Hawai'i on a Budget

My First Couponing Experience

2011-07-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a while because I took the time to gather coupons from the Sunday newspaper, online, and through friends. It was hard! Glad I read some blogs that had beginners' guide to coupons because this was hard work! I spent several hours cutting coupons, organizing them, and matching them to what was on sale and I had to throw away a lot of coupons because they expired before I could even spend them. I really have to find a way to print as much coupons as possible without wasting them. Grr... still learning....

Above is some of the coupons that I was organizing last week (which took about 3-4 hours that one night to organize and I wasn't done!). I decided to go with the binder system because I could easily take it with me and I bought those photo plastic inserts to keep my coupons. I just have to be wary of the expiration dates. The only thing that annoys me about this is that the coupons keep sliding around the plastic inserts, so I have have to make sure that I don't lose them or that they don't spill out of my binder.

After several hours of trying to organize and match coupons to sale prices, I decided to take my first coupon trip to Walmart. There were several stores on my list but I decided to use Walmart's ad match to make it easier by saving gas and time.There were only a few items on my list because I just wanted to get my feet wet, but I was sooooo nervous! At the end of it, I felt very good and I'm going to go on another trip to take advantage of the sale and the coupons.

So here's what I bought:

-Lawry's Garlic Salt 11 oz $1.99 (sale price at Long's)
-Hoy Hoy Trap a Roach (stupid cockroaches in our kitchen are growing in numbers!) 5 Pack $2.99 (sale price at Walgreen's)
-Shick Quatro for Women $6.99 (sale price at Walgreen's after Register Discount of $3) but I had a coupon for Buy 1 Get 1 Free so I got two packs for $6.99
-Stayfreee Feminine care 14 pack for $2.49 (sale price at Walgreen's) minus $1.00 coupon = $1.49 each (I bought two)
-Dove Men + Care Deodorant/Antiperspirant (for Beb) at $3.99 (sale price at Don Quixote) minus a $2.00 off coupon = $1.99 (so sad I didn't have more coupons for this but it was a newspaper coupon so I only had 1 at the time!)
-Dove Body Wash and Deodorant/Antiperspirant 4 for $11.00 (sale price at Walgreens) minus 2 $1.00 coupons for the deodorant, 1 $0.75 coupon for one of the deoderant, and 1 $1.00 off coupon for the body was which came down to $7.25 for all four or ~$1.81 each

I didn't buy the other stuff on my list because they didn't have it (Carnation brand evaporated milk), I need to buy the refills which were $5 each (Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra Starter Kit even though the kit was only $1.39, I didn't want to spend more later), and I wasn't sure how to use the coupon with what they had (they had a lysol wipes pack which connected together and I had a coupon for $100 of 2).

I thought I did pretty well. I had a budget of $25 and I spent $30 (I bought one more garlic salt and one more Hoy Hoy, and I forgot to include tax in my original budget).

My thoughts on the experience: it took a lot of time to do this, but as Beb says, it's my first time and it gets easier later when I've developed a routine. I believe that I'd rather spend time than money since that 's all I really have. I'm not going to let it take over my life or anything, but I do have lots of time right now, so I might as well turn this into a hobby. What do you think?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Extreme Couponing

2011-06-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

I, like all viewers, are fascinated by TLC's newest show "Extreme Couponing." We all want to try it because we all want to save money and get free stuff especially in these times. I've tried to do some couponing a few months ago when I first watched the show, but I thought it was a waste of time.
Last night, after a couple of episodes of "Extreme Couponing", I decided to start couponing again. I was very much inspired by the Scotty B from New York who had the same DJ name as Scotty B from Star 101.9 and because he lived in an expensive place such as New York but was still able to save money using coupons (~$500 to $50).
I've been reading a lot of blogs, directions, and have clipped many coupons since last night. I know that it takes a lot of time (they say sometimes 3-4 hours a day!), but I figured I better change my mentality about this and treat it like a second job where I work hard at it, save money on groceries, and don't have to pay taxes (kind of). I want to be able to reach a point where this becomes second nature to me.
After trying to cut down on my bills and reorganize my life financially, I'm still living paycheck to paycheck with nothing to safe. I literally only have $50-$100 after paying bills to spend per 2 weeks when I get paid and that has to pay for groceries, gas, and anything else I might need. I know I have to get a cheaper place. I currently pay $800 a month on rent which includes utilities, cable, and internet, which is reasonable for Honolulu but still very expensive for me since I have a car loan, a credit card, and two big student loans that I have to pay for since graduating in May 2010. I love my job and I don't plan to go anywhere anytime soon, so the next big step that I must do to survive is to do this. Hopefully it works out. I'm going to do my best to blog this.

A Chamorro Dish: Kadung Pika (Spicy Chicken)

2011-04-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

One Sunday, I decided to make Kadung Pika since my sister was staying over with me that weekend and I try to give she her a home-cooked meal every weekend before she goes back to the base. Kadung Pika is a Chamorro dish that I've had a couple of time back home in Saipan. It is basically spicy adobo (a Filipino dish with soy sauce and vinegar).

The ingredients are:
-1 Stewing Chicken cut up (I used chicken wings; use whatever you prefer actually)
-1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
-1/2 cup Vinegar
-2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
-3 Garlic Cloves (you can cut it up or toss it in whole; I'd rather it be whole so that I can take it out easily)
-1 1/2 Teaspoon of Crushed Tinian Pepper (or regular hot pepper; make sure to taste it because it can get pretty spicy!)
-1/2 Cup of Water
-A Dash of Black Pepper
-A Dash of Onion Powder (because I don't like adding real onions!)
-1 Tablespoon of Veggie Oil

Directions:
1) I fried the chicken wings and garlic cloves in the veggie oil until it becomes brown.
2) I'm not sure why I didn't take any more pics after this but, when the chicken turned a little
brown, I added the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for about 20 minutes (I just covered the pot but I made sure that there was a small hole for steam to pass through). I then checked and stirred it every 10 minutes or so to make sure that it was fully cooked before serving. If it's not pink or bloody then it's ready (I just had it when I cook chicken and it's not fully cooked which is why I tend to over cook it; hence the 20 minutes).

Just eat it over some hot rice with the sauce from the pan and you've got a great and easy meal!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bangkok Chef

2011-04-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Beb wanted to go to Bangkok Chef. We haven't been here in a loooong time and I'm not sure why because it's a great place for people on a budget!

They have several locations now: near Manoa Marketplace, in Nuuanu, and across Best Buy on Nimitz (their newest location). Check out their link for the locations, hours of operation, and menu at http://www.bangkokchefexpress.com/.
Their meals are around $6 a plate which usually comes with rice (jasmine or sticky rice) and it's the cheapest but great way to get some great Thai food! Seriously! In the bottom right was my order of Thai yellow curry. To the left is an a la carte order of chicken wings (so good and huge for chicken wings!) which we were craving because we could smell it in the air! On top is Beb's order of a kind of sweet and sour chicken (which I didn't enjoy much). We also had two orders of Thai iced tea (about $2.50 each). Our total was about $25 with tax! Pretty good deal I thought, especially because we had a lot of leftovers! We were so full! So if you are ever craving some cheap but good Thai food, check it out! I promise you, it's a great find!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Good Eats: G Sushi

2011-04-24T23:46:00.000-07:00

Ugh! I ruined my workout the other at the gym where I burned 450 calories on the Full Body Workout with dinner at G Sushi but I don't regret it (I semi-regret it)! lol!

G Sushi is located at the Market City Shopping Center near Kapahulu (next to Blazin' Steaks). I like going here because it's a change from Kuru-Kuru and Genki Sushi, but the only thing that makes it hard to come here often is the parking. It is horrendous especially near Foodland during weekday afternoons, so I try to avoid this shopping center altogether except for this place! It is also a pretty small place; nice and homey.

