Marukame Udon – Honolulu Special

On our first full day in Honolulu, we bussed out to Downtown to walk around.  In the afternoon we got hungry and visited Maukame Udon in the middle of bustling downtown.  Marukame Udon is a chain of fast food udon shops which you can find in Japan.  We first tried this in a food court when we were in Osaka so we were excited to learn that there are several locations here in Hawaii too.

Here are the featured udons on the sandwich board in front of the entrance:

When you enter the shop, you order your preferred udon first.  Then you slowly walk through the line to pick up any more sides, such as tempura or sushi to go with your udon.

The food is all very fresh. You can see them preparing it behind the counter continuously.  Prices here are very good too. You can get filled up easily for under $10.

We both ended up getting teriyaki chicken udon bowls.  This one included zucchini, squash and prawn tempuras on the side.

This one we had squid tempura as a side.

The udons were hot and fresh and the soup base was not too salty.  The udon itself was very al-dante.

We really enjoyed coming here as it was quick and simple to order, food was fresh and prices were cheap.  Hot udon soup might not be your first choice on a tropical Hawaiian day, but no worries, they have cold udon options as well.

Seating is also very convenient as people usually eat quick and leave so turnover is fast.

SFDD gives 4 out of 5 Delights.

Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream – Honolulu Special

After our late lunch at Fatboy’s, we found a very popular ice cream parlour called Bubbies within the same strip mall here at Koko Marina Centre.

It’s a very nicely maintained shop with wood themed furniture and counter.

Here is a closer look at the popular items on their menu behind the counter:

Aside from ice cream, the other popular item they sell here are different flavours of ice cream mochi.  To simply describe, this is like ice cream inside of a glutinous rice ball so it’s quite chewy on the outside before you get inside to the ice cream.  We ordered 3 mochis to try:

They were about the size of a golf ball.  It had a moderate layer of glutinous wrap and a big ball of ice cream inside. We chose 2 pistachios and one chocolate.  The glutinous wrap was a bit too rough and you can feel some lumps, perhaps it was not mixed well enough.  The ice cream inside was smooth.

We also ordered two different ice cream flavours to share:

We got mango on the left, which was actually a sorbet and lychee on the right which was indeed ice cream.  Both had strong natural flavor so it did not taste artificial at all.

Bubbies is a nice place to pop in for ice cream.  They have a variety of flavours to choose from while the shop is nicely organized and cozy for you to enjoy the desserts.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Fatboy’s Honolulu – Special

After going snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, we were so hungry as it was already way past lunch time.  We drove to a nearby strip mall about 5 minutes away and found this place called Fatboy’s which serves some authentic Hawaiian food.

It’s not a fancy looking place.  It’s simple looking with a big menu behind the counter and some dated furniture.  You order and pay at the counter and pick up the food when ready.

We started with some Hawaiian Sun pop, which seems to be the popular drink around here as we see it all over the place. 

For our first dish, we ordered Hawaiian style noodles called Saimin.

It’s like a cross between a Japanese, Chinese and Hawaiian style dish so it was quite interesting.  It’s served in a Chinese style bowl.  We didn’t get a picture of the side of the bowl but it’s the red and green one with Chinese characters you usually see at the Westernized Chinese restaurants.

The noodles are medium thick, not quite like Japanese ramen.  It is served in a simple clear soup base (chicken soup maybe) with some spam and also some of that Japanese artificial seafood thingy which you normally get in a Japanese ramen bowl.  This was not a complex noodle but did the job in filling us up.

Next we ordered another popular dish in Hawaii called the Loco Moco.  It’s a big hamburger steak, with an egg covered with gravy over rice.

It’s usually served with a sunny side up egg that’s almost raw, but because we have weak stomachs, we asked for the egg to be well done.  It’s served with a small side of salad.  The hamburger steak was quite tasty and went well with the gravy and rice.  What is strange is that they served this on a paper plate so it kind of felt like we were eating in a food court.

Fatboy’s is a simple restaurant where you can get some well known Hawaiian dishes. Their menu is diverse and prices are not out of the ordinary.  Service here was quick and straight forward, but not exactly full service as you order and pick up food yourself.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Eggs ‘n Things – Honolulu Special

We were strolling down the Waikiki strip looking for a late dinner and decided to pop into Eggs’n Things.  We passed by this restaurant daily and it seemed to have a line up all the time.

