Uncle's Chicken

We weren't planning to eat fried chicken for dinner. We were actually picking up take-out for my mom in a nearby restaurant when we spotted Uncle's Chicken and the son asked if we could pop in to see what was on the menu. Apparently Uncle's has been open for a couple of years but this was the first time we've noticed it!

The restaurant was empty when we arrived. It was only 4 pm in the afternoon, so maybe it's just a slow time for them (hopefully!). 

The restaurant was very clean and there were a few tables for customers who want to dine-in. 

The boys wanted to try the strawberry mango slush while we waited for our order. We would return just for the slush - it was very refreshing!!

We ordered the 10 piece original party wings. The chicken wings were piping hot when we got them! The outside was very crispy, and the inside .. very juicy.  We felt that the wings had a hint of spiciness to it (even though we ordered the original), and that could be the reason why my sons weren't going crazy over it.

While we wouldn't go out of our way for their chicken wings, we would definitely stop by for a slush if in the area. 

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UNCLE'S CHICKEN
1311 NORTH KING STREET
808-888-0918

 

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U.Ni Sweets Bakery & Tea

U.Ni Sweets Bakery & Tea recently celebrated their grand opening, and Hawaii Mom Blog was invited to a special preview and sampling of their fusion cakes, pastries, and drinks!

U.Ni Sweets is owned and operated by two sisters, and they specialize in housemade pastries that are a fusion of Asian and French styles and flavors.

They have a large menu of teas, fruit teas, milk teas, rice yogurt drinks, and specialty drinks. 

Mixed Fruit Four Tea, Ube Devil Milk Tea, Yogurt Rice

Drinks are customizable by sweetness level, ice levels, and assorted toppings are available for an extra charge (boba, jellies, pudding, cheese foam, ice cream, mochi).

Their non-caffeinated drink selection is very minimal, but my sons really liked their strawberry milk with boba. In fact he wanted to return a couple of days later to get another strawberry milk drink.

Strawberry Milk with boba (no caffeine!)

Turning to the desserts, they have lava cakes in different flavors such as sea salt cheese, milk tea, Japanese green tea, Oreo cheese cream.  

Pele Fury Lava Cake

The lava cakes are very fluffy and airy! I couldn't stop eating the Pele Fury Lava Cake (pictured above) which was comprised of red velvet cake topped with sea salt red velvet cream cheese. 

Ebony Eruption

These cupcakes instantly caught my son's eye and he loved it so much he wanted to take them home. The cupcakes were topped with a very light buttercream frosting.

  

 We didn't get to sample the Tiramisu, but it looked amazing!

Tiramisu

Their cakes are very light and fluffy, not overly sweet. That's how I was able to sample all of their offerings without feeling like it was sugar-overload.

Pineapple Passion Fruit Cake

Pineapple Passion Fruit Cake

They also offer Matcha Cream Cake, Strawberry Short Cake, and Chocolate Cake in two different sizes. It would probably be best to order these ahead if you want a particular flavor and size.

If you're a fan of mille crepe cakes, you must try their version of it. They make their crepe cakes with over 25 layers of crepes, sandwiched between layers of whipped cream. 

Ube Mille Crepe

Look at these layers!

Also on display today were their "Melbourne Croissants". They add a twist to their croissants by flavoring them with chocolate cream, Pork Sun and Salt Egg, and Matcha.

Melborne Croissants

 

Chocolate Croissant

Thank you Lily and Fiona for inviting us to indulge in your delicious offerings!

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U. Ni Sweets Bakery & Tea

Current Hours: Monday - Sunday 11 am - 8 pm

Location: 1810 N. King Street

Tel: 808-888-8066

Instagram: @uni_sweetscake

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Holo Holo Bistro Express

Hawaii Mom Blog was fortunate to receive an invitation to media day for Holo Holo Bistro Express, which occurred a couple of days before their grand opening day.  Holo Holo is no stranger to the food scene in Hawaii. Owner Jill Owens has been in the catering business for years, and prior to opening this location in Kalihi, she's been operating at Paradise Palms on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, with a grab-n-go concept that has been a popular eatery on campus.

