As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
Even though my first "Breakfast of Champions" post is probably the most spammed (somehow appropriate) post on our blog, I couldn't help but do a follow-up. Here's the breakfasts I had during my last trip home.
Kapiolani Coffee Shop:
I really got a kick from the very old-school atmosphere at Kapiolani Coffee Shop during my oxtail soup stop, that I went back just to see what breakfast was like.
There were no customers when I arrived, and was directed to exactly the same table I had sat at before….funny, yeah?
I got a cup of coffee while I looked over the menu…..yep, this place is old school all right, the cup o'joe tasted like it had been sitting around since I was in high school! Man, it was like mud….the real friendly guy kept wanting to refill it, but I just kept telling him, "no need" and making up some excuse like, "my docta' said I got to cut down on da' caffiene, no good fo' my heart" and stuff like that. Yeeeesh……
I hoped that my loco moco fared better and it did.
The kitchen bouquet gravy could have used a bit more salt and the eggs were a bit past how I want my easy-over eggs to be, but this wasn't bad at all. The hamburger patty had been pressed on the griddle developing a nice char, but the gravy balanced out the possibility of a dry burger. Not bad at all.
But what I enjoyed the most was the mac salad.
it had just the right amount of salt and mayo and was nicely chilled. I actually wanted to order more mac salad…..but how would I explain, since I supposedly had "one bad ticka'"…..no coffee because of a cardiac problem and I'm there eating like three scoops of macaroni salad??? Would have been a bit odd….so I decided just to enjoy what I had.
Kapiolani Coffee Shop 98-020 Kamehameha Hwy Aiea, HI 96701
Harry's Cafe:
Harry's Cafe, on Waimanu street, just a block and a half from Kapiolani has a bit of a cult following. The place is a total hole-in-the-wall and very divey….the type of places that "butt crack guys"…you know, the fellows who work the trades, stop and devour a ton of calories before heading to work.
They are also famous for a 99 cent breakfast……..
I was a bit late for the special, but decided to drop by for breakfast anyway. The place was pretty busy when I arrived. Four movers were eating a massive amount of food on one table….at the bar, a pretty seedy looking couple talked toeach other real loud….the woman kept half running out of the place to get "some fresh air"….yeah, right. They ended up sharing two pancakes and one cup of coffee! Every time they spoke real loud, the movers would all turn and give them the "stink eye".
I really got a kick out of the labeling for the sugar dispenser……makes me wonder if someone once mistook this for salt ot visa-versa???
I believe that "Harry" retired a while back and sold the place to the very nice Korean woman, whose name is Christy if I recall.
I was pretty hungry and went with the Corned Beef Hash Loco Moco.
Honestly, not the best breakfast I've ever had….the yolks of the eggs had broken, the gravy was somewhat gluey, and the corned beef hash was too soft and mushy, with no caramelization. It also tasted kinda funky……after reading this post on Kat's Blog, I'm pretty sure it wasn't my canned corn beef of choice either.
But heck, it was reasonable and gave me more than enough calories for the shopping I needed to do for the Missus.
Harry's Cafe 1101 Waimanu St Honolulu, HI 96814
Hours: Mon-Fri 6am – 3pm Sat 7am – 2pm Sun 7am – 12pm
Diner's Drive In Waimalu:
**** This location of Diners has closed
On the day I was to leave for home, I left the in-laws pretty early. I still had some shopping to do and I wanted to hit up at least one place for lunch. Anyway, I wanted to check email and stuff and needed a wi-fi connection so I stopped in Waimalu at Starbuck's. As I walked to Starbuck's, I could hear Diner's calling me. It was early, I was a bit hungry so why not?
When I entered, I noticed two of the "bruddah's" each eating on a different table had two styrofoam containers open and were eating from both. It didn't register until I opened up my $6.95 breakfast.
Do they sell "small" eggs? Check out the size of the eggs compared to the three, fairly thin slices of Portuguese Sausage. No wonder those guys were eating two plates!
The woman working the counter was very nice though……not much else to say…..
Diner's Drive-In 98-1277 Kaahumanu St Aiea, HI 96701
So there you go…….a trio of breakfasts and a ton of calories….and I still lost weight! Go figure!
After lunch at Mitch's I was off on a mission for the Missus at Ala Moana Center. Man, when I was first back here after being gone for almost a decade I was totally….well, overwhelmed might be the word. Ala Moana had grown into a multi-level, multi-building, multi (terrible)-parking, monster. Now two visits later, I've kinda relaxed and grown easy with the place.
It being a beautiful, if a bit muggy day, made things a lot easier. Still, I couldn't believe how hard it was to find parking at 130 in the afternoon.
After picking up gifts and omiyagi, I still had a great deal of time on my hands, so I decided to take one of my favorite drives….. I'm a "townie" at heart and I've always had a fondness for Mount Tantalus and Round Top Drive. Of course, it's been maybe almost fifteen years since I've been here. I wondered what had changed….well some things have changed, like, I don't remember the viewing platform at Puu Ualakaa State Wayside. You still can't beat the views from here.