It turns out the line up at the door is because they require that you order outside before they take you in.  The line up is just because people are reading the menu deciding what to get.  This was an unusual arrangement.  After you place your order with the staff at the door, you are brought into a 2nd counter behind the door where you pay.  After that they will assign a table for you.

We got a nice window seat:

The restaurant has plenty of seating available when we arrived in the evening:

It had a strange line of seats facing the wall too.

We ordered Kalbi and Eggs:

This is basically a Hawaiian style steak and eggs meal which comes with a stack of pancakes.  The steak was tender and the eggs were cooked to order (over hard).

The pancakes were very fluffy and fresh.  We would say their pancakes taste a lot better than IHOP’s.

Next we ordered their plantation pork chops:

It’s like a ham steak with pineapple and an egg cooked to order with some pan fried potatoes.  I was not expecting the pork chop to look like this.  It’s pinked colored like ham, so perhaps it is Hawaiian style.

The pork chop was too salty for our liking.  Nothing spectacular about the egg.  The fried potatoes were way too dry. They were overcooked and did not have any fluffy potato texture left.

Eggs ‘n Things queuing system is a bit strange and inconvenient since customers have to order outside.  At least, if you are at fast food joints like McDonalds, you can order inside the restaurant.  We had high expectations for their eggs seeing that “eggs” are part of their name, but as you can see, they are just normal looking eggs which doesn’t really distinguish them from other greasy spoons. The best part of our visit was the pancakes.

SFDD gives 3 out of 5 Delights.

Gorilla In The Café–Honolulu Special

We were delighted to visit Honolulu for a short end of summer trip.  We were blessed with wonderful weather during our stay.   We visited a couple of coffee shops including this one called Gorilla in the Café which had a name that really caught our attention.

 

It is located on the busy Waikiki strip.  Since it was afternoon, it was not that busy when we arrived for a coffee break.  On the counter they show what sort of coffee beans are used:

We ordered a house brewed coffee.

It was piping hot and had a deep bold flavour to it without being too bitter nor too acidic. It had the right balance.

We also ordered one of their specialty fruity iced teas :

It was served with light ice and was a good drink to have to cool down after a long walk.

There is actually no seating inside the coffee shop, but a few tables have been set up outside.  It was preferable to be sitting outside anyway since it was a nice day and most importantly since we were in Hawaii!

Service was good and we have no problem coming back next time if we can be back in Honolulu again hopefully sooner than later.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie–Las Vegas

While we were in Vegas in June, it was 47 degrees Celsius.  Despite the dessert heat, the strip was always crowded with people day and night.  With this heat, we craved for something sweet and cold so we headed into the Bellagio to get some gelato here at JPP.

Aside from the ice cream and gelato, this place has all sorts of desserts and pastries too.

They also have pre-packed goodies on the shelf too:

You can order crepes too:

Don’t miss the chocolate fountain outside their store:

The much awaited frozen section to cool us down:

We ordered 2 flavours, pistachio and mango.

There is plenty of seating around the hotel where you can sit comfortably to enjoy.  Both of the flavours were very deep, not too sweet and very creamy. A very perfect gelato.  JPP looks pretty busy so be prepared to line up for a bit.  If you are coming out from a buffet, save some space for some sweet delights here.

SFDD gives 5 out of 5 Delights.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.–Las Vegas

We first tired Bubba Gump in Maui back in 2016 and had a pleasant experience so we tried again this time in LV.

We had some trouble finding the restaurant because we were looking all over on the street level.  Turns out it is on the 2nd level of the building we were standing next to which was largely a drug store.

We got in for a late lunch and the place was almost empty.  We were seated immediately while the hostess informed us that they were giving out free appetizers for their guests.  The free appetizer of the day was their spinach dip.

It has a big plate of tortilla chips and warm spinach/cheesy dip which we had nothing to complain about since it was free.

For our mains, we first got the Shrimp Po Boy.

This had a big load of fried shrimp on top of soft bread with mayo, fresh cucumber and lettuce.  The shrimp was fried very well with a light batter.  It had a big serving of fries too.

Next is Forrest’s Seafood Feast.

This had fish and chips, fried shrimp and something they call seafood hush pups which are the round balls you see in the picture.  This was not that great as it seemed over fried as you can see from the dark batter compared to the shrimp po boy batter above.

The service was fast and the food overall was acceptable.  We would have preferred the feast plate was fried a minute or so less so it wasn’t so dark.

Our server was trying to heard to be affectionate which made it look too fake and condescending we’d suggest they dial it down a notch or two.  We also think they should put up some more signs at street level to make it easier for first timers to find the restaurant.

