Hawai'i Dining

Date of Visit: 6-17-10 @6:30pm
The Skinny: Nepalese cuisine in Honolulu? Go figure! I heard about this place from a professor at UH who could not stop raving about their food. Located upstairs in an area featuring many small restaurants I found the décor colorful with Buddhist prayer flags hung in the outside courtyard. Inside the place was packed, a good sign for a Thursday night. The menu is quite extensive with a lot of dishes with very odd names. I found there was no sampler meal for the un-initiated and had to rely on the waiters suggestions. Many food categories were served including Indian, Central Asian, Curries, Vegetarian, and Kebab’s. They also served “Himalayan Seafood” which I found most ironic and very funny. My guest and I started with homemade drinks called “Lassi” which is yogurt blended with Mangoes or Rose Water. It was most refreshing! Of note, they do not have a liquor license but you can BYOB and are not charged a corking fee. Next we ordered an Indian classic called Garlic Naan. This bread is shaped like a tear drop and baked in a tandoor oven with garlic. We then ordered the Lamb Biryani and Lamb Shish Kabab entrees. The Lamb Biryani is a big serving of basmati rice cooked with lamb chunks & Himalayan herbs. Its taste reminded me of the heavy spiciness of Mexican Chorizo without any of the grease or heat. The skewered and grilled Lamb Shish Kabab (they spell it with two a’s) was mildly spiced and seasoned with chopped onion and herbs. There was plenty of lamb and it was cooked just right. When asked about desert we both agreed to forgo it because we couldn’t finish our respective meals. We gladly took home the leftovers.
The Best Thing: A new food experience in a fun atmosphere
The Worst Thing: You have to pay for parking
My Recommendation: Try it, you may like it!

Date of Visit: 1-3-10 @6:30pm
The Skinny:This is the 2nd time I have eaten at Ruth’s in Wailea. I was lucky enough to get a gift card for the holidays and wanted to have a nice romantic evening out. This location used to have great views of the ocean but since they built a condo resort in front the views are now limited to the parking lot. I ordered Seared Scallops, Ruth’s Chopped Salad with blue cheese, and a New York Strip cooked medium. The service was very good but slow as our waiter seemed to be working too many tables. The fact that the waiter remembered us from our last visit (over a year ago) made it special. I started with the Scallops and found them over seasoned and small. The chopped salad was large and very satisfying. Mostly made of chilled iceberg lettuce, the blue cheese was rich and strong. With a good dose of salt and pepper I was a happy boy. The strip steak started off very good but as I worked my way from the end to the middle it quickly became rare. It was also devoid of any real taste due to it being very lean. My wine was a very heavy French Burgundy and found that a lighter red would have been a better paring with the meal. We shared a rich Mud Pie for desert that really hit the spot.
The Best Thing: The waiter comped me the wine and we got a Kama`aina discount
The Worst Thing: The loud and drunk wedding party in the next booth
My Recommendation: You can get a comparable steak for half the price elsewhere.