100 Sails Restaurant & Bar

100 Sails is located in the Prince Waikiki on level 3. The restaurant offers a buffet for brunch, lunch, and dinner but I enjoy coming for the happy hour at the bar. The happy hour runs daily from 2:30pm - 5:30pm and 8:00pm - 10:00pm. All the food on the savory menu is half off except the ahi poke and prime rib. If you have more than 2 people in your group, it might be best to come before happy hour starts so you can get a seat. It gets busy and they don't take reservations for happy hour. I recommend the KFC (Korean fried cauliflower), salt & vinegar chicken wings, and the uni carbonara for sharing. If you come of the first seating and you stay till 6pm, you'll get a great view of the sunset. They offer complimentary valet parking with validation when you eat here.

For more information about 100 Sails Restaurant & Bar, visit 100sails.com.

Prince Waikiki
100 Holomoana St
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 944-4494

Honeycomb Cheese Tray

Truffle Fries

Salt & Vinegar Chicken Wings

Fried Calamari

Shiitake Mushroom Flatbread

Uni Carbonara

Off The Hook Poke Market

Off The Hook Poke Market offers different flavors of poke that you won't find anywhere else on the island. They are located across Manoa Marketplace in the green building with Starbucks and Andy's Sandwiches. Besides poke, they also have shave ice. I recommend the cold ginger ahi poke because it taste the best. The poke bowls cost between $10 - $12 and they give a generous amount. If you want 2 choices of poke, it's an extra $0.50. The shave ice is $3.75. To get the best poke selection go during lunch instead of dinner because they close at 6pm.

They have tables set up so you can eat inside or sit outside on East Manoa Road. The parking lot is behind the building but some of the spaces are tight. If the lot is full, you can park inside Manoa Marketplace.

2908 E Manoa Rd.
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 800-6865

Mini Poke Bowl w/ Cold Ginger Ahi Poke & Shoyu Ahi Poke

Regular Poke Bowl w/ Hawaiian Style Poke & Spicy Ahi Poke

Honolulu Skewer House

Honolulu Skewer House offers an array of food grilled on a stick Chinese style. If you enjoy spicy food, get their house special spicy seasoning on your skewers. If you prefer mild, go with the house special mild seasoning instead of the shoyu. Most of the skewers are $1.99 each. The large portion items for sharing range between $5 - $10. I enjoyed the mild seasoning and I got full after eating about 6 skewers. I recommend getting the hanging pork belly w/ garlic sauce. It sounds odd but actually taste good and you can keep the sauce for dipping your skewers after. If you need a break between the spiciness, order the scallion pancake. They gave a complimentary dessert, tanghulu, which was fruit dipped in sugar.

I recommend making reservations in advance if you're coming between 5:30pm-8:30pm. They are busy. There are a few parking stalls in front of the restaurant but parking on Makaloa Street would be best. The metered parking is free after 6pm.

1427 Makaloa St.
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 888-8680

Hanging Pork Belly w/ Garlic Sauce

Pork Wrapped Enoki

Beef

Whole Eggplant

Scallion Pancake

Tanghulu

Hawaiian Chip Company

The Hawaiian Chip Company has a storefront in the Kalihi area. You can order freshly made sweet potato or taro chips and season them with your own seasonings. The seasoning bar offers sweet, savory, and spicy seasonings to put on your chips. The made to order chips in a bag is $6 and the box is $15. The chips taste the best when eaten the same day or the next day. It's better to buy the chips here than the grocery store because every chip is whole; you see the oval shape of the sweet potato or taro slice. You won't have broken pieces unless you smash the bag/box.

Besides chips, they also sell other locally made products like BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and salad dressings. The entrance and parking are hard to find but look for the bright orange painted walls and you'll know you're in the right place.

For more information about Hawaiian Chip Company, visit hawaiianchipcompany.com.

1928 Republican St.
Honolulu, HI 96819
(808) 845-9868

Fresh Sweet Potato Chips

Fresh Taro Chips

MW - Restaurant Week 2018

MW Restaurant is offering a 3-course dinner menu is $55; they also had a lunch menu. I come for restaurant week every year because their menu is reasonably priced and the food is consistently good. I splurged on my dinner and got the most expensive entree and added black burgundy truffles. 

For more information, visit www.restaurantweekhawaii.com/restaurant/mw-restaurant.

Chefs Appetizer Trio

Grilled True Natural Brandt Brand 12oz. Ribeye Steak ($15 supplemental)
Black Burgundy Truffles ($15 supplemental)

Tropical Fruit Creamsicle Brulee

dk Steak House - Restaurant Week 2018

d.k Steak House is offering a 4-course dinner priced at $65. One of the entrees is a 15 day dry-age boneless rib eye steak; 10 oz cut. The torched avocado and kabocha ravioli are also items I've never seen on their regular menu before. If you have a special occasion to celebrate during restaurant week, I would recommend this.

For more information, visit www.restaurantweekhawaii.com/restaurant/dksteakhouse.

