Jessie "Captain Charisma" D.'s Profile

I hate driving.

I don't think any of us really enjoy the travelling lifestyle, unless, of course, you're flying off to some far off, adventerous spot. Travelling in Hawaii... that's like an adventure all on it's own. And for the person searching for some top notch nom noms, you resign yourself to the fact that you need to travel into town to find it.

That's why I was excited to hear about a spot in AIEA that could be a regular spot to hit up. So, I went with a couple co-workers and tried out the place.

As I followed the directions and got there, I realized that it's just around the corner from Curry House and Kuru Kuru Sushi. It's the type of non-descript place that you walk past in order to get to a) curry; b) sushi; or c) Powerhouse Gym on the other end of the parking lot.

Stepping inside, I was greeted with a sports bar/pub vibe and a feeling of "man, if only I knew it looked like THIS in here..."

That's just the exterior. The real mark of the place is the food. So, we dived right in. We started off with the Crispy "Okonomiyaki" Gyoza, which was crisp, flavorful and quite awesome. It definitely set the stage for everything else to come.

Our server, Jon, suggested to try the Crab and Artichoke Wontons, which was quite the revelation. The wonton was fried beautifully without the strong vinegary taste that other reviews have mentioned. The flavor could be described as artichoke dip shacking up with crab and making sweet, sweet business time. These ARE the business and I'm kind of bummed you only get 4 per order. I would easily mop an order or two of these. By myself. They're that good.

Jon also suggested to mix things up and get one crazy thing off the menu. Well, one crazy thing we ended up with was the Shoyu Pork Andagi.

Yikes, this was dangerous. The mix of subtle sweet andagi and shoyu pork was great, similar to what you would get by drizzling syrup over bacon. It was a great blend of flavor and a nice touch of sweet and savory.

Edamame Hummus was next and that tastes exactly as it sounds. Delicious. Sadly, I think I was the only one that fully appreciated the awesomeness of hummus, so I might have enjoyed it a lot more than the rest of the party.

One thing you HAVE to get is the Okinawan Shoyu Pork Pasta. The pork was top notch, the noodles weren't too greasy, and the tapas/pupu size was perfect to share amongst the group.

The thing that did it for me and what put this place over the top was the Petite Petite Brasied Short Ribs. Fork tender, savory, great sauce, and mashed potatoes on the side made this the plate that got cleared the fastest. Three meaty pieces of heaven, really. Along with the crab and artichoke wontons, I would totally destroy an order by myself.

We wrapped it up with a Banana Bread Pudding Duet, which featured a coconut caramel flambe reduction on one side and a nutella spread on the other. Read that sentence again and wipe the drool off your face. It was quite good.

Now, time for some talking points:

- if you're familiar with the Pearl Kai shopping center, you already know about the parking situation. Be prepared to battle with patrons from Kuru Kuru, Curry House, Cuu Long, Ricado's and Powerhouse Gym for parking. Just hit the first spot you see and walk, you'll be better off in the long run.

- the rest of the group wasn't drinking, so I didn't get a chance to sample the extensive drink menu there. I did notice they had my favorite Japanese beer from Shokudo there (Echigo), so I'm happy I don't have to travel far for one now.

- the vibe and feel that I got from the place was similar to what you would get from Salt... if Salt had TVs on the wall showing Food Network and ESPN. Small plates that you share with others and have a good time enjoying each other's company and some tasty nom noms.

- this place is best enjoyed with a couple of people. I made a comment during dinner that I would just look like a fatty trying to order all this stuff by myself. Because, honestly, I would.

So, what's the takeaway? Great spot on the West side of the island that you would just walk past if you were on the way to somewhere else. Salt-like vibe with slightly cheaper prices. Our server was attentive, knowledgeable, and very engaging. Top notch on the service here.

I have to give this place a 4.41/5 only because I haven't sampled the drinks menu (critical to putting this place above or near Shokudo as an after work food spot). So, I'll be back with some peoples that want to sample the drinks menu and get a better feel of the place as a whole.

I still hate driving. But, at least I don't have to drive too far for nom noms now.

4.25/5

Decided to check this place out on a whim. What brought this about? A fellow Yelper wanted to hang out and go to our default place... you know, the one with the honey toast.

Seeing as how I was JUST there less that 4 days prior (for a birthday, no less), I had to think quickly of an alternate location. So... that's what led me here.

Reading the reviews of this place, you'd think that I was about to get gypped.

FAR FROM IT.

Our waitress was chatty & quite knowledgable about everything on the menu, even giving us a quick definition of the Gastropub term before starting. She also made great suggestions when trying to come up with things to drink. Her suggestion of trying the Red Rice Ale was SPOT ON and it has become a new favorite.

Now, on to the food:

- The Kettle Chips came in a large paper cone and served with a side of ketchup. You can taste the hand cut and freshly fried feel to these chips, though I wish there was more ketchup involved with the whole thing.

