Instant Ramen

Instant Ramen

Shin Ramen, Top Ramen, Kimchi Bowl

After visiting all of these noodle eateries, we had decided that we were missing the most important and most beloved noodle eatery. Our own homes! Who hasn't woken up starving or feeling sick and craving ramen or saimin, and had the delight of being able to instantly have it within 5 to 10 minutes in the comfort of your own home? So Emily, Michelle, and I (Jadyne) decided to do a podcast and review on our favorite brands of instant ramen. Michelle brought a Kimchee Bowl, Emily brought a Top Ramen pack, and I brought a Shin Ramen pack. They were all fairly on the spicier side. Michelle's Kimchee bowl was the easiest to make as she just had to add water to the bowl and microwave it for 3 minutes. Emily's noodle pack was similar to mine as the process required boiling water first, but the way we created ours were slightly different. Emily added her noodles into the boiling water first. She did not use a lot of water as she liked her soup base to be really thick. After the noodles had completely soaked up the water, that is when Emily chose to pour in the soup base powder. My process was slightly different. After the water came to a boil, I poured the soup base in and let it simmer. After a couple minutes, I added in the noodles. I like my noodles slightly on the crunchier side, so I only cooked the noodles for about 1.5 minutes. Emily and I also added eggs to our noodles, and Emily went the extra step of adding cheese onto her noodles. We all enjoyed eating our favorite instant ramen meals. 

View our Final Episode here! (Instant Ramen) 

Sweet Home Aunty

Sweet Home Aunty

Have you ever been to Sweet Home Cafe or heard of the ridiculously popular hot pot establishment? Well Sweet Home Aunty is a spin off of that Tawianese hot pot restaurant with a similar concept by the same owner. The concept of Sweet Home Aunty is a very interesting one. First, guests may choose what "toppings" they would like in their noodle bowls. There is a wide selection to choose from including: lobster balls, fish cake balls, mussels, clams, scallops, bean sprouts, bok choy, spinach leaves, shrimp, different types of rare meat, and much more! After selecting your toppings, you go to the register and they weigh your basket of toppings out for you. The price is $7.50 per half pound of toppings. Trust me, that is a really good deal! The next step is to tell the cashier what type of soup broth and noodles you would like your ramen bowl to have. Again, there is a large selection. Choices of broth include: herbal, spicy,, lemongrass, miso and many others. Choices of noodles include: egg noodle, saimin noodle, and udon noodles, and many more. The great thing about this restaurant is that they give their guests the freedom to customize their own experience! Resulting in a great, custom tailored experience that we have chosen for ourselves. 

View our Episode 7 Podcast! (Sweet Home Aunty)

Max's of Manila

Fried Chicken Built This?!

You're probably wondering a) what did fried chicken build and b) how did a chicken that's been fried actually build something?! Well, we got answers for ya! Fried chicken built this wonderful, Filipino restaurant called Max's of Manila, located in downtown Honolulu right next to Costco. Now, you're probably wondering..how could this fried chicken build this? Well, Max's of Manila started up just because their homemade fried chicken was so DARN good! What's our rating of it?! Well, if you're into seeing your chicken whole and not as pieces, you'll love it! Oh, and if you're into savoring the chicken meat and not just a bunch of crispy batter, you'll love it even more! Our rating of it was an 8/10. The chicken itself was seasoned well, the skin was the perfect amount of crispiness, but ultimately, the meat was a bit too dry for our liking.

With the chicken aside, we tried other things like the Pancit Palabok and the Miki Bihon. The Pancit Palabok consists of cooked thin, clear rice noodles topped with boiled eggs, fried garlic, broiled ground pork, and a thick gravy-like sauce. It was definitely an interesting array of toppings on a noodle dish! The Pancit Palabok hits the savory, salty, and umami flavors. As for the Miki Bihon, it is a noodle dish with two types of noodles in one! Yes, you read right, its a TWO-for-ONE deal! The "Miki" is the egg noodle whereas the "Bihon" is the thinner, rice noodle (kind of like the one in Pancit Palabok). The Miki Bihon served at Max's had cabbage, green onion, carrots, and is topped off with a squeeze of tangy lemon. The Miki Bihon hit flavor notes like tangy, salty, and savory. Both dishes were definitely filling!

Overall, Max's of Manila rates an 8.5/10! Atmosphere was modern, clean, and bright. Service was top-notch and food was quite interesting and delicious!

View our Episode 6 Podcast! (Max's of Manila)

On Dong

On Dong ... Are you Korean or Chinese?

That must be the number one question in the back of people's minds when they hear about and eat at this dining establishment. As we walked into On Dong and sat at our designated table, our first observations were
1. All the customers were Korean. 

2. All the workers were Korean. 

3. They serve Korean side dishes (i.e. Kimchee)

4. All the options on the menu were considered "Chinese Food."

5. The restaurant is considered a "Chinese Restaurant."

__________________________________________

So we asked a fellow Korean (Jadyne's mother) about the history of "Chajangmyun" aka black bean noodles. The reason for this, is that back in the Joseon Dynasty (late 1300s - early 1900s), many Chinese people moved into a town in Korea and brought the black bean noodles with them. Eventually Korean people adopted this and gave it their own twist. Which is why people consider it a "Korean-Chinese" food. Not one or the other. 

