Fish Market Maui

         One bright Maui day, everyone was hungry after some driving along the marvellous west coast of Maui. Thus, we stopped by The Fish Market on the way back to the hotel for some seafood. Located in a strip mall on a street parallel to the main road, it was a bit hard to find but was noticeable if you knew which way to look.  The place was really busy, filled with both locals and tourist who were all looking for some fresh food to eat. After asking someone what was good, they told us everything was good. It was a bit expensive, but along the lines of other Maui eateries. Thus, we ordered 3 items and proceeded to the park across the street for the a nice place to sit along the sea so we could see where our food came from. You can find their menu here.

        The first of 3 was the fish and chips for $14, and included some fries and 3 pieces of panko encrusted Mahi Mahi. The fish was expertly cooked, nice and flaky with the nice crunchy crust. The fish didn't make the crust  soft, which made it a very nice bite. Very good fish if a person prefers more batter and more crunchy batter, which I do like. There was enough fires on the side, and they were pretty good too. While not very crispy, they were nice and potato like on the inside. The two items had the same seasoning: simple salt and pepper. Combine it with the creamy tartar sauce, and you have a nice combination. I would give the Fish and Chips a 4/5. 

         Let us move on to the Seared Ahi Steak, which was also priced around $14, which we got cooked medium rare. The Ahi steak came medium rare too, nice and tender. It also came with a scoop of rice and a scoop of Macaroni Salad. Encrusted with furitake, the flavours were there, except there wasn't enough. Still, a very good tasting piece of fresh fish. Moving on, the Macaroni salad wasn't the greatest, with the sweetness overpowering all other flavours, which are practically nothing. The sauce on the side was a bit of Wasabi Mayo, which was practically mayo with wasabi in it, and it was pretty good although not the greatest with the fish. In the end, I would give the  Seared Ahi Steak a 3.5/5. 

             Finally, we ended up with what I think was the Macadamia Nut encrusted Mahi Mahi at $14. There were some pineapple on top, which added a nice tropical feel. The fish was cooked perfectly, and was flavoured sweetly. This was further amplified by the white sauce on the left, which was coconut flavoured. So in the end, it was very sweet, should a person add or not add the sauce. Same problem with the Mac and cheese, while cooked well it was too sweet. All the rice was normal rice, no issues. While cooked well, the flavours weren't good on the Mac Nut encrusted Mahi Mahi, so it has a 2/5. 

Bottom Line: Decent Seafood

Tip: Stay away from sweet items?

Overall: 3/5

Aloha Mixed Plate

         During our 1 week in Hawaii, we spent 3 days on Maui and 4 on Oa'hu. On our second night in Maui, we decided to spend an afternoon on Front Street in Lahaina on West Maui. We returned the next day for dinner too, and to the same restaurant too. In the end, we ended up at Aloha Mixed Plate twice for a multitude of reasons. The first was the food, which was obviously good, the second was the price, and the third was the location: right on the water. While it wasn't healthy, it was good, and we were on vacation anyways. It really isn't much of a restaurant, but rather an open air dining area with two sections, one by the water and one a bit higher up, because they can't have intoxicated people in the place close to the water. There really isn't a lot of tables, but the waits are relativly short. If only there was more parking though. Moving on to the menu, it was reasonably priced with the stuff you would expect on a plate lunch menu, with some seafood for the specials of the day. I forgot to take a picture of the menu, but you can see it online here.Now let us move onto the actual food.

