Eating in America (Part 2)

Here's what you guys have been waiting for! 

Photos, ratings, and descriptions of almost all the things I ate on my trip! 

If you want to read about the first part of my trip, click here. 

Be prepared, because this will be a long entry! 

Eggs Benedict

Overall: Delicious! 

(7 out of 10)

This was just a simple Eggs Benedict that I got at the Edmonton International Airport while waiting for out flight. It was like 6 AM, and I needed food. The English muffins were nicely toasted, warm and crispy, and although the sauce was a little too salty, they did not douse it all over the egg as you can see. The hash browns were seasoned well and super hot and crispy when I had it. 

Chicken and Salmon with Rice

Overall: Alright

(5 out of 10)

I picked this combo up at the supermarket (Food Land) when we went to get fruit and water because we didn't want to go out for dinner. It was from the counter hot/cold foods. The chicken was supposedly seasoned with garlic and onions but had no taste. The salmon was surprisingly good, seasoned with sweet chili sauce. 

Real Crab Crab Cakes 

Overall: Yummy!

(8.5 out of 10) 

Crab cakes are crab cakes, but these ones were a little different from what I would find in my hometown. Firstly, it was 99% real crab meat (plus 1% seasonings), and it also had 3 different kind of dipping sauces to be paired with: mango salsa, sweet chili, and sweet aioli. They tasted really good, but it wasn't quite hot enough. I mentioned that to the server, and he explained to me that: real crab meat burns a lot faster than artificial, so in order to maintain the color they don't cook it as long as regular crab cakes. Shortly after that, he came back out with a fresh batch - on the house - for us! Cooked to extra hot for perfection. Superb service as well! 

Loco Moco

Overall: Delicious! 

(9 out of 10)

We were seeing this dish, Loco Moco, over many menus that we browsed before entering the restaurant, but we couldn't figure out what it was - until we asked our server that day. My friend ordered it, and it was absolutely delicious. 

Served on a bed of rice doused with a sweet, unique tasting gravy, it was accompanied with a beef patty, sunny side up egg, and a little side of vegetables. This dish may seem simple, but it was oh-so delicious. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 was I went back the night before I left, and it didn't taste as good and the price was twice as expensive on the dinner menu. 

Shrimp Burger

Overall: Delicious! 

(10 out of 10) 

It may seem just a twisted version of a regular beef burger, but whoever came up with this recipe deserves a pat on the back. The jumbo shrimps were detailed and firmly arranged into a patty that never fell apart during the entire meal. The buns were toasted and had a unique, sweet tasting aioli sauce to it that brought out the taste of the shrimp. Top it off with some lettuce, tomatos, red onions, and avocado - espeically the avocado - and you have the best burger in town. The avocado made the burger a smooth texture, along with the crunchiness of the shrimp - it was just a great match. 

** the past 3 dishes were ordered from the same restaurant 

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Blueberries and Icing Sugar 

Overall: Yummy! 

(8 out of 10) 

Probably some of the better pancakes that I've tasted. We all know IHOP is known for their breakfasts and pancakes, but these pancakes were 10 times better than IHOP's. These would be the kind of pancakes I'd expect from IHOP. Not the kind of pre-made garbage they're serving right now. I drizzled a little bit of coconut syrup on it - yummmy. I only had a couple pancakes, took the other one home - but it didn't taste as good afterwards. 

Special of the Day Omelette: Turkey Bacon, Spinach, Mushroom, Mozzarella Cheese 

Overall: So damn good!! 

(8 out of 10) 

Hands down the best omelette I've ever tasted. I couldn't ever re-make an omelette that would taste the same. You can't really tell, but the omelette actually came on a round paper plate and was a big round thing. It almost looked like a pancake. But you can see that it is absolutely FILLED with fillings. It wasn't a stingy "breakfast rip you off" omelettes. It tasted great, and the amount of filling was well worth the $10 I paid for it. The ONLY thing that I have to justify for it not being a 10 is that I found a piece of hair in it halfway through :\ I told them, and they made me a new one, but since it was rushed, half the egg yolk wasn't even cooked yet. I ended picked out the filling and ate that only. 

Iilma's Restaurant - Breakfast Buffet 

Overall: Alright

(6 out of 10) 

We didn't know where to go for breakfast, and this restaurant was in the main lobby of our hotel, so we decided to give it a try. They have their daily breakfast buffet's for $15. The selection was a little weird, and it wasn't super great; they had the usual pancakes, toast, bacon, sausage, exc, but they also had seaweed soup and steamed white rice. 

I definitely had a little chuckle when I saw the rice; I almost felt like I got ripped off because half of the things I would eat at lunch and not breakfast. The more I thought about it, I finally put together the reason why; Hawaii has a large population of Japanese and Chinese people, both in the local and tourist area. Because of their dietary differences from the Western culture, that's probably the likely reason they put rice and seaweed soup at a breakfast buffet. 

Mahi Mahi Wrap and Hawaiian Burger

Overall: M - Good , H - Yummy 

(8 out of 10) 

My friend had the Mahi wrap and I had a bite, and it was alright. The fish was kind of oily and dry, but the tar tar sauce gave it some more flavour. The Hawaiian burger had a meat patty, a ring of pineapple, and a bit of teriyaki sauce glazed over it. Definitely different to try a burger that was kind of sweet and salty at the same time. It was an interesting combination that I enjoyed trying. Made the burger EXTRA juicy! I don't think it was worth the $12 though, maybe $10. 

