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.

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.

Dairy Queen - Richmond

Richmond used to have several Dairy Queens around but over the years they all just disappeared for different reasons.  We were very happy that a new Dairy Queen opened up along Francis and No 3 road.

Actually it’s not a new DQ, it was moved here from the Cooney road location since we recognized the owner.

This place is quite busy, maybe because it’s the only DQ in Richmond.  We went in the evening around 7pm to try out their $6/$7 meals and there was quite a line up throughout our stay.

We ordered the $6 deluxe cheeseburger meals which came with a soft drink, fries and a small sundae.  You can pay a little more to upgrade your sundae to a Blizzard.

The burgers are made to order and contained fresh lettuce and a slice of tomato.  The burger patty seems to be a leaner than other places so it was not dripping with oil like other fast food burgers. The beef was lightly seasoned.

The fries were very golden with a nice crisp outside, and it was soft and fluffy inside.  It was like the frying oil used was freshly changed.

Finally the best part of DQ, here are the strawberry and chocolate sundaes.  Although they were a ‘small’ size, it is actually quite big and is a nice treat to have after the burger and fries.

The food and ice cream were good, but I think this location is understaffed.  The owner/manager was the only person handling the orders at the till. She was also the one delivering the food to the tables.  Hence, the wait in line was very long and others were also getting impatient. 

We asked for the ice cream for ‘later’, so we had to line up again to get the ice cream which took almost 15 minutes due to the line up.

The bottleneck was at the till, because once you place your order, the food didn’t take that long to come out as the kitchen and ice cream stations were staffed with enough people.

We hope this DQ location improves the queuing system next time we visit as the wait was rather unreasonable.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Maui, Hawaii Special – Pizza Hut

After a nice dip in the beach during sunset in Maui (which is around 7pm), we trekked to a nearby Pizza Hut for a quick dinner as we didn’t want to venture out too far while wearing our wet bathing suits.  This location only had take out available and was bustling with a few customers when we arrived.

We were hoping for some grand deals, better than what we can find at Canadian Pizza Huts, but were quickly disappointed that they only had a couple of promos happening as indicated on the posters on the window.

We ended up getting 2 personal pan pizzas with one topping.  Being in Hawaii, we thought we’d make our own Hawaiian pizzas so one had ham, the other had pineapple and we just split it between us.  We picked up a couple of canned pops at the nearby ABC convenience store.

The grated cheese and chili flakes came separately in nice respectable packages.

Pizzas were done just right and was still hot by the time we got back to our hotel.  It had a generous amount of cheese for this personal sized pizza.

It is too bad there wasn’t more specials available when we were there.  The wait was a bit long but maybe we were just impatient as we were still soaking wet in our bathing suits.

SFDD gives 3 out of 5 Delights

Maui, Hawaii Special - Teddy’s Bigger Burgers (Lahaina)

After an early morning snorkeling expedition at a location north of Lahaina, we were quite hungry since we didn’t have time for breakfast.  It was already just past noon just in time for lunch.  We were not familiar with the area so we opened up Zomato and found this Hawaiian burger joint close by called  Teddy’s Bigger Burgers.  It had good reviews so we felt safe dropping in for a bite to eat.



Being in Hawaii,the weather was hot that afternoon, around high 20’s close to 30 Celsius so we were looking forward for an ice cold fountain drink to cool us off too. 




The restaurant had a 50’s type of diner design to it. It was very clean and well kept with lots of tables available for seating.  We didn’t expect a fast food place to be so tidy, but then we realized later it’s not fast food quality at all.

They have quite a selection of burgers to choose from. You can build your own, or order one of their signature big burgers that have preset toppings already. Even though we were hungry, we didn’t think we could chomp down their specials since they looked so big in the pics. Thus,  we ordered 2 of the most basic burgers, one of which was a combo so that we can share the fries and drink. 

Both burgers had a 5oz patty cooked medium well. It came with the standard lettuce, tomatoes and a secret Teddy burger sauce.  The on in the pic below has an optional pineapple added in, being in Hawaii and all we thought we’d try this.




The one below is the combo with fries covering most of the burger, but it looks just about the same as the one above, less the pineapple.



The burger bun was very soft and fresh. It was lightly toasted on the grill so it had a light crisp on the inside of the bun.  The beef patty was still quite juicy even though we opted for medium well.  The veggies were also very fresh. 

The secret sauce which tasted a bit like thousand island dressing had just the right amount without drowning the burger.  Although the burger was big, it was not messy to eat.  At some places, your burger will have juices and sauces dripping out from the other end while biting in, but these burgers did not have that problem.

The service at this location was good and the people working here were friendly, cheerful and very welcoming.  You have to wait for your food but that’s because the burgers are made to order.  They give you a little buzzer which lights up and vibrates when your food is ready to pick up.