         We started the first meal with some Furitake fries just because we felt like we wanted some fries. Anyways, these were actually very good with the combination of seaweed, sesame seeds and whatever else was there. Nothing wrong here, as there was lots of seasoning which provided flavour without any grease. The fries were crispy and potatoey, and was a nice start to a meal. I would give this a 3.5/5 as they weren't anything particular, but were decent none the less. Moving on to the Hamburger Steak which was pretty simple and cheap at $10. Basically it was 2 hamburger steaks with gravy, mushrooms, and onions, completed with 2 scoops of rice and 1 scoop of Mac Salad. This was pretty large, but it did definitely not take away from the taste. The gravy had the perfect amount of salt, especially when eaten with the 2 massive beef patties. The patties tasted pretty fresh, and went well with the perfectly grill mushrooms and onions. The rice was normal, but the Mac Salad was actually pretty good. At least it wasn't mushy like the one we had at Rainbow Drive-In. Pretty good food, so I will give it a 4/5. Moving on to the other entree: the Monchong special for ~$17. It was a bit pricier than all the other dishes, but you could see why. It was fresh Monchong, and they didn't have it the next day which was a good sign for us. The dish came with the usual rice and mac salad, but there was a good amount of fish, with 3 reasonably sized fillets. The fish was cooked perfectly, and there were no bones or anything. There was nothing wrong, although they could have maybe been a bit more creative. Still, very good, and well deserving of a 4/5.
     

                After the great meal, we left satisfied expecting that it would be our last impression of the place. However, we made an attempt to go to Star Noodle, which is also owned by Sheldon Simone who was a former Top Chef contestant. The issue was the hour long wait, which would have taken us to 8 pm.since we arrived at 7. So we came back to Aloha Mixed Plate. On the second visit, we skipped the appys and went straight to 3 main plates. The first was the Aloha Mixed Plate, which consisted of the usual fillers, shoyu chicken, fish, and teriyaki beef. This was a pretty big plate, just like all of them, and it was ok too. The shoyu chicken wasn't anything special, as it wasn't tender, or flavourful. Not great, but the fish was much better. I think it was Mahi Mahi, and it tasted really fresh while being nice and firm while tender. The flavours were simple, but there really is nothing wrong with it. Meanwhile, the beef suffered from the same issue as the chicken: untenderness. It was flavourful though. s that it didn't taste very fresh, and it wasn't too flavourful. A 1.5/5.

The next dish was the Mochiko Chicken. It was basically pieces of boneless chicken with batter and syrup. It was too sweet, and was not very crunchy due to the liquid. It wasn't great, so I would give it a 2/5. The final plate was the tofu stir fry, which was a weird choice but I didn't have one. Consisting of tofu, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms and onions. It wasn't very fresh, and was rather overcooked. Personally, I didn't like it at all and I will give it a 2/5 too. So in the end, the dishes are rather hit and miss, as you could see with the difference between the two visits.

Bottom Line: Hit and Miss
Tip: Check Out the Specials
Overall: 3.5/5
             

Nico's At Pier 38

         One day, the family was on our way for lunch at a nearby lunch spot. However, this was an epic fail as the restaurant wasn't even open on weekends. Luckily, I had a backup plan, which was the nearby Nico's at Pier 38. This is what some people call a tourist attraction, others a place for good food. Well, we were going to find out either way. This place is really located in an industrial area, but people still tend to find it. It really is open air dining, since the building has open windows and a patio, and consists of a restaurant and a store. The restaurant serves food cafeteria style, so you order and  they prepare your food quite slowly, but give you an electronic buzzer so you can pick up your food. The other section is a store where you can pick up very fresh poke and pre-packaged sushi. The prices on both sides are very fresh, behind in a fishing area, an prices very reasonable for what you get. Oh, and Guy Fieri visited this place too on Triple DDDs.

         The first plate we got was the Furitake Encrusted Ahi (Tuna) which was about $13. Everything was about $13 dollars, and since I forgot the prices I'll just say everything is under $15. This was cooked medium rare, just like a steak, and all I can say is that this is the best way to get it. It was cooked perfectly, very tender and juicy, and the Furitake was very flavourful. Nothing to complain about here, as the salad and rice were good too.However, they only had 1 scoop of rice for some reason, since the normal seemed to be 2 scoops. However, this was still a fantastic 4.5/5 plate of fish and food. We also got 2 deep fried dishes, which were the Beer Battered Mahi Mahi and the some other fish. that was on the daily specials. They were both $13, and the batters were both perfect, crispy but not greasy nor heavy. The fish was flaky and juicy, which meant that every bite was a delight. It also came with a tartar sauce was absolutely perfect, and the tanginess of the sauce was great and went along with the fish. Personally, the mahi mahi was lighter than the other fish, and was great. Moving on to the other part of fish and chips: the chips. They definitely know their way around a deep fryer, as the fries were crispy and not greasy.  I would give both of them a 5/5 as everything was perfect, along with the salad lathered with mayo. Both perfect 5/5 dishes. Would recommend both of the deep fried plates and the ahi to anyone. You can't go wrong with the fish on the menu.

