Famous Kahuku Shrimp (Truck)

On our culinary odyssey through the Hawaiian isles, my wife and I decided to try a few shrimp trucks.  Our first attempt was the "Famous Kahuku Shrimp (Truck)" in Kahuku, Oahu - on the North Shore.  We ordered the Hot and Spicy Shrimp, and Coconut Shrimp.  Honestly, it wasn't that great.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

Looking at those shrimp, you expect there to be an explosion of flavor.  They were good, but the explosion was lacking.  No explosion.  The dish was one note.  My Hawaiian friends over the pond will be disappointed to hear me say this, but the facts are the facts (and by that I mean this is my opinion).  Plates are not cheap at $10-15 each, so it's not a steal of a deal.  And then there was the macaroni salad.  Salt, pepper, elbow noodles, mayo.  It was bad.  

In the end, I would say, drop by if you are in the area and give it a whirl, but don't go out of your way to this truck like we did.  Moreover, tell them to hold the mac salad, and just take an extra scoop of rice.  Yelp, you let us down - another Aloha Bump.  But DO TRY SHRIMP TRUCKS IN HAWAII.  

Famous Kahuku Shrimp (truck)

56-580 Kamehameha Hwy
North Shore, Oahu 
Kahuku, Hawaii 96731 
Hours of Operation: 10 AM - 6 PM Daily

Email: Famouskahukushrimptruck@gmail.com

(808) 389-1173
3 of 5

Sagano at the Renaissance

Everything that Hanare and Tatsu were in Kuala Lumpur, Sagano at the Marriott's Renaissance (Hotel) was not.  Another Malaysia International Gourmet Festival participant and Japanese restaurant, Sagano was a very affordable option.  It was affordable for a reason, and that reason is that it was little better than average.  Apparently others enjoy it enough, see this blog here - though I stand by my do-not-recommend.

MIGF, or "restaurant week" for a month in KL, allowed the gluttonous to visit some prominent hotels and restaurants to order reasonably priced tasting menus.  My experience was not the best at Sagano.  First, I ordered the tasting menu, and found out it wasn't actually a tasting menu.  Although many menus said "or" along side courses that diners would need to select an option from, this menu made no such indication.  I was then forced to pick one, and of course I opted for Wagyu.  (This would not be a big deal, if it was clear.)

The waitstaff handled it interestingly, the waitress brought out a menu and rather unapologetically made me select one.  They then brought out a magazine to entertain me while waiting on the food.  The hotel felt a little past its prime in terms of decor, and there were very few patrons. The seat springs absolutely assaulted me. It was uncomfortable.  I was a little insulted when the waiter brought out silverware, assuming the white man couldn't use chopsticks. He apologized when I separated the chopsticks, collected his silverware, and scurried off.

With a better lens you'd see the seat is uneven, and not just the stains.

After making an effort to wave down the manager and a quick chat, I confirmed that the waitress either decided unilaterally that I wanted the light menu (although that is not why I ordered), or tried to save the kitchen food by making me chose a dish when it was in fact a tasting menu (aka, charging me full price for half the dinner).  The manager first seemed to indicate that I did have to make the choice, but once I actually pulled out the MIGF literature he apologized and proceeded to update the kitchen I would be having the full tasting menu.  It left me really wondering if everyone was on the same page.  I was lost.

So, this was my first Japanese restaurant visit in awhile, and I had to order sushi (over the top, I know).  I ordered the sushi deluxe, for about 130 Malaysian Ringgit extra (everything is just so cheap in Malaysia).  The price wasn't so bad by Western standards, but is a small fortune in Malaysia.  Unfortunately, it was anything but deluxe. It had regular tuna, flying fish and salmon roe, bass, and all, were - regular.  A piece of salmon was very good, but no different than what I get at home. I stole the shiso leaf from my other dish to add to my sushi to create one of my best sushi bites that evening.  I would never go here and order off the menu at full price if the sushi deluxe is any indication.  Moving on... 

Apps

The appetizers, unagi (eel) sushi and seaweed, deep-fried soft shell crab and sticky ginger soy sauce, and egg tofu and boiled live prawn with bainiku sauce were ok in sum.  The eel was quite good, the sauce with the softshell crab was bland but the crab was good, and the tofu was so-so. 