The thing that makes G Sushi different from places like Genki and Kuru Kuru is how the sushi is served: instead of served on the usual revolving conveyer belt, the sushi is served on little boats on top of water that fit two sushi plates. I'm not sure exactly how it moves, but it is very calming. Another thing that makes G Sushi unique is that they rarely have a full house so they tell you to sit anywhere you want. I'm not sure why it's not as popular as the other sushi places since it is as pricey as Genki, but I think it's a good thing because the waitress is more attentive to you than in other places where they are always running away from you. lol!

When I come here, I always get my favorite sushi set: Captain Cook ($8.79). It has two pieces fried ebi (shrimp), two pieces fried fish katsu, two pieces fried scallops, and two pieces spicy ahi (it is supposed to be fried spicy ahi, but I asked not to fry it because it's a little too much for me to have everything fried! lol!) all of which are on top of pieces of rice. It's a pretty good deal because if you buy them individually, it would cost about $10 or so dollars. They have other sushi sets as well; I've also tried the all spicy ahi set (fried spicy ahi, spicy ahi roll, and I forgot the other two! lol!) which was pretty good especially if you are a spicy ahi lover like me (sometimes!). It always surprises me how full I get after this because if I eat at Genki or Kuru Kuru, I spend about $10-15! I do wish I could show you other good items to get here so you can get a better picture of what to order here, but I'm such a boring person that I only come here to get my "usual". lol!

The ratings: G Sushi gets 3.5 cherries for its price because it compares reasonably with Genki but not as cheap as Kuru Kuru! They have different colored plates similar to those places but the great thing about G Sushi is that they have a $0.99 yellow plate special and they have an Early Bird Special (choose 5 items from the list that they have for $6.79)! Their sushi sets are also a great deal! Moreover, G Sushi gets 4 cherries for customer service because the waitress (they usually have a waiter and a waitress working there but we have always gotten the same waitress even when I take out) is very attentive and we get our meals quickly (even when I take out!). I do give G Sushi 4.5 cherries for the likelihood that I'm coming back because I always come back when I crave for their Captain Cook set (5 cherries for taste just for this plate! lol!)!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Strawberry Haupia Pie

2011-04-10T03:03:00.001-07:00

Beb and I did some late night shopping for dinner and we saw this at Don Quijote!

It looked soooo good! I've tried Ted's Macademia Nut Pie and Chocolate Haupia Pie, and they were sooo good that we decided to try it. AND it was $10.99 (compared to $12.99 at Foodland)! Time to check out!

This is my second slice because it was that good! It wasn't too sweet, was light and fluffy, and was surprisingly light in my tummy (Beb made beef broccoli for dinnah!). Even though I blew half my $20 budget (broke again!), it was worth it (I'll just have to eat it for breakfast! LoL!).

Second Attempt at Red Velvet Cake: SUCCESS! I

2011-03-28T01:43:00.000-07:00

Since it was Spring Break and I didn't really have anything else to do, I decided to attempt Red Velvet Cake again for another church gathering (I didn't want to post the pics I took of my first attempt because it wasn't that great -_-*). This time, I decided to use white cake mix (instead of making everything from scratch) and sour cream (because I was trying to finish it before it spoils and because I found some red velvet recipes that uses sour cream anyways! yay!). A tip for you: buy things you know you will need when they are on sale! I knew I was going to be baking red velvet again, so I bought some cake mix and icing when it was on sale for about $2 each (I forgot where I bought them. lol). Usually, it's about $2.50-2.99 each, so I saved some... lol!

After looking at several recipes online, I found one that I like that was simple enough and I tweaked it a bit (this time my tweaking worked! lol!). So my ingredients are:
-One box Super Moist white cake mix
-1 cup sour cream (yes! It was just enough for me to finish the container!)
-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

I also, and firstly (is this even a word? lol!), followed the ingredients on the cake mix and the directions as well. So I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees and I used the following:
-3 egg whites (I used the egg yolks to make scrambled eggs for lunch. Ugh! So caloric, but I didn't want it to go to waste!)
-1 1/4 cup of water
-1/3 cup veggie oil

I sprayed the silicon molds with baking spray after pre-heating the oven and then I began my mixing!

I just mixed everything together including the sour cream and the cocoa powder using a whisk. So Sad... I didn't get to use my new electric mixer, but mixing it wasn't so bad.

I did the food coloring last because the only reason why it's Red Velvet is because of the food coloring. I'm not sure why they decided it needed food coloring. Without it, it is fine, and it's just simply chocolate cake. I was pretty bummed though when I first started googling recipes to find that it was just plain chocolate cake colored red. No wonder I liked it so much... lol... I just don't like the idea of adding so much red food coloring. I just kept adding food coloring, which ended up to be the entire bottle (and what was asked for in the recipe that I found online the second time around; the first time around, it looked more chocolate than red velvet)!

I then poured about two cups of each mixture into the top and the bottom each because Beb said that the directions for the mold said it had to be even! And now look how it turned out! The top (which is in the bottom of the picture) is bigger than the top (which is on top of the picture)! It was a totally uneven giant cupcake... :(
Anyways, I baked it in the silicon molds for 25 mins and checked it in between my dish washing (about every few minutes or so) using a BBQ stick which I poked through both molds. If the stick came out with wet batter, it wasn't ready so I added more time until the stick came out clear or with cooked batter (the bottom finished faster than the top so I took it out earlier; I don't know why when they had the same amount of mixture). I then let it cook in the molds until the cupcakes were done.
When they were done cooling, I took them both out of the mold (be careful because the mold can still be pretty hot!). I was then careful about slicing the top of the cupcake (which is in the bottom of the pic) because the top gets shaped like an actual toy top after baking so I needed to slice of the top part of the top so I can put it on top of the bottom part of the giant cupcake (if that makes any sense at all! lol!).

I added the rest of the mixture to my baking sprayed cupcake tin because I though it would be cute to have little cupcakes around the supposedly giant cupcake... lol.... I baked it for 20 minutes and added more time when I the BBQ stick came out wet. I made sure to test several cupcakes.

I had leftover icing from the last time I baked which I left on the counter to get to room temperature before I used it (according to the label) because it was pretty hard.

This is what the cupcakes looked like when it was done. I let it cool a bit in the metal tin and then took them out to cool before I added icing (I tried to add icing to a cupcake that was a bit warm and the icing melted and dripped all over the cupcake!).

I only had enough vanilla icing to cover the giant cupcake and two mini cupcakes and used chocolate on the rest. Apparently, they liked the mini cupcakes more because it was easier to grab, but most liked it overall at the gathering. I thought it tasted pretty good too, and so did my sister since she ate the leftovers twice this weekend! So try it and tell me how it tastes! I'm not exactly sure how the sour cream changed the flavor, so maybe next time, I'll try it without, but I considered this attempt, a SUCCESS!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Honolulu Burger & Co.

2011-03-28T00:36:00.000-07:00

I was hungry for some junk food last Thursday or so, so I took Beb to Honolulu Burger & Co. since it was nearby and because I've been seeing a lot of people "check-in" there lately so I've been meaning to try it. I was lucky that I didn't throw away one of my Safeway receipts because I was keeping it because it had a coupon for Honolulu Burger & Co. for "buy one burger, get the second half off". So that's a tip for you! Look behind your Safeway receipts because you can find some coupons like this for other places, such as, Good to Grill and Blazing Steaks.

The place is pretty small and I was going to park at Times across the street from it on Beretania but Beb pointed out it had a small parking near the restaurant. The menu sounded really good, which you can find on their website since I didn't take pics of it. lol! Sorry!

It sounded pretty organic since the beef was from the Big Island and the ingredients were all local (according to their signs). We ordered a Mushroom Mushroom Burger, a Bleu Cheese Burger (which is not on the menu on their website; not sure why), and a small order of fries. HOWEVER, if you notice on the left, it doesn't look like a regular burger nor does it have any sign of bleu cheese! When we got home (we ordered take-out), we saw that the girl who took our order messed it up. We should've checked it! Always remember to check that you got the right food when you order take out! Sucks! She actually gave us the Korean burger which she didn't change when we decided not to get that since there was no actual burger in it. Sucks cheese man! I wanted to go back and change it since we lived a couple of blocks away, but Beb was hungry and just wanted to eat.