- Beef sashimi... winner. Thinly sliced pieces of beefy goodness, served up with a sauce that really should be tasted in order to be explained. I found nothing wrong with the taste of this dish: amazeballs. I do wish that there were more of it for the price, but you do get an amazing experience otherwise.

- Garlic Bacon Fried Rice: Think about the simple elements of this dish: garlic, bacon, and of course, fried rice. It's quite the winning combination and we easily had two orders of this throughout the night. The eggs cracked atop the fried rice was such a good look. I can't complain about this one.

- Dynamite chicken: very very very VERY good, just short of being great. The taste, the texture, the presentation, were all top notch. As another review pointed out, some of the pieces just felt like fried skin, but that was more the exception, not the norm for this order. Delicious and devoured within minutes.

- Fried Butted Mochi: there wasn't really any dessert items on the menu, so we picked the closest thing that sounded like a dessert. This dish was quite good, as the soy-based salty/sour sauce on the bottom of the plate balanced out the subtle sweet and chewy texture of the butter mochi. The balance between the two played well with my tastebuds. Again, like the beef sashimi, I wish there were more I could get in the order.

Overall, a very good, borderline great experience with great customer service and (almost) prompt service.

The beginning was quite quick in getting our food and drinks, but once the place started to get crowded (and I mean CROWDED), our stuff got lost in the shuffle for a bit. The crowds added an additional 5-10 minutes, but with how busy it got, I understood.

So, why the 4.25? Well, technically, this place isn't open yet. This visit happened on February 3rd... the grand opening isn't until February 20th.

So, I'm assuming they're still working the kinks out in the service system and the menu. For a place billing itself as a gastropub, the menu is kind of small.

Then again, THEY"RE TECHNICALLY NOT "OPEN" YET.

I will reserve final grading until a few weeks after the 20th, just to see how the full opening goes down and what the full menu (drink specials, desserts, etc.) looks like.

The assortment of beers make me wonder how many bottles are back there. The imports assortment was quite likable.

So, 4.25 for now, reserve judgment until after the 20th, but definitely check it out before people start to find out about it.

Oh, one more thing: parking. valet parking in the small lot for $4 + tip; park across the street at Central Pacific Bank for $3 (lot has this rate from 6pm-6am), or you can chance it with street parking (which one of my friends managed to find one in front of the restaurant.

Another one of those places where you drive past it and wonder... what's it like in there? Well, tonight was the night. Me and Cher C. (my foodie adventure partner) took the plunge and tried this place out.

But first: a little background... me and Korean culture have a love/hate relationship. I LOVE Korean food, Korean people, and am trying to understand KPop. Korean women, on the other hand... they just don't like me. *shrug* C'est La Vie.

ANYWAY... on to the spot! You get greeted with this mixed brick/wall motif outside that spreads inside the restaurant. Everything is in white and red, and for a place called "Red House," I would expect my fair share of red throughout the place and, boy, does this place not disappoint in that aspect.

The first impression I got was that the wait staff was REALLY helpful. Almost too helpful, as they kept asking us if we were ready when we were still perusing through the menu. Once we got through the menu with the fun names in it, our servers were very helpful in answering questions and suggesting things to eat.

** COMMERCIAL BREAK: ALWAYS CHECK IN WITH YELP BEFORE ORDERING. I remembered to check in once we got seated and noticed the good people at Red House offered a check in special, which we promptly used to get a free appetizer. They offered us a Galbi Q, which was some sort of meatball with a rice cake in the middle & kimchee salsa like thing underneath it. Quite spicy and delicious. Weird, because I really wasn't expecting meatballs as the first dish, but hey... can't knock free.

I figured I'd play it safe & go with the bibimbap, while Cher went with the Red House Bibimbap Egg Roll, which essentially was Korean sushi with an egg wrapper. Dare I say, Sushi Jun? Felt like it.

The bibimbap was quite good, the sauce was nice and spicy (as expected). The beef had a lot of flavor in it, so everything balanced out kind of nicely.

We also ordered the Chef's Special Wings, which were spicy and covered in some sort of sweet glaze. The chicken did take quite a while to come out, but when they did, it was hot and fresh. The glaze was topped with some onions and some roasted chili peppers atop the wings. The peppers kind of freaked us out, but didn't served as nothing more than decoration to a pretty well done set of wings.

We were stuffed by that point, so we didn't think of coming up with dessert, so maybe on another trip, we'll check that part of the menu.

Overall, it came out to about $56 for 3 dishes (tax & gratuity included), about par for the course in Koreamoku.

