Big Island Grinds

Sweet, a brand new restaurant right in the heart of Hilo!  Hi-Ho Mongolian Grill, a franchise with other locations in Illinois and Iowa, opened just a few days ago. It was pretty busy when we got in, like any new place opening in Hilo… anything new is super exciting for us!

It’s a pretty neat concept:  you choose a bowl size (little khan, mighty khan, barbarian khan), or all you can eat, then you fill it up with a nice variety of veggies and meats…

… they had seafood too… shrimp and scallops…

… some noodles too… don’t be shy to pile it up since it shrinks.

Then the fun part, putting on your sauces!  I wasn’t feeling too adventurous so I just followed the recommended recipe on the sign and added a bit more of the “mongolian fire oil” — spicy stuff! (click on the image to make big)….

Then you hand it over to one of the chefs and they cook your food on this HUGE flat wok which gets super hot.  It was a lot of fun watching — they totally put on a show, throwing the bowls and food in the air.

Finished bowl (mighty khan “medium” size).  Pretty huge.  Next time I’ll get the smaller bowl… or get the bigger bowl and take home the leftovers.

Served with a great tasting egg drop soup and bowl of rice.  It’s a lot of food!

They even have a little desert which comes with the meal… some fresh fruits and pudding.

It was all very yummy and fresh.  I would come back another time.  Next time I will change my sauce recipe… it was a bit too sweet and salty for me.  I’ll be more adventurous next time.

Prices are pretty reasonable (click to make big):

Service was very nice and friendly too.  It’s great that we have this new place in Hilo!

Why is it called Maui Fried Chicken? “Dey call it Maui Fried Chicken coz Minit Stop originated in Maui”, the cashier told me as we purchased a 3 piece box ($4.99 special) and a fried chicken plate lunch (~$7.00).  

Along with the chicken they had a lot of other local style plate lunches.  Outside on the grass, there are nice peaceful benches to sit on too.  Nice stop before heading out to Waimea or Kona.

What a deal: 3 pieces of chicken, 3 huge potato wedges, and a soft dinner roll all for only $4.99! (it was on special, regular price is $5.99).  Hoooo da tasty, crispy, perfectly seasoned and super juicy!  Bev liked it because it was “not too oily and fatty and crunchy all around…. and not the hard kine crunchy where you going break your teeth… just right crunchy”.

I got da plate lunch because I felt like rice.  It was winnaz too!  I think getting the box is a better deal though.

We are definitely going back here next time we pass this side.  Some of the best fried chicken on the island and super nice workers!

Minit Stop
36-2266 Mamaloha Hwy
Laupahoehoe
(808) 962-0422

Bev and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary here and it was wonderful! We had such a great time. The food was amazingly fresh and super ono. Ambiance was really warm/intimate, and the service was friendly… and not too obtrusive, which was nice since it was our anniversary.

They offer different places to sit. You can choose outside or inside on tables, the sushi bar, or on the floor in the tatami room. We wanted to sit in the tatami room… it’s really cozy.

We started with some nice genmaicha (green tea, $5 a pot).

The kitchen brought out little samples of roasted eggplant with tomato and creme fraiche on a toasted baguette which were delicious. I love it when the kitchen surprises you with little goodies!

We then ordered some sushi! Starting with some local snapper ($8) and Maguro ($6).

Hamachi ($7) and more Maguro (since it was so good!).

Wowzers this is some ono sushi! Super fresh and was prepared perfectly. The waitress said that the fish just came in that afternoon. Too bad they never had some of the other sushi we wanted (chutoro & saba) — she said that they only will serve the fish if it’s absolutely fresh. It was a great to know how important freshness is to them.

At this point, we ordered a couple Kirin beers on tap.

We had to try one of their rolls. This is the Four Tower roll ($12 or $14, i forget).

You know, I don’t remember exactly what was in here… I think it was some kind of combination of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, crab, avocado, fried up tempura style… for sure I got that wrong… anyone who knows please post a comment. It was scrumptiously good. My only problem with rolls is that it’s hard to appreciate all the ingredients in the roll… especially with top quality ingredients like this, but as a whole, it was yummy. The sauce was nice and spicy and it came with a wakame salad.

We were tempted to just eat more sushi, but had to try one of their entrees (for research reasons, I told Bev). It was really hard to choose. We decided on their Wok Lacquered Prawns with Caramelized Onions ($17).

Hoooo brah. Dis was seriously broke da mout’! For real, these prawns were super juicy and cooked perfectly. The caramalized onions rocked. The sauce was so tasty — very very rich and not too sweet. It complimented the prawns perfectly. Very generous portion too.