The Mushroom Mushroom Burger was ok. It had a pretty good smokey, mushroom-y flavor, but we thought it was dry (I ordered well done). They also put sauteed onions on it and it's not even on the description for the burger or I would've told them to skip the onions! You know how I ate onions! Beb thought the Korean burger, which had some kind of Korean BBQ sauce over shredded kalbi and onions. It was pretty flavorful actually, but I wanted burgers, not kalbi. Grrr... As for the fries, even though it was fresh cut fries, they tasted burnt! I love my food burnt a bit especially BBQ and fries (because it makes it crispy), but the fries weren't so good...

So I give them 3 cherries for flavor because I could tell that there was a potential to be a pretty flavorful meal overall (from the taste of the Mushroom Mushroom burger), but it just wasn't that day. I'll give it 4 cherries because I'm giving them a second chance and I will try them again in the future. However, I'm giving them 3 cherries because it was a bit pricey for burgers $7-10 as well as other items on their menu. Lastly, I give them 2 cherries for their customer service because the girl who served us didn't look like she wanted to be there, messed up our order, was a bit rushed and it was like she just wanted to serve us and make us leave or something... One more chance for them, so we'll see.... I'll wait till I get another coupon though! lol!

YouTube + Beb's Touch = A Great Tempura Recipe (In my opinion)!

2011-03-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

I am currently on Spring Break even though I am not a student (love my job!). I am very grateful for the break, but I am too broke to do anything, so I decided, among other things, I should catch up on my blog! Yay! So I decided to make tempura today because I wanted to try out the recipe Beb used got from YouTube which he tweaked with a bit.

My items to be tempura-ed (lol!):
-Green beans (it was a bit expensive for $3.16 a bag, but I was craving green beans. I hate it when I order tempura at a restaurant and I only get two pieces of green beans! lame!)
-Mushrooms (because they were on sale for $1.87 a box!)
-Tiger Shrimp ($2.97 for about 12 pieces; IDK how much of a pound, lol!)
-A Filet of Mahi-Mahi which I cut into smaller pieces ($3.50 for a fillet)
-NOTE: you can use whatever vegetable or type of meat you like; it is really up to you. More traditional items are in the YouTube video mentioned below.

Beb got the batter recipe from here, which includes:
-1 Egg Yolk
-2/5 Cup of Icy Cold Water
-2/5 Cup of Flour
-1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
-1 Teaspoon of Cornstarch (Beb told me to add this; this is one of his tweaks)
-A Dash of Garlic Salt (My tweak)
-A Dash of Black Pepper (My tweak)

The YouTube video said to whisk the egg yolk and then add the other ingredients. You need to make sure that you don't whisk it too much (make sure that it's lumpy), according to the video; IDK why that is but I followed it exactly (because Beb said I need to follow directions better or it'll turn out wrong especially in my baking! Hmpt!). I had to do this batter recipe twice because it wasn't enough for all of my items! I was also too lazy to make the tempura sauce, but I'll do next time because it looks really tasty!

The video said to dust the items, but it didn't say with what so I just did it with regular flour. I guess this is to make sure that the batter doesn't fall off the veggies and seafood while cooking.

After my prepping, I turned on the stove and warmed up the veggie oil. I used old veggie oil that I just have sitting on the stove so it's ready when I want to fry something. I mean it's still good because it's covered, but, I mean, I don't think I need to throw the oil away every time I fry something right? lol! I bet a lot of people do this!

I then added the veggies into the batter and make sure that it's fully coated before dropping it slowly into the hot oil.

Make sure not to overcrowd the pot/pan or the veggies will stick together. I also stirred it sometimes to turn things like the mushroom over and to keep the rest of the veggies from sticking to each other. It cooked pretty fast so be sure to watch it. When it's golden brown, then it's ready.
I had a bit of an accident and created a mini-fire on the electric stove because I overcrowded the pot and the oil started to boil over and fall into the heat! Wahh!! Good thing I remembered that I needed to cut the oxygen supply from the fire, so I put a pan cover over the stove to let the fire die. Unfortunately, Beb didn't know that the pan was over the stove because of the fire, so he burnt himself... Wah... wah... wah... lol! Jk!

Ahhhh! Crispy tempura green beans are sooo yummy... I wish I made the sauce from the video because it would've been good. I want to experiment later though and make like a wasabi/chipotle mayo or cream sauce for this... I love creamy sauces like ranch, even though I know it's sooo bad for you.... :(

This is the shrimp and the mushrooms. The color is a bit off because it's used oil. If I used new oil, then it would look brighter (?). lol! That's the best way to describe it.

And this is the mahi-mahi. The color is sooo off because Beb too it out early before the batter had a chance to turn golden brown. He said it's fine and the fish is cooked... I guess... but I told him to take over the tempura-ing of the mahi because I had to wash dishes and I was getting scared because the oil was boiling over again! I didn't want another fire! Wahhh!

I thought it was a pretty good first try for tempura! I ate it with rice and kewpie mayo mixed with tabasco. However, the sauce was a bit heavy; another reason why I should've made the tempura sauce in the video. Also, I paid about $13 including tax for all of the ingredients, so I thought it was a pretty good deal since it fed me, Beb, and my two roommates, and we STILL have leftovers (way better than the $19 meal that Beb and I got from KFC last night because I was unfortunately craving KFC! lol!). So, see for yourself and be creative by mixing in some of your favorite veggies or meat, and tell me how yours turned out!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My First "Melt"

2011-03-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

Mwahaha! My bf got me an iphone 4 so now my only excuse to not blog is because I am lazy, not because my iphone was acting stupid. I know! I know! The new iphone is coming, but he figured I was in desperate need of a new phone because mine old one really sucked. Gotta use the Otterbox cover now because I was prone to dropping my phone almost everyday. Hopefully, this will last!

Anyway, my first blog with my new phone is with the Melt Truck which we saw at a Food Truck Rally (didn't take pics because I had to eat and leave quickly! lol!). There was 50+ people in lining and they had lobster bisque! So sad that I didn't get to try it this time around because I have been craving lobster bisque (which I can't find here) since my trip to New York last year. The second time I wanted to try it, I went on their twitter and checked out their next location, which I thought was right by my place, but it was wrong! It was by my place the week before! Grr... I have yet to master twitter... I finally got to try it in person out last Friday when they were by Yogurtland (my bf found out that it was going to be by his workplace and ordered the tuna melt and the burger melt thingy which was pretty good and totally unhealthy! But I stopped eating the tuna melt when I noticed there was onions... Eeek!)

This was on today's menu. I shared a Pastrami Melt with my friend J but I also bought a whole Pastrami Melt to share with Beb later that day. My total for my Pastrami Melt and a half was $12. I wanted to get the soup too but it was gone as soon as I got there! My friend tried the tapenade , which she thought was good, while her bf tried the triple melt, which he thought was good, but he didn't realize there wasn't any meat so I gave him some of my pastrami from my sandwich. lol!

I didn't really get to see what they put inside or how they cooked it, but it was pretty crispy! I tried to look in and I saw the guy putting some mayo and mustard which I could taste in the sandwich, but I couldn't tell if it was for my sandwich or for some other sandwich. It was sooooo good, but I was glad we shared because I could tell that it was sooo bad for me because it was sooo good and pretty oily. Need to burn it off at the gym now! The mustard complemented the pastrami well and it was crispy, chewy, smokey, buttery, and just plain yummy!

