Airsoft fans rejoice! Power Edge in Kaimuki just got in the new KSC Japan gas blowback H&K MP7A1 PDWs. I dropped by yesterday and Peter let me test fire it. The heft and feel is superior to the Tokyo Marui AEG version, and the lock time is much better. The perceived recoil is very nice! On firing, it is obvious that this one is packing significantly more muzzle velocity than the AEG. The construction was very nice – even the feel of the materials felt like genuine H&K. All of this comes with a bigger price tag though – just a little shy of $400 USD! This is not bad considering the current dollar-to-yen exchange rate of around 95-yen-per dollar, and the JDM MSRP of 36,540-yen. Spin by and visit Peter and Dave to check one out. They had four left yesterday…
Archive for the 'Review' Category
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Need to buy any military surplus stuff locally? Head up to Wahiawa and visit Camouflage Shop on Wilikina Drive. Their selection has expanded a little, and it’s more organized inside (it’ll never be like when it first opened!). Military HQ on Sand Island seems to be on the way out. There are a lot of empty shelves, and there doesn’t appear to have been any new inventory in over a year. Too bad.
(0)Soup curry is quite popular in Hokkaido, a viable alternative to warm the body from both within your belly, and from your tongue. The name is an appropriate descriptor, it is somewhere between a soup and stew/curry. The broth is thin like a soup, but is spiced like a curry. It’s gotten so popular that like ramen, there exists a soup curry yokocho (alley) where you can find shop right next to shop next to shop all serving soup curry. This past winter I made it to Hokkaido to ride the powder and was fortunate to have friends lead me to one soup curry joint that was quite enjoyable. 
After that experience, everytime I went food shopping I’d keep my eyes open to see if some company would create a soup curry mix just like you can get the wafu style curry roux blocks everywhere. No such luck. I chocked it up to the thought that it hadn’t gained enough mainstream popularity elsewhere in Japan to gain the attention of the food manufacturers. Until tonight. Part of the problem was I was looking for the wrong thing. Tucked out of eye level sightline on the top shelf at Marukai was this small 6 oz. jar of soup curry paste. Had to pay attention as there was no English characters, but there it was. I checked it out, pork and chicken fat were the top ingredients, how can you go wrong with that? The only thing that was holding me back was the latest best buy date looked to be 5/30/09. Three months…. The stuff is chock full of salt…. The cap wasn’t bulging…. It should be okay…. Continue reading ‘Soup Curry!’
The next selection from Kiuchi Breweries, their take on the classic weissen, wheat beer. A light amber, pours with a moderate head that quickly dissapates, and like a good weissen some sediment you should swish around the last bits to pour into glass to make it properly cloudy. There isn’t an overwhelming aroma. The prominent flavor is citrus. On the verge of being sour. You’d swear someone already squeezed a lemon into your beer. There’s some pleasant floral tones hiding under there, but you have to pay attention. Clean finish. Dare I say it, it almost doesn’t taste like beer. Flirting dangerously close to a chick beer. Good thing I had this after my soup curry meal, I’m pretty sure it would not have gone well during. 5% alcohol content, not buzz packing juice.
I would have prefered a little less sour and taste more of the grain, but this is still a good drink. I would have to interject a caution of it may not go well with some food, it worked out well for me being almost a dessert after my meal.
3 out of 4 weissen monkeys.
I tried a Chang Thai Beer from Cosmos Breweries in Thailand with dinner at Saeng’s tonight. This Pilsen-style lager pours golden with a high level of carbonation. The aroma is peaty or musty, and the initial flavor is moderately bitter with a light malt flavor. The malt flavor comes out a little more in the middle, and the flavor tapers of cleanly. It isn’t as smooth as say Wernesgruener, but it is a very well mannered, easily drinkable beer. Tiger is still my favorite Thai beer, but this is my second favorite.
5.0% ABV
Recommended
Three out of four drunken monkeys
New product from GU sport supplements. Decided to try these “energy chews” which is fancy talk for candy. OK, they put stuff like vitamins in it to differentiate it, but they’re largely sugar of one form or another. I’m a fan of the Cliff Shot variety, but the shop no longer brings in the Margarita flavor which featured higher sodium to replace that lost in sweat and assist staving off cramps. GU stuff has been hit or miss, I use their lemon lime and strawberry banana gel supplements. Again mostly because no one brings in my favorite Cytomax gel version. The other guys have not liked their other products flavors, even going as far as eliciting an anger response from one! Continue reading ‘Gu Chomps Energy Chews – Blueberry pomegranate’
After last Saturday’s ride, I went by Hale on Makaloa next to the Ghostbusters building for dinner. I had downed some Endurox R4 after the ride, so I wasn’t ravenously hungry, but my body told me that I needed protein and the associated amino acids above and beyond what soy-based products could provide. They had a fish entrée and burger, the fish of the day being ’Ono (Wahoo). I went for the burger because the entrée version was startlingly expensive, and I wasn’t sure what some of the side dishes would turn out to be. Continue reading ‘Edible Briefs – Hale Macrobiotic Restaurant’
I had dinner over the weekend at a Macrobiotic restaurant, and they had several organic beers that I haven’t tried before. I gave this one a shot based only on the brewery name recognition. I’ve had a couple of other Deschutes varieties, and I have to say this one is not unlike them. On initial pour, the color of this ale was dark amber, almost red. The server tilted the glass and didn’t’ give a full pour, so it didn’t form a head. I subsequently rectified this. The carbonation level was moderate – bubbles continued to rise throughout the life of the beer. The aroma was hoppy and sweet, and similarly, the first taste was fruity from the hopping. There was only a faint malt flavor in the middle with a bitter note from the hops. The finish faded out on the bitter note. The overall impression was that of Obsidian Stout with a lighter roast on the malt. If you like Deschutes other offerings, give it a try – I didn’t particularly care for it. Specifically, I was disappointed in the underwhelming malt flavor, and the overwhelming hop flavor. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Deschutes Green Rivers Organic Ale’
Looks like bunch of stores are putting in orders for Kiuchi Breweries Hitachino Nest beers with the distributors. I found this among four varieties at Marukai, and also saw some at Whole Foods a week or so ago. Decided to go with the most conventional sounding one to start with, the Japanese Classic Ale. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale’
Saw the Foodland weekly ad just now. Apparently, they currently have the exclusive on Speight’s from Paradise Beverages. It’s still at the introductory price of $11.99 USD plus tax and HI5 deposit fees. Go pick some up! I worry a little that too few people will buy it and Paradise will stop importing it.