'Ono Kine Grindz

Ying Leong Look Funn Factory

This is a small specialty shop along the Kekaulike Mall in Chinatown.  Unbeknownst to me, until an introduction by a friend several years ago, this shop sells just one thing -- look funn (chee cheong fun) -- or rolls of flat Chinese rice noodles.

Unassuming in it's outward appearance, you just might miss the shop if you aren't looking out for the sign above the door, or if you don't read Chinese.

Once inside the shop, you'll see boxes stacked up to the ceiling near the stainless steel refrigerator on the left.  Straight ahead, you'll find the counter and right behind the front counter is handwritten sign listing what's on offer.  Just three items are available here -- plain look funn (US$.60 each), char siu look funn (Chinese barbecued pork, US$.90 each) or shrimp look funn (US$.90 each).

Here is one order of char siu look funn (US$.90) that has been topped with some soy sauce.

The look funn is sliced upon request, then wrapped in some waxed paper before being concealed in an outer wrapping of pink butcher paper. 

Once home, I unwrapped the package, emptied a tiny packet of soy sauce over the cool noodles, and proceed to eat.  The cool, slightly chewy noodles, the salty soy sauce and the tiny bits of savory char siu, complement each other well.  If you'd like, the look funn noodles can be steamed before the soy sauce is poured over the top.  Another way to prepare this is to stir fry the look funn with a little oyster sauce or a bit of hoisin sauce.  The noodles become crunchy outside with a tender, slightly chewy middle.

For an inexpensive breakfast, or a light afternoon snack, this is definitely something worth considering.

Ying Leong Look Funn Factory
1028 Kekaulike Street
Telephone:  808.537.4304

XO Seafood Restaurant

This review is a "first taste".  XO Seafood Restaurant only recently opened and when I stopped by with a friend, the dish that I had wanted to try, was already sold out.  The restaurant is clean and the interior is unlike most Chinese restaurants that you're likely to encounter here. 

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Located at the former Dunkin' Donuts site across from the Hawaii Convention Center, XO Seafood Restaurant opened quietly within the last couple of weeks.  I stumbled upon this place, by accident, while driving down Kapiolani Boulevard on the way home from shopping at Ala Moana.  I called a friend, who quickly came down to meet me for dinner.

Since it was already 9:00 pm, I wasn't surprised to find very few diners in the back of the restaurant where I was seated.  There was a nice sized crowd up front though, and by the time my friend arrived, I had looked over the menu and decided on a dish to order.  Sadly, when I made an attempt to order one of the house specialties, the Mongolian lamb ribs, I was told that they were already sold out for the day.

Not one to give up, I looked over the menu a while longer before making my selections.  The first dish to arrive, about 15 minutes later, was the crispy sweet and sour fish fillet (US$8.00).

Pieces of fish were battered and deep fried until golden brown.  They were served on a plate that had been coated with sweet sour sauce.  Taking the first bite, I discovered that the pieces of fish weren't crunchy at all, even though they were still extremely hot.  The sauce was thick, gooey and extra sweet with almost no sourness to be found.

When we were three quarters of the way done with the fish, the next dish arrived at the table -- Chinese broccoli stir fry with crispy fish chips (US$8.00).

Now when I saw this on the menu, I thought it sounded interesting.  I was more curious about the crispy fish chips than anything else.  When the plate had finally made it to the table, I discovered a mix of broccoli AND Chinese broccoli (gai lan).  When I questioned the server, he told me that they didn't have enough Chinese broccoli to provide me with a full serving.  After eating a few of the "woody" stems of Chinese broccoli, I happened upon a few "burnt" tasting crispy fish chips, which were no more than flattened pieces of dried fish that had been fried.

And finally, the last dish that we ordered was the three flavor chicken casserole (US$9.00).

Arriving just as were finishing the two previous dishes, this dish arrived at the table in a small pot. We were served the equivalent of approximately 1/2 a small chicken  and there were bones here that had been crushed to tiny pieces, making this dish a challenge for us to eat.  Flavored with soy sauce, whole cloves of garlic and lots of fresh basil, I throughly enjoyed the flavors of this dish, even though I found it salty.

Even though there were lots of employees around the restaurant, the service was quite slow.  Food took a long time to come out from the kitchen, and water was refilled only once during the hour we spent there.  The food seemed a bit average overall -- some of it was overcooked, some of it was undercooked, and some of it was over seasoned.  All in all, this time around, I was slightly disappointed. 

