Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Chef Zone Stuff


Chef Zone. Chef Zone. Chef Zone.  That's all I've been hearing lately. Everybody except me is going to Chef Zone.  Luckily, Wendell is one of those who has checked it out.

He bought this frozen lumpia on one of his first trips there. I don't know how much it cost.
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It looked very promising.
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Huge, no.
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It fried up really nicely.  Perfect crispness on the outside.
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Unfortunately, I didn't like the inside.  Was mooshy to me and hardly had pork.
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Coworker Mich sent me this picture. A friend had gotten KOHA boiled jumbo peanuts from Chef Zone. It was $5 something.  She said that it didn't taste as good as Wendell's though.
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This is half a package of pastrami that came from Chef Zone. I had total brain fart and forgot to document the pastrami sandwiches that Wendell made with it. He fried up some slices and made thick almost-like-This-is-It-Bakery kine sandwiches. Was really, really good. Wendell kept saying that it comes out to only $5/pound . . . "way cheaper than Safeway's" and way, way cheaper than This is It's.
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Brain-farted again and had to dig this empty package out of the trash can for this photo. 
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The teriyaki pork was super, super good.  Wendell said he thinks it was around $10 for the 2-pound package.
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I can see why Chef Zone is the happening place to be. Can't wait to check it out for myself one day.

19 comments:

DNakamaru said...

That Teri pork looks super good! I just had lunch but wish I could have some.

K and S said...

is it a new shop?

Susan said...

Mmm the pork looks yummy! How did you cook the pork? Most frozen lumpia I've bought in the store was not good : ( They do look good uncooked though...so nicely wrapped tight and all.

Anonymous said...

j: your 411s are so informative! Nevah heard of this place so did a quick search and found them. I could not find info for the general public cuz their biz is being wholesalers like to the restaurant biz...so can the general public go in? Their app. for membership required a GET license so was wondering how one gets in. Oh yea, I gotta try this place out cuz that pastrami sandwich from that bakery is still on my mind. Considering their size their web page says they only have 40 employees...I guess it's not a COSTCO type operation? Keep us informed if you can of the other stuff Wendell finds there!-thanx N

jalna said...

Dean, we just came back from there. My first visit! Wendell bought more of the teri pork. Yay!

I think fairly new. Wendell said it used to be Y. Hata on Sand Island Road.

I think Wendell just threw the teri pork in a frying pan and fried it up, Susan. True about frozen lumpia. So far, cannot beat homemade.

N, Wendell said you just gotta sign up and become a member to shop there. But membership is free!! Maybe you gotta go there to sign up. Not sure.

Anonymous said...

I've been there once but I didn't see the teri pork. Is it sold frozen?

Les said...

what da heck is chef zone?!?!

Anonymous said...

This is a seperate y.hata business from its sand island warehouse geared for chefs.

Mark Shelby said...

Yummers! The frozen lumpia look like Mexican Burritos until you peak inside! ; )

jalna said...

Anon, yes, it is sold frozen.

Les, it's totally a store for you. Driving Ewa, we turned left on Lagoon Drive and then a right.

Thanks for the info, Anon!

Kay said...

Good grief! But I haven't heard of it. The teriyaki pork looks yummy though. Hmmm...

Anonymous said...

j: I found them on Yelp with lots of info and pictures. Wow. Yes membership is free and for the public it's a later time like COSTCO's business vs. public. Speaking of COSTCO seems the sizes are comparable, bulk buying, but I like the non-grocery items. Those kitchen utensils seem intriguing. I just wanna go there once, just like COSTCO, I probably can't buy much since it's only the two of us. I end up discarding anything perishable from COSTCO as we just can't get to it all. But oohhh that has my shopping instincts all wound up! -N

jalna said...

Go try, Kay.

I got to check it out yesterday, N. I took some photos with my phone. It'll be on tomorrow's blog post.

Honolulu Aunty said...

Oh oh, another place to shop... I always end up buying too much and forgetting to use them before they get spoiled.

Another good pastrami place is kinda across from MaybeItsJenny's "This is It!" recommendation. Honolulu Beer Works next to the BikeFactory on Cooke Street. They grill the fancy rye bread and the filling is the shaved type. I miss Lynn's in the Ala Moana Center, from AGES ago. They had the best pastrami sandwiches on rye with mayo and mustard with a big dill pickle. Hanabata high school days.

mmiissee said...

OMG! All this time I thought Chef Zone was for just business/restaurants. Never thought it was open to the public. I better check them out.
Price looks reasonable than at the grocery stores.

mmiissee said...

I just looked on Yelp...they got some good stuffs. It looks like heaven in there...peaceful and no crowds.

mmiissee said...

Better go before everyone starts going lol

jalna said...

For real, Mmiissee! The parking lot is kinda small and it was empty. And hardly had people on the inside. But this was on a weekday. Maybe weekends are busier.

jalna said...

Ooooh Aunty . . . me too . . . I miss Lynn's Deli. That was DA PLACE to go for a pastrami sandwich back in the day. Honolulu Beer Works' pastrami sandwich sounds good too! Thanks for the recommendation.