Rakuen's NEW Menu Preview

Even though I don't live in downtown, I would consider Rakuen to be the definition of my "neighborhood bar." It's one of those places that has it all - comfortable atmosphere, delicious drinks, music at the right time, fabulous people, and most importantly, GRINDZ. I am happy to announce that starting today, August 1st, Rakuen is officially opening up their new menu featuring some very tasty bites.

Dynamite Oysters. Perfect amount of spiciness and flavor. It's so tender, you hardly have to chew.

Kirin beer-soaked chicken. Perfect pupu to go with your beer (Kirin of course)!

Spicy Korean style chicken wings. Let's be honest here, I could eat these all night long.

Uni pasta. If you are an uni lover like me, this is the perfect dish for you! No sharing needed - one portion is good all to yourself!

If you didn't get your oyster fix after trying the dynamite ones, order the fried version too! Just as savory! 

Last but not least, dessert. Homemade vanilla ice cream Guinness beer floats. I'm not a beer person nor a sweet tooth, but I must admit, the end product is pretty damn good! 

Hope to see you at Rakuen soon!

Calling all E6'ers & above to Mongolian BBQ!

If you are or know someone who's in the military that's an E6 or higher rank, I highly recommend Kaneohe Marine Base's Mongolian BBQ every Wednesday and Friday nights at the Officer's Club. This unique experience was seriously one of the best I've ever had. There are many different stations with all raw food. You put everything in a bowl, create your own marinade, give it to the chef's to cook, and voila! Let me explain through pictures...

First you start off at the noodle/veggie station. I didn't opt for a noodle dish, so just filled up on won bok, mushrooms, eggplant, and zucchini. Keep in mind everything is raw, even the noodles. They had every kind of veggie you can think of from onions, cabbage, even baby corn!

Then you go to the protein station, where there's all kinds of meat including chicken, pork, beef, seafood, fish, even scallops & mussels!

Another view of the protein station....they even had ham & squid!

The next station was kind of random if you wanted to include stuff like pineapple and bamboo shoot in your dish.

At the next station there was cilantro, peppers, grated garlic, etc.

My bowl of raw goodness...

Then you get to the sauce & topping station, where there's tons & tons of different sauces, such as oyster, garlic, ginger, house-made,  brown sugar, sea-salt, hot-sauce, etc. You create your own marinade here.

The fun part - watching your creation get cooked!

After that, you can add last minute sauce touches...

The last station is all you can eat rice - regular or fried - put that on your plate, and voilaaaaa! Final presentation: fried rice, beef with won bok, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, topped with fried egg and oyster, garlic, brown sugar marinade :)

Notes: Eggs are free. You can tell them how you want it to be cooked. Price is measured upon weight. My bowl was less than $10. Next time I'd like to put my cooked food in a bowl with the rice on the bottom, meat in the middle, and runny egg on the top (Korean style'ish). 

Bogart's Cafe in Hawaii

Since my move back home, I've been looking for a go-to all day, anytime restaurant. Someplace that's good for breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, or just a snack...and I think I finally found it! I've been here twice now in just the past week and loved everything I've ordered so far.

delicious dungenous crab and avocado sandwich, served with baked kettle chips

ham eggs benedict with truffle flavor hollandaise sauce & home fries

bagel works - spinach bagel, sundried tomato cream cheese spread, alfalfa sprouts, capers, and tomatoes

my very first acai bowl ever! - acai berry smoothie, granola, strawberries, blueberries, bananas drizzled with honey