Chajangmyun is what this restaurant is known for, which is what Estelle, Emily, And I (Jadyne) got. While Michelle got "Champong" which is a spicy seafood noodle soup. We all enjoyed our food. It was Estelle and Michelle's first time here, so they said that it was very interesting to try this for the first time. Estelle enjoyed the richness of the black bean paste on the noodles. 

Service was okay, the waitresses looked extremely busy but were very nice at the same time. The downside of eating at this restaurant is that if you have left overs of your noodle dish, you can't take it home -- the noodles will become too soggy. There are many other delicious dishes at the restaurant though. 

Side Fact: The restaurant actually had a huge fire a little over a year ago, which caused a conflict between the main cook and the owner. Causing the owner to go off on his own to open his own restaurant. Both restaurants have gone down in quality unfortunately. 

On yelp, the restaurant rates a 4/5 stars. We would give it the same rating, if not -- 4.5/5 !


View our Episode 5 Podcast! (On Dong)

Yu Chun

Yu Chun Korean Restaurant

Don't know what to eat on a cloudy day? Naengmyeon, or Korean cold noodles, is the perfect choice! Naengmyeon is made from buckwheat or sweet potatoes so the noodles are often brown colored or tan. These type of noodles are especially chewy, so they cut the noodles in four before serving it to you. There are two types of naengmyeon, mul-naengmyeon and bibim-naengmyeon. Mul-naengmyeon is served in an icy broth along with cucumbers, slices of pickled daikon radish and a hard boiled egg. Bibim-naengmyeon is the exact same as mul-naengmyeon but served without the broth. Instead, it has a huge dollop of gochujang (hot pepper paste) which is mixed with sesame oil and sometimes a bit of ginger and garlic. It's often seasoned with vinegar and mustard. Just mix up the noodles until they’re coated with the sauce and dig in! Jadyne and Emily got the mul-naengmyeon while Estelle got the bibim-naengmyeon. This was the first time Estelle tried naengmyeon and she loved it! It was quite a different experience from other noodles and it stood out to her. Emily and Jadyne have had naengmyeon since they were little because it's a common Korean dish. This is a good meal to eat when its warm out, or just when you're feeling like eating noodles that are cold! We rated this restaurant at 10 out of 10! The food came out very quickly and the staff was very friendly. We would definitely go there again to satisfy our dry throats.

View our Episode 4 Podcast! (Yu Chun)

Pho Saigon

The Pho Can't Get "Pho-Resher" Than This!

When people look for mama's homemade pho, the first place they would think of to head down to would be Chinatown. BUT, for those who aren't too stoked about that trek to Chinatown, Pho Saigon is a great alternative. Pho Saigon, established in 2000, is located in the heart of Honolulu on Kapiolani Boulevard, right across of Ala Moana Shopping Center! Pho Saigon isn't just convenient for those townies, but its also modern AND inexpensive. Can it get any better? Yes it can! Pho Saigon serves up piping hot bowls of homemade pho! Now, you may be wondering, what exactly is pho? Pho, pronounced "fuh," is a Vietnamese soup usually made from beef stock and spices, topped with vermicelli noodles, various meats, and herbs. 

If you're not a huge fan of pho, Pho Saigon serves up other types of Vietnamese dishes like Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese spicy beef soup) and Bun (vermicelli with fish sauce) as shown in our video below. Not a noodle fan? They also have Vietnamese-style chicken wings, rice dishes, and spring rolls.

On our expedition for Vietnamese noodles, we decided on trying 3 different types of dishes at Pho Saigon. Michelle and I (Estelle) got the Bun, Emily got the Pho, and Jadyne got the Bun Bo Hue. The Bun, although unlike my mother's, was quite of a win! The fish sauce tied everything in together! The Bun Bo Hue was a great spicy, oily take on the pho, but with a much deeper, distinct beefy broth. Lastly, the pho was so ngon (delicious)! All dishes were beautifully crafted with Vietnamese flavors that shined through. 

What's our rating for Pho Saigon? A 9/10! Although there can be some improvements, the food was delicious, the atmosphere was modern, and the service was fantastic!

View our Episode 3 Podcast! (Pho Saigon)

Angelo Pietro

Japanese Pasta - Weird or Delicious?!

Angelo Pietro has been a household name for some time. They are known for their delicious pastas with a Japanese twist. Angelo Pietro is a famous restaurant chain from Japan and they are also known for their salad dressings. For a long time, they were located near Ala Moana on Kapiolani Boulevard, but recently they have moved to the heart of Kaimuki on 12th ave. The new location is a lot smaller than the original location, but it offers a more "home-y" dining experience. Even though the menu was very straight forward -- Michelle, Emily, and I (Jadyne) had a difficult time deciding on what to get. Emily decided on the Pork and Eryngii Spicy Cream Sauce and Michelle got the Shrimp & Shiitake Mushroom, while I decided on Eggplant and Spicy Ground Beef pasta. The presentation of the dishes were all very neat and nice. We all noticed the large "spaghetti" forks which eased the process of twirling the noodles around our forks. I added some chili flakes to my already slightly spicy pasta, and it was very delicious! Michelle and Emily also really enjoyed their dishes, but Emily said that the spicy cream sauce was a little too spicy for her. Overall, our experience at Angelo Pietro was a good one and we would definitely return!

View Our Episode 2 Podcast (Angelo Pietro)