Torched Peppered Avocado

Roasted Garlic Kabocha Ravioli

Nature’s Natural 15 Day Dry-aged Boneless Rib Eye Steak

Strawberry Panna Cotta

The Pig & The Lady - Restaurant Week 2018

The Pig & The Lady is offering a lunch and dinner menu. The lunch menu consists of 3-courses and is priced at $29. For lunch, you have the option of choosing 1 of 3 entrees to go with your salad and dessert. If you plan to do the restaurant week menu, everyone on the table has to participate. 2 of the 3 entrees are new items so it's worth checking out.

For more information, visit www.restaurantweekhawaii.com/restaurant/pig-and-the-lady.

Green Papaya Salad w/ Crispy Cauliflower

Pho & Banh Mi

Tiger Style Rice

Fall Malasadas a la Soft Serve

Cream Pot

Cream Pot is known for their souffle pancakes. They are located inside the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel on the lobby level. They only open for breakfast and lunch; no dinner. The interior of the restaurant is spacious and the decor is interesting. There are a lot of antiques and handmade items displayed around. I noticed the staff comes quick to ask for your order so it's best to do some research in advance and figure out what you want to eat before coming.

The souffle pancakes are pricey but I highly recommend them because it's the best I've had on the island so far. If you're coming with more than 4 people, you should make a reservation. They have a long table in the middle for big groups. For parking, there is no street parking in the area so it's best to use the hotel parking and pay $2. Give your parking ticket to the waiter for validation and the parking charge will be added to your bill.

For more information about Cream Pot, visit creampothawaii.com.

Hawaiian Monarch Hotel
444 Niu St
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 429-0945

Souffle Pancakes w/ fresh blackberries and blackberry coulis

Two Eggs & Toast

The Classic Crepe

Somisomi - CLOSED

Somisomi is here in Hawaii! They are known for their taiyaki soft serve which is a fish shaped waffle cone with ice cream inside. You can find them at Ala Moana Center on level 1 near the Makai Market Food Court; next to Curry House.

I've never had one of these desserts before but it tasted amazing. My favorite so far is the oreo ah-boong with custard filling. They are still new so be prepared to stand in line and wait for 10-20 minutes. The ah-boong is $6 but if you just want a small order of soft serve it's $4. If ice cream is not your thing, you can get the taiyaki which is the fish shaped waffle with sweet or savory filling inside. You'll want to eat that when it's fresh though, so the waffle is still crispy.

For more information about Somisomi, visit somisomi.com.

1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 206-8997

Milk & Matcha Ah-Boong

Ube & Oreo Ah-Boong

Oreo Ah-Boong

Taiyaki

Matcha Love - CLOSED

Matcha Love is a soft serve shop that offers flavors like matcha, hojicha, black sesame and vanilla. They also have mango but it's only available in the late summer. When the mango flavor is in season, they don't offer vanilla so you wouldn't be able to swirl the two flavors like how you can for matcha and black sesame. The shop has a variety of green teas in the fridge next to the register and they make shakes with the same flavors noted above. They are located inside Mitsuwa Marketplace on the 2nd level of the International Marketplace.

Most people prefer the matcha soft serve here because it's sweet and creamy. You still get some of the bitter aftertaste but it's not as strong as other places. My favorite flavor is mango but when it's not available, I enjoy the black sesame. If you have a few people with you, I recommend trying the waffle bowl. You get to choose 3 flavors to put into the bowl. The small cup/cone is under $5 and it's a good size for 1 person. If you make a purchase over $10 inside Mitsuwa Marketplace, you can get parking validation. They also offer kama'aina discount so make sure you show your local ID.

Mitsuwa Marketplace
2330 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 664-0563

Hojicha

Vanilla

Mango (seasonal)

Black Sesame

Frankie's Nursery

Frankie's Nursery is located in Waimanalo and they offer a variety of tropical fruits and tropical plants for sale. They are known for their honey cream pineapple (meli kalima) which is extra sweet, juicy and low in acid. A honey cream pineapple can cost anywhere from $10 to $25 depending on the size. At the fruit stand, they sell whole fruits, chilled pre-cut fruits, and fresh fruit juices.

If you are feeling adventurous, I suggest booking the nursery tour for $15 (per person). It's an informational tour about the nursery and you'll also get to sample seasonal fruits as you walk around. The tour is about 1 hour. You'll need to call in advance to reserve your spot. See photos below for some of the items I tried on the tour.

June 2019 update: Tours have been discontinued.

41-999 Mahiku Pl
Waimanalo, HI 96795
(808) 259-8737

Star Apple, Guava,
Honey Cream Pineapples

White Sapote

Green Peppercorns

Mammee Apple

Mamey Sapote

Cashew Apple (did not eat)

Guava

Longan

Jaboticaba

Yield - CLOSED

Yield Restaurant is located in downtown Honolulu near the corner of Hotel Street and Nuuanu Ave (2 shops down from Fete). They are open for breakfast and lunch. The menu is limited but they have a lot of delicious items. I enjoyed the steak and eggs but the portions were small. I highly recommend the dutch baby. You'll want to order this once you get settled because it takes a while to cook.

The restaurant is small so big groups are not recommended. They accept reservations and it might be good to put one in if you come on the weekends. Parking in the area is tough; it would be best to park in one of the Chinatown municipal lots and walk over.

1110 Nuuanu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 233-9453

Moi Ceviche Salad

Steak and Eggs

Dutch Baby