Taste-wise, I give it 4 cherries because it was a pretty dern good sandwich, but it was just a bit oily. I give it 3 cherries for price because the menu is a bit pricey for a couple of sandwiches, but I guess it's because they use some fancy ingredients like gouda cheese too. Imagine, the burger melt, which was basically a burger between two grilled cheese is $11! Ouch... But I do give the Melt Truck 4 cherries for the likelihood that I'm coming back because they're menu is every changing so I'd like to try all that they have to offer. So if you wana go try it, check out their twitter and see where they'll be and what they'll offer. Be fast though! They run out of food quick!

P.S. I love how my pics look from this phone! Doesn't it make you hungry?!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Late Kimchee Fried Rice Recipe

2011-03-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

Tsunami warning has been reduced to a tsunami advisory, so since I am home sick and we didn't have work today, I thought I'd catch up on my blogging since I've been neglecting it for so long... so sorry! Anyway, here is one of the recipes that I should have posted a month ago. I thought I'd try and make some kimchee fried rice sinee Beb bought a huge jar of his favorite kimchee because he didn't like the one I bought -_-*

I decided to use the kimchee that I bought to make my fried rice since I could finish my entire container of kimchee in this dish. My ingredients for this dish are:

-A small package of thinly sliced beef (I used sukiyaki beef because it's pretty tender)
-Some kimchee (it really depends on how much you want in your dish)
-Left-over rice (or freshly cooked rice, whichever you prefer)
-3 eggs, scrambled
-Black pepper
-A tablespoon of veggie oil
-Salt (I prefer using garlic salt)
-Some soy sauce
-A dash of sesame oil

I first fried the meat in about half a tablespoon of vegetable oil on medium heat. I added just a pinch of garlic salt and pepper to flavor the meat, and took it out of the pan when it was a bit pink. I didn't want to overcook it because I was going to return it in the ban later.

I then used half a tablespoon of vegetable oil to fry the eggs and the kimchee together. I shouldn't have done that because it made the eggs very wet. It's best to cook the scrambled eggs alone in the pan, breaking it up into pieces while it is cooking, and taking it out of the pan before it is overcooked (when it's just a little wet).

I then added the rice to the egg and kimchee mixture. Here, you can add the meat and, if you didn't already, add the kimchee. Season the dish with some soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Mix it all together until the beef isn't pink anymore and the rice starts to turn orange from the kimchee. Make sure to taste it to see if it's in your liking. I know some people add green onions or more kimchee. It is really up to you.

And here is the final product! It tastes pretty good for my first try. Now you try!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

$20 for $40 of Food at Pablo Cantina

2011-02-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

Oh my gulay (vegetables in Filipino. lol!)! I was soooo hungry a couple of weeks ago that I told Beb to take me to Pablo Cantina so that we can finally use our PLAY Hawaii coupon.

PLAY Hawaii is just like Groupon. Beb and I get emails from Groupon, PLAY Hawaii, and another company called Living Social for some great deals. About a month or so ago, Beb called me and wanted me to purchase the Pablo Cantina deal before it ran out. He works at a printing company so he made one of their signs and saw that the menu sounded good so I bought it for him. It was $20 for $40 worth of food. It sounded like a great idea because we've never been here before and this gave us a chance to try something new for a change.

The hostess was very nice and asked us if we wanted to sit outside or inside, so I chose inside because it was a pretty hot Sunday. We got free chips and salsa while we waited for our meal. They were refillable, I believe, but we didn't want to spoil out appetite for our entrees (even though I did finish the whole basket! lol!).

Beb got some pork tacos, which on the description said that it was the regular street food in Mexico. I've always wanted to try it because they always feature this when Anthony Bordain or Andrew Zimmern visit Mexico, but it's pork... how sad... It came with rice and beans too. Beb thought it was ok... he wasn't as hungry as me but he did finish it... lol...

I got this stuffed pepper with cheese and chicken dish (man! I can't find their menu online so I don't know what it's called!). It was pretty darn good! It also came with rice and beans but I stopped eating the beans when I noticed that there was meat inside and it looked like pork... ugh... and I chomped on some onions too... ugh... so I just enjoyed the entree which was pretty fulfilling by itself...

It has seasoned chicken, with a layer of cheese around it (or was it some kind of dough? I'm not sure... lol..), stuffed inside a pepper and then fried. Then it's covered in this yummy red sauce. I though it was supposed to be a spicy dish because it said so on the menu, but it wasn't.

Since we had $40 to spend, I thought I should get a drink since Beb got an ice tea. I got a virgin mango margarita which was so yummy! I was sad it wasn't served in a real margarita glass though so I can pretend I was drinking the real thing... lol... It was soo good that I drank to fast and had brain freeze several times... ouch...

We figured that we might as well get dessert since we probably had enough money to cover it if $40 wasn't enough especially since I saw fried ice cream on the menu!!! Yay! I haven't had this in a while... especially since the best fried ice cream I've had was in the Taco restaurant that used to be right next to Good-to-Go Grill in Kapahulu, but was closed down by the same owner. So sad... it was the best ever... This one wasn't so bad either... it was pretty good (that I almost didn't want to share with Beb) but I thought it was kind of pricey.... It had vanilla ice cream inside which was still pretty firm after covering it in batter and frying it! It was topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream... Yum!

And this is our damage... how cool is that?! This is why I love PLAY Hawaii, Groupon, and Living Social! If only, restaurant.com would extend to Hawaii now...

My ratings: 2 cherries for the service because even though it wasn't busy at around 4:30pm on a Sunday afternoon when we came, it felt like our waiter didn't have any time for us! He would bring us the menu and our food and leave as quickly as he could that we almost didn't have time to tell him the other items that we wanted like my virgin margarita! He also seemed impatient when we needed time to think about something... So I thought the service that day wasn't great... and it looked like a slow day too! Maybe he was new... lol... 4 cherries for taste (I'm glad we were able to try something new!) but 2.5 cherries for price because it was a bit pricey... The food is pretty good actually, but I'm not sure if I want to come back again because of the price so 3 cherries for the probability that I'll come back again (probably when I really crave fried ice cream again or when I have money... lol...). I just love that these coupon places give us the opportunity to try something new for half the cost!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

1st Recipe of 2011: Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelet)

2011-02-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

I was craving it for a bit and I totally forgot to ask my mom to make it when she was here on vacay so I decided I should finally make some Tortang Talong. Tortang talong is a Filipino dish and is basically a grilled eggplant omelet with some meat. It's great any time of the day and who knew that eggplants and eggs would make such a great combo?! (Filipinos did! lol!)

My ingredient list:
-a couple of long eggplants (best to go to an Asian market for this!)
-depending on how many eggplants you have, two eggs per eggplant
-1/3 pound of ground beef or so depending on how much meat you like (I use ground beef instead of the usual ground pork because you know that I don't eat pork or you could just leave this part out if you like)
-veggie oil
-black pepper
-salt (or garlic salt)

1) The first step is to grill the eggplants until all of the skin is brown, wrinkly, and a little bit burned. I don't have a grill so I used our oven's broiler and broiled it for about 5-7 minutes until it was brown and fully wrinkly.

2) While the eggplants are in the oven, I scrambled two eggs per eggplant in separate bowls and I seasoned it with salt and pepper. I added the ground beef raw if you can see the pink spots in the bowls because I was lazy but that was a stupid idea and should've browned them a bit, seasoned it, and added it to the eggplant and eggs later (you'll see what I mean later).

3) When the eggplants are done, you should let it cool to work with it again (unlike impatient me who burned her hands on the hot eggplant!). Then, using a fork, peel off and throw away the eggplant skin to reveal the inside (or eat it if you like but I think they remove it because it's not good after being grilled; idk). After removing the skin, spread the inside "fibers" of the eggplant as above because allows for greater egg-eggplant ratio in the omelet (or something like that! lol!).

4) Turn on the stove and let it warm up a bit before putting a few tablespoons of veggie oil. Let the oil heat up a bit before laying the eggplant on the pan and pouring the eggs on top. Then you should pour the cooked ground beef of top and let it cook a bit before carefully flipping over.