I could see some rain moving in from Manoa Valley to my left…….
If you look down to the grassy area in front of the platform…..you can still imagine scenes from a certain well known movie filmed in Hawaii.
I used come up here once in a while when I lived here……though many times during the later part of the evenings….ummmm…..to…well…look at the city lights…yeah, to look at the city lights.
The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around, just checking things out……until I went to meet my friends for Pau Hana time, at a place where I've spent many of my evenings for over a decade.
I've kinda gone through this before, but from the day 8 Fat Fat 8 opened, we….I was a regular customer until I left Honolulu. In fact, even after I left, the Missus and I would return as the owner, Sy (RIP) adored the Missus. He knew the Missus as that quiet young lady who never understood what my friends and I were talking about (it's pidgin after all) but loved his black-bean ginger crab. In fact, I'd return there to meet friends and Sy would ask me, "when your wife come….tell me….I go buy crab!" So I'd tell him….the Missus and I would get there and have a seat at the table reserved by my friends. Sy would bring out this bucket and place a couple of live crab on the table! They'd be scuttling around….he'd tell the Missus, "which one you want….you pick!" Man, those were good times……much happened behind those seedy looking doors in the joint next to Midas on Beretania.
It was quite interesting….I hadn't been here since Sy passed away. There's a pool table now, fewer dart boards….still karaoke though. And to my joy, the place is still hopping, at least on a Friday night. Much has changed, different folks, different kinds of drinks, everybody texts, or tweets, or whatever….but pau hana time endures.
I ordered my usual drink…..which will make those craft beer lovers in San Diego cringe. But when I'm back home; it's "Bud light, bucket ice"…..you don't buck tradition.
It was nice to know that Sy's daughter, I believe her name is Mary….I only remember Sy telling me when she was going to school in Beijing, is now running the place. It's been modernized a bit, business seems more formal, but it's still totally local.
And in my opinion, some of the best "stick to your ribs" local kind grindz are found at places like these. The best example would be Side Street Inn……
So here's what we had as pupus……I hadn't had Crispy Gau Gee, since before the millennium….
Crispy, salty, shrimpy, porky, dipped in a mildly spicy-shoyu sauce…..it took me back to my childhood when "Chinese Food" (notice the quotes) was something we had on special occasions.
"L" wanted the calamari, which, to me was over battered and gummy….though it was decent drinking food.
We ended by getting "Fat Fat Chicken", which was my favorite menu item here. It was the signature item that set 8 Fat Fat 8 apart when they first opened.
Basically salt and pepper chicken, flavored with five-spice, deep fried. This is still pretty good…crisp skin, nice flavor, great with beer, not as dry as I recalled.
Beyond the food; it was nice seeing my "old friends"….and we are getting older. I'm hoping we'll be meeting up again soon…… 2 Filipino's from Kalihi, 1 dude from Cleveland, and me….how we ever got to be life-long friends, I'll never know…..and that really doesn't matter, does it?
8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille 1327 S Beretania St Honolulu, HI 96814
My MIL actually gave me a "day off" during my stay….just joking, I was meeting friends for "dinner" and since libations were going to be involved driving back to Ewa Beach was out of the question. Though we weren't meeting until about 7, I started my day very early with a nice breakfast (a later post), then did some shopping for the Missus. The Missus had encouraged me to have a "really good" lunch and since the temps were hitting the high 80's, I thought sushi would be great…..not mayo-filled, mega rice bomb fast-foodish stuff, but a light meal of decent quality fish. My list of three was pretty easy….Sushi Sasabune…but they didn't open until 12, Sushi Izakaya Gaku is a strictly dinner only place, and Mitch's Fish Market. Mitch's opens at 1130 and is located in a warehouse in the industrial zoned area near the airport. It does indeed look a bit like a machine shop or similar business….
I managed to squeeze my rental into a tiny little slot down the street from the tiny (5 seat sushi bar and two four tops) shop. The place was half full, a group of three to my left on the bar was hitting the Otokoyama pretty early in the day. don't blame them though….Mitch's is purely BYOB, so why not…hopefully you're not driving after all that sake, though. I looked over the menu in chalk on the wall, with various specials and the head Itamae, maybe because he didn't know me handed me over to his right hand man, Masa Murakami…perhaps he didn't deem me worthy? No complaints, though as I had an excellent light meal…which started and ended with o-toro.
At twenty bucks a pop, this ain't cheap, but I gotta tell you; it was very nice….melt in your mouth nice……touch it and it seems to start melting nice. The other piece had a slight brown streak on it, but also just melted in my mouth….such richness is worth the price once in a while. Cheap and sushi/sashimi are not inclusive of each other….. The rice was well prepared, you could count every grain, and it was not too tightly packed.