Now, on to some talking points:

- PARKING IS WTF. I think the spots in front of the restaurant are ok, as we got lucky and parked in one of the three spots facing the inside of the restaurant, and everything seemed fine there. I was unaware of the back parking lot until trying to get out of the spot. Good to know it's there though. Otherwise, it looks like street parking is your only hope. However, with the sketchy way that some people park in that area, street parking might be a good idea.

- Hope you like KPop because there's A LOT of it going on in the restaurant. The back wall leading to the restrooms has a projector pointing at it streaming some sort of HD video channel the music was fast, furious, and really matches the environment.

- Restrooms are clean and there's a single stall room for each. Can't miss them as they have gigantic mens and womens signs on the door.

- The service is attentive, but on the hawking side. I guess they're really eager to help? We were one of only four parties in the restaurant at the time. Water refilling (a big point) took a little bit of time, but they do come in quite large cups so you might only need one or two refills max throughout the meal.

- Have I mentioned that there's a lot of KPop going on? Yes? Ok, just making sure.

Pretty good place with excellent service, pretty not bad food, and a fun environment. Seems like the type of place that would be fun to go to with a nice party of 4-6 close friends and experience a hang out with food in there somewhere. And a lot of KPop.

Giving this place a 4.37/5 and a "looking forward for a return visit to try more adventurous stuff on the menu."

Quick update for SALT:

Went here for my birthday dinner and noticed a few things different:

1. The menus no longer come on the acrylic slabs (boo!)

2. To make up for it, the food menu is expanded and includes a really good looking Maui Cattle Co. burger. Someone in the party ordered it, and it looked HELLA good, so that's what I'm trying next time... couldn't say no to pork belly haha.

3. Cocktails... still on the minimal side. Good, tasty, but still minimal.

4. They have something called the "Brown Bag Special." A daily beer special, served in can & encased in a brown paper bag. The utmost in class. Nothing says "grown up birthday celebration" like a can of beer (Bitburger, in this case) in a brown paper bag. Needless to say, lots of fun photos were taken of this.

5. The French Toast bread pudding is STILL the winner of their desserts. Excellent.

6. Servers are friendly... OVERLY friendly in fact (don't ask...). Also, this is the first time I remembered the waitress' name without having to refer to the receipt. If you run into a bubbly blonde named Jenny... you will understand why. GREAT service... just a tad bit too friendly (again, don't ask...)

7. Contrary to the Yelp profile, they DO take reservations and were quite accommodating for my party of 18. Yeah, big parties do well here. Of course, gratuity was already included in the check.

Reinforcing points from the original review: very trendy, modern interior... be prepared to get full off conversation, unless you plan on buying plates of stuff, sharing everything, and having everyone just chip in on the final tab. Overall, a good time and a good place to take out of towers to experience some good conversations and delicious food.

Second review and already a FIVE star? Let me explain...

This is a new coffee shop in Kunia that features comfy seats, eclectic music (i.e. someone sprung for Pandora ONE), good pastries, and good to very good coffee (depending on who's running the bar).

I'm writing this on my second visit, so I have a couple data points on this review. My first visit was on a Thursday night, less than a week after they opened (they opened on Black Friday 2011). The ambience was great, seats were comfy, but there was a decided lack of people (new shop, of course) and no music playing. Thankfully, I was there meeting some friends, so we filled the lack of noise with conversation. I had a mocha and a macadamia nut pound cake. The mocha was good, about on par from what you would get from the chain coffee shop that resides just across the street. Their availability of soy milk and quick service were definitely plusses in my book.

My second visit was during the day (to get a different vibe). Much better music playing during the day (again, someone purchased Pandora ONE) and, oddly enough, different pastries. I'm not one to complain about that.

I decided to try one of their specialty drinks: a Spicy Mocha, which consisted of a mocha made with chili peppers. The blend of coffee, chocolate, and chili pepper is a welcome change of pace from the usual. Like the other review states, it's a little on the sweet side, but I'm a fan of sweet stuff, so it works for me.

I also had a cranberry almond scone, which had a good texture, and had some biscuit like flavor, which is always a plus when it comes to scones. Again, an inviting environment and baristas that are approachable.

So, why the five-star? Well, it all deals with the mission of the cafe, which is actually non-profit. As of December 2011, the charity they're supporting is the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Profits go to benefit that charity, along with the artwork that's displayed in the cafe.

There is also a stage set up in the corner of the cafe, where apparently live acts perform on the weekends.

The vibe is really nice in here, something you would expect from a trendy coffee shop. It's even more of a bonus that it's on this side of the island, where there's a decided lack of places that function as a coffee hang out spot (Fresh Cafe and Coffee Talk are all quite a distance away from the Leeward side) that, again ISN'T A STARBUCKS!

Great vibe, good alternative to the usual, and quiet (for now). I'm sure once word gets out, this place will be buzzing, but, until then, I'm going to savor my quiet table in the corner, writing my Yelp reviews, and satisfied in knowing that I'm helping a worthy charity while getting my coffee buzz-buzz on.

