**** Sad to say, that after all these years Ruger Market has closed
The Missus and I were looking at some of my old photo albums and flipped the page to my third grade class photo. I started cracking up and the Missus gave me a quizzical look. I then pointed something out to Her. All the boys were wearing long pants (no shorts were allowed in those days), Aloha Shirts (after all, it as class photo day), the girls Mumu’s, but…….most of us were barefoot! I explained to the Missus that until the fifth grade, many of us actually did walk to school barefoot (though not uphill both ways). I mean this was the late 60’s, early 70’s, and things were different then. Plus, as I mentioned in my post on my “old neighborhood”, Ali’iolani Elementary was just a block away from where we lived.
And this kinda brings me forward to this post. On our last trip back “home”, the Missus asked me when I first remember having poke. We had just finished doing some stuffs at Ala Moana and I decided to show Her. Way back, when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, my Mom had an appointment in the Fort Ruger area. I was raised by a single parent and my Mom never ever drove, so we had to catch the Ruger bus and I waited while my Mom did her thing. After the appointment, we walked over to Ruger Market, and that’s where I first remember having poke I really liked, over 50 years ago! I’d probably had it before; of course during the holidays there was sashimi and stuff, but I remembered the poke from Ruger Market clearly. Later, when I was older, my friends and I would drive on over after going to Cromwell’s (I can’t believe the cove is still around, though maybe not for long) and grab some poke, then go for a drive around Diamond Head Road and eat at the lookout or hele on over to Kapiolani Park or Paki Park and grind there.
So, we drove on over….and heck, I hadn’t been to Ruger Market since before I left the islands; which would be over 25 years, but the place looks pretty much the same.
Though it’s more of a seafood- Filipino/Hawaiian restaurant these days. When I was growing up, this was the neighborhood grocery for the area.
Different grades of Ahi is available, you can get poke made with pre-frozen Ahi (nah) or with fresh Ahi, what is called “Auction Fresh Ahi” on the sign.
You know what we got, right?
We’d already had some small stuffs to eat at Foodland Farms and this was a kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we didn’t go too crazy. We got one poke bowl, with brown rice, the chicharrons looked really good, so we got that, and also some boiled peanuts.
And then we headed off…..just like those hanabuddah days, I drove around Diamond Head Road to the lookout.
You can find the Amelia Earhart Plaque here as well.
As well as the “best seat in the house”….at least on this day.
And the local “security detail”.
We headed on down and found parking and a table at Kapiolani Park and proceeded to dig in.
I was surprised to find that the kimchi was decent; not overly fermented, but still quite refreshing. The brown rice added a nice nuttiness to the bowl. The quality of the fish was good; tender and buttery in texture without connective tissue. We preferred the restrained, classic, soy-saltiness, with a hint of oceany sweetness of the Local Style Ahi. The Spicy Shoyu wasn’t very spicy and was a bit on the salty side. Still, the quality and prep was way above anything here in San Diego.
The Chicharron was as good as it looked.
Crisp, with a slight crunch; porky and savory, which just enough salt. Talk about a guilty pleasure.
As for the boiled peanuts, well, the Missus was saving them for later. Though this little fella tried to make a move on the legume.
The Missus loves Her boiled peanuts, so he didn’t stand a chance!
It was good to know that Ruger Market still makes decent poke.
The older I get, the more I treasure and appreciate those times and the chances I get to reflect on them. And it was wonderful to share a bowl of memories with the Missus.
Fort Ruger Market
3585 Alohea Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
And I also want to thank you for sharing in those memories with me! Thanks for stopping by!
Same location, same way of ordering, another success story of making it through Covid-19.
Similar menu with higher prices.
Choose your items by looking and pointing while walking along the order line.
Watch your order go into the fire filled oven, pay and find a seat. Soon items will be brought to your table. 
I wanted to try the 'new' Folded dough garlic cheese bread ($5.95). Garlic herb butter, Mozzarella and Romano on freshly made dough, folded over. This was kind of a perfect bite for me. Tasty and filling…very cheesy with the garlic butter making a perfect condiment. 