SFDD gives 4 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.

Subway - Riverport Richmond

Wow another Subway post??  Yes this time we needed a quick dinner before catching a movie at Silvercity Riverport as we didn’t want our stomach growling loud inside the theatre.

This Subway is just to the North of the theatre.  You probably won’t see it unless you venture out towards the direction of the Watermania Swimming pool.  It looks nice and tidy inside. In fact it looks more upscale than the usual subways with the yellow plastic booths. 

This location also includes a Subway Cafe, which is the first time we’ve seen such a setup.  It has a section that serves premium coffee drinks like espressos, lattes and cappuccinos.

Although it appears they are made from those push button machines.  These coffee drinks are not cheap either, the prices are comparable to chains like Waves and Starbucks, so we passed on the drink and when for the Subs.

We shared a foot long turkey sub with most of the toppings. 

The artist here was also generous with the veggies much like the artist at the New West Subway.  She also didn’t mind that we wanted slightly different ingredients on both halves.  One of us likes olives and pepper so she accommodated our request to keep these on one side.

The artist was quick at making the sub and offered us to add a few dollars to make it a meal but seeing the size of the sub, we kindly declined and just had the Sub by itself.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Subway - New Westminster

Dropped into this Subway just across from Douglas College for a quick bite to eat.  Noticed that their menu prices changed to even number prices without the cents, which gave it a perception of being good value.

This one is a 6 inch turkey sub on honey oat.  It was $5.  Didn’t seem like a good deal as I remember just a few years ago Subway had $5 foot long specials year round.  I no longer see that anymore.  Maybe in the States but definitely not locally.

The sandwich artist here that served me was very friendly and efficient at putting together the sub.  She was also generous with the filling so I did not have to ask for extra this and that like at some other places.

We seldom have issues at Subway, most of the shops are quite consistent with the subs.  The veggies used here was quite fresh.  It would be good Subway introduces a bigger value menu for us to choose from.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

A&W - New Westminster Station (Skytrain)

A&W had some new fall coupons mailed out which allowed me to get a cheap quick lunch in the New West area.  This location is at the ground level of New West Skytrain Station.  It is a rather dark location since it’s next to the bus stop area which is covered so not a lot of sun light gets in.

They have self serve stations for taking your order but seeing the friendly people at the counter, I opted to order there instead.  I usually get the Teen burger since I like bacon, but the coupon I had was for a Mama Burger meal with fries and a drink for $4.

The beef patty is very thick and juicy so I was surprised it was that size for the Mama Burger. I had thought it was the equivalent to the McD’s hamburger but clearly the Mama is a bigger player which can compete with McD’s quarter pounder.  It had a nice serving of onions as well.  It was a basic burger but tasted really good.

I especially like to see how A&W presents their fries in that little stainless steel container which resembles a mini version of the frying basket.  The fries were quite fresh and I like these ones better than the skinny McD fries. 

Their signature root beer was very creamy and foamy.  I would have preferred to drink it out of a frosted glass, but I specifically asked for a take out cup knowing I won’t be able to finish the drink in the one sitting.

The location is quite clean and the staff here were quite friendly.  The food is made to order but I didn’t have to wait long.  This location might be hard to find though since you have to take a few escalators down from the train to find it.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

McDonald's - Richmond Airport

It’s McDonald's coupon time again so we dropped into the airport location for breakfast Saturday morning. This is a uniquely renovated location that is a lot different than the average McD stores around the city because it actually has an airport theme to it. 

You can find it as you are coming off the the No2 road bridge northbound.

As you can see they have airplane themed artwork and seats.

This location also has a nice view as it faces west towards the YVR so there are no buildings obstructing your views.  It is also a nice location to watch planes and helicopters arriving.  It appears a lot of patrons are airline or airplane workers coming from nearby YVR.

Back to the food - We ordered the 2 can dine for $7.

The first meal is the egg Mcmuffin and the other is a bacon & egg McGriddle.  The food is made to order so there is no complaints as it was fresh.  The Mcgriddle bread is kind of like a mix between a hotcake and a English muffin. It is sweetened with syrup which you can see oozing out in some spots.  The sweetness of the syrup went very well together with the crispy bacon.

The hash browns are deep fried so we usually soak up the oil with a clean napkin.

We very much enjoy coming to this location because it is less hectic, has nice view and we had no issues with the service during the numerous times we visited.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

A&W Richmond Centre Food Court

While running some errands at Richmond Centre mall with empty stomachs, we got hungry and needed to get a quick breakfast. 

We had one of those A&W weekly coupons, so we went up to the food court to grab a couple of breakfasts.  The coupon provided a free drink and hash brown so it was a couple of bucks saved.   The food court was relatively quiet as it was before 11am.

