RICHO RESTAURANT

RICHO RESTAURANT
HONOLULU, HAWAII 

UPDATE:  RESTAURANT CLOSED.
Richo is one of those restaurants that we drive by daily but never seem to try.  When I got a Groupon or Living Local Deal of the Day for half off, we decided to buy the coupon and give it a taste test.  Almost did not make our reservation because we went into the parking lot on the left of the building.  This is primarily a parking lot for apartments and there were no stalls available for Richo.  We exited the lot ready to go somewhere else.  My wife called the restaurant and asked if they had any additional parking.  Yes, the hostess said on the left side of the building in another lot you can park in any stall.  Great to know.  We did the U turn and went back and found plenty of parking. We entered Richo not knowing what to expect.  The people on the phone spoke broken Japanese and not Korean.  When we walked in we were greeted in Japanese very enthusiastically by the young Japanese workers.  We were quickly brought to a small room and asked to remove our shoes.  This was cool.  We got our own little private Japanese style Tatami room that was very comfortable and super private.  Wow... I like this set up.  While you sit on the floor, the bottom is dug deep so your legs can hang down to the floor.  The Japanese waitress quickly brought our drinks and the waiter dropped off a bowl of soy beans. When the bowl was empty, they kept filling it up until our first appetizers arrived.  This was unexpected and a nice way to start the meal.  The menu is pretty simple at Richo.  It is a cross between Korean and Japanese.  We just went for it and tried a little assortment of things that looked good.  Prices are very fair here.  Not much over $20.  We started with the Kimchee ($3).  This was super fresh, crisp and delicious.  Not too much spice and heat.  Nice balance of flavor.  Next up was the Ahi Poke ($8).  Nice cubes of fresh Ahi Tuna with onion marinated in soy and sesame oil.  The Charcoal Ox Tail ($5) was delicious.  Pieces of Ox Tail that were bbq on the grill and served with salt and pepper.  Next was a half order of the House Special Chi.  The waitress called it a Korean pizza.  It was (7).  It looked like pizza and was stuffed with a variety of vegetables and seafood.  Shrimp, scallop, mussels and calamari.  It was good but had a somewhat gummy consistency that I could not enjoy.  The star of the show was the Richo Volcano Nabe ($18).  This is a huge serving of vegetables, pork, seafood and intestines served on a cooktop at your table.  You heat up the bowl for around four minutes.  When it begins to boil, the food should be cooked through.  You then mix it all up and serve it in bowls.  This was really good but lacked the big Volcano flavor I was looking for.  Needed a kick with some hot sauce or something.  We all enjoyed it.  We wanted some more protein after the Volcano so we ordered Beef and Chicken BBQ Skewers ($11.95).  We received one beef skewer, four chicken and one skewer that was 100% fat.  I think they do this on purpose because the fat skewer was really good.  The chicken was good but a bit dry. Again needed some good hot sauce.  We finished dinner with a chocolate sundae ($6).  This thing was fantastic because the placed Frosted Flakes around the bottom and side of the sundae.  The Frosted Flakes added a new dimension to the ice cream and was awesome.  The staff brought out a bucket of new toys and let Keli pick one out to take home.  She took a Rubik's Cube and is still playing with it as I write this.  As we got up to leave Richo's the entire staff stopped to say thank you and presented a bunny with a basket filled with candy.  This was a great dinner experience.  Loved our private booth, loved the service and liked the food.  I will return to Richo's very soon.   Only complaint is that we did not get our rice served until were were almost done with our meal.

COMPLIMENTARY SOY BEANS JUST KEPT COMING

FRESH HOME MADE KIM CHEE

AHI POKE

MARINATED MUSHROOMS

HALF SEAFOOD CHI

PIZZA LIKE AND FILLED WITH SEAFOOD AND VEGETABLES

CHARCOAL OX TAIL

VOLCANO NABE

THE VOLCANO COOKS AT YOUR TABLE

ONCE BOILING - MIX IT ALL UP AND SERVE IN A BOWL

BEEF AND CHICKEN MIXED BBQ SKEWERS

HOT FUDGE SUNDAE WITH FROSTED FLAKES

BOX OF TOYS - CHOOSE ONE TO TAKE HOME

THE BUNNY GREETS YOU WITH CANDY AS YOU LEAVE

ONE VERY FULL AND HAPPY CUSTOMER

OUTRIGGER CANOE CLUB

OUTRIGGER CANOE CLUB
WAIKIKI BEACH, HAWAII 


Attended a business function at the private Outrigger Canoe Club on Waikiki Beach.  Wow, what a beautiful club.  This place is large and sits right on the beach near Diamond Head.  Our event featured a chef cooking outside overlooking the ocean.  Absolutely beautiful.  The food and service were good.  When the meeting and dinner was over, they had a Las Vegas night complete with all the games and play money.  We caught Keli playing blackjack.