           The other part of the building was the store part, where they sold the sushi and poke. While the raw ahi looked very fresh and was reasonably price, we decided against it. Instead, we went for some poke because everyone liked poke. I forgot the prices, but it was about the same as all other places. We got 2 different containers of shoyu poke and spicy poke, and the response was mixed. I personally liked it better at Ono Seafood because this one was rather chewy in a bad way. It was also less firm. However, my mom and sister liked it so what do I know? The shoyu poke was not very flavourful, and the fish didn't seem as fresh as it looked. MEanwhile, the spicy poke was slathered was mayo and tobiko and onion. The whole works, and the mayo covered the odd scent. Not that it was that noticable, but just something I noticed. In the end, I would give the pokes a 3/5, so it was decent but not the greatest. The meal wasn't bad for a backup plan, at a 4.5/5.

Bottom Line: Really Good Seafood
Tip: Make The Trip Out
Overall: 4.5/5

Sansei Seafood and Sushi (Waikiki)

Same Entrance as D.K Steakhouse

                     One evening, we were chilling at the hotel when we decided to go for a nice meal at the Waikiki location of the Sansei Seafood and Sushi. We also found out that they had a 25% discount for Happy Hour between 5:30 p.m and 6 p.m, so that was a nice bonus. Too bad it wasn't Saturday of Sunday for they have a 50% discount on everything. The Sansei was located in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa in practically the same restaurant as the DK Steakhouse which was operated by the same Japanese chef by the name of D.K Kodoma, who is quite well known in the Hawaiian Islands. We got the option to sit out on the patio or inside the restaurant. Of course we went for the patio overlooking Waikiki Beach with a nice view of the sunset on the third floor. There were some torches outside to provide some heat, and the Hawaii weather wasn't cold at all. D.K Komoda has won some awards for his dishes, so as always, we went for the award winning dishes on the menu. Before I start, Sansei Seafood and Sushi is a more modern take on sushi, and may offend people who like quality fish and just traditional sushi. It is like the Miku of Hawaii, except a bit more modern and club-like. This is because they have Karaoke from 10 p.m to 1 a.m. That is enough rambling, so time to get on to the food. 

Sansei Special Roll $10.25

Crab Ramen 

                       The order of the items that came out was very odd. Normally you would have the appetizer, the entree and then the dessert. At least the dessert came out last, which was good, but the order of everything else was freaking out. Thus, this blog post will be written in the order the items came out. I have no idea how this would happen, because if everything made fresh, the items are made in the order they should come out, but should they be premade, they could be brought out in the order they should be too. The first item that came out was the Sansei Special Sushi Roll for $10.25. This was a mediocre roll that came with Spicy Crab, cilantro, avocado and furitake, which is a Japanese seasoning. The sauce was the kind of Spicy Thai Sauce that you can get at the supermarket. This really ruined the roll, as the spicy crab was delicious, and wasn’t so spicy so you could actually taste the crab. The furitake didn't have too much taste which was good, and I would give it a 3/5. The next item to come out was the Crab Ramen in Truffle Broth for $17.25.  The best thing about this restaurant is that it goes family style so you can try a bit of everything and share some dishes. The dishes are pretty sharable too. Truffle ingredients are one of those things that can add a nice touch or completely overpower whatever flavours or ingredients are in the dish.  At the very least, this broth was very good with a hint of truffle and went well. If it was a little bit hotter, it would have been even better with the perfectly al dente ramen noodles, cilantro, and slightly spicy Jalapenos rings. The crab was very fresh, but was cooked very well. Easily a 4/5, as it was really good with nothing amiss, but just didn’t have the “blew me away factor.” Also, it was very expensive for the price, even at 25% off. 

