Happy Halloween!

DH's carving of our pumpkin from Aloun Farms' Pumpkin Patch.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

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Goma Tei Ramen Restaurant

Oahu has A LOT of ramen restaurants.  And they are all not created equal.  Some are more "local", some are more "authentic".  I've never been to Japan, so I personally cannot judge which ones are authentic and most closely resemble the ramen shops in Japan.  But, I can tell you which are my personal favorites, and one of them is Goma Tei Ramen Restaurant.  

The original Goma Tei restaurant is located in Ward Centre, bottom floor, on the Borders side of the Centre.  The restaurant has counter seating (which I believe is traditional in japanese ramen shops) as well as 4-person tables.  During peak meal times (lunch, dinner) there is often people waiting outside for a table/seat.  They recently opened their second location in Ala Moana Center, on the bottom floor, makai side, near the ABC store.

One of their most popular ramen is their Tan Tan ramen, shown below.  I've never tasted it, but people that I go with order it all the time, and they swear by it.  I believe it has a sesame flavor.  This is the char siu tan tan ramen - it comes with 3 generous-size pieces of char siu.

My favorite ramen is the shoyu ramen.  

One can never eat ramen without a side order of gyoza.  Very crispy, and the pi is not too thick.

Goma Tei's noodles are always cooked al dente and are never mushy or overcooked.  The broth has a lot of flavor.  If you love ramen, you must try Goma Tei.  

Ward Centre

591-9188

Ala Moana

947-9188

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Pumpkin Picking at the Aloun Farms' Pumpkin Patch

This year was the second year we went to the Pumpkin Patch at Aloun Farms.
Parking is $3.00, and admission is free.

As soon as we got there, we decided to go on the hay rides so we didn't need to wait in a long line once it started to get busier.


I believe I overheard staff say that the cost of the hay ride is $4.00 per person, but fortunately we had coupons for free hay rides.

It was a quick ride, and it was very bumpy and very dirty, but we all had a lot of fun looking at all the pumpkins.

Once the hay ride was over. it was time to look for the perfect pumpkin!

We looked and looked and looked...


We finally found a decent one which cost us $8.

This year you could also pick corn--they'd give you a bucket and you'd simply fit as much as you could inside for a very reasonable price.

There's not too many other things to do at the Pumpkin Patch. There is a booth selling snacks and produce, a few stations at which you can take pictures, a couple of carnival-type games, and a handful of kiddie-rides.

DS1 wanted to go in the bouncer so we bought a ticket: $1=1 ticket=5 minutes on the bouncer. However, you could buy a wristband for $10 for unlimited rides.

Despite how VERY hot it was, how super dirty we all got, and how the selection of pumpkins wasn't that great (and most of my friends agreed because they all had a hard time finding decent pumpkins too), we still had a nice experience, and I'm sure we'll go back next year.

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WW: Pumpkin Patch Picture Posing Problems

There were many more like these...I just could not get the two boys to look at the camera!

Photos taken at Aloun Farms.

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The Alley Restaurant

After hearing so much about their Tasty Chicken, I finally went to The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl to see for myself just how tasty it is.

Everyone who told me I should try the Tasty Chicken did not steer me wrong--the chicken is super good! It tasted like it had a garlic-type sauce that reminded me of another restaurant's famous garlic chicken, but the Tasty Chicken was a bit spicier. Overall the Tasty Chicken was one of the best chicken dishes I've had anywhere in a long time.

DH ordered the Pulehu Steak and Onions and he really enjoyed his lunch too.

Although the food was really, really good, the service was not so good.

We arrived just before 11am, and it wasn't crowded. After we sat down at a table, the server brought us the menus. I already knew I was going to get the Tasty Chicken, and while DH perused the menu, one of the servers brought us water. In just a few minutes DH decided what he wanted to order, so we waited for the server to come back to take our order.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

There were two servers in back of us prepping some supplies on a table, and I thought for sure one would come and take our order since we looked ready, with menus closed, and several minutes had passed.

But nope. No one came.

Since it was our first time at The Alley, and the servers weren't taking our orders, I thought maybe we had to go up to the counter to place our order. So I asked the servers behind us if we were supposed to go to the counter, and they said "Oh, no." Then one of them came to take our orders after apologizing.

Unfortunately, even after we got our food it was a constant lack of service. Usually when we dine out, the servers notice when water needs to be refilled or that we're done eating and would like our check or a box for leftovers without having to ask.

But not at The Alley.

And it wasn't happening only to us.

I constantly heard other customers tell the servers how a drink wasn't received, or that an order was wrong, or they were done with their meal and wanted to get dessert or their check.

And it's not like The Alley was short-staffed.

It's unfortunate that the service was lacking, since the food is so good.

I would definitely take-out or cater from The Alley in the future, but until the service improves, I won't be dining in.

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WW: New Friends from the Pumpkin Patch

Photo taken at Aloun Farms.

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Orchids

Once a year, to celebrate our anniversary, DH and I splurge on ourselves and enjoy a wonderful brunch at Orchids at Halekulani.

