So Full Kitchen

Photos of Mariposa here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mercurybird/sets/

Today we are reviewing.. 

Hale Vietnam 

1140 12th Ave

Honolulu, HI 96816

(808) 735-7581

It's a few doors down from Victoria Inn & near Coffee Talk on Waialae Ave., not hard to find. There are also metered parking stalls everywhere in the area, so unless you're there at prime time (aka after work traffic/dinner rush) you should be fine. We scored parking five steps from the front door when my girlfriend Jade & I went for a late dinner. 

Now that we got the basics out of the way, onto the good stuff! 

I was referred here through a friend who's mother, a Phở enthusiast, claimed this to be the best bowl for your đồng (er, the Vietnamese 'dollar'.) I went with an open mind, unknowing of the mixed reviews this place has received in the  past. & I'm glad I didn't know, because if they had deterred me away,

I would have missed out on a beautiful meal. 

The last time I had Phở was in seattle. & I cannot tell you how hard that little spot in the rain city would be to match. A gathering of herbs, vegetables, & spices swimming around in a complex broth, topped by my own addition of Hoisin & Sriracha sauces.. But I remained hopeful & was about to be rewarded.

I had the most basic Phở there, simple broth & rare beef piled onto noodles. 

I added Sriracha & Hoisin again & this savory broth, full of cilantro, flew me through time & brought back so many memories of travel. It was a little lighter than I expected, but that ended up being a nice refreshment as this dish can get quite spicy, if you let it. The noodles were normal, which is not to say that they weren't delicious, but the meat, the meat is what stole the show. Super thinly sliced & lightly seared, just finishing up the cooking process in the hot broth; it was so soft! 

You also get a side plate of veggies to throw into your soup & I added everything on the table into mine: Bean Spouts, Sweet Thai Basil, Jalapeno Slices, & a squeeze from a few Lemon wedges.. which also help to cook the meat a bit, kind of like a Ceviche, but then again, when did Jalapeno & citrus not go well together? 

If you haven't had Phở before, this is a great place to start. Get a basic bowl & try everything!  Add everything into your bowl & see which flavors you like, the veggies, the sauces, even if you didn't like some of them in the past. The magic here is in the combination.

The veggie spring rolls were also a must. Served with cucumber, carrot, basil, rice noodles, & a romaine leaf to wrap with a sweet chili dipping sauce. The kicker here was that the rolls were wrapped in rice paper, which added a nice chew to it & was reminiscent to Champa Thai's spring rolls, which I adore & will have a separate trip for. Crispy, perfect, my favorite style of                                     spring roll, which was a welcomed surprise. Wash it all down with an ice cold Kirin after the waitress IDs you twice because this healthy meal has your skin awash in a healthy, youthful glow.. & you'll leave with Buddha's half-smile & lazy eyes, holding your belly & shouting down 12th Avenue..

"I'M SO FULL!!!"

& with that.. Stay on the lookout! I plan to return to review, & enjoy, more dishes from this literal hole in the wall.

until then.. Stay Sofull!

love,

j.

Don't let the photo caption fool you, it was not typed in apathy. It should be read with enthusiasm! 

I guess I wrote this caption a little sarcastic, because I'm so privileged & spoiled to be eating this.

This photo is actually pretty old, but lately I've been thinking to bring things back from the archives; 

there are so many stories left untold. 

This is 100% home-made, classic Japanese at it's finest. Everyone says their mom makes it best, but I have to say..

the smell of this katsu frying up will get me running out of the studio, through the deck garden (stopping to pet the dogs Puffy & Lani of course..) & bursting in though the screen door, Itadakimasu!*

Always served with a bowl of perfect rice, you can see it on the left. & crunchy, yellow takuan (pickled Daikon raddish). Also in the photo.. center, back.

Ton Katsu is pork that's breaded & deep fried. The reason why this plate sticks out is because the breading doesn't

fall off the meat, as is the case in some restaurants. The meat inside is also flavorful & juicy, which is hard to to with pork. It's served with the standard Ton Katsu sauce & thinly shredded cabbage on the side. 

