GREAT EATS HAWAII

Sunday, March 15, 2015

GIOVANNI PASTRAMI

GIOVANNI PASTRAMI

HONOLULU, HAWAII

GIOVANNI PASTRAMI

227 LEWERS STREET, #118

HONOLULU, HI 96815

808-923-2100

HOURS: Daily 7:00 AM - 12:00 AM

www.giovannipastrami.com

I like Giovanni Pastrami mainly because they serve Round Table Pizza which I think is the best pizza you can find in Waikiki. Other than the pizza, Giovanni Pastrami serves up huge breakfast, lunch and dinner menus filled with everything you can imagine in a Deli/Sports Bar. The restaurant features dozens of flat screen tv's playing everything sports. On this visit College Basketball, Nascar and Golf were showing on the screens. The restaurant has two levels with the upper level being the Sports Bar. There is a large bar in the middle with tables and booths all around. Every seat in the house has a view of a flatscreen or two, or three. Service was pretty good on this visit with the waitress approaching our table quickly and taking our drink order within seconds of sitting down. My daughter saw the picture of Reuben Sandwiches and immediately said she wanted a Reuben. She ordered the Reuben Bites ($15) with Pastrami. These little mini sandwiches include your choice of Pastrami, Corned Beef or Turkey Breast and include Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut and Russian Dressing on toasted Rye Bread. My Daughter loved the sandwich and the French Fries. The Fries were crispy and very good. I tried the Reuben Bites and thought they were delicious. I too loved the French Fries. I ordered the Chelsea's Treat ($17) with Cole Slaw. Hot Corned Beef, Pastrami, Swiss Cheese, Tomato and Russian Dressing. I liked the flavor of the meat but could not really taste the Swiss Cheese, Tomato or Russian Dressing. Just was not enough of these items in the sandwich to make the flavor pop. For $17, I would expect something much better. The worst part of the sandwich was the bread. Thin and tasteless. The bread tore apart as soon as I picked up the sandwich. Added absolutely nothing to the sandwich and in fact made it worse. I would still come back to Giovanni Pastrami for the Pizza and other items on the menu. This is a decent place in Waikiki and I am sure the prices reflect the high rent they pay being in the Beach Walk area on Lewers Street. Still think this is a great place to grab something to eat, drink a beer and watch some sporting events.

