I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven past this place thinking it was one of the cutest little restaurant in Chinatown. I don’t know if you guys have ever been to Chinatown or not, but it seems as though any Chinatown you go to, doesn’t matter what city or state, but they’re always super crowded and filthy. So when there’s a cute restaurant that looks inviting it tends to stand out a bit and that’s exactly the place that Little Village is. I’m a bit annoyed that I forgot to take a photo of the outside but here’s the view from outside the restroom.

I came here after work and it was a pretty shitty day at the office so I decided to splurge on a couple of dishes to make up for it. I ordered with the Spicy Garlic Shrimp, $13.95. There definitely was a lot of garlic to this dish, but as a whole it really didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t bad by any means, and I think the ambiance made me think I enjoyed the dish more than I really did. The texture of the sauce tasted and reminded me of the Thai sweet spicy sauce. I have to say, it was just boring in flavor.

I also ordered half a Peking Duck, $17.00. It came with small white buns to wrap around. If your a chicken and biscuit type of gal, or guy, and you like duck then you love these.

The waiter came and proceeded to insert pieces of the duck, and duck skin into all the buns. This was entirely too much work for him and required too much patience on my end, no thanks I’ll do it myself, thank you.

The crispy duck skin was served on top of fresh, crispy shrimp chips. I like laying the chips on the tongue until I feel it sizzle. A thing I use to do as a child and I like to keep the tradition alive. As for the duck skin, uhh, not a fan. My parents think I’m crazy for never eating duck skin, or the skin of any animal for that matter. I guess it’s unheard of for a Chinese to not eat duck skin. I mine as well not eat chicken feet, uh wait, I don’t. Sorry mom. Eating duck skin is no different from eating crispy chicken skin, if you like that then I promise you you’ll be happy with duck skin. It really adds more flavor to the whole duck and bun experience.

My favorite was the lettuce wraps, $7.95. This was probably one of the better lettuce wraps I’ve had. Definitely better than PF Changs and Brew Moon. My friend was like, “what is this again because I would totally order just this next time.” It wasn’t too salty, like PF Changs and had way more flavor than Brew Moon. I loved loved the chopped up black mushrooms and crunch from the water chestnuts.

Alright guys, there you go. Overall, I would definitely say this place was worth coming to. Stay away from the garlic shrimp and don’t leave without the lettuce wraps.

For directions click below,
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Little Village
1113 Smith St
Honolulu, HI96817

Get Directions(808) 545-3008

I ordered Italian Sandwich, $6.95. It came with molinari Italian salami pepperoni, ham, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and Italian dressing. They don’t have combo meals so I was forced to order everything ala cart. I got a bag of chips, $1.75 and a medium sprite for, $1. 50 to share with my honey.

The whole meal was fabulous. It was a really good sandwich in every way but size. I don’t recommend sharing this if your hungry. It was just enough to fill us up but leave us hungry for more in another hour. Which I guess isn’t so bad since it’s better to eat more meals at smaller portions throughout the day.

Another great thing I love about this place is that they are locally owned and work with local farmers. I support supporting local farmers.

Aloha Salads is right next door to Gourmet Express which also has really good food.

click below for directions

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Kahala Mall
4211 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
808 735-8334
10:00 AM-9 PM Daily

If your down in Waikiki the International Food Court is probably one of your best bet for fast, affordable food. It’s tucked away between Kuhio and Kalakowa. The picture above is through the side entrance. One of the things I like about the International Food Court is the variety of food that’s offered. Say your in the mood for Chinese, and somebody else wants Korean, and then someone else just wants some ice cream, the International Food Court can make that happen. It’s a beautiful thing. Also, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a fan of food photos that show you what you will be ordering. Most places here have photos of their food and you place your order by the number system. Photo #1 is order #1, photo #2 is order #2, you get my point. I wish more places would work this way. Pomai from The Tasty Islandagrees with me and also mentioned the number system in a recently post on Bob’s.

Lots of outside seating to choose from

I’m a strong supporter of Vietnamese food so Saigon Express is where I tend to pick when I come here.

