Hi Pho Vietnamese Restaurant

Oh my goodness. I tried to do this post strictly using my iPad to see if I can possibly blog from Japan using it. The photos were taken with the iPad too. Ho da hard. Especially the touch screen part. The Blogger editor does not recognize swiping. Swiping is iPad's way of scrolling. So no can scroll.  I've found a few "work arounds", but like I said before Ho da hard.  But we'll see.

Anyway, I went to Hi Pho in Hawaii Kai the other day. I had a sore throat so I wanted some kind of soothing chicken broth thing. 

I got the won ton soup in chicken broth. It was just okay. Small, little won tons. And they didn't give me any kind of dipping sauce. 

Good thing we had hoi sin and sriracha sauce at home.  

Beware: The Flat Iron Con

My sister Geri was killing time at Ala Moana Shopping Center the other day while her dog was at the groomers.  When she passed by a Royale Professional Beauty Products kiosk the guy there asked her if she would agree to a demonstration. She said okay.

He proceeded to flat iron her hair.  They made small talk.  She found out that he was Russian. After he had done half her head, he told her that if she wanted the other half done, she would need to purchase one of their irons at a cost of $350.  !!!!!! 

Geri has beautiful naturally curly hair, and I know that if the guy only ironed half of her head, there woulda been a noticable difference between the ironed and the un-ironed portions.  She refused to pay his extortion price and left to do her shopping with half of her hair straight and the other half curly.



The Royale Professional Crooks have at least two kiosks at Ala Moana Center, one on the bottom floor by the ABC store just before the food court and the other one on the second floor in front of the MAC store.  

A few days after my sister's unfortunate incident, I happened to walk past the kiosk that's in front of the MAC store.  As I was passing by, the girl there reached out to me and said, "Would you . . . ".  Before she could even finish her sentence, I made a big X with my two forearms and said in a loud voice, "UH UH, NO, NO, NO.  I HEARD ABOUT YOU GUYS. YOU DO ONLY HALF THE HEAD AND THEN YOU ASK FOR MONEY TO DO THE REST."  She shook her head and denied it.  I said, "YES, YOU DO!", and I walked away.  I think my sister Sweetie, who was with me, was embarrassed.  She said that I was LOUD.  I probably was, but I couldn't help myself.


I wrote an email to Ala Moana Center and told them what had happened. I said that such criminal activity should not be allowed.  I never got a response.

iPad

I got me an iPad mini with xmas/photo gig money. I'm thinking I could use it when me and Sweetie go to Japan in the spring.  YES, YES!!  Japan In The Spring!!  Yeehaw!!

One of the first things I noticed was that my photos are too big for my iPad.  Almost a third of the photo is chopped off on the right.


This is the full picture.


I checked my stats and it shows that a good number of people who read my blog do so from a small-screened device.  So starting from this post, I'm gonna try and make the photos a little smaller.  It might take a little tweaking, but hopefully I'll be able to get it right soon.

Wendell's Squash with Chicken

This recipe is from the past Wednesday's The Electric Kitchen in the Star Advertiser.  The article says that the recipe is compliments of retired Kapolei High School culinary arts teacher Cynthia Pratt. It can be found here. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons minced ginger root
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 4 pounds hyotan (long squash), peeled, seeded, cut into 1" cubes
• 1-2 teaspoons rock salt to taste, divided
• Coarsely cracked black pepper to taste
• Finely chopped green onion or cilantro as garnish

Directions:

Heat oil in a deep sauce pot. Sauté the ginger and garlic for 1 minute. Add chicken and sauté until no longer pink, adding chicken broth to prevent scorching. Cover with lid and cook 3 minutes. Layer hyotan on chicken, sprinkle with half of salt, cover and cook 10 minutes on medium high. Stir pot, add remaining salt, cover and cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until the hyotan is tender but not mushy. Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with green onions or cilantro. Makes 8 servings.

Live Cam at Odori Park

This time last year, me and my sisters were all excited about our upcoming trip to Hokkaido.  Dunno why but it doesn't seem like it was less than a year ago that we went.  Feels like it was ages ago.



Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Fleeting Sunset

I took this photo back in November.  I caught it just in time . . . a few seconds later it was gone.