5) Because the meat was raw, I had to ruin my nice omelet shape on the first and second eggplant because I needed to break it up and make sure that the meat wasn't pink anymore (who wants a pink omelet??). This is why you need already-cooked meat.

6) On my third eggplant, I let it sit on its back longer to cook the meat and tried to flip it and create the nice omelet shape typical of this dish, but it flipped to shape like an American omelet! Oh well! I'll show you the next time I crave this dish!

7) To top this whole recipe off, the one and only condiment to use is Banana ketchup! I know it sounds weird but it's like a cross between regular ketchup and sweet and sour sauce found in Chinese restaurants! Try it! It's really good! And good luck when trying out this recipe! I will post more soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes

2011-02-15T17:34:00.001-08:00

So I was browsing some food blogs one day and saw a recipe for matcha green tea cupcakes, and since I love green tea, I decided to try and make it. However, I decided to use a green tea smoothie mix instead of genuine matcha green tea powder and I ended up making regular tasting, green-colored cupcakes, tasting nothing of green tea! Oh well!

So my friend J offered to let me use her genuine matcha green tea for my next experiment and so here is my recipe:

Ingredients:
-3 large eggs (it was supposed to be 2 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks; but I thought that was too much and Beb was busting my chops about it so, to compromise, I put in 3 large eggs... lol!)
-2 tablespoons matcha green tea powder
-1 cup milk
-2 tablespoons baking powder
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (but I cheated and used the spreadable kind!)
-2 cups sugar

1) First, I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees. I then mixed the green tea powder and milk in a bowl.

2) Then I mixed in the rest of the dry ingredients as well as the butter together with a whisk until fully mixed (an electric mixer is best to avoid lumps in the cupcakes).

3) I then mixed in the green tea milk with the dry ingredients until fully mixed. If you're using a whisk, it'll be good to pour the mixture through a sift(?) to remove lumps.

4) I then pour it as carefully as I could into the muffin tray (you could use a circle or square pan too to make a cake!) and put it in the oven for 20 mins. After 20 mins, I used a knife (you could use a fork or a kabob stick) to poke threw a cupcake. If nothing attach to it, then it's ready. If the wet mixture sticks to it, then let it sit for a few more minutes until you check it again.

I let it sit for a bit then transferred them to a plate so that it doesn't cook some more. If you look closely, you can see some white lumps and that's because the flour wasn't fully mixed; a mixer is best (I'll get it when I can afford one! lol!). Serve when cooled.

It had some green tea flavor and tasted pretty good, but I thought it was great warm with a scoop of Rosalani Macadamia Nut Ice Cream!

I think I'm going to try and continue to improve this recipe. I think a little bit of veggie oil will make it moister (?). I do want to try and make green tea cheesecake though! Someday soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

$10 for $22 of Food at Soul!

2011-01-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I suggested it when I was full, but I told Beb that we should go to Soul at Waialae for dinner after our trip to Costco.

I think (I think? haha...) I wanted to go there because I wanted to use my Groupon. A Groupon is the craziest, coolest, most awesomest idea ever! Basically, Groupon has a deal with a business where they say that x number of people are going to shop/eat at your place. If x or more number of people join in on the deal, then the business gives the people who joined a discount at the business. Most of the deals that they have are 50% or more off the regular price. Everyday is a different business deal and you can choose what city you live in so that they can show you what businesses have deals there. Check out their website for more information. A while back, I got a Groupon for $22 at Soul, which I only paid $10 for on the website. Now how awesome is that!

Here is information about the business hours. I know it's hard to read, but I copied it on my iphone too so here you go:
Tuesday - Thursday: 11am-9pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am-10pm
Sunday: brunch all day, 1030am-8pm
Monday: closed

I excitedly got a Groupon for Soul because my boss brought me and my co-worker here and it was soooo good. I know it's hard to read the menu, but I figured I'd take a pic so that you have some idea of what they have. They also a "specials" menu, desserts, and they have bunch now, which I just noticed.

That's the owner on the right in the green. I heard he first opened his restaurant on a lunch wagon in Downtown and expanded to this place in Waialae. It's a pretty small place and the parking is horrendously small, but I can't help but come back. He's pretty friendly and he also serves you food when he's not on the computer. He changed my chicken twice when I noticed that it was bloody...

Beb and I got 6 pieces buttermilk chicken, cilantro coleslaw, and cornbread (to-go). Everything oh-so-delicious (not bloody at all!) except that I was still full from the hotdog so I couldn't finish more than one piece of chicken and half a piece of cornbread... *sigh*... Our total was about $28 and we just paid about $6.25 after using the Groupon!

I give Soul 4 for taste because I love the food even though I usually order the chicken, coleslaw, and cornbread (because it's that good!). I have tried the catfish and the jambalaya, which is good too but I'd rather stick to my favorites! I give it 3 cherries for price because it is a bit pricey, but I give 4 cherries to Groupon for giving us almost a 50% discount on our meal. Lastly, I give Soul 3 cherries that I might come because this is the only place that I can think of that serves soul food on the island. And who'd have thought that cilantro and coleslaw will make a great side?! I know I'll be back for my fix of my favs...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Crazy Cheap Grindz at Costco

2011-01-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

I was soooo tired, and soooo hungry last Friday, but Beb wanted to go to Costco and buy some groceries (we really needed some toilet paper! lol!). I wasn't sure what was for dinner so I told him to get me a hot dog at Costco since it was cheap anyways.
When I was little (just a little story for ya!), my mom got me a Costco hotdog to eat all by myself, but I was so stupidly hungry/greedy that I took a big bite and didn't chew it enough that when I swallowed, the hotdog got stuck in my throat. I kept coughing and swallowing trying to get it down, but it didn't work. As I was doing this, I was trying to get the attention of my mom, but she was busy looking at the items to notice that I was choking on my hotdog. So there I was, little ol' me, choking on my hotdog in the middle of the aisle and my mom pushing her cart and looking at the items. Somehow... I don't really know how I did it... I swallowed it/forced it down my throat... I could feel the huge piece of hotdog moving down my esophagus until it finally reached my stomach, and then I ran to my mom... I don't remember what happened after that... but I considered that a near-death experience... lol...

Costco is not only great for samples but they also sell hotdogs, pizza, drinks, and ice cream for cheap outside their store (Sam's Club also does this but indoors), so you don't have to be a Costco member to buy their food. They have several lines and it can be pretty long, but I didn't have to wait to long to get a 1/4 pound all beef hotdog with free drink for about $1.50.

They give you a cup for your drink so that you can whatever soda you like and refill it for however many times you like. Be careful though because it's pretty sticky and wet from people who spill their drinks around the area. Right next to it is a counter for condiments such as ketchup, relish, mustard, and onions.

So for $1.50, I was pretty full and uberyly (and suprisingly) hyper inside Costco! Maybe because my body realized that it was the weekend as well... hehe... 5 cherries fort he price, 4 cherries for taste (it was juicy, hot, yummy, and cheap! just the way I like my hotdogs!), and 4 cherries because I'll probably be back as often as I need toilet paper!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Late Night at Yanagi Sushi

2011-01-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

So last Saturday was my mom's last dinner on Oahu (*tear tear*). We had a late dinner because I finished church at 945pm and my sister took my mom to the movies while they waited for me to finish. We couldn't really decide where to bring my mom for her late last dinner (was tempted to bring her to Sansei for their 50% off appetizers but I was scared that she was going to sing since they had open karaoke night. lol!), but I remembered that we haven't gone to Yanagi's yet and they have the best ahi katsu!!!!

Here is the a pic of the menu which has most of the information you need if you want to go to Yanagi, which was way better than the pic I tried to get when I was outside (lol!). Parking is horrible there, but they do have valet parking. I didn't want to pay for parking so I drove around twice trying to find street parking on Kapiolani, until I found one (kind of!) right in front of the restaurant (I parked on the street right in front of the entrance to the valet, which I was glad people didn't hit my car or towed my car because I was kinda blocking the entrance a bit.. lol).

