Thai Issan

I recently met up with a fellow runner friend for lunch at Thai Issan after we had both placed in a half marathon just a few days earlier. When we made plans weeks ago, we had no idea it would end up feeling like a celebratory post-race lunch — but it turned out to be the perfect way to catch up and enjoy a well-earned meal together.

We decided on Thai Issan at Market City Shopping Center since we were both craving Thai food, and it’s conveniently located near my workplace. Parking around lunchtime at can definitely get busy in the area, but surprisingly, the restaurant itself was pretty quiet when we arrived. Honestly, I didn’t mind at all. It gave us the chance to relax, enjoy a great conversation, and savor our food without feeling rushed.

We shared two dishes: the pad Thai with tofu and the King of Chili with chicken. Both were absolutely delicious. The Pad Thai was cooked perfectly with great texture and a good amount of seasoning — comforting and satisfying. 

The King of Chili packed a ton of flavor! Despite its name, it's not spicy at all so long as you ask for it "mild". 

Thai Issan continues to be one of my favorite Thai spots on the island. Consistently flavorful food, a relaxed atmosphere, and the kind of place that makes you want to come back again and again, whether you're dining in or getting it to-go.

THAI ISSAN

2929 Kapiolani Blvd.

808-735-4152

 

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Yi Xin Cafe in Market City

  

I had heard lots of great things about the Chinese restaurant Yi Xin Cafe so I was eager to take my parents. Located in Market City Shopping Center, the restaurant specializes in Hong Kong, Malaysian and Singaporean cuisines and features many crab dishes.  

Of course we had to start with their super popular and cute milk teas topped with an iced teddy bear. We also snacked on cheesy french fries while we waited for our main dishes: Beef Chow Funn, Sizzling Beef with Blackbean sauce, and Mapo Tofu. The food was tasty and the flavors were as expected so it provided us with that familiar comfort.  We really enjoyed our meal. Service was great and friendly too!        

Cheese fries

Beef chow funn

Mapo Tofu

Sizzling beef with black bean sauce 

Lots of seating and nice atmosphere 

Yi Xin Cafe is closed on Tuesdays and open the rest of the week from 10:30am to 9pm.         

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YI XIN CAFE

My list of good Chinese restaurants outside of Chinatown is steadily growing.  One of the newcomers on the list is Yi Xin Cafe in Market City Shopping Center.  Although they opened without much publicity or fan-fare, word spread very quickly. We decided to allow the hype to settle down before trying it out for a weekday lunch.

Service was friendly and the food came out quick. Here's what the four of us shared:

Thai Style Pork Cheek

Beef Chow Funn

Hong Kong Style Garlic Stir-Fried Prawns

Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings

Every dish was flavorful, rich, and delicious!! I wasn't sure if I would like the Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings (I normally don't eat egg yolks), but the wings were delicious and very moist. My most favorite dish of today was the beef chow funn - it is rich in soy flavor and the noodles were cooked perfectly (not overcooked and mushy). I really wanted to try the sizzling beef with black bean sauce, but one of our friends doesn't eat red meat, so we passed on it, but I'm definitely going to try it the next time I'm here. Apparently their drinks are supposed to be good too.

Closed on Mondays.

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YI XIN CAFE
2919 Kapiolani Blvd.
808-738-0818

 

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Fun Station

We came to Fun Station to try their "Flying Noodles". Are the noodles really flying? It appears that way, but there is actually a metal rod holding up the noodles in the air, to make it look like the noodles and chopsticks are flying. 

Aside from the Instagrammable presentation, the noodles are good. I ordered the Beef Scallion Flying Noodles since the sauce is mild (if you want some spice, order the Signature Flying Noodles).  The noodles are delicious once you mixed it in with the sauce on the bottom. The beef brisket was a little dry in my opinion, but everything else about this dish was perfect. While it did not look like a lot of food when it first arrived, it comes with a good amount of noodles and I would recommend sharing this dish so that you can order other dishes to try.

Here's what my friends ordered:

Spiced Duck Look Fun

The duck is plated separately 

Spicy Look Fun

French  Fries

When we first arrived at 11;30 on a weekday, we were the only customers, but by the time we left, all of the tables were full.  Dinner time can also get busy. They do offer take out!

Click here to place an online order.

Open daily 10:30 am - 9:30 pm

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FUN STATION
2919 Kapiolani Blvd (Market City Shopping Center)
808-773-7367

 

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Nabeya Maido's MicrowavaBOWL

Prior to COVID-19, Nabeya Maido was one of my favorite places to go for hot pot / nabe since the prices were so reasonable and the hot pots were delicious. But ever since the shutdown, Nabeya Maido has continued to operate as take-out only, but came out with very affordable MicrowavaBOWLS, which has been a big seller. 

The bowls currently sell for $11.99, and you get to choose the broth (shoyu or spicy) and noodles (ramen, udon, or if you do not want noodles, you can opt for tofu).

The bowls come refrigerated, and all you have to do is microwave them (in the container it comes in, with the lid loosely placed on top) for about 4-5 minutes. You do not need to (and are not supposed to) add water or anything else. 

If you don't want to heat/serve your bowl right away, they have a shelf life (refrigerated) of about 2-3 days.