Macadamia-Crusted Brie

Wouldja believe I made this?  For real. The recipe can be found here. 



I omitted the "bake for 3 minutes to melt cheese" part because, as you can see, the cheese was already melting. I also omitted the "render the balsamic vinegar with sugar" part because, as you know, I'm too lazy. I just poured the vinegar on straight from the bottle.  Still was good.

Thanks again for the recipe, Mich!

Wendell's Tatsuta Style Salmon

This is another Harumi recipe that Wendell followed.  The recipe actually calls for mackerel but Wendell used salmon instead.  You can find the recipe here. 

Maroon 5 Wedding Crashing

Whoppa Duzza Clams

I got these clams from Marukai.  They were on sale for $4 something.  They're like my favorite clams now.

Look how huge!  I made this pasta.  I just sautéed butter, garlic and parsley and threw in the clams with the juice and let it reduce.  Nothing special, but was ono.

Maintaining Chrome Faucets

We have a very tiny bathroom adjacent to the master bedroom.  The basin was really bust-up so after the carpenter guys were done with our kitchen, Wendell asked them to replace it.

I like the chrome faucet so much that I've been small-kine obsessing about it. I'm normally a crappy housekeeper, and I don't really know how to take care of things, but I'd like to keep the faucet as cool-looking as long as possible, so I went online and looked up how to do that. 


I found this:

1. Make a solution of equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. Saturate a clean cloth with the solution. Wrap it around the faucet where you notice spotting. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then remove it. Wipe the area with a dry cloth to remove any residue.

2. Dip an old toothbrush in the vinegar solution. Scrub the area around the base of the faucet and any other hard-to-reach areas where you notice spotting. This should remove the last of the hard water buildup and soap scum currently visible on your faucet. Dry the area with a clean, dry cloth.

The Creek Line House blog recommended polishing with wax paper. You can check it out here.

But bottom line I learned is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure:

While the acid content in vinegar and lemon juice dissolves the hard water buildup, preventing more from accumulating requires regular cleaning. Another way to combat future buildup is to dry up water immediately. Simply wipe down the faucet, sink or tub to prevent water evaporating on it, leaving water spots behind.



So with a shammy that we keep near the sink, I've been wiping down after each use.  I even "hinted" to Wendell that he should do the same.

Wendell's Chicken with Mayonnaise

I give you one guess why this was so good.  Dat's right . . . da mayonnaise!  The recipe is from Everyday Harumi cookbook.




4 skinless mini chicken fillets
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
grated garlic to taste
2 tbs. mayonnaise
4 tbs. grated parmesan cheese

1.  Remove any gristle from the chicken fillets. Marinate 2 to 3 minutes in the soy sauce and garlic.
2.  Put the chicken on a baking pan and spread the mayonnaise evenly on top. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
3.  Bake for 7 to 8 minutes at 450 degrees until browned.

Life Lesson No. 18

Wendell made an ono chicken dish last night, but do I have a photo and the recipe for you?  Nooooo. 

Instead I have Life Lesson No. 18:



Chicken recipe will come later . . . 

My New Year's Resolution

I found this book at Jelly's.  It's a fun, easy read.  It's to the point.  Maybe I'll share some of its advice later. For now, I just have one to share.  I decided to make it my New Year's Resolution.  Just one.  It's gonna be hard to do.  Here it is:

You must celebrate Non-Judgment Day, then Non-Judgment Year, then Non-Judgment Life.  You find that when you look at life and people through the eyes of non-judgment, you attain a special x-ray vision that allows you to see past the bad--and straight through to the good. 

Riusuke Fukahori

Happy New Year!!  Where in the world did all that wind and rain come from last night? And now it's totally gone. Whatda?

It seems like I've gotten lazy to blog . . . again . . . but we'll just go with the flow and see what happens, yah.  

I wanted to share this artwork by Riusuke Fukahori.  It is a painting in resin. Imagine this . . . the artist pours a thin layer of resin, lets it dry and paints. He pours another thin layer of resin and repeats . . . layer upon layer upon layer. 



I think it's soo amaaaaaazing!!  You can find out more here.