FlyinHawaiian

Mahalo for the holiday amnesty on Pipeline; I sent my cousin from Aiea (who now lives across the river from us in New Jersey) a dozen malasadas via Goldbelly as a Christmas present and it was very well-received (he's never been to Pipeline; too "town" for him, I guess).

My foodie feed is pinging some promising reviews of Deck over at the Queen K hotel by the zoo; not sure if you feel like heading into the Jungle...

747FC

Will keep that in mind. Mahalo for the Goldbelly reference. Never heard of that!

Finkface

Challenge accepted! Deck looks pretty amazing and I am thinking brunch tomorrow might be in order. And Mr. Fink is salivating over the Feast lobster roll. They are open for takeout tonight until 6pm. I just might make it if I hurry.....

Update: Feast is awesome! Mr. Fink says the lobster roll is definitely better than Et Al. He said it is the umami mayo that makes the difference. I had the shawarma and 747FC is spot on; absolutely delicious. Tons of chicken with beautiful spicing, and I agree about the hummus being the best on the island. And the naan was excellent.
I think we will order from there again on New Years Eve. Will go well with champagne. Great find. Thanks! I am stuffed so I think brunch at Deck will have to wait a few days.

747FC

Just a note about Pipeline: Everytime I pass it, there is a line outside the door. Not sure how much is attributable to COVID spacing vs. the word getting out...

FlyinHawaiian

This was Pipeline’s shop this past Wednesday; my order is one of the boxes. I heard they had to close their retail sales that day in order to fulfill their Goldbelly orders.

ExpatExp

Went here for dinner earlier this evening. They have only been open for two weeks so things are a little rough around the edges (no liquor license yet, and no dessert menu yet), but the staff is friendly and attentive and you get the impression that the kitchen puts a lot of work into each plate. I like that you can see into the kitchen and it has a very professional feel.

Sadly they were out of their two most popular starters (foie gras sandwich and sea urchin custard), but we were really happy with the steak tartare and pasta. Need to go back.

Note that there is a wine shop around the corner and they are happy for you to BYOB. Many tables had a bottle of wine or two.

Eastbay1K

What, no one was making lovely fresh and seasonal sufganiyot in your neighborhood, so you had to have the "closest available substitute" shipped?

FlyinHawaiian

I ordered sufganiyot (mascarpone pepita with cranberry glaze and stonefruit with lemon glaze) from Lost Bread in Philly as part of our Hanukkah observance, but am biased to prefer my fried dough in the form of a malasada. Outside of Lox of Bagels and some places in Kakaako (none of which I've tried), I'd be hard-pressed to know where in Honolulu to get an edible NYC-style bagel, let alone a knish or sufganiyot.

FlyinHawaiian

Here's a few more spots I'm picking up from the Coconut Wireless; have you tried any of these?

• Fat Cheeks in the Ohana Hale Marketplace (old GEM store on Ward Ave.)
• Da Buttah Lobster in the Chinese Cultural Center
• EARL in Kaimuki (I hear it's sometimes a Special of the Day)

I suspect any of the above isn't going to be as good as Feast but if one is in the area...

747FC

I tried EARL's LR at their Kaka'ako location when they first developed it around 2 years ago, I think. I liked it, but not enough to stand in line again. Not nearly as good as Feast. I am a fan of EARL in general, and frequent the Kaimuki location. I like the Bahn Mi sandwich and the Turkey Slam Jam.

Haven't tried the other two, but thanks for the notice.

BTW, I've tried to interest Ms. 747FC in Kapa Hale, but she has not taken to the menu. Perhaps another try...

ExpatExp

This thread always makes me hungry.

Edit: Picked up lunch at Feast this week. Spoken as someone who lived and worked in Maine for many years, their lobster roll was fantastic. Also enjoyed the schawarma and the Big Mac. Thank you all for the tip.

747FC

I had to plead with Ms. 747FC to try Kapa Hale. She finally relented, as I hoped that FlyinHawaiian might give me FT bonus points. We did takeout tonight, ordering four items, asking the order taker to not have any added salt on our items. The telephone conversation was pleasant and efficient. Total bill with 20% tip was about $100.

Grilled Tako: This is something that my wife orders to test out chef quality. She really enjoyed the Tako, commenting that it was very tender.

Brussels: Really good. Much better than our old favorite at the 12th Ave. Grill.

Crab & Chorizo Pasta: Tasty, but they put too much (heavy) sauce in the mix. The dish would have been better with a thicker noodle. Ms. 747FC commented that there was not enough Chorizo. For me, the crab got lost in the heavy sauce.

Roasted Chicken: The chicken was tender, but the polenta had way too much butter in it. It was more like a butter sauce than a polenta. I would not order this dish again.

In general, the ingredients appeared to be fresh. Can't say we would rush back there for this same menu. Hopefully they tweak things and can remain in business.

ExpatExp

Miro last night. It was bright, modern, busy, and delicious. The dishes on the set menu were creative and of a high quality. Particularly enjoyed their foamy bouillabaisse paired with bubbly, and Maui venison tartare. What a pleasant surprise to have a European dining experience in Honolulu.

Also, for the benefit of others reading this thread, Fête continues to be one of my favourites in town. I could happily eat their Korean fried chicken sandwich every day

Calcifer

One perspective on the Oahu lobster roll scene:
https://www.honolulumagazine.com/we-pick-our-top-5-lobster-rolls-on-oahu/

747FC

Just tried Bamboo Catering https://www.bamboocatering.net/ . This is a prepared/packaged/ready to heat service for those with kitchens in their homes or vacation rentals.

The menu options are emailed to prospective clients on Mondays for Wednesday pickup, either in Kaimuki or in Waipahu. The Kaimuki location pickup hours are within a narrow afternoon window.

We tried three items, and enjoyed all. The pickup menu varies weekly. The only item that we had that is also on the linked-site menu was the garlic noodles.

Definitely worth a try if you have a kitchen and the time. If interested, call the telephone number on the contact page which is handled by the marketing manager, with whom it is a pleasure to deal.