COMBINATION MEALS

(D) Salmon Katsu/ Beef Teriyaki	$10.95
(E) Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura/ Chicken Teriyaki	$9.95
(F) Beef Teriyaki / Chicken Katsu	$9.95
(G) Salmon Katsu / Chicken Teriyaki	$9.95
(H) Broiled Salmon / Chicken Teriyaki	$10.95
(I) Nigiri Sushi / Zaru Soba	$12.95
(K) Nigiri Sushi / Mini Udon	$12.95
(L) Ahi Teriyaki / Chicken Katsu	$9.95
(M) Deep Fried Ahi / Chicken Teriyaki	$9.95
(N) Ahi Teriyaki / Deep Fried Shrimp	$9.95

OK... IDK if this is legal or whatever, just tell me if it is... because I just copied this from their website (I was supposed to take a pic of the menu but they took from us right after we ordered!). We love going to Yanagi's late a night because they have combination meals around $10 and it tastes so much better and has more portions than Sushi King (in my opinion! lol!). I usually get letter M because I love their ahi katsu!

My sister ordered two orders of gyoza (which I didn't eat because I knew it probably had pork), which I though was ridiculous because $3.95 for FIVE PIECES! I could go to Don Quixote and buy a pack of 30 pieces or so for $7! Oh well....

My mom ordered the mini udon with the nigiri sushi (it had salmon which tasted funky, octopus, egg, ahi, and cucumber sushi) and my sister ordered the shrimp and veggie tempura with chicken teriyaki (it had an off color to it!). I didn't have much of a chance to take pics of theirs because we were so hungry so you're lucky that I got a pic of mine! lol! So... I thought I was so smooth since I used to eat here often and I just gave them all of our letters only to find that I gave them the wrong letter for my food! Instead of getting the ahi katsu and chicken teriyaki, I got letter L which was the ahi teriyaki and chicken katsu... mayn... I was disappointed... lol... even though my meal was pretty good, I was still disappointed...

My ratings: 3 cherries for price because the combo meals were reasonably priced but if you want to order beyond that menu, it's pretty pricey. I give it 3 cherries for my meal because it was ok, but I give it 2 cherries because my mom and sister's meals tasted and looked a little off... the portions were pretty good though and I still like it better than Sushi King (sorry to those Sushi King fans!)... I give it 2 cherries for customer service because they did take a long time to serve us. We only got our tea when we were done and they never even gave us the sugar that we asked for... my mom's sushi came so late that we were almost done eating and my sister and I gave some of our food to our mom because her sushi took forever! Also, they didn't refill our water until after we asked for our check... how sad....It wasn't as crowded as it was when I was last here, so I don't know why they were taking forever. I do give them 3 cherries for the probability that I'm coming back... Their ahi katsu is the only thing that really draws me here, but I do like it when my friends attempt to down the fresh oyster shooter (with raw egg!) even though it's pretty pricy for $4; that's always fun!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cheap Lunch at Campus Center

2011-01-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't get to bring lunch yesterday because I've been trying to sleep early (fail!) and wake up early (EPIC FAIL!) as a New Year's Resolution. Since I was having lunch with J and S at Campus Center anyway, I thought I'd get something cheap (because I'm so broke, again!) for lunch just to tide me over since I was going to get the steak plate at Foodland for my dinner (I can't stop eating this! It's too good!). Though I am truly sorry that my pics totally suck for this blog post. I wasn't paying enough attention to make sure it wasn't blurry because R was asking me why I was taking pics of my food and because I was uber hungry... :'(

I got a fish patty musubi and beef mandoo for $1. I saw an email (which I trashed after I saw it so I'm going off of my memory) which said that there was a back-to-school sale for $1 mandoo and $0.25 fountain drinks, but because I couldn't find it quickly enough on my iphone, I had to go without a drink and drank my water when I got back at work (I just found the email in my trash and it said $0.25 fountain drinks with the purchase of a plate lunch; oh well... wouldn't have been able to get the drink anyway). I usually get the fish musubi because it's one of the cheapest items at Campus Center (it's pretty expensive!), but, when I can, I would get the Spicy Garlic Chicken for about $6 because it's so spicy, sweet, and crispy! I'll post up pics when I get it.

My total came up to under $3 which I though was pretty good for a meal. I'm glad that they had the mandoo on sale because I wouldn't have been full with just the musubi even though the musubi does have a lot of rice in it. My ratings is 3 cherries for taste because it was ok and 4 cherries for price because that's a pretty good deal for lunch. I do give Campus Center 4 cherries because I know I'll be back here to get food; I just can't avoid it even though I get tired of it.

NOTE: Don't get the baked salmon sushi triangle because it contains so little salmon! Also, around 2 or 3pm, the sushi and bentos go on sale for 20% off or so, but I don't usually catch it in time because I'm lazy... tee-hee...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sea Life Park in the Battle of Facebook Vs. Foodland

2011-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

So I told you guys about the amazing "like" button on Facebook and the listserv emails from your favorite companies, but here's another thing that I noticed:

I "like"d Sea Life Park on Facebook last night and I saw that they had a special on "General Admission Ticket for just $15 for kama'aina, that's 1/2 off retail price of $29.99! (Must show a valid Hawaii I.D., offer cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Offer ends January 10, 2011)."
However, before I actually went to visit them on Facebook (and on their website), I was looking through Midweek to find my 2 for $8 Roselani ice cream at Foodland(lol! jk! just to find sales for groceries) and I found this instead:

4-pack (admission) tickets for $40 or $12 for adults. I thought this Foodland one was a better deal because it mean it was $10 per ticket and ended in late Feburary! See....? Sometimes, you just gotta be on the lookout for things that you are not looking for (lol!) if that makes sense... So me, my friends, sister, and Beb will be heading out there to Waimanalo sometime soon... I wish I noticed this when my brother was here and we can't go when my mom is here because it's kind of too late... oh well... till next time...

Just for extra precaution though, I called Sea Life Park today to ask them what it meant by 4-pack tickets because I thought it would include the interactive stuff (like actually swimming with the dolphins), but it didn't. It just included the shows, but it was still a pretty good deal. Calling was a great idea because I also found out that parking is $5 flat rate (no validations) and I didn't have to book my tickets because we could just show up as long as we bring our Maika'i cards (or someone bring their Maika'i cards). I'll post up a blog once I got there because I've never been there before (and I lived here for four years now! lol!).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Eden in Love: "like" it!

2011-01-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

I love Eden in Love. I forgot how I discovered it but I know it was once the Wedding Cafe, which then split into the Wedding Cafe (for wedding stuff only) and Eden in Love (the boutique). Even though I'm a big girl and can't really fit into any of the clothes (I wish they had my size!!! gah!!), I've still had some great finds. The only thing about Eden in Love is that the management goes to the mainland every so often to shop for clothes so the items that they sell (clothes, bags, accessories) are a bit limited in the quantity and expensive ($30-$70). Also, most sale items are non-refundable or non-exchangeable so you better be sure that you want it,, but their sale rack are pretty good because they are usually about 40% off the regular price. The good thing about Eden in Love is that they are very helpful. When you try on clothes and they see that you are not sure how to use it or unsure if you should get it, they always hand you some accessory (good sale strategy for them! lol!) or do something to the clothes to show you have to wear it. They are pretty amazing like that... lol...

Anyway, the reason why I'm blogging and the reason why you see me (I don't really want to reveal myself yet! lol because I do have some interesting comments about these places... hahahaha..) is because of what I wore this morning to work. I planned to just wear this to work; however, at the last minute, I added a necklace and looked like this:

It made a big difference just adding that necklace (since I don't use any make up or anything) because Beb told me that I looked dressy today when all I added to this outfit was this one necklace.