The best of these bites - Unagi

The salmon "starter" was nice, and I loved the 'char,' but there was just something off-putting about it. It was a medium rare Atlantic salmon with grated yam, hot spicy sauce, and ikura (roe).  It had a flavor that didn't belong, which may have been an enzyme from something with the salmon roe or just not fresh roe.  Alternatively, some other element in it might have not been good.  I couldn't be sure, but it was too bad that a full bite of the dish was less appealing than eating it piecemeal.

The main courses were simmered seabass and wintermellon with garlic crabmeat sauce, griled cod mentai mayonnaise sauce, wagyu striploin and trio of mushrooms with wasabi-teriyaki sauce, and diced chicken rice with herbs.

A winner

Weird mayo and veggies

The seabass was very nice, filled with pleasant subtle flavor.  The melon was a little lost in the dish, but the concept was sound. The cod had a crisp and delicious piece of lotus root and good flavors, but I would have traded the mayo and egg (flying fish roe or something akin to it) for crispy skin!  The wagyu was criminally, CRIMINALLY, overcooked.  It was about three shades above my order, but wagyu is just so juicy and soft that you needn't be too fussy about it.  The final main dish, the chicken dice, was a bit of a mess.  It was average, and lacking clarity, but I am a sucker for shiso and enjoyed the herbs.

Wagyu, overdone and bathed in sauce but still good

Bleh rice dish

The deserts were ok, but really not great. Kuzukiri in sugar syrup and red bean soup sounded good, but the red bean was too watery and the flavor was not developed. The noodles were a little unusual, and not bad.

Overall, the meal and service were average - but not worth the price.  Especially at full price. The flavor combinations, and development, were not expertly crafted.  At the conclusion of the meal, Chef (at the time) Mohd Zamri Abdul Rahman came out to speak with me and my neighbor for a few minutes.  He asked for our opinion, and I tested the water by saying the red bean soup could use a little improvement.  He informed us that it was "just like from Japan" and that they have weird things that wouldn't appeal to everyone's palate (not in those exact words).  I decided to simply thank him and call it good.  Unfortunately, it seems a few years at Hotel Nikko as a sous chef does not turn a Malaysian into a Japanese expert.  I can't say that I am either, but I know I haven't eaten something so bland and unskillfully combined in Japan as the red bean dessert soup.

Sagano

Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel

Level 1, West Wing

Corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang

03-2162-2233

rhi.kulrn.fb@renaissancehotels.com

2 of 5 (on the back of wagyu that you cannot mess up)

Squeeze Inn

My family descended upon the poor unsuspecting Squeeze Inn in Galt, California (right outside Sacramento) to try their famous grilled-crisp cheese cheeseburgers.  Once a modest establishment, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and other accolades have caused rather rapid and aggressive expansion.  We ordered just about every type of burger and fry they served, milk shakes, and other artery cloggers.  In the end, we enjoyed ourselves, but a mix of average service and often underseasoned food caused the overall assessment to be rather lower than where they could, and probably should, be.

The milkshakes were large and delicious.

The fries were fresh and cooked perfectly, but needed more salt.

The chili fries were a meal unto themselves and featured good, Texas-style red (no bean with meat) chili.

The sweet potato fries (a new addition) were rather disappointing.  They had an odd taste, were crisp but not 100% delicious, and the wasabi ranch sauce was probably powder ranch mixed with powder wasabi (resulting in an extremely tart, oddly tangy - in the wrong way - pretty impossible to eat mix).

The burgers were beastly (hand for scale) with a delicious side of crispy cheese (which I folded back onto the burger).

And filled to the gills!  (Fork for scale of crispy cheese).  The patties were the thin variety, not fat "Red Robin" style, but more expanded "Wendy's" style.  This said, they were juicy and well cooked.  We couldn't be sure they weren't frozen, but such is life.  The main issue with the burger was the meat was underseasoned.  Salt - Pepper.  Feel free to also add a little Garlic Powder, etc.

