Kahala Hotel's Plumeria Room

Woke up very early this morning for my cousin's wedding shower at the Kahala Hotel. As we left the house, it began to pour! However, it turned out to be a beautiful day and and fun Sunday brunch buffet with family in itself. We all had a grand time playing games and of course, eating our hearts out. Besides the beautiful background setting (Plumeria Room is located on the beach!), there was a variety of eats and choices of drinks! There was the usual omelette bar, but here, you have the choice of ordering a regular whole egg omelette or just egg whites only! Among the fruits, cereals, salami/cheese, miso soup (for the Japanese tourists, I'm sure!), yogurts and muesli, they had little Acai bowls topped with granola, honey and fruit! I was most impressed by this! Though it was more on the frozen/icy side (instead of creamy/smooth), it was still very decent. As for drinks, coffee was served to everyone at the table and tropical fruit water and other fruit juices (passion fruit, orange and guava) were offered in the buffet. A very nice buffet!

Cottage Cheese, Mushroom/cheese omelette, thinly rolled pancake with Maple butter sauce,
Portuguese sausage, Breakfast sausage, bacon and of course, SALAMI!
Salami is the best!

Acai Bowl!

Assaggio's

It's the month of which wonderful babies were born...MAY! Today is my mom's bday! Ten days ago, it was my bday!

Dad planned a great day starting off with making us his famous fried rice. He uses very simple ingredients- egg and chopped up vienna sausage (it's the only way I'll eat vienna sausage), but it tastes better each and every time. Nothing like homemade fried rice! Next, I wondered why he left early in the morning. His excuse was "errands." Mom and I didn't find out til later that he was out buying us gorgeous leis! Both leis were beautifully scented- Mom got lei'd with a Pikake and I, with a White Ginger lei. Both smell heavenly! I will sleep soundly with the light scent of ginger on my nightstand. Third, Dad treated us to Assaggio's for dinner. We go there usually for special occasions and always get the same dishes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!

Antipasto

Halfed a Caesar Salad with Mom- our favorite Caesar!

Mom's favorite- Veal Parmigiana.
I promise there's veal under that thick layer of cheese!!!

What I got- not my usual, but it sounded good- Lasagna!
About 5 layers with ricotta in between and a meaty marinara sauce on top!
And more cheese on top- YUM!

Dad's usual- Chicken Picatta

Belated Bday Cake on the house!

For Mom's bday! A piece of Amaretto cake.

Chocolate Cake

Gazen Izakaya

Having just remembered about Gazen from a friends blog, The Nom Nom Foodie, I quickly called one of my friends and planned a dinner there. I love this place! Located on Kapiolani Blvd across Kaimuki High School and Market City Shopping Center, Gazen is known for their homemade tofu. Their tofu is so creamy and silky, it melts in your mouth. Try it for yourself! They also prepare 3 different types of tofu, Sesame Seed, Sukui (my favorite!), and the usual, plain tofu.

Gazen used to be one of my favorite restaurants, but I stopped going after awhile. Having gone more than 5 times at least, I've always had a pleasant experience. Sometimes they are a bit slow, but it was never a big problem. Last night was a different story. We ordered about 6-7 dishes. Our Tofu sampler and Japanese Style Omelette arrived first, pretty quickly. We were hungry and gobbled both dishes in a matter of minutes. After those 2 dishes, we waited a good 10-15 minutes for our second dish. Yes, dish, as in ONE DISH AT A TIME. This continued throughout our meal, one dish at a time, having to wait 10 minutes in between for each. It was awful. We described it as being a "tease," because one Izakaya (meaning small plates) dish would come, we'd gobble, and then have to starve again for another 10 minutes. Then, we ordered more dishes as we neared the end of our original order. We were still hungry. An order of Uni and one order of Ikura, plus why not, an order of Sweet Potato Mochi and Ice cream for dessert. Since everything took so long, my friend David, jokingly mentioned that it'd be funny if they brought the dessert before our orders of nigiri sushi. Well, what do you know...to top it off, our dessert did indeed come before our Uni/Ikura. I complained to our waitress (who did nothing), the manager (who did nothing), and then the boss, who finally got us our food after 30 minutes of waiting. We almost cancelled the order! The boss apologized, gave our sushi to us on the house, and said that they just made rice and were waiting for it to cool down (for our sushi). 

After our long and painful ordeal, we summed up that the food itself was great, but the waiting in between was absolutely horrendous. Next time I'm craving Gazen, I will definitely think twice about going on a Friday (or Saturday) again...maybe a weekday might be better...when they are less busy. Oh, and that brings me to another point- it was very hard to flag down our waitress...although they did keep our water glasses filled pretty well, I guess....

Parking- Small lot, and I found that 4 cars have to double park, so that can be a hassle. I'd recommend just going on a weekday- this might take away the problems of parking and also slow service.

On a side note, I tried Uni for the first time. Let's just say, there's a first time for everything, but this Uni experience will probably be my last.