The only item I thought was not up to par was the Kohada(gizzard shad).
Which lacked the slightly cured milkiness that I enjoy.
The Kanpachi(Amberjack) on the other hand was quite good.
It looked dry and almost firm like shiromi, but man, when I put it into my mouth with just a drop of shoyu it almost melted away, rich and clean, with a slight sweetness.
I decided to try some other specials. First up, Isaki, known as Chicken Grunt(how's that for a paradoxial name) or Striped Pigfish, was something that I'd never had before.
Topped with a light drizzle of ponzu, green onions, and momji oroshi, this had a fairly delicate texture when compared to, say snapper or halibut.
I also got some Shima Aji (jack) which I know best by it's local name papio.
This had a nice mild sweetness to it, it was also a lot more tender and light than versions I've had before. I definitely want this again. I finished my meal with another duo of o-toro and left feeling refreshed……
I really enjoyed my meal at Mitch's. And while it's not the best I've ever had, it was without a doubt very good and to me well worth the 80 bucks or so I paid. No fancy arrangements, no pretense, just straight ahead good fish.
Mitch's Fish Market 524 Ohohia St Honolulu, HI 96819
During my visits home, mornings are "my" time. I'll take a drive, fill gas, pick up stuff for lunch/dinner, find a wi-fi connection, and basically just drive around……..at 5-6am. I really wanted the D's to enjoy some of the "local" food I grew up eating. Of course, being raised in the Kaimuki/Kapahulu area, Leonard's is on that list. I'm still quite flabbergasted when I see tour buses and even a limo pull up to the very non-descript bakery that is Leonard's and the lines we experienced on our last trip home were just not fun. I'm sure you can go later in the evening…..but for me, malasadas were made to be eaten early in the day. The Missus and I tried the malasadas from the Leonard's wagon in Waikele and really didn't care for what they sold….cold, greasy, somewhat gummy. So it had to be a trip to Kapahulu. I didn't expect to encounter too many lines at 530 in the morning…….
There was a line, but only four folks in front of me. It seems that Leonard's is popular with the military as two groups of men in fatigues dropped in while I waited in line. There's something about the heavenly smells when I walk into Leonard's that just takes me back to "small kid time".
Over the years, Leonard's has expanded their line of malasadas to include filled versions. Being the old fuddy-duddy that I am, I still go for the original plain sugared version. Though I also bought a half dozen haupia filled as well.
Man, these always take me back…… MrD enjoyed having his with soy milk for breakfast, telling me it was like a sweet youtiao! You know, I never thought of that…..
Leonard's is one of those iconic places that you should check out at least once if you're ever in or around Honolulu. Here's a neat little trivia thingy, Leonard's is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Did you know that the original location that Leonard Rego opened his bakery is actually in the building where Ono Hawaiian Food (another iconic eating establishment) is located?
Leonard's Bakery 933 Kapahulu Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
The trip for the day was Dole Plantation. Maggie seemed to really enjoy the maze……
This is the Ohia tree and the blossoms are called Lehua. I stopped Maggie from picking these, by telling her the legend of Pele and Ohia.
The story goes that Pele (the Godess of fire) fell in love with a handsome man named Ohia whom she wanted to marry. Ohia, however told Pele that he was in love with a maiden named Lehua and turned her down. Well, as you imagine, this didn't sit well with Madam Pele….she turned Ohia into the twisted looking Ohia tree. Lehua became heartbroken and the gods took pity on her by turning her into the Lehua blossom, so that she and Ohia would be inseparable. To this day, it is said that picking the Lehua blossom will cause rain…..tears falling because Ohia and Lehua cannot bear to be separated.
The late afternoon meant another shopping trip and my in-laws took the D's to a luau. I dropped them off and went to pick-up dinner. I had been wanting to check out Kapiolani Coffee Shop for their oxtail soup a long time favorite since reading about it on Reid's blog back in 2004. Never let it be said that I'm not a patient person…..since that time, Kam bowl has closed down and the shop is now located in Waimalu Shopping Center.
Based on the menu, I'm pretty sure that this is one of the originals when it comes to oxtail soup…..
Funny thing is, I remember having my first bowl of oxtail soup at a restaurant on Kapiolani, next to where Aloha Motors was……could it be? I couldn't find any information on that.
The restaurant is quite small and very, very, old school.
The oxtail soup ain't cheap, almost $14 for a bowl, which comes with two scoops of rice….oh, as old school at KCS is, they did ask me if I wanted brown rice! Man, my soup arrived at my table in like two minutes…..
The standard condiment is some grated ginger and shoyu(soy sauce). I thought the broth was a bit too salty, even for me, very mild anise tones, and frankly, I prefer a bit more "fat" in my broth. This one was very clear. Lots of cilantro and green onions…..
The oxtails were excellent….not falling to pieces, but just tender enough. Personally, I prefer some nice fatty bits and gelatinous goodness, these had been prepped to remove a good amount of that stuff.
