Super Pho

Best for: Vietnamese
Location: Kaimuki
Foodgasmic dish: Bánh xèo (Vietnamese pancake)

  
Super Pho is where my mom asks to go whenever she's stressed. No one complains. Apparently my mom's been stressing out a lot because we've been here twice in two weeks. The first time, all four of us ordered different variations of pho. I don't know if I was just in a bad mood that night, but I was disappointed with my beef flank pho. I've had better - at Pho Van in Portland, which says a lot.

sour soup

However, last week my mom demanded another dinner here, and this time none of us ordered pho. My dad got some shredded pork dish, my brother got papaya salad, my mom got sour soup, and I got the bánh xèo, a savory pancake made with rice flour and coconut milk. This time, we were all satisfied. More than satisfied.

papaya salad

The restaurant is small and usually crowded, yet service makes you feel as if you're paying three times as much as you actually are. Our waitress kept bringing me napkins (because I'm a klutz) and more lettuce for my pancake. There are two huge TVs usually on some sports channel, which would normally kill my mood but it's easy enough to ignore the baseball/football/volleyball game while enjoying my meal.

This photo does not do my bánh xèo justice

My dad, who learned Vietnamese in college, impressed our waitress with his language skills (how the hell is he able retain Vietnamese while I have already forgotten most of the Russian I learned 5 months ago?). My bánh xèo was perfect - huge, crispy on the outside, with lots of pork, shrimp and bean sprouts inside. It was served with lettuce already cut into perfect pieces for rolling, mint leaves, and fish sauce. Please, mother, stress out this week too.

Pho Saigon

Best for: Vietnamese
Location: Keeaumoku

bánh mì, about $5

One should always judge a city by both its quantity and quality of hole-in-the-wall restaurants. By that standard, Honolulu is doing fairly well, at least for Asian food. A few days ago Anthony and I had just finished shopping for Halloween costume supplies, e.g., washers, a cardboard box, door knobs, and agreed that we finally deserved our lunch. Not wanting to take the easy way out by ending up at Ala Moana, we crossed the street to avoid the slew of mediocre chain restaurants dotting the Wal-Mart side.

chả giò, $7.95

I had the sudden craving for Vietnamese food as soon as I read "pho" on a large glass window at the corner. We walked into Pho Saigon and were seated at one of the booths. We had the place all to ourselves, so we couldn't help but listen to the Sensa infomercial playing on the overhead TV. A restaurant really shouldn't promote a weight loss system. Especially when its food tastes this good.

cà phê đá, about $3

I ordered chả giò and an iced coffee. I know, I know, chả giò is probably the most cliché dish I could've ordered, but I was really craving spring rolls that day. My spring rolls were crispy, meaty, and came with lettuce,  nước mắm pha (fish sauce with vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, chili pepper and carrot shreds), and rice vermicelli. The iced coffee, or cà phê đá, was served properly - finely ground dark roast coffee brewed in a small metal drip filter placed over a cup containing condensed milk, which is then stirred and poured over ice. Sweet and strong - the perfect combination. In case you haven't been paying attention, the mantra of this food blog is that Asians do everything better. Making iced coffee is no exception.

I think he likes my spring rolls as much as I do

 As I rolled up my chả giò with pieces of lettuce, I remembered exactly why I had missed Hawaii so much while away for college: the easy access to cheap, authentic Asian food, free from pretense. In Portland, my favorite Vietnamese restaurant was Silk, a beautiful restaurant in the Pearl District that served tasty but not very authentic Vietnamese dishes. While most restaurants in Portland serving "exotic" food are aesthetically pleasing (Portlanders love to design!), these restaurants in Hawaii could care less about whether or not the wall color conjures up images of Saigon; instead, real Vietnamese (not whites dressed up in silk tunics) serve the dishes they ate while growing up, in the hopes of making a living, as well as sharing a bit of their culture with the rest of us.

