i am an avid YELPER. if you don't already know what Yelp is, let me be the first to introduce you to it. YELP is a website, originally based in San Francisco, that lets regular people like you and me help each other out. how? by letting us rate businesses and review them. you can rate and review all kinds of different businesses, from dentists, to restaurants, hair salons, pretty much anything! if you're unsure of a restaurant you'd like to try, you can search it, and read reviews from other people to see what they thought of it. i usually check the "Hot New Businesses" on Yelp, and came across this restaurant : WADA. it is a Japanese restaurant, open since August of 2011. they did not advertise much for it, so business started out slow, but after a review in the newspaper about it, it started to pick up speed... and now that its on Yelp's radar, more people have gone to eat there.... i mean hey - that's how i found it! dining with 3 friends, we chatted with the waiter, and got some suggestions from him. because we were going to share everything, he suggested about 5 or 6 appetizers, and a stone pot. GREAT suggestions! up there you'll see the Renkon (lotus root) and Broccoli rabe in sesame dressing. here we have their Gyu tongue miso zuke... it is fresh beef tongue slow simmered in miso. this is so, so, so, tender it practically melts away in your mouth. and those pickled garlic pieces were really good too! that plate of hot deliciousness is homemade arabiki sausage with tomatoes in a chorizo miso butter. if you just licked your screen, i don't blame you, b/c this dish was amazing. here we have the buffalo mozzarella agedashi. if you've have tofu agedashi before, then you'll have an idea of how this is prepared. however, because this is buffalo mozzarella, it has a different texture. the cheese, when prepared this way, ends up tasting like a really good mochi! strange, but really good. this is their washugyu beef tongue, the front and back parts. this is when they bring out the stone pot for you to cook the tongue on - and later, they cook the next part of your meal.... i'll get to that in a sec. i had no idea, but the front part of a beef tongue, and the back part of a beef tongue are different experiences. the front part is slightly softer in texture and little more beefy in taste. the back part has a little more texture, and i think that is what you usually get when dining in restaurants that serve tongue. also, that ponzu like citrus sauce on the side of it was hands-down the best, BEST, sauce i've ever had. EVER. here is some house made ponzu sauce that they serve with the dish below......... the main attraction is the stone pot. it is harami beef and vegetables (mainly onion, garlic, and some okra). it also comes with several Japanese mushrooms. the waiter cooks this in front of you at the table, which gave us the chance to talk to him a little bit. they're friendly, and very helpful! and this dish was really good. it is so simple, yet full of flavor. the harami beef is some of the softest beef i've ever had. here is the Shiso Gohan. if you have not had Shiso before, it is not for everyone. it is a strong tasting herb used in Japanese foods. you know how some people will just cringe at the thought of eating chinese parsley (a.k.a. Cilantro)?? well, people feel this same way about Shiso - it is just not for everyone. fortunately, i like shiso :) this dish is basically a fried rice with shiso, nori, and bits of beef tongue. it was a really great complement to the stone pot. the last dish we tried was the Donko shiitake ramen in spicy ox tail broth. the noodles were egg type, Japanese ramen noodles, and cooked the Japanese way - slightly chewy. the broth was not overly spicy, but just the right amount of spicy. this is something i could easily eat all the time. it was one of the best ramen dishes i've ever had. they also have dessert selections (you have to ask the waiter what they have for dessert that night), but b/c we were so full, we decided to make the ramen dish our last. at the end of dinner, they serve you hot tea - even the tea tasted delicious!!!
this is probably one of the best meals i've ever had.... so far anyway :) keep in mind however, this is an EXPENSIVE place to eat. i recommend bringing a date here (wink wink!), or eating here for a special occasion (mother's day, father's day, birthday, etc.). to give you an idea: there were 4 of us, and INCLUDING tip, dinner was a little over $200 - thats about $50 per person, without drinks (we had water), and with no sushi/fish items. if you add sushi items, your bill will be much higher i'm sure. speaking of sushi - they also have a sushi bar you can sit at and watch the sushi chef in action. many people appear to order the raw beef and uni sushi, which looks really good - but i can't eat it, so i can't tell you. it breaks my heart. but if you get to try it, please let me know what i'm missing b/c i'm sure i'm missing something amazing :( ************************************ Wada 611 Kapahulu Ave Honolulu, HI 96815 Ph: 808-737-0125 - reservations are recommended! www.restaurantwada.com
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say what? North Shore Naturals is a local based, natural food business. from what i can tell, all they make so far is popcorn. what does not help is that their WEBSITE pretty much provides zero info. so what exactly IS Spirulina? well.... its algae. now, before you get all grossed out, i'm sure you've eaten something containing seaweed, furikake, etc (if you're from Hawaii anyway). Algae is not toooo toooo far off from this if you think about it. and besides, its supposed to be quite healthy for you! i've had Spirulina popcorn before, so this is why i grabbed the bag. the first time i had it, it was GREAT! tasty and not weird at all. i don't know if it was this same brand, but what ever it was, it was good. in grabbing the Spirulina popcorn, i also spotted this other flavor right along side it. POLLEN POPCORN. yes.... it contains "dehydrated bee pollen". i still have absolutely no idea if this will have any impact on your allergies, so don't ask. so how'd they taste? well.... the spirulina tastes like.... spirulina. its slightly "oceany" in flavor, a little salty but quite tasty. this brand of popcorn however was SO SO STALE..... this probably was the worst popcorn i've ever had. now, do not confuse what i'm saying... it just happens to be this brand i think - the other time i've tried spirulina popcorn, it was fantastic, so if you can find it in another brand, try it..... but as far as NSN goes, avoid, avoid, avoid. and what about the bee pollen popcorn? this... .was weird. it tasted slightly of honey, but left this strange after taste that i still cannot figure out. when you eat it, it is vaugely familiar, but you probably won't be able to pinpoint what you're tasting. i'd tell you to try it, but again, the popcorn itself was so so stale that i couldn't eat any more than a few kernels.
