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Sunday, January 5, 2014

SEAFOOD HAWAII @ PIER 38 - SHIROKIYA ALA MOANA

SEAFOOD HAWAII @ PIER 38
SHIROKIYA DEPARTMENT STORE
ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER, HONOLULU, HI

SEAFOOD HAWAII @ PIER 38
SHIROKIYA DEPARTMENT STORE
1450 ALA MOANA BLVD, #2250
HONOLULU, HI  96814
808-973-9111

Cruising Ala Moana Shopping Center over the Holidays can make you hungry.  We stopped into Shirokiya where the have built and entire food court on the second floor.  The food court is primarily Japanese with dozens of food booths serving fresh and packaged snacks and meals.  My wife spotted Seafood Gumbo at Seafood Hawaii @ Pier 38 so we decided to try a couple of variations.  The Spicy Seafood with Rice ($10.80) is a nice size bowl of Gumbo.  Don't know if you can really call this Gumbo as it has more of a Japanese flavor that is far from most Gumbo that I have tasted.  The bowl contained a good amount of frozen peas, corn and carrots that you could tell came right out of the bag.  The veggies were still a bit crunchy.  The seafood consisted of two pieces of shrimp, lots of tiny clams and a few pieces of imitation crab meat.  Imitation Crab has no place in a Gumbo I decided after eating this.  Overall the dish was just o.k. but not satisfying at all.  The Meat Lover Gumbo with Noodles ($10.00) was similar to the Seafood Gumbo but it had a large piece of some kind of beef.  The beef was like rubber and uneatable.  When my wife found a piece of Mochiko Chicken in the bowl she threw in the towel and refused to eat another bite even though she was hungry.  The Mochiko Chicken was soaked in the Gumbo.  Like the Imitation Crab in the Seafood Gumbo, the Mochiko Chicken had no place in the Meat Lovers Gumbo.  Cannot imagine what kind of "Meat Lover" would enjoy this Gumbo.  The noodles in the Gumbo were similar to what you would get in a Bowl of Noodles you add water to at home.  Probably will not be ordering the Gumbo here again.  Would however come back for the great beer specials.

SEAFOOD HAWAII @ PIER 38

SEAFOOD HAWAII @ PIER 38 INSIDE SHIROKIYA AT ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER
ORDER AT THE COUNTER WHERE THEY ARE EAGER TO TAKE YOUR ORDER
MENU IS WRITTEN ON THE BOARD ABOVE THE COUNTER
SEATING AREA HAS TWO WIDE SCREEN TV'S AND OVERLOOKS 2ND STORY AT ALA MOANA
SPICY MEAT LOVER GUMBO WITH NOODLES
ONE PIECE OF BEEF THAT WAS HARD AND UNEATABLE
THE SINGLE PIECE OF BEEF AND  TWO PIECES OF MOCHIKO CHICKEN MAKE UP THE MEAT LOVER GUMBO.  NOT REALLY WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
SPICY SEAFOOD GUMBO WITH RICE
FROZEN CORN, PEAS AND CARROTS WITH GREEN ONIONS, CLAMS, IMITATION CRAB AND TWO SMALL PIECES OF SHRIMP
SPICY SEAFOOD GUMBO CONTAINED TWO SHRIMP, LOTS OF SMALL CLAMS AND SOME
IMITATION CRAB MEAT.  I LIKED THE FROZEN VEGETABLES
$1 BEER AND OTHER BEER SPECIALS THROUGHOUT THE DAY
SOME GOOD BEER SPECIALS AT SEAFOOD HAWAII @ PIER 38 INSIDE SHIROKIYA


Saturday, January 4, 2014

GENKI SUSHI - ALA MOANA CENTER

GENKI SUSHI
ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER
HONOLULU,  HAWAII

GENKI SUSHI
ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER
1450 ALA MOANA BLVD, SUITE 2096
HONOLULU, HI  96814
808-942-9102
HOURS:  Monday thru Saturday 10:30 AM - 10:00 PM
                 Sunday 10:30 AM - 9:00 PM

Lucky to spend a half day shopping with my daughter over the holidays.  I am not a shopper and try to avoid going to the mall at all costs.  This day however was a joy because I was with my best friend and daughter.  She shopped tirelessly trying on sun glasses, watches and clothes from Forever 21.  I stood by her and thanked the Lord for this time and moment free of stress.  Here it is winter in Hawaii and 90% of the shoppers are in shorts and light shirts.  I love it!  We got a few things and then decided to try the new Genki Sushi that features an automated serving system.  My daughter loves the place.  We entered to find the restaurant filled but were greeted by a smiling hostess who gave us a number and explained the current waiting time was 20-30 minutes.  We took our place outside in front along with a dozen or more people who were ahead of us.  It took about 30 minutes before they called number 31 and we were again greeted by the smiling hostess.  Thank you for waiting she said and it seemed like she meant it.  We were seated along the back wall where a little train like conveyor was whizzing by delivering sushi to hungry diners.  Within seconds we were greeted by a waitress who explained the ordering process using a touch screen monitor above the table.  The waitress took our drink order but you can also order drinks from the touchpad.  Ice Tea, Water and Hot Tea were delivered in minutes.  My daughter attacked the touch screen like it was her own computer at home.  "What do you want Daddy" she said.  Hold on Honey I said.  Let me look at the real printed menu and get a feel for the food.  She had no interest in looking at the printed menu.  She was 100% going digital.  Looking at her and then thinking of me using the printed menu really hit home.  She is the future and so is this digital menu system.  I am a relic of the past.  All right I said "lets do this" and Daddy went digital.  Scrolling through the pages of the touch screen, pressing the photos and getting excited to see the preview order page.  Press order my daughter said as she dominated the screen with her tiny fingers.  With a single touch our order was sent to the kitchen.  Within minutes the waiter did not deliver the food but an automated little spaceship that glided from the kitchen to our table.  The food stopped right in front of us and we took it from the track and put it on our table.  My daughter then pressed a button sending the train back to the station.  Pretty fast and pretty darn cool I thought.  "Lets order more Daddy" my daughter laughed.  Order we did and yet another little train was delivered on time.  This was a delicious and fun meal and may be the future of food delivery at restaurants.  

