Narcissus Queen Pageant

Didja check out the news clip of the new Narcissus Queen's talent? It's totally awesome! Check it out here: Awesome talent show

I actually shared an elevator with her Friday night. I had no idea who she was but she was wearing a pageant gown and a sash so we asked her if she won and she said that she did. Cool!

Lisa Wong's talent is so original and fun that she's even made Angry Asian Man's Blog!

Waikiki Sunset

Too bad had clouds in the way....

Obama Yourself!

You can do it too at obamicon.me

Dinner at Cafe Maharani

NOTE: I apologize for the lack of pictures in the following review of Cafe Maharani

I'm sorry to say that I've never had Indian food before in my life. Not to my knowledge anyway. So I was really excited to go check out Cafe Maharani last night on King Street, right before Down to Earth near University Avenue.

We got there around 7:20pm and ended up waiting about 40 minutes for a table. The place was packed! It doesn't help that there are only like 8-10 tables in the entire restaurant. While waiting to get seated, we browsed the menu and decided to order the dinner special for two ($39.99) which includes a samosa appetizer, rice, naan, and a choice of 2 entrees (no seafood).

One good thing about Maharani is that it's BYOB. We brought a bottle of cab with us and paid just a $1.50 corkage fee. Too bad the wine glasses they gave us were plastic though.

The samosa came out first. The samosa is a deep fried pastry filled with curry like spices and vegetables. I don't know if it was because I was really hungry (having skipped lunch) but I really enjoyed it. It was like a Japanese bakery curry croquette in the shape of a cone but without the breading on the outside. The pastry exterior was light and fluffy and the innards were good too. Perhaps a tad on the dry side but a good start. The sauces they gave to put on the samosa were spicy but good.

The the entrees came. First out came the Karahi lamb, which was presented on a sizzling hot platter. Ooh....I was salivating at the huge tender chunks of lamb mixed in with pieces of onion and bell pepper. It looked so yummy! I stuck my knife into the lamb to cut it and it parted like the Red Sea. So tender....

The other entree we ordered was a Tandoori chicken, which came in a small stew pot. There were about 5-6 huge chunks of chicken meat mixed in with what tasted like a tomato based sauce. Hoo, this was spicy! But again the chicken was very tender and the sauce that accompanied it was so ono. A winnah.

The rice and naan were of the plain variety since we had no choice in either due to ordering the set menu for two. The rice was adequate as a carb filler but the naan was awesome! It came in huge half pizza like pieces and piping hot. The outer edges were crispy and the inner parts were oh so fluffy and light. Dipping the naan into the Tandoori chicken sauce was the best!

Overall I really enjoyed my first Indian food experience and will definitely go back to Cafe Maharani. The only negatives I would have to say were the limited parking, slightly slow but attentive service, and a few little too small tables.

But if you're interested in Indian, definitely check this place out!

Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li Trailer

Meh.

Lunch In Waipahu Part 3 - K's Bento-Ya

Went to K's Bento-Ya for lunch today. Got there at around 11am and they only had like 6 bentos left. They open at some ridiculous hour in the morning like at 5am or something like that and usually sell out of bentos by lunchtime.

From what I understand, they only have 2 types of bento: small bento ($4.75) and large bento ($5.75). Small bento (seen below) has musubi, maki sushi, oshi sushi, tofu patty, corned beef hash, half a teri hot dog, and cayenne chicken. The large bento is the same but also includes cone sushi, luncheon meat, and fried shrimp.
This was my first experience eating K's and for the price, a pretty decent bento, but too much rice for my taste. I don't need that much rice. The teri hot dog was simply a hot dog dipped or marinated in teri sauce and I don't know what makes the chicken "cayenne" but it was pretty tasty with the typical local style shoyu garlic type marinade. I liked the tofu patty as well.

Maybe I going try the large next time for just $1 more.

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

I've decided today to do the Great Aloha Run again. What the hell am I thinking? I've done the Run twice before but the last time must be like 4 or 5 years ago. Ah whatevahs...it'll give me an excuse to really dedicate myself to training for a month.

I hate running!!!! Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!

Breakfast at Cream Pot

Cream Pot is a breakfast/brunch eatery in the Hawaii Monarch Hotel. I've read several positive reviews on this place so was kind of curious to check it out and finally got that opportunity when I had breakfast there yesterday with a friend.