Overall, good but not great.  We were glad to have gone.  Crispy cheese, what a fantastic idea to create a unique burger experience around it!  Bravo!  Our party could have been a little nicer, and so could the host/first server.  For example, as we arrived (with a large group) the servers were unwilling to allow us to move together a few tables (with 3/4 of the space open).  They wanted us to sit near each other, but not connected or wait for at least 10-15 minutes.  Some quick subterfuge later and the tables were connected.  

This did not seem to be a problem for local high school kids around.  The staff seemed perfectly content to allow them to nurse their fries for 45 minutes or more and drop by to see what they needed.  It appeared we caught them between shifts though, as one less helpful waitress left, a new, more helpful waitress arrived.  Seemed they may have wanted us to wait because one waitress did not want to help a big party and end up with no tip.  I cannot say I completely agreed with how our group handled the situation, but the service from hosting to serving never was super impressive.  

The Squeeze Inn

545 Industrial Drive  

Galt, CA 95632
(209) 745-4313

3.5 of 5

Kahuku Farms

Driving around the North Shore of Oahu, there are just so many things to see.  So many places call your name.  "Stop Here."  "No, Stop Here."  "Why choose?  Stop at both places!"  
Kahuku Farms was one of these places.  Local.  Fresh.  Delicious looking.  Near famous shrimp trucks, and in a fairly well traveled area of the North Shore, their little farm store called Kahuku Farms Farm Cafe was just so tempting.  We stopped for shakes (pictured below) and some lilikoi ice cream.  

It wasn't bad, it was just tremendously disappointing.  First, I must mention what my wife has dubbed a term for a phenomenon, "the Aloha Bump."  This "Bump" is the good vibe that people feel being in Hawaii - and this vibe makes people more inclined to write positive reviews on crowdsourcing sites, like Yelp.  In addition, everyone is so laid back in Hawaii that they love everybody, and everything!  Kahuku Farms was the beneficiary of an Aloha Bump.  


We ordered the lilikoi joy (lilikoi and banana), haupia pineapple (pineapple and coconut), and lilikoi ice cream.  This was after we found out there was no more papaya for a half papaya with ice cream (my first choice).  Despite my earnest request for -anything but banana- in my smoothie, the unapologetic attendant informed me that lilikoi joy MUST come with banana and there were absolutely NO substitutes.  She, and her cohort, swore up and down that because lilikoi is such a strong flavor (think a slightly less pronounced passion fruit) that you cannot taste the banana.  


I gave it a shot, and I paid for it.  Paid for it in more than one way.  Banana is such a strong flavor in smoothies, especially when it is the base of the drink, and extra especially when it is starchy and under-ripened.  I could taste almost nothing but banana.  Think a tart banana shake with seeds.  My kind, accommodating, anti-conflict wife took a taste and knew that I would not be happy.  She agreed it was terribly banana-y.  Her haupia pineapple was good, but average.  The lilikoi ice cream scoop was good, but not smooth.  It was crystalized, maybe a little old or not creme-based.  This said, things were fresh (though frozen).  Also, we did not try the paninis or other offerings at the farm.  


What can I say, other than I was very disappointed?  Mostly, I would have appreciated the folks being just a little accommodating.  Since treats like these are a dime a dozen in Hawaii, I am not going to be speeding back to Kahuku.


Kahuku Farms
56-800 Kamehameha Highway  
Kahuku, HI 96731
2.5 of 5

Square Lotus

Square Lotus in Bellevue, Washington was an average Vietnamese place that seemed to cater to vegetarians.  It had a Four Star rating on Yelp (but in our opinion was not deserving).  The place had a very strip-mally decor down to faux brick wall paper, wobbly tables, and plates with the Square Lotus logo.

We ordered a few things, summer rolls, tropic rolls, stir fried soft egg noodles with beef (spicy style), and  super pho bowl (pho tai bo).  

Summer Rolls

Summer Rolls: They were a few herbs on the inside away from perfection, but they were very well done here. I prefer the fried wonton to be rolled in the middle, but to their credit they did include them flattened and in small pieces in the center.

Tropic Rolls

Tropic Rolls. We loved the combination of flavors and grilled chicken, but this roll was also missing a few herbs.  It was a nice variation from the classic summer roll, but was a little bland.