I got the Look Funn Steamed Pork, $7.00 and #23. My meal was served in a plastic bowl and it came with fish sauce to pour over or dip. I really enjoyed this dish and only wish they had given me more carrots and radishes, oh, and onions. I had to ask for the mint; the photo had it but my dish lacked it. My noodles, or look funn were soft and tasted perfect with the steamed pork. It was a very light dish that didn’t give me constipation, gas, bloating, diarehha, or make me feel like a glutton.

If the Look Fun wasn’t really your thing, then the Shrimp Pad Thai might be, $8.50 and #19 on the menu. This is what my friend Shane’s ordered. I tasted it and it was amazing, but when I looked at it I told him it looked like it had a lot of bean sprouts. He said it didn’t taste that way at all and it didn’t to me either.

Yes there’s another Greek place on the island and it’s located inside the International Market. I think it’s called the Greek Grill, but there’s not really a header above it’s place. This is usually Ray’s pick. He’s a fan of eating cute biblical animals like lamb on a soft warm pita bread.

God must of needed some lambs today because there seemed to be a shortage in Ray’s gyro. He gets this every time he comes here and we remember it being a lot more meaty.

And it was really creamy today. Sheesh, Not a lot of love today, but thankfully just as good as he remembered. And 10 minutes after eating, Ray breaks out into a sweat, another party gone wrong in his pants and he’s left in explosive asshole agony once again. I’m not saying this to deter you from coming here, my honey is just a bit sensitive to cream, or maybe God has a sense of humor after all.

For directions click below
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International Market Place
2330Kalakaua Ave # 200
Honolulu, HI96815

Get Directions(808) 971-2080

The first Brew Moon I’ve been to was the one located on the second floor of Local Motion in Waikiki. I don’t know if any of you have been there as of late but Local Motion is out of business. I think its a shame because Local Motion is like a land mark. I remember seeing it on television on the Real World and thinking what a cool ass store. Anyhow, there’s another Brew Moon in Hawaii located on the second floor in The Ward Center. I met up with a few friends for happy hour.

The last time I had some lettuce cups was at Chilis and they sucked dingle berry ass. But that was a long time ago so I decided to give it another shot. The presentation was a little sloppy and the food was salty. I’m pretty sure it was ground up chicken that was used. When I think of lettuce cups I think of Asian flavors, this tasted like want to be but just aint happening Asian flavors. The dish cost me $8.95.

But, everything did taste and look fresh

For directions click below
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Brew Moon
1200Ala Moana Blvd # 380
Honolulu, HI96814

Get Directions(808) 593-0088

This is an overdue post, but that’s what’s on my agenda today, writing post that are long overdue. Today’s post is on Star Bucks. I don’t go to Star Bucks too often, but when I do it’s usually for a sweet treat.

I ordered the Rock Slide Brownie, $2.50. Looks delicious right, that’s because it was. I loved ever bite.

I also got my hands on a piece of the Mint Brownie, $2.25. It reminded me of Andies Mints and tasted very much like it too. I love Andes Mints so I was very pleased with it.

Also, if you guys are every in Barns and Noble, they not only serve Star bucks coffee there, but you can also get a sweet treat from the Cheesecake Factory.

You know you want one.

For directions to Barns and Noble click below
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Barns and Noble
4211 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI96816

Get Directions(808) 737-3323

One day Ray saw three Mexican’s wearing cowboy boots, hat and a pancho walk into Jose’s. The first thing that came to his mind was, “if the real Mexican’s are going there for lunch, the food must be authentic.” So the next time we were in the mood for Mexican the first thing that came to mind was Jose’s Mexican Restaurant, you know, the place where the real Mexicans go.

The chips and salsa here were free and yummy.

For starters we had three beef taquitos, $9.95. Why do taquitos always come in threes? It doesn’t seem like a practical amount to me. Anyhow, I really enjoyed my one and a half rolled taco. As you can see it really had some girth to it, which means to me more meat inside. It also came with sour cream and quacamole.

