Thank God for a good day in San Francisco Part 3 of 3. 8/12/13 and 8/13/13

My Mom

So I started the last adventurous day at the Fisherman's Wharf with the family. We wanted to go to the exploratorium, but they are closed on Monday's.

My mom wanted to ride the cable cars, so we waited in line for roughly half an hour. We had some pretty good music from a guitarist who spent his whole life in San Francisco entertaining the masses. Few moments later, a woman bizarrely accused this man of stealing her spot light plus she raised other false accusations on him. The guitarist simply told us all "don't do drugs." Anyways, on with the day.


We stopped at Lombard St aka the crooked st for a few pics.

We then went back to the Wharf for some grub at Chipotle and some more pics:

A day of grinds in San Francisco Part 2 of 3 8/11/13

So me and the family woke up around 8:30 AM and walked to Ellis St. to eat at Hai Ky MI Gin. Best Duck noodle soup I've ever ate.

Thank God for a good day in San Francisco part 1 of 3 August 8/10/13

San Francisco, here we come! First, we needed substance. Why not Ruby's diner in McCarran Airport. How does a breakfast burrito sound?

Thank God for a good day in Las Vegas part 2 of 2 August 9, 2013

Nothing beats a good nights sleep and waking up nearly 10 in the morning! Our first instinct was to head over to one of the premium malls and do some shopping!

Thank God for a good day in Las Vegas Part 1 of 2 8/8/13

About two weeks ago started my short vacation in Las Vegas. I arrived from Honolulu with one stop over in Los Angeles via United Airlines.  Despite arriving early in the morning, I couldn't check into my hotel which was the Excalibur on the strip, so I decided to head to one of the famous Hash houses being:
Mary's Hash house which is located in 2605 South Decatur Suite 103, Las Vegas, 89102.

Southern Smokehouse Bacon Burger from Chilis and Macadamia nut ice cream from Scoop Hawaii.

Southern Smokehouse Bacon burger

If you walk into a Chilis and not knowing what to get, burger and fries is a good way to start.... the Southern Smokehouse Bacon burger that is. What more do you want to know, you got the two slices of bread, cheese, bacon, onion rings, and lettuce. Not to mention, BBQ sauce to top it off. The mouthwatering burger runs about $13 which is a fair value for a chilis establishment. The patty is not overcooked but just right. When in doubt in Chilis, go South for the burger.

Want dessert? Go to Scoop Hawaii located in Kalihi. For $3.75, you can get a huge layer (scoop) of your chosen Ice dessert between your preferred cookie chips--I chose Chocolate chip; I am interested in the Red velvet selection though. You got Ice cream of different flavors such as Green tea, Strawberry cheesecake, and I don't recall the rest, but the selection Scoop has for both the Ice cream and cookies is adequate. The only drawback for Scoop in Kalihi is the parking. There is hardly any parking unless if the nearby stores or offices are closed, you can borrow theirs. Staff are very friendly, so enjoy!



Scoop Kalihi is located at:
1449 N King St
Honolulu, HI 96817
Neighborhood: Kalihi

*Update* 1/18/16. Scoop is no longer operational. RIP.

Modern eats: Gomatei Ala Moana

Whenever in doubt, or if you need a place to devour a tasty ramen meal, then go to Gomatei. There are two locations for you to choose from: Ala Moana or Ward warehouse; the latter being the original station of business. Without further delay, lets get started.

Chicken Tan Tan Ramen

So  I decided to pick up the Chicken Tantan ( pic above). The texture of the broth is very easy to the eyes and is very creamy and tasty. It also have a little spice to it as well. I didn't find the broth salty, but just right. The sliced chicken mixed with the broth is very appealing and delicious. The yellow noodles is fairly thick and tasty and goes just fine with the broth. The wakame is an welcome addition to the soupy dish. This bowl of goodies is roughly $10.

Chicken Teriyaki

The Chicken Teriyaki is $7 and is an appetizer to the Ramen haven. The chicken goes good with the sweet sauce, but is fairly bland without it. Though it looks good and tatse good, you can find better deals for $7. Nowadays, appetizers are really money makers. It gets you started but leaves you very empty. I only tried this because my brother really wanted to try it. I wouldn't recommend this due to is steep price range.

Chicken Kaarage

Last but not least, one of Gomatei's famous appetizers: Chicken Karaage. The Karaage comes sometimes in 5 big pieces or 6 mini ones like the one you see here. The Karaage is a must have if you are sick and tired of the ramen and gyoza combination. The Karaage sauce goes really well with the chicken giving it a mix of sweet and sour type of taste. The chicken comes hot usually and is very crispy. The only drawback is that the price is about the same as the teriyaki chicken ranging from $7 and above. The price used to be $5 back a couple years, but inflation has hit everything these days. Still, this side dish is worth checking out if you got another $7 to spend.

+ Lots of ramen selections. Got curry and rice dishes for the non-ramen lovers. They even have loco moco! + Nice side dishes.

+ Friendly staff. Always proficient with the water refill

+ Nice layout.

