VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS

DINNER AT HOME

LOVE these Vegetable Spring Rolls that are made by a family member.  She fills them with fresh veggies and even a little Sweet Potato.  Served with a Vinegar base Dipping Sauce.  These are so much better than any restaurant in Hawaii and some of the best I have ever eaten.

VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS

 

VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLLS

DINNER AT HOME

A family member who is from Vietnam made these delicious Vegetarian Spring Rolls and they were some of the best  I have ever eaten.  The difference was the freshness of the vegetables which shined through with bursts of flavor.  Loved em!

VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLLS

 

SPRING ROLLS

DINNER AT HOME

Light dinner with Spring Rolls wrapped in Lettuce with Pickled Vegetables and Sriracha Sauce to add some heat.

SPRING ROLLS

 

SPRING ROLLS

DINNER AT HOME

This light dinner was super delicious.  Fresh made Spring Rolls wrapped in Lettuce and topped with Pickled Vegetables, Cucumber, Vinegar, Sugar and Fish Sauce plus a little hot Chili Sauce of course.

SPRING ROLLS

PHO SAIGON

PHO SAIGON

1538 KAPIOLANI BLVD

HONOLULU, HI  96814

808-955-1069

HOURS:  Daily 9:00 AM - 11:00 PM

www.restaurantphosaigon.com/our-menu#/about-us/

www.yelp.com/biz/pho-saigon-honolulu-2

www.facebook.com/Pho-Saigon-609608735768498/?rf=113470258686912

I woke up at 3am and was in the office by 4am.  Caught a flight to Kona at 7am and returned home at 6pm.  Long day so I called my Wife and asked if she could pick up some Vietnamese food for dinner.  She delivered some delicious Green Papaya Salad, Spring Rolls and a 

Bahn Mi Sandwich.  Perfect combination of flavors for me.

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD

SPRING ROLLS

BAHN MI

 

FILIPINO AND VIETNAMESE FAMILY PARTY

LUNCH WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS

Enjoyed some delicious Filipino and Vietnamese dishes at my Wife's brothers home in Ewa.

GRILLED RIBEYE

SPICY SHRIMP AND CORN

GRILLED CORNISH GAME HENS

PIG EARS ARE ACTUALLY GOOD AND GREAT WITH A COLD BEER

SUMMER ROLLS

SPRING ROLLS

 

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

APPETIZER AT HOME

Our friends mom who is from Vietnam made us these incredible Spring Rolls filled with meat and vegetables.  Some of the best I have ever had!

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

 

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO - TAKEOUT

DINNER AT HOME

Stressful days and I was in the office before three am on this day.  By 5:00 pm, I had no mojo to cook so I asked my Wife to pick up some takeout on the way home.  She asked what I wanted and I said Maile's Thai food.  Thai Spicy Clams, Cold Tofu, Spring Rolls, Sweet and Sour Shrimp and Pad Thai Chicken.  Pretty tasty stuff and just what I needed before retiring early.

Click links below to view previous posts on Maile's Thai Bistro;

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2021/04/mailes-thai-bistro.html

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2020/04/mailes-thai-bistro.html

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2020/10/mailes-thai-lunches-for-firefighters.html

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2019/07/mailes-thai-bistro-ward.html

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2018/07/mailes-thai-bistro.html

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO SPICY THAI CLAMS

COLD TOFU IS MY GIRLS FAVORITE

SPRING ROLLS

SWEET AND SOUR SHRIMP

PAD THAI CHICKEN

 

THAI LAO RESTAURANT

THAI LAO RESTAURANT

MCCULLY SHOPPING CENTER

1960 KAPIOLANI BLVD

HONOLULU, HI 96826

808-943-4311

https://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-lao-restaurant-honolulu

Did not plan for dinner so decided to order takeout using a delivery app.  Food from Thai Lao arrived on time and looking pretty good.  I immediately went for the Tom Yum Spicy Lemongrass Soup.  Loved it.  Ordered with medium spice level and it was perfect.  Great flavor and heat.  The Thai Beef Salad was a huge disappointment.  The meat was a bit sour and the salad needed a better dressing.  Uneatable for me and my Wife.  The Spring Rolls were pretty tasteless and not as good as say Maile's Thai or Hale Vietnam.  I liked the Mixed Vegetables with Chicken.  Vegetables were fresh and there was a lot of Chicken in a tasty sauce.  

THAI LAO RESTAURANT BEEF SALAD

SPRING ROLLS

TOM YUM SPICY LEMONGRASS SOUP

MIXED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKEN

 

