It’s not like politicians lying surprise me, but I seem to recall Chucky D. promising to spare Hawai’i of his nonsense after he lost miserably to Colleen in the last election. Now the hack is on the verge of announcing he’ll challenge her again in the next election? Has he forgotten how soundly he was trounced? Perhaps he’s a legend in his own mind…
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Since the place that Root works at did a contract over at the Pastele Shop on School and Gulick, he scored a freebie plate a few months back that I got to sample. The Pastele was really good, and the gandule rice it came with was good too. The tossed greens that came with the plate were fresh and a voluminous, and the dressing was good too. Ckucke was in the area, so he picked us up lunch from there. I gave the Pastele Moco a try. I saw it on the menu and it sounded like an awesome idea. Combine Loco Moco and Pasteles? How could you go wrong? Fabio made it by earlier in the month and had given it his seal of approval. For those who don’t know what a pastele (“pah-tay-lay” – the “s” is silent) is, it the Caribbean/Central American equivalent of the Mexican tamale. This steamed dish arrived in Hawai’i with Puerto Rican immigrants during the sugar plantation days. It uses ground plantain or green bananas in place of the cornmeal since this dish hails from more tropical regions where corn does not grow well. Continue reading ‘The Pastele Shop Pastele Moco’
I was out in Waipahu at lunchtime the other day, so I stopped by Jollibee to give them a try. Although this is the first USA franchise of a restaurant chain from the Philippines, you won’t find Filipino ethnic fare here: This is a Western-style fast-food place. The three major menu items they have are fried chicken, burgers, and spaghetti. This time around, I opted for the fried chicken, referred to here as “Chicken Joy”. The base plate is two pieces of chicken and one side, and from there you can upgrade to two sides, then three pieces of chicken. I got the two-piece with two sides, (#2) with mashed potatoes and buttered corn. The other options were white rice and something else I can’t remember right now. I neglected to indicate the spicy chicken option when I ordered, so I received the standard fried chicken. The service was very fast and the food was plated neatly. In addition to the gravy on the mashed potatoes, there was a little container of extra gravy for the chicken. Including the fountain drink, my meal came to $7.33 USD with sales tax. Continue reading ‘Jollibee Chicken Joy’
“Unchi-kun Choco” white chocolate lollipop version. For those not versed in Nihongo, “unchi” is “feces”. Yeah. Go figure. I want the milk chocolate version. Available at a dagashiya near you!
Mmm… Tiramisu. How can you go wrong with espresso-soaked chocolaty goodness? The shape of this version from the Patisserie La Palme D’Or bakery in Ala Moana Center is a narrow bar instead of a single round or a pie wedge, but it’s all good. The added flavor and texture from a layer of caramelized brittle really makes this special. It’s a little on the sweeter side of neutral, which is somewhat odd coming from a Japanese bakery. Continue reading ‘Patisserie La Palme D’Or Tiramisu’
Deja vu. I get the feeling I’ve seen this all before… In the late 90’s, TBS started a long-running afternoon drama, Onsen he Ikou! about a woman in he waning years of her marriageability showing up at the onsen-yado run by her estranged mother. After her wedding plans fall apart, the heroine seeks to reinvent herself by taking on a job as a live-in maid at the inn. Of course, cattiness, tension, deceit, and eventually heartwarming moments ensue. Fast-forward a decade in real-time, take a decade off the age of the protagnist, and you’ve got Hanasaku Iroha. As the “turning-thirty” heroine of Onsen was meant to resonate with the early-afternoon housewife audience demographic, the middle teen protagonist of Hanasaku is designed to appeal to girls about to go through (or are going through) that transition between middle school and high school. Because of this, I’m sure it’s not really going to be a direct ripoff of the drama, but I can’t imagine that there will be any storyline or literary twist that hasn’t been previously explored in 5 seasons of Onsen he Ikou!, or the 2008 reprisal, Onsen he Go!, or even Asakusa Fukumaru Ryokan or the multitudinous seasons of Hotel. Continue reading ‘Anime Briefs – Hanasaku Iroha (JDM/USDM)’
