Moku Famous Hawaiian Barbecue

We all know where to get a bowl of poké when we need one.  It isn't hard to find a place nearby.  However, if you wanted actual Hawaiian cuisine, it becomes more difficult.  So what is Hawaiian food anyways?  For those who haven't been, it is combination of different ethnic cuisines.  In particular, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese and of course, Polyneisan.  I was super excited to try out Moku Famous Hawaiian BBQ out in Langley since they had plate lunches as well as other Hawaiian goodies.

So let's get right to it with a classic in the Spam Musubi.  As you can see clearly in the picture, the Spam-to-rice ration was 1:1.  Hence, this ate really hearty and was not longing for the salty butteriness of the evenly-seared Spam.  A balancing sweet and caramelized teriyaki glaze helped complete the familiar flavour-profile.  The sushi rice base was the right texture being soft while still chewy.  It bonded properly and did not fall apart even when picked up.

Going for the first plate lunch, we found the Garlic Shrimp with rice and mac salad.  These large and plump shrimp were lightly fried and tossed in a garlic brown butter.  The result was some nutty aromatics with some saltiness and a touch of spice.  It reminded me slightly of Chinese salt & pepper garlic shrimp to a degree due to it being fried.  However, with the butter, it was was richer in flavour.  Texturally, the shrimp had a moist snap and really benefited from the light crispy coating.

If you are looking at this picture and have your mouth open, it can mean that you are hungry and/or in awe at the size of the Kona Beef Ribs.  For $22.95, this was a huge amount of meat!  These massive ribs were coffee-rubbed, slow-cooked and slathered in mango BBQ sauce.  The result was some tender meat that still had plenty of natural texture left.  The coffee taste was there but not enough to make it bitter while the BBQ sauce was tangy and sweet.

Another popular Hawaiian dish that I personally love is the Loco Moco featuring rice topped with 2 beef burger patties and smothered with rich mushroom gravy.  A fried egg put the finishing touch on the dish.  I really appreciated the home-made beef patties which were meaty with a natural texture.  Not sure if you can tell by the picture, but the patties were large and thick.  With an appealing viscosity, the gravy was silky with the right amount of saltiness and umaminess.

By virtue of using either fresh rice or rice with too much moisture, the Spam Fried Rice was a bit wet.  Despite this, it still ate well due to the generous amount of cubed Spam.  The saltiness from the meat helped flavour the dish and also provide a buttery texture.  Also, the fat from the Spam added umaminess and aromatics to the rice.  The addition of veggies was both a blessing and a curse as it gave colour and texture, but it also added even more moisture.

We ended up sampling the rest of the meats with the Combo Plate that has a choice of 2 meats, 2 scoops of rice and mac salad.  The first plate consisted of Chicken BBQ and Beef BBQ.  As you can see, the chicken was beautifully charred with smokiness and sweetness.  The meat itself was still moist and juicy.  As for the beef, it was fairly thin and meaty in texture.  It was less caramelized than the chicken.  I like how they add some sauteed cabbage and carrots underneath.

The next Combo Plate featured the Kalbi Beef and Garlic Furikake Chicken.  This mound of food would be a challenge for one person to finish by themselves. A regular Combo Plate sets you back $25.95, but with Kalbi, it is an extra $2.00.  Worth every penny in my books as you get 2 meals for that price!  The short ribs were tender with a chew while being flavourfully sweet and savoury.  Crispy but tender inside, the chicken was sweet and garlicky with hits of seaweed.

Our last Combo Plate consisted of Spicy Mochiko Chicken and Kalua Pork.   Similar in texture to the garlic chicken, this version had a bit less sauce and indeed had a mild kick.  The Kalua Pork was moist and tender despite not looking so in the picture.  Flavours were subtle and mild with only a bit of saltiness.  Of course we had to try their Hawaiian Pog to wash everything down with right?  It was appealingly fruity and sweet being refreshing.  Overall, the food at Moku is fantastic  and served in enormous portions.  Pricing is completely fair and they even have party/family meals if you order ahead.  I think I've found my Hawaiian food fix in the Lower Mainland!  Normally, I would say something like "I will be back with the fam!" but I have already returned!  Had most of the same dishes and they were exactly the same except I got even more ribs that the first time, but it was bit drier.  Otherwise, it was an excellent visit and Moku will be in my regular rotation of restaurants!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Delicious
- Large portions
- Well-priced

The Bad:
- Parking lot fills up fast
- Maybe the rice in the fried rice can be drier

Musubi Kai

Whenever I'm in Hawaii, it is more about the food than anything for me.  Yes, that doesn't seem like a revelation, given that I absolutely love to eat!  Okay, I do enjoy the scenery and the sights in Hawaii too.  So whenever I'm back at home or anywhere on the mainland, I am excited to see anything related to Hawaiian cuisine.  How about a place called Musubi Kai in Seattle?  A restaurant dedicated to Musubis?  Just like the one in Honolulu???  Well I'm game!