+ Ala Moana has lots of seats ( lots of tabletops/bar for those who don't care about a party table).

+ Convenient location

+ free mall parking (both Ward and Ala Moana)

-A little pricey.

-Ward is only 1/3 the size of Ala Moana so it has a much smaller space.

-Most appetizers are not worth the price

-Can get really busy in both places so the wait can be fairly long.

For more information go to:  http://gomatei.com/

Modern Eats: Keeaumoku Seafood.

Decided to pick this up since I seen a couple people eat here. I'm not a big fan of fish though for an odd reason i really like Maguro. To get my money's worth, I had to try the Sashimi Salad. I ended up taking out my order because there is no room to dine in. This place is literally a grab and go place. The place is a little old looking but still presentable. You could see lots of fresh Ahi and Poke through the display case and the workers there are very friendly. 

Now for the the salad, lots of Maguro! Yummy! Didn't care much for the orange looking meat. Not sure what it is called-though I heard it is called Sake. Correct me if I am wrong. And of course, it came with romaine lettuce and diced cabbage. Result: For $14, you can't go wrong. I tend to eat my raw fish plain with no wasabi or shoryu. Because I am not much of a fish fan, I don't know if this is over-priced or not, but $14 I feel is worth it for seafood. The taste is good as far as I am concerned so no qualms here. Enjoy folks.

+Lots of poke selection

+Reasonably priced

+Friendly staff

+Big portions (the pic don't lie)

-Very limited parking

-no dine in space

-Purists may find it a turn-off with no condiments such as wasabi given.

Keeaumoku Seafood can be found at:

1223 Keeaumoku St  Honolulu, HI 96814

(808) 942-7792

Modern Eats: Little Village Noodle House (Honolulu, Hi) August 4, 2013

I had lunch with an old classmate on one Sunday morning/Noon. We settled for Little Village Noodle House located in Chinatown/Fort street Mall area.  It's been a few years since I've eaten in this place and I don't remember my experience much back then.

Little Village offers almost the same types of selections you'll find in most Chinese cuisines. My selection was simple as I ended up ordering the Minute Chicken Noodles plus a Cold Milk tea.

 So first the main dish (above pic), the chicken, chow mein and choy sum looks good, no doubt about it. The main problem is the sauce. It got saltier as I ate on. I'm not sure what type of sauce they use, but according to some reviewers online, it is shrimp based. The noodles were crispy and the chicken was tender. I was full halfway through and ended up packing it home and giving the rest to my sister. I think everything was cooked well but the dish would had been totally perfect had the sauce not gave me a 2nd opinion. The dish was priced around $7-8.

The milk tea (pictured here) was roughly $4. If you like your drinks sweet, then this is for you. Frankly, it was too sweet for me. Would be nice if they decided to add pearls (Boba) someday to this drink.



Conclusion: First off, I don't think everyone should decide to come here or not based on my opinion. I didn't exactly try out a whole lot of foods. I realize that this restaurant is more ideal for bigger parties. I could see people sharing fried rice, meat and assorted vegetable dishes. The ambiance was great and the service was awesome as well. The waitress smiled a lot and was very professional and courteous. I would probably give this place another shot, but maybe I will eat ala carte and hopefully get a better impression of this restaurant the next time around.


+ Good service and layout of the restaurant
+ Free parking for patrons (rare in Chinatown).
+ Lots of tables

- Can get packed especially during weekend nights or special events.
- aforementioned food and drink review can be a turn-off to some.
- moderate to high priced items
- This place is considered a "tourist trap."



Find little village here:

http://local.yahoo.com/info-21902264-little-village-noodle-house-honolulu

Philly Cheese steak sandwich and fries from Dave and Busters!

It was a Saturday night and I didn't feel like sleeping. I went with an friend to grab a midnight snack and settled upon D&B's.

I was unsure what to order since I had been cooking and eating pasta for the entire week ( so no pasta). The waitress eventually made her way around and inquired about our order. I hastily ordered the Philly Cheese steak sandwich and fries combo. The wait for our food was roughly 10-15 minutes. But that was a wait well worth it. Maybe it's been a while since I had a cheese steak or I've been accustomed to eating Charley's steak subs that I thought this dish was only going to be mediocre at best.

Result: The steak sandwich was well done. The beef steak was very tender and the toppings of mushrooms, bellpeppers, onions, and cheese made the food overall delicious. Normally, D&B's is a good place to just hang out and chill, but the Cheese steak sandwich is a must have! If you come in not knowing what to order, you can't go wrong with the Philly Cheese steak sandwich. Plus, its about $11-13. It comes with fries, and awkwardly, the people there gave me sweet potato fries. I'm not a fan of those types of fries, but it was free since it was given to me by accident ( I actually thought it came with it), so I'm not going to complain much. When I was done eating, I wanted more. Never before did I feel like I wanted seconds on an D&B meal.

My only gripe, if anything, is the portion. It does look roughly small and this may not satisfy folks with big appetites or high metabolic rates. Still, can't go wrong with the price. Enjoy!