It is very pricey-$55 a person (which is why we only go once a year), but it's definitely worth it. The food is sooooo good, the atmosphere is beautiful, and the customer service is beyond excellent.

There are so many different kinds of food--sushi, prime rib, salads, desserts, but each year I eat the same things.

I always start off with breakfast.

I love their potatoes. On this day they were serving Roasted Potatoes with Chorizo. Even though I don't eat chorizo, they weren't really big chunks so I still got to enjoy the potatoes.

I also ate lots of bacon!

I also enjoy their chicken--delicious and flavorful.

That's what usually fills my first plate--rice, bacon, potatoes, and chicken.

Then I get my second plate--a salad.

And more potatoes and bacon!

Halekulani's salads and all of the toppings are just so fresh. I love their salads.

While I'm enjoying my salad and breakfast foods, DH is enjoying all kinds of other foods. Fortunately he eats almost anything, so he enjoyed everything that I don't eat, such as seafood and prime rib.

And he always hits the omelette bar.

He usually asks the chef to prepare the omelette "chef's choice"--with whatever ingredients the wants.

Of course, my favorite part of brunch is the desserts!

Surprisingly I didn't go for any of the chocolate desserts, but I love cheesecake so I had to have a piece. I believe this was a mango cheesecake, and I also ate the carrot cake. Both were DELICIOUS.

Even though I was nearly stuffed, I still had room for ice cream!

The ice cream bar offers a few flavors and a lot of toppings.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Oreo Cookie Crumbles.

DH's Vanilla Ice Cream with Lilikoi Sauce.

As we dined we enjoyed the beautiful views...

Diamond Head was blocked by a shade, but the views were still beautiful.

We also enjoyed beautiful music by a harpist and flutist.

Here are a few more photos from the brunch.

You can also dine at Orchids for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but what they're best known for is their Sunday Brunch.

I already can't wait for next year...

Orchids 2199 Kalia Rd., Honolulu, HI 96815 (808) 923-2311

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Mililani Restaurant

When I'm in the Mililani area and hungry for fried noodles, there's only one place that can satisfy my craving--Mililani Restaurant.

Fried Saimin: For only 6.79, the plate was FULL of delicious fried saimin. Even DH commented that they really gave a lot. Of course I couldn't finish it. DH ended up eating some and I ate the rest for dinner.

Mixed Plate #2-Teriyaki Chicken and Mahi: DH enjoyed his lunch as well. I had a piece of the chicken teriyaki and it was quite tasty!

I've tried other dishes from Mililani Restaurant, but their Fried Saimin is the dish I like the best and usually the only thing I'll order from there.

If you're in the area and craving some fried saimin, or if you need to cater for your next gathering, check out Mililani Restaurant!

Mililani Restaurant 95-221 Kipapa Dr, Mililani, HI 96789 (808) 625-2000

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WW: Giant Happy Meal

Photo taken at Children and Youth Day (I have no idea what's in the Happy Meal. The line was toooooo long and there was no way my boys wanted to stand in the line).

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Sushi-Ten Waikele Restaurant

It was a girls-night-out dinner (well, two of the girls brought their own little girls, but technically it was still "girls-night"!) at Sushi-Ten Waikele Restaurant located on the grounds of the Waikele Country Club

The last two times I went there I ordered a teishoku combination with two different kinds of chicken, but this time I wanted to try something different. So after browsing through their pretty extensive menu, the garlic miso chicken sounded appealing.

I asked the server if she thought it was good, and she said "I think so, I think it's better than (a popular local restaurant chain's) garlic miso chicken, but it does have the skin on."

When she said it was skin-on chicken, I was ready to change my mind, but since she said it was better than (a popular local restaurant chain's) garlic miso chicken, I decided to give it a try.

The garlic miso chicken didn't look very appetizing, but it was actually really delicious. DH even had the leftovers the next day and he agreed it tasted quite good!

And was it better than the other restaurant's? I only tried the other restaurant's garlic miso chicken once, and it was a long time ago, but I can say that it was very comparable in terms of taste!

The other girls' dinners:

Hamburger Steak: Even back when I used to eat beef I never ate a hamburger steak, but this looked really good!

Nabeyaki Udon: I don't know even what nabeyaki means, but this looked really good too!

Teriyaki Chicken and Tonkatsu Teishoku: Another delicious-looking meal.

The little girls finished their dinners off with ice cream!

An interesting tidbit--during dinner, the little girls noticed playing cards on the very, very high ceiling! I never noticed them before, but when I asked our server, she said a magician did it a while ago.

I guess maybe only the magician can get them down?

Although my meal looked the least appetizing out of everyone else's meals, it was really good, and the server did not steer me wrong.

I'm sure I'll be back to Sushi-Ten. I would definitely eat the garlic miso chicken again...or maybe I'll try the nabeyaki udon (but first I'll have to find out what nabeyaki means).

Sushi-Ten Waikele Restaurant, 94-200 Paioa Place #2, Waipahu, HI 96797, 808-676-1199

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