XO Seafood Restaurant
1718 Kapiolani Boulevard
Telephone:  808.942.2020

Double Eight (88) Chinese Restaurant

Chinese restaurants in downtown Honolulu are a dime a dozen.  It was surprising that I had never eaten at this restaurant before, especially since it's right across the street from one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants, Pho 97.  I came here for dinner one night with a friend after we both finished work at a very late hour.  It was raining and I was really craving some pho, but we had just missed our opportunity, as Pho 97 had just closed.

Stepping inside this restaurant, we found only one of the tables occupied.  As we looked over the menu, we discovered that the couple eating here were friends with one of the workers.  They were having a few drinks with her before heading out for the evening.

While I expressed some shock over some of the menu items (trust me), we were brought a pot of tea, two tiny cups and a plate of salted peanuts.  Each cup held a small sip of tea which we enjoyed.

Since I already knew what I was going to order for the main course, I was looking for either a tofu dish or vegetable dish to go along with it.  Since I don't see this dish on menus too often, I decided to order the pei-pa tofu with spinach (US$7.95).

Although the menu said this was served with spinach, when it arrived at the table, it was served on a bed of lettuce.  Not as tender and flavorful as the dish I had about a month ago at Cuisine Tony, this seemed quite unrefined and "doughy" in nature.  Perhaps it was because they used too much cornstarch to stabilize the tofu.  What I did enjoy were the crunchy lettuce leaves in the yellow bean and garlic sauce.

For the main course, I chose the house specialty -- the lobster with mochi rice in lotus flavor (US$21.99).

A live lobster was scooped out of the tank at the front of the restaurant for this dish.  I was almost tempted to ask to visit the kitchen so I could see what actually happened when they prepared the lobster (but I resisted).  About 20 minutes after the lobster left the tank, I lifted the cover of the bamboo steamer to discover this...

A large lotus leaf lined the bottom of the steamer basket.  Layered on top of the lotus leaf was some glutinous rice that had been stir fried with a bit of soy sauce and topped with the pieces of lobster and a healthy sprinkling of chopped green onions.  After the lobster and glutinous rice had been steamed, the lobster was covered in a sauce that was similar in flavor to the one that accompanied the pei-pa tofu -- a slightly salty yellow bean sauce that had been heavily perfumed with lots of minced garlic.  To add more flavor to the rice, it seemed like lots of tiny eggs (don't know if they came from the lobster or not) were sprinkled all over the rice. 

Although the glutinous rice had a delicate and light flavor, I found the texture to be a little mushy.  The mushiness of the rice was most likely due to the sauce that accompanied the lobster as some parts of the rice seemed to be slighty chewy, with just the right amount of bite.  The pieces of lobster were perfectly cooked and gently cracked for easy eating.

While the pei-pa tofu lacked refinement, I felt that the presentation of the lobster with mochi rice in lotus flavor was quite interesting and unique.  While it wasn't the best dish that I have ever eaten, it would probably be more enjoyable with a few minor adjustments.  The service here was great.  Our waitress came by often to ask how we were doing, to see if we needed more water and to find out if everything was.  We both agreed that we would visit again to try some of the other unique items that were found on the menu.

Double Eight (88) Chinese Restaurant
1113 Maunakea Street
Telephone:  808.526.3887

Kirin Restaurant

Open for a little more than a year now, Kirin first arrived on the scene as Hei Chin Rou.  Since I am a frequent visitor to Ala Moana Center, I was highly anticipating this new restaurant, but each time I visited, I was unable to go inside for one reason or another.  This past weekend I was shopping at Ala Moana for a birthday gift when I decided to stop in with a couple of friends.

The interior of the restaurant is well appointed -- dark carved wood panels and recessed lighting.  Unlike the interiors of most Chinese restaurants, this one was actually quite pleasant and calming.

What makes this different from most dim sum restaurants in Hawaii is the lack of carts.  Instead of carts making their way through the restaurant, your dim sum order is placed via an "order form" of sorts.  At each table is a large picture menu and a small sheet of paper with most of the dim sum items listed on it.  Check off the box next to each item, hand it to a waiter or waitress that just happens to be passing by, and your dishes will start to arrive in a few minutes.

