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Sunday, April 26, 2015

ARANCINO

ARANCINO
OUTRIGGER REGENCY ON BEACHWALK
255 BEACH WALK
HONOLULU, HI  96815
808-923-5557
HOURS:  Daily 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM / 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Arancino on Beachwalk has been drawing lines of customers since it opened.  It is a big hit with Japanese tourists and locals alike.  I cannot remember ever going past this place around dinner time and not seeing a line.  It seems just to pack them in year after year.  The small restaurant is located at the Outrigger Regency on Beachwalk which is a boutique hotel just steps from Waikiki beach.  The place is small and reminds me of those little Italian restaurants in San Francisco or New York.  Tables for two and four people are packed in and you will get to know the people sitting next to you when you are seated at tables that are right next to each other.  We had a group of seven so our large table was in one row with a bit of privacy.  I like the look and feel of Arancino which serves Napoli Style Italian dishes with a Japanese influence.  Service on this night was excellent from check in to check out. Really impressed the male Host outside at the podium.  He greeted each customer with a smile and by name.  Also offered up menus so you could review while waiting.  Another female stood vigil at the door keeping the Host posted on what tables are becoming available.  This place is busy but they do the right things to make sure you know accurate wait times and get people in and out without rushing you in any way.  Once inside Arancino we were greeted by several employees with huge smiles.  Really made us feel comfortable.  Our waiter was knowledgable about the specials and menu and he did a pretty good job serving me and six girls.  I ordered the Columbus Set Menu ($58) and actually shared it with my Wife.  I went for the Wine Pairing for an additional $16 and it was worth it.  Pours were a little light but the vino was good.  Our first appetizer from the Columbus Menu was Scallop Sashimi with Sea Asparagus (seaweed), Red Onion and Tobiko Caviar.  This dish was perfection on a plate.  Both me and the Wife loved it and savored each bite.  Two pieces each was perfect portion for the appetizer.  There four pieces so I am glad we split it.  Next up was an Antipasti Sampler.  The Shrimp and Avocado Salad was very light, fresh and good but the vinaigrette was pretty tasteless and a little bitter.  Loved the Caprese which consisted of simply fresh Tomato and Mozzarella.  The Proscuitto and Papaya was also light and refreshing.  Again enough to split with my wife and we were both happy.  The Seafood Medley in Garlic, Wine and Olive Oil was really good.  I asked them to delete Mussels and they did.  The pasta was cooked perfectly and very lightly sauced.  Nice pieces of Shrimp, Calamari, Clams with one large Langoustine on top.  Again shared this with my Wife and we actually took some home too.  This was an excellent Tasting Menu.  My Daughter and her friends enjoyed salad, several pizzas and pasta dishes.  They started the Caesar Salad ($13).  This was a nice salad that was lightly dressed with a good dressing, anchovies, and fried Pancetta.
They ate two plates of this salad and all of the anchovies too.  Next up were the Meat Lovers Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza ($23) and the Owners Favorite Pizza ($25).  I enjoyed a slice of the Owners Favorite Pizza with Shrimp and Garlic Chips.  This is a sauceless pizza but it was good.  The Shrimp and Garlic really stand out.  The Spaghetti Tobiko ($18) was a huge hit.  The bowl was empty in minutes.  The girls almost finished off the Lasagna ($23) too.  Seemed to like just about everything.  When you can take out five teenage girls and have them all happy and eating everything served this is a good thing.  All gave Arancino the thumbs up.  I also liked the food, service and atmosphere of Arancino.  Recommend this place if you are in Waikiki and looking for some Italian.
Click link below to view post on Arancino at The Kahala Hotel;

ARANCINO

ARANCINO ON BEACHWALK IS CLOSE TO WAIKIKI BEACH
LINES EVERY NIGHT HERE SINCE I CAN REMEMBER 
ARANCINO IS LOCATED AT THE OUTRIGGER REGENCY ON BEACHWALK CONDO/HOTEL
SPECIALS POSTED ON MENU OUTSIDE
ARANCINO IS SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT THAT IS VERY POPULAR
WITH JAPANESE TOURISTS
ARANCINO ON BEACHWALK MENU
ARANCINO TASTING MENUS
I WENT FOR THE COLUMBUS TASTING MENU WITH WINE PAIRING
ANTIPASTA AND SOUPS
SALADS 
PASTA DISHES

LASAGNA, RISOTTO AND PIZZA
APRIL SPECIAL SET MENU 
FOCACCIA BREAD WITH OLIVE OIL AND BALSAMIC
CAESAR SALAD
CARPACCIO DI CAMPESANTE
SCALLOP SASHIMI, LOCAL SEA ASPARAGUS, TOBIKO CAVIAR, RED ONION WITH LIGHT CHAMPAGNE DRESSING - YUMMY!!!
ANTIPASTI SAMPLER - SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALAD, PROSCIUTTO AND PAPAYA, CAPRESE
SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALAD
PIZZA PEPERONI E SALSICCIA - MEAT LOVERS PIZZA
OWNERS FAVORITE SIGNATURE PIZZA - SHRIMP WITH ONION GARLIC CHIPS
LASAGNA
SPAGHETTI WITH TOBIKO
SEAFOOD MEDLEY FROM COLUMBUS MENU
VANILLA GELATO WITH ESPRESSO