There was not a lot of people in line at A&W, but the clerks seemed quite overwhelmed and frazzled with the current orders and bumping into each other at the counter while grabbing orders and drinks.  We had to wait a few minutes before the clerks had time to take our orders.

We both got bacon and eggs classic breakfasts.  This one has over-hard eggs.  We got hot chocolate for the drink. 

The eggs and bacon were great.  A&W is still claiming to source from hormone free meats and eggs which is nice bonus.  The toast however was not toasted enough.  The hot chocolate was too watery so we exchanged it for a tea.  The staff did not give us any trouble when exchanging.

Our second breakfast had over easy eggs.  It was made to order.  The toast was a bit better, but could have used another 30 seconds in the toaster. 

Coffee was A&W’s Van Houtte Brew it was quite flavourful.  If comparing fast food coffee, I’d definitely prefer A&W’s coffee over TH or MacD’s coffee.  The hash brown was fresh and did not seem as oily as the ones you get at MacD’s or TH’s breakfasts.

In summary, most of the items in our order was fine.  Toast needs to be toasted longer for it to look like toast.  The staff can use some training to keep things calm and in order on their side of the counter.  I can imagine things may get messy during a lunch time rush. 

SFDD Gives 2.5 out of 4 Delights

Bubble Waffle Cafe - Richmond

Bubble Cafe is a chain of noodle restaurants across the lower mainland.  The newest location is located in the Lansdowne Mall food court.  They took over a corner unit and we’ve noticed they brought a lot of new foot traffic to the usually quiet food court.

Their popular menu item is the combo noodle with 2 items for around $6.  Before ordering at the till, you can pick up one of their menus at the counter and check off items you want.  Pencils are provided.  There is a wide selection of soups ranging from plain to spicy.  There are also lots of different meats and veggie toppings that you can choose.
Drinks are the typical Hong Kong style, hot or cold that you can choose to add to the combo.  We picked Iced Lemon tea. The lemon tea was a bit sweet for our taste, but I guess next time we’ll have to remember to ask for half sweet.

We didn’t have to wait very long for our orders.  We added $2 to get the bubble waffle with our meal.

On the left is the satay soup with Oil noodle. The right was the parsley egg soup with rice noodle.  The noodles were made al dente so it was good.  The soup base for both came with lots of shredded Chinese cabbage and onions so it filled the bowl right to the top while the soup was not overly salty nor overly MSG’d.
The bubble waffle was slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside as it should be.

Lansdowne Mall is a nice location since the parking lot is not jammed pack all the time.  This place was rather the busier of the other food court restaurants.  They do have lots of people working in the kitchen and on the front line so things move efficiently.
The prices here are quite a good value compared to its neighbours where $8-$10 is the norm.
SFDD gives 3.25 out of 4 Delights.

Bob's Submarine Sandwiches

Bob’s sub is a little hidden gem along No 3 Road.  It’s in the Brighouse Square strip mall across from Richmond Centre so it is easily assessable from the Canada Line.

This is the place to go if you are looking for a fully packed inexpensive submarine.  It’s operated by a friendly Korean couple.  Other stuff on the menu include burgers and fried chicken too.  It’s not a fancy place, it’s more like an un-renovated cafeteria with dim lighting.  You order and pay at the counter and then pick up your food when the food is ready so it’s somewhat of a self service joint.

We got there at about 6pm and the place was not very busy.  We ordered and shared their famous foot long Super Sub.  You can get 6 inch too which is exactly half the price so there is no discount for ordering the larger size on all their subs.

The super sub includes steak, capicollo, cooked onions, mushrooms, cheese lettuce and tomatoes.   “Super” means you get double the amount of fillings compared to the regular sized subs.  They knew we were sharing the foot long so they were nice enough to serve it on 2 plates. They truly delivered as you can see the sub is packed rather high.

It was a bit out of balance as you can see the capicollo is slipping out on the left side on my half and there wasn’t that much in the other half below.

What we liked the most is that the bread was toasted hot on the grill so there was a bit of crunch on every bite.  The beef didn’t have much seasoning so the taste came most from the other meats.  The lettuce had a nice crunch while the tomatoes were fresh. It was not too messy with sauces as we didn’t notice a lot of dripping out of the sub while we were conquering with each bite.

It was around $12 although so it is not really considered ‘inexpensive’ when compared to Subway, but it definitely has a lot more meat for sure. 

We also added the onion rings.  This can be skipped as it tastes like the stuff from the supermarket freezer isle.  It was overcooked and too crispy with a very thin strip of onion inside the batter.

Other customers who walked in while we were there all ordered the Super Sub, so this was definitely the popular choice for the regulars.

Overall, we’d recommend to stick with their sub selection. This is a place to go if you want to feel full after being hungry from a  long workout at the gym.

SFDD gives 3 out of 4 Delights.