'Ono Kine Grindz

Kuru Kuru Sushi

I first discovered Kuru Kuru Sushi a couple of years back and was I glad to have found this place.  A worthy competitor to Genki Sushi, this conveyor belt sushi restaurant serves decent food at affordable prices.  The prices have increased a bit over the last year (the spicy tuna donburi increased from $5.00 to $7.50), but for the price, this place really can't be beat.  Try to stop by on a weekend evening, and you'll see just how popular this place is.

Ahi poke

Masago

Kalbi

Ingen

Spicy unagi

Coffee jello

Kuru Kuru Sushi
Pearl Kai Shopping Center
98-199 Kamehameha Highway
Telephone: 808.484.4596

Cuu Long Nine Dragons River Vietnamese Restaurant

Noodle pie's blog has long been tempting me with lots of tasty looking dishes from Vietnam.  If you'd like, you can visit his weblog by clicking here.  Most of all, though, I've been drooling over the countless noodle dishes and soups that are available there.  His posts on pho have been informative enough that I've recently started on my own trek to find the best pho in Hawaii.

Before deciding on last weekend's dinner at Champa Thai, I spotted Cuu Long a few doors down, and made a note to visit in the upcoming week.

Well, last night, I decided to make the trip back and try out the food here.  Specializing in pho and Vietnamese fondue (hotpot) the menu stated...I decided to start off with an appetizer, the summer rolls (US$3.95).

Filled with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts, mint and rice vermicelli (among other things), these were pretty standard.  In other words, they were fine.  Instead of being served with the usual peanut sauce, though, these were served with something called "bean" sauce.  Don't know what kind of bean it was made up of, but the sauce was quite tasty.

There are about 10 different types of pho being offered here.  I settled on a medium bowl of number 10 on the menu, pho tai bo vien (US$5.50, large US$6.00).

This was described as "noodle soup with eye round steak and meat balls" on the menu.  The bowl arrived steaming hot and garnished with slices of white onions and lots of chopped green onions.  The beef was lean, though it arrived at the table a bit pink.  I took care of that by shoving it to the bottom of the bowl and under the noodles for a couple of minutes.  It came served with all of the usual garnishings...

...sawleaf herb, basil, beansprouts and lemon.  After making all of the necessary additions to the bowl, I was ready to eat.  The soup was bursting with beefy flavor.  The subtle flavor of the herbs further enhanced the rich broth.  The beef was lean and tender.  The beef balls were firm and fresh tasting.  These were also quite lean, lacking the gristle that I've experienced at other places. 

The pho here is outstanding and that definitely puts it ahead of most of the pack.  The soup is delicious, the beef is lean and tender...and well, the price is definitely right.  It's somewhere that I will definitely come to again and won't hesitate to recommend to my friends.

Cuu Long Nine Dragons River Vietnamese Restaurant
Pearl Kai Shopping Center
98-199 Kamehameha Highway Space B7
Telephone:  808.488.6041

Champa Thai

Located in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center, Champa Thai has been serving food in this location for more than a dozen years. 

I had not been here before, but decided to stop by for dinner last night based on the recommendation of a couple of friends.  Once inside, I looked over the menu and decided to try a few dishes based upon this same recommendation.

For starters, I had the green papaya salad (US$5.75).

When the salad arrived, I discovered that it was literally swimming in sauce.  For me, that was already a strike against this dish.  I normally like a salad to be a bit dry and crisp, and that, this was not.  On the plus side, the papaya was firm and had a nice bite to it.  I was a bit surprised, though, to see that the salad contained large slices of tomato and a huge wedge of cabbage.  I was not used to having either with this dish. 

The salad was definitely a disappointment because I felt that too much nam pla (fish sauce) was used in its preparation detracting from the overall balance of flavor.

Next, I ordered the pla preaw wan (sweet and sour fish, US$8.75).

The menu describes this as deep-fried mahi mahi topped with a sweet sour sauce and mixed vegetables.  There were seven pieces of wonderfully battered and deep-fried fish in this dish.  When this dish arrived at the table, the pieces of fish were still crunchy!  The sweet and sour sauce, had just the right touch of sweetness and tanginess to it.  The vegetables, and a few chunks of pineapple, help round this out.  This was definitely something that I would eat here again.

I also ordered one of the curry dishes to try.  Tonight, I had the gaeng keo wan nua (green curry with beef, US$6.95)

Since I normally don't eat green curries, preferring either yellow or massaman, I was surprised at how light this curry actually was.  It was only mildly spicy (and not at all salty), but surprisingly rich in flavor.  The letdown here was the beef.  It was tough and dry, not anything like what I would have expected.  If the beef had been better, this would have been the star dish of the night. 

