ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
The concept of customizing udon to suit your personal preference is not new. In my neck of the woods, U:Don in Seattle’s University District has been offering it for several years. Marukame Udon made a big splash in Waikiki when it opened in 2011, a udonya that copies the cafeteria-style service that made it so... Continue Reading →
During every trip to Honolulu, my wife and I have breakfast at Eggs ’n Things, an excuse to eat their Portuguese sausage with eggs and two scoops of rice. My wife ordered it (this time, she substituted home fried potatoes for the rice, which turned out to be a bad idea), while the Island Style... Continue Reading →
My wife and I wound up eating three times at Ken’s House of Pancakes, near Arnott’s Lodge where we were staying during our time in Hilo. It came up as a local favorite in a couple of sources. Our Mauna Kea tour guide also said it was his favorite place to get saimin. The fact... Continue Reading →
The word is that Tex’s Drive-In has the best malasadas on the Big Island. We were only a short distance away from where we started on our guided tour down to the Waipio Valley. There’s more here than Portuguese donuts: breakfasts (including Hawaiian-style), burgers, musubi, salads, loco moco, and Hawaiian plates. Our Bavarian cream and... Continue Reading →
"What're your most popular dishes here?" I asked the waitress. "Everything's good on the menu. It doesn't matter what it is." Normally, I would throw away an answer like that. In this case, the restaurant is Hawaiian Style Cafe in Hilo. I wasn't so quick this time to disregard it because Travel & Leisure Magazine voted... Continue Reading →
Koji's Bento Korner doesn't look like much from the outside, has nowhere to sit down inside; it's take-out only. It kind of reminds me of a country store, not out-of-character for Hilo. Inside, there's enough room for just a few people to order. Despite all that, locals come here for the Koji loco special: two hamburger patties, three Portuguese... Continue Reading →
If phở hadn't become Vietnam's most popular dish here in the States, the vermicelli noodle salad known as bún might have taken its place. At least, that's what I like to think because I love them both and sometimes it's hard to pick between the two. For me, the choice might come down to the weather. Served at room temperature,... Continue Reading →
I've been a fan of Mongolian beef ever since the first time I had it at Hunan Restaurant (long since shuttered) in Seattle's Rainier Valley neighborhood. Thin slices of beef, green onions and dried red chiles, tossed in a sweet-savory sauce, all scooped on top of fried cellophane noodles (saifun), was a combination I had never... Continue Reading →
For my money, the best soft tacos in Bellevue are served at El Maestro del Taco. La Cocina del Puerco served terrific ones too but the restaurant closed a few years ago. Cocina was a sit-down restaurant, while Maestro is a food truck that also sells tortas, cemitas, sopes, quesadillas and a carne asada plate... Continue Reading →
Crispy salted chicken (yan su ji) is so popular at Taiwanese night markets that it's doubtful there are stalls that don't serve it. Served as a snack, chicken pieces are cut up into nuggets and normally double-fried. They get their distinctiveness from a subtle five-spice flavor, batter of sweet potato flour and fried Thai basil leaves that accompany them. So, it was with... Continue Reading →
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