SFDD gives 3 out of 5 Delights.

Boudin Bakery & Cafe –San Francisco Airport

On our way to Maui, we had a 2 hour stopover at SFO.  Food was not going to be served on our flight, so we picked up a bite to eat at the airport.  There were plenty to choose from, but we went with Boudin after some good experience several years ago when we visited another Boudin location at the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

 

This is the place known for their sourdough breads.  It’s also popular for getting a clam chowder in a bread bowl.  One thing that stood out at our visit was that the order taker seemed to be in a very bad mood so we felt she was very rude.  Not a good place to be rude when you are working at the airport with so many visitors and tourists passing through!

We didn’t want to spend that much for a late lunch so we got their combo special where you can choose your own selection from the special menu.

The first combo was the turkey provolone with clam chowder.

The sandwich was served on a half sourdough bun and it was very fresh.  It had a generous serving of turkey as well.  The clam chowder was a small bowl but was just the right size for a late lunch. 

The soup was hot and creamy.  It could have used more clams though. 

For the second combo, we got the turkey avocado and spring salad.

This one was served on sourdough bread which was also fresh like the bun in our other sandwich.  The spring salad had walnuts, apples, cranberry raisins, and crumbled goat cheese. It was tossed in a berry vinaigrette dressing. 

The berry dressing seemed to have gone quite well with the cheese and the nuts.  We felt extra healthy seeing this delicious salad.

The bread and the other ingredients in our food were quite fresh and prepared as expected.  The only hiccup was the unfriendly attitude we experienced from the order taker at this location.  Having a nice smile and warm welcome should be moved to the front of this location's training manual.

SFDD gives 3 out of 5 Delights.

KFC - Burlington, WA (USA)

On our way back from our shopping trip, we stopped by Burlington to for a late lunch at KFC. This KFC is strange looking because it is a hybrid with A&W.  The restaurants aren’t even separated. You can order from the A&W menu or the KFC menu at the till.

We ordered a couple of $6 lunch box specials.  The lunch box comes with a drumstick and a thigh, mashed potatoes and gravy, a biscuit, a cookie, and a fountain drink.  On top of that, we ordered a “KFC Go Cup” which is in the middle of the picture below.

We ordered the extra crispy recipe. It was quite a big meal as you can see.

The fried chicken was quite fresh out of the fryer. We know because we had to wait a few minutes for our meals to be ready.

The Go Cup consisted of wedge fries and a choice of chicken products that was listed on the menu like chicken strips, mini chicken sandwich, popcorn chicken etc.  We chose popcorn chicken.  We thought the popcorn chicken was a bit overly breaded.  No big deal, this Go cup was only a couple of bucks.

Overall the restaurant was rather clean and organized. The staff were quite friendly and efficient too.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Cheesecake Factory - Bellevue

We were back in the USA for some shopping, despite the weak Canadian dollar we still found good deals such as $0.62/ltr gas and LED light bulbs.  We ventured out as far as Bellevue Square mall where we lunched at the CK Factory.  We’ve blogged about this place couple years back so it was time for an update.

We didn’t want to eat too much lunch since we planned on having some cheesecakes afterwards for dessert.

We ordered from their special lunch menu where the portions are a bit smaller.

This is the soup and salad combo.  Soup of the day was baked potato soup. It was very rich, creamy and filling.  It was like eating a fully loaded tomato since it had all the fixings.

The salad was very fresh and crisp.  They usually include at least half a tomato cut into big wedges.

We also ordered the lunch pizza and salad special.  This seems to be a new addition to the lunch menu as we didn’t recall seeing this in the past.  You can choose any pizza, so of course we chose the everything pizza.

It had peperoni, sausages, onions, yellow pepper and mushrooms.  It looked nice but I think they left it on the counter too long so part of the crust on the bottom was soggy.  The size of this pizza was somewhere between a personal pan pizza and a small pizza.

It also came with a salad which was fresh and crispy like the one above with big wedges of tomato.

We had 2 bonus slices of cheesecake gifts, but we were too full to cash in both.  We shared the red velvet cheesecake. It was quite superb as usual.

The 2nd cheese free cheesecake we ordered it to go and chose just the regular cheesecake.  That was also still very good when we ate it in the evening.

Service was good as they have many staff on duty.  If it weren’t for the soggy pizza crust, we would have given it more Delights.

SFDD gives 3 out 5 Delights.