I still prefer the oxtail soup I had at The Alley to this and the portion to price ratio seemed a bit on the small side. Still it was good to be able to finally get that oxtail soup off my "list". Plus, I enjoyed the old school feel of the place.
Hey…..is that waitress calling me an Ox?
Kapiolani Coffee Shop 98-020 Kamehameha Hwy Aiea, HI 96701
The main reason I was home was because the D's were visiting and in all honesty, I really enjoyed my time with them, they are a heck of a lot of fun and their daughter "Maggie" sure has gotten a lot taller since I last saw her over two years ago. On my first day "on the job", my MIL decided that we should do the "East side – Windward tour"…..which ended up being much more fun than I recalled. We hit places that I hadn't been to in maybe 20+ years. I mean, really, when you live here, you're often too busy to really appreciate and enjoy "paradise".
Anyway, I hit H-1, then got off using the King street exit, thru Kapahulu, and past the zoo……when we hit Queen's, I noticed that everyone perked up. So I stopped……. I'm pretty sure there's nothing like this in Beijing.
I really got a kick watching MrsD kick off her shoes and head straight to the water…….nothing much like this in Beijing! She was so fast that she got splashed by a wave….which she joyfully laughed off. Her enthusiasm renewed my appreciation of the sun shining on my face and the feeling of sand between your toes. Of course it was a typical "island day".
As MrsD and Maggie headed off down the beach, it was MrD's job to record the visit in detail as he was busy with his camera.
We basically did the around Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Makapuu, Waimanalo, Kailua thing……
Funny thing, I don't speak hardly any Mandarin…..though I made the D's crack up with what I did know….."kuà i diÇn, kuà i diÇn….." and "bi zui" (éåŽ). Funny thing, humor goes beyond pure vocabulary and MrD is quite funny. The Missus has told me numerous times, "If you only understood Mandarin, you'd know how witty he really is…."
MrD Senior surprised me with his pronunciations…..looking at the sign he said "Ha-na-uma" perfectly! Whoa……..we would pass various signs and he'd pronounce them perfectly…maybe better than me!
We stopped at one of the look-out before blow-hole and I climbed over the wall to take a photo. This is when I found out how gutsy MrsD was….she just scampered down the rocks…..whoa.
That's her and Maggie to the right. I reached them and told them to be careful and not turn their back on the ocean, pointing out how waves come in sets………to step back a bit and watch the water….
By the time we got past Waimanalo, stomachs were growling. My MIL had told me "there's so much good food in Beijing, what they want to have is American food." So I decided to stop at Teddy's Bigger Burgers in Kailua. Man, this place is doing massive business…..I do mean some major business. The lines are long; they have to give you one of those vibrating coaster looking things……
At least I could tell the D's to go exploring while I waited for our "han bao bao" (hamburgers)…..I later found Maggie wearing a cute pink Kailua t-shirt, so I guess they contributed to the local economy…..
Grabbing lunch we headed to Kailua Beach…..after all, this is a pretty nice setting for lunch, right?
I know I'd usually just order a plain burger to see what the beef was all about. But in this case I ordered a "Bigger Combo" with American Cheese and grilled onions all around. Hey, what's more "American" than a cheeseburger….with American cheese, right?
Taken in context this was quite good…the burger, though on the "lean" side the burger was done just north of well. I mean, really, compared to mà idà ngláo in China….is there even a comparison?
I actually enjoyed the fries, which are "natural" (skin on) and very crisp.
I found that the D's really like ketchup…….and really couldn't find a Chinese word for "Mayonnaise" ….
After lunch, well it's fade time, you need something to grab your attention…….we headed off down the Pali and the one place I was really looking forward to checking out….
Man, I haven't been here in like decades, before you had to pay for parking, when we had five pounds of raw pork butt and got TWO flat tires going over the Pali on one foggy night….ummm, well, nevah mind…..
I knew this was going to be fun, you park your car and nothing seems amiss, until you walk to the look-out.
On really windy days, it'll buffet you….just try to fall over! The D's were amazed at not only the power of the wind, but the wonderful view of the windward side as well. I could point out where we'd been.
More significantly, in the history of Hawaii, this is where it is noted that Kamehameha I sealed his conquest of Oahu, defeating the forces of Kalanikūpule, driving off the cliffs of the Pali.
Beyond all of that, the view, if you can hold your camera still is wonderful.
My apologies for not having more food "stuffs" for you, but I hope you enjoyed this post….for me, it really renewed an appreciation for the place I was born and raised.
I landed at HNL a bit past 2 in the afternoon and walked on over to the rental car counter…..getting out of the airport before 3pm. It was my objective to pick some stuff for dinner along the way. The first stop? Young;s Fish Market.
This was Reid's recommendation from my earlier visit. since it was pretty close to the airport, it was pretty much a no brainer for lau lau and kalua pork.