Tofu Sampler- from L-R, Sukui (in Soy milk sauce, MY FAVORITE),
Plain Tofu, and Sesame Seed Tofu

Japanese Style Omelette- made with Dashi.
It is one of my favorites. Definitely not your ordinary egg omelette!!
Soft, simple, delicate.
Perfect with a little of the grated daikon soaked in the dashi/shoyu.

The egg must be partially steamed because it is so tender, soft and perfectly cooked.
It is never undercooked either!

Strawberry-Hi (like Chu-Hi but strawberry-flavored!)

Agemochi- like Agedashi but made with mochi, instead of tofu

Omelette with Noodles and Beef-
Sorta has the flavoring of Okonomiyaki

My friend loved this, but I thought it had very little noodles, not enough beef and WAY too many bean sprouts.

Ikura, Maguro, Chu-Toro and Salmon Nigiri.

The Maguro and Chu-Toro were very fresh-
So soft and tender. My friend oooh and ahhed about the Salmon as well.

Grilled Salmon Roll- very smoky flavor, but plain. No sauce or anything extra. I wouldn't get this again.
I'd try their Unagi Roll next!

And there's our dessert before our Uni/Ikura!
This is the Sweet Potato Mochi with Ice Cream.
Mediocre. AND VERY TINY for two people.

After 30 minutes, our Uni/Ikura finally came. 

There I am trying Uni for the first time.

My friend, David, says Uni and Ikura together are tasty! Ikura itself is my favorite...
I will keep it that way!

Another Veronica M romper.
These are my most favorite rompers!
You can see my other two VM rompers here and here.

Summer-time White Flares

Before I left for my weekly dinner with friends at Ichiriki Loft for some Nabe, and had Mom snap a few pics before I left. These J Brand Lovestory jeans are SO comfy and soft. There's a lot of stretch which is good, since I know I'd be having a lot of Nabe and rice! I paired these jeans with my Bamboo Sky button down. It's a pretty pastel pink with white polkadots. Very girly. 

Usually, I hardly wear white jeans just because it's just asking to be stained with red wine, ketchup or gravy!! Thankfully, I was very careful and got these white beauties back home safely. Phew!

Yogurstory UPDATE!

Yesterday, I convinced my hesitant parents to go for a quick lunch at Yogurstory (first seen here)! We are all trying to live a healthier life, therefore I thought Yogurstory's salads, sandwiches and other lunch specials might be a good choice. There is a large variety of choices to pick on the menu, so even the picky eater will find something.

I wanted to have the Fat Pig Fried Rice again, but risked it and chose the Santa Monica Eggs Benedict at the advice of our waitress. My thoughts? Well, I wouldn't have it again. It was different from their regular Eggs Bene for the fact that this one came with asparagus and spinach. The Hollandaise was also a garlic Hollandaise, but I couldn't tell the difference. It also didn't come on an english muffin, but instead a thick piece of bread. It was way too dry and tough! Usually this problem would be fixed by a generous amount of Hollandaise sauce, but nope, a very small amount was drizzled on top. My egg yolk was also way too runny, and even the inside white was uncooked. The egg itself was just a bit too undercooked for my liking. I should have asked for "over medium." What I did like about the dish is that the ham was thick and they gave a heaping portion of it. I just didn't have enough cooked egg or Hollandaise sauce to have with it!!

My dad cleaned up a Club Croissant. It was packed with lots of turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese. I liked that they weren't skimpy with the ingredients. Dad also really liked the Potato Salad- he said it was one of the best he's had! I had a bite...it was good.

Next, my mom. She had the City Salad, which I tried, and wished that I had ordered. It came packed with mixed baby greens, candied pecans, dried blueberries and cranberries, cucumber, grape tomatoes, parmesan and house dressing. You can also add chicken breasts for an extra $3.95. This salad was awesome! I loved all of the different sweet tastes in it and even the house dressing was on the sweeter side. This differs greatly from the Cobb Salad I had which is drizzled generously with a Balsamic Vinaigrette that overpowers the salad. I'd have that cobb salad dressing on the side next time. My lips puckered! The only thing I think Yogurstory can add to the City Salad is apples! That would make this salad extra fabulous! I'd definitely come back for the salad anyway, with or without the apples!

I finally had Yogurstory's Yogurt too! Most people come here for their lunch menu, but a few stopped by their Yogurt Bar. They only have about 5 flavors that I believe change often, but their toppings bar was packed with goodness! I think they have more toppings than Yogurtland. They also have ALL the popping ball flavors. I don't think I'd come here just for the yogurt, but it was nice to try.

Now for the pictures!

Plantation Iced Tea- mediocre

Santa Monica Eggs Benedict

Club Croissant

City Salad

Lots of candied pecans and dried fruits! So YUMS!

Finally tried their Yogurt! Topped with my favorite Lychee Popping Balls and Granola!
Clockwise from Left- Honeydew, Orange Cream, Taro and bottom is Plain Tart.
They were all really delicious and refreshing. All tasted exactly like what it was.