We decided to share the Chicken Fijitas, $15.95. It came with rice, beans, sour cream and totillas. Even though it wasn’t served on a sizzling skillet, I thought the fijitas had great flavor. The onions and peppers were sautted nicely and the chicken had a little kick to it from all the pepper.

By the end of our meal, we were stuffed like little pinatas. The chicken fijitas alone would of been plenty, but the taquitos were so good. I also hear they have great lunch specials to choose from, so bring the whole office gang and don’t forget to tip.

For directions click below
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Jose’s Mexican Restaurant
1134 Koko Head Ave
Honolulu, HI96816

Get Directions(808) 732-1833

Salad Creations reminds me of Subway because the whole process is like one big accembly line to the creation of your meal. You go in, pick your lettuce, choose what you want to throw in, add meat for a fee, pick a dressing, have them toss it all for you, pay and eat.

Today I decided to be a vegetarian and had the Chopped Veggie, $5.99. The menu said it came with romaine and iceberg lettuce, green bell peppers, red onions, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, corn, chickpeas, tomatoes, carrots, and croutons. As you can see, the salad came in ginormous steel bowl. I really enjoy eating out of a bowl, so I like this idea. However, as for the salad, it was pretty fucking boring. I think they try to give off the impression of being very genorous with the portions by giving a ton of lettuce and not much of anything else. I had to dig and push all the green stuff to the side just to get a bite of anything else, Also, I couldn’t find corn, mushrooms, or artichoke hearts anywhere in my salad. How do you forget three different items? The girl must of been new, or retarded.

If there had been less green stuff I think my salad could of been really enjoyable.

If having your salad tossed is really not your thing, no worries, to each his own. Just order a wrap. This is the Santa Fe Chicken Wrap, $7.99. It consisted of grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, red onions, and green bell peppers, romaine lettuce, hot sauce, croutons, and creamy ranch dressing. For a little bit extra you could make it a meal and have chips and a drink. I have no complaints with this one. I liked the size of the wrap and everything tasted fresh.

Overall I think I’m a fan. If you don’t mind a lot of lettuce then you’ll love this place. You get enough to share for around 8 bucks and they have dressings galore to choose from.

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Salad Creations 425 South Street, #104 Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 349-3333

Drum roll please. The winner for the Soup Nazi Award goes to . . . . . . . . . . . . The Green Door Cafe. The first time I got to experience her service was last year when her business was located in China Town. After the Chinese New Year parade we walked into the Green Door, because every other business around was jam packed. She was standing outside, not ready to greet us but ready to send us away, “are you guys sure you want to eat here? You didn’t see all the food stands out there?” We tell her we’re sure so she reluctantly seats us. When we finally decide what we want to eat, I politely say, “o.k. were ready to order,” as she walks by. She walks right past me like she didn’t even hear me. I’m thinking, maybe she didn’t hear me. Her tiny restaurantz is packed. At the time there were maybe 6 tables; it was a small place. I look around and realize that every table, but one or two, is in need of something, ready to order, water, napkins, wanting to pay, etc. and she is at the door in what looks like pajama pants, nonchalantly talking to someone at the door. When she’s done conversing she walks past me again, by this time we’re totally ready to order so I say a bit louder this time, “we’re ready to order.” She looks at me, and keeps on walking. Ray and Shane just laugh at me. Wow, she really was just ignoring me. So, when we finally get around to ordering, she tells us, “no, that’s not what you want, I’ll give you the fish instead.” Doesn’t ask, but tells us we don’t want what we just ordered and we’re getting the fish instead. Okay, I guess we’re getting the fish. This lady is my hero. I’m telling you the lady that owns this restaurant is famous for her brusque manorism. Another table comes in and there’s no place to seat so she takes them to our table and seat them there without asking either party if it was alright. Luckily they we’re good company. Anyhow, the food was just as incredible this time as it was back then. We actually wanted to eat at the Olive Tree this night but it was packed so we walked next door to the Green Door Cafe instead.

The new location is a lot bigger.