The fish counter was pretty slim pickins' and my usual stop on the way to the in-laws, Tanioka's would be near to closing time by the time I hit Waipahu.
So instead, I got out near Moanalua Road and stopped by Marujyu Market.
Funny, I'm old enough to remember when Marujyu opened in Palolo Valley. The empire then spread all ova' the place…….I remember them being in the location that is now a Korean Market in Waimalu Shopping Center, and now to this tiny shop in Newtown Business Park.
Anyway, I made it there, with a stop at Zippy's for some Chicken, rolling into Ewa Beach just after 5 pm. Dinner was a fun affair…….The D's were always such fun…..
Here's a rundown on the grinds:
The pork lau lau from Young's was decent, pork moist, nice flavor overall, the best I've had in a while. The visitors enjoyed it. I gotta say, the chili pepper water Young's sells was quite good; I could almost drink the stuff.
The kalua pork was on the dry side and kind of bland. I'll be back to Young's for that lau lau……
Young's Fish Market 1286 Kalani St Honolulu, HI 96817
The poke from Marujyu didn't impress me that much, the limu ahi was the best, but still on the salty side….and I like salty poke.
The "Ohana poke", had too much sesame oil and some pretty tough pieces of ahi……lots of "sugi" (tough tendon like connective tissue) in a couple of pieces.
The pulehu tako had some nice flavor, but our guests didn't like how tough it was. My FIL enjoyed it. By the way, what's up with tako prices? It seemed to have gone through the roof since my last visit. I saw pulehu tako selling for over $30 a pound in some places…..yikes!
Overall, I guess the D's weren't that thrilled with eating raw fish; plus, it seems that my FIL has stopped eating the stuff as well, telling me that he "doesn't trust raw fish anymore."
Marujyu Market Catering 98-820 Moanalua Rd Aiea, HI 96701
Seems like things started a bit inauspiciously…..oh well, at least no one went hungry!
It's kind of funny……in 2010, I hadn't been "home" in nearly a decade, then during the course of less than 2 years or so, I travel back 3 times! This one really wasn't planned way in advance. A few months back, we got word that Mr.D and his family would be visiting with the In-laws. After taking us around Beijing , it only seemed right that we return the favor. Sadly, the Missus couldn't make it, so I flew to Oahu solo and spent a couple of days helping the in-laws out. I really enjoyed my time with Mr.D and family and will get more into that in future posts. For some reason, I'm kinda bushed…even more tired than I felt after returning from our recent Istanbul-Tunisia-Rhodes-Istanbul trip. So give me another day to regroup. In the mean time I thought I'd do a short post on some "stuffs"…..
Let me just start off with a requisite photo…….
Here's some of the grinds I had during this trip……
Plate lunches and bentos of course…….
And of course, some of the other standards as well……
You know I'd have to have one of these, right?
I did manage to make the best of the time I had to myself and ended up having a pretty darn good meal.
I did find more then a few things that I really didn't want to eat…….like a "loco moco burger". I could probably do the gravy, bread, and protein thing. But for some reason, the thought of having a "mound" of rice between two buns just felt….well, wrong for some reason.
As for 7/11 having the best Spam Musubi…… all I can say is "really"?
It's a sad day when okazuya's and mom-and-pop stores can't make a better Spam Musubi than 7-11…really?
Then of course, there was that sign to my right. Oxtail soup with fat-free broth? I think this one ends up on my "why bother" list. Though….it might be good…..
While on my way to baggage claim in the airport, the July issue of Honolulu Magazine caught my eye. Mainly because of this article.
I'm pretty sure you really had to live it to understand the phenomenon of this show. During it's run, it was such a huge hit on the local Japanese language station, KIKU, that it basically wiped the floor with shows on all the other stations….we're talking stuff like Mission Impossible! Just thinking of the show has me humming the theme song……
I developed a bad habit during my trips back home. I found myself taking photos of my breakfasts with my phone and sending them to my friends. And for some reason, I've kept on doing this even after returning to San Diego. Recently, JohnL suggested that I do posts on these, which I thought was a great idea, so here goes….we'll start with Oahu.
I found myself getting up pretty early, say at 5am or so in the morning during our stays on Oahu. Not wanting to wake anyone up, I'd often take a drive, sometimes with an objective in mind, or perhaps just to fill up gas. On the morning I hit up Nam Fong, the roads were clear with no traffic, so I headed all the way up to a place that's near and dear to my heart….. Like Like Drive In. Talk to any "townie" of my generation and you'll come with a list of places like Tin Tin Chop Suey and Like Like Drive In. Actually, this location of Like Like is not the original from 1953.
Back in the 90's the folks running Like Like swapped the restaurant over from the portion of the building to the right.
Walking in the place at 430 am on Thanksgiving was quite interesting. As I entered, the last of post drinking crowd was leaving and all the old-timers, newspapers tucked under their arm were entering. Still, this being a family holiday, the place was empty. The look and feel, down to the booths really stirs memories…….
