Mad Pie

Madly Craving Pizza: Our First Visit to Mad Pie

It was Labor Day Monday, and my husband had a mad craving for pizza. The pizza place he really wanted to go to was closed on Mondays. So I did what I usually do when we need a Plan B—I started searching Yelp.

That’s how I came across Mad Pie in Kakaʻako. I had never been before, but the pictures looked good, so we decided to give it a try.

As soon as you walk in, you’re greeted by a display of pizzas and cannolis. And let me tell you, everything looked GOOD. 

It definitely got us excited to see what we were going to order.

The boys immediately knew what they wanted—cheese pizza, of course. My husband went with the Spinach Garlic Tomato slice, and I ordered the Fungo, which came highly recommended.  We also decided to get a Caesar salad to share.

The salad came out first, which was nice to snack on while we waited for our pizza slices to come out of the oven. The only thing I would change next time is asking for the dressing on the side. It was a little heavy on the dressing for my taste.

Then the pizza arrived and we dove right in. The crust is made with sourdough, and it was exactly how I like my pizza crust: thin and crispy. The Fungo was delicious, and my husband was very happy with his choice too.

Even the boys, who are pretty predictable when it comes to pizza, loved their cheese slices. And apparently, they loved my crust too because they kept asking for pieces of it! 

For dessert, I had my eye on the cannoli. I wanted to try the plain vanilla, so we ordered one to share. Well, the boys took one look in the box and decided they both wanted it, so they split it right down the middle and loved it.

They were nice enough to let me have a small bite so I could taste it—and yep, delish! I may have to get my own next time. 

I'm really glad we ended up trying Mad Pie.  Would definitely recommend and would absolutely go back!

MAD PIE

516 KEAWE STREET

 

Read More

Authentic Thai Food at Thai MK Cuisine at Fishcake Hawaii

I love Thai food so I jumped at the opportunity for a media tasting at one of Fishcake Hawaii's newest additions, Thai MK Cuisine. Run by husband and wife team, Mitch and Yuki, Thai MK Cuisine promises to serve its customers authentic Thai taste every first and third Thursday. Go early as it gets busy and you'll catch chef Yuki in action; cooking up each delicious dish with care while Mitch handles customers' orders and putting the finishing touches on dishes before serving.

At the tasting, I tried the homemade Thai tea which was just the perfect sweetness and really refreshing. I also tried the pad thai, tom yum shrimp, and pad see ew. I've had pad thai and tom yum many times before, but Thai MK Cuisine's version was a thousand times better. The flavors are much fuller and richer than what I have previously tried. I'm pretty new to the dish pad see ew - flat fried noodles served with eggs and kale - but I loved it. The chewy texture of the noodles and the special homemade Thai sauce makes it a must-have for me!

Follow them on IG @thaimkcuisine for menu updates and dm them for pre-orders!

Homemade Thai Tea served cold. 

Pad Thai - chicken, crispy pork, or shrimp - fried noodles served with tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, peanuts, chives, mixed with a special homemade thai sauce. Very tasty!

Tom Yum Shrimp - tangy, creamy soup served with shrimp, mushrooms, shallots, lemongrass, dried chili, lime, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, mixed with thai herbs and a side of Jasmine rice. Perfection!

Pad See Ew (chicken, pork, or vegetarian) - flat, fried noodles served with garlic, eggs, kale, mixed with a special homemade thai sauce. Get it before it sells out!

Thank you Yuki and Mitch of Thai MK Cuisine!

Thai MK Cuisine
Fishcake Hawaii
307c Kamani Street
Honolulu, HI 

     

Read More

Hokkaido Ramen Natsuboshi

Located in the Market Eatery in HMart in Kaka`ako, Hokkaido Ramen Natsuboshi offers ramens and rice bowls.

Karaage Rice Bowl

The Karaage Rice Bowl featured several large pieces of juicy, fried chicken, and a soft-boiled egg.

The karaage chicken was some of the tastiest I've ever had!  The chicken was perfectly cooked, and served with tartar sauce.

I thought it was nice how they gave an extra egg because the original egg "broke."  It was totally unnecessary, but a really nice gesture!

I'd definitely order this again next time I'm at HMart!

Hokkaido Ramen Natsuboshi
HMart
458 Keawe St 2nd Floor

Honolulu, HI 96813

 

Read More

Goldmiss

Goldmiss is located in HMart in Kaka`ako, and specializes in mochi donuts, milk teas, and sandwiches.

My kids got a Milk Tea + Bacon Cheese Bite Sandwich combo.

Milk Tea with Honey Boba for extra

They wrapped the sandwich up in plastic wrap to-go and the cheese melted all over, but it was still a great sandwich that the kids ate up.

We also picked up so mochi donuts:

Strawberry

Mango

Chocolate

OREO

I was a bit annoyed that they worked on an order of someone that ordered after us, which meant we had an unnecessarily long wait, but the employee was apologetic.

Despite that, I appreciated how much time was spent in packaging our order, and the kids enjoyed the food, drink, and donuts. 

Goldmiss
458 Keawe St

Honolulu, HI 96813

Read More

HONOBONO: Japanese Plant Based Food

HONOBONO pops up twice a month at Fishcake Hawaii and serves thoughtful plant based meals and drinks. Their mission is to share their products with people who want a fun, delicious, and easy way to incorporate plant based food into their lives, and they always try to buy from local farmers and shops.

