GREAT EATS HAWAII

Sunday, August 13, 2017

SCRATCH KITCHEN AND BAKE SHOP

1030 SMITH STREET

HONOLULU, HI 96817

808-536-1669

HOURS: Daily 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM / Closed Tuesday

www.scratch-hawaii.com

www.yelp.com/biz/scratch-kitchen-and-bake-shop-honolulu

www.facebook.com/scratchkandb/

I have heard and read a lot of positive reviews about Scratch Kitchen and Bake Shop so decided to try it out one weekend. We arrived around noon and the place was packed but there was a small two seat table in the back by the kitchen and we were immediately seated. A smiling waitress approached us and took our order pretty quickly. I saw a Muffaletta on the menu and immediately had dreams of the Muffuletta at Central Grocery in New Orleans. My Wife saw Pork Belly Pasta and said she had to try it. While we waited for our food, plates of beautiful Eggs Benedict and towering plates of Pancakes seemed to dance by our table. Hmmm. Maybe we should have ordered breakfast I thought. The Cider Braised Pork Belly and Apple Pasta ($15) arrived a good 5 minutes before the Muffaletta. The large pieces of pasta were drenched in an oily sauce and topped with Bleu Cheese. I took a bite of the pasta with Bleu Cheese and did not think that it was a good combination. The pasta without the cheese tasted much better. The verdict on this dish was not good. My Muffaletta ($13) arrived and it was hot pressed like a Panini. The ones in New Orleans are not served warm. One bite and I was pretty much done with this sandwich. It sucked. The flavors of the meat were not good and there was mayo and not enough Olive spread. Tasted nothing like a real Muffuletta. Huge disappointment. I could not even finish half of this sandwich. I tried the potatoes served with the sandwich and they were bland and not seasoned. Just seemed to be fried. People love this restaurant and the place remained packed during our visit. Something must be good here. Just not the two dishes we ordered.

Scratch is moving to Kaakako in September so I think we will give it another try then.

SCRATCH KITCHEN AND BAKE SHOP

SCRATCH KITCHEN AND BAKE SHOP IN DOWNTOWN HONOLULU

SCRATCH IS ON SMITH STREET FOR NOW - MOVING IN SEPTEMBER, 2017

SMALL RESTAURANT

OPEN KITCHEN AND SEATING IN BACK

SCRATCH KITCHEN AND BAKE SHOP MENU

BREAKFAST MENU

LUNCH MENU

CIDER BRAISED PORK BELLY AND APPLE PASTA WITH BLEU CHEESE

MUFFALETTA SANDWICH

NOTHING LIKE A REAL MUFFALETTA

SOME PRETTY BLAND POTATOES

PANYA BISTRO

1288 ALA MOANA BLVD

HONOLULU, HI 96814

808-946-6388

HOURS: Daily 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM

http://panyabakery.com

www.yelp.com/biz/panya-bistro-honolulu-5

www.facebook.com/PanyaHawaii/

Dined at Panya Bistro twice recently. Once for lunch and again for dinner. Both times we sat at the outdoor covered lanai which is comfortable. Service both times was great and the food is good. Quite a wide variety of menu items to choose from here. We began this meal with the Fried Squid Legs ($9). Excellent tasting Squid with a light batter. Only thing missing was a sauce. There was nothing to dip the Squid in. A little Cocktail Sauce would have been nice. The Panya Style Ahi Poke ($16) was fresh and delicious. I ordered the Tiger Prawns and Manila Clam Spaghetti ($20) and found it to be terribly bland with little flavor. The sauce was tasteless. The Panya Pad Thai with Chicken ($16) was ok but like the Spaghetti a bit bland. Where's the flavor? Pretty much the same review on the Seafood Curry....bland. We all liked the atmosphere and service here. Food was ok but not great.

PANYA BISTRO

OUTDOOR PATIO WITH SUN SHADE DURING EARLY EVENING

PANYA BISTRO MENU

PUPU MENU

BURGERS AND PASTA

NOODLE DISHES

RICE DISHES

FISH DISHES

SIDE ORDERS, JUICES AND DRINKS

FRIED SQUID LEGS

PANYA STYLE AHI POKE

PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN

CURRY WITH MIXED SEAFOOD

TIGER SHRIMP AND MANILA CLAMS SPAGHETTI

GRILLED PORK CHOP WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES

GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES

DINNER AT HOME

We don't eat a lot of meat at home so I wanted to change our menu up a bit with Pork Chops. I marinated the Chops in Honey, Apple Cider Vinegar and Spices for about one hour and then threw them on the BBQ. Topped with Caramelized Apples and served with some Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Delicious!

GRILLED PORK CHOP WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES AND GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

MONCHONG WITH BLACK BEAN AND CORN RELISH

MONCHONG WITH BLACK BEAN AND CORN RELISH

DINNER AT HOME

Found Monchong on sale again for $5.99 per pound and decided to cook it up with a spicy Black Bean, Corn and Green Salsa Relish. This was so delicious and the entire dinner for three was around $15 total.

MONCHONG WITH BLACK BEAN, CORN AND GREEN SALSA RELISH

BALI HAI TOURS - NAPALI COAST, KAUAI

BALI HAI TOURS

CAPTAIN JOE LICONA

808-634-2317

EMAIL: jlicona@hawaii.rr.com

www.balihaitours.com

If a visitor asks me what the #1 thing I would recommend doing in Hawaii it would be go to Kauai and take the Bali Hai Tours Napali Coast Tour. It is hands down one of the best experiences of my life. Not all Napali Coast Tours are the same. First of all you want to experience the Napali Coast in a Zodiac. A small one. Bali Hai Tours accommodates only six passengers at a time which means you are not dealing with a dozen or two people with different likes/dislikes and swimming abilities. We had five people and the boat to ourselves so it was basically a private tour. Ok #1 is a small Zodiac. #2 is you must use Bali Hai Tours and Captain Jack because he departs out of Hanalei Bay which is just minutes from the dramatic coast. Boats that begin out of Port Alan waste 90 minutes just getting to the Napali Coast. This is a waste of time and boring. With Bali Hai you jump in the boat and in minutes you have the dramatic Napali Coast in front of you. #3 is only use Bali Hai and Captain Jack because he knows the coast better than anyone and he is the "go to" guy for maintenance and service for Zodiacs on Kauai. He knows his stuff and especially the waters and currents of the Napali Coast. This means you get a smooth ride and most of all are safe. Joe is the man and I would not put my family in any other boat on the Napali Coast. It is no wonder why he is sought out by movie companies when they film on Kauai. They want the best and someone who knows his stuff and does not waste time. The other great thing about Captain Joe is that his small boat gets you into the sea caves along the coast. We were the "only" boat in the caves the morning we went out. The other boats just passed by. My Wife who is terribly afraid of riding in Zodiac's was so impressed with Joe and his maneuvering of the ocean that she said she would only ride with him if we come back again. I agree. The Napali Coast is spectacular and seeing it from a Zodiac is the only way to go. Highly recommend Captain Joe if you are on Kauai.