It's not hard to taste the love in food if you're mindful, & because of that, almost every meal at this table has had me on the verge of tears. 

Much love goes out to the Yoshifuku family. & Zen, I hope you're feeling better.

love,

j.

*Itadakimasu translates roughly to 'Let's Eat!' & is usually said to one's self before, 

in Japanese culture, meals, & most times.. before eating anything really. 

I love, love, love a good bento. This chicken is still crispy, with a sweet & slightly spicy glaze. I'd almost compare it to the Spicy Machiko Chicken, served at a 24-hour diner in Kalihi.. but that's another post. Trust me, it tastes just as good as it looks, maybe even better. Perfect rice texture, & still warm! Cause we got it first thing in the morning.

If you haven't been yet, & live in Hawaii, I highly recommend a Marukai membership card. For those of you that don't know, Marukai is membership store, much like Costco, or Sam's Club, except everything is Japanese or otherwise, asian. There's a bigger warehouse-style location off Nimitz, & a smaller Farmer's Market style grocery at Ward. 

I'd do it just for the fresh bentos, & at only $10 bucks it's a steal. If you're not ready to commit, they also offer a special one-day guest pass.

Stay Sofull!

j.

This is a Paniolo salad with shrimp that I made at work. It features corn, black beans, jicama, cilantro, grape tomatoes, green onions, & avocado on romaine lettuce. Served with BBQ ranch dressing.

Sad to say, I won't be working here anymore. If you work in the food industry, you know how it is.

It's hard to go from restaurant to take-out-lunch-window.

Missing the heat of the kitchen..

sofull

Sometimes there's nothing like a nice homey breakfast.

This one features tomatoes that grew just outside our window!

Oh Hawaii..

Hey guys, I'm on the run this weekend.. but here's a short clip of a great Dim Sum restaurant I visited recently!

I'll write more about this spot later, have a great weekend!

Stay sofull!

j.

  I'm off this week for a three-part root canal! No work is good & bad, because it's like a mini-vacation but.. I'll have a hefty bill to pay when all this is over! At least I'll be able to chew on both sides of my mouth, which has to count for something, especially in someone who loves food as much as I do. I am trying to use this time wisely.. to blog, clean the house, & do other things that I haven't had the chance to get to. Anyway, lets get started!

  Lately, I've been having a conversation with Nameless, a fellow soba-enthusiast, over one of my photos & was inspired to share a little more about this series. This beautiful gem of a restaurant, Matsugen, is located on the back side of the new beach walk in Waikiki, 255 Beachwalk Ave. just next door to the wonderful Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin- known for their katsu sandwiches- but that's another story. The prices here are very reasonable (8.80-$18.50 soba; $4.50-$9.50 appetizers.) depending on what you order so.. 

 If you haven't gone yet, you now have no excuse! Here are some tips to ensure your slurping:

     Their weird hours are as follows: 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. then 5:30 - 10 p.m. Daily

  Now let's talk about the food! I think the freshness & quality of the ingredients is what first makes their dishes so special. The veggies are local, when possible, & the buckwheat is flown in from Japan, for an authentic taste. This place is great, even by Japanese standards. A peek inside will reveal predominantly Japanese clientele, so dining here is like being let in on a secret, a taste of Nippon, right here in Hawaii. 

  We started with a Maui Onion Salad.. succulent tomato segments, paper-thin sliced sweet Maui onion, in a very light dressing over a small bed of spring greens. There's a very good chance that everything in this salad was grown in Hawaii; Nalo Greens, Maui Onion, Hamakua Tomato.. Hmm.. I almost can't remember if there was dressing, or just olive oil; the flavors of the veggies shown through so well. If you haven't had an onion salad before, don't over look this one. The onion is more of a sweet pop contrasted by the tomato, verses a jump-kick to the face, as one might imagine upon hearing the word 'Onion'. 