i think i would have eaten more if it were not stale - but after this experience, i don't think i'll be buying this brand again. Gung Hee Fatt Choy! Happy Year of the DRAGON! well, the actual Chinese New Year isn't until Monday, but the celebration of it started about a week ago or so... and has continued on. coming to china town for Chinese New Year is always CRAZY. the crowd is huge, and the sights are plentiful..... there were dancers, lion dancers, music, and TONS of pop-pops.... i think we might have missed the fire-crackers though. of course you'll find lots of things you could purchase "for cheap" such as the above "jade" items. you can never be too sure if you're getting real jade any more, but if you do, supposedly it can be good for your health. need a Mahjong set? they've got them! i've always wanted one, but decided not to buy it this time around..... plants, plants, plants.... mostly bamboo, but they also had a selection of others..... and uh.... aren't Neko cats JAPANESE?! well, whatever - the tourists can't tell the difference anyway. year of the dragon t-shirts were found everywhere. is the girl at the booth posing? yeah - i think so....... going upstairs to find a place to eat, we came across this - and out of a group of 4 of us, i was apparently the only one who didn't know what it was about. its a Dragon Boat..... and apparently in China, they make huge ones to float on the water. we entered New Empress. usually we come here for Dim-sum, but tonight we ate off of the regular menu. we got Singapore noodles, eggplant and pork, seafood pot and walnut shrimp. also, we got served some house soup. we were full, and ready to venture back out into the crowd! see those balls? the ones in the frying oil? in the giant woks? those are Jin Dui. its a fried chinese mochi ball, hollow in the middle (usually. they also come filled sometimes), with sesame seeds on the outside. no, i didn't get any b/c i was full to the brim, BUT i did get some Gau for a friend, which i forgot to take a picture of. oh well... theres always next year!
i hope your year is prosperous, healthy, and full of fun! yes.... this company named their product "BamBOOM!". i'm speechless for 2 reasons: 1. the cartoonish nature of the name itself, for a product we're supposed to take seriously 2. the fact i actually bought it, so something about it worked admittedly, the name is NOT what caught my eye. the "green rice" descriptor is. i've heard of white, brown, and even black rice - but green? i had to try it. the reason it is green is because the rice is fortified with bamboo leaf extract. going to the WEBSITE.... well, lets just say, the website will not provide you with any info about this product - and now, after looking at it, makes me think that those "impoverished kids and their families" probably might not get the donation that the package promises. hm........ i think if i can find another source of "bamboo rice" - i will buy from that other source. it seems like the company endorsing this particular brand, are interested in something else other than actually helping people. these are all the supposed health benefits that bamboo rice COULD provide.... after days of eating this stuff, i feel no different. i don't know about you.... but i'm so glad i can get 307mg of Chlorophyll in my serving.... O_O
still not sure what Chlorophyll is supposed to provide for me :P if you'd like to try a bag, i got a 5 pound bag at Wal-Mart for about 6 bucks. sounds pricey, i know, BUT no harm in trying just one time! alright.... i'm sorry to disappoint, but this post is not about the "Spam" you're probably thinking of..... no, there will be no recipes for Spam musubi, spam hash, spam stir-fry, or spam anything.
what i AM posing about are spammers on my website. be advised - there are a$$holes spamming my website, posting "comments" in the forms of links to crap that will kill your computer and probably steal your info right off of your laptops and computers! DO NOT CLICK ON ANYONE OR ANY LINKS THAT YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE here on my website.... or anywhere else for that matter. i've now also changed the comments settings = NOW, your comments will have to be approved by me first before going up on the site. i didn't want to do this originally b/c its a pain for you and for me..... but it looks like this is the way the comments will have to be from now on :( thats all folks! oh, and happy new year! i will try to post more in 2012... TRY being the key word here. :) |