Food Market - House Special Ramen 

Overall: Alright 

(6 out of 10) 

We walked my serveral places that served udon and ramen, and we knew that at one point we had to try. Being the impatient person I am, I decided to try this one at the food market place. It wasn't the best choice I've made. The soup was heavy in MSG and tasted really salty, and there was only few pieces of chicken, pork, and half a boiled egg. The noodles tasted similar to instant noodles too, so it wasn't anything special. I was fairly hungry when I ordered it though, so it was still enough to fill me up. Not quite worth the $10 in my eyes! 

Prime Rib Loco Moco (L) and Mahi Mahi Salad Wrap (R)

Overall: Yummy! 

(7 out of 10) 

We were on Hawaii island when we ate this for lunch. It was at a space/astrology museum that we were touring. There was the option of a buffet or ordering off the regular menu. We opted out of the buffet and decided to try these two feature items, which were both only $12! The portions were very generous for it's price, especially the PRIME RIB loco moco. If only the sauce tasted as great as the other one, and it would have been perfect. They did mix the sauce and mahi mahi fish with a mayo base sauce, but  the wrap was light and very refreshing overall. 

"Wok- Kiki" Lunch Buffet

Overall: Alright

(6 out of 10) 

The day we went to eat at this restaurant was after our Pearl Harbour tour on the 3rd last day. Our tour guide recommended this place, saying it was really decent, so we decided to give it a try. The selection was variable, and seemed quite reasonable for the price of $13 per person. There were many types of noodles, fried rice, pork, chicken, vegetables, and even soups to choose from. Best of all, was there was unlimited sweet, sweet pineapple at the dessert station. Although the food was gourmet or stellar, we definitely got our money's worth of food. I don't recall knowing a place that can get me 2 plate fulls of food, a bowl of noodles, and 1/4 of a pineapple for only $13!! 

BBQ Chicken and Meat Jun 

Overall: Delicious! 

(10 out of 10) 

Our driver to and from parasailing actually recommended this place - ME BBQ was the name. To our surprise, the food was delicious, even though the outside of the restaurant looked a little sketchy. You go in to the non-air conditioned store and order your food, and you pick it up and sit yourself at an empty table to eat. I had never really had much Korean food before, so it was like a new thing to me. For the small price of $12, you get the BBQ chicken and "meat jun" PLUS 4 other little sides. For my sides, I had double serving of broccoli, cold tofu with sweet soy sauce, and some cold mac and cheese (really good as well).  The chicken was very tasty, had a great sauce on it, and wasn't burnt black like other grilled chicken. The meat jun was also very interesting - there was a thin thin layer of meat in the middle, and it was doughy all around the outside. It came with this tangy, sweet soy like dip and it was the perfect combination for the jun. So delicious!  

Tempura Kake Udon 

Overall: Good 

(7 out of 10) 

I can't quite recall which day it was we went to this famous Udon house for the udon, but I do recall that I had been starving, dehydrated, and suffering from motion sickness all day. Definitely wasn't fun. I had to run off to find a bathroom cause I was feeling so sick, and thus my udon got kinda cold (warmish) :( The taste of it was still good - the soup base wasn't the typical miso or dashi that I'm use to having it here, and I couldn't quite tell what it was. Good none the less though! 

The best part about this noodle house is that EVERYTHING is made fresh and right in front of you! Kitchen staff battering and frying the tempura, chef's rolling the dough out, putting it through the machines and producing the udon noodles, and putting the noodle in boiling water to cook up right away. 

4 pc Assorted sushi, Plain udon, and Chicken Karash 

Overall: Yummy 

(7.5 out of 10) 

 This little Japanese place was also located in the main lobby of our hotel. At first I was planning to get a regular udon - the lady who owned the place was telling me all the stuff and how good it sounded. Instead, I chose this assorted sushi and udon combo, thinking I will get both sushi and some of that yummy udon. Unfortunately, the udon didn't come out like the picture and was just plain. The soup was still okay tasting though. Evidently, I wasn't full yet, so I also ordered an order of chicken karash. The chicken was really tender inside, but hot and crispy on the outside. It came with a tangy soy dip 

Big Mac and Fries 

Overall: It's McDonalds

Our hotel is really close to the beach, and there are also many little food stores around us too. When we arrived, there was in Mcdonalds being built/going under renovation. Not sure if we should consider it lucky or not, but it opened just the day before we were about to leave. When the store opened at 11:59 pm that evening, they had a 4 hour special of 99 cent Big Mac's and Egg McMuffin's. My friend and I both got one, and I got a side of fries as well. It's been sooo long since I had a big mac. It tasted goood. 

Fresh Pineapple and Coconut Juice 

Overall: Refreshing 

I stole Spongebob's house!! Just kidding haha. We had the coconut juice first one day, and I have to say, it was different from what I imagined. The coconut juice I've had in town is very sweet, and I knew for a fact that they did add some sugar syrup to it. But the one we had in Hawaii wasn't very sweet at all - just a hint, but it tasted very natural. It was real coconut taste, no additives, nothing. Glad I tried it :) 

We saw people walking around with pineapples at the market place, but we weren't able to find the stand near the end of our trip. We watch them slice the pineapple open in front of us, core all the meat out, and blend it in a blender and pour it back into the pineapple. The guy then puts toothpicks to attach the lid back on, pop in a straw and a umbrella and serve it to you. My friend had the regular pineapple one, and I added coconut meat to mine to give it a pina colada taste. 

There wasn't enough coconut meat, so it wasn't very pina colada. Just a few hints. The more outrageous part was the price - $15 for mine and $13 for my friend's. I had no idea it was that expensive! Like, it's a damn pineapple that probably costed $2! Anyways, it was more so paying for the labor and the experience, that's how I took it. 

If you've made it to the end of this entry, congrats! You may now feel a bit hungry and anxious to get out of your town and head to Hawaii yourself to try all of these delicious (some not so delicious) foods! 

Hope you enjoyed the entry! 

Mahalo' 

xoxo