This month of November they are serving a very satisfying HONOKEEMA curry set using HONOBONO original gluten-free koji curry paste made with five kinds of spices, fruits, vegetables, and koji; simmered with mushrooms, onions, tomato, konbuk kelp, and shiitake mushrooms. Amazingly the curry is topped with a very believable HONOBONO vegan egg yolk. The curry set is paired with a mini soup and salad of the day and a small bite of mochi. 

We also got the Imo Frappe - a plant-based version of Starbucks sweet potato Frappuccino and the Aki- amazake with raspberry purée, unsweetened strawberry, sparkling soda with premium uji matcha from Japan. 

Watch HONOBONO’s IG for news of upcoming pop-ups and message them for reservations. Chef and owner Himi is the sweetest and the meals are unique and delicious. The pop up is cute and casual. You’ll want to make HONOBONO a repeat experience.  

Read More

K-Mex HI

We recently ordered takeout from Korean / Mexican fusion spot K-Mex HI in Kaka`ako.

Mojo Chicken Bowl

I had the Mojo Chicken Bowl, which was full of cilantro and citrus marinated chicken, Mexican rice, beans, onion, cheese, sour cream, and kim chee salsa.  I thought the bowl was very filling, but a bit underseasoned.  The combination of Mexican and Korean flavors was nice and complementing, and I thought overall the dish leaned more towards Mexican vs Korean, whereas some of the other dishes, like the Torta, leaned towards more Korean.

Beef Bulgogi Burrito

Beef Bulgogi Bowl

Kim Chee Salsa

Queso

I really liked the Queso, which they made fresh!

Chips

Beef Bulgogi Tacos

Spicy Pork Bulgogi Torta

Our family enjoyed the Korean / Mexican fusion dishes, 

K-Mex HI
961 Kawaiahao Street

Honolulu, Hawaii 96814

Read More

Holey Grail Donuts

It's been about a year since Holey Grail opened its flagship shop in Kakaako (Aeo Building in Ward Village). It's a much bigger and brighter space than their previous Honolulu location. I am amazed at how much they're grown since their humble beginnings as a food truck on the island of Kauai. They still have the original truck on Kauai (and another truck in Kapaʻa), but they also on Oahu, and in Los Angeles!

Last weekend I was at Ward Village for lunch, and decided on a whim to visit their flagship store (which I had never been to before) to buy a box of donuts to enjoy at home.  I downloaded the Holey Grail app on my phone and was pleasantly surprised to receive a $5 reward for creating a new account. 

Donuts are made to order, therefore, I highly suggest ordering ahead using their app.  You can also order online.

The flavors for the Tasting Box changes weekly. Pictured above are the flavors for this particular week.

The dough is made of taro and fried in coconut oil, and they use locally sourced ingredients as much as possible.  

These donuts are very unique - I can honestly say you can't find a similar product elsewhere. I like how each donut is carefully crafted and presented, making a box great for gifting or bringing to a party.

Best place to park is in the building that Wholefoods is in, or the parking lot underneath Dave & Busters.

___________________________

HOLEY GRAIL 
1001 Queen Street
808-482-0311

 

Read More

Panya Bistro & Bakery

We weren't planning to dine at Panya Bistro for dinner, but the place that we wanted to go to was closed for the day (we weren't aware until we got to the door and saw the "closed for cleaning" sign!), and so we decided to walk a block to Panya, which turned out to be the best meal I had all week!

Here's what we ordered:

Garlic Toast Crostini with Panya crab salad

Sauteed Cubed Steak w/Onion

Fried Chicken

Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti

Garlic Butter Pasta

Plain Ramen

 You could probably tell the garlic butter pasta and plain ramen were for the kids. These were on the "side order" menu and priced at $10 and $9 respectively. I like that they offer plain versions of these noodle dishes for a lower price, because my kids (like most kids) prefer noodles to be plain and simple. 

Everything else was delicious and I would recommend them all! I wish we had ordered dessert .. Panya is known for their desserts! But, the kids wanted something more simple, so we skipped the dessert.  

They have a great outdoor seating area, and customer parking in the Hokua building. Take-out is available!

Closed on Mondays.

_____________________

PANYA BISTRO & BAKERY
1288 Ala Moana Blvd.
808-946-6388

Read More

85ºC Bakery Café now open at Ala Moana Center

85ºC Bakery Café opened its first location in Hawaii on October 25 at Ala Moana Center. I had never been to an 85ºC Bakery Café before (even though they have over 1,000 locations world-wide!), and I could not wait to check it out! I went on a weekday with my two sons and it took us about half an hour to get through the line. It was so worth it!

Here's what I bought on my first visit:

Milk Toast

Hokkaido Custard Bun

Coconut Custard Sponge Roll

Cinnamon Twist

Brioche (highly recommend!)

Mochi Egg Tart

My favorite items from today's haul were the brioche and Hokkaido custard bun. Their brioche (the bun is also made with brioche) is so pillowy soft and it just melts in your mouth. My least favorite was the cinnamon twist - it was very crunchy and dry. I really wanted to try their smoothies and bubble drinks, but I had to save those for my next visit.

85ºC Bakery Café is currently in a soft opening phase, open daily from 10 am - 3 pm. Located on the Hookipa Terrace side of Ala Moana Center, in the space formerly occupied by Pearl Ultra Nightclub.

_________________________

85ºC Bakery Café  
1450 Ala Moana Center (

Read More