Hawaii, the tradition is deeply rooted, and goes beyond ethnic and cultural differences. In fact, when making a trip from say, Honolulu, to Hilo, your mind automatically starts ticking off what you need to bring back for Omiyage…., Mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen, or something from Big Island Candies. The tradition even works in reverse; when taking trips to Lanai, Manapua(sort of a steamed Char Siu Bao, but bigger), Pork Hash(Siu Mai), and Pepiao from Char Hung Sut was a required gift. Maui seems to have more than it’s share of Omiyage items, though the list seems to be getting shorter(of the stuff I know) as time goes by. Long gone are the Maui Hot Dogs and Shishido Manju. But several sources of Omiyage are going strong. One of those sources is located in Wailuku on Lower Main street, Home Maid Bakery.

The bakery is not that hard to find, but parking can be. Though it might not be a long wait since cars are always leaving as quickly as they are entering the hilly, uneven, slightly pot-holed parking lot. And Home Maid’s hours are very convenient, they are open from 5am to 10pm daily.

Once in the bakery, you’ll notice all of the bags lined up on the back counter; those are the orders waiting for pick-up, mostly for people on the way to the airport. There are a variety of various pastries available, and most of it is self-serve. But on this trip to the airport to pick-up the Missus’s parents, we decided to try the malasadas, those wonderful Portuguese fried donut like pastries. I’d been warned of the sometimes surly service at Home Maid, but on this day, the Older Lady working the counter was very nice. And we got a dozen to go($6.60):

You’ll notice only eleven malasadas in the box. That’s because, in order to stop a certain someone with a growling tummy from salivating all over the box(not me…), I had to open it up, and that malasada was inhaled. Overall, these were not too bad, they lacked the yeasty goodness of the malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery, but were not a bad substitute for someone who had not had a decent malasada in 5 years. The confections were slightly crisp, very hot, and sugary. Please note that malasadas are only available from 530am to 930am, and 4pm to 10pm daily. When I kiddingly asked the Lady why that was…She looked up with a total deadpan expression and said, "cause no mo’ malasada man!" And proceeded to crack up…….

But what Home Maid Bakery really is known for are the Crispy Manju, which unlike traditional Japanese Manju, has a crisp pastry crust (Think pie crust). So I had to make sure to buy a couple for snacking pleasure.

I picked up the Imo (sweet potato) and Crispy Manju Deluxe(lot’s of azuki). The Missus really didn’t care much for them, She’s much more of a traditionalist, and while I still enjoy the buttery sweetness, I thought these seem to be much more greasy than I remember.

My Mother In Law on the other hand, who obviously eats this much more often than we do(living in Honolulu) loved them. And we made a stop on the way to the Airport so they could grab a good selection as Omiyage for their friends and the people at work. The MIL says, the Coconut is really good.

So on your way to the airport, don’t forget the Crispy Manju from Home Maid Bakery.

Home Maid Bakery
1005 Lower Main Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
Open 5 a.m.-10 p.m
7 days a week,

Malasadas Available
530am – 930am
4pm – 10pm

Maui: Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar

October 26, 2006 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Maui, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

For our one "big" dinner, we decided to stick close to Kapalua, and have dinner at Sansei. I’d always wanted to check out Sansei, I just never thought that it would be at the Kapalua location. Sansei had recently moved up the road, and now was right next to the Honolua Store. In fact, there was still a minimum of signage to identify the restaurant.

For those that don’t know, the word "Sansei", is Japanese, and literally means "Third Generation". And is the creation of D.K. Kodama, a Third Generation(hence the Sansei) AJA Chef and Restauranteur. The cuisine is a called Japanese-inspired Pacific Rim Cuisine, aka "fusion". Pacific Rim fusion when done well, is eye(and palate) opening, and innovative. But when done poorly, as with most restaurants jumping on the Pacific Rim band wagon, the food is gimmicky, the flavors confusing (what I call, con-fusion cuisine), and is just plain terrible.

As we walked toward the restaurant, I was really glad that I had made reservations; there was a pretty long line out the door. It was 630 pm on Thursday, and all three dining areas, the sushi bar, and the lounge was packed. The Hostess was informing people walking in hoping to score a table, or a seat at the sushi bar that there was a 45 minute wait. We had a short wait and was shown to a nice little table. Over on the next table were a tourist couple. The matching His and Her Big Flower Aloha attire, and the very, very, bad (think lobsterville) sunburn was a real giveaway. During the evening, this young couple provided us with some amusement. We could hear them asking the Server, "what is this shish-shimi", and "ewww, that’s goose liver!" he-he-he.

Our Server was named Todd, actually it was Todd #1, I’ll explain later. We decided to go the "small plates" route and placed our order. I need to apologize, we had so much stuff, that I didn’t really keep track of the prices, but I’ll let you know the total later. Also, the photos aren’t the best, and because everybody was taking photos in this really dark restaurant, we really didn’t feel bad.