So why did she open this location miles away across town in Kalihi? She needed to find a kitchen for her catering business, so she found this restaurant, which used to be known as Meg's Drive In. Now, her onolicious offerings can be purchased here in Kalihi, 6 days a week!

This is a convenient location for this type of operation. It's located on a busy road, but not too far off the freeway, making it easy for people to stop by to get what they need and go. And since it's a grab-n-go type of operation, there should be parking spaces available (they have 7) since customers are constantly going in and out. 

Here's what was out on display during the media visit:

bentos and bowls

assorted musubis

PB&Js and chips

wraps, salads, fruit cups, overnight oats

cookies, banana bread, brownies

Li Hing Gummy Bears

assorted beverages

merchandise

The carnitas bowl and the pesto pasta salad are some of my favorite offerings from Holo Holo. 

The portions are generous and I love that everything here is grab-n-go, because I often do not have the time or patience to wait for my food. 

They are constantly replenishing the items on the floor throughout operating hours. 

During the breakfast hours they sell breakfast-type bentos with Portuguese sausage, eggs, fried rice, mocos, etc.  The garlic chicken is their best seller and it comes as a musubi or in a bento. They also have daily specials that often sell out quickly. 

Current Hours are: Monday through Friday: 6-4. Saturdays: 8-2. 

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HOLO HOLO BISTRO EXPRESS
743 WAIAKAMILO ROAD
808-551-7677
sales@holoholobarandgrill.com (sales and catering)

www.holoholobistro.com

@holohologrilluh

@holoholo

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Da Porkhash Man

I've been following Jimmy (known as @da_porkhash_man on Instagram) for a while now, but since he's located in Ewa Beach, I never got to try his porkhash ... until now! In November 2022 he announced on Instagram that he would be starting a 'joint venture' with 3 Star Gourmet Restaurant II, the restaurant that took over the spot formerly occupied by Meg's Drive-In in Kalihi. I recently had the opportunity to pre-order and pick up a dozen porkhash one Saturday morning, and I have to tell you, his porkhash is OUTSTANDING and a steal at $12 for one dozen.

I ordered 6 regular steamed (the steamed version also comes in spicy), and 6 fried. The fried comes with a small container of Mai Ploy dipping sauce. 

Crispy on the outside, plump and juicy on the inside...

The steamed porkhash were delicious. Unlike traditional chinese porkhash, these do not have shrimp, chives or green onions. 

They remind me of the porkhash from Char Hung Sut, which never reopened after COVID. 

 Follow @da_porkhash_man on Instagram for updates and annoucements. The Saturday pick-ups at 3 Star Gourmet 2 are by preorder only. Text 808-979-5221.

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Teishoku Restaurant and Honu Bakery

 For the hubby's birthday, which was on a weekday, I picked up dinner for the family from Teishoku Restaurant, a casual Japanese restaurant in Kamehameha Shopping Center. Teishoku is not like most Japanese restaurants that close between lunch and dinner - they stay open the entire day, which is great because it allows me to call in our order mid-day and request for it to be ready by 5 pm.

Here's what I ordered for the family: 

Chicken Katsu

Kal bi

Miso Butterfish

Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura

The lal bi and chicken katsu teishokus were for the boys. The hubby and I shared the miso butterfish and tempura. Each teishoku came with a bowl of miso soup (not pictured).  Everyone wiped their dishes clean - no leftovers at all. 

And since Honu Bakery is a few doors down from Teishoku Restaurant, I picked up a couple of desserts for us to share:

strawberry cheesecake

strawberry panna cotta

We were pleasantly surprised at how delicious these desserts were. I've bought cupcakes and other pastries from Honu Bakery before and was never impressed with it, but these were outstanding, and the boys liked them too. Honu Bakery has a location in town on S. King Street (between Kaheka and Kalakaua), and I hope that location has these two desserts, as that location is much for convenient for me to get to.

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TEISHOKU RESTAURANT
808-843-8886

HONU BAKERY
808-842-1588

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