Fresh House-made Pasta at Cucina Moon

I'm always in the mood for pasta so I was excited to check out Cucina Moon - a casual Italian eatery serving fresh house-made pasta with traditional Italian sauces. All pasta dishes are reasonably priced set menus and come with a house-made focaccia and your choice of a variety of vegan gelato flavors. The gelato is also made in-house featuring Hawaii fruits and ingredients. They can even accommodate gluten free requests if you call them a few days in advance.

I ordered the arrabbiata and the rigatoni pasta was cooked to a nice al dente texture. It was tasty and had a light tomato flavor. I think next time I'd prefer something richer like my friends' bolognese which they loved. The focaccia was amazing.  

Bolognese

Salmon tagliatelle

Arrabbiata

Bolognese with Gluten Free pasta

House-made focaccia

Bar seating and table seating available

The service was great and there was plenty of seating for the restaurant. They are located on the second floor near the stairwell on the left side of the shopping center.     

Cucina Moon 

1960 Kapiolani Blvd.

Honolulu, HI 96826

808-200-5933

Read More

Edible Hawai`i

Ever since I read Nadia's blog post on Edible Hawai`i and saw her subsequent social media posts, I've been wanting to go specifically for the cookies!

Well, I was in the area, so I made sure to stop in so I could get some cookies.  

There were so many irresistible options, but I love the classics, so I picked up some giant Chocolate Chip Cookies, as well as a bag of Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies.

No matter the size, the cookies were amazing!  I love soft and chewy cookies, and the Edible Hawai`i cookies were just that - soft, chewy, and absolutely delicious!

The giant cookies are big enough to share, and there's plenty to share in the bag of minis as well, but you may not want to share at all.  The cookies are that good (I did share with the kids, of course).

These cookies were some of the best I've had on the island, and I'm looking forward to going back!

Edible Hawai`i
1960 Kapiolani Blvd Suite 115
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 947-7263

Read More

La Bekk Bakery

La Bekk Bakery has moved from their location in the Ohana Market Place to the Test Kitchen in the McCully Shopping Center.  Located on the second floor, La Bekk Bakery has a showcase outside the Test Kitchen and you can order at the window.

The variety of eclairs may overwhelm you like they did me, but since it was my first time, I ordered the classic eclair and also the lemon crunch. I had heard fantastic things about their banana pudding so I picked that up as well and a slice of their souffle cheesecake to seal the deal.  

Banana Pudding

Souffle Cheesecake

My goodness gracious, that banana pudding exceeded my expectations! It's super dense and filling and I loved it! Since a little goes a long way, it's definitely a shareable portion.  My family also really enjoyed the souffle cheesecake as it was the perfect density and not overly sweet.  The eclairs were also very tasty, but just were not our favorite of the three. 

Go satisfy your sweet tooth and give them a try! I'll be back for that banana pudding for sure!

 

Read More

Edible: Hawaii’s First Edible Cookie Dough Cafe

Cookie Dough Sundae

My kids have always been fans of cookie dough and now that my daughter is on IG, she quickly discovered Edible - Hawaii’s first edible cookie dough cafe. Located at the McCully Shopping Center, Edible serves up scoops of raw edible cookie dough as well as baked cookies. 

They offer numerous unique flavors in both cookie dough and cookies like ube haupia and banana Nutella. My daughter chose the two flavors in one scoop and my son had the cookie dough sundae. They both ooh-ed and ahh-ed all the way home. I opted for the baked cookie instead and chose the s’mores cookie. It was delicious! My daughter is already planning our return. 

Menu Board 1

Menu Board 2

S’mores cookie, one scoop cookie dough, and cookie dough sundae.

Edible is open daily from 12pm. They close 10pm from Sunday through Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday.

Read More

Bozu Japanese Restaurant

A friend was in town so I met him and his group of friends at Bozu Japanese Restaurant.

Happy Hour High Ball ($5!)