Panko-Crusted Ahi Sashimi $13.25

Tempura Shrimp Dynamite $12.25

Japanese Calamari Salad

                      After an entree came out, the server brought us the signature Panko-Encrusted Ahi Sashimi, for $13. This is another one of their signature items (we ordered most of them), and had some butter like sauce on the bottom. That's the yellow like liquid in the picture. The first thing I noticed was that it was a bit greasy with the butter, panko and the combination was very greasy. This made the dish rather heavy with all of the butter. The tuna was not as fresh as the tuna in the poke I had prior for lunch. However, it was still fresher than the tuna we have here in Vancouver. The vegetables were fresh, and helped alleviate some of the heaviness. I would consider it filler, really.Next up was the Tempura Shrimp Dynamite for $12.25. There were 6 huge shrimp. Cooked perfectly, they were plump and juicy, with some extra crunch coming from the batter. Some mayo was added, which added a little more flavour. The batter was very thin, which allowed the shrimp to come through with the crunch and flavour. To add a lot more crunch, there was a deep fried wonton wrapper which had no flavour other than from the mayo. This was one of my favourite dishes, and I would rate it a 4/5. Another appetizer came out next, which was the Japanese Calamari Salad for $11.25, and had the same wonton wrapper which contained the calamari. The salad component was the little bit of greens on the bottom of the dish. They were soaked with some sweetish sauce which didn't exactly go well with the calamari, but added a little bit of flavour to the wrapper. The calamari itself was not very good. The batter was very thin, crunchy, and was a lot easier to eat than the calamari.The squid was very hard to eat, and overcooked to no end. I could barely eat this dish. Thus, I would give this a 1.5/5 due to the hard to eat squid.  Finally, we capped off 

Tempura Ice Cream $10

a meal at Sansei with a dessert that would qualify as a meal in itself, the famed Tempura Ice Cream for $10. This was a large tube of ice cream with a tempura batter. The batter wasn't very crispy, but was rather more cake-like, and there was a bunch of syrup on the bottom, chocolate and caramel flavoured. There was also a strawberry and whipped cream. Of course, this was a very heavy plate of dessert, as you would think. The sauces were sweet, and added some flavour to the Vanilla Ice Cream and the pound cake dressing. I(t tasted good though, even though it was very sweet. The tempura pound cake was still warm, but the ioce cream melted very slowly  even though it was warm. In the end, this was a novelty item that actually tasted pretty good, although it was a bit heavy. This was a good 4/5 dessert, since it did taste good.However, there was one thing that made everyone not like this restaurant: they charge a minimum 17% tip, and even though our server was friendly, that rule is not so great. 

Bottom Line: Good Food, Service, Atmosphere. 
Tip: Tempura Ice Cream
Overall: 3.5/5

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

The Shrimp Truck

         The shrimp truck. You know, the white one with black scribbles all over it. Yes, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Shore of Oa'hu is probably the most famous shrimp truck on the north shore. Easily distinguishable from the 5 (?) other food trucks in the same shaded picnic area from the signatures written all over the truck. I wonder how those other trucks stay in business. Giovanni's has become so popular that they don't even use the local shrimp anymore. Instead they use frozen shrimp, but they still are the most popular. Now, Giovanni's actually has 2 trucks on the same stretch of highway, one in Haleiwa and another over by the shrimp farms. So after driving through Haleiwa, we turned around to pick up some other eats before hopping over to Giovanni's. The menu there is quite simple. You have the Shrimp Scampi, the Hot and Spicy, and the Lemon and Butter along with some drinks.