Vino

Best for: Italian tapas
Location: Downtown
Foodgasmic dish: Oven roasted lobster risotto, Pumpkin & sweet potato ravioli

Oven roasted Maine lobster, served with risotto, asparagus, fresh Oregon porcini mushrooms, tarragon buerre blanc and smoked trout caviar. $19

On my first visit to Vino, Mizuki and I sat at the bar and ordered four dishes:

Seared sea scallops, w/ bacon-tomato takana ragout, kabayaki butter sauce & tobiko. $11

 Our first dish was the seared sea scallops, served w/ bacon-tomato takana ragout with kabayaki butter sauce & tobiko. The scallops were cooked to perfection, and the dish came with two melt-in-your-mouth wafers that went well with the sauce.

Waialua roasted asparagus, served w/ roasted Hamakua mushrooms, local organic egg, shaved parmesan, & white truffle oil. $17

Our next dish was Waialua asparagus milanese, served w/ roasted hamakua mushrooms, local organic egg, shaved parmesan cheese and white truffle oil. As Mizuki told me, "It's all in the egg." Why isn't asparagus always served with egg?? The oven roasted Maine lobster was next, and it was served w/ risotto, asparagus, porcini mushrooms, tarragon buerre blanc and smoked trout caviar. Lobster and caviar - need I say more?

Ravioli with sweet fennel sausage, baby spinach, ricotta cheese in a slow cooked Marinara sauce. $8

Our last dish was probably the least attractive, but still delicious. Sweet fennel sausage, spinach, and ricotta cheese ravioli, slow cooked in marinara sauce. By that time, we were so full and still planning on dessert (typical), so we had to pack most of it. Each dish was under $20, and some of the combinations of flavors were new to me.

Uhhh.. sure, I didn't finish my first glass yet, but YES I'll take another free glass - thanks!

calamari, $7

On our second trip to Vino, the bartender remembered Mizuki and me immediately and said, "Uh-oh, here comes trouble." We had brought Jesse this time and ordered some drinks. I had a riesling, calamari w/ pepperoncini balsamic aioli, and the kabocha pumpkin and sweet potato ravioli with pesto marinated prawns, sliced almonds and sage brown butter. Not sure why I ordered the calamari; whenever I get it, I'm never really impressed. It's just fried squid after all. On the other hand, my ravioli was fantastic. The pumpkin flavor was subtle, and the shredded parmesan, pesto, and prawns went together beautifully.

It's not a real dinner unless my friend gets her mussels! "Nona Rose" Cioppino (mussels, clams, Dungeness crab, shrimp, chili flakes, and San Marzano tomato sauce), $22

However, my favorite part about dinner had to be our bartender. It's moments like this that remind me why the bar is the best place to sit while dining out with your girlfriends. The bartender (I feel really ashamed that I still don't know his name) and I got into a pretty heated debate over politics and religion - you know, all those topics to avoid. Sometimes I forget how radical I am in Hawaii for being a socialist and atheist. He joked that I'm not allowed back in Vino until I read Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe. "But we're still friends, right?" he asked. Sure. Capitalist.

Our bartender gave us four free glasses of wine (so I guess I forgive him) -- a dry white wine from some Mediterranean island that I didn't know existed to pair with my ravioli, and a moscato for dessert. Oh, moscato, you're still my favorite wine in the world.

 

Apparently I kept saying, "It looks like Christmas!" I must have been getting a little tipsy from all that wine

Prince Court

Best for: Japanese dinner buffet
Location: Hawaii Prince Hotel

I'm not usually a fan of Japanese buffets (I think Japanese is too delicate a cuisine that mass-producing a few dishes for people to touch seems almost blasphemous), but most of the food at Prince Court is relatively high quality, and service, which is usually compromised at buffets, is surprisingly good.

Located at the Hawaii Prince Hotel with stunning views of the harbor, this restaurant is noted for its dinner buffets. Apparently my family comes here often enough because our waiter recognized my parents and brother immediately (and was probably very confused by me) - must be one of the many traditions my family started while I was away in Portland. If you come early like we did, you can catch the sunset, which is breathtaking, no matter how many times I see it. Dinner is $43/person, which is a bargain considering the location. 