I'm not much of a coffee drinker these days….but here, I just needed that cup o' joe……the table just needs a cup of coffee on it.
I really didn't order a locomoco per se, but looking over the menu I just happened to order two easy over eggs with rice and a hamburger patty. The woman serving me said, "you need gravy with that, right?' Not do you want some gravy, you "need" some gravy. And you know what? She was right….I needed some gravy with this.
I usually don't care for burgers that have been pressed down on the flat-top, but this patty had developed a wonderful crust from a well aged griddle and had been seasoned to boot. The gravy was decently flavored and not glue-like and went well with the runny eggs and rice.
It was a nice way for me to start the day……just like old times. Though I'm not doing too much active work nowadays, so I pick my spots.
Not too many of the places I grew up eating are left….Kaimuki Inn, Kuhio Grill, Alakea Grill, Chunky's, Wisteria, Suehiro, King's, McCully Chop Suey (the first air-conditioned Chinese restaurant in Hawaii!), King Tsin, Ebisu, Aotani Fountain, all gone……. Not too many like Like Like left, I'm hoping they'll be around for just a bit longer.
Like Like Drive In 745 Keeaumoku St Honolulu, HI 96814
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
One morning, I went to gas up our rental and drove into Waipahu, which is just down the street from my In-Laws place in Ewa Beach. For some reason, Leeward Drive-Inn called to me.
Man, when was the last time I ate here? The sign said "since 1964" and I think I probably had the fried noodles, which is what they, well, at least in my day, were known for….probably circa 1984. The parking lot has seen it's share of cars, all the lines for the stalls have worn away, though in typical Hawaii style, everyone seems to park their cars as if those lines still existed.
Funny thing, there were a bunch of guys having breakfast before work sitting in back of a minivan parked in front of the dining room. The big guy, sitting on a ne of those handy-dandy folding stools looked me up and down and said, "eh, I thought you one katonk, but you get da' shuffle…." Translation; "Based on your pale and unhealthy complexion, I believed that you were a Japanese from the mainland. However, when I observed your gait, it became obvious that you were not." I guess I still walk like a local? I laughed and told him, "at least you didn't think I was a bobora!" Translation;"you are indeed quite observant. I am flattered the opinion that my country of origin was Japan never entered your mind." It was just an expat local bonding moment…..
The menu at LDI is pretty large and extensive……. but I made up my mind fairly quickly. Once my food was ready, I grabbed my plate and headed off to the flourescent orange tables. The dining area looked kind of beat and no one was eating in the area so I could grind in peace.
I got Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Fried Rice, which was a pretty good amount of food.
This was just passable, the fried rice was very "local style", that is, made with Calrose rice. There were bits of Portuguese Sausage and some funky tasting "faux Spam". The sausage wasn't browned enough for me and tasted a bit off. The eggs were fine….this ended up just being nutrition.
Leeward Drive Inn 94 209 Pupukahi St Waipahu, HI 96797
Hours: Mon – Thurs 430am – 11pm Fri – Sat 430am – 12midnight Sunday 5am – 11pm Cash Only
This last one is sort of a quiz…….folks who have been to Hawaii will probably know this one. A fairly decent plate of Rice, eggs, which was really hard, Portuguese Sausage, and Spam®.
Quite an artery clogging breakfast……brought to you by:
Yep, Mickey D's in Hawaii serves up Portuguese Sausage, Spam®, or even both, in what they call the "Deluxe Breakfast". Don't remember the last time I actually had food from a McDonald's, but I happened to be close to the Pearl City location early one morning…..
I realize this post has been kinda long….so thanks for hanging in there are reading.
Here's the sunrise as I pumped gas one morning.
Of course I listened to KCCN…..until they kept playing the same songs over and over……what happened to variety?
As I mentioned before the Missus' cousin Long Hui is quite a character, she lives life in a carefree way, loves bright colors, wears high heels to the beach, and basically keeps the Missus in stitches. Even though she doesn't speak much English (though it's better than my Mandarin), what little she says still cracks me up. Whenever I take a photo of her, she'll assume a faux glamorous pose, one hand on her hip the other raised behind her slightly tilted head, eyes looking off in the distance. Once the photo is snapped, she'll tell me "YES or No, yes or no!" Basically, she needs to give her approval before the photographic evidence lives in perpetuity. Oh, she also loves to eat….and as I found out, really loves Jia Ji….fried chicken.
So here's her rating of the three different fried chicken she had during her stay:
1 – Tanioka's Seafoods & Catering
During our stop directly from the airport we picked up some of Tanioka's boneless fried chicken. Little did we know how much Long Hui loves her chicken……..
Man, did she love this…… Not sure why, I'll have to have some on my next trip. Long Hui is not sure either telling the Missus maybe it's because this was the first she had.