And I know that I'm blabbing on and on about Eden in Love and about my fashion (or lack of it), but I got this necklace from Eden in Love when they had this contest thingy where if they get enough people to "like" their page on facebook, they are giving everyone who "like"d it a $20 coupon to use at Eden in Love! So even though the necklace was ~$22, I ended up only paying $2 for it! And it's a pretty necklace too!

So the moral of the story, kids, is: get on/get a facebook, start "like"-ing your favorite businesses because you never know what sales, specials, deals, contests, you will find (if you look closely at the pic, there's a sale on Rise Strapless Tops because of a poll so it went from $24 to $12).

P.S. It's also great to be on their email list because that's another good way to find out about sales and stuff, especially for big companies (not just in Hawai'i) like Old Navy and Macy's.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Max's of Manila

2011-01-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

Yes! Last late blog!!! It's like Koko Head Trail! I'm never doing that again! lol! But I probably will... :(

So for my brother's last meal in Oahu last Sunday, we (my brother, sister, mom, Beb, and I) went to Max's for a late lunch before we went home so he can pack to leave that night. We went to the one that opened a couple of months ago right by Costco on Dillingham.

Stupid iphone... can't take rotate the pics when I take them... sorry.. So me and my mom order the fried chicken (whole), which is in the pic above. My mom said in Filipino something like "kawawa naman ang manok" (so sad/pitiful the chicken) because it looked so little for $13! I wasn't even sure it was going to feed all of us!

My sister ordered this sort of mahi-mahi sinigang (Filipino sour soup) with miso. It was pretty good: sour, hot, and fufilling! It had pieces of mahi-mahi, ginger, green pepper, radish, some leaves, onions, and tomatoes and it was ~$14 for a regular size, which is pictured above.

My brother ordered pork adobo (~$8) and I thought it looked so little!!! My mom could've cooked this and would've made more for $8! I didn't try it because I don't eat pork, but my mom and Alvin said that it didn't taste like pork adobo. It's like they just cooked the pork and mixed it in Mang Tomas sauce (a Filipino dipping sauce for fried pork, but I'm not really sure what's in it...).

We also got a large order of rice ($3 for 5 scoops) but we had to get another large order because we were still hungry but we still had a scoop leftover.

I really thought that Max's was going to be pretty good when we came here since the last few times I came here in the past year, they had pretty good portions. When we came here last Sunday, it really looked like they skimped out on us and I should know since I've been coming a lot since they opened in town. Surprisingly, we were all full and even had a few leftovers that we tried to finish even though we were full.

So I give Max's 2 cherries for it's price even though parking is free because even when they did have bigger portions, it was still pricey for Filipino food. I mean $13 just for a whole fried chicken when you can get rotisserie chicken nearby at Costco for $5! But I guess they really make money out of the fact that the food really tastes like it does in the Philippines. I also give them 2 cherries for their customer service because even though there were few customers, they were uber slow at getting our order, getting our food, and getting our drinks. It's like that a lot and they're not that friendly. During our meal here when we wanted to order extra rice, I was looking for the waiter and he was busy chitchatting with the cook at a booth nearby and we had to wave at him a couple of times to get his attention. But I'll probably be back again when I look for a taste of the Philippines even though it hurts my wallet, so I give them 3 cherries for this. Hey, it IS cheaper than going to Philippines to get my dose of Filipino food... lol...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Caffeine!!!

2011-01-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Great deal, for me at least: $0.25 coffee or $0.10 tea at work. I just bring my own mug so to reduce the use of plastic cups and I bring the huge Jamba Juice cup thingy from a friend of mine to for cold water from the water fountain nearby. No need to go to Corner Market Cafe at Campus Center for some $2-3 cup of coffee (which often has a long line especially on rainy days), I can just it at work... and I don't drink much coffee or tea by the way because it gives me headaches and stomach aches, and makes me use the bathroom a lot. (Maybe this was the reason why I have a tummy ache? lol... not from blogging about the Koko Head Trail.. or maybe both.. haha!)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I Hate You Koko Head!!!

2011-01-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

So, I don't know how this happened, but beb convinced my brother, sister, and mom to climb Koko Head on New Year's Eve. I decided to join them because I didn't want to be a chicken and I could use the workout. Beb woke us up around 7am (which made me uber grouchy), we went to WalMart to buy my mom $13 pair of shoes because she didn't have any (my brother had those Five Finger shoes, so ugly but he likes it), and then we got there around 8am to hike.

This is the view when we first started the hike. My brother and sister who are pretty fit being that they are in the Army are all up there somewhere with Beb who is pretty fit as well. Me and my mom were all the way down here (I'm so not fit so I took forever to climb this stupid rock and my mom just stayed with me the whole time).

This is the view I took while taking one of my many breaks. It looks like we went far but we weren't even halfway. I think this was about the point that I thought "I'm not even halfway so I should give up now while I still have the chance"... Just writing about Koko Head gives me a tummy ache right now thinking about how much it SUCKED to climb it... My mom, on the other hand, wasn't breathing hard, drinking, or even breaking a sweat. In fact, every time someone passes by, she says "Happy New Year!" to them...

Still not halfway through... I was probably sitting down here drinking my gatorade and trying to to figure out if I should quit already... My mom wasn't even breaking a sweat here, so she carried my bag, her large bag, and me... kind of.. lol... I held her hand most of the trip up and down for support... we were getting pretty close to the "bridge" where the dirt and rocks disappeared to make a hole... if you don't want to climb the bridge like me, there's a path on the side, which is still a bit dangerous...

This show-off was carrying about a 5 gallon thingy of water up the trail while I was puking a little on the side... There was also a lady who carried her baby in that front baby carrier thingy which I thought was a little dangerous, but I kept telling that baby that "you're lucky that your mom can carry you up here coz my mom can't", and the mom said "oh she'll be climbing this with me when she grows up"... Hate you... lol... Man that trail really tested me.. lol... but my mom kept pushing me, passing my gatorade and towel, telling me stories, and holding my hand...

This is the view of Haunama Bay from the top when I finally made it... I couldn't take pics during the actual vertical part of the trail because I had to stop every 10 steps or so because it hurt too much, and I did a couple of exorcist-like pukes of Gatorade and breakfast during that time. My brother came down to find us because I guess he was impatient at the top that he tried to pull me up to get me to finish faster, but he pulled me up too fast that it made me do those pukes (I hate fit people... lol...). Then Beb and my sister came and tried to help too, but I could only help myself. I got up there eventually though and I was so glad it was over...

This is one of the many beautiful views from the top... There were no railings so my mom kept saying that some of the people there should tie themselves down or they might just fly away... There were these two girls who looked like they were only 10 years old who looked like they could fly away if the wind was strong enough and they were brave enough to stand on top of that shaky roof for pics, unlike me... My friends from church went up there a couple of months ago and graffiti-ed some walls with their names, so I only remembered to bring a sharpie or something when I was already up there. Luckily, my mom had one in her mysterious bag of hers and I wrote our names and the date we came...

This is the view of Hawaii Kai from the top. Going down wasn't as bad but it took us a while because the dirt was slippery and we were tired... My mom held my hand the entire time going down and we had to stop a lot going down too because I had the craziest runny nose, but good thing my mom had her large bag because I needed a lot of tissue! Halfway through our trip back, my sister called me and said that they (my sister, brother, and Beb) were going to the store and buy drinks... Ai ai ai... those fit people... eventually, we got back down and my legs were like jello, it was uber weird...

So today is one of the first days that I feel like normal because, for the last couple of days, my muscles were soooo sore... it was crazy.. So for some notes:

LOCATION: Hawaii Kai near Koko Head Marina Shopping Center

COST: Free admission

DURATION: 1-3 hours depending on how slow/fast you are... I saw someone did it twice! WTH!

FOOD: None. Bring your own 5 gallon water bottle... lol...