After skimming the menu, I was ready to order but notice the sign at the counter, “self service please order your food here,”

And right next to that sign was the infamous Soup Nazi. It was like she was too good to get up and walk to the tables and serve people. I got up to give her my order and she was seriously eating her food as she took my order, didn’t even hesitate to stop. She just kept on shoveling food in her mouth and chewing, my hero in action. I was mesmerized. While waiting for our food, we couldn’t take our eyes off of her. She took everyone’s order the same way, didn’t skip a beat, kept right on chewing.

Ordering the flat bread here is a MUST, $1.50 each. It ties in the meal perfectly and goes with everything. I comes out fresh and hot. I haven’t been able to find bread like it anywhere else on the island.

This is the Organic Mushroom Chicken and Black Pepper with Garlic Wine Sauce, $13.75. I know it looks a bit overloaded with black pepper but it didn’t taste that way at all. The mushrooms were delectable and the dish as a whole was just superb. I loved, loved it.

Who’s not a curry fan? Everybody who loves curry right? The Malaysian Chicken Curry here is complete with flavor; a truly exceptional dish. The only thing that could of made it better was the flat bread. I filled my flat bread up with curry and folded it over like a taco, orgasmic, like a love explosion in my mouth.

The Green Door Cafe is the kind of place where dealing with the service is worth the food because no matter what you order it’s guaranteed to be phenomenal. If your not a fan of Eastern Food come for the service. I’m not gonna guarantee you’ll see Soup Nazi in action but it’s possible. After my first experience at The Green Door I shared my story with a few friends and they had a story to shoot right back at me. I also mentioned her once before in one of my recent post on Cafe VIII 1/2 and I got this comment back from Ken,

“Regarding Green Door in China Town, well, the same owner opened up shop in Kahala Mall. That lady is on another level! Were to start with my dining experiment there…
(1) Some places don’t have a liquor license, right? That’s usually cool, I actually prefer it so I can bring my own. Green Door hits you with a $3/head corkage fee, yet they don’t have a liquor license…WTF
(2) God forbid it is a busy night cause that owner refuses to hire any extra help. The whole time she was running the show and boy did she seem pissed off. A smile now and then goes a long way.
Lastley,
(3) I get a hardcore elbow to the back of the head as she is rushing in between tables, NO APOLOGIES!!!

However, the food was good… go figure.”

She’s infamous I tell ya. Fuck the food, come for the service.

After our first experience with the soup nazi we were so flabbergasted that our friend Shane had to take a photo with her.

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Green Door Cafe
1145 Maunakea St
Honolulu, HI96817

Get Directions(808) 533-0606

Driving through the Haleiwa you’ll find a strip of famous shops and eateries. It’s a tourist haven and I don’t mean that in a bad way. There’s a ton of famous eateries here, like Cholos, Matsumoto Shaved Ice, Haleiwa’s Joes, Rosie’s Cantina, Spagettini, and Haleiwa Eats. Everytime we drive by I’m like, let’s eat there, but I usually get overruled and we end up getting Mexican. It’s not so bad because tacos after a day at the beach is pretty fucking phenomenal. Anyhow, today I got my way and I finally got to check out Haleiwa Eats for myself.

I walked in and was super excited, this place is totally adorable.

On the wall behind me was a decorative display of Mac Computers. Since I’m Mac 4 life I could totally appreciate the art here. My younger sisters actually had one of these, the blue one. What a great innovative, and creative way to recycle Macs.

Here, we have the Thai Summer Rolls, $5.00, fresh rice paper wrapped with veggies and served with peanut sauce. This was a vegetarian’s dream summer roll. I’m use to summer rolls with some kind of meat like, shrimp or shredded pork, but these babies were meatless. Veggies like green beans and cucumbers that I love, but am not use to seeing in a summer roll was used. The peanut sauce made me nut myself, if you know what I mean. It was different than any other peanut sauce I’ve had, like a creamy, curry, peanut your mouth kind of sauce. Fan.

I believe this is the Thai Spicy Basil, $9.00, chili basil sauce, with string beans, zuchinni and onions. The portion was kinda skimpy, but it was no doubt delicious.

