So here we are again in Chinatown. Ever walk by this place?
Char Hung Sut on the Mauka-Eva corner of Puahi and Smith is a gem of an old-fashioned Chinese style deli that honors the simple basics of pre-dinner fare. They have been slinging string-tied take out boxes for eons.
Local delights like manapua, and pork hash are staples of this factory/take out counter. In layman's terms: pork stuffed buns, sticky pastries, and dumpling variants are Char Hung Sut's specialties.
Watch your step down.
All work and no pork hash & manupua makes Johnny a dull boy.
Closing doors at 2:30pm. Better get there with ample time to get the fresh stuff.
It was a real treat to eat at Mitch's Fish Market, a tiny 15'x15' adjunct area turned restaurant at Mitch's airport warehouse facility just off of Nimitz Highway. Reservations are a must, and diners are limited to 2 hours due to the popularity. No liquor license = BYOB, and patrons were drinking everything from Kirin tallboys to sake to our Mexican Superman Gold (Tecate).
The menu is quite traditional, as are the 2 chefs. So the new wave style of sushi that is so pervasive these days at lower tier sushi restaurants (ridiculous rolls, tempura crunchies, and spicy and ponzu sauces) is not allowed to detract from the taste of the freshly caught fish selection at Mitch's.
The service is centered around merry South African host/owner Mitch (not really his name), who is one heck of a character. All one needs to do is to eye the myriad of photos of Mitch with his exotic trophy fishes in order to realize how serious the owner takes his seafood. His frequent table visits and his shuttling in and out of the restaurant to retrieve fresh seafood-soon-to-become-sushi is amusing and adds a charming character to this out-of-the-way restaurant.
It's pretty tight in here. The seating capacity is 11-12 persons deep.
Mitch himself walks in your live kicking lobster. This little bugger splashed seawater all over me.
$49.99 buys you lobster sashimi with homemade wasabi. The lobster was very pulpy in a mild, distinct way. The lemon works magic here.
The quality of the sushi here is probably the best I've had in the past 5 years.
The lobster head becomes soup for 2 afterward! Cheers. Make sure you don't fall asleep at the wheel on the way home!
Yes, here we are with another fun after hours place.
Ah, King Street Cafe, adjacent to 2 karaoke bars, on the corner of King St and Keaumoku is your local style sports bar/after work dive joint.
Actually, King Street Cafe has its own little sushi bar, which offers a diverse blend of traditional nigiri sushi, creative rolls, and yes- lamb medium rare. We can't say there is any rhythm or theme to the sushi here, but heed one word of advise: if you are not a lover of spicy rolls or you hate mayo, mayo, and more mayo, the food is probably not for you.
Party of eleven people? No problem.
We gotta say: bud light + a cold glass with ice goes great with this lamb.
So we journeyed to the Windward Side to meet up with San Diego renaissance man Jared W, who was in town with his ultimate frishbee club.
Waimanalo Polo Fields was the 3 day home to this oddjob all-star game of co-ed bohemian hippie discoid football. It's co-ed in the sense that there are guys and gals, and the occasional random guy who wants to have it both ways.
Calaskawai's is the name of Jared's team.
Inevitably, ultimate frisbee is like a rufee. It lowers your inhibitions and makes you take your pants off.
Eventually, it was time to leave the polo fields at dusk to move on to Kailua Town's Mexico Lindo. Kailua is quite famous for kitesurfing, its offshore islands, and of course, hosting beautiful Lanikai Beach. Kailua is also a big gringo embassy, and the MexiCali food here surely keeps all the Kailua gringos happy. We tried the bean dip with chorizo, and washed it down with a chilly Negra Modelo and a mini fishbowl margarita. Quite satisfying. Our dinner choice was to split the Mexico burrito- not so bad for Kailua!
This is our 2nd Donald that has been damaged this Veteran's Day Weekend. I was 1 of 5 victims at this reef that got taken out in a Shotgun effect by a 40 year old Suzie come-lately-surfer determined to paddle straight over the falls on a set wave. "Honey, it was an accident. Let's just leave it at that," was her sorry reply for an excuse. "That was a good wave; I would have liked to have caught it."
