Main dish

Vday at Merriman’s

Leave a comment

I hope y’all had a lovely Valentine’s Day! Mine was wonderful!!!! I’m excited to share the delicious food we had on this Day of Love and Hearts!!!

It was an exciting Vday. I got to try Merriman’s at Ward Village with my gal pal. This is sister restaurants of Monkeypod Kitchen and Moku Kitchen. They also have a Merriman’s on every major island: O’ahu, Kaua’i, Maui, and Hawaii Island. How cool is that?!

We were stoked to try the food. We went all-out! Take a look…

IMG_6610

This Maui onion soup was unbelievable! So good! I can’t even tell you. I’m normally not a fan on onion soup, but this was excellent!

IMG_6611

Tako country bread- escargot style. Oh man! This was so good! It felt like I was eating real escargot, but it was tako- aka octopus. The bread that came with this dish was to-die-for!

IMG_6612

I’m a sucker for trying kimchi wherever I go. This was super tasty!

IMG_6614

I had to try the Keahole lobster pot pie. Excellent! It felt like I was eating a chowder. Sprinkling that lemon juice make it much more tangy!

IMG_6616

This is the Waialua chocolate purse. Wow! Doesn’t that “purse” look like paper? It’s edible! There’s a rich, rich, rich chocolate cake inside. Wow!

We enjoyed ourselves and would definitely return to try more food. I’m excited!

Merriman’s opens for both lunch and dinner. Be sure to also check out their sister restaurants. I’ve been to both and the food is awesome!

Merriman’s
Ward Village
1108 Auahi St.
Honolulu, 96814
https://www.merrimanshawaii.com/

 

White whine chicken!

Leave a comment

Happy Sunday! I was inspired to use my slow cooker again! This time, I made a white wine herb chicken dish. I was inspired by this recipe.

My goal was to not use salt in my dish. I wanted to be really healthy, haha! My plan was just to use Mrs. Dash salt-free herb seasoning, black pepper, and garlic powder, pictured below. However, I realized how important salt is. In the end, I had to add some garlic salt to my dish to bring out the flavor in the chicken. It did not have much flavor even with my salt-free seasonings.

IMG_6577 copyIMG_6578

This was a basic dish, with simple and minimal ingredients. I, of course, modified the recipe once again. I had put the slow cooker on high and cooked it for four hours. But because the entire pot was filled with chicken, four hours was not enough time. I had gone out for the day and when I had returned, the chicken on the top was not entirely cooked. But since we didn’t eat the dish that evening, I didn’t cook the chicken further. I transferred the chicken into baking pans to bake the next day.

Talk about chicken galore! We ate this dish for days, haha! I was chickened out!

Have a great week!

FS~

Good ol’ bourbon chicken!

Leave a comment

Aloha!!!

Last year, I had made a slow cooker bourbon chicken. It turned out really yummy. It was my first time cooking with bourbon. That was exciting and super successful! We all enjoyed it! Something different for sure!

I have been loving the slow cooker. It makes life so much easier. Greatest invention ever!

IMG_4868

Bam! The ingredients. It was A LOT! But all so needed to create a delicious sauce!

This is the recipe that inspired my dish. I, of course, made it my own! I’m a tweaker!!!

https://dinnerthendessert.com/easy-bourbon-chicken/

IMG_4878.jpeg

My mouth is watering!

This was so good over quinoa or rice. The sauce was sweet, tangy, and spicy! A little bit of everything. Yummy!

Have a great weekend!

 

New Year with the bestest of friends!

Leave a comment

I was blessed to have spent the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 with my dear friends. We dined at Chef Chai’s, a Thai-fusion place with my family. My family and I always enjoy the food there. However, we were disappointed that they didn’t have the deep fried whole fish. They had sold-out of the dish before we dined there that evening. Nooo! It must be a very popular dish.

IMG_6015

Butternut squash lobster bisque soup. That was so yummy! I am determined to use butternut squash in my cooking and make a soup.

Ordered the jumbo prawns. Absolutely delicious!