This is obviously my dad's plate

The buffet consists of over seven stations - sashimi/poke, customized saimin, sushi, seafood (crab, shrimp, and clams...but no mussels), miso and curry, noodles, and desserts, just to name a few. I would have been completely satisfied with the sashimi/poke station. The sushi station is small, but there is a sushi chef ready to make you made-to-order handrolls. The nori they use for the handrolls is perfect - crispy, just the way I like it. The steamed crab is okay; I still prefer the Chinese preparation.

my bowl of clams

hand roll - love their nori!

In conclusion, I'm still not a huge fan of Japanese buffets, but when I must go to one, the Prince Court is probably one of the best in town.

Duc's Bistro

Best for: Vietnamese lunch
Location: Chinatown

  
After years of hearing stellar reviews about Duc's, I finally tried it for lunch last week. The day didn't start out so well; I was twenty minutes late meeting my friend because I very arrogantly decided not to write down the address of the restaurant. I walked up and down Maunakea, asking anyone who looked like they'd be able to understand my incoherent questions (due to the exhaustion and frustration that had been building up in me for the past 15 minutes). Finally, the flower shop guy told me where to go - all the way up until the flower shop on Beretania. At last!

Fresh mint iced tea ($3) and Vietnamese oolong tea ($3)

As soon as I entered Duc's, the entire restaurant somehow knew what happened because the owner exclaimed, "The princess is finally here!" and the hostess quickly led me all the way to the back where my very patient friend was waiting. The interior is lovely. The front section looks more like a wine bar, while the large back section glows with neon pink, some funky lamps, and black-and-white photographs of pictures of Vietnam.

Bo La Lot Rollups ($10), Ga Kho Braised Chicken ($15), Jasmin Rice ($2)

Restaurants that are obviously run by a family are always so endearing. The husband and wife duo came over to welcome us and hand out the menus. We ordered tea and shared Bo La Lot Rollups (minced veal wrapped in la lot leaves, broiled and served with pineapple-anchovy dipping sauce) and Ga Kho (boneless organic chicken thigh strips simmered with shallots and fish sauce). My iced tea wasn't my favorite, but the food was great. I don't know why I don't eat veal more often. The Bo La Lot came with some cold rice noodles that balanced the intense flavors of the leaves and anchovy sauce. The Ga Kho in fish sauce was so tasty.

For dessert we ordered Vietnamese coffee, tapioca (served with twice-cooked apple banana and fresh coconut cream), and a ginger walnut tart. Why is Asian coffee so good?? Oh, right. Asians [once again] do everything better. The ginger walnut tart was interesting, but the texture of the walnuts made the tart fall apart - and not in a good way.

tapioca ($7) and vietnamese coffee ($4)

ginger walnut tart ($7) and vietnamese coffee ($4)

All in all, Duc's serves a solid lunch and seems like a perfect place for a date. When we were there for lunch on Thursday, we were the only ones in the back section. I'll probably try this place for dinner sometime.

Wada

Best for: Japanese
Location: Kapahulu
Foodgasmic dish: Sakizuke, Grilled beef tongue

Thanks to a dinner at Wada last week, I had to rearrange my entire Top 10 Restaurant list; this is definitely one of the best restaurants I've been to recently. Wada just opened up a few months ago and is hidden behind the Papa John's on Kapahulu. Intimate and refined, this bright, white-walled and light wood-paneled restaurant only has about 9 tables. More restaurants should be like this. Service is excellent (as a result of the manager keeping a blatantly close eye on the abundant wait staff), and the dishes are some of the most interesting I've ever had.

the $55 "Wada" tasting menu is worth it!

We got there around 6:30, which is the perfect time to come because it was completely packed an hour later. Mizuki and I started off with a couple of drinks - yuzu and something called Sweet Dreams. No idea what they are (I do know that the Sweet Dreams had some honey in it), but they were delicious.We decided to order the 6-course "wada" tasting menu for $55.