After eating the summer rolls and ordering some steam rice, I had just enough to eat to satisfy my hunger and curiosity. I left with a very happy belly.

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Haleiwa Eats
66-079 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI96712

Get Directions(808) 637-4247

LA Pizza Rina is probably one of my favorite places to get pizza.

A 13″ medium pizza with two toppings cost $13.00. Not bad. But what is bad is the skimpy ass portion. Today we decided to get a medium pizza, with with three toppings instead of two. Each additional topping is only .60 cents. I had three quarters in my pocket I was planning on saving for drying my laundry when I got back home, but sometimes enjoying your meal is worth went panties. I remember the sausage was phenomenal last time so I ordered sausage, with extra sausage and pepperoni, 3 toppings right? As you can see, my wet laundry wasn’t worth it. There’s barely three pieces of sausage per slice. What a shitty deal.

Oh well, so I got sausage fucked, doesn’t change my love for them. Check out the stringy cheese on these babies. In my last post on them I mentioned the stringiness of their cheese. Here’s the proof. Love it.

We also shared the La Pizza Rina Super Sub, 12″-$.6.95. This is a better deal than Quiznos.

As you can see all three of us were able to get a generous portion. I’m not really a sandwich whore but today the sandwich surprisingly hit the spot. I think I enjoyed it more than the pizza.

Ham, salami, capicola, pepperoni and cheese with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and La Pizza Rina’s Special Sauce. If you love pizza and sandwiches you should definitely make this you next outing.

Here’s my last review on La Pizza Rina. 

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La Pizza Rina
1425 S King St
Honolulu, HI96814

Get Directions(808) 941-6634

The India House so far is the last Indian restaurant I have left to try. I may not have written on all of them, yet, but oh, I’ve been there alright. It’s kind of sad because every time I drive by business looks dead. What makes it sad is that there’s another Indian restaurant about one block down the street and they always look packed. I’m one to believe that packed places are usually packed with sheep that don’t really know any better, I also believe in sharing the love so Ray and I took our happy asses one block over to India House.

The place is really small. When we walked in no one was there. Hello, is anyone there?

We ordered the Lamb Madras, $14.75. As you can see there was a whole lot of sauce and not much meat or other stuff. The food was alright. It’s pretty hard for me to hate Indian. However, just looking at the amount of food I was really disappointed. What is it about Indian Restaurants giving the skimpiest portions here on the island and for not very cheap? It’s so disappointing. Of course Ray had to hear me bitch during dinner. “They just need to get off that high horse because it doesn’t look like business is doing so good. Maybe, just maybe if they gave more food, then they would have more business?” Anyhow, that’s how I feel about most, not all, Indian restaurants here. I feel like they give the smallest portions for a lot of money because they take advantage of the fact that there’s like 5 Indian restaurants here.

The naan was horrible and tasted microwaved. As a matter of fact, I heard the microwave go off several times during our dine in and we were one of only two tables there. Naan should come out warm, fresh, light and super soft, after all we do have to pay for it, $2.50. This was a bit stiff in the center, like it was over-baked the first time and then just left out till someone ordered some and then microwaved.

Another disappointing factor was the rice. We ordered plain rice and we got plain Chinese white rice, $3.75. Who the hell sells Chinese rice at an Indian restaurant? Great attention to details guys, and then to charge $3.75 for it. It’s a joke. I don’t know about you but when I order just plain rice at an Indian place I’m expecting Indian basmati rice. Needless to say the rice just didn’t go right with the entre.

As you can probably tell I’m definitely not a fan. Next time I’m walking with the sheep and taking my happy ass down the block.

Here’s a few more post I found. Apparently I’m not the only unhappy customer.

Trip advisor

City Search

City Search

City Search

City Search

I would of love to linked to some positive feedback but I couldn’t find any. Doesn’t surprise me. This place is a horrible example of Indian food. Shame on them for not caring about the quality of food that bares their name.

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Indian House
2633S King St # 105
Honolulu, HI96826

Get Directions(808) 955-7552