Tanioka's Seafoods & Catering 94-903 Farrington Hwy Waipahu, HI 96797
2 – Fukuya Delicatessen
One early morning, I went for a visit to my Mother's gravesite. I stopped by Fukuya one of my favorite, albeit expensive okazuya's. My Mom loved their fried chicken so much that I ended up using them to cater her wake.
Love that Fukuya has the old-fashioned okazuya hours – open at 6am (or earlier). The place has been around way longer than I have (founded in 1939) and will probably be going strong long after I'm gone.
In the typical local-style, it's all thighs, all the time. Temptingly salty, this is really good stuff….not sure why it didn't make numba' one though…..
Fukuya Deli & Catering 2710 South King Street Honolulu,Hawaii 96826
Open Wed – Sunday 6am – 2pm
I did leave a piece for mom……….
3 – Zippy's
The stuff we picked up from Zippy's in Ewa Beach just didn't measure up. But Long Hui wasn't complaining……
After all, someone had to finish last……
The Missus tells me that Long Hui is very witty, using puns and rhymes skillfully. It almost makes me wish I understood Mandarin. I'm hoping she'll visit again….this time we know she loves fried chicken, we'll be better prepared.
To quote cousin Long Hui: "we are all middle aged, too old to care, we should just relax, have fun, and eat!"
I realized on one of our recent trips back to Hawaii that I never did show the Missus my old neighborhood. When we first met, I'd taken Her to a couple of my favorite places to eat, but I'd never really went into detail about it. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the Kaimuki/Kapahulu area and it holds a very special place in my heart. Back before our trip to China, I hadn't been back to the area in over a decade and I had wondered how the area had changed. We didn't have much money and my Mom never did learn to drive so everything was either Da' Bus or footmobile for us. In that way, the set-up of Kaimuki was just perfect, even though it's situated on a hill, the main drag, Waialae Avenue is perfect for walking. According to the Historic Hawai'i Foundation's site:
"Kaimuki is a naturally dusty, dry area that wasnât heavily populated during pre-contact times because of a lack of water supply."
When development started, the main pipe was located along what is now Kaimuki Avenue. Like many now urban neighborhoods, Kaimuki was designed as a suburb, a place where people would live, then commute to Honolulu for work. When the H-1 freeway cut through Kaimuki, the neighborhood became very connected.
Because Kapahulu was literally right down the street, I've always considered it my neighborhood as well. So it was only right that we start our day at Rainbow Drive-In.
Kapahulu sure has changed….Alex's Drive In is long gone, as is KC Drive In (tho' they were never the same after they moved from the Ala Wai) and Love's Bakery has been gone for a couple of decades so is Kapahulu Theatre. But all through that Rainbows has endured and is apparently going strong. I did wonder if things had changed much……I used to recall getting chili here for under a buck.
One thing I noticed right away was a sign that explained the food….say what? Who needs an explanation of Chicken Cutlet…..Loco Moco maybe…why?? When I jokingly asked what was up? The lady at the window told me, "aaah, it's for all da' tourists eva' since the Obama thing." Oh…. I do recall:
âIâm going to get a plate lunch. I might go to Zippyâs. I might go to Rainbow Drive-In. I havenât decided yet…." Circa 2008.
The Missus wanted a chili dog……while I grew up eating the chili here, I wasn't a big fan of the hot dogs Rainbow uses. It is skinless with a real mystery-meat texture, which strangely reminds me of eating cold Vienna sausages. But whatever, it's what the Missus wanted:
For some reason the chili struck me as being on the sweet side…..I'm guessing my tastes have changed quite a bit since I last had this.
I got a BBQ Beef Sandwich. No it's not slow smoked brisket on a bun……this is a Teriyaki Style Beef sandwich. Local style teriyaki (BBQ) is more salty and less sweet than what is the norm on the mainland.
From the photo you can tell that the meat is not the most tender, but it's what I grew up eating. It's also much better than most of the L&L stuff. For some reason, I've gotten to appreciate the role of lettuce in these type of sandwiches, it seems to cleanse and refresh the palate. Love the mayo and onions too…..
Rainbow Drive-In 3308 Kanaina Ave Honolulu, HI 96815
There are just two requests that the Missus has when in the area; one of them is Leonard's. I still remember the pure bliss on Her face the first time I took Her to Leonard's for malasadas.
Unfortunately, it seems like Leonard's is a major tourist stop nowadays…..two tour buses pulled up as we arrived and there was a line out the door…..
The Missus decided that it just wasn't worth the wait…..so we moved on to Her other favorite stop in the area; W & M Burger…..
