New to Pearlridge: Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle

Ready to go: Vegetable and Tofu rice noodles soup

My sister loves her noodles so we were excited to try Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle that opened their first Hawaii location at Pearlridge Center.  The restaurant is a China-based chain that has over 70 locations in North America. They are known for serving Chinese Yunnan rice noodle in a variety of broths, including spicy Szechuan, pork, chicken and spicy-sour.

The menu offers your choice of rice noodle bowls that are served with ten side dishes.  You can even choose to share and order add-ons.  The menu also offers ready to go bowls as well as appetizers. Their sister restaurant is Cloud 9 Cafe so you will be able to order their delicious fruit and milk teas and their amazing souffle pancakes. If you appreciate souffle pancakes, you know that they take awhile so be sure to order them early.  We ordered ours at the same time as our meal and we got them perfectly timed for dessert.

The kids were super excited for boba drinks at lunch.

Our Szechuan Mala spicy soup came with the 10 sides and noodles. 

We added the beef brisket.

First, you'll add the beef and lettuce to the soup followed by the other ingredients and stir well. Add the noodles last and wait ten seconds and then enjoy!

Be sure to save room for souffle pancakes!

Matcha with red bean

Chocolate with oreo chip souffle pancake

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Build Your Own Ramen

We wanted to treat the grandparents to dinner, and since Build Your Own Ramen is close to their house, we thought it would be the perfect place to take them. I had a hunch they would love it, and they did.

At Build Your Own Ramen, you do just that - build your own bowl of ramen, starting with the veggies, dumplings, tofu, sausages, etc. 

The twins as well as the grandparents got a kick out of being able to pick your own ingredients. 

You can also add meats such as pork belly, beef or chicken for an extra charge - you really don't need to add these, because you can make a decent bowl of ramen with what's available in the display cases.

You then take your basket to the cashier and select your broth and noodles/rice. The cashier will weigh your basket and charge you by the 1/2 pound. Your basket must weight a minimum of 1/2 a pound (as of the date of this post, each half pound costs $11, therefore you will be spending a minimum of $11 on your bowl of ramen).

Here's what my bowl of ramen looked like. It was a lot bigger than it looks - definitely enough for two people to share - and I did ... with one of my sons (he likes fishcake and noodles).

The other son was not in the mood for noodles or soup. Luckily this restaurant has a side order menu, so we ordered a plate of chicken katsu for him. 

And here is the REAL reason I wanted to come here ....

every meal comes with free shave ice with all the fixins' - boba, almond tofu, fruit jellies, etc! I was in heaven. The grandparents couldn't believe how big the bowl was (it's one bowl per party)! We didn't tell the boys about the shave ice until after they had finished their dinners, otherwise they would not have eaten their dinner!

Build Your Own Ramen

Pearl Kai Shopping Center

98-199 Kamehameha Highway

(808) 379-2088

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Kogi Aina

I've had Kogi Aina on my list of places to try for a while, and although it's about a ten minute drive from my house, I never made it down here until this past weekend. 

The restaurant is located on busy Kahuhipa Street, in the heart of Kaneohe town. They have a few parking stalls on the side of the restaurant which fills up quickly, but you can also parking on the street or at nearby Koa Pancake House after 5 pm.

Kogi Aina is mostly known for their hot pot. You can either go the AYCE (all you can eat) route for a set price (90 minute time limit), or ala carte. 

Here's how the hot pot works - choose your broth, choose your meats (if you so choose), then head on over to the large refrigerator cases and select your vegetables, noodles, and miscellaneous ingredients such as arabiki sausage, gyoza, pork meatballs, etc. 

Don't forget to check out the sauce bar and fill your saucers with different dipping sauces.

It wasn't long before our broth was delivered to our table, along with the meats we ordered (chicken and rib eye). 

Once our broth started to get hot, we started adding our ingredients.

The cooking process is quick, which is great when you have hungry kids (or adults!).

We also ordered a side of fried mandoo - these were amazing! They were very plump and juicy.

At the end of our meal, we received a large bowl of shave ice - this was definitely the highlight of the meal for our twins.

We will definitely be returning here, and we will go the AYCE route the next time around!

They participate in the Fivestars rewards program, so be sure to mention it if you are a member!  We saved 10% on our first visit.

KOGI AINA

46-138 Kahuhipa St.

(808) 369-7122

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Nabe Now Available for Lunch at Minori Craft Japanese Tavern

The Hawaii Mom Blog team was invited to Minori Craft Japanese Tavern, which officially opened earlier this year. 

They offer appetizers, lunch set menus (1 or 2 choices), bowls, noodles, sushi, sashimi, and even a kids menu!

And starting today, the Minori Beautifying Hot Pot will now be available for lunch!  Previously only available for dinner, the popular nabe, consisting of Minori's Collagen Broth, made from a white chicken stock soup, can be ordered with chicken, pork belly, prime ribeye, or beef tripe.  The soup comes in original chicken paitan, spicy miso, or sukiyaki flavors.  All-you-can-eat salad bar is included with the nabe.  For an additional cost, you can order add-ons such as udon, ramen, seafood, and gyoza.

All-you-can-eat Locally Grown Salad Bar

The salad bar, although small, features a rotating selection of locally-grown produce from Ho Farms.

Our first stop was the salad bar, where we selected cucumbers, tomatoes, string beans, eggplant, lettuce, and watermelon radish for our nabe.

Once we added the veggies and proteins into the soup, we couldn't wait to try it out!

We were given the Original Chicken Paitan broth, something that Nat and I agreed that we would not have initially chosen for ourselves, but we are so glad we tried it.  It was so delicious and comforting.  

