Goofy Cafe & Dine - Waikiki, Hawaii *.

Goofy Cafe & Dine is one of the restaurants that were highly recommended on Japanese variety shows. We came here to check out the hype! The food was really good and our servers were very attentive and friendly but what made the experience drop to a 3/5 is because of how we saw the host treat another table of diners. I also agree with previous yelpers for this restaurant because I found it really weird how the host wanted people to stand at the side and not "block the windows" when the menu is at the windows.. lol





Story time: 
There was a family of 10 who were waiting for a table. They decided to split their large group to 5 and 5 to make it easier to get a table since there was a long queue at the time. Two tables that could fit 5 people cleared up so the family walked in. Once the host realized that the family split into groups of 5 and 5, he told the group that he will not serve them. He had basically asked them to leave the restaurant. Of course, the dad in the family of 10 got very angry and started demanding the host for an explanation for why he would not serve his family - by which, at that time, there were more tables who left (meaning more spots for this family to be seated). There was some #worldstarhiphop shenanigans going on and everyone at the restaurant was pretty much wide-eyed at this point because we had no idea why the host wouldn't serve their group. They weren't about to close or anything. Perhaps the host wanted to watch the Friday fireworks lol. Anyways - I think the host had OCD (refer back to the "do not block our windows even though the menu is there" policy above).


TLDR: The host rejected a family of 10 without an explanation.





Now back to the food:

I loved the my choice of the loco moco! 

DRINKS: Local beer and lemonade (Don't order the lemonade, it tastes so watery)

We ordered:





* BIG ISLAND LOCO MOCO (4/5)
(Ground beef patty, 2 local eggs, homemade gravy & brown rice)

I loved this!! The only improvement I'd suggest is that the brown rice be cooked to a softer texture. It was a little rough with the rest of the combination. I loved the flavour though - I'd recommend this!

* PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE/KALUA PIG (3/5)

On a hot plate! P ordered this - we would like it more if the Kalua pig was less dry! The sauce and sides were delicious, but the main deal was the pig :( Poor thing - I feel like P always choose the less yummy things because he's more "adventurous".

Anyways! That was a long review.. I'm done :D

Goofy Cafe & Dine

$$  Cafes, Breakfast & Brunch, Diners

1831 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96815
United States

Heavenly - Waikiki, Hawaii *.

😻  First day of February! 😻  

Waikiki, Hawaii

I've heard lots of great reviews about Heavenly so my P and I decided to check this place out ourselves! 
This is the very place where we experienced the local 'take it easy' term. We were waiting in line to get in the restaurant with one girl waiting in front of us 

We've also watched variety shows where people have visited this place. Mainly Japanese variety shows so that's why their menu has both Japanese and English on it (smart advertising).

The interior is very nicely decorated a warm, homey beach-vibe. There was an emphasis on the ingredients because most items that were indicated on the menu were locally grown.





Here's my experience for breakfast:

We ordered - 





* ACAI BOWL (4/5)
(Served with Big Island Bee honey & Hawaiian granola)

This was deeelish!! The only thing I'd like to see more is the granola - I would've given this dish a 5/5 if there were more crunchy bits! I'd recommend this if you want to cool off eating something healthy :) 





* LOCAL EGGS BENEDICT (4/5)
(Homemade hollandaise sauce with lilikoi butter, poached local eggs served with Okinawa purple potato & fresh local salad. Wheat muffin.)

My fiance ordered this one and I'm glad he did! The hollandaise sauce was done so well! It was creamy, smooth and the flavour was not overpowering the other foods. What surprised me was the Okinawa purple potato - it tasted very sweet and refreshing! I was hoping we would get more portions of this :)


----------------------------------------------------


We came back for dinner because we loved our breakfast experience. We ordered:




* KAUAI GARLIC SHRIMP (5/5)

Loved everything about this dish! The sides included locally grown corn, brown rice and kale salad. The shrimps were marinated nicely and was deep fried so you can also eat its shell! So yummy!





* LOCAL PORK  BIG ISLAND GINGER SAUTE (2/5)

My fiance ordered this one and I tried some of it - despite it being highly recommended, it doesn't live up to our expectations because the pork came out a bit dry. We should've gotten the loco moco instead!! The table beside us ordered it and it looked so good :(

😻 Here's my picture from our breakfast sesh! 😻 

Heavenly

$$  Breakfast & Brunch, Juice Bars & Smoothies, Hawaiian

342 Seaside Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
United States

Sandy’s Sandwiches - Haleiwa, Hawaii *.

P and I visited North Shore and stopped by at Sandy's Sandwiches. 
We loved it! This was a healthy choice and it also tasted delicious. 
It was especially nice because the waves were good for surfing that day so we got to see surfers while eating on the beach side. Better than watching TV haha

Sandy's Sandwiches is actually located in the middle of no where. We really had to nail down which location she was going to park her food truck because it's on the road side. Be careful when you're trying to visit the other food trucks near by! The road she parks on is off of a highway so cars move pretty fast going into this area.

I'd suggest if you were to visit this location, to visit the near by Haleiwa town, where you can pick up a bunch of North Shore related souvenirs.

We ordered:

* TURKEY & BRIE sandwich (5/5)
+ Added avocado

Sandy (I think it was her) added a lot of ingredients and packed it up to make our money's worth for this sandwich. Ingredients tasted fresh and delicious with just the right amount of flavouring.

