Quick Pic: Yuki Lunchwagon Oven Baked Chicken

Brown on Brown

The beauty of this, of course, is that it's brown on brown (brown gravy on brown rice).

Yuki Lunchwagon
Lauhala Street between Queen's Hospital and Board of Water Supply, on the Ewa side of the street.  It's the one closest to the street.

Quick Pic: Willows Pork Belly with Natural Jus

Father's Day Buffet at the Willows and Umami couldn't resist one of these . . . Pork Belly with Natural Jus.  Essentially, super thick cut of bacon.  One piece is plenty.

Ummm . . . Bacon . . . !

The Willows Restaurant
901 Hausten Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96826
Phone: (808) 952-9200
Fax: (808) 952-0050
Email: feedback@willowshawaii.com

Lunchwagon Wars: Xtreme Tacos

Umami's sorry he hasn't posted, but he's been a busy devourer of worlds (and the occasional cheese fry)!  Sometimes one has to run out and grab a meal from a convenient lunchwagon . . . in this case Xtreme Tacos, parked on Punchbowl.

Now, Umami tried these once before and thought they were decent, but smallish, tacos.  But he is a sucker for a sampler plate, and Xtreme Tacos has one, for $7.50.

Sampler Plate . . . Pretty!

Clockwise from top:  BBQ Pulled Pork (tasty, but then it's hard to screw with BBQ pork and coleslaw!), Smoked Chicken (curiously bland for something supposedly marinated in a smoked chipotle sauce), Spicy Beef (okay), Falaco (falafel in a taco . . . winner of the bunch!), and Shrimp Ceviche (pretty good).

Umami really likes the Falaco because, well, he likes falafels, and the crunch of the falafel in the tortilla is neat, and makes a compact little bite.

"Ignacio" is a big truck

They also do five salsas in order, from mildest to hottest:  Sweet, X, XX, XXX, and XT.  Umami's tried them all and the XT isn't that hot.

All told, it's not that there's anything wrong with any of these . . . they're all . . . fine.  They're just . . . not enough.  Worth a try, but not necessarily a repeat.

Xtreme Tacos
Follow on Twitter: @xtremetacos

Quick Pic: California Rock n' Sushi Triple Combo Early Bird Special

Umami had a family dinner on Saturday at California Rock n' Sushi.  It's the sushi place next to the Kanpai (fka Tio's Garage fka Dixie Grill) on Ward, across from Ross and Sports Authority.

From 5:00 to 6:30, CRnS has a Triple Combo Early Bird Special:  for $13.50 you get Tempura (two shrimp, and assorted vegtables), your choice of Grilled Salmon or Chicken Teriyaki, and your choice of Sushi, Sashimi or California Roll.  Comes with rice, miso soup, and salad.  Not bad at all!

Triple Combo Early Bird Special - Tempura, Sashimi, Salad, Chicken Teriyaki

Tempura was nice and crunchy, but, thankfully, the shrimp was not overcooked!  Vegetables were:  broccoli, carrot, zucchini.  Representing the fungus group:  one mushroom.

Sashimi pieces were small-ish, which was fine given the amount of food, but might be disappointing if you're expecting larger pieces.

The Chicken Teriyaki portion was generous, with a tasty, albeit somewhat generic, sauce.

All in all, a perfectly respectable combination plate.  

Given the prices, you can expect a crowd, but the restaurant now takes reservations for parties of four or more.  Or, you can time it to arrive as the first rush leaves (around 6:00), get a table, then as long as the order goes in by 6:30, you're all good! (Or, as Umami's friend, Shellie, would say, "all good in the hood!"  So street, yah?  Word.) 

California Rock ‘N Sushi
404 Ward Avenue (across Sports Authority & next to Kanpai)
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
Tel. (808) 597-8000www.californiabeachrocknsushi.com

Sweet As Sugar: PIRATE CUPCAKES.... "AARGH!!!"

MiaO's latest post . . . supercool: Sweet As Sugar: PIRATE CUPCAKES.... "AARGH!!!": "We recently had the pleasure of doing cupcakes for a Pirate Themed first birthday and decided to make custom chocolate wafers to decorate 10..."

Quick Pic: Berry Pie from Camille's on Wheels

Makizushi was trapped in meetings again today, so Umami and Ms. D wandered out to pick up lunch.  They didn't have to wander far, because on Thursdays, Camille's on Wheels is across the street.  Camille's is a favorite of Umami's and has been the subject of a prior post.  Today, though, they picked up Camille's Berry Pie ($4 per slice).

Berry?  Verily!

Funny thing, everyone was so full from lunch that they didn't eat dessert!  They'll have to eat it for breakfast tomorrow!  But a little taste revealed an intense berry filling in a beautiful pastry crust.  And, as Umami's friend, Louise, put it, "Look at the edges . . . they're crimped with love."  True enough.

Camille's on Wheels
On this occasion:  Punchbowl between Honolulu Hale and State Library, Main Branch

But no real fixed address, so follow on Twitter: @Camillesonwheel
(808) 282-1740

Lunchwagon Wars: Tiki Truck

Poor Makizushi was trapped in a meeting at lunch today, so Ms. D and Umami wandered off to pick up lunch for her (and themselves too, of course).  Umami had to run by the post office, so they headed down towards the Hawaii Supreme Court building aka Five-0 Headquarters.  As they approached the post office, they spotted a small truck decorated in blue and white.  "What could that be?"  they thought as they crossed over to get a look.

Tiki Truck (with Five-O Headquarters in the background!)

Lo and behold, another lunchwagon!  This one was called Tiki Truck and was new to Umami and Ms. D.  They scanned the menu . . .

The Menu

Umami was immediately drawn to the Twisted Cuban Sandwich.  Umami loves Cuban sandwiches, and this version substitutes Spam and pork adobo for the usual ham and roast pork.  And pickled papaya instead of the usual . . . pickle.

Twisted Cuban Sandwich 

Umami loved this!  But it's a tricky sandwich, because if you eat with the Spam side of the filling down, the Spam dominates (though the pork comes through in the finish).  However, if you eat with the pickled papaya side down, you get the crunch of the relish and the pork and Spam blend in more harmoniously.  Umami had to explain this all to Makizushi, much to Ms. D's amusement.

Ms. D and Umami also picked up a Sloppy Slider, which was basically a Sloppy Joe on a dinner roll.  They don't recall any cheese on it and thought it was not exceptional.  Not bad, mind you, but not a must try.

Completing the trifecta of sandwich offerings, they also picked up the Steak Sammy (for Samwich?).  Which was a decent enough steak sandwich, but not much more than that.  Umami did think it was very nicely assembled and made good presentation.

A Nice Looking Sandwich . . . the Steak Sammy

The problem for Tiki Truck is going to be that the serving sizes are rather modest for the price and the food, while good, is not necessarily going to draw repeat business.  Umami thinks drawing repeat business might be tricky.  The exception to all this would be the Twisted Cuban, which is fun enough for a second go round.  But even that could use more fillings.  Double up the fillings and charge $7 and now we're talking!

Umami will keep an eye on it . . . after all, he still has to try their tacos!


Tiki Truck
Mobile, but happened to be on Mililani Street between Supreme Court and Main Post Office.
Follow on Twitter:   @tikitruck
And Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/tikitruck?sk=wall