The Panko Crusted Ahi Sashimi Sushi Roll, the menu said that this was a "must try" item.

This "roll" is Ahi, wrapped with Arugula, and Nori, crusted with panko and deep fried. Apparently this roll had been lying around for a bit, it arrived in less than 5 minutes, the panko crust was cold, the fish over cooked, though I loved the flavor that the arugula brought to the dish. It was served with a very tasty Soy Wasabi Butter Sauce that I could have eaten with a whole bowl of rice.

The Seared Foie Gras Nigiri Sushi($17), when this arrived, I started salivating…..

And this did not disappoint; it was by far my favorite dish of the night. 2 Nigiri style rice balls, with seared Foie Gras(remember "Ewww goose liver"). The Foie Gras had that nice slightly crusted, buttery texture; with a bit of the caramelized onions to add sweetness, and a bit of the reduced Nitsume Tare(Eel Sauce), this was delici-yoso!! I was really tempted to order more…..

Sansei’s Ahi Poke and Sweet Maui Onion($11), I was really looking forward to this. Just the thought of sushi grade fish combined with Maui onions!

The unfortunate truth was…..train wreck. First off, there was way too much Togarashi, so the dish was so very lip burning spicy, that you really had a problem tasting anything. The Wakame was too tough, like eating rubber, and all the cucumber pseudo-Kimchi added was to make it sour.

Matsuhisa Style Miso Butterfish:

This is a "baseline " dish for the Missus, since I’ve been making Misoyaki for years using my Mom’s modified recipe. So whenever we visit a restaurant, the Missus will go for the Miso Black Cod. I once sat in amusement, while the Missus told the Uber-Yuppified Server at Matsuhisa, "my Husband’s Miso Black Cod tastes better than this"!

When this arrived at the table, I was a bit apprehensive. It looked under marinated. But one taste erased all doubts. The fish was super fresh and moist, the flavor, a combination of sweet-salty-umami, was in perfect harmony. The Missus cleaned it up, skin and all, and it was all I could do to stop Her from licking the Mirin based sauce off the plate. Her favorite dish of the night.

Dungeness Crab Ramen with Asian Truffle Broth($14):

Too much going on, the heat from the red chilies and the strong basil flavor nullified any possible Truffle flavor. The broth was nothing special, and the noodles were mushy. The Dungeness Crab had no taste.

The Kenny G, slices of Onaga(Ruby Snapper), in Ponzu Sauce, over a bed of grated Daikon(oroshi), topped with Masago(Smelt Roe), and a fine julienne of Thai Basil.

Like hearing a constant loop of a Elevator-Muzak version of Songbird, this was a very uninspired dish. The snapper was dry and tough, the oroshi just made the dish bitter, too little ponzu sauce didn’t help matters, and the combination of "all of the above" with the Thai Basil, gave the dish a medicinal taste.

At this time, we decided to order a few more items, but had no clue. Todd #1 to the rescue. Todd made two recommendations, and I found something interesting to order. Todd recommended the Chinese Style Snapper Sashimi:

Hot oil is drizzled on thin slices of Opakapaka(Hawaiian Pink Snapper) with soy sauce and a touch of sesame oil. This is a good example of how good fusion can be when it works. The only gripe would be that I’d like my fish to be more rare.

Todd’s second recommendation was the Lobster & Blue Crab Ravioli, served in a Truffled Shiitake Mushroom and Madiera Cream Sauce…whew, what a mouthful!

The Ravioli were good, the crab meat sweet, and the lobster meat adding a great texture to the ravioli. The sauce was a bit over the top and rich, but pretty good overall.

I couldn’t help myself and ordered the Tako Shiokara($5). As the dish arrived Todd told me; "You’re lucky, this is the last order we have……..the rest is being used as bait tomorrow!" Ba-Dum-Dum.

As Shiokara is concerned, this was very tame, lacking the heavy fermented-fishy flavor of Shiokara. As an appetizer, this was pretty good. I was surprised at how the Kimchee sauce worked so well with the raw Octopus.

All told our meal + 1 small Sawanotsuru Zuicho Daiginjo(smooth….) the bill came to $120 without tip. We didn’t think the prices were too bad considering all the stuff we ate.

A quick word on Todd#1, he did a great job. We could tell that he was absolutely slammed, but he always had time for us, had a great sense of humor, did a great job explaining the dishes, and was very efficient while being unobtrusive. What’s in the name? Apparently at one time there were up to 6 "Todd’s" working at Sansei, so they gave each one a number….. So on this visit we got the one and only original Todd.

So would we return? I’m pretty sure we would. The food when it was good was very good, and the service was excellent. As we left there was a long line of people still waiting for tables, or maybe a seat at the Sushi Bar……….

Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar
600 Office Road
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761