  I had the Tempura Soba, which may sound traditional or even simple, but was equal parts mind-blowing & orgasmic. A crispy-on-the-outside-juicy-on-the-inside assortment of shrimp & veggies (maybe even a shiso leaf in there?) were welcomed into my mouth with amazing speed. I loved dunking the tempura & noodles into my amazing little cup of joy.. er.. broth. This simple broth elevates the already perfect soba noodles to great heights. There is so much flavor in it, it's almost hard not to drool as you slurp the noodles up. Going back to the noodles, it might be kind of hard to beat freshly hand made, & further more, perfectly cooked. The texture of the noodles was soft without being soggy, firm without being al dente, just a treat to chew on. 

  My date had Tororo Soba, or soba with a grated yam dipping sauce, verses the standard tsuyu. I think the yams may be soaked in vinegar & water to help break down some of the salt or acids in the vegetable. This helps a pleasantly slimy texture form when the yam is grated. I don't know what it is about this smily potato stuff, but I love it. Sometimes it's served with a raw egg, lots of times there will be thin nori strips in it. Chiba-ken serves it with pieces fresh ahi sashimi floating around in it. I like mixing wasabi into mine. Just dip & slurp, slurp, slurp! Those who are into texture may love this, or may need some time to get used to it. It's kind of something you just have to try & figure out for yourself, but I wouldn't suggest it if it wasn't good. Besides, everything at this soba spot is fantastic! 

  At the end of your meal you get a special treat. They bring out a small tea pot of the water used to cook your noodles, soba-yu, which you pour into your soba broth or tsuyu. The result? A soul-satisfying soup I wish I could have everyday for breakfast. It fills up all the empty spots in your belly & floats your subconscious up, up, up! To a beautiful cloud called Contentment where you can rest in bliss for a few eternities before coming back down to earth. I suggest not making any major decisions during this time, but if you are trying to get someone else to make a major decision in your favor, take them to this restaurant! 

  I remember a dessert menu.. that's right. We truly ended out meal by finishing up our tea & munching on some delicious peanut powder covered Warabi Mochi. There was also a rich, dark sauce that went over them.. was it black bean maybe? It had a sort of molasses taste to it, very nice. As for the rice cakes themselves, they were oh so soft, sticky beneath their coating, & warm! Yum! 

I actually don't have internet at the new place either, but I am still alive & here, breathing, sautéing, 

baking, & otherwise experimenting  in the kitchen. I don't think I've made a video in over 3 months, 

meaning filmed, edited, & posted. There is footage filmed & photos snapped, but until my electronic 

situation gets underway, everything here will continue moving as slow as ever. Blah.

Alas, no worries. I am currently saving up for a new computer & camera, & will be back in action in no time.

Hopefully before the holidays. 

Hopefully I can afford it.

Appreciate the bites! 

So Full Kitchen

Aloha everyone!

I thought I'd just take a break from cleaning the kitchen to post a quick update!

Things have been crazy lately, (It was my birthday on Friday!) & I've been having a little technical difficulty with some of my equipment. 

For example: not having my camera when I need it.  (-_-)*

But alas! Eps Two HAS been filmed, last weekend to be exact, & I'll probably edit it tonight.

This one covers sushi! It's very easy, simple maki sushi. Also I'll show you how to do a maki with a 

Panda's face in it! It's so cute. 

I really wanted to film what I made today; I went all out for fathers day:

Pesto-Pizza, Kabobs, this weird shrimp cocktail thing, also a lovely salad with fresco salsa, plus dessert..

But still photos will have to do.

I'll post those photos with a review of Rachel Ray's magazine, which heavily influenced the menu today.

There's also a clip of a BBQ we did at the beach this Saturday!

It'll be short, but it's nice, you can see the beach & the food at least!

So stay tuned for all of these new things!

Until then, appreciate the bites you take & stay sofull!

love,

j.