1st course: Sakizuki, which came with mushrooms, shrimp, and some other things that I couldn't recognize but only enjoy. Everything came in beautiful ceramic dishes that complemented the equally exquisite food.

Sakizuke

2nd course: Zensai (raw beef and sea urchin). Yes, that's right, raw beef. And, look, America, I'm still alive and well. A piece of nori, a thin slice of raw beef, cucumber slices, and a bit of uni, dipped in soy sauce... absolutely delicious!

Zensai (raw beef and sea urchin)

3rd course: Age Mono (baby scallops and seasonal vegetables). Mizuki assured me, "Sure it's fried, but they're vegetables, so it's healthy." I agree.

Age mono

4th course: Tsukuri (3 varieties of sashimi). I almost felt bad about destroying this impeccably laid-out creation of raw seafood. There were a few sashimi with which I was unfamiliar, and all were melt-in-your-mouth perfect.

Tsukuri

5th course: Kuroge Wahugyu Beef Tongue & Harami (diaphragm). That's the oddest way of spelling wagyu beef. Our waiter brought out a stone ishikaya grill and started the fire on our table. We were each given 8 paper-thin slices of raw beef tongue. Best beef tongue I've had (and I even cooked it myself!). Our waiter instructed us to cook the first side for 5 seconds and the second side for 3 seconds. Of course, these instructions were too complicated for me, so I think I ended up grilling mine for about 6 seconds on each side. Whatever, they still tasted amazing.

6th course: Shime - we were given a choice of "Wada" Shiso Gohan (rice flavored with sesame and shiso leaves) or Hiyashi Tan Tongue Men (noodles). We ordered both and shared. Our waiter took over our grill and cooked us a bunch of tender beef, bean sprouts, and onions to go with our rice and noodles.

Dessert: Kanmi (milk pudding). It's basically creme brulee without the hard crust, which sounds really depressing but it was so rich that I could care less that it was more of a flan than anything else. The kanmi was served with a side of fruit, which I so generously slid over to Matt.

Milk pudding and tea

The only insignificant flaw I can think of is that this place requires valet. I happen to love valet, but in this case, the valet actually came in during our meal and handed everyone their keys (and demanded $3) because he was taking off for the night. After such impeccable service from the actual restaurant, the [lack of] service from the valet company caught everyone off guard.

Gazen

Best for: Japanese, Izakaya
Location: Kapahulu
Foodgasmic dish: Tofu sampler, Salmon & ikura "oyako" chazuke

homemade tofu sampler, $12.80

 After fantasizing about their homemade tofu for weeks, I finally returned to Gazen for another round. Gazen is the type of place I'd pass without ever trying, mainly because it looks like a sketchy diner from the outside. Luckily, Mizuki took me there two summers ago and shattered my preconceptions.

salmon sashimi, $10

Gazen is dimly-lit and has a couple of tatami rooms for private parties. I usually sit in one of the huge booths and share a bunch of dishes. Last week Anthony and I ordered a Kirin and umeshu on the rocks (I guess we weren't feeling very adventurous, at least for drinks). We shared four dishes: salmon sashimi, tofu sampler, grilled beef tongue, and salmon & ikura "oyako" chazuke.

salmon & ikura "oyako" chazuke, $6.80

The sashimi was amazing - buttery and melts in your mouth. The tofu sampler was as perfect as I remembered it to be. It comes with three different preparations of tofu: 1) zaru tofu w/ natural sea salt; 2) kurogoma tofu w/ black sesame seeds - my favorite one; and 3) sukui tofu floating in a soymilk broth. Each one requires a delicate process of adding the various condiments of salt, soy sauce and/or wasabi. The grilled beef tongue was tasty, but it was a bit too meaty for my taste. I like my beef tongue thin. I tried the chazuke for the first time, and it is now one of my favorite Japanese dishes. Chazuke is a dish made by pouring green tea over grilled rice. Our salmon chazuke was topped with shredded salmon, fish eggs, and some black sesame. The perfect comfort food.

grilled beef tongue, $12

I'll definitely be back shortly, as I expect to have another homemade tofu craving soon.