Support local business and get more places like this on the island. Especially on the Leeward side.

Pretty good food, interesting location with it being tucked away from the main street. It's easy to find if you've been to Olive Tree Cafe before. The service is decent, and the option the sit inside or outside was good. I like the idea of having the food come to you, as opposed to the Ward location which has a counter and a seat yourself policy.

If given the choice, I'd much rather head to this location than the Ward one.

A few knocks: get the meals because the ala carte stuff is a little over priced. The Wahoo Bowls are a great value and gives you a ton of food for the $12 you drop for it. The teriyaki carnitas bowl is pretty much a gigantic kalua pig plate, which I don't mind at all.

Live music could be hit or miss, depending on who's playing. But, at least the option is there and you don't get the weird mix of preplayed music stations.

Other than that, can't really go wrong with going here. It's not the best Mexican-ish food on the island, but at least it'll satisfy your hunger and present an entertaining option for eating out with friends.

I was on a mission to find the best meat jun on the island and I was given two choices: Young's and Dong Yang. I just wrote a review on Dong Yang, so I figure I'd write one for here too.

This was the first place I tried in the meat jun challenge and this place didn't disappoint. The service was kinda weird and they were unusually busy, but I had enough friends and time to kill that it didn't really phase me.

When I did get the food (a combo plate of meat jun and fried mandoo), it was quite delicious. The meat jun was tasty, but kinda on the fatty side like some reviews have stated. Some people like this, I was indifferent. The taste is what got me and while I prefer the cut of meat at Dong Yang, the sauce that they have at Young's really hit the spot.

The mandoo was quite beasty and delicious as well, a perfect compliment for the meat jun. The best thing I had was something someone else at the table had, the chicken katsu. AMAZING. I honestly feel that was some of the best chicken katsu I've had. Ever. Definitely going back for that.

Overall, I give a 4 for the portion (I was stuffed afterwards, not something I could say about Dong Yang) and the mandoo/sauce combo. Minus a star for the wait for the food. It honestly wasn't that busy, but we waited a while for the food, much longer than the wait at Dong Yang.

The world will always be split between which of the two meat jun spots is better, but it's safe to say that you can't go wrong if you picked here.

Meat Jun is a sensitive subject around these parts, as most people have their preferences for what they like to eat. So, I decided to do a little investigative research and check out some of the better meat jun places on the island.

Dong Yang was the second stop on the taste test, and I can see why people are so passionate about their meat jun/chun. It's soft, tasty, thick, and very flavorful. I also appreciate the affordableness of the place as well, as a combo plate of meat chun, fried mandoo, and a drink only put me back $10.50, a steal considering the price of Korean food nowadays.

What takes this place down a star is the tricky location (get off at the Wahiawa exit, go down 3 lights, turn right on Olive and there you are). Wahiawa is quite the trek for most people, so I don't see many of them making the effort to get some meat chun. But, for those willing to trek, it's worth the drive.

I'm actually tempted to give this place a bad review so people don't come to this one and keep this place a quiet secret from everyone else haha.

But honestly, this is probably the nicest Y on the island. Granted, I've only been to a handful, but I don't think any of them hold a candle to Leeward. The staff is hella friendly and even let me get my membershi started, even though their card printer and database was down when I signed up. My card & ID was ready after my workout was finished.

Now, I can't speak about the classes or the pool (both look awesome btw), but I can speak about the gym upstairs and the locker room. The gym is well equipped. We're not talking 24 HR. Fitness equipped, but definitely enough to get a good workout on. There's tons of ellipticals and treadmills around the perimeter. I appreciate the fact that all the treadmills face toward the window, giving you a great view as you run in place.

The locker rooms are hella clean and, as was mentioned in another review, this one has the least amount of naked old people that I've seen in one YMCA. Lockers are plentiful throughout, so there's rarely a moment where you'd have to share a locker alcove with another person.

Again, I have all these glowing things to say about this place but I really don't want other people to go here so those that do know about Leeward YMCA can keep the secret to themselves.

Thankfully, the goofy location (just off the freeway and behind the Filipino Community Center) helps weed out most people.

Great spot if you know about it. Hopefully, the secret stays safe with those that know.

I'm actually quite biased toward this Jamba because they are just across the hall from where I work. Thankfully, I work next to one to better Jambas on the island. Orders are always on point, and even though it gets hella cranking in there during the weekends, the workers (jambaristas?) always seem to be stoked and not overwhelmed.

Acai bowls are pretty much a given here. It's no Diamond Head Cove or Blue Hawaii Lifestyle, but it's quick, a lot more convenient and tasty. I have no complaints there.

Only thing that I'd knock would be that they're REALLY busy on the weekend, so that could deter the passer-by, but, if you're hankering for some Jamba, can't really go wrong with this one.