Stir Fried Noodles with Beef

Stir Fried Soft Egg Noodles with Beef - Spicy.  The portion was very small compared to other noodle or Chinese places.  The flavors were subtle, they don't jump out and slap you and "very very spicy" turned into barely spicy when it hit the tablet.  That was a tremendous disappointment.  The dish was good, in an average sort of way, but at over $9 I would not order them again.

Super Pho Bowl. Pho Tai (Bo).  The Pho broth was light, flavorful, and meaty, and the bowl is spacious (a personal preference I have come to view as vital).  The dish was very meaty when ordering the "super," but we can't comment on the regular (and judging by the noodles I suspect it may be very different).  The broth to noodles to meat ration was, therefore, quite on point if you order the Super Pho.  On the dig side, the broth was quite cloudy, which my wife assumed was due to not pre-boiling the beef bones before adding them to the pot with the other components (a quick was to make cloudy Pho broth at home).   

The biggest problem was really the poor, poor service.  Although we appeared to catch them during their lunch, the staff was not attentive at all.  We also got no hoisin sauce, crushed red pepper, or anything else out on the table (nor was it brought to us for quite some time after we had our food).  It was average, but with so many Vietnamese places in the Seattle area, there is no reason to overpay for noodles and get good (but not great) Pho with bad service.  I suspect if you are a vegetarian, you like this restaurant more  because they clearly cater to you with a large portion of the menu highlighted as Vegetarian.  If I were you though, I'd keep looking, because there are better places out there that also have vegetarian fare...



Square Lotus Fine Vietnamese & Vegetarian Cuisine
3540 Factoria Blvd SE # A
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 679-0680

2.5 of 5

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar

My wife and I decided to drop by Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Bellevue, Washington for a quick bite to eat a few months ago.  I had eaten here once or twice before, and wanted to give my wife an opportunity to try her first risotto.  

Unfortunately, it was not a great first time for my wife.  The herb risotto was not creamy enough, and did not even taste as if it had been made with stock.  It was missing flavor, and the garlic came through with such a tang I doubt it was roasted off before being used.  Overall, I was sad (especially so since the picture turned out about as good as the risotto tasted).  


My wife loves calamari.  She liked this calamari, but did not love it.  She fell in love with their thick, spicy aioli.  It was just too bad that the calamari were greasy, and a little too chewy (overdone).

My wife's dinner, the BLTA was good.  She loved her fries, and the avocado was ripe and tasty.  The bacon was clearly of good quality, and the bread was fresh and inviting.

Then there was the lamb shank.  The arugula mashed potatoes were delicious.  Such a simple idea, and one I plan to implement at our home.  The dish, however, came out more room temperature than hot.  The jus had a great flavor, and the tapenade was cold.  It seemed that was not an accident, but it took an already under temp lamb shank and sapped what excess heat it had right out of it.  There was that, and the fact the tapenade had a sour note that I could not place, which either was an enzyme that reacted poorly with the jus or was just a bad olive or two.

The creme brûlée on the other hand was very good, and was clearly torched to order - the ONLY way to serve it.  

The waitstaff was not exactly bad, and not exactly good.  We did not order wine, and that clearly resulted in C-quality service.  Average, and the meal was average.  Unimpressive risotto, greasy calamari, cool lamb, it was not a good showing.  I have had some meals here that were better, and a special mushroom risotto was actually good.  I guess that means you cannot be certain how good the meal will be that you will receive on any given night.  Kitchen standards are important, and with so many restaurants out there, we will not be back.

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar
430 106th Avenue Northeast
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 502-6292
2.5 of 5

Sushi on North Beach

Nigiri Sushi

Finding sushi in San Francisco is like finding a prostitute in Singapore.  Easy (so I'm told).  Finding good sushi is another story...

After some internet magic, I came upon Sushi on North Beach.  Word was they had a very good tuna and foie gras nigiri offering.  Having had a few very nice examples of how sushi and foie gras can work together beautifully, I wanted to give this restaurant a shot.

The place was small, sort of hole-in-the-wally, and the servers were pleasant.  I went a little buck wild ordering, because when I was provided the specials for the day they had a number of real winners.