Located right off Waialae Avenue, with half a dozen parking stalls, this little joint is a big part of my younger days. This location is actually not the original, I'll have that a bit later on in the post. W&M always seemed on the expensive side when I was a kid, but luckily, one of our neighbors used to work there….so she'd often bring home a ton of burgers at the end of the day. The parking is absolute "horrors", so we always plan our trip to arrive before it gets too busy for lunch. You can take your chances in the City Mill parking lot next door, but leave someone with the car, or hope you have some luck. Just to digress; the location of City mill was where I had my first taste of pizza as a kid; at a place called Chico's Pizza……
Actually, the woman working the counter I recognized from way back when……
The burgers at W&M are basically teri-burgers made from a "secret" blend of soy sauce etc…… Since we were on what was basically a crawl, I ordered a Deluxe, no mayo/sauce/etc, and some fries "extra crispy"……
The Missus wasn't too fond of the fries extra crispy, so I think I won't order it that way anymore. But that burger was a spot on taste of my youth……
It's one of the few things that the Missus says tastes exactly the same as the first time She ate one.
In a nice distraction move, the Missus told me, "don't you have to take a photo of the front." Which I did, only to turn around and find Her chomping away at that burger……..slick move……
W & M Bar-B-Q Burger 3104 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
Next stop was right up the street. Dating myself, I'll tell you that this was Crown Drive-In when we first moved from Palolo Valley to less than a block from here. But just a short while later it became…..
I believe that this was the second location for Zippy's (McCully was the first). It is also kitty-corner from my elementary school…Ali'iolani.
Which, except for missing the huge, rickety, auditorium looks basically the same.
I should have ordered chili and rice, but for some reason went with the chili-loco moco……
Man, the chili tasted terrible…..very bland, but almost rancid……
I also had a piece of the fried chicken, which tasted much better than the last time I had it.
I don't quite know what to say….maybe bad day for the chili and good day for fried chicken. Oh well…….
Zippy's 3345 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
This is, of course, one of perhaps a zillion locations…..
After this I drove up to Palolo to check out my Intermediate (now called "middle") school….Jarrett. It's a sign of the time I guess, as now there's a fence going around the school.
We drove out of Palolo Valley via 9th avenue and I pointed out what we called the "Jade Building" which we considered kinda swanky for this area when I was a kid. It was pretty much the only high rise in the area. Here are some photos from Jade Circle taken by Ian Lind from his blog. Funny thing is, Ian's wife Meda actually taught a class I took….small blogging world, huh?
On the corner of 9th avenue and Waialae was one of the most important businesses to us. It was a small IGA market called Zane's Market. This market used to deliver groceries if you bought over a certain amount. Since we had no car, it was godsend…..
Right across the street is the original location of W&M Burger.
A bit further up the street is Kaimuki Park, where I wasted a good deal of time as a kid……
Right across the street was my favorite saimin stand Tanoues, now long gone, of course…but the memories remain.
Man, the facade of the old Queen Theatrewas still there. I remember watching movies there when I was a kid…until they started showing porn films, in Kaimuki! Yikes!! Eventually, the place was raided, then shut down. The place is now 75 years old, I'm hoping that it is somehow restored…… unlike Kaimuki Theatre, which used to reside here:
Kaimuki Inn used to be here……
All those places are gone….but as we turned the corner on Koko Head I saw a familiar sign….
What is crack seed you may ask??? It's basically what we called preserved, salty and sweet preserved fruits that the Chinese brought to Hawaii. The most well known being Li Hing Mui. This place has been here for as long as I can remember.
Even more funny, the same guy is still running the place….I'm thinking for over the last 30 years or so??? He was very friendly….though my recollection of him was as a pretty tough, no-nonsense guy. Maybe time has muddled my memory, or he's mellowed over the years?
Of course I got some olive peel (aka Olive Cake) and rock salt plum……
Turning to cut through the municipal parking lot, the Missus chuckled when I told Her that the first place I had "Mexican food" (using a very broad definition here) was indeed at a place called Jose's…..
I was surprised and rather pleased to see that Victoria Inn was still alive and kicking:
After this, I thought the Missus had enough and it was time to head on back. As I gassed up the car, there was one more building I pointed out to the Missus. In that spot was a Food Pantry, which I thought was an odd location on Harding and 11th avenue. I think they still have their offices there. There are quite a few more places…but I think this is more than enough for a post…… And if you actually stuck around to the end…well, thanks so much for reading!
One last thing….if you've spent anytime in Hawaii since 1981, I'm sure you'll recognize this one – Kanipoli Slack Key. Always makes me smile when I hear it:
I got a cup of coffee while I looked over the menu…..yep, this place is old school all right, the cup o'joe tasted like it had been sitting around since I was in high school! Man, it was like mud….the real friendly guy kept wanting to refill it, but I just kept telling him, "no need" and making up some excuse like, "my docta' said I got to cut down on da' caffiene, no good fo' my heart" and stuff like that. Yeeeesh……
The kitchen bouquet gravy could have used a bit more salt and the eggs were a bit past how I want my easy-over eggs to be, but this wasn't bad at all. The hamburger patty had been pressed on the griddle developing a nice char, but the gravy balanced out the possibility of a dry burger. Not bad at all.