PAU HANA MARKET WAIKIKI

PAU HANA MARKET WAIKIKI
234 BEACHWALK AVE
HONOLULU, HI  96815
808-286-8900
HOURS:  Daily 7:0 AM - 10:00 PM

Beach Walk in Waikiki is home to Trump Tower, Regency on Beachwalk, Embassy Suites, Hard Rock Cafe, Tommy Bahamas, Bill's Sidney and a Food Truck Court.  Yes there are Food Trucks on Beachwalk in Waikiki.  Not just any place in Waikiki but just a few hundred yards from the beach.  You can pick up lunch or dinner here and literally walk down and eat on the beach in one minute.  There were four trucks in the court today; Five Star Shrimp, Kamitoku Ramen, Lani's Loco Moco & Plate lunch and Onolicious Burger Waikiki.  We made the rounds and looked at each trucks menu.  I settled in on Five Star Shrimp because they advertised "Spicy" Shrimp.  I approached the truck and stepped up onto the block of wood that allowed me to look up at the two ladies working the truck. Not too many smiles but they took my order for a Spicy Shrimp.  What level the woman asked.  I said Five Star hot.  I sat at one of the tables placed in the middle of the Food Trucks and waited for my Wife and food.  A few minutes later one of the ladies in the Shrimp Truck came out and delivered my Shrimp to the table.  This time she was all smiles and very friendly.  I opened the container expecting to get a whiff of some heat but there was nothing.  The plate looked o.k. with a small salad, pineapple, rice and Macaroni Salad.  What surprised me was that there one scoop rice.  Everyone in Hawaii knows that a Plate Lunch ALWAYS has two scoops rice.  Since I ordered Five Star hot I was hesitant to take a big bite at first.  The shrimp here comes with the shells on and I don't eat the shells so I took off one shell and tasted the sauce.  To my surprise there was very little or no heat. Mild to be sure.  I was very disappointed as I wanted to break a sweat and enjoy some heat like I do at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Shore.  The Shrimp were cooked well and had a good garlic flavor.  The sauce that was not spicy was kind of thick.  Needed the rice to soak it up.  The Mac Salad was good because it was very lightly dressed with only a little bit of mayonnaise.  Overall I would not come back to this Shrimp Truck and pay $14 for this dish.   My Wife however would return to Kamitoku Ramen for the Beefy Rice Bowl ($4.75 small).  She loved this dish of rice and beef.  She said the truck was clean and the chef took his time preparing each dish.  It showed when her small bowl arrived at our table.  Beautifully presented with color, texture and design.  The first thing she loved was the Kimchi.  Light, fresh, spicy and so good.  The boiled egg also made her happy as did the beef.  The beef she said was not too sweet like other places.  

PAU HANA MARKET WAIKIKI

PAU HANA WAIKIKI MARKET
FOOD TRUCKS ON BEACHWALK IN WAIKIKI
FIVE STAR SHRIMP TRUCK
SHRIMP AND CORN SERVED HERE
FIVE STAR SHRIMP MENU
SPICY SHRIMP NOT SERVED HERE - THE FIVE STAR HOT WAS NOT HOT AT ALL
FIVE STAR HOT SHRIMP PLATE IS $14
THICK GARLIC SAUCE WAS NOT TOO SPICY
KAMITOKU RAMEN TRUCK
KAMITOKU HAS SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN JAPAN AND NOW A FOOD TRUCK ON BEACHWALK
KAMITOKU RAMEN MENU
FOOD PHOTOS AND PHOTOS OF JAPANESE CELEBRITIES VISITING KAMITOKU RAMEN
GREAT PRESENTATION AND QUALITY FOR A FOOD TRUCK
THE HOMEMADE KIMCHI IS DELICIOUS
MY WIFE ORDERED THE BEEFY RICE BOWL
SMALL ORDER BEEFY RICE BOWL
KIMCHI AND EGG WERE A  HIT
MARINATED EGG
GREAT TASTING BEEF THAT WAS NOT TOO SWEET
LOTS OF CLEAN TABLES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOOD TRUCKS 
LANI'S LOCO MOCO AND PLATE LUNCH TRUCK
LANI'S FOOF TRUCK MENU
BURGER FOOD TRUCK
GRAB BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR DINNER HERE AND WALK OVER TO WAIKIKI BEACH.
IT IS ONLY A MINUTE AWAY FROM THIS VIEW