GENKI SUSHI

GENKI SUSHI AT ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER
BE PREPARED TO WAIT IN LINE FOR AROUND 30 MINUTES
GENKI SUSHI IN ALA MOANA IS A BIT SMALL BUT VERY EFFICIENT
THE STANDARD CONVEYOR BELT SUSHI SENDS DISHES PAST YOUR TABLE.  THIS GENKI SUSHI
KICKS IT UP A NOTCH WITH SPEEDY SHUTTLE SERVICE FOR YOUR ORDERS
THE STANDARD PRINTED GUNKAN MENU
THE ROLL SIDE OF THE MENU
NIGIRI PRINTED MENU
LOTS OF "OTHER" CHOICES FOR THOSE WHO WANT MORE THAN JUST SUSHI
THE GENKI PAY SYSTEM UTILIZES COLORED PLATES.  EACH PLATE COLOR REPRESENTS THE PRICE.  YELLOW PLATE IS $1.65 AND A BLACK PLATE IS $4.95
WHAT MAKES THIS GENKI SUSHI NEW IS THE AUTOMATED ORDER SYSTEM AT YOUR TABLE.
TOUCH SCREEN ALLOWS YOU TO ORDER EVERYTHING FROM THE SCREEN
THE ENTIRE MENU WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF EACH ITEM IS ON THE SCREEN
TOUCH THE PHOTOGRAPH AND YOU CREATE YOUR ORDER
CONFIRM YOUR ORDER AND IN MINUTES THE SUSHI IS DELIVERED NOT BY A WAITRESS BUT….
FOOD IS DELIVERED BY FAST LITTLE TRAINS THAT MOVE BACK AND FORTH ALONG THE TABLE
SUSHI AUTOMATICALLY STOPS RIGHT AT YOUR TABLE.  PICK IT UP AND THEN….
PRESS YELLOW BUTTON TO RETURN THE TRAIN TO THE KITCHEN
A LITTLE TEA TO START THE MEAL
MISO SOUP
EBI
AHI
ANOTHER DELIVERY ARRIVES AT OUR TABLE
DRAGON ROLL
LOVE THE DRAGON ROLL WITH CRAB, AVOCADO AND EEL
SPICY CRAB
SPICY CRAB WITH CRAB MEAT AND THINLY SLICED ONION
SPICY CRAB BOMB
TOBIKKO
ORDER A DESSERT AND YOU GET A FREE SLOT SPIN TO WIN A PRIZE
CHOCOLATE MOCHI ICE CREAM
STACK UP YOUR PLATES AND THE WAITRESS WILL COUNT THEM UP AND GIVE YOU THE BILL

Friday, January 3, 2014

SON'Z AT SWAN COURT - HYATT REGENCY MAUI RESORT AND SPA

SON'Z
HYATT REGENCY MAUI RESORT AND SPA
LAHAINA, MAUI, HAWAII

SON'Z
HYATT REGENCY MAUI RESORT AND SPA
200 NOHEA KAI DRIVE
LAHAINA, HI  96761-1985
808-661-1234
808-667-4498 FAX

After checking into the Hyatt Regency Maui, I asked the front desk clerk if they had an Italian Restaurant.  She said "yes" and directed us to Son'z.  Turns out the place has three pasta dishes.  I went with the Seafood Fra Diavolo ($45).  Yes that is correct, forty five dollars for a plate of pasta.  I thought to myself boy this better be good.  Well the pasta was good but all of the seafood was overcooked and dry.  The lobster, shrimp and fish all were like rubber.  The pasta however was cooked perfectly and the sauce had some flavor.  Ate this dish in a huge and loud dining room that overlooks a pond with some Swans in it.  In the background was probably the worst live singer I have ever heard.  The guy just added to the background noise of the echoing conversations of all the diners.  My friend enjoyed the Prime New York Steak Diane ($45).  Don't understand why you have to smother a good steak in sauce.  Service here was very basic with the waiter rushing over a few times to fill our wine and check on us.  Other than that, I probably would never dine here again.  Way too expensive, noisy and not that good.

SON'Z AT SWAN COURT

SON'Z AT SWAN COURT - HYATT REGENCY MAUI
STARTERS
SALADS
THEY TOLD ME THIS WAS AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND THESE WERE MY CHOICES
ENTREE MENU AT SON'Z
STARTED WITH SOME BREAD
THE VINO SAVED THE MEAL BUT WAS EXPENSIVE TOO
SEAFOOD FRA DIAVOLO - GOOD PASTA BUT ALL SEAFOOD WAS DRY AND OVERCOOKED
STEAK DIANE