"Just heat & eat!" - it doesn't get any simpler than this! 

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NABEYA MAIDO 

2919 KAPIOLANI BLVD. (MARKET CITY SHOPPING CENTER)

808-739-7739

 

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Family Owned Da Best Pho Vietnamese Noodle House & BBQ Opens in Market City Shopping Center

My good friend's family celebrated the grand opening of their new restaurant, Da Best Pho Vietnamese Noodle House & BBQ earlier this week.  Located in the upper level of Market City, Da Best Pho serves authentic, healthy, and affordable Vietnamese cuisine.

At the grand opening, I was treated to a wonderful sampling of dishes off the menu.  The restaurant's dishes are made from their family's tried and true recipes.  I'm looking forward to returning to get a full size bowl of the pho, which was my favorite!  

In celebration of their grand opening, they are offering customers a free dessert with every purchase until October 27th!

Lemon Beef Salad

Banh Xeo (Vietnamese crepe)

BBQ Pork Summer Rolls

Crispy Spring Rolls and Finger-Sized Rolls

Da Best Pho!

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Café Kaila

After an early morning start on a Saturday morning watching the sunrise with a couple of friends, we headed to Café Kaila for breakfast. Normally there is a crowd of people waiting for tables on Saturday mornings, but on this day, there wasn't a line at all at 8 am. While it's great that we didn't have to wait for a table, it was a good reminder of how these locally owned small businesses need our support.

My friend ordered the avocado toast, which consisted of a hefty serving of avocado, greens, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, on a roasted focaccia bread. 

She also wanted to try their fried rice, so she ordered a scoop of fried rice on the side. 

Our other friend ordered the eggs benedict and upgraded the starch to fried rice. She was only able to finish half of it!

I was hoping they had the cornbread waffle on special today, but it wasn't so I got the regular Belgian Malted Waffle with caramelized apples. Cafe Kaila's waffles always have a crisp exterior and fluffy interior.  I used the whipped cream on the side as a dip for the caramelized apples. 

Before you leave, check out their display of pre-packaged cookies in assorted flavors on the counter - they're only $10 ($11 for certain flavors) and great for gifting or snacking on. 

Café Kaila has only indoor seating, however, tables are spaced out, temperatures are checked prior to entry, and take-out is available. 

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Café Kaila
2919 Kapiolani Blvd (Market City Shopping Center)

(808) 732-3330

 

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Lunch Special at Nabeya Maido

A friend of mine wanted to take me out for my birthday this week, and let me choose the place since it was my birthday. Without a second thought I chose Nabeya Maido because I was craving Japanese style nabe and it's close to the office.

There are two things that I love about Nabeya Maido - 1) the Maido Nabe broth, and 2) the $9.90 lunch special.

Maido's $9.90 Lunch Special consists of a omakase (house-chosen) platter of protein, veggies, udon, and your choice of broth.  

$9.90 lunch special

Nabeya Maido's top selling broth is their "Maido Nabe" which is a clear, shoyu-based broth with a touch of garlic and pepper.  If you look closely, you can see the ultra thin slices of garlic. But don't worry, the garlic flavor is not heavy and it won't be seeping out of your pores later in the day.

Maido Broth

The two of us shared one Lunch Special, and an assortment of ala carte items.  During happy hour (opening until 5:30 PM), ala carte items are 20% off.

Lunch special + ala carte items

Cooking nabe is easy - just wait for the broth to come to a boil, then place your ingredients into the pot.  Make sure your protein is fully cooked before removing it from the pot.

Also available at your table are a handful of dipping sauces (e.g. ponzu, shoyu).  Frankly, the soup has so much flavor that I didn't use any dipping sauces!  

At the end of your meal, our server asked if we wanted to take home the leftover soup.  Of course I'm going to take them up on their offer, because I can make another meal out of it using veggies, chicken, and noodles that I have at home. 

The $9.90 lunch special is available on weekdays and weekends from the time they open (11 AM on weekdays, 10:30 AM on weekends) until they sell out.  They only make 10 sets on the weekdays and 15 sets on the weekends, so you need to come in early if you want to take advantage of the special.  If they're all out of the special, you will still get 20% off their menu until 5:30 PM.

Nabeya Maido

2919 Kapiolani Blvd

(808) 739-7739

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Anytime Cafe

Market City Shopping Center has several great restaurants, one of which is Anytime Cafe.

Garlic Bread

Baked Pork Chop with Fried Rice

Kids Pepperoni Pizza

Kids Cheese Pizza

Chicken & Mushroom Risotto

Kids Meat Sauce Spaghettini

Kids Ice Cream

I had the risotto, which was very delicious. It was creamy and flavorful, and the mushrooms and chicken made it a hearty dish.

My husband wanted to get a curry dish, but they were out of the sauce, so he ended up ordering the pork chops, which he thought were good, but a bit a under seasoned.

Kids meals are $6.50 and come with a drink; kid-sized desserts are an extra $1.50.

Although a bit on the slow side, service was friendly, and I'd definitely order the risotto again the next time I'm at Anytime Cafe.

Anytime Cafe
2919 Kapiolani Blvd #218
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 735-3888

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