So let's get right to it shall we?  We got a selection of Musubis including the classic Spam Musubi.  The slice of meat was thick and evenly-seared.  There was a certain sweetness to it from the glaze.  Sushi rice was moist but still had a great chewiness.  Perfect ratio between meat and rice.  Delicious.  We also had the Spam, Egg and Avocado which made things a bit heartier but not heavier.  Again, it started with the base classic musubi with a thin slice of fluffy egg omelet and ripe avocado.  More of a breakfast item here that cut down the saltiness with the other ingredients.  The next one we had was the Spam, Egg and Eel which was extra savory and more robust due to the buttery eel.  It added more sweet saltiness and this would be great for those who like it hearty.

Onto the next 3 options, we had the BBB Eel and Pickled Daikon.  Okay, no Spam here, so it was a bit less heavy and considerably less salty.  This was all unagi with its soft texture and accompanying sweet sauce.  The crunch from the pickles added texture and also tanginess.  With a whole halved wiener, the Beef Frank & Egg was just as filling as the Spam versions.  It had a different saltiness and naturally a more bouncy texture compared to the Spam.  Lastly, we had the Shrimp Katsu with 2 ebi.  This was the most different since it had a crunchy texture to it.  Combined that with some katsu sauce and it was sweet and tangy.

They also have other items to supplement the large Musubi menu.  What better to represent Hawaii than some Poke?  We had the Salmon & Tuna Poke Bowl with all the fixins' including seaweed salad, edamame, imitation crab and corn on top of a mix of rice and mesclun greens.  This was a good poke that wasn't over-the-top.  There was enough fish to match the amount of rice and this was plenty for a meal.

Sticking with Hawaiian favorites, we found the Curry Loco Moco.  This was a hearty portion of chewy rice that was bathed in a curry sauce.  It was only mildly spicy with sweetness and equal parts savoriness.  I actually preferred this sauce over the usual gravy.  The burger patties were more like cutlets being soft and a bit bouncy.  With the addition of pickled ginger, furikake, crispy onion flakes and scallions, it kept things from getting too heavy with acidity and brightness.  Of course, there was a fried egg to offer up its yolky goodness.

Now for the overseas influence where they offered Nong Shim Cup Noodles as well as Udon.  You would find these in Korea and Japan where people happily eat them in store.  We did so too and although it wasn't anything they made or "cooked", it was satisfying nonetheless (especially on a cold day).  Overall, the Musubis were good and filling.  We liked how they had some other Hawaiian options to compliment.  Also, no joke, the instant noodles were great too!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Even ratio of rice-to-Spam
- Other Hawaiian dishes other than Musubis
- Loved the instant noodles!

The Bad:
- Parking in the area is limited (could park in the adjacent parking lot though and buy something from Staples)

Aloha Hawaiian Grill

Oh how I miss Hawaii!  Totally love the weather there, the beaches and of course, the food!  Such an eclectic fusion of cuisines due to the many different cultures intermixing on the islands.  Although we have Hawaiian eats available on the mainland, there isn't much of a selection locally unless you are looking for poke.  Even with that, you get a mish mash of what is supposed to be poke, but sometimes you end up with fish salad.  So when Nora tipped me off a Aloha Hawaiian Grill in Steveston, I just knew I had to meet up with her to try it out!

We were lucky to get there at opening since it was pretty busy by the time it hit Noon. So we had to get some classics including the Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp on rice with a side of mac salad and corn.  This was not bad with plenty of garlickiness and butter.  I would've liked to see a bit more salt, but it was enough to season the shrimp.  About that shrimp, they were of a decent size and plump.  Good buttery snap and natural briny aroma.  Rice underneath was chewy and dry (in a good way).

We also got the Luau Pork Ribs with the same sides.  These slow-cooked ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender but at the same time, they didn't exactly fall-off-the-bone upon contact.  Hence, this was the perfect balance between being tender while not being mushy.  These were sweet and a bit smoky from char off the grill.  I found the mac salad to be decent with al dente noodles and not too much mayo.  It could've used a bit more seasoning though.

Our last big plate was the Loco Moco featuring the usual beef patty with brown gravy and a fried egg on rice.  I quite liked this as the beef patty was large and thick.  It was moist with tender beef and benefited from the sweetness of the onions.  It had been seared nicely and exhibited good caramelization.  The gravy was flavourful but not salty.  The mushrooms added some body and umaminess.  Once again, the dry rice was perfect for accepting the gravy.

Of course couldn't forget about the ever popular Spam Musubi right?  We got a couple of these and right off the bat, I liked how the spam-to-rice ratio was almost 50:50.  Furthermore, the rice was mixed with furikake which meant extra umaminess.  Like it should be, the spam was teriyaki-sauce glazed  which helped also flavour the rice.  I would've liked to see a more aggressive sear on the spam though.  Otherwise, this was a solid version.

We ended off with a small bowl of Shaved Ice in Mango, Cherry and Passionfruit topped with some condensed milk.  I found the shaved ice to be rather snowy and light.  Hence it was easy to eat and not "icy" if that makes any sense.  The flavours could've been anything because it all just tasted sweet to me.  Just enough condensed milk so that the whole thing wasn't sickingly sweet.  Overall, I thought the food at Aloha was pretty good for the mainland.  I still miss the stuff in Hawaii though, but flying there will cost me, so not really fair to compare.

The Good:

- Generally good eats

- Nice people

- Wonderful location

The Bad:

- Garlic shrimp could be more flavourful

- Parking in the village sucks