Nani's Hapa Cafe

A few months ago @melliadrian mentioned an okazu shop in Waialua - Nani's Hapa Cafe, so I finally went to check it out!  

They have pre-made bentos, or you can select your own foods from an array of items.

The AAA Threat Bento came with rice, ube ulu hash, kal-bi beef, mochiko chicken, and a burger pattie.

I got a plate with Mochiko Chicken, Chow Fun, and Kalbi Tofu.  The chicken was tasty, and so was the tofu.  The chow fun had some sweetness to it - a little too sweet for me, but overall everything was good.

Other options included Fried Pork Chop, Miso Chicken, Shoyu Hot Dog, Gobo, Nishime, and more.

They also offer an assortment of sweets!  We ordered so much food (more than what is pictured), that we were given a few Ube Doughnut Holes on the house!

Ube Doughnut Holes

They even have drinks!

Guava Matcha Latte

Definitely check them out for some yummy eats - perfect for the beach!

Nani's Hapa Cafe
67-292 Goodale Ave Unit 101
Waialua, HI 96791

(808) 637-6373

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Visit Hilo: Kawamoto Store

If you can, call in your order to Kawamoto Store in advance.  If not, you may have to wait in a long line if you walk-in.  And call in well in advance.  We would typically call the day before, but a friend called several days before to pick up on a Saturday only to be told they were not taking any more pre-orders that day (turned out they had a huge pre-order - we saw boxes and boxes walk out!).

I usually get the same things at Kawamoto - SPAM Musubi and Nori Chicken.  On this visit I also got Eggplant Tempura (delish!) as well as Shortbread and Peanut Butter Cookies.  My friends didn't care for the Nori Chicken, but I liked it!  

It was my first time trying the cookies and they were good!  The man in line in front of me had a bag of cookies in hand and he said they were good.  When I checked out, the employee told me they baked them the day before and they sold 37 bags so far.

My friends got all sorts of goodies - Shrimp Tempura, Shoyu Chicken, Inari, Hot Dog, and more.

Kawamoto Store
784 Kilauea Ave

Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 935-8209

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Tanioka's Seafoods & Catering

 

The last few times I've tried to pick up food from Tanioka's, they've either been closed, or the line out the door was so long that I had to keep driving. But this past weekend I was right on the money, as they were open and there were only a few people waiting in line outside the door.

Tanioka's offers local favorites like poke, spam musubi, fried chicken, lumpia, ahi patties, bentos, plate lunches, etc.  

We love the fried chicken. Each order comes with 2-3 pieces. They also offer garlic chicken, which in our opinion, tastes better than the regular fried chicken. 

One of our sons wanted to try the fried rice. I think it was too peppery for him. But the adults liked it - they put a lot of Portuguese sausage in it.

The shrimp tempura is also one of my faves. The salmon patty (on the right) was a little dry. For dessert I tried one of their glazed donut-like items - it was blueberry flavored. It might have been a blueberry andagi? The employee who was helping me did not know the name of it. It was OK, but I'm not in a rush to buy it again.

I wasn't able to get a photo of the spam musubis that I bought, because they were consumed in the car on the way to my mom's house - Tanioka's makes the best spam musubi, IMHO!

The friendly cashier informed me that you can call ahead and place an order over the phone to skip the line, and you don't even have to go inside. You just have to order and pay for it over the phone, then when you arrive, park in one of the designated stalls to the right of the shop, and someone will come out to help you!

Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

________________________

TANIOKA'S SEAFOODS & CATERING
94-903 Farrington Hwy.
808-671-3779

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Nami Kaze

Chef Jason Peel, a former culinary instructor, executive chef for the Hawai`i Food & Wine Festival, and chef for some of the most well-known restaurants in the state, has opened up Nami Kaze - a Japanese sushi restaurant and izakaya, that is currently offering take-out okazuya.

Spicy Mayo Atusage Poke Bowl

The Spicy Mayo Atsuage (Tofu) Poke Bowl was my favorite dish.  Chunks of tofu were mixed with onion, sesame, masago, and green onion.  

Hapa Boy

The Hapa Boy Ahi Poke Bowl consisted of both endemic ingredients and ones brought to the islands post-contact: Ogo, Inamona, Thai Chili, Sesame, Soy, Onion, Masago, Green Onion.

Kauai Boy

The Kauai Boy included Kauai island staples - Fried Ginger Chicken, Goteborg, Shio Nori Musubi, Potato Salad, Shio Konbu Cabbage.  

Keiki

The Keiki Box included Chicken, Spam, and Musubi (I would totally order this for myself!).

Nami

The Nami (nami means wave) Bowl included Sashimi Moriawase, Spicy Ahi, Fried Garlic Shrimp, Shio Konbu Cabbage, and Sushi Rice.

You can also build your own okazuya, or add on items such as pork belly char siu, curry beef croquette, and fried chili garlic shrimp.

The food was great, and I can't wait for the restaurant to open for dine-in!  In the meantime, I will be back to try out more menu items!

Nami Kaze

1135 N Nimitz Hwy

Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 888-6264

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Blossom's Okazuya

One of Kailua's best kept secrets is a small hole-in-the-wall Okazuya called "Blossoms Okazuya". If you're not familiar with this part of town, it might be hard to find, but if you just enter Kailua Cinemas on your navigational app, you'll find it, as it shares the same parking lot as the theater.

Blossoms has a great selection of Okazuya items that you'll find at most okazuya restaurants. When you get to the front of the line, you just need to tell them if you want a small plate or regular plate, then start ordering away.

All items are ala carte, and it's easy to get carried away since everything looks so enticing.

They also have pre-made spam musubis, futomakis, and bentos for sale.

Here is their current menu ....

Today's haul ....

Note - they are closed on Sundays and Mondays!

BLOSSOM'S OKAZUYA

1090 KEOLU DRIVE

(808) 263-3338

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Okazu from Maru-Hi

I've been to Maru-Hi Restaurant & Lounge in Mililani only once before for dinner, and after several years, I finally went back, but this time for some okazu for a get-together.

SPAM Musubi

Meat Jun

Fried Chicken with Noodle Bento

Ahi Tempura with Spicy TNT Teriyaki Sauce Bento

Chicken & Sausage Yakitori

I saw that they also sold CupBops, so I decided to pick up a Spicy Pork & Chicken CupBop.

Spicy Pork & Chicken CupBop

As expected, the kids went straight for the chicken & sausage skewers and SPAM Musubi.

The Fried Chicken was really tasty, but I thought the noodles were a little underseasoned.

The CupBop was not very spicy, but it was filling.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the Ahi Tempura.

The Meat Jun was good.  The gals did give me a couple of extra servings (I think because I ordered so much food!).

Prices are reasonable at Maru-Hi.

I can't believe I haven't been there before to pick up food for the beach!

Maru-Hi Restaurant & Lounge

95-1249 Meheula Pkwy # 153

Mililani, HI 96789-1789 

(808) 623-584

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