This is for the 2.2.25 event at Hamada General Store…read more Friendly table-side service for each course. Every dish --from the chips appetizer to the dessert, delicious. The sides hold their own with the star of the show--the prime rib. BYOB The staff--attentively open, pour and refill. I thinks it's one bottle per two guests, check your email. The ticket purchaser advised being ready to purchase as soon as sales open. The first seating sold out quickly, so we attended the second seating at 7:30. We arrived around 7:15. Most guests from the 5:30 seating left, so there was ample parking. Ambiance--Palaka print placemats, casual, Aloha wear type of atmosphere. Enjoy--you're in for a treat!

What do four guys with a passion for food and drinks create? The Prime Rib Club, a concept…read moreinspired by the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco. During this pop-up, trial period, 3-courses are $128, tax and tip included. There is also a separate drink menu with a couple of wines, beers, and cocktails. The first course was a local take on a Salad Lyonnaise featuring Waipoli greens tossed table side with house made papaya seed dressing and offered toppings of diced egg, bacon, and house made croutons. Salty, tangy, and a nice fresh start to the meal. Next came the star of the show. The 3-day herb cured, prime grade, prime rib was a perfect medium rare and carved table side. Each plate came with potato puree, creamed spinach, hurricane corn, and a shokupan bun. The prime rib was very tender as expected, and offered with creamy mild horseradish and au jus. The potatoes were food mill smooth and buttery. The spinach tasted "healthy" with just a touch of cream. The hurricane corn was a stroke of genius. Furikake works on popcorn, so it works on cream corn. The shokupan has a nice soft chew, just next time I might sneak my own butter in. And for those who can eat a little more, you might be offered a bonus slice. Dessert is a play on an Old Fashioned, with Asato Family frozen custard, orange whipped cream, toffee crunch, an old fashioned caramel, and a cherry. Like all Asato desserts, the flavors come through strong and true. I loved the addition of the toffee crunch for the texture and the boozy, burnt caramel which cut the dessert's sweetness. Only 16 diners per seating; check their website to secure your reservation. Tables are farm tables, so get comfortable with your table mates, and give The Prime Rib Club some love.

Had a smoked ahi tataki, Sumida watercress ikurazuke, sea grapes on vernacelli crisp.... "To die…read morefor". Soooo good! Colin is very personable and I'm excited to try his other offerings.

First time trying their take out at Fishcake (a rotating culinary artist incubator space). I…read moreordered "pork and lamb bolognese." Rich ingredients and taste satisfied me. Btw they cook in front of you after you place an order. You can eat in too. Thank you very much for an early dinner!

I finally got to try this place for the first time at the strawberry moon market. Everything was…read moresooo sooo delicious. I personally think this was single-handedly the best musubi/okazuya I have ever had in a meal on this island. It is a shame that they do not pop-up as often but I was very grateful that they were able to make some more food even when the sign said they were "sold out." I guess it was fate that my taste buds were blessed by the hands of this cute Japanese family.

Food is amazing and made to order. Onigiri and side dishes are authentic and just like in Japan!!!read more

About 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, there was already a line of people placing their order for fresh…read morepulled noodles. We were told that the first batch would be served about 11 a.m. so we quickly put our order in. The first thing that caught my attention, was the savory aroma of their 5-spice ground pork being cooked. You can add this as a topping to the noodle dish. The second thing that caught my attention, was the labor of love going in to each order of fresh pulled noodles. You can watch him stretch the dough ball and slap it on the counter before he boils each batch with careful preparation. The third thing that caught my attention, was their adorable mother, helping to slice the cucumbers and top each dish with crushed iso peanuts. Do not forget to order the side of pickled bittermelon....so good!! From beginning to end, this was an incredible experience of all my senses! To see and hear them at work and then to taste the delicious sesame sauce on the fresh pulled noodles....WOW! The soft noodles, the crisp bittermelon, and the savory sauce....super delish! Seriously, go early to place your order. The wait is totally worth it :) Will come back next time to try other menu items.

Shima Dreams of Noodles is a pop-up, located at Fishcake -…read more This place supposedly has a huge following, and people anticipate for the changing menu of various noodle dishes. When we went, the menu focused on udon: +Hot Yamakake Udon with Quail Egg (a special) +Cold Yamakake Udon (a special) +Hot Udon +Cold Udon The special udon dishes are servied with tororo (grated mountain yam), housemade tsukudani (seaweed braised in a sweet Japanese sauce), crispy nori, green onions, and an option to add wasabi. We went for both the hot and cold udon specials - I think it was a consensus that we would have liked to have more noodles in the dish. This is definitely a sweeter dish, with the tororo and the tsukudani. The place already had a long line, and the best way to enjoy would be to dine-in. Note that if you do order a carry-out, the quail egg would not be included. +ordering online is available +changing menu of noodle dishes +popup at Fishcake

Everything was absolutely delicious! We are coming back with family and friends. This a special…read moreplace with a talented chef.

