The Last Supper

It would not be a trip to Honolulu without a meal at Maguro-Ya. We go there for sushi every single visit.



Nothing is particularly new or original, but everything tastes good.



The fish, it's like buttah.



I hate to finish this meal. Afterward we say goodbye.

Rush Hour in Paradise

Our last evening in Honolulu and we are heading out to meet important people and do insignificant things.



The view from out hotel hallway window is beautiful and strange.



I don't know why, but I always love taking pics of sundown rush hour in Honolulu. Maybe it's the juxtaposition of the Hawaiian landscape against the familiarity of the taillights ahead.



People play soccer in fields along the Ala Wai Canal.



With Waikiki blocks and blocks to the south and Punahou on our immediate right, we are almost there.

Alan Wong's Pineapple Room

During my trip to Honolulu, I desperately wanted to visit Alan Wong's on King Street and sit at the chef's counter. However, busy happy family things took precedence over decadent meals. As a substitute, on our last day there we ate at the more casual Alan Wong's Pineapple Room at the Ala Moana mall. The food was shockingly delicious. Maybe even better than the food at Mariposa. It didn't have the same atmosphere or view as Mariposa, but yes, I think I agree with myself, the food kicked ass.



D started with this amazing tomato soup. I have no idea what the exact enticing and very savory ingredients were in this, aside from tomato and the big shrimp on top, but we seriously scraped the sides of the bowl.



We shared this unusual preperation of eda mame. These were sauteed Chinese style, the way long beans are done at one of my favorite Chinese places in Los Angeles, Mandarette. It was nice to have soy beans done this way. They were very garlicky, and worth every moment of compromised breath.



For an entree I ate the shrimp & crab Caesar. Again, emphasis on garlic but this time balanced nicely with anchovies. Here, like several other of the restaurants on this trip, the menu explicitly listed the provenance of much of the local flora and fauna featured on the menu. The menu had a nice balance of surf and turf, something not always seen in Hawaii with the obvious typical emphasis on seafood.



On the way back to the car I stopped to say hello to the beautiful koi. Hello fishies!

Izakaya Nonbei

One Chowhounder very quietly rec'd Izakaya Nonbei in a query for good izakaya in Honolulu.



http://www.chowhound.com/topics/512784

We were unable to get into the other two more adamantly rec'd izakaya the night of my brother's high school graduation, so I steered everyone to Nonbei and we had a great meal.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Sep/26/en/en13a.html

Above, the Honolulu Advertiser gives them a good review and details many of their dishes I didn't get a chance to try. They say,

"Izakaya Nonbei serves a bit of everything in a very homey and warm atmosphere; they offer a good way to get acquainted with Japanese food while satisfying conflicting palates. You'll be enjoying your dinner bellied up to a bar, so it's a friendly and social style of dining. Nonbei is not only a "happy drinking place" — it's also a happy eating place."

The interior is cozy and mysterious. There are tables designed for patrons to sit on tatami mats whilst dining, and large party tables. On the wall writ in Japanese characters are something that must be part of the menu, as a couple had "sold out" written across them on post-it notes.



We took up a sweet corner of the bar, introduced Dad to unfiltered sake, and got started.



First came a generous portion of mackerel sashimi with ponzu sauce.



Next served was a giant wedge of daikon stewed in a thin brown gravy with some cooked albacore. I have had this in several other izakaya, so it must be traditional.



Out marched pickled vegetables, sea eel in a light bbq sauce, and broiled butterfish.







My personal favorite dish of the evening was the poke. I love poke everywhere. The poke at Izakaya Nonbei was delightfully garlicky with lots of green onions and some fresh tangy sprout-like things.



Our served suggested we end the meal with a large bowl of ramen covered in a variety of fresh and pickled veggies in a light steamy broth.



Our meal was delicious with several stand out items, the poke and the broiled butterfish especially. Our service was attentive and friendly. Dad cannot wait to go again and take someone to share his discovery. Afterward, we headed over to the graduation ceremony where I promptly fell asleep on D's shoulder. I missed a couple of reportedly long and arduous speeches. I awoke just in time to pay attention to the talented students' musical performances and didn't miss a second of the traditional balloon naughtiness.

Ho'omaika'i 'ana & Pomaika`i, Punahou grads. Live happy lives!