A Taste of BLT Market's New Executive Chef Johnattan Hernandez's Cuisine

Executive Chef Johnattan Hernandez

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach's BLT Market recently welcomed its new Chef de Cuisine, Johnttan Hernandez. Hernandez is no stranger to the Ritz-Carlton brand, having begun his career at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia while studying culinary arts at The Art Institute of Pennsylvania. The Puerto Rico native's accomplishments and accolades are many (gold and silver medal placements in group and individual competitions, Caribbean Chef of the Year honors, Hall of Fame membership in the national Taste of the Caribbean culinary competition, to name a few) and I was fortunate to have been invited to a dinner to get a sneak preview taste of his cuisine.

Brazilian Cheese Bread

Amuse Bouche - Tapioca rice cracker, purple cabbage & avocado puree

Salmon - Maui pineapple, fried nori, soy merenge

Empanadas - Molokai short rib, sweet plantain, truffle aioli

Bone - Molokai beef bone marrow, salsa verde, Ili`ili Farms radish

Beets - Sweet Land Farm goat cheese, Nalo Farm arugula, Manoa honey comb

Pork - 48 hour press belly, pala`ai puree, avocado, purple cabbage

Intermezzo - guava sorbet, Kohana rum

Ora King - Miso trumpets, taro, local sea asparagus

Lemon - Lilikoi curd, black sesame sponge, merengue

I had so many favorites of the evening.  I loved the Empanadas - tender Molokai short rib contrasted nicely with the crispy shell.  The plaintains and truffle aioli gave the dish a nice sweet and savory dimension.

The melt-in-your-mouth Molokai beef bone marrow was another highlight.  The salsa verde and Ili`ili Farms radish elevated the already delightful dish.

I also really enjoyed the 48-hour press pork belly.  The multi-layered, multi-textured piece of pork was just so full of flavor!  

The Ora King salmon was also amazing.  I am not a huge fan of salmon, but this premium salmon from New Zealand was simply delicious!  I also couldn't get enough of the miso trumpets - I could eat an entire dish of those mushrooms!

The Lemon dessert was playful and pleasant, reminiscent of the "lemon peel" I grew up eating as a kid.  

Dinner was fantastic, and I appreciated how each course incorporated locally-sourced ingredients.

BLT Market's new menu will be launching October 9, and I can't wait to go back to try out more of Chef Johnattan Hernandez's dishes!

BLT Market
383 Kalaimoku St
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 729-9729

BLT Market is located on the 8th floor lobby level of The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach and offers up to four hours of validated valet parking to guests visiting the restaurant. 

1st Fridays at Mililani High School

For the first time our family went to 1st Fridays at Mililani High School.  I really wanted to go just to finally try Guava Smoked's (a client) Fried Rice, but there were a lot of other great food vendors and food trucks.

Guava Smoked's Fried Rice

The Fried Rice from Guava Smoked is sooooo good!  I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It was so full of flavor with chunks of delicious smoked meat.  As I walked through the lot people were asking me where I got the Fried Rice from!

Some other eats we ordered:

Dynamite Katsu from Grinds 2 Da Max

Shave Ice from Island's Finest Shave Ice

Uncle Lani's Poi Mochi

Everything we ordered was so good!  My kids loved the shaved ice, and it was our first time trying the poi mochi - so yummy!

There are no places to sit at the event, so a lot of people order to go or find a place to sit along the sidewalk.

It was a great event to try some delicious eats!

The next event is October 6!

Palazzo Ristorante Italiano

I've been to Palazzo Ristorante Italiano several times before, and I always thought the food and service were great.  It's been a few years since I last went there, and I'm happy to say that the food and service are both still excellent!

Complimentary Bread

Chicken Alla Saltimbocca

Fresh Fish Alla Piccata

Linguine Meat Sauce

Linguine Combination

Strawberry Sorbet

Chocolate Gelato

Tiramisu

I ordered my usual - Chicken Saltimbocca.  It was fantastic!  The entire dish was so flavorful - loved the butter wine sauce!

The Linguine Combination comes with both a meatball and sausage.

There are no kids menus, but I ordered the Linguine Meat Sauce for two of my kids to share, and the server brought out two dishes of the pasta already portioned!  I thought that was so nice of her.

The restaurant was really crowded that evening with lots of large parties, but the service never faltered.

We had a great dinner at Palazzo!

Palazzo Ristorante Italiano

99-080 Kauhale St. C2&3

Aiea, HI 96701

808-485-8688

Visit Boston: Regina Pizzeria

When asked about popular pizza spots in Boston, my SIL's SO mentioned Regina Pizzeria, so luckily there was a location at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, where we were nearby one evening.