BATHROOMS: There's one in the park right before you begin the trail... It's best to use it right before you start like I did because, if you're like me, you're going to take a while to do this hike...

PARKING: parking is free, but to find the trail, you would just need to follow the people who look like they're going hiking because it's past the baseball field in the bushes.

RATINGS:1 cherry for me because I really hated the hike... I almost blacked out and it really tested me... but I guess most people who've completed it will give it 5 cherries because it is a great accomplishment... 5 cherries for it's entertainment value and it's price (free all the way), but -10 cherries for the probability that I'll ever return.. lol.. I still have a stomach ache just thinking about it...

NOTE: Beb is right that we have to go early before dark (even though I hated waking up early) because it gets pretty hot when the sun comes out (the sun comes out from that side of the island, that's why), so be prepared for it by bringing water, a towel, a hat, and wearing some sunblock. Bring a camera for pictures and bring a sharpie or a marker if you want to leave your mark (although I'm not sure if it's legal.. lol..). Stretch/do some warm-ups before you go and wear proper shoes.

Safeway Finds

2011-01-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

Man... my hands starting cramping from all that blogging yesterday... next time, I'm not going to let all of those stories pile up coz it's not fun and I become less witty and more boring after each blog.. lol...

Anyway, last Monday (another late blog! lol!), my mom told me to buy some eggs and sweet chili sauce because we didn't have any at home (it's great to have my mom here since she's always cooking for me... it's a great break for me...*sigh* almost time to go back to cooking on my own, but at least I'll post up recipes soon...). So, I decided to go Safeway on Kapahulu since I needed to go to the bank and the First Hawaiian Bank kiosk thingy closes at 7pm (I hate it when banks close at 4 or 430pm because that's when I get off!).

After some banking, I looked through their newsletter/sales/specials newspaper thingy (what is that called again?) to see what coupons they had and what was on sale.. I was going to use the coupon for $2.49 for eggs but then I read the fine print and I would have to buy $10 worth of stuff using the other coupons... I hate that clause in their coupons sometimes... makes me buy stuff I already have and don't need just to meet their $10 minimum...

Anyways... I went to the eggs and I found that they were on sale even more because it was "buy 1 get one free" with each dozen selling $3! I thought that was a better deal than the coupon I saw since it meant each dozen would be $1.50n after the sale! Yes! Then I went to look for the sweet chili sauce that my mom wanted and I knew it was going to be a bit expensive at Safeway (because Safeway is pretty expensive actually), but I decided to get it anyway because I was lazy to go to someplace cheaper like Daiei (where you can get a huge bottle for about $2.50). I then saw that they were on sale for $1.99, which was pretty good (or maybe I was delusional at the moment and thought it was a good deal... hm..)...

So the lesson to this story is: take a look at what they have on sale in their newspaper/sales/specials thingy when you go to a store because you never know what you'll find. I always look in Midweek for the Foodland specials to find the 2 for $8 sale on Rosalani ice cream (which is the best local ice cream, lol!), which they haven't had in a while... :'(... so help me out and let me know if you see the ad for that!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Munchies and Fun at North Shore

2011-01-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

Mayn... catch up blogs are tiring... but I know I will be very happy once this is all done... between work, church, home, FarmVille, CityVille, and my blog, I am not getting much sleep... bwahaha... I know... so stupid, brah....

So last Thursday, we went to North Shore for some snokeling, sightseeing, food, and fun despite the rain. We swam at Shark's Cove (very interesting! I would've had pics if there wasn't rain and I hadn't slipped so much from the mud and rocks... it was pretty dangerous... but enjoyable nontheless) and decided to grab some grinds at one of the many shrimp trucks at North Shore. This one was Famous Kahuku Shrimp, one recommended by my sister (I wanted to go to the one by Sunset Beach or Giovanni's but it was too crowded for my family who hates lines... sucks... I'd line up for anything good... lol).

This place was right by the First Hawaiian Bank and the only gas station that I saw in North Shore; it was also right by Giovanni's, so when we saw the line there, we went here. It was after the large wind turbines that we saw, which we never knew Oahu had. It was very pretty, but also made me happy that Hawai'i was being more sustainable this way... Whoever did this, I vote for you (maybe...)! You can spot the gray truck from the road by looking for the purple benches.

This is there menu.. I forgot if drinks were separate... I think it was... and this includes tax, I believe... I'm not sure because I didn't pay... bwahaha... sorry...

My brother got the steak plate because he's allergic to shrimp now (my sister was allergic to shrimp and now she's not; how interesting). Beb got the shrimp plate because I wasn't sure what he wanted so that's what I ordered for him... lol... My mom, sister, and I got the steak and shrimp plate for some variety... This is my plate above... so junk my plate because I only got one scoop of rice and everyone else got two scoops.. You trying to tell me to go on a diet? lol.... The shrimp was fresh, buttery, and garlicky and I liked how they poured the garlic butter sauce on the rice. The mac salad was ok, but Beb didn't like it at all. The steak wasn't tender, it was a bit tough for medium well... so it was an ok meal... but I was hoping for something better... 3 for taste but 2 for price because that's expensive man! I know it's fresh but dang...

On our way back to go to Waimea after lunch at the shrimp truck, we stopped by these fruit stands to get some fruit and corn! There was a lot of people and a lot of the vendors were Filipino. I know because they were selling turon (banana lumpia) to the tourists... haha... and also because they spoke to me in Filipino... lol...

Look at the huge coconuts that I found there! I should've checked how much it cost! I rarely see any coconuts or coconut trees in Oahu even though we live on an island and that's weird being that we live on an island... there are a lot of palm trees by no coconut trees... maybe I'm just so used to seeing coconut trees since I came from Saipan.

This nice Filipino lady had cut-up cold fresh fruit for sale... We got the papaya and it was perfect for a hot day on the beach... even though it made me sticky...

They had a lot of fresh fruit, but I wasn't too sure if it was all grown here since I saw a lot of Dole Cannery boxes... hmm... could be from California too... lol... IDK... don't quote me on this...

My mom got us all sweet Kahuku corn, but only she ate them.. lol... so sad... nobody wanted them... and I wasn't craving them that day then I forgot all about them... looked good though...

Our first (we stopped here first to check the waves and the weather, but it didn't look too good so I decided that we should go to Shark's Cove first while we had some sun) and last stop at North Shore was Waimea Bay (I wanted to see people surf at Sunset Beach and to watch the Sunset but we had to go... boo.. one day is not enough to spend at North Shore!). Because I was so tired from falling and sliding at Shark's Cove, because of my kanack attack, and because I had some motion sickness meds (I need it even to go swimming, sucks now!), I decided not to go jump off the cliff at Waimea Bay... Also, I was a chicken and I'll admit it... So I just lounged on the (cold!) beach, took pics of my brother, sister, and Beb preparing (for what seemed a long time) to and actually jumping off the cliff... then I knocked out... What a day... My poor new car is so dirty...

The sun was out and the waves were pretty big when we came back the second time (6 footers) that I have a pic of my sister running away from it... waves can get pretty tiring...

And I just had to get a pic of this guy with his spam board shorts... haha... so cute... the pants... not the butt or anything like that... haha... so just a great day well spent at North Shore!

North Shore Ratings: 5 for price since it was free and we just had to use up MY gas, which is great this time around because my new car is gas efficient but still not that great since I still have to clean up the sand and dirt from that day! sucks! However, I do give the beaches a 1 for parking because parking totally sucked, especially Waimea Bay... We drove around a couple of times to find parking; we even followed people to see if they were leaving... but I guess it's good that North Shore is not that developed for the benefit of the locals there and for the environment... but those rocks and mud at Shark's Cove were nasty... dang... Lastly, I give North Shore a 5 for entertainment value because it was and is so much fun for everyone (family, friends, pets, etc.) and a 5 for the probability that I'll be back again soon... I can't wait to see another turtle at Sunset Beach, but that's another story...