PHO KAPAHULU VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

PHO KAPAHULU VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

HONOLULU, HAWAII

PHO KAPAHULU VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

804 KAPAHULU AVENUE

HONOLULU, HAWAII  96816

808-737-2055

HOURS:  Monday thru Sunday 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

www.phokapahulu.com

We were walking down Kapahulu Avenue looking for a new place to try before a Wahine Volleyball game.  A sign for Lu Lu's Mexican food caught our eye so we headed towards the sign.  Turned out that the Mexican food was being served at the On Stage Bar.  We looked in the place and it just did not seem inviting or the place to take children.  Right next door was Pho Kapahulu.  A tiny little place with no air conditioning and around six tables.  We looked in and saw that it was very clean and empty except for one table serving a couple.  We were greeted by a smiling man that wore a shirt that said I love Pho.  Pho is the famous Vietnamese soup that is one of my favorite dishes.  Pho Kapahulu specializes in serving Pho and also they promote their Ox Tail Soup.  Will have to try these on another visit.  Since it was hot and the restaurant did not have air conditioning the entire family decided not to have a hot soup dish during this visit.  Instead we went for some lighter dishes that the family could share. We ordered the Spring Rolls ($9.50).  Served with lettuce for wrapping and cucumber, noodles and dipping sauce.  We place the Spring Roll on the lettuce, add the cucumber, noodles, dipping sauce and hot sauce to make a great little Vietnamese Burrito.  These Spring Rolls were good.  Better than most places we have tried.  One thing about Pho Kapahulu is do not go here if you are in a rush.  Takes a bit of time to get your dishes, but you can tell that they prepare things properly and care about everything on the plate.  Nice presentations and clean.  The Green Papaya Salad ($9.50) included fresh shredded Green Papaya, roast pork, boiled shrimp, mint leaves and cilantro.  I liked the shredded papaya and light sauce.  Didn't quite think the slices of pork went with the salad.  Good though, we all enjoyed it.  The Grilled BBQ Chicken ($11.95) was marinated in Lemon Grass and served with onion, cilantro and cucumber.  Needed to add some hot sauce to this for flavor.  I liked Pho Kapahulu.  You can tell that these are hard working people running the business.  The food is good and the place is clean.  I will be back soon to try the Pho.

PHO KAPAHULU VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

PHO KAPAHULU - A SMALL HOLE IN THE WALL THAT WE ARE GLAD WE FOUND

SMALL RESTAURANT WITH 6-7 TABLES

VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT CONDIMENTS

SPRING ROLLS WITH DIPPING SAUCE

GREAT TASTING SPRING ROLLS

PLACE SPRING ROLL IN LETTUCE AND MAKE SURE
YOU ADD SOME HOT SAUCE FOR KICK

WRAP UP LIKE A BURRITO AND ENJOY!

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD

BBQ CHICKEN

MAMA PHO AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE - AINA HAINA

MAMA PHO 

AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE

I am a confessed Pho-Aholic and probably eat the Vietnamese Soup far too often.  While shopping at Foodland Farms in Aina Haina my daughter was checking out our choices for lunch.  McDonalds, Subway, Genki Sushi and Chinese were in the shopping center.  We saw the sign for Mama Pho and decided to try it out.  Looked like the place had been open for a very short time.  We were greeted and sat ourselves at a table along the window.  The young staff quickly brought us menus and ice water.  The menu is very limited and features Pho and some basic Noodle Dishes. We ordered Pho ($8.50).  I had the Rare Steak, Brisket and Flank Steak served with noodles, bean sprouts, onion and basil.  I was amazed how much meat was in the bowl.  Probably double what you get at other Pho restaurants.  The meats were excellent but the Pho broth was very bland.  My daughter enjoyed the Pho with Beef Ball, Rare Steak and Brisket.  She agreed with me and said the Pho was just "so so".  The Spring Rolls ($4.50) were also lacking flavor.  Nice presentation, but just had no seasoning to make you crave another one.  The service was excellent.  The cashier made it a point to ask if we enjoyed everything.

MAMA PHO AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE

LOCATED NEAR FOODLAND FARMS
IN AINA HAINA SHOPPING CENTER

INSIDE IS BRIGHT AND CLEAN

ORDER OF (2) SPRING ROLLS

PHO WITH RARE STEAK, BRISKET AND FLANK STEAK.
MORE MEAT THAN I HAVE EVER HAD IN PHO

KELI LOVES THE BEEF BALL

PHO WITH BEEF BALL, BRISKET AND RARE STEAK

GOLDEN RIVER RESTAURANT - PHO KIM HA

GOLDEN RIVER RESTAURANT

PHO KIM HA

HONOLULU, HAWAII

My favorite Vietnamese restaurant was closed so we walked a few doors down and found Golden River Restaurant.  There were several empty tables so we went in for a quick lunch.  I ordered my standard Rare Steak and Brisket Pho plus some Spring Rolls.  Since there were three of us, we decided to try the Vietnamese sandwich too.  Our waitress quickly brought us a plate of fresh bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos and another leafy vegetable that I don't know the name of.  These all go into your bowl of Pho.  Pho is a Vietnamese soup that consists of noodles, onion, vegetables and whatever protein you choose.  The key to a good Pho is the broth.  Every restaurant has a different recipe and preparation style.  You can add several different hot sauces, lemon and other condiments to kick up the heat or customize the flavor to your liking.  I went for the Rare Steak and Brisket Pho.  They actually give you a good portion of meat in this soup.  There was plenty to fill me up.  This Pho was good.  Really good.  Probably one of the best I  have ever tasted.  The entire table agreed.  Really good Pho here.  The Spring Rolls were disappointing. I wrapped them in lettuce, added a slice of cucumber and then added hot sauce and the dipping sauce.  Wrapped it up like a burrito and took a bite.  Yuck.  Could not eat the thing.  Terrible fried taste that I did not enjoy.  The Vietnamese Sandwich was good.  Filled with pork, sliced carrot, daikon, jalapeno and cilantro.  Served on a delicious french roll.  Only complaint was that they put on a ton of mayonnaise.  The mayo oozed out all over the place.  This is a great place to enjoy a bowl of Pho for $6 to $8.  They offer small, medium and large bowls.

GOLDEN RIVER RESTAURANT

FRESH VEGETABLES FOR PH

RARE STEAK AND BRISKET PHO

PHO WITH RARE STEAK AND BEEF BALL

SPRING ROLLS

VIETNAMESE SANDWICH