Sweet Corn Tempura

Blue Fin Toro Sashimi

Vinegar Octopus with Mozuku

Clam Tomato Sauce Pasta

Sea Urchin with Umaimo Tempura

Burdock Root Tempura

Salmon Skin & Green Salad

Uni Sushi

Homemade Monkfish Liver

Shishito Ohitashi

Grilled Mirugai

Moi Sashimi

Fried Moi

Sake Squid Tempura

Tako Karaage

Assorted Sashimi - Ahi, Salmon, Hamachi

Cold Tofu

I ended up meeting the group at 9pm (way past my bedtime), which was the start of Happy Hour Monday through Saturday (Sunday Happy Hour is 4pm - 6pm).

Since it was so late, and I was so tired and not hungry, all I ate was a piece of sashimi (my very first ever!).  Everyone kept raving about the toro sashimi, so I had to try.  It really was good!  

But everything that was served while I was there looked absolutely delish (and the group ordered even more after I left!).

I definitely want to return to try more food.  The servers were all very friendly and helpful, and it was quite a busy spot for late-night Japanese eats!


Bozu Japanese Restaurant
McCully Shopping Center 2nd Floor #209

1960 Kapiolani Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96826

Read More

Yotteko-Ya Closing After 13 Years in Hawaii

Yotteko-Ya, a popular ramen-ya on the second floor of McCully Shopping Center, will be serving their last bowls of ramen this Sunday, June 18, 2017. I, along with many other ramen aficionados, are in mourning.

Their paitan ramen is amazing. How can it not be when it's simmered in pork, beef, and veggies for over 10 hours. 

Ever since Frolic Hawaii broke the news of their impending closure, people have been lining up at Yotteko-Ya for one last meal.  If you're planning to come here before they close their doors for good, be prepared to wait in line.

Yotteko-Ya

1960 Kapiolani Blvd. (McCully Shopping Center, 2nd floor)

(808) 946-2900

Read More

Kyoto Ramen Yotteko-ya

Thanks to @Living2Shop with her query of where I would recommend eating Ramen, I was really craving it myself. So after a little Walmart shopping, Yotteko-ya in the McCully Shopping Center was the call.

Although Gomaichi was a nearby choice, I was really craving the Paitan Ramen from Yotteko. Yotteko has 3 different broths to choose from and prepared in a variety of ways like Chashu Shoyu Ramen or Yasai Tonshio (Salt) Ramen. But for me, I always go with the Paitan Ramen which is what they specialize in. Paiten is cloudy broth soup with plenty of collagen. Collagen has been known to help prevent aging of the skin and joints. So not only does it taste great, it's good for you!

There are about 14 different bowls of Ramen to choose from so take your time when ordering. If it's available, you may want to try their special Kakuni Paitan Ramen. This dish is dine-in only and they only have a limited amount of bowls to serve. This is the Paitan Ramen broth that's topped with chunks of their special Chasu (the photo is not the Kakuni). The Chasu here melts in your mouth, you almost have to wonder if it really is pork! Once you've decided and put your order in, you can also opt between Japanese style noodles (traditional firmer type) or Hawaiian which is softer like Saimin. I like mine firmer so that what I went with.

I also like my Paitan with a little kick so I ordered some Kim Chee on the side. I'm not sure if it's homemade but it sure looked and tasted like it.

And who can eat Ramen without the Gyoza? Their Gyoza is a little different. Very plump and with large cuts of garlic chives and cabbage in them. Not the best I've ever had, but still delicious.

Yotekko also has an ala carte menu with non-Ramen dishes to choose from like Chicken Karaage, Yakibuta Chahan (pork fried rice) or Ebi with chili sauce. So if you're with a friend and they don't feel like Ramen there's something for them too. Check out Yotekko the next time you're near Kapiolani, you'll be happy you did since it's Ramen but, with a twist ;)

Yotekko-ya

McCully Shopping Center

1960 Kapiolani Blvd., 2nd floor

946-2900

Lunch Mon-Sun: 11:30am - 2pm

Dinner Mon-Sat: 5:30pm - 10pm, Sun/Holidays: 5:30pm - 9pm

Closed on Wednesdays

Read More