We enjoyed nomm-ing on our sandwiches while sitting on the beach side :)

Sandy’s Sandwiches

$$  Food Trucks, Sandwiches

59-414 Kam Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712
United States

AKA-ONI Izakaya *

😻  Happy New Year fellow foodies! 😻 

I travelled to Hawaii at the end of 2017 and updating my blog now upon my return. Updates will include Hawaii yummy eats soon :) Stay tuned! Best wishes to everyone in 2018!

A little throw back from early December:

My family and I came to AKA-ONI Izakaya for dinner. 

We called to book beforehand, thinking there will be a lot of people on the weekend. We were surprised to see so many tables available when we got there. Service was meh... Even though there were barely anyone at the restaurant when we dined here, the servers were not attentive and also did not thank us for dining with them. They just handed us the bill and walked away.

I'm only highlighting the dishes that I have comments on:

* BLACK DIAMOND ROLL (4/5)
(Golden flakes, caviar, foie gras, eel & purple rice maki)

The flavour of this maki was delicious!! I really liked it. I'd order this one again. Even though this is more oily than I thought it would be, the foie gras was amazing - loved it.

* ENOKI BEEF ROLLS (2/5)

The beef rolls were surprisingly dry despite the amount of sauce that was drenched over it! 

* FRIED FUGU (PUFFER FISH) STRIPS (3/5)

This was yummy! It was one of the specials of the day - the strips were thin as chips, even more yummy if you dip this in the mayo sauce, as the fish strips itself was relatively dry. 

* CALAMARI (3/5)

Cholesterol intake worthy. It wasn't dry because of the sauce. The sauce was more on the sweet side - like teriyaki sauce.

* FRIED BRIE CHEESE (3/5)

I'd recommend ordering this if you have a party of more than 2 people - this is very very filling. One brie cheese is good enough to try - it's very heavy! If you have to finish this dish all by yourself, good luck buddy!


😻 Below are the other foods that we've ordered during that night 😻

AKA-ONI Izakaya

$$  Japanese, Sushi Bars, Asian Fusion

633 Silver Star Boulevard
Toronto, ON M1V 5N1

Akira Back - Toronto *.

😻  Happy December 😻 

Alrighty - I have to get back to blogging! It's been a busy month in November & December! 
More fun to come :) 

Starting off the December posts with the event I was invited to for the launch of a new restaurant. Michelin Star Executive Chef, Akira Back opened up his first Toronto location! The official opening is on December 7. I was invited as a media guest to try his launch menu items!

Big thank you goes out to Sandi for the invitation! I had the opportunity to try many yummy dishes before the grand opening. The decor is very modern and has a dim ambiance. I'd recommend this place for a nice fancy date because of the way the tables are set up. You get a lot of privacy if you're able to book the booths on the side.

😻  Bisha Hotel looking fancy on the outside (and inside)

😻  We had assigned seating because Akira Back invited both media people and guests to the event

😻  Starting off with a cocktail! We were asked to try every cocktail on the menu - I knew there were alcohol pairings with each dish so I've withheld myself from that offer haha

😻 Appetizer to start off: 

*  

😻  Jeju Domi - Loved this! The fish was very fresh and the sauce was paired very nicely. I wish they had a bigger portion for this dish!

😻  Salmon Tiradito - Compared to the Jeju Domi, I didn't like this one as much. The fish was very fresh but there was less flavour.

😻  Eggplant Miso
😻  Rock Shrimp - Sriracha Ranch

(I was meh on these two items to be honest..!)

😻  Seared Halibut - Mushrooms, Soy Beurre Blanc
😻  48 Hour Wagu Short Rib - Root Veggies, Quail Egg, Braising Jus

Wine Pairing: Shingleback Haycutter's Shibaz

I liked the Wagu Short Rib a lot! Wish there was a bigger portion haha. The meat was very tender and juicy - loved the marinated flavours!

😻  Yuzu Citrus - Sable Crumble, Strawberry Gelato

I enjoyed this dessert because there was a soury taste to it (mainly from the yuzu pudding). It was a great finish to our meal :)

😻  Black & White Sesame Matcha Cake - Salted Agave Ice Cream

The texture from the sesame was a great pairing with the salted agave ice cream. I'm a big matcha fan so I was surprised when I actually enjoyed the ice cream more than the cake! 

😻  The lighting at Akira Back was sooo dim :( I wouldn't take that many pictures because of this! 
Although - the good thing about it is, if you're taking your date here, it's the perfect ambiance ;)

Website @www.akirabacktoronto.com

Akira Back

Japanese

80 Blue Jays Way
Toronto, ON M5V 2G3

GB Hand-pulled Noodles *.

Finally had a chance to visit GB hand-pulled noodles! 
It is a boutique-sized noodle place, expect to wait in lines if you come during prime dinner time. Service was good. It gets humid in the restaurant because of the kitchen since it's an open-concept. If you're sensitive to the heat, try get grab a table near the entrance!

I ordered:

* SPECIAL BEEF NOODLES (Small size with thin noodles)

I've asked for mild so they added less spicy sauce. Even though the spicy sauce is little in content, it's actually still pretty spicy!! The "thin" noodles are actually as thick as udon noodles. If you want to get thin noodles, I'd suggest you choose the "super thin" noodle option.

GB Hand-pulled Noodles

$$  Chinese, Noodles

66 Edward Street
Toronto, ON M5G 1C9