On a lighter note, Happy Birthday to Jeremy Porfilio. I can't remember the exact date, shame on me, but I hope you are getting some good waves at San Elijo with whatever eclectic bunch that decided to go camping with ya.
Some unapologetic newb out at the break ditches his molded epoxy longboard on a breaking wave and effectively destroys a work of resin tinted art. How come the guy getting rear ended always has his neck hurting the most? We took the board to our local fiberglass E.R. doc, Jay Rush, immediately after.
After a visit to the pod of art galleries up Beretania Side, head on down toward the Blvd for a bowl of gladness. Pho To Chau, affectionately known to townies as River Street Pho, usually delivers when it comes to high expectations of Pho-snobs here on Oahu.
The line is always at least 10-12 deep. Parking is tough. So what's the big deal about this Chinatown Pho dive? We were wondering the exact same thing. Pho To Chau reminds me of Paco's Tacos in Culver City, CA. Anyone ever been there? How does this place keep such a long line out the door when there are so many adjacent restaurants serving the same cuisine?
Facility ambience is just what you would expect for a meal that costs $4.50-6.50 a bowl, depending on size. Be forwarned, service is slow, slow, slow. Nobody seems to care, unless you're down to your last 10 minutes of meter parking, and you still haven't got your food yet.
The rare steak is pretty, pretty good! We thought the broth was super clean tasting. We didn't get that Pepsi craving MSG aftertaste.
Here's the menu that everyone waits 30-45minutes for from 8:30am to 2:30pm. It's not so bad, but it sure ain't a Hy's filet mignon.
Chinatown Boardoom on Nuuanu Ave on Chinatown's Beretania fringe is one of many emerging boutique art galeries riding the cultural and nightlife explosion in Honolulu's Chinatown.
It is an avante garde art gallery meshed with some Longboards. The shapes are by proprieter and Ben Aipa shaper, Eric Walden. I hear they are glassed and colored by Brian Michler, who has ties with Tyler, Dano, Creme, among others. There are a number of eclectic art pieces on display. Stop on by if you can find parking on the street!
Decided to drive Hilton-ward today. Surf was warbly with double ups. Lots of swimming for me. Lot of 10s for her.
Tough to tell from this pic whether this is a scenic stop somewhere on the Oahu Westside or if it's in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
For an easy after-evening surf grind, La Pizza Rina on 1425 S. King Street is the place to go. Under $20 easily feeds 2 hungry tummies. It's BYOB, too. Word of mouth and popularity had unfortunately driven up their prices a few bucks here and there. We can manage.
FYI, the Chevron on Piikoi and King has a decent craft brew selection and it's reasonable.
Spaghetti and Sausage is killer. Simple comfort food. We like their 2 topping personal pizzas, too.
Easy-to-miss Fro Yo Bar on 1461 S. King serves up a decent cup. It didn't have the usual 2 chatty high school Kalani girls working the counter. It's also the cleanest yogurt place We've seen. We had no idea it had been open for 1 1/2 years! Try the plain with strawberries.
We were up in the Es Ef for 5 days. It was fun, though our reason for being there was far from fun.
Right off the airplane, we threw our stuff down at the apartment, and walked down to Bar Crudo, on Nob Hill. Celeste and John recommended the Lobster Salad. I gotta say that the ala carte shellfish bar and the sashimi inspired fish creations were the gig here at this little find. To our delight, there was a succinct, but well-represented beer and wine list. Lots of Belgians.
We've always had a soft spot for tasty morsels out of a half shell.
I had never tried this Hair of the Dog double IPA. I'd say it was a 19.5/20.
As advertised, the lobster salad was awesome. Seafood goes great with Belgian beer.
Two days later, we stopped by Mollusk Surf Shop and perused their wares just before closing. A candy store for soulful surfers, it was.
It was nice to be able to have some tasty IPAs available at all times. You can't even get middle tier California IPAs like these in Hawaii. Honolulu needs a Bevmo!