We ordered a number of dishes and the first of these to arrive was the crispy green onion patty (US$2.95).

Lots of green onions were scattered throughout this crispy and slightly chewy pancake.  By the time was placed on the table, the pancake was a little cold and started to turn a little greasy.  The pancake itself, while tasty, was just a little too "doughy" for me.

Next came the seared bean curd rolls with vegetables (US$2.95).

Thin sheets of bean curd skin were wrapped around julienned mushrooms, carrots and bamboo shoots.  These were fine for what they were, but I would have liked just a little less filling and a lot more crunchiness.  These bean curd rolls were just a little too "tender".

The bean curd rolls were quickly followed by the deep-fried shrimp puff with thousand island sauce (US$3.25).

Huge pieces of succulent shrimp filled these deep fried puffs.  A dipping sauce consisting of a standard thousand island dressing accompanied this dish.  While the dipping sauce was unconventional (these are usually served with mayonaisse), these were quite good. These were not as good as the ultra thin skinned ones found at Legend though.

After we were done with the shrimp puffs, we waited a while before the next dish, the spicy Szechuan pork won-ton (US$2.75), arrived.

Four won-tons were filled with pork and arrived at the table floating in a mildly spicy gravy.  After taking the first bite, I discovered that these won-tons were overly salty and decided not to eat anymore.  I did taste the gravy and discovered that it contained coconut milk.  In fact, it tasted very much like laksa!

Finally, the steamed items started to arrive at the table.  First up, were the steamed barbecued pork buns (US$2.95).

Sweet chunks of barbecue pork (char siu) filled the over-steamed bun.  The barbecued pork filling had an unusually intense flavor (it seemed to be anise) and the bun lacked the standard fluffiness.

After the disappointment with the char siu bao, I was happy to see the next dish arrive at the table.  That dish was the glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf with chicken and dried scallop (US$3.75).

Unwrapping the lotus leaf , I discovered this...

Lots of chewy, al dente-style glutinous rice filled with minced chicken and dried scallops.  There was a lot of gelatinous fat here as well as something gooey that I couldn't quite make out.  The overall flavoring of the rice was good, but I found that it was much too "wet" for my tastes.

The final dim sum item of the day was the Shanghai style juicy pork buns (US$3.25).

Four small buns, if you can call them that, arrived in a steamer basket.   

Previously, when I had eaten xiao long bao, the "skin" was paper thin and translucent.  When you picked up the bao with your chopsticks, you could see the liquid "sloshing" around inside it.  Here the skin was thick, just as thick as a normal won ton skin.  When I pierced the skin to take this photo, there was hardly any liquid inside it.  There was, however, quite a bit of pork filling inside each tiny "bun".

After a somewhat mediocre experience with the dim sum, I decided that I was going to  order something for dessert.  I settled on the almond tofu (US$3.25).

Chilled almond flavored tofu was topped with a couple of spoonfuls of fruit cocktail.  The sweet, smooth tofu was refreshing and really hit the spot.

Upon entering the restaurant, we thought that the room full of people meant that the food here was good. After the first couple of dishes, we knew that our assumptions were wrong.  Did people just come here because it was convenient?  The food here was OK, and with each dish, something seemed to be lacking.  For a lot less than the premium prices charged here, better values, and tastier food, can be had elsewhere.

Kirin Restaurant
Ala Moana Shopping Center Street Level
1450 Ala Moana Boulevard Space 1215
Telephone:  808.946.1888

Cuisine Tony

UPDATE:  November 2005
Cuisine Tony has closed.
Pho One now occupies this space.

Several years ago, Cuisine Tony used to serve up some eclectic dishes with some pretty far out names like Saturn pork chops and escargot de France.  A couple years later, you could find such things as African chicken and Hungarian oxtail soup on the menu.  More recently, I paid another visit to Cuisine Tony only to find that the menu had been revamped yet again.

When I arrived here for dinner with a friend a couple weeks back, we found the place to be quite empty.  There were a couple of tables that were occupied near the front of the restaurant, but the rest of the restaurant, which was filled with soft, high backed booths, was empty.

(This is a bad photo, but you get the idea right?)

While looking over the menu, I noticed that the funky menu items, like those mentioned above, as well as the Italian-inspired ones, were gone.  The menu had been totally revamped with Chinese specialties. While we looked over the menu to make our selections, we decided to start with an order of the crispy chicken wings with shrimp sauce (US$6.95).