The Good:  1. Hotate (Scallop) nigiri.  The scallops were large and fresh, and it was above average.  2. The special nigiri, a Hawaiian butterfish (escolar or walu), was also outstanding.  Two other real winners were the yari ika (calamari) and house special foie gras (with tuna).  3. The calamari actually stole the show, it was delicious, soft, clear white and obviously fresh, soft, not chewy, with a shiso leaf hidden underneath.  I love shiso, and this addition was a welcome surprise.  4. The foie gras nigiri were two little pieces of decadence.  Since the combination is so delicious, and works well together, I have no idea why it isn't everywhere fine sushi is sold.  I'm surprised that in a location that was also featuring otoro (tuna belly), they didn't double up on their luxurious components for a killer special.

Fresh Calamari

Hawaiian Butterfish

Tuna with Foie Gras

The Average:  The ultimate roll and spicy hotate,  1. The ultimate roll had very nice flavors, it was sort of a roll version of the foie gras nigiri.  I learned a little lesson at this restaurant, which is that when you order maki rolls, they quality and proportions are not as good as nigiri sushi.  I have been to a number of places where you don't notice as substantial a drop-off, and places where it doesn't matter (because no matter what you're never going to get anything better than average).  The concept of a place that is good, but that doesn't do a good job of controlling rice to inside goodies, and foie gras to other ingredients, is a little new.  Additionally, the obvious drop off in quality is also new.  Sushi on North Beach defined this new category.  2. The spicy hotate was not memorable, but it was nice.  The scallops got thin through the roll, but returned to more acceptable levels around the edges (where it was more obvious).  I asked the chef to add thinly sliced lemon, as much to test his knife skills as because I enjoy the flavor with scallops.  The result was, in a word, average.  Not thinly sliced enough, but not terrible, and certainly not the highest quality lemons.  3. In the non-maki category, the ikejime (wild sockeye) special was good but not great.  It was buttery, and mostly delicious, but not uber fresh like I expected, or fatty either.  I guess I should have known better than to order salmon since we live in Seattle.

Ultimate Roll

Inside Ultimate Roll, Foie Gras is barely visible

Spicy Hotate

The Bad:  Very bad.  On a whim, because it was fresh, I ordered otoro (tuna belly).  I had enough nigiri already, and the server said they made it into a nice maki with some scallion.  I said, "deal."  Well, when it got to the table, it looked a little more white than I'd expected.  I tasted the first one, and it was very fishy.  Second piece, same problem.  Third piece, I broke open.  I ate a small sliver of one piece of "otoro" and then looked at the other.  First, it was two tones.  That means, not fresh.  Second, it didn't look like any otoro I've ever eaten.  It was clearly not otoro, and not fresh.  It tasted like "white fish with scallions" that you get at any run of the mill sushi place in the middle of the country - the middle, as in, not on the coast.

"Otoro"

Inside, where you can clearly see the color difference between top and bottom - Not Fresh!

In a rather unusual display of patronage, I called over the waitress.  I asked her, evenly, how fresh the otoro was?  She said it had come in this morning.  I pointed out it was very fishy.  She suggested it was supposed to be fishy.  I told her that the fish had two tones, clearly indicating it was not that fresh.  I asked her to inquire with the chef what the problem was.  I decided not to express my suspicion that it was actually a piece of white tuna or something else, distinctly not otoro-y.  The fact is, that chef NEVER would have served that piece of fish on a piece of nigiri and tried to pass it off as fresh otoro.

To the server's credit, she took it off the bill.  To her discredit, she tried to tell me that's how otoro was.  Little did she know that I'd had it three times in the past week.  Would she have removed it (after telling me it should be fishy) had I not spent $50?  I can't be sure, but it did come off my bill.

The final verdict.  They lost a half to a full star because of the otoro incident, and the discrepancies between nigiri and maki quality.  Unlike most solid three star establishments, I'm inclined to give them another chance... maybe...

Sushi on North Beach




Neighborhood: North Beach
745 Columbus Ave
(between Filbert St & Greenwich St)
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415)788-8050 
3 of 5

For readers who might not have had real otoro before, here are two shots of real stuff.  Notice the difference.

Real Otoro (Type 1), Kuala Lumpur

Real Otoro (Type 2), Singapore