     

(12) Shrimp Scampi $12

        There was only one thing we had our eyes on when ordering: the shrimp scampi. This is their most famous and popular plate, with 2 scoops of rice and 12 shrimp all very generously lathered with garlic. Of course I start with the shrimp, because I was curious to see if the frozen shrimp were particularly special. The shrimp was pretty good, although it does taste like the stuff you can make at home. However, they were cooked practically perfectly, crisp and flavourful. But the garlic was the best part. All of it had the good garlic flavour without any of the bad. The shrimp were cooked in their shells, and was nicely crisp. You could eat the shells. In the end, the price was ok, and the food was pretty good. The only downside is that you get garlic breath after, which is a small downside. This is a 4/5 plate of shrimp. Overall, the food here is good, despite the shrimp, and is a solid option if you want shrimp.

Bottom Line: Good Shrimp

Tip: Shrimp Scampi!

Overall: 4/5

     

Ono Seafood

Hidden Entrance!

Menu

         Ono Seafood is a hole in the wall restaurant with a great reputation for having the best Poke on Oahu. Poke is raw fish, often ahi (tuna) mixed with a variety of ingredients such as shoyu (soy sauce) and seaweed. I love raw fish, along with the rest of the family so we hopped over here after Diamond Head. This place is really easy to miss, and is really just a hole in the wall with a few tables. The truth is that we ran in a few circles before finding this place, which is hidden behind a few umbrellas. You order at the counter and take it outside or wherever to eat. Inside there is a big freezer filled with other foods, but we cane here for the fresh poke. We got 2 Super Combo Bowls for $10 each although the normal size comes with 1/3 pound of poke rather than the 1/2 pound out of the Super size. If you get any size poke bowl, you get a free soft drink or fruit juice. Pretty good deal to me, especially when you see that quality and quantity you get for your $10. The service was quick and were very helpful when we were asking about what was good. The only thing they need are a more exposed storefront.

     

Shoyu Ahi and Shoyu Tako Poke Bowl $10

Spicy Ahi and Wasabi Ahi Poke Bowl $10

    As stated before, a super combo poke bowl is $10, and comes with rice and 1/2  pound of poke. Pretty good bang for your buck there. Because we could pick 2 different kinds on each one, we choose the Shoyu Ahi (tuna) and Shoyu Tako (octopus). As a person who quite dislikes tako, I was a bit relectant to try it, and I was glad it was done. The Tako was very fresh, not frozen and at room temperature, but the main draw was that it was so freaking tender. You just needed to chew a little bit, and it would be gone, with the lightly flavoured shoyu sauce. The Shoyu Ahi was even better, or at least better than the run of the mill stuff back in Vancouver. Not saying the tuna isn't good back home, but it just isn't as good. This one had the same dressing as the tako, which made it nice and light and allowed the fish to shine. And boy, did it shine. One bite and you were in ahi heaven, with the fresh ahi melting in your mouth, maybe pressing your teeth together every once in a while. This went great with rice, as the rice had the same flavouring, although it was nothing special, it did it's job as filler. This poke bowl was easily a 4.5/5, and was a 5/5 on what I tried. For poke bowl number two, we got the other popular item, which was the spicy ahi and we decided to get the wasabi ahi for our other choice. Starting with the spicy ahi, it was lathered with mayo, but was still nice and fresh at the same time, complimenting the fish and not overpowering it. Some masago was rolled onto the outside, giving the fish a crunchy feel. For me, the ahi wasn't too spicy, and I can't tolerate that much heat, so most people can eat it. The other poke we got was the wasabi poke because that was the feel at the time. When they said wasabi, they weren't kidding. It gives you the "too much coke burp" feeling, and lots of it. However, once you get past that you get the same fresh fish, with not too much flavour. Not sure if I could recommend this item, for it didn't have too much taste, which wasn't too bad, but wasn't good either. I would give the spicy ahi a 5/5 and the wasabi ahi a 3/5.

Bottom Line: Fantastic Poke and Poke Bowls

Tip: Combo for MORE selection

Overall: 4.5/5