As the plate made it's way to the table from the kitchen, I could smell the distinct aroma of shrimp paste wafting through the air.  Pungent, and smelling of the sea, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into those crispy wings.  Crunchy and slightly salty, these chicken wings were moist and juicy on the inside.

The next item to arrive at the table was the fish fillet with Szechwan hot chili sauce (US$9.95).

Chunks of tender fish were first deep fried then stir fried with lots of dried chillies in this spicy, yet savory dish.  Dark soy sauce, minced garlic, slivers of ginger, green onions and just little shrimp paste were used to create the mouth watering sauce that soaked each bite of fish.  The amount of heat was just right and the gravy was perfect spooned into my bowl of rice. 

Besides the two dishes mentioned above, we also wanted to order the stir-fried snow cabbage with dried tofu.  When we attempted to order it, we were told there was no snow cabbage.  So just as I was about to choose the bala chaung on-choi, the waitress recommended the pe pa tofu (US$12.00).  Since this dish is not commonly found on menus here, I was easily persuaded to order this.

As the dish was brought out to the table, I was delighted that the waitress recommended it.  Silken tofu was first mixed with bits of shrimp and lots of cilantro, then coated in batter and deep friend until golden brown.  Served on a bed of sautéed spinach, it was then covered in a light soy based sauce.  For me, this dish was the evening's highlight.  The unmistakable flavor of cilantro was enhanced by the subtle flavor of soy sauce in every soft, yet crunchy bite.  Excellent.

It's been a while since my last visit to Cuisine Tony and I'm so glad I came back.  The dishes are expertly executed and are made with quality ingredients.  The service here is attentive, friendly and helpful.  And the food?  The portion sizes here were the perfect size for sharing, and judging by the dishes that I ordered, the food here is worth every delicious penny. 

Cuisine Tony
1617 Kapiolani Boulevard
Telephone:  808.941.1234

Legend Seafood Restaurant

Since I was in Chinatown buying some mooncakes today, I decided that to have some dim sum for lunch.  There are quite a few restaurants that serve dim sum in the area, such as Mei Sum and Tai Pan, but today I decided to have dim sum at Legend Seafood Restaurant.

Ask any local where to find good dim sum, and many times the response will be Legend.  So even when I arrived at 1:00 pm, this place wass packed.  I guess it shows how popular this place is, right?

Every few minutes the ladies pushing carts come around to each table hawking their wares.  This one is serving rice soup with preserved egg and salted pork as well as ox intestines with turnip.

This one here is offering pan fried turnip cake as well as pan fried dumplings with chives and shrimp.

My first selection of the day, was #22, B.B.Q. pork manapua (char siu bao, US$2.85)

Soft and fluffy, the bun was a bit moist when it arrived.  Tearing it open, we have this.

The soft, dense bun was a bit too "wet".  Don't know why this was the case, but for some reason, the bun seemed "soggy".  When I tore it in half with my fingers, I had pieces of the bun stuck there, and when I bit into it, it seemed as though it had absorbed quite a bit of water.  The pieces of B.B.Q. pork were a bit fatty and not flavored with not enough char siu sauce.

Next was #27, mochi rice in lotus leaf (US$2.85)

This is probably one of my favorite dim sum items.  After unwrapping the lotus leaf a bit, you can see what's inside.

Concealed by the tender, sticky grains of glutinous rice are bits of pork and black mushroom as well as half a chestnut (!).  Perfectly cooked, the flavor of the glutinous rice was enhanced by the fragrance of the lotus leaf.  The pork and mushroom filling gave this a savory flavor.  One of the best dishes served here.

Then came #19, the bean curd roll (US$2.85).

Bean curd "skins" are wrapped around a filling of minced pork, bamboo shoots, and black fungus (among other things), then steamed until soft and tender.  These were quite meaty with lots of crunchy pieces of bamboo shoot throughout.  I enjoyed these, but I thought the seasoning of the accompanying "gravy" could have been a bit more flavorful.

Here is #38, the pan fried turnip cake (US$2.85).

Grated turnip is combined with dried shrimp and bits of pork, then seasoned before being steamed until firm.  Before serving, the turnip "cake" is cut into squares then pan fried.  When this turnip cake was served, the outside was crisp, while the inside was still soft and tender.  There was lots of dried shrimp here, but there was an unusual flavor as well -- something that I didn't really care for.  I ate these smeared with a lot of chilli.