GIOVANNI PASTRAMI

THE BEACH WALK DEVELOPMENT ON LEWERS STREET IS BEAUTIFUL AREA IN WAIKIKI

GIOVANNI PASTRAMI NEW YORK STYLE DELI - SPORTS BAR AND PIZZERIA

LOWER LEVEL SEATING AT GIOVANNI PASTRAMI

UPPER LEVEL SPORTS BAR AND RESTAURANT

WIDE SCREENS EVERYWHERE AT GIOVANNI PASTRAMI

GREAT PLACE TO CATCH A GAME AND ENJOY A COLD BEER

THE REUBEN BITES PHOTOGRAPH CAUGHT OUR EYE

REUBEN BITES WITH PASTRAMI AND SOME REALLY GOOD FRENCH FRIES

FOUR REUBEN BITES FOR $15

PASTRAMI REUBEN BITE

CHELSEA'S TREAT SANDWICH

I WAS EXPECTING A BIT MORE FOR $17 AND THE BREAD WAS THIN AND TASTELESS

NOT ENOUGH CHEESE, TOMATO OR DRESSING ON THE SANDWICH

CHEF CHAI

CHEF CHAI

HONOLULU, HAWAII

CHEF CHAI

1009 KAPIOLANI BLVD

HONOLULU, HI 96814

808-585-0011

HOURS: Daily 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM

www.chefchai.com

Chef Chai's delivered on every level. Ambiance, service and food were all excellent. This was probably one of the best meals we have enjoyed in Honolulu during the past year. The restaurant is located on the ground floor level of the Pacifica building on Kapiolani. Parking is limited so we went with the valet service for $5. As we entered the restaurant I noticed a very nice outdoor seating area fronting the entrance. We would have opted to sit outside but it was a bit cool and windy on this night. The hostess greeted and seated us in about three seconds as we had made a reservation using the Chef Chai website. As we passed the bar to enter the main dining room we saw Chef Chai himself sitting at the bar. Chef Chai walked past our table several times during the meal looking tense and never stopped to say hello or talk with any of his guests. Not a very personable guy we thought. I took a moment to take in the beauty of the restaurant design. Loved the use of glass, light and warm colors. Pretty upscale for Hawaii with what seemed to be an older crowd with many celebrating special occasions. Noticed that people dressed up a bit here but there were guys in shorts and t-shirts as well. This is what I love about Hawaii. You do not have to dress up to enjoy a nice dinner out. We had a great waiter who explained menu items and a little about himself during the meal. Started with a complimentary plate of Chicken Sate, Asian Flat Bread and a mixture of cucumber, mint, carrot and cilantro that was delicious. We started with the Alaskan King Crab Cakes ($18) served with a Roasted Garlic Aioli and fresh Mango Tomato Salsa. Wow.....one bite and I was a fan of these cakes. Made with nice pieces of Alaskan King Crab and not a bunch of fillers. The Mango Tomato Salsa was perfect and brought this dish to another level. Entire table loved this dish. Next up were the Fresh Ahi Tartar in Mini Waffle Cones ($15). The cones were filled with Avocado and then topped with fresh bright red raw Ahi Tuna. Awesome! After the Crab Cakes and Ahi Tartar we said that we would come back again and just order plates of appetizers as both of these dishes were home runs. Next up though was the Stuffed Baked Quail with Portobello Mushroom, Sun Dried Tomato and Foie Gras ($19). This dish was wrapped in a Potato crust that was delicious and served with some really good mashed Sweet Potatoes. My daughter raved about the taste of this dish when she got a bite of the Foie Gras. Again the entire table gave this dish the thumbs up and again we said we were coming back for more appetizers. I ordered the Naked Shrimp Salad ($12) because I tried it at event that Chef Chai cooked for and loved it. This is an amazing salad if you like Shrimp and the portion is really enough for two. The Shrimp is served with a Lemongrass Garlic Dressing, fresh Mango, Cucumber, Tomato, Cilantro and Watercress. All so fresh and crazy delicious. This is one of those dishes that I would go back for again and again. My Wife ordered the Poached Pear and Rainbow Vegetable Salad ($12) with

Raspberry Guava Vinaigrette. Served with Cauliflower, Cucumber, Goat Cheese and Candied Walnuts. My Wife loved the vegetables and Candied Walnuts but said the Pear was not cooked. She was right. The Pear was hard as a rock. Totally undercooked and pretty much uneatable. She cut me a piece and I agreed that it was not very appetizing and very hard. Over 3/4 of the Pear was left on the plate. This was the only miss of the night at Chai's and quickly forgot about. My Daughter tried the Roasted Butternut Squash and Lobster Bisque ($10) with a Seafood Dumpling. She absolutely loved the Bisque and finished the entire bowl. At this point we were all happy, full and raving about the food at Chai's. But wait, we still had entrees coming. The Crispy Whole Fish with Chili Ginger Sauce ($38) came to the table looking at us. Pretty cool presentation with the entire fish standing up on the plate. The fish was fried but the bright white meat inside was actually pretty moist and tasty.

The Steamed Coconut Milk Ginger Brown Rice served with the fish was probably the best Brown Rice I have ever tasted. I enjoyed the Pacific Rim Cioppino ($35) served in a creamy Coconut Broth with Zucchini Linguine. I had to fish for the Linguine but found it deep under the broth that tasted almost like a Curry. The fish in this dish was Opakapaka and it was cooked to perfection. So moist and delicious. Rings of Calamari and some large Prawns made this a great seafood dish that I would order again. We were all so full that we agreed to pass on dessert. That is until we saw the Chocolate Crunch Bar ($9) on the menu and ordered one for the table. Despite being full and taking home a large bag of leftovers from our dinner we happily finished off the Chocolate Crunch Bar in minutes. It was the perfect ending to a pretty perfect meal at Chai's. This was an incredible dinner that pleased the entire family. A bit expensive yes, but worth it. If you place your dinner order before 5:00 PM here you can enjoy a Three Course Meal for $40. That includes Appetizer, Entree and Dessert. Great deal for the money. I am going to return to Chai's soon and if it delivers like this night on all levels it will be a Taste of Hawaii Favorite!

