Yohei Sushi Restaurant

Yep, I took a small hiatus from the blogosphere, but I'M BAAACK! And, I'm back with more sushi of course!

My BFF, Jen's mouth dropped when I admitted I hadn't been to Yohei yet. It was her mission to take me, and I did not complain.

As with all my sushi dining experiences, I always have a checklist I follow: atmosphere, quality of fish, cleanliness, parking, and of course, how friendly the Sushi Chef is! Ahem Ahem, Sasabune. Not that I have one of those crazy Sasabune horror stories to tell, but for me, it was a little uptight in there.

So, how does Yohei compare? Jen and I ordered the Omakase, while Jason showed up late and had his fair share of Saba and Maguro Nigiri. Amateur hour! I must admit that my Omakase was one of the best I've had. The fish was fresh, company was great, and Chef Dave was very talkative and friendly throughout. This is what I think sitting at the sushi bar is all about! Not to mention, parking was easy.

Jen and I paid about $130 for our Omakase, and walked out happy, full, campers. We even got to try some Eggplant Gelato! Interesting...

I highly recommend Yohei. If you remember, request their Uni/Amaebi/Shiso Nigiri. It's A MUST.

Persimmon Tempura!!!

Engawa

Abalone with fried guts and all

Uni/Amaebi/Shiso

Hotate with sea salt

Anago with Yuzu

Negitoro handroll

Chef Dave

Eggplant Gelato

An order of Maguro Natto going out! Had to snap a pic!

Oh you thought the 3 pics above were dessert? My kind of omakase ends with some fried Ankimo discs!! YUM.

Ms. Dot

Dots can be a little intimidating at times- no one wants to look like Minnie Mouse! But when the dots are a milk chocolate color, add some gold accents, and you're set to go!

Cocina

Watermelon Paleta

Cocina recently had their Grand Opening just last week, and boy was it a hit. Located in the old Whole Ox Deli in Kakaako, Cocina has become a popular haven for industry folk and foodies alike. For starters, I love the bright sky blue color that they've repainted the exterior with. They've kept the casual sit-down benches and the infamous chalkboard menu- all in very hip and modern taste.

Food-wise, when I first heard about Cocina opening, I was most excited for their Head Cheese Carnitas Tacos. Yes, you have to have an open mind about Head Cheese that's for sure, but you will not regret it. It was my favorite dish out of everything I ordered. I went for lunch, so I wasn't able to order any dinner items, all of which I wanted to order (cue the Shrimp Adobo, Pork Belly, and Short Ribs OMG). Anyway, I'll be back for dinner SOON. As for other lunch stuff, I ordered the Fried Avocado (which I hear is their number one selling item), The Perfect Egg, Horchata Bread Pudding for dessert, and Agua Fresca to sip on. I was also able to try some Paletas (homemade Latin American Ice Pop made from fresh fruit) on that hot, hot afternoon. Thanks to Rich for that!

The half Avocado was fried to perfection and layered with a hefty amount of their special "cole slaw." It had a nice, light flavor and the slaw "made" the dish. I could hardly finish it though! As for The Perfect Egg, it was definitely on the runnier, more raw side for me. It sat on top of "orange rice," mushrooms, slices of poblano peppers, some green avocado sauce, and queso fresco. It looked absolutely delectable and creamy, but lacked some serious flavor. It was bland, and under-seasoned. I can see this dish being a complete standout if it had a little more oomph to it.

To finish, I loved the Horchata Bread Pudding. A big chunk of fried bread with a slightly crunchy crust, but a tender inside and a horchata cream sauce on the side. Can you ask for anything more? Well, more cream sauce, please! This dessert, people, a must try. So damn lush!

Can't wait to hit up their dinner menu and also that Mexican Style Street Corn that I missed! 

I tell you, folks, this is going to be the new in-spot to get your Mexican food fix. Give it a try! Follow them on instagram for hours and other info @cocinahawaii. Enjoy!

Agua Fresca

Fried Avocado

Head Cheese Carnitas Tacos!

The Perfect Egg

Horchata Bread Pudding

Rich repping Cocina, ready to rip open those Paletas!

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Toroniku Shio

If you've been following me for awhile now, you know that I'm a ramen lover. Ramen lover, yes, and also pretty picky about her ramen. In Honolulu, there are a select few I will vouch for- one being Tenkaippin and the other, Yotteko-Ya. Until now. Last week, I went to the once-elusive (but not anymore!), Santouka, located in Don Quijote. If you're from LA or visit often, chances are you love love love Santouka. Santouka is highly coveted there. "Santouka ramen this, Santouka ramen that, I want Santouka NOW, I'm craving Santouka!"

Well, all you Hawaiians who yearn for that creamy broth with perfectly al-dente noodles and the most fatty, tender slices of pork.......you are in luck! Find Santouka in the old Ezogiku on the outskirts of Don Quijote and all the other food windows. They opened just a couple weeks ago, so ENJOY! Your dream come true awaits you!

Parking- Well, it's Don Quijote, and it's always crowded no matter what time of day. I found parking in the other parking structure across the street, which was nice because it's shaded. There's no way you're ever going to find parking in the main lot, unless you circle 10 times all the while dodging cars and human beings. Your best bet- street parking or their additional parking across the street. Now, this parking problem also goes hand in hand with waiting in line for Santouka. Of course, Santouka is newly opened and has a popular reputation already, so be prepared to wait 20-30 minutes to get a table, depending on how many people you have. The restaurant is really small, so I wouldn't suggest taking a party of 10 there for lunch.

Verdict on ramen? This has become one of my favorite spots. I crave it, I dream about it, I want it NOW. Yep, I've become one of those. I ordered #9 Toroniku Shio Ramen, where all of the toppings come on the side and comes with a nice full order of their delicious pork slices. All of this for $12.50- a really nice deal in my perspective. It also came with more noodles than I could finish! This never happens at Yotteko-Ya or Tenkaippin. I also wanted to try their Sake/Ikura bowl for only $5.80- I thought this was another great deal. The salmon was salted, while they gave a pretty generous amount of ikura and negi.

My friend, Kevin ordered the Kara Miso Ramen, which was fire red in color. I don't care for super spicy things, but I wanted to have a taste. Well, the color is completely misleading. It wasn't spicy to me at all, and was bursting with flavor. I let out a "MMmMmMM super good" after having a spoonful of broth. Only thing is his ramen came with two pieces of a different pork chashu, and it was definitely not as good as mine! If you want the "Otoro of pork" in your ramen, go with the Toroniku- Super tender pork cheek. How can you go wrong with that?

Kevin and I are Tenkaippin lovers, and we also love Tenkaippin's Aji Tamago (shoyu egg). Santouka's version, Aji Tama, was on the menu, so we ordered two. There were some difficulties with wrong orders for our table and some tables around us (the usual stuff when a new place opens), but nothing big. We almost forgot we had ordered the egg, but didn't get it yet. After almost finishing our meals, we got the eggs. Hot in temperature, our eggs were perfectly cooked with that gooey orange center, and sitting in some shoyu sauce. Love that! I must say (and I know Kevin agrees) that this was the best egg yet. You can tell it was marinated for awhile as the flavor was there. Tenkaippin's aji tamago's quality has gone down. Not enough marination, and the egg's yolk is usually pretty overcooked. Let's hope Santouka will keep it up! You're doing good so far, Santouka!

Hope you all get around to visiting Santouka!!

Sake/Ikura bowl

Kara Miso Ramen

Aji Tama