Cheese Pizza

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pepperoni

Meatball & Prosciutto

We took advantage of Value Combos which included two slices of pizza and a drink.

The pizzas were huge and were indeed delicious.  

The thin crust pizzas were loaded with toppings.  My fave was the BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Everyone devoured their slices, and I'm glad we got to try out this popular Boston pizza chain!

Regina Pizzeria
Faneuil Hall Marketplace
226 N Market St,
Boston, MA 02109
(617) 742-1713

$7 Lunch at 88 Supermarket

Can you believe this only cost $7? Yep, $7! And you could actually get more depending on how hungry you think you are.

Thanks to Frolic Hawaii, I  learned about this $7 lunch which is available at 88 Supermarket on Keeaumoku Street, Monday - Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.  Here's the deal:

The line starts to the right of the buffet line. Pay the cashier $7 cash, take your paper plate and two bowls, and pile it on.  Here's what was on the buffet line today:

To the left of the buffet line was a pot of rice and two different kinds of korean soups.

According to the sign on the wall, "YOU WILL GET A FINE IF YOU THROW AWAY FOOD", so you have to be careful to take only what you can eat.

You are only allowed to go through the buffet line ONCE, so while you don't want to take too much food (because you can get fined for throwing it away), you don't want to regret not taking enough either.

Also, you are not allowed to take the food "to-go", yet there aren't a lot of tables for eating, so be prepared to sit with strangers (my friend and I ended up meeting a really nice lady who sat with us), and be prepared to eat standing up if there aren't any open seats when you get your food.

I didn't come here with high expectations, after all, it is only $7, but I was very impressed with the selection and taste of the food.  I would definitely dine here again!

88 Supermarket

835 Keeaumoku Street

(808) 941-1300

Breakfast at Dots

It's been a while since our family has been to Dots in Wahiawa.  The last time we visisted was over 3 years ago for dinner.  We recently visited the popular Wahiawa spot for breakfast.

Dot's Special Omelet with Fried Rice

Japanese Breakfast

Hot Cakes

Side Bacon

I had the Special Omelet, which consisted of SPAM, kamaboko, and green onions. It was a very tasty omelet! The fried rice was really good too.

The Japanese breakfast includes one egg, miso soup, rice, tsukemono, and tea. You can also opt to add salmon or saba.

The food was satisfying, and although our server was friendly, overall service was extremely slow, and the restaurant was not crowded.

Hopefully next time service will be much better!
 
Dots
130 Mango Street
Wahiawa, HI 96786
808-622-4115

WW: Tokyo

Visit Big Island: Hawaii Calls Restaurant & Lounge

Located on the grounds of the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa is the newly refreshed Hawaii Calls Restaurant & Lounge, where our family dined for both breakfast and dinner.

During breakfast, a buffet is offered, but we decided to order from the menu.

Keiki Waffles

Keiki Stack Pancakes

Broken Yolk Sandwich

Katsu Loco

I didn't hesitate to order the Katsu Loco - two eggs topped a breaded chicken cutlet, all atop rice, and everything was smothered with Maui onion gravy.  I thought the chicken was a bit underseasoned, but overall it was a tasty and satisfying dish.  Three other people in my family had to help me finish it!

The Broken Yolk Sandwich consists of two eggs, bacon, and cheddar between sourdough.  

Keiki meals come with a drink, and I thought the meals were reasonably-priced, especially considering the location.

On Fridays and Saturdays, a Prime Rib and Crab buffet is offered, but again we decided to order from the menu.

Mahi Mahi

Won Ton Furikake Ahi

Potatoes

Keiki Pasta

Keiki Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

Kea`au Caramelized Banana Split

Keiki Brownie

The mahi was macadamia nut crusted and served with an amazing lilikoi buerre blanc sauce.  You can order it with either rice or potatoes.

The Keiki lunch and dinner menu includes a drink and a brownie!

For dessert, we indulged in the Kea`au Caramelized Banana Split.  Homemade vanilla ice cream, pineapple compote, caramelized banana, and Waimea strawberries were drizzled in fudge, and accompanied by a Belgian waffle.  The sundae was fantastic on its own, but consuming spoonfuls of the ice cream, fruit, and waffle together - it was even more amazing.

Service was great throughout both breakfast and dinner.

Kama`aina - don't forget to show your ID for a discount!

Hawaii Calls Restaurant & Lounge
Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
69-275 Waikoloa Beach Dr

Waikoloa Village, HI 96738
(808) 886-6789