Since there was no more deep fried shrimp, which is actually one of my favorites here, I instead ordered the #33, barbecue pork pastry (US$2.85).

Pastry dough is wrapped around minced char siu (barbecue pork), then brushed with egg and sprinkled with sesame seeds before being baked.  The glossy pastry was a little sweet and just a little salty too.  Taking a bite of the overstuffed, flaky pastry caused crumbs to fly every which way and the savory bits of char siu offset the overall sweetness quite well.

The next to last dish was this one, #43, steamed look funn with beef (US$3.75).

Soft and slippery look funn is wrapped around a filling of minced beef before being steamed.  This is served with a bit of shoyu (soy sauce) poured over the top of the steaming hot noodles.  When this arrived, the beef filling was literally oozing out from the ends of the look funn noodles. 

For the final dessert "course", I selected #4, the small egg custard tart (US$2.15).

The flaky crust enveloped the jelly-like custard which was smooth and creamy.  I actually found this to be quite good -- better than average actually.  Why?  Don't know really, but it might have been the "slipperiness" of the custard.  It seemed to be more eggy than milky.

The dim sum here at Legend is often described as some of the best on the Island, but judging by my visits here, I have to disagree.  After eating the dim sum here on many occasions, I find the quality of the offerings quite inconsistent, and vary from one visit to the next.  Although there are several dishes that stand out, the mochi rice in lotus leaf is one, there are many more that do not.  The service here is spotty at best and although the prices here are reasonable, I would rather pay a little more for a better overall experience.

Legend Seafood Restaurant
Chinatown Cultural Plaza
100 North Beretania Street Suite 108
Telephone:  808.532.1868

Malay Satay Hut - Seattle, Washington

After a pretty forgetful meal at Baba Neo in Mountain View, California earlier in the year, I was a bit hesitant to visit any restaurant claiming to serving "authentic" Malaysian food.  But the food here got an OK from a couple of friends and a few others found the food inconsistent and in need of "work".  So instead of ignoring the urge to eat here, I decided that I would give it a try.

Located in the International District near Chinatown, Malay Satay Hut is a foreigner amongst the Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants that fill the area.  It is located in a small strip mall and can be difficult to find, especially if you're like me and had no clue where you were supposed to be looking.

Once inside, I found the dining area to be about half full.  It was shortly after 11:00 am, so I didn't expect too many people to be here anyway.  After all, it was a little early for lunch, don't you think?

After looking over the rather extensive menu, I decided to stick with the basics.  I decided to start with a vegetable dish, the kang kung belachan (US$9.95).

At US$9.95, this was the most expensive dish that I ordered.  The kang kong (ung choi, water convolvulus, or swamp cabbage), was cooked perfectly.  It retained its crisp texture, and although the menu indicated that this was hot and spicy, it was neither.  There was quite a lot of dried shrimp used in the rempah (spice paste), but they definitely could have used a lot more chillies.

Next, we have the Penang chow kueh teow (US$7.25).

Thick, flat rice noodles are stir fried with bean sprouts, green onions and shrimp in a thick, sweet black sauce, then served with some chilli on the side.  This dish was similar to one I had in Singapore several months back.  The only thing missing was the spiciness and more of that sweet black sauce.  Otherwise, I found this to be quite good.

Here we have the Malay-style rojak (US$5.95).

There was a lot of pineapple, mango (!), cucumber and turnip here.  There was no you tiao (fried dough sticks), tau pok (deep fried tofu) or beansprouts in this at all.  That said, the dressing was too thin and too watery.  There was not enough belacan (shrimp paste) or chilli used in the preparation of the sauce which was much too sweet.

And finally, the nasi lemak (US$6.95).

A huge mound of nasi lemak was served with ikan billis, acar, rendang ayam, and a sliced boiled egg.  The rice was fragrant and had just the right amount of coconut flavor.  Sadly, I could not detect either the fragrance or flavor of pandan leaves here.  The acar seemed to be homemade and it was perfect.  The slightly sour sweetness went perfectly with the other items presented here.  The rendang was a little sweet and not really too spicy, but the meat was fork tender and quite flavorful.