To go along with all the dishes was an order of sticky rice (US$1.75).

I was pleasantly surprised to see this arrive in the traditional woven basket! 

Would I make another trip here? Yes, I'd probably be willing to give this place another try.  Although a couple of the dishes were not exactly to my liking, there definitely was some promise in the things that were good.  I was especially impressed with the pla preaw wan, with the sauce having just the right balance and combination of flavors.  The gaeng keo wan nua would probably have been the star dish of the night had it not been for the beef.  Besides, the service was excellent and the prices were more than reasonable.

Champa Thai
Pearl Kai Shopping Center
98-199 Kamehameha Highway Space C2
Telephone:  808.488.2881

Anna Miller's 24-Hour Restaurant

A couple of weeks ago I posted about Bravo Restaurant and was asked by Santos about Anna Miller's strawberry pie.  Since then, I've been trying to keep the urge to eat the fresh strawberry pie at bay...today, I caved in to my cravings!  URGH!

I made the twenty minute drive from my house to Anna Miller's in Aiea.

This is a huge coffeeshop/restaurant/bakery that is open 24 hours a day.  Many years back, they were known for their fruit pies:  cherry, peach, apple, etc.  It was only more recently (I would say maybe the last 10 years or so) that they became known almost exclusively for their fresh strawberry pie.  So much so, that it's become their signature. 

And here it is...the fresh strawberry pie still sitting in the box (US$10.95).

Doesn't that look good?  The only thing wrong about this pie today was the crust.  I felt it was a little undercooked.  Other than that, the pie was delicious (after removing some of the whipped cream of course!).  The strawberries were nice and plump...and contrary to what your eyes may be telling you, this pie is not as sweet as it looks (again, with some of the whipped cream removed!).

Now that I've had my fix, what am I going to do with the remaining 7 pieces of the pie?

Anna Miller's 24-Hour Restaurant
Pearlridge Centre
98-115 Kaonohi Street
Telephone:  808.487.2421

Bravo Restaurant

A friend's birthday was about 2 weeks ago.  At that time, I invited him out to dinner, but he couldn't make it, so he asked to take a "rain check".  Well, last night he called and asked if I was free and I was.  He decided to cash in his "rain check" and asked if I wanted to go to Bravo's.  I haven't been there in over a year, so I said sure why not.

Bravo's is located at the Pearlridge Shopping Center right below Anna Miller's and across the parking lot from Starbuck's Coffee.  It specializes in Italian food and has received high marks from many local diners.  As I looked over the menu, our server brought some garlic rolls that were hot, buttery, spicy and delicious!

The rolls are so good that I could have probably eaten the entire basket by myself!

I decided to start off with a salad.  I ordered the chopped salad (half, US$6.95; full, US$8.95).

This salad is a mix of lettuce, tomatoes, olives, turkey, salami and gorgonzola cheese.  All of this is tossed with some creamy dressing.  The ingredients for the salad were very fresh.  The one thing I didn't like about this salad was the dressing.  There was simply too much of it!  I normally like my salads on the "dry" side.  This salad, however, was soaked in dressing which formed a small pool at the bottom of the plate.  This made the lettuce and other ingredients feel soggy in my mouth.  Maybe next time, I'll ask to have the dressing on the side.

For my main dish, instead of ordering pasta, which I always have when I come here, I decided to try one of the pizzas.  I order the 8" Wahiawa pizza (US$8.75).  Wahiawa is a town that one passes through on the drive to Oahu's North Shore.  It was once known for it's endless sugarcane and pineapple fields. 

On the menu, the ingredients sounded good:  SPAM®, Canadian bacon, pineapple (I guess that's where the name Wahiawa came from) and green onions.  When the pizza arrived, however, it was not what I expected at all!

Doesn' this look like something a child in the second grade would put together?  What I had expected were chunks of SPAM®, Canadian bacon and pineapple surrounded by melting mozarella cheese with a bit of green onions sprinkled on top.  What I got was a 3 pieces of each ingredient on top of a half cooked pizza with green onions sprinkled on top.  The pizza arrived at the table just slightly warm and the cheese looked barely cooked.  This was an utter disappointment.

All in all, this dinner was a let down for me.  In addition to being a bit pricey, the food was not as good as I had hoped it would be.  The only thing I found worthwhile tonight were the garlic rolls....and they were free!

Bravo Restaurant
Pearlridge Centre
98-115 Kaonohi Street
Telephone:  808.487.5544