And for desert, a Kona coffee chocolate cake with tahitian vanilla cream and chocolate sauce ($8 I think?).

Now I’ve had a lot of chocolate cakes, but I gotta say this was one of the best I’ve ever had. What made this one special is how well the coffee complimented the chocolate. It had a very deep dark roasted nutty flavor. The cake as a whole also was not too sweet, which allowed the chocolate and coffee shine. Add to it the Tahitian vailla and the rich chocolate sauce, and it was perfect! The Tahitian vanilla cream had a really nice flowery sweet flavor. Could it get any better???

Thank you Fujimamas for the wonderful time. It was very memorable! We will be back.

Fujimamas Restaurant & Sushi Bar
75-5719 Alii Drive (right next to Panchos & Lefty down a small alley off of Ali’i Drive)
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
(808) 327-2125
www.fujimamas.com

Yay! Found some great takoyaki at the farmer’s market today. First time seeing this vendor here. Really nice guy! After chatting a bit, we found out they are associated with Miyo’s (not sure how, though).

We went early, so they just got setup and it was still hot and fresh and so moist. Very tasty!

They also had some taiyaki (Japanese pancakes) filled with sweet red beans, cheese, or cinnamon apple. We got two red bean pancakes. They were so good too! Still warm and toasty.

Come early because they seemed very popular! I hope this vendor stays here for awhile.

P.S. Stay posted… Bev and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary and went to Fujimamas. Man, that was one of the best meals ever! I’ll post again within a week.

Visiting this place today brought back my passion in food blogging, something I’ve missed for a long time. In fact, I was so excited to share with you guys about this place I couldn’t wait (even though I still have a backlist of places I still need to write about). Hawaiian Style Cafe is my new favorite place for SERIOUS GRINDZ.

Brah!!! Just look at my breakfast, “Da Tita Mok” ($8.25):

Huge thick flame-broiled hamburger patty, 2 thick slices of spam, moist and crunchy chicken cutlet, 1 egg, grilled onions, fried rice, and rich tasty brown gravy over everything.

It tasted just as good as it looked. The hamburger patty was great quality local beef and fresh. It was actually on the leaner side but still very moist and meaty. Kind of like Ken’s burger but thicker and more moist. The chicken cutlet was my favorite. So moist and crispy on the outside and perfect with the gravy, which was very rich and homemade-tasting. Fried rice was really good too… not too salty and it didn’t overpower the rest of the dish. Grilled onions was a good touch and the spam was cooked just right. My only complaint was that the egg was a little overcooked on the bottom, but it was still nice and yolky. Wow. Quantity and quality.

95%

Bev ordered two pancakes ($2.25/each pancake) but we actually shared everything.

HUGE HUGE HUGE. I liked these. Soft. Spongy. Moist. I do wish they had a bit more cake-like texture because it was a little too spongy/bouncy. I also wish that it was more crisp on the edges. I still would order these again. They were so soft and tasty.

Here’s the specials menu that was up (they even have “Stew Luau”! aka Beef Luau):

Here’s the Breakfast & Lunch Menu:

How was the service? Friendly, local-style, like walking into your favorite Aunty’s kitchen… but very slow and sometimes forgetful (they were really busy). If you are in a rush to go somewhere, don’t come here. This is somewhere to go when you have all morning to eat and digest and all afternoon to sleep. One thing we missed was that you need to sign-in to the right of the door then wait until there are free seats.

The food made it all worth it though. I can’t wait to go back! I wish they were in Hilo!

Hawaiian Style Cafe
65-1290 Kawaihae Rd, Kamuela, HI 96743 (map)
(808) 885-4295

My wife and I visited Seattle for the past New Years. It’s such a lovely city. Amazing fresh food. Friendly locals. So much happening! What a culture shock from Hilo Town. We have so much food adventures to share from there! I figured I’ll post one place at a time or else I won’t ever get anything up.

So, I’ll start with one of Tom Douglas’ wonderful restaurants which is also attached to a bakery.

I started with a tomato soup.

This was simply the best tomato soup I’ve ever had by far. It was thick, fresh, bright and very rich. It went so good with the buttery croutons and bread served. I won’t look at tomato soup the same again.

Next, an order of Tom Douglas’ famous crab cakes.

Man, these crab cakes rock. The crab meat is so sweet with huge chunks of leg meat. While it’s mostly crab, it still has a nicely seasoned breading with green onions. Served with grilled romaine and crispy potatoes.

Desert time! Coconut cream pie.

So deliciously light and not too sweet. The crust was great texture.

Fresh Pear Tart

Outstanding! Seattle has the best pears I’ve had, and combining that with a fresh flaky tart pastry, this was just delicious.

I’m so spoiled now. Seattle I will return!