Category: Dining

Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream is anticipating a summer opening at the Koko Marina Shopping Center.

Hammond’s is targeting a June 7 debut – date subject to change – and will occupy the site vacated by Moena Sweets.

Hammond’s is noted for 32 ice cream flavors, alternating 20 daily, and boasts some enchanting flavors and names, like Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, a cheesecake flavor. The brand has some dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free options, too.

It also is known for the Hammond Flights, where patrons can take flight to try six flavors in mini cones. A yummy idea to get familiar with Hammond’s…

Maple Garden is shutting down

Maple Garden, the Chinese restaurant in Moiliili, is closing – likely at the end of the month—after decades of serving fans of Chinese cuisine.

Like numerous restaurants with decades of residency, Maple Gardens has been faced with a multitude of challenges – dwindling business, high prices, a fickle economy, and a shortage of staff. Two chefs are in the kitchen and struggling to keep the doors open and  serving food, too. Owning a restaurant  is a constant task; you welcome the guests, take orders, prepare and serve the food, and after meal service there are dishes to wash.

In earlier times, there were throngs celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, retirement parties, and more. Owner Richard Lam now is thinking of closure, though he’s not yet set a firm date…

A tasty snack

My latest fave snack is something sweet but healthy.

It’s called Yoggies, and it’s a shred of strawberry, coated with creamy yogurt. It’s somewhat like Raisinets, the raisin  candy cloaked with chocolate.

Got it in a large bag, from Costco, and it’s perfect for a quick snack, since  Yoggies comes in 7-oz packets and that’s enough for a single serving.

I’m a scones fan, and adore breakfast finds, so I’m happy Bits & Bites Café has moved from Kailua to Hawaii Kai. But its hours haven’t suited my timetable. So consequently, I haven’t had a chance to try the morning munchies despite the café’s presence for a few months.

I had to get a blood test early one recent morn – 6 a.m., if you want to know –  at the Diagnostic Lab next door, but the shop (in the former Taco Del Mar site)  does not open till 7 a.m. You can get a whiff of the yummy pastries, because the bakers are already getting the goodies ready for purchase. And yes, scents drift out from the closed door. The temptation is maddening.

 Many Hawaii Kai folks are commuting from 5:30 or 6:30 a.m. weekdays, to beat the town-bound freeway traffic. So, a pause between 6 and 7 a.m. to buy pastries is truly unfathomable. I see early drivers stopping at Starbucks at 6:30 a.m. around the corner, for coffee and perhaps some nibbles that don’t measure up to Bits & Bites’ delicacies.

The Bits and Bites shop is open till mid-afternoon (like, 3 p.m.) and I wonder who buys these  goodies that late in the day. The fare is solidly early morning-oriented, and I’m curious if timing was part of Bits & Bites’ scope and vision.

Reminds me of the misdirected Scratch restaurant, where Outback Steakhouse used to be in Hawaii Kai. Scratch peddled breakfast, but it opened at 9 a.m. and by then, most  Hawaii Kai breakfast traffic is long gone, either already at work or off to do errands. The menu also was part of the reason Scratch shut down, but methinks the hours also had to do with its inability to build and maintain a morning club of diners. With Zippy’s dining room shut down, folks in East Oahu move on to do breakfast at Jack’s in Aina Haina or Zippy’s at Kahala. bEASTside Kitchen in Niu Valley served breakfast for a brief period, after a trial run didn’t work out.

Of course, on special occasions, some folks play tourists and enjoy and view at Plumeria Café at the Kahala resort and its impeccable views.

Heavenly is splendid for a leisurely morning breakfast, with a view of the Koko Marina, but rather expensive without a wide range of options, and Moena Café a few doors down is OK but mostly experimental for folks who’ve heard about its signature menu. My concern: when you go to Moena, and there’s a crowd of 15 outside waiting for a table, you can’t linger and chat over a second or cup of coffee…

Finally, and sadly, two closures at Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai

• Moena Sweets, the ice cream parlor operated by Moena Café, has closed its doors.
• Fatboy’s, a stone’s throw away, apparently is closed, too. This, despite earlier renovations and more sidewalk tables and seats.

Zippy’s wun ton min, a mainstay on the daily menu, remains a valid lunch choice.

It’s been so long since I’ve ordered it — last time, perhaps three years ago— but I was at the Makiki Zippy’s  the other day and opportunity knocked.

At $11.15, the small wun ton order is still affordable with no frills.

The presentation remains the same: Saimin noodles and wun ton dumplings — four or five pieces — swimming in the broth. There  were two  slivers of  pink and white fish cake, the size of quarters, plus a couple of pieces of egg.  The stem of  spinach in the soup was a great addition.

However, on this day, the char siu pork was a wash-out. There seemed to be) single piece dissected into four teeny shreds, and I guess the days of scoring three of four actual wedges of char siu are long gone. Guess char siu prices are high and not generously served.

For proof, Zippy’s online wun ton photo, date unknown, displays actual char siu pieces; my photo shows the char siu flaw.

Good to know that the serving of wun ton min has 460 calories, but not sure if the total is higher with the side of mustard and shoyu added. Further, there seems to be no formal right or wrong, when it comes to spelling wun ton min. Take your pick: won ton min, wun tun mein, wonton min.

Signage of the times

You’ve seen the makeshift sign at one of the busiest corridors in Waikiki, where Kalakaua Avenue merges with Kapiolani Boulevard. You know the forthcoming drill.

It’s already a hot traffic spot, even without a current tenant at the site, so imagine the anticipation of the snarling traffic when Chick-fil-A roosts at the prime triangular corner where a  low-profile coffee house was the last occupant. Earlier, Hard Rock Café settled into that fabled turf but  pioneering tenants like Kau Kau Korner (which boasted a Crossroads of the Pacific landmark sign) and Coco’s Coffee House prevailed back in the day, with no strain in traffic. Must be there were fewer drivers and cars then, but these were establishments that locals flocked to, particularly after movies and Waikiki  nightclub shows, for late night snacks.

But now, there’s a clear worrisome issue. Whoever approved this Chick-fil-A location didn’t learn about the chaos of the chicken fast food eatery opening on Beretania Street, where Burger King was located, across the street of McDonald’s.

In Waikiki,  there’s no clear resolution to the anticipated mess; one way in, one way out? No left turns into or out from the property.  Is there a plan, or is someone even interested in the potential headache?

Is the chicken worth the pilikia? Just asking.

Sorabol is history

Fans of Korean food should already know that Sorabol, a mecca for kal bi and grill chicken for four decades on Rycroft Street off Keeaumoku Street, had been at its “new” site,  Pagoda Hotel/Restaurant, for a short spell. Haven’t heard if Sorabol has landed a new location, so it’s the end of the road for the family-run, 24/7 Korean restaurant.

Pagoda is part of the Highgate hotel chain and clearly will undergo a makeover. Highgate already operates the Alohilani  resort  (the former Pacific Beach Hotel) and will soon open the new Romer House Waikiki (the ex-Ambassador Hotel). In July, the Kaimana Beach Hotel will join the Highgate brand.

It’s quite certain that new dining spots will evolve at all new sites