Before I came here, someone told me that the food was quite good, but needed a little "work" to be better.  I have to agree.  With some dishes, the level of spiciness was not there, in others, key ingredients were lacking the "oomph" needed to make the dish more than just ordinary.  If the restaurant were to improve the quality of it's cooking, it may be able to justify the somewhat steep (in the case of the kang kong belacan) prices that they charge.

Malay Satay Hut
212 12th Avenue S
Seattle, Washington
Telephone:  206.324.4091
website

Royal Kitchen

Manapua shops are a dime a dozen here in Hawaii.  A few of these shops have their specialties and I'm sure that many people have their favorite shops too.  Royal Kitchen is the home of "baked manapua", so if it's baked manapua that I want to eat, I will usually come to get it here.

Located outside the Chinatown Cultural Plaza right next to Nuuanu stream, you'll see a lot of elderly men out front playing mah jongg, card games or checkers.  Inside, the shop is small and cramped -- see for yourself.

On the wall facing the counter you'll see the menu board listing the various types of manapua being offered as well as some of the menu items.  On the right is the warmer where the manapua is kept once it comes out of the oven. Since the warmer was nearly full, I got to sample a few of the baked manapua.  Here is the baked cha siu bun (US$.90).

The bread here is light and fluffy with just a touch of sweetness.  The ratio of filling to bun was good and the minced char siu was quite tasty though a bit fatty.

I also tried the baked kalua pork bun (US$.90).

The kalua pork bun didn't really "WOW" me this time.  The pork had a smokey aroma and flavor, however, it was just a bit too salty and a little too dry.  Since this was the last one in the warmer, it may have been sitting for a while. 

And finally, the baked lup cheong bun (US$.90).

An "elongated" bun was filled with a piece of sweet, oily lup cheong.  I rarely eat lup cheong, but this was good -- imagine eating a Chinese "hot dog".

To go along with the manapua, I also ordered two pork hash (siu mai, US$.50 each).

The pork hash were bite-sized, meaty and not at all salty.  The skin was thick and chewy and just the slightest bit oily.

And for an after lunch snack, I got a small package of shrimp chips (US$.50; large US$1.00).

Light and crisp, these made a nice snack.  However, the shrimp chips were a little salty and not as shrimp-y as I would have liked.

Royal Kitchen calls itself the "Home of Baked Manapua" and it's a statement I think many people agree with.  There are about 10 different varieties of baked manapua served here -- from kalua pork to vegetarian to chicken curry -- definitely something for everyone.  The prices here are reasonable and the food is quite tasty.  Royal Kitchen also offers a limited menu of plate lunches featuring Chinese dishes as well as catering and roasting services. 

Royal Kitchen
Chinatown Cultural Plaza
100 North Beretania Street Shop 175
Telephone:  808.524.4461 or 808.524.2843

Mini Garden Orient & Vegetarian Cuisine

For a couple of weeks I've been driving by this place hoping to stop in for a quick bite.  A chance meeting with a friend a couple of blocks away brought me here for a late lunch just a few days ago.

According to the sign, Mini Garden has been open for about a month now and inside it really shows.  Although most of the detail work is completed, there is still a lot more to be done -- covering the plywood at the front counter, putting the facing on the banquettes along the walls and painting the trim around portions of the ceiling.

There is another Mini Garden located in Chinatown and for the most part, their noodle dishes are quite good.  So, in the interest of seeing what the rest of the menu is like, I decided to order different things today.

To start off, I decided on the pan fried onion pancake (US$3.25).

Way back when, this used to be one of my favorite dishes to order at both Korean restaurants, and at Chinese ones too.  Here the pancake was light and crisp and just a little too oily.  There were lots of green onions in this, but for some reason this pancake was quite flavorless. 

The next dish was the pan fried spinach with garlic (US$5.25).

This dish was OK as it was done in the standard fashion.  What I liked about this was that the garlic didn't overpower the dish.  The subtle garlic flavor enhanced the flavor of the spinach nicely.

For the mains, we decided on two dishes.  The first to arrive was the honey and garlic chicken (US$7.95).

Pieces of boneless chicken thighs were stir fried with onions in a fairly sweet honey garlic sauce.  The sauce was a little too sweet for me, but there was a fair amount of garlic in this creating a bit of balance.  I would have liked this more if it were made a bit spicy with the addition of a few dried chillies.

And last, the black pepper beef (US$8.95).