VERY UNIQUE KITCHEN WITH A VIEW

THESE ARE REAL GAMBLERS

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

HAWAII KAI, HAWAII 

It is done.  I now have a new favorite Thai Restaurant.  After my 20 year plus love affair with Mekong on Beretania (which is now closed) I can move on and make Maile's in Hawaii Kai my favorite Thai restaurant.  I have known Maile for 20 years and believe me, she has not aged over the years.  Still beautiful, charming and the ultimate host for the restaurant.  Her staff is happy and provides top notch service every time.  The food rocks here.  Beautiful presentations and big bold flavors that amaze me.  We started with a dish of crispy noodles with bean sprouts and cilantro served with a sweet sauce.  Think this is the house appetizer that everyone gets when they dine here.  Just a light and fresh way to start the meal.  We ordered Spring Rolls ($8.90).  Golden deep fried spring rolls stuffed with mushrooms, carrots, long rice, ground pork and spices.  Served with slices of fresh cucumber, mint leaves, lettuce and house sweet and sour sauce.  I take a little bit of everything from above wrap it all in the lettuce, add some hot sauce and bam.  One of the best spring rolls on the Island.  Loved them.  Next up were the Maile Rolls ($9.90).  Vegetables rolled with shrimp and seasoned pork, wrapped in soft rice paper and served with the house special sauce.  These were beautiful on the plate and in my stomach.  The next dish came from Maile.  I would have never ordered off the menu.  It is simply called Cold Tofu ($4.90).  Yuck to me.  Boy was I wrong.  This was the best Tofu dish I have ever eaten.  Will order it every time I return.  Can't believe I am saying this.  I don't like Tofu.  What makes this dish special and tasty is Maile's Ginger Soy Chili Sauce.  This sauce would make a shoe taste good.  She should bottle it.  The entire table was amazed by this Tofu dish.  Next up were Maile's French Fries.  Yes, French Fries at a Thai restaurant.  They are sliced thin and crunch.  Probably some of the best fries you can get in Hawaii.  We love them.  The Pad Thai Noodles also rock here.  Noodles served with bean sprouts, carrot, green onion and peanuts.  The Seafood with Vegetables was also delicious.  Large scallops, calamari, shrimp and fish served with fresh vegetables in a really good sauce.  The Thai Yellow Curry ($8.90) was served with chicken, curry sauce, coconut milk, potato and carrots.  Not spicy but good flavor.  The Larb Salad ($9.90) was served with minced chicken and fresh herbs.  You can wrap the larb in lettuce or cabbage.  There are dozens of other dishes on Maile's menu and believe me I want to try them all.  This is a TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE.
Click links below for more posts on Maile's Thai Bistro:
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2013/12/mailes-thai-bistro-revisited.html
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2010/08/mailes-thai-bistro.html

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

SARAH AND COREY.  JUST DAYS BEFORE THEY HAVE FIRST BABY

CRISPY NOODLES

MAILE ROLLS

SPRING ROLLS

SOME OF THE BEST FRIES ON THE ISLAND

PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN

SEAFOOD WITH VEGETABLES

THAI YELLOW CURRY

LARB - MINCHED CHICKEN SALAD

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

SERG'S MEXICAN KITCHEN

SERG'S MEXICAN KITCHEN

MANOA, HAWAII

Finally made it to Manoa to try Serg's Mexican Kitchen.  Reviews on this place have been pretty good.  Serg's sits in what is like a parking lot next to a Pizza joint and a Crepe parlor.  There are a few parking stalls on both sides of the restaurant.  Seating is outdoors under a large tarp.  We ordered at the counter and several minutes later our named was called and the food was up.  During our wait for the food, I asked the guy at the window for some salsa.  He pointed to the right and there was a little salsa bar with bottles of around five types of salsa plus marinated jalapenos, onions and carrots.  I poured samples of each salsa into the small plastic cups placed next to the bottles.  Really liked the Tomatillo Hot, Avocado Hot and Red Hot sauces.  These are really good salsas that really helped boost the flavor of each dish.  The first dish we tried was Serg's Famous Flautas ($9.25) served with Beans and Rice.  This is a 12" tortilla stuffed with your choice of chicken, shredded beef, pork carnitas, al pastor or vegetarian. The Flautas are topped with sour creme, avocado salsa and Queso Fresco cheese.  We went for the chicken and found it to be rather dry and flavorless.  I added a bunch of salsa and enjoyed the flavor mixed with the sour creme, avocado salsa and cheese.  We tried several different tacos at ($2.75) each.  The menu lists the tacos as Mexico City Style Street Tacos.  The are simply large portions of meat in a lightly fried corn tortilla.  Topped with a hint of onion and cilantro.  I liked the Carne Asada taco best.  I added the Avocado salsa to kick it up a notch.  The chicken taco was a disappointment.  Cubed chicken on a tortilla.  The chicken lacked flavor and had no other condiments to boost the flavor.  The Pork Carnitas was o.k. but really greasy.  Again topped with nothing but a few small onions and cilantro.  I have had tons of Street Tacos in Mexico.  While these are good, they don't bring me back to those flavors of Mexico.  The Fish Taco ($3.25) and Rice and Beans ($1.95) was not a bad dish.  We went for the grilled fish.  It was topped with a mayo based cole slaw.  We were surprised that none of our dishes had any fresh tomato or salsa on the plates.  Only the salsas in the large bottles.  What I can say about Serg's is that I would like to go back.  This is much better than 99% of the taco joints in Hawaii where I eat once and never return.

Click links below to view another post on Serg's Mexican Kitchen:

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2013/12/sergs-mexican-kitchen-revisited.html
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2013/09/wings-and-things-by-serg.html

CHICKEN, CARNE ASADA AND CARNITAS MEXICAN "STREET" TACOS

ORDER AT THE WINDOW AND SIT UNDER THE TARP

NICE SELECTION OF SALSAS - AND THEY ARE GOOD!

ENJOY SOME HOT CARROTS, JALAPENO AND ONION

SERG'S "FAMOUS" FLAUTA

GRILLED FISH TACO WITH RICE AND BEANS