The 3 Topping Signature Pizza ($11.35) on the original crust, house made red sauce, mild Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms was our choice for a pizza. I gave The Mister most of my pepperoni and sausage and enjoyed the cheese and mushrooms on the crisp, chewy yet fluffy light crust.
Which was cooked perfectly in that stove. 
The Mister and I made the trek West, to Old Town, a few months ago, so that I could have the breakfast I was craving and He could fulfill His cravings.
His order was F10- the Italian sausage frittata ($15.99). A simple baked (in cast iron; thicker than an omelet) egg dish of Italian sausage, tomatoes and mixed cheese. A nice, mild sausage, fresh tomatoes and plenty of cheese and eggs…filling and tasty.
Instead of toast, He chose biscuits and gravy- house made, fluffy inside with a crisp crust covered by a creamy, breakfast sausage filled gravy.
Also part of the meal were hash browns. Nice and crisp.
Here's my Fish and egg meal ($16.99)-cod fish, lightly floured and pan fried, two (properly) poached eggs and crisp Home fries. The fish was served with the appropriate condiments of tartar sauce and lemon. 
Instead of bread, I chose the muffin of the day (blueberry). It's light and cake-like and filled with fresh, plump blueberries.
Decades ago, this location was the first restaurant where The Mister and I had Dim Sum (carts and all). The area at the front door had a window counter display case of roast ducks and roast pork; we would stop here for some roasted treats to take home if not going to Woo Chee Chong down the street.
Fried squid appetizer ($8.99). This came out last and was freshly fried to a nice, light crunch, not oily and was an excellent version, with garlic and peppers. This could have been my meal, but we shared.
House Special Pan Fried Rice Noodle ($17.95). Beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, egg, rice noodles all stir fried with a smoky wok hey comfort flavor. A nice plate that we enjoyed.
Combination Platter-Choice of Two roasted meats from the window display at the back of the eating area ($19.95). Roast duck and roast pork belly. Juicy, fatty, crisp skin with moist, flavorful, meaty goodness. Enough left over for a nice dinner. 
Prices are in line with other Cantonese style restaurants. Quality is great. Service is excellent. We will try again.
See-the hanging ducks and pork are back in the corner display case.
That's what things looked like when I opened up the boxes back at the office. I did a quick taste of the tomato topping which was super bland, you couldn't even really taste tomato. The version of Mul Kimchi provided was weird as it had a real strong anise/clove flavor that wasn't very pleasant.
And not a hint of truffle flavor to be found.
The wings had held up better this time. I tried the sides first. The corn slaw was terrible, the "dressing" was really watery and this lacked flavor. Very little corn, you might as well just give me raw coleslaw mix.
The batter had peeled away from two of the pieces, which had been turned face down in the box. The sauce was not overly sweet, but I still would have preferred a bit more saltiness, this was much milder than the versions at other places. The chunks of chicken were on the dry and tough side.
I'm not going to beat a dead horse about that Mul Kimchi. I just don't care for the flavor.
This time the crepe was delivered with a fork and knife. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy chicken in a crepe, but it wasn't bad at all. Actually, the bite of tangy-sour heat from the sauces/salsa really made it enjoyable to my palate. The sweetness was tempered and the cheese really helped to balance out the flavors. I do think this could have used a bit more salt. And heck, even more spicy too!
I'm glad I tried Hola Paris. While it's not something I crave, Benjamin and Gabby are so nice and friendly. I really enjoyed chatting with Benjamin about Paris.
And yes, it was quite full of Cha Lua, Thit Nguoi…… What I think banh mi purists' will appreciate, I'm looking at you "Billy" is that Phoung Nga still includes cucumbers in their banh mi, a rarity these days. The bread, as usual is a bit heavily baked (onsite), making it more hard and crusty than having a nice balance of light, crusty-flaky. But these days, this is almost a blessing, as much of what I've had is soft and doughy. There's a good amount of pickled veggies, the jalapenos were present, but not overly spicy on this visit. This was a nice lunch for me.
Arriving home, I quickly unpacked things and immediately went for the item I 