A few slices of beef were stir fried with chopped bell peppers and onions in a thick black pepper sauce.  This was really peppery and this could have been my favorite dish because I really enjoyed the sauce.  The beef, however, was sliced into large pieces -- six pieces to be exact.  This made the beef quite difficult to eat, especially since there was no knife at the table.  That coupled with the fact that the beef was tough and dry, made this a disappointment.

I also asked for a hot Hong Kong milk tea, and was told that they only had it cold, so I said OK.  It was never delivered to the table.

Although the name of the restaurant suggests vegetarian cuisine, there were only a handful of vegetarian dishes on the menu.  The dishes that I tried were average at best and because of the lack of friendliness on the waitstaff's part, I probably won't come back here again.  By the way, for those of you that were curious about what happened here on the day that I visited, I decided not to post that story. 

For those of you who dine regularly at Little Village Noodle House, one of the waitresses that used to work there now works here.

Mini Garden Orient & Vegetarian Cuisine
2065 South Beretania Street
Telephone:  808.946.3828

Tai Pan Dim Sum

I'm always on the look out for new and interesting places to eat at.  This place was recommended to me by a Taiwanese friend who remarked that the dim sum here was pretty good.  Not knowing what to expect, I brought a friend along.

I've passed by Tai Pan Dim Sum a number of times, but never really thought to venture inside.  I guess it's because it's always a full house and there are normally people waiting outside.  When I visited, it was no different.  In fact, I had to wait about 15 minutes for a table (and this was at 2:00 pm).

After looking over the menu, I chose the following dishes...

No. 3 - Chicken feet with black bean sauce (US$1.80).

The black bean sauce was not as tasty as I would have liked and the chicken feet were not cooked for a suitable length of time.  The chicken feet were a little tough and not as tender as I was used to.  Too bad.

No. 9 - Baked char siu buns (US$1.80).

The baked char siu buns were done quite nicely.  The golden brown, and slightly sweet tasting bun was actually good.  The bad thing about this was that inside the bun there was such a small amount of filling.  The pork was minced really finely.  I wonder why?

Here's a closer look at the inside of the baked char siu bun...

No. 28 - Steamed mini glutinous dumpling (US$1.80).

For this dish, glutinous rice is stuffed with minced pork then steamed inside a lotus leaf.  The rice here was tasty, but just a little too wet.  In addition to the minced pork, I was also hoping for some salted duck egg.

Here's a peek inside as the lotus leaf is unwrapped...

No. 21 - Steamed chives dumpling with shrimp (US$1.80).

Chopped chives and one piece of shrimp were wrapped in this dumpling.  The skin was a sticky and just a bit too thick.  They were very generous with the chives though and that made this one of the better dishes that I had.

No. 31 - Bean curd roll (US$1.80).

A sheet of bean curd is wrapped around a filling of minced pork, shrimp and other ingredients then steamed.  Again, I didn't think this was cooked long enough as the bean curd skin didn't have much flavor and the filling was a bit too firm.

No. 12 - Taro gok (US$1.80)

A center of minced pork is covered with mashed taro, then deep fried until golden brown.  I never understood how they got this to be so light and airy, but I was happy that this wasn't oily.  There was lots of filling here making this another good choice.

Want to see what's in there?

To finish off the meal, I actually wanted some egg tarts.  I was told by our waitress that there were no egg tarts left so I decided to select something else. When I asked what this was, I was told it was peanut and coconut.  Well, it's obviously mochi and it's FILLED with peanut and coconut (US$1.80).

Soft and slightly chewy, these were so stuffed that when I cut them open, all the filling spilled out.  This was good because there wasn't too much sugar here, but I would have liked this more if there were more crushed peanuts.  Still these weren't that bad.

By the way, as I sat eating this coconut and peanut stuffed mochi, I saw not one, but two plates of egg tarts being delivered to the next table. 

Take a look at all that filling...

I would have expected a room full of people to mean that the food I was about to eat was going to be good.  Here at Tai Pan, I felt that there were a couple of dishes that were a little better than average, but for the most part I found the food was just alright.  So for me, the crowd meant a cheap meal.  Would I come here again?  Probably not, especially if I had to wait in line to get a table again.

Tai Pan Dim Sum
Chinese Cultural Plaza
100 North Beretania Street Suite 167
Telephone:  808.599.8899