CHEF CHAI

CHEF CHAI RESTAURANT IN THE PACIFICA BUILDING ON KAPIOLANI BOULEVARD

THAT'S CHEF CHAI SITTING AT THE BAR

THIS BEAUTIFUL FLOWER ARRANGEMENT IS REAL AND SO BEAUTIFUL.
IMPRESSED ME AS SOON AS I WALKED IN THE DOOR

CHEF CHAI'S MAIN DINING ROOM

MAIN DINING ROOM OPENS TO PRIVATE DINING AREA IN BACK

LOVED THE LIGHTING AND DETAILS AT CHAI'S

GLASS WALL IS STUNNING

THE REFLECTION OF THE GLASS AND LIGHTS IN THE WINDOWS WAS BEAUTIFUL

WINE GLASS CHANDELIERS

REALLY LIKE THIS USE OF WINE GLASSES. THE WAITER SAID IT WAS FUN TO CLEAN

EARLY BIRD DINNER AND HAPPY HOUR MENU

CHEF CHAI STARTERS

ENTREES

SPECIAL TASTING MENU

CHICKEN SATE WITH THAI PEANUT SAUCE, CUCUMBER SALAD AND ASIAN FLAT BREAD

ALASKAN KING CRAB CAKES WITH MANGO TOMATO SALSA

DELICIOUS CRAB CAKES WITH LARGE CHUNKS OF ALASKAN KING CRAB

FRESH AHI TARTAR IN MINI WAFFLE CONES

CONES ARE FILLED WITH AVOCADO AND TOPPED WITH FRESH AHI TUNA

STUFFED BAKED QUAIL WITH PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS, SUN DRIED TOMATO AND FOIE GRAS

NAKED SHRIMP SALAD WITH LEMONGRASS DRESSING IS MY FAVORITE

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND LOBSTER BISQUE

POACHED PEAR AND RAINBOW VEGETABLES

CRISPY WHOLE FISH

PACIFIC RIM CIOPPINO

PERFECT ENDINGS TO AN ALMOST PERFECT MEAL

CHOCOLATE CRUNCH BAR

Sunday, March 8, 2015

BUDNAMUJIP KOREAN RESTAURANT

BUDNAMUJIP KOREAN RESTAURANT

HONOLULU, HAWAII

BUDNAMUJIP KOREAN RESTAURANT

871 KAPIOLANI BLVD

HONOLULU, HI 96813

808-593-8822

HOURS: Daily 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM / 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

www.budnamujip.com/english/main/

Once again my Daughter spoke up and came up with our next dining adventure. She said she wanted to try "that Korean place across from the Mercedes dealership". That Korean place is called Budnamujip and it serves up high end Korean BBQ that many of our Korean friends have highly recommended. I had no idea what type of Korean restaurant this was when we walked in but as soon as we entered I knew what to expect. There were those shiny exhaust hoses above each table that mean you will be cooking at your table. You don't actually do the cooking here yourself, as an attendant places the meats on the grill and then cooks and cuts them into small pieces. She did not seem to speak english but always smiled and instructed us on how to eat with some hand gestures. Our waitress did speak english and she was able to explain each dish and answer questions. We tried to order one BBQ Beef dish and one Seafood dish but were told that you must order a minimum of two BBQ Beef dishes to get the BBQ Beef items. At around $30 per person for the lunch menu this is not a cheap place. In fact, you probably cannot get out of Budnamujip for under $50 per person minimum. This makes it a rather expensive Korean BBQ. Is it worth it? For me no as I am not a big fan of all the Korean Side Dishes. We tried all of them but left a lot of food on the table. The BBQ meats however and the fish were fantastic. Since we had to order a minimum of two BBQ Beef dishes we went for the Jumulleok which is Marianted Beef Outside Skirt Steak ($29.95). This beef had an incredible flavor and both me and my daughter looked at each other with big smiles. "Awesome". At that point my Daughter made a point that she was the one who recommended we dine here. Next up was the Yangnyeom Galbi ($29.95). Beef Short Rib marinated in the Budnamujip Special Sauce. This was nice piece of meat that the girl really took time to turn and make sure that it was cooked to perfection. She continually turned the large bone and grilled the pieces of fat hanging onto the bone. I was thinking of how good that would be to suck on and eat, but then they took the bone away after all that attention and care to cooking it? We wrapped the Beef in Cabbage and added a few of the side dishes and sauces. Delicious. We also used the lettuce to make Wraps. My Daughter loved the lettuce with a mild Kim Che Sauce on it. I really wanted to try a fish dish so we ordered the Eundaegu Jorim ($29.95). The Braised Butterfish was served on a large platter with Boiled Potatoes, Onions, Chili's and Tofu. We loved the fish and sauce. Was not spicy at all despite all the chili's in the dish. All in all we liked the food at Budnamujip. Seems to be a very popular place for our Korean residents as 99% of the customers were Korean. I think this is a testament to the restaurants authenticity and despite the high cost is a favorite among our Korean friends. My take on Budnamujip is that the food is good. Service was o.k. and the prices are high. Would I go back?

Probably would but not anytime real soon.