IMG_6017

So glad they had brown rice! It was mixed with coconut milk and ginger. Interesting mix!

IMG_6023

We couldn’t resist dessert- deep fried banana cream cheese with gelato and berries. Oh boy! So good!

Chef Chai
1009 Kapiolani Blvd.
Honolulu, 96814
http://chefchai.com/

Japanese feast!

Leave a comment

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

My girlfriend and I tried a really good Japanese cuisine- Akira last month. It’s an izakaya-type place, where you order small dishes and share amongst your party. We really enjoyed the food and customer service. Our server was really nice and friendly. I loved the ambiance of the restaurant as well- it was beautiful.

IMG_6436

Agedashi tofu. So, so good! Can’t go wrong with this dish.

IMG_6437

Prosciutto papaya allegra salad. This was very interesting. I liked it! Made it unique with the papaya.

IMG_6438

Tai-chazuke. Yummy! Chazuke is my childhood fave dish! I had it all the time as a kid. It’s the simplest dish ever! Rice and tea, or broth. Bam!

IMG_6440

Chawan mushi is always good to order.

IMG_6441

And last, but not least, natto nigiri. My ultimate fave. Yum! Mouthwatering!

We would definitely go back to try more of their food.

Akira Japanese Restaurant
1150 S. King St.
Honolulu, 96814

https://www.akira-japanese-restaurant.com/

When in Alaska…

Leave a comment

…Gotta have them WILD Alaskan salmon.

When I was vacationing in Alaska last summer, I took advantage of eating wild salmon as much as I could. Yum! Nothing like wild fish in a variety of dishes.

img_4682 copy

Wild salmon and wild rice pastry from The Roadhouse in Talkeetna, AK. This was pretty good. I’m a huge fan of wild rice. I had to try it!

I loved this small town of Talkeetna. There’s a sense of community there, which I cherish.

img_4646

Honey lime salmon salad from the Grizzly Bar & Grill at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. I also ordered a chicken noodle soup, which was homemade.

I loved this lodge. The scenery was beautiful. The featured image above is a few of a creek next to the lodge. It really felt cozy, like I was camping in the wilderness. The air was crisp and brisk.

img_4712 copy

Blueberry salmon from 20,320 Alaskan Grill at the Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge.

I also enjoyed this lodge, too. We got to see the Northern Lights one night, too. It was beautiful. Nature is truly amazing.

Go to Alaska if you want to experience some spectacular nature. You will have a greater appreciation for it. I know I did.

IMG_4721 copy.jpg

Japanese New Year tradition

Leave a comment

Happy New Year or あけましておめでとうございます。

In the Japanese culture, we have ozōni (mochi soup) that symbolizes good luck, as well as some other Japanese dishes. When I was younger, my grandma made all kinds of Japanese dishes for New Year’s Eve and Day. Unfortunately, the recipes were all “in her head.” She didn’t write them down before she had passed. So my family and I don’t eat all the different foods she used to make before. But the main thing we know how to make is the ozōni.

For 2020, I will be handed the baton to continue the ozōni tradition. I’m excited to experiment a bit and make the soup my own. Look out for that post in the near future.

I found this article a very interesting read: http://jpninfo.com/40490.

I’ve learned that everyone makes their ozōni differently. I’ve got to try different soups over the years and they are indeed different from the mochi soup I eat at home. It even looks different, too.

img_5890

The soup I eat every year. Recipe that has been in my family for years…

img_5894

Ozōni from Yajima-Ya Japanese restaurant.

The soup-base, or dashi, I’m always used to eating is dark. It’s a shoyu-based soup. I found it interesting that all the other dashi I’ve tried have all been light, such as the one above. The broth is pretty much clear. They’re all still very delicious. Tastes very different for sure, which I love. It’s wonderful to know that ozōni is very unique. I’m always excited to try other ozōni. I always take advantage of that! Can’t have too much good luck for the new year.

I wish everyone a splendid 2019. It’s going to be an awesome year!

FS~