Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Shirokiya

Shirokiya...new and improved! This ain't the old Shirokiya you're used to. Now, they have all you could ever ask for of food, drinks and desserts from Japan.

After golf, decided to come here for dinner with my good friend, Joe. Picked up about $40-50 worth of food here, and still haven't tried all I want to try! The crepe stand seems to be calling my name! Don't worry, Crepe Harakuju...I'll be back shortly!

Also, beware...all those clear, little plastic containers you pick up with 3 little pieces of sushi or musubi ADD UP. Trust me, you'll want everything. It ALL looks delicious, especially when your tummy's rumbling. And that brings me to a good point- probably not a good idea to come when you are starved. I've been told my "eyes are bigger than my stomach." I think so!

Another amazing part of Shirokiya...their very own Beer Garden. I mean, amazing as in price. How can you possibly beat $1-3 Bud/Kirin/Asahi beers everyday from 530-10pm?! Did I mention pitchers of Bud for $4, Kirin for $8 and Asahi for $12?

We arrived around 5pm. Let's just say that that was a great time to come. Early dinner crowd, which meant people, but not too many people, so lines were short. Also, fresher and hotter food, rather than the food having sat for awhile. When you're ready to pay, you can pay ANYWHERE, at any cashier. I thought that was wonderful!!!

The only downfall, really, is that food isn't made to order. Sometimes it's been sitting for awhile. Your best chance at fresh food is to come early around 430-5pm, when they are making their food and putting it out for the 6 o'clock dinner crowd. Even then though, food still gets cold within minutes. Count your crunchy foods (grilled onigiri, katsu etc) out for being crunchy by the time you eat 'em.

Come up the escalator to.....THE YATAIMURA BEER GARDEN!


Fresh Takoyaki being made

Gyudon everywhere! Looked so delicious.
But which one to choose?!

Obanyaki

Big hunks and chunks of Tamago!

Chicken stick, anyone?

Varieties of Dried Fish

Yataimura Seafood area

Kakuni!!!!! I need to try this next time.
Better than Your Kitchen's Pork Bowl?

Ramen Stand.
Also serves Udon, Rice and Soba.
New ramen stand starting Sept 6!

Their second highly recommended Ramen- Akaton Sibori. (See below for their other flavor of ramen)
A little spicy, but you can't stop!
The best one they recommend is this, topped with LOTS of green onions.
I'm not big on green onions.
 I do have to say that it was a small bowl of noodles for $9...about 3 mouthfuls! And 2 VERY thin slices of chasiu. HAH.
Also, this one seemed extremely unhealthy with a layer of oil/butter on top! Aiya!



Nishime- my favorite!

Shrimp in a musubi

Taiyaki- what's all the hype about?
It was mediocre.

Custard Taiyaki.
Also red bean and oreo filling.

Supposedly the BEST Tonkatsu on the island.
Ginza Bairin. They have a shop in Waikiki.
It was just oookay. Maybe because it wasn't just made.
Katsu was a little soggy and curry was warm.
And where's the katsu sauce if you want it?!

Cold and not crunchy grilled Onigiri!

Now we're talking!
$2 Kirins!

I'm coming back for you!

Froyo Stand! YES!


Original, Acai and Li Hing Mui.
Li Hing was the best!
Topped with my usual- granola, popping balls and mochi!
Mochi was exceptionally good here. I'd come back for sure!
Mix flavors for 47 cents!





























The best raisin bread! So soft with raisins throughout.
UPDATE! More Ramen and Froyo...

Kuroton Charsiu Sibori- Special sesame oil used.

































More pics from random visits...

Beef Kakuni from Yataimura

Tonkotsu Ramen

Mochi Strawberry with Chocolate and Mochi Orange...EXPENSIVE!
$6 something for 3!
Making Yakisoba

Takoyaki






Adding Red Bean

Mochi and Petit Custa!

Pizza Hut "Cheesy Bites" Pizza































Saw the flier for this in the newspaper this past weekend, and have been craving it since! Last night, I had a chill pizza and movie night with my friend Joe at his house. I have to say, as much as I was looking forward to the 28 cheese-filled bites, I still prefer the Pan Pizza I used to get at Kahala Mall when I was in Intermediate School. The crust is just so much more fluffy and soft. This one was thin and more on the crispy side. I also wished the bites had juuuust a bit more cheese. HAHA!

It really depends what you like! It is really fun to eat and enjoy with others!

Taco'ako Tuesdays

After hearing about Taco'ako Tuesdays about a week or two ago, I've been excited to go. It's basically a Taco Tuesdays with about 5-8 Food Trucks all lined up around Kaka'ako Park (Cooke Street, Oceanside). You could call it a smaller Eat The Street, serving up a lot of Taco stuff. But here, the entrees and tacos are not, I repeat, NOT, $1-2. Beware, you'll want to try a little of everything from each truck like us, and I think we each spent about $15-20. These trucks get expensiveeee!

Taco'ako Tuesdays starts around 11am and goes til about 2pm. Don't go late- some trucks run out of their food and are outta there ASAP! There's also a lot of metered parking around the park, so that wasn't an issue for us. The biggest issue is this- come early and stand in long lines OR go a bit later like 1230-1ish and all the popular food has run out! Take your pick.

We started to get our food at around 1230-1ish (because I was late, I admit it!), and onigiri had run out at Da Ala Cart, no more Pastele Stew at Kai's, and no more shrimp tacos at Xtreme Tacos. BOOOO.

PS- Bring CASH. And lots of it.

Here's a listing of what was there this past Taco'ako Tuesdays: (I was hoping Flipt Out Eats would be there, but they didn't show up!)

Kai's Pastele Shop
Da Ala Cart
Xtreme Tacos
The Curb (Lattes and Shave Ice)
Puffette's Egg Puff
Camille's on Wheels
Ronnie's
Tiki Truck



It was a beautiful day!!

"You Twit Face"

2 Plates of Xtreme Tacos Sampler.
Gotta try the "Falaco." That's my favorite!
Crispy falafel in a taco...GENIUS!

Da Ala Cart's Yaki Mochi

Da Ala Cart's Tsukune

Puffette's WASABI egg puff. Weird.
Not pictured Original Egg Puff, which was way better.
Da Ala Cart's Gyutan (Beef Tongue)
We ordered the LAST one!!!

Some benches, but get 'em quick!

Kai's Pastele Plate.
They ran out of Pastele Stew!!

Kai's Fried Pastele Burrito.
This was my favorite!
Lots of CHEESE and meat in a crispy outer shell.