I loved my experience here! I was really craving the ube churros, but I also really wanted the…read morechicken calamansi, so choosing the Kamayan Sampler was an easy decision. It comes with three ube churros, rice, lechon fries, and fried chicken calamansi. I believe it was around $30 something, which honestly wasn't a bad price at all considering some of the individual items are $20 or more. You get to try several different things, and there's definitely enough food to share, so I thought it was a very affordable option. This was my second visit, and I absolutely loved it! During my first visit, the chef even treated my family and me to a dessert on the house after finding out they were visiting from Texas. That was such a kind gesture and made the experience even more memorable. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back again!

My friends and I came here for dinner because of the Passport collaboration with Kohana Distillery…read more I'm really happy for this collaboration or else I may have never eaten at this wonderful restaurant. Located in China town, you have the normal issues of finding parking. The location is not large and is split into indoor and outdoor seating areas. We got seated right away and the staff was very friendly. The food is an Italian - Asian fusion. We started with the Hokkaido milk rolls and prosciutto san daniele. The bread was good but that black garlic butter made it even better. But for me the prosciutto was the highlight and should not be skipped. Mixed with the pickles in that sesame shell, it was so delicious. For mains we got the gnocchi and capellini. The beef cheek in the gnocchi was so flavorful and soft. And we finished up with the carrot cake. Everything we ate was good. I definitely want to come back again.

Atmosphere: I really liked the interior of the restaurant I thought that it was very modern while…read morealso feeling homey. It was loud in there but not too distracting, more so like friends gathering together and having a great time. (4/5) Food: Was really excited to try this asian fusion menu as the Dan Mien Vietnam-Atriciana with lap xuong caught my eye but truthfully - it was underwhelming. The Hokkaido milk rolls were also disappointing which was a bummer since everyone seemed to rave about them. They weren't warm at all and didn't seem fresh, which seemed to be the trend for the other dishes as well since they weren't served hot and pretty much room temperature at best. (2/5) Service: This is where I would give it a 0/5 stars if I could. I've never been to a restaurant where customers aren't greeted as soon as they walk in or at least within 5 minutes of walking into the restaurant. We arrived 15mins early to our reservation and upon stepping in immediately noticed no host stand/designated area to check-in (granted the restaurant itself was pretty small inside so understandable) we therefore waited off to the side. Countless waitresses walked by and even the bartenders noticed us waiting off to the side yet we weren't acknowledged. Not even a quick "we'll be right with you or welcome in". After standing there huddled off to the side we decided to maybe walk further into the restaurant to see if we had to check-in somewhere else and ran into someone that seemed to be the host. She asked if she could help us and we said we hadn't been checked-in yet for our reservation. After getting our info she quickly told us to go back to the front of the restaurant. No indication of how much longer we had to wait, no okay you're all checked-in we'll get your table set up now...just "okay go back and wait in the front". Over the next 10 minutes of waiting in the front of the restaurant we were met with whispers and stares from the employees giving us the feeling of being the new student on the first day of school which left us uncomfortable to the point where we decided to wait outside. Eventually she took us to our table but you could tell she was standoffish the whole time as if we had done something wrong. Our waiter was nice but not that personable and throughout the meal we were probably checked on once or twice at most. Overall: A restaurant is only as good as its service. To me, great food brings customers in but great service brings them back and unfortunately I will not be back.

Pop up with poppin' flavors!…read more Yelp BFF and I have been eyeing out Mama Guava and after the end of the hectic holidays, we finally got a chance to visit. Things we ordered: lumpia look fun, veal pancit/pad see ew, and curry fish with roti My favs: lumpia look fun and curry fish with roti The lumpia was crispy and the look fun was nice and thin. Topped with green onions, a soy, vinegar and chili sauce. My only wish is they used a Thai sweet chili sauce instead. The veal pancit/pad see ew was saucy, but a little too salty for my taste. The curry fish with roti was perfect. Fish was flakey, curry was packed with flavor, and paired well with the crispy roti. Definitely worth a visit! Thanks for reading my reviews! Let me know what I should try next!