We were running low on broth, and a server poured in more broth and encouraged us to get more veggies from the all-you-can-eat salad bar.  You can definitely get full from the flavorful soup and veggies.

We also tried a few other specialty dishes:

BBQ Harami

Housemade Cold Aloha Tofu

Kakuni Pork Belly

Nat and I both loved the silky, soft Tofu, and I loved the Pork Belly.  I ate nearly the entire dish by myself, whereas Nat preferred the BBQ Harami (and ate nearly that entire dish all by herself).

Polar Bear Shave Ice

For dessert, we were treated to the Polar Bear Shave Ice (available for dinner only).  It was yummy and refreshing!

Service was great, and I'm eager to return to try new dishes!

Minori Craft Japanese Tavern
1731 Kalakaua Ave

Honolulu, HI 96826

Thank you to the sponsor for hosting our meal.  Gratuity was paid on our own.

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Umamiya Shabu Shabu Now Has Yakiniku!

Complimentary meals were provided for review purposes.  All opinions are my own.  Gratuity was paid on our own.

Umamiya Shabu Shabu, known for serving quality food comprised of 70% Japanese style, 20% Korean flavors, and 10% local influence, has added a new item to their menu - YAKINIKU!

And for a limited time, you can try it out for only $19.95 on Wednesdays!  

By pure coincidence, I was in the process of planning a girls' night out in October at Umamiya Shabu Shabu, when HMB received an invitation to preview Umamiya's Yakiniku! 

Each Yakiniku set comes with fresh seasoned cabbage salad ...

 house soup ...

assorted veggies (mushrooms, round onion, bell peppers, kabocha, zucchini, garlic, steamed rice, salt + pepper sesame sauce, and choice of meat combination:

• Rib eye and chicken
• Skirt steak and chicken
• Rib eye and prawns
• BBQ pork and chicken

Gem ordered the chicken and pork set ... 

and I ordered the Rib eye and pork (which was not listed on the menu but is available if you ask for it)

Once our cast iron grill arrived, it was time to start cooking. Our server recommended starting with the veggies first, however I added a few pieces of meat so that the oil from the meat would lube up the grill. 

If you're wondering why there are slices of bread in there, it's to soak up the excess oil from the  meat. At first I didn't get it, but as we added more meat to the grill, the oil started flowing, and that's when it all made sense!

The meat cooks quickly, so be sure to watch it carefully and remove it promptly once your desired level of doneness is achieved. 

I wanted to take a picture of my meal cooked in its entirety but I was just too hungry to wait, so here's a picture of some grilled pork, onions, and a slice of red bell pepper.   Don't forget to dip everything in the salt + pepper sesame sauce before you take a bit - so delicious!  

When my plate of raw food first arrived, I thought I'd still be hungry after all is said and done, but to my surprise, I was struggling to finish it all because I felt so full. The rib eye and pork was an excellent combination - I highly recommend it!

You can order Yakiniku any day of the week (except on Mondays when they are closed), but come on Wednesday evening to get it at the introductory price of only $19.95!

UMAMIYA SHABU SHABU

580 N. Nimitz Highway

(808) 367-1388

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Umamiya Shabu Shabu

Complimentary sets were provided for review purposes. 

Hawaii Restauranteur Peter Kim, who is most famous for his chain of Yummy Korean BBQ fast-food restaurants, The Signature steakhouse, and Liliha Bakery, has branched out into the hot pot scene with Umamiya Shabu Shabu, which opened earlier this year.  It's located on Nimitz Highway, right next door to his second Liliha Bakery location.  

The interior design is very modern, sleek, and spacious.

They even have four private rooms for larger groups (great if you have kids).

Right now they're running a Grand Opening Shabu Shabu special - your choice of U.S. Choice Rib Eye or Kurobuta Pork Belly dinner sets for $19.  They also have happy hour prices on appetizers and alcoholic beverages from 4:30-6:00. 

Since we were famished, we started off a few appetizers:

Seafood Pancake

Agedashi Tofu

Prime Beef Bites

I would definitely order the Prime Beef Bites and Seafood Pancake again, especially at those happy hour prices! 

Soon after our appetizers arrived, our broths were delivered to our table and poured into our hot pots. We each ordered a different broth off of the menu.

Top: miso broth | Bottom: house broth

Top: Spicy Miso | Bottom: Paitan broth

I opted for the U.S. Choice Rib Eye set.  

It came with a generous amount of colorful "umami rich" vegetables.

I like how they plate the beef on a separate plate.  You can tell the meat is high quality just by looking at it.

My hubby ordered the Kurobuta Pork Belly set. Same vegetables, but instead of beef, he got pork.

All sets come with rice, ponzu and goma dipping sauces, and your choice of zosui (sweet rice and egg) or udon. 

The shabu shabu set is both delicious and very filling! 

We ended our meal with their refreshing yuzu sorbet topped with sweet Azuki beans (the only item on the dessert menu).  

I must say, you can really taste the difference in the quality of ingredients between Umamiya Shabu Shabu and other hot pot places.  And the operation itself is classy and elegant - from the service, to the presentation, to the professionalism of the staff.  Sauces and beverages were promptly refilled and all of our needs were taken care of.  

If you are a fan of hot pot, you'll love Umamiya Shabu Shabu!

For reservations, go to OpenTable.com or call (808) 367-1388.  Open nightly 4:30 pm - 10:00 pm.

Umamiya Shabu Shabu

580 North Nimitz Highway

(808) 367-1388

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