Papa Ole's - Hauula, HI

The amount of good meals we had in Hawaii were endless, and Papa Ole's was one of them. Spur of the moment decision in which I had no idea how I landed upon this joint, maybe it was the high ratings or the fried chicken they had.

It wasn't far from where we were staying, so the drive took us less than 10 minutes. The restaurant was quite spacious but no air conditioning. They had the rotating ceiling fans, better than nothing. The fiancè and I wanted to try their garlic chicken but it was completely sold out, bummer. Instead we ordered the original fried chicken and pulehu ribs. Best decision ever!

Our plates did take a while since it was made to order. Once we had our plates, we jumped right into it. The fried chicken was crunchy and flavorful, it had a bit of sweetness in the marinade which made it very unique. But the star was actually the pulehu ribs. Even though it might look charred and burnt, it was absolutely delicious. So moist and tender, packed with flavor. This was a carnivore's dream.

Overall, an excellent meal.

Pulehu Ribs (left), Fried Chicken (right)

Verdict:
Food ~ 5 out of 5
Price ~ 5 out of 5
Service ~ 5 out of 5 

Papa Ole's
54-316 Kamehameha Hwy, Ste 9
Hauula, HI 96717

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck - Haleiwa, HI

One of the "must" visit food joints in Hawaii. I was totally excited about garlic butter shrimp and hoped that I wasn't going to get disappointed since it was hyped up so much.

My fiancé and I came right past lunch time so the line had dwindled down. We ordered 2 plates but one was honestly enough to hold our stomachs. The shrimp plates didn't take too long to prepare, I would say a good 5-10 minutes, assuming it was made on the spot (since shrimps doesn't take that long to cook anyways).

One important thing to point out, there are a lot of flies there. If you're not afraid of them buzzing around, you can definitely sit at the benches and enjoy your shrimp plate. But let me tell you this, once you open up your plate of goodies, the flies would be hovering around you. Nonetheless, the garlic butter shrimp was ok, nothing fantastic about it. There were about 10 shrimps along with 2 scoops of rice, the rice was way too soft. They spooned a good amount of the garlic butter sauce on top of the rice which made it even more soggy, wasn't very enjoyable. The shrimp itself tasted a bit soft, like it was floured up and then cooked in butter for a long time.

Overall, it was a disappointment. Oh, and the head of the shrimp is not attached. That's like the best part when you just suck the brains out (tmi?). It's a place you want to visit to say you at least tried it, but I wouldn't return.

Lemon Butter Shrimp (front), Garlic Butter Shrimp (back)

Verdict:
Food ~ 2.5 out of 5
Price ~ 3.5 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck
66-472 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712

Formosa Cafe - Brooklyn, NY

I was so sad to find this place right before my fiancé and I moved. We honestly missed these kind of Taiwanese style cafes. The kind where you can spend all afternoon just sitting there chatting and drinking some bubble milk tea and munching on popcorn chicken.

In a way, I'm glad we found it. Very popular during the day time which makes it quite difficult to get a table. The service here is pretty good for an Asian cafe, the girls behind the counter works quick. The drinks and food are also very good. I've been getting their Bubble Milk Tea non-stop whenever I'm in the area. I love a good milk tea when I can taste the tea and not entirely too sweet. This place does it right and does it well. The Jasmine Milk Tea is also a winner here, taste light and refreshing.

Our first time at Formosa, we stayed and chatted the night away. We ordered the bubble teas, Taiwanese Curry Popcorn Chicken, and Durian Crepe Cake. Everything was good; chicken was crispy and not just covered in flour, crepe cake wasn't too sweet and had a light hint of durian.
We keep coming back here to just get their bubble tea whenever we're in Brooklyn. Definitely recommend.

Bubble Milk Tea and Durian Crepe Cake

Same as above but with Curry Popcorn Chicken

Verdict:
Food ~ 4 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

Formosa Cafe
5323 7th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11220