Bold Bites and Soulful Flavor at Mama Guava…read more I first tried Mama Guava's food at a pop-up at SALT at Our Kaka'ako, and it was delicious. So I had to check out their pop-up restaurant in the former Pig and the Lady space in downtown. Lumpia Look Fun: A fun fusion of two of my favorite things to eat. Oxtail & Pechay Soup: Hearty and healing, this soup had real soul. Fried Chicken: Crispy salt and vinegar fried chicken was a hit. The batter and crunch were excellent. Tortang Talong: Charred eggplant and garlic rice. I became addicted to that garlic rice. Kang Kong (Ong Choy): My favorite bite, served in a savory garlic sauce. The staff was friendly and attentive, and we really enjoyed our time there. Mama Guava brings bold flavor, thoughtful fusion, and warmth in every dish. This is the kind of pop-up you hope sticks around for good.

A night in Kaka'ako is always a fun place to explore, and just be entertained!…read more The Honolulu Night Market at Our Kaka'ako is indeed a fabulous adventure into the biggest street/block party filled to the brim with all things local...food, retail and culture. I've been to so many and each and every one is very unique where you can find either fashion runway stage, live street art, or even a dance night in the barn. I just love the vibe SALT and surrounding Our Kaka'ako brings with the vibrant art we're so blessed to have and this particular night (November 19th) there was actually much more shopping just perfect for the holidays and the party went further down to Ya-ya's. Tonight I was fortunate to have gone after work so I kept it short but found some awesome treats. Some straw toppers to add to my holiday gift giving and some cheesecake cups (OG, Strawberry and Cookie Butter) of course I got one of each to share...ate the Strawberry which of course omg was yummy!! Not too sweet as the Strawberries was just perfect as I tried to get an even scoop of it all in every bite. Walked further down and honestly wasn't in the mood to wait too long for anything found something that would just exactly work for me. Ya-Ya's Chophouse & Seafood and tonight they had two items - Steak Kebabs - Fat Fried Rice with TAB (aka Thick Ass Bacon lol!) I seriously wanted the fried rice but thought that the Steak Kebabs was more sensible for me personally and it came with two kebabs each fully loaded with steak, mushrooms, peppers and onions with a huge scoop of rice! So many options I really was considering including Henna from Henna Happens, Birria Tacos from Dolce Vita, Corn from Corn Onoz Hawaii but though there's always a next time yes!?! I remember pre-pandemic Yelp had a booth here and hoping as things return to normalcy that we'll see it back again one day (hint hint!) Absolutely love this Honolulu Night Market as it offers so many cultural coolness that you can't find anywhere else! Thank you!

There were only about 4-5 food trucks when I visited, and it felt small. Around 6 PM, the area had…read morevery few people. There was some live music, but it seemed more like a quick stop for tourists rather than a real night market. I didn't try any food because the atmosphere wasn't appealing, so I left quickly.

They are back!!! This time in the old Cafe Lani space which is much larger. They even have a…read morerestroom in the location. They just opened yesterday and are open 5pm until midnight Su-Thu and until 2am on Fridays & Saturdays through Halloween. Fun Halloween themed pop up bar with drinks that are just as festive. They serve their shots in a syringe and have a prop coffin that makes for a great photo op. Goose shot with strawberry ($10) in a syringe. Good amount of alcohol as it is a large vessel. Faceless Lady ($7) shochu, lychee, lemon-lime soda. Spider ring to keep. Green Lady ($7) shochu, melona, lemon-lime soda. Spider ring to keep. Drinks are in smaller plastic cups and on the sweeter side which is an ode to the candy holiday. Not the place to get hammered as the drinks aren't that strong. I can appreciate the work and cost that has gone into putting up such an elaborate pop up for my favorite holiday. If you love Halloween like I do, Ghost Bar is a must, costumes optional. Can't want to go back!

This is a pop up Halloween themed bar on the second level of the Ala Moana Center. It is right next…read moreto Longs Drugs on the parking garage side. The bar has some cool decorations and unique novelty drinks. When I went there the place was packed. I had to wait a few minutes in a line while they checked IDs. Then I never was able to get a seat. I stood at a bar area along the side wall. It is open seating, so it's everyone for themselves when they get in. There most popular drink by far is the one that comes in a trick or treat pumpkin and serves 2 to 4. Seating is on picnic tables positioned around the bar. You can either go up to the bar at the front door and place your drink order or they have servers that can take your order from you where you are, if you are paying with a credit card. This be is a novelty and is only open in the month of October. The crowd is a mid to late 20-ish crowd. The draw for me was the novelty. I had to check this place out. For me it is not a place that I would visit frequently. But like I said, it is a must see, especially for Halloween lovers.