The atmosphere is quite charming and cute, reminding you of a Italian or French country style inn.

There are 2 menus, one with words and one with pictures. Very handy!
Had to try the dark chocolate cold drink. Very sweet and refreshing. Tasted like an upgraded chocolate milk. But at $4.50 not sure if I'd order it again.
I ordered the "classic" omelette. It had pieces of bacon, potato, mushrooms, and other goodies in it. The eggs were really creamy and well cooked but I thought the innards were a little lacking. I thought the ingredients were a little too finely chopped and I had a hard time tasting all their goodness. Also, the dish normally comes with rice but they had run out by the time we got there so they served me these pieces of bread instead which I'd prefer to rice anyway.
I ordered my omelette as a "set" which means it came with a beverage and a crepe. I selected the banana crepe and it was very very good. Light, moist, and not soggy at all. The caramel cream that accompanied the crepe was amazing. The set cost $16.
My friend ordered the banana Belgian waffles ($9.25) and these were fantastic. Notice the caramel sauce in the dipping cup. The same sauce as for the crepe. We asked if the restaurant would sell the caramel sauce since it was that good. They said that they were actually considering it for the future. The whipped cream you see on top of the waffles was also very good. I'm not normally a whipped cream fan but this cream was delicious. Nothing like the canned stuff.
We also ordered a side of hash browns ($3.50). This was just okay. Interestingly, it came with a dollop of sour cream on top. I wish it had been crispier.
The food overall was very good, if a little on the sweet side, but what do you expect from a restaurant called the Cream Pot and whose menu features crepes, waffles, and omelettes? There were a few negatives however. Parking is only partially validated and since we were there for a while, it ended up costing $4. And the reason why we were there for a while is that the food does take a while to come out. For the two of us it wasn't really a problem since we were just talking story and enjoying a leisurely morning so the delay in getting our food wasn't a big deal. But if you're in a hurry, this is not the place to go.

So check out Cream Pot if you're looking for a quaint and charming breakfast spot or if you're trying to impress a date. The breakfast cost about $45 with parking and tip included so it can get pretty pricey. But if you lay off the specialty beverages and just stick to 2 entrees, you can probably dine for about $30, all inclusive which is around about what you'd pay if went to a similar place such as IHOP. Plus, I don't believe they take credit cards so make sure to bring cash.

Say It Ain't So Chuck!

You've all probably heard by now that Sir Charles Barkley, the Round Mound of Rebound, was recently arrested for suspicion of DUI. There are now new reports that he apparently ran the stop light because he was in a hurry to get a hummer. And I don't mean the SUV.

Check out the video report here.

Barkley is one of my favorite NBA players of all time and it's a shame that his reputation gets further sullied because of this. First it was the gambling problem, now it's this. Ouch.

2008 Year in Review and Hopes for 2009

Looking back on 2008...it was a pretty good year! First of all, let's look at how I did on my New Year's resolutions.

1) Be healthier - I've lost about 12 pounds in the last year so that's a start, right? Of course I wanted to lose more...but baby steps! Nah, gotta work harder on this in 09.

2) Read more books - I've read a total of 1/2 of a book this year. Still working on finishing up Water For Elephants. Yeah, I know I suck in this category. You should see my stack of magazines I have to catch up on too.

3) Improve my golf game - I played a total of 1 round of golf in 2008 and that was back in February. Goal not accomplished!

4) Don't be so easy on spending the $! - I think I've been fairly financially responsible this year. Not too many useless purchases....that I can recall anyway.

So yeah, resolution wise, it may not have been the greatest but I had some great experiences in 2008. I went skiing in Lake Tahoe, did a weekend getaway in Kona, visited Korea in the spring (including a first time visit to Busan), travelled to California twice for work, met a great girl, lost a great girl, helped put the Korean Festival together, and got my LEED AP accreditation. Not a bad year!

I'm not going to make any resolutions for 2009 since life is so fluid and you try to be as flexible as possible but I do have a number of goals. Since this is the year of the ox (same year as when I was born, which means I'll turn 24 this year...yeah, right!), I am hoping for some great things.

Happy New Year everyone and hope you all have a fantastic 2009!