Cheer Up With Food

Lately I heard about Great Bao  from my foodie friends how delicious the bao was and wanted to see what the buzz was all about.  A bao is basically a steamed bun filled with vegetables and/or meats. My fiancé surprised me one day by bringing me a to-go box of a couple bao .  On the left of this photo is bao with roasted mushrooms, sweet soy, and daikon sprouts and the right is Pork Belly Bao with pickled mustard greens and crushed peanuts.  The left bao was supposed to be a Tofu Bao , but they had ran out of tofu that day! A week later after trying these bao I went with my friend to Great Bao because she had never ate bao before and knew Chef Sheridan Su when he used to work at Comme Ça (what a small world!). We were greeted by Jenny and she told us the story about Great Bao (interesting story, not just what you read on their website).  They have a $10 special of any order of three bao and a drink... I of course got that!  I made a mistake again...

I thought the more I visit Hawai'i, the less pictures I'd take... Well I was wrong, I think I took more pictures of food than all my previous visits combined!  Here's some of the pictures I took.  Its a lot of photos so prepare to drool: Breakfast on Hawaiian Airlines Love the sushi and musubis from 7-Eleven In Waipahu Seafood from Tanioka's Poi from Tanioka's Bento boxes from Times Bronsen got this at the swap meet @ Aloha Stadium  from a guy who had dreads.  I love this coconut/honey/peanut/macadamia nuts spread!! Menu at the buffet at Polynesian Cultural Center Beautiful structure Painting of King Kamehameha Located at  Pearlridge Mall If you ever go to North Shore area, go to a shrimp food truck like this one! Dino waiting for food Pulled pork brisket Lau lau Ahi poke Dobash Cake from Napoleon's Bakery Another late night at  Zippy's Napoleon's...

Queen Street Cafe & Grill is a neighborhood cafe to go to relax and eat some local food .  I saw interesting entrees on the menu that I never had before like Kiawe Grilled Steak w/ Shrimp Tempura   (steak is grilled over real Hawaiian Kiawe wood), Furikake Garlic Chicken , Guava  Smoked Pork w/ Onions , and  Lup Cheung Fried Rice !    It was hard to choose an entrée!  I eventually chose the Ahi Belly : Ahi (tuna) Belly w/ Ponzu Sauce -  The fattest part of the fish yum, but it didn't taste fatty... I'm glad it didn't!  The fish was very soft and it went well with the ponzu sauce. Ahi Katsu w/ Wasabi Aioli Korean Chicken Katsu w/ Fried Rice Thanks Mikey for the lunch!

When I was having my usual craving for sushi back in Hawaii, I of course wanted to eat somewhere unique since I was visiting.  I had heard that Kuru Kuru Sushi had a conveyor belt that distributed foods.  Since Las Vegas doesn't have restaurants with conveyor belts, I wanted to check this place out: Came here during Christmas weekend The pricing is based on the color of the plates you get Dre called this 'fish eggs with eggs.' The white part may look like egg, but its actually ika (squid)! Sashimi So much to choose from! It was a nice experience to finally go to this kind of restaurant and choosing all sorts of foods.  I wish there were restaurants like these in my hometown!

During my first visit to  Hot N Juicy Crawfish , I was in the mood to eat a lot of  crawfish !  When I told the waiter I wanted crawfish, he told me they ran out!  Apparently a customer who came in earlier before me and my party devoured the last bit of crawfish.  I was a bit disappointed, but at least there was shrimp and crab to choose from.   Menu A pound of shrimp seasoned  Louisiana  style Snow crab  legs :) Despite not getting to eat some crawfish, I was satisfied eating the shrimp and crab legs.  I really liked the flavors I chose for my seafood.  I also sampled my friends' foods with different seasonings and spice levels and enjoyed them (seasonings include: Louisiana Style, Juicy Cajun, Garlic Butter, Lemon Pepper, and Hot N Juicy Special)!  I can't believe I waited this long to eat at Hot N Juicy... I'll definitely be back hopefully on a day where there's crawfish!