Xbox 360 Rock Candy controller for the Xbox 360 review

Ever since my PS 3 broke down over two years ago, I've been reduced to watching Youtube videos of Resident Evil 5 gameplay. I ended up getting Resident Evil 5 on the PC after all because I enjoyed it a lot on the PS 3. However, gameplay was slow because I had a weak Athlon 3000 XP processor chip. My vid card finally gave out prompting me to buy a new comp, one that has a superior processor plus vid card.

I did not want to play Resident Evil 5 using a keyboard though you had precise aiming with the mouse. So I went to my nearest Target and picked this up for $24.99 plus tax.

I never really played Xbox in my life. It was all Nintendo and Sony for me. So the Rock candy controller is pretty much my first experience dealing with the Xbox 360, and the controller works very well for Resident Evil 5 . As you can tell it is also PC-USB compatible. The control layout is easy to use and is almost similar to the PS 3 controller albeit a bit bulkier.

The controls I used for Resident Evil 5 were type D controls. I won't go into it much except you can look it up online. I had to get used to the game toggling between shoot and knifing since both buttons were close to each other. Also, I am not familiar with the Xbox controls of A and B (look at the pic). I'm used to Super Nintendo controls so if that Rock Candy controller was a Nintendo controller I kept mistaking A for B and vice versa. Every time a command prompt came out in the game to press B, I kept pressing A and the game punished me for pressing the wrong button. For an odd reason, I do fine with X and Y.  It took me a while to get used to the controls, but this is all user preference and the controller design is just fine.

All I have to say is that my impression on this controller is excellent. Most people dread when they see 3rd party controllers but Rock Candy gets the job done. If you are on a budget, this controller works and feel just fine. Its very comfortable in your hands, and the buttons and controls feel sturdy. It comes with rumble and the controller colors vary (I got green as you can tell), and the case is translucent so you can see the circuitry very easily.

My only gripe was that the box it came with was very cumbersome to remove. I had to kill it with a knife and not knife the controller at the same time. I was already having my live RE 5 experience by then.

Can't go wrong this controller, if you need to save money, Rock Candy is the way to go. You may find the controller cheaper in other stores, and if you do, good for you!

After Earth quick review

Before I give my quick two cents,  I do notice all over the world wide web there is this hate for Will Smith due to nepotism. Will Smith seriously takes a back-seat in this film (also looking very bored) in favor of making his real-life flesh and blood, Jaden Smith, the protagonist.

Jaden's character gets the job done, but Jaden Smith, as an actor, pulls the same expressions as he did in Karate Kid (another film blasted for nepotism though Will Smith doesn't appear until the end credits). When Jaden is angry, he's like meh. When he is happy, he is like meh. When he is sad, he is like meh. You get the drill.

Overall, I thought the film wasn't as bad as most people or critics put it out to be. The special effects were nice and the film had a decent pacing to it, though nothing surprising really ever happens. Jaden's acting was bland I'll admit and his character wasn't that interesting, but he is the main focus and the audience just has to deal with it. M. Night Shyamalan directed this film, but it really feels like this was a Will Smith driven film. I personally don't have anything against Shyamalan, but I can't say I enjoy the work he's produced. The last two films I saw from Shyamalan was Lady in the Water and Airbender, and both films were really mediocre at best. After Earth is a decent effort, but nothing to really brag home about. I don't think you can really expect much either when this whole film was about survival. When the film ended, one member of the audience actually clapped. So I guess it was good for something.

What's with the Hawaiian miles toolbar now?

I guess after years of people "spamming" searches, Hawaiian airlines capped the miles limit to 33 miles per day. Yes, you didn't hear that wrong, after earning 33 miles through the Hawaiian miles search toolbar, the words "Maximum Rewards Earned" gets displayed preventing you from earning any more miles until 24 hrs from your last search.

I remember reading blogs about how people could get up 5,000 miles a month, but with this new ceiling fix, I highly doubt this level can ever be reached again. Still 231 miles a week isn't so bad, but just wished they did not implement this new feature. Sucks that I just started this program not too long ago.

For anyone interested, look for the toolbar download here:

http://emarket.hawaiianair.com/toolbar_download


I think the advertisement got it wrong, but letting you folks know that it takes 3 searches to equal one mile, so it took me 99 searches to make 33 miles. I wonder why its capped at that number, hope its not a freemason occult thing.


*update* August 3, 2013

So I've been using the milefinder thus far and earning some pretty cool bonus miles. So the miles cap at 1000 miles no matter what. So even if you have an extra day, like how some months have 31 days, you only can get the extra 10 miles and that's it. Worst case is that you can only acquire 33 miles a day no matter what happens.  So let's say you didn't use the toolbar finder for 29 days, you figure you could earn the 900+ miles in the last day, right? Nope, you only get 33 a day so you would had lucked out. 

Good luck in this new system. I'm heading to on a trip next week and I'm going to miss over a weeks worth of miles. That'll suck.