Showing posts with label mahi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mahi. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Fish Bonz, Torrance, CA

Fish Bonz
2599 Airport Drive
Torrance, CA 90505
310-325-BONZ (2669)
www.fishbonzgrill.com
Located in Rolling Hills Plaza in the odd round intersection.
Plenty of free parking, however parking is crowded on Friday nights and weekends due to the movie theaters.

Visited: January 2011, Dinner, Dine-in

Fish Bonz calls itself a casual seafood grill, and I'd say it lives up to that moniker. We tried a couple things on the menu, and were quite satisfied with the quality of seafood and the portion size.

We had the Grilled Mahi Mahi ($8.99), and chose to have it plain with Teri sauce on the side. Normally, you have your choice of Garlic Butter or Cajun style. It comes with choice of rice, fries, or brown rice (50 cents extra), and I chose the brown rice. And it comes with their housemade cole slaw which was very tasty. It's a light Asian-inspired vinaigrette and also has toasted slivered almonds. The fish was cooked extremely well, and the portion was very generous. The rice was also cooked very nicely. In all, I would definitely order it again.

We also had the Shrimp & Scallops ($8.99) fryer combo which comes on a huge bed of lightly seasoned fries. The shrimp were quite meaty, and the breading a little salty, but overall tasty. There were a lot of scallops. These were a little plain, and definitely needed sauce. They have a condiment bar where you scoop your own portins of cocktail and tartar sauces, and a variety of salsas.

Being January, it was a chilly evening, but we chose to sit outside in the heated (and enclosed) patio. It was very pleasant, and would be quite lovely on a summer night to dine and people watch.

In addition to items from the Grill, they have the tacos, other fried items, teri bowls, entree salads, and clam clam chowder. For an 'upgrade,' they also have grilled zucchini and sweet potato fries - will have to try both of those next time.

They have something on the menu called Swai White Ruffy - we didn't know what this was, and was told that it was a type of catfish.

If you are with anyone who does not eat seafood, the choices are limited to grilled chicken, chicken taco, chicken teri bowl, or the Green Salad with chicken.

All in all, we enjoyed our dinner, and will go back and try more items.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Hukilau Cafe, Laie, Oahu, HI



Hukilau Cafe
55-662 Wahinipe'e St
La'ie, O'ahu, HI 96762
808-293-8616
Located north of the Polynesian Cultural Center, to the west of Route 83 Kamehameha Hwy.
There is a small sign when going northbound that shows you where to turn.
Street parking.
Cash only. Breakfast and lunch only.

Visited: August 2010, Lunch, Dine-in


We were looking forward to a great plate lunch, and we were not disappointed! Be sure to go early to beat the lunch crowd, and to ensure finding parking in this residential neighborhood.

We ordered our favorites, starting with the Loco Moco - ground beef patties covered with very tasty scrambled eggs over lots of rice, then smothered in a rich brown gravy. This was a very good loco moco, which means that the gravy was good - the gravy is always the kicker.



Then we had the Hukilau Combo - teri beef, fried mahi mahi and tempura shrimp, of course served with two scoops of rice and usually a scoop of macaroni salad. But not being fan of mac, I ordered all rice. First note was that it wasn't tempura shrimp but rather panko coated fried shrimp. No matter - they were fresh (crisp and hot) and tasty. The mahi mahi was also panko crusted, and served hot and crisp. Side sauces included were cocktail and tartar, but they didn't really need them. I was a little concerned that there wasn't a side of teri sauce to go with the beef, but amazingly, it didn't need it. The many slices of thin teri beef were very flavorful - they must have a great marinade, that there was no need for any additional sauce. This is a good entree to try several things, and large enough to share.



Which is why we also ordered the Beef Stew Bowl instead of the plate lunch. The stew had that great Hawaiian stew look - a hint of red from the tomato, however it wasn't strong in the tomato flavor. But the stew didn't need it. The gravy was thick and rich, and the meat was plentiful and tender as were the carrots and potatoes. It comes served over rice.



We also ordered a side of fries (they just looked so good, and were tasty) and one soda. They have self service water near the counter. I don't have all of the individual prices, but our total (before tip) was $28 - a great great deal considering not only how much food we got, but how great it tasted. And everyone was super friendly and very welcoming.

Most folks visit and write about the giant Hukilau Burger which is a hamburger patty topped with teri beef, fried egg, grilled onions, cheese, and lettuce and tomato. We did see someone order it at the next table over, and it looked ridiculous. Perhaps another time.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Ono Ono Hawaiian BBQ, Tustin, CA

Ono Ono Hawaiian BBQ
17582 E. 17th Street, Tustin, CA 92780, 714-505-0750
http://onoonohawaiianbbq.com/
In a strip mall with plenty of free parking.
Casual/fast foodish. Order at the counter; your food brought to you.

[Note: This is not the same as the Ono Hawaiian BBQ restaurant chain.]

Visited: February 2009, Lunch, Dine-in



The food was hot, fresh, and fast. What a treat! It was definitely Ono Ono (ono means delicious in Hawaiian)!

It's a combination of fast food and sit down dining. You order at the counter, but they bring you your food, and you're served on real plates with plasticware. It sounds odd, but it works. The staff and decor were all very nice.

All of the entrees come with choice of 2 sides: white rice, brown rice, long rice noodles, Asian coleslaw, grilled veggie, potato mac, or green salad. Keep in mind that if you want rice, you have to order it as one of your sides. This threw me for a minor loop when ordering.

You can also get free soup if you eat in. I had the miso soup with tofu. Very tasty. They also had a second more traditional looking veggie soup in a reddish broth.

For appetizers we got:

Spam Musubi ($2.75) which was sliced into 4 nice slices. The rice was seasoned and tender, and the Spam was nicely fried. Overall more flavor than I've had at other restaurants.

12 pcs Fried Dumplings ($5.99). I guess I was expecting pan fried gyoza, but these were actually deep fried. They came with a soy dipping sauce. Not bad, they needed the sauce; but I wouldn't order them again.

The 3 item combos are a great way to sample their offerings, and they are sold at a great price. You get plenty of food, and may even be able to share a plate. We had:

Mix Plate ($8.95): BBQ chicken (like teri chicken), kalua pork, panko fried mahi mahi (served with tartar sauce) with sides of grilled veggie and long rice. The mahi mahi was outstanding as was the long rice. The chicken and pork were also very good, but the other items outshone them. The veggies were plain, and that suited the meal very well.

Ono Plate ($8.95): chicken katsu, BBQ spicy pork, beef kalbi with sides of white rice and potato mac. The pork was just like Korean-style spicy pork - yum! Great flavor and very tender. The kalbi was also very nice - hot and fresh with a nice char. The katsu was just fine; the others were just that much better. The potato mac was plain but tasty. It had little bits of carrots for color and texture.

There are plenty more things on the menu to try, and I'm looking forward to my next visit.