Hawaiian Style Cafe - 11

Comfort food is an art form in Hawaii. When it's commonplace for food orders to include the phrase "gravy all over", you know Hawaii understands the concept.

Case in point: Hawaiian Style Cafe


Found in the town of Kamuela on the Big Island, Hawaiian Style Cafe is perfectly situated, geographically, to dish out comfort food. At around 2,500 feet in elevation, the weather is unusually chilly for Hawaii. And given the popularity of the place, you'll find yourself bearing all that cold air while you wait outside for a table. Consider that slightly misty, cold, high-altitude air the mood setter for your meal. Because when your table is ready, you'll be perfectly set-up for warm delicious comfort food.

First thing you walk in on is a long low bar packed with customers, just like a diner should have. Then your attention is drawn to the handwritten white board with today's specials. Things like Teri Loco Moco and Pulehu Ribs might distract you, but I'm here on strict recommendations to try two things:

Kalua Hash and "Da Tita Mok" Plate

Sadly I didn't get any photos of the Kalua Hash, but it was as good as it sounds. Crispy on the outside, soft potatoes and kalua on the inside. Served with two eggs and a side of fried rice, this plate was amazing. And when I make my way back up to Kamuela, I'll update this post with a pic.

As for order #2, the embrassing to order but very, very, very worth it, "Da Tita Mok":


And here's how they build this bad boy...start with a couple scoops of fried rice and then pack on the following: two sausage patties, one hamburger patty, one perfectly cooked chicken cutlet (crispy, crusty & flaky) and then top it off with two eggs (personally, I like 'em runny). AND THEN...cover this whole plate in amazing brown gravy. Comfort food perfection. One more pic...just to do it justice.


(side note, if you notice, a bite of food is missing from the left side of the plate. I totally forgot to take the picture. The plate came, I was chilly and hungry and I couldn't stop myself. The plate looked too good)

Overall it earns an Onomono 11 for me. If this place was in Oahu would I still give it an 11?Maybe not. I might drop it a point or two, but the cold air of Kamuela was the perfect set-up for making this place extra delicious. And I can't hold that against Hawaiian Style Cafe. So wear you shorts and revel in that chill in your bones, because "gravy all over" never tasted better.

Tian Tian Chicken Rice - 12

I once asked a fellow foodie friend of mine in Singapore where he would take a first time visitor to eat as soon as they stepped off the plane at Changi Airport (Singapore).  “Without a doubt Tian Tian chicken rice!” he exclaimed.  

There’s tons of information on the web regarding Hainanese chicken rice….the history of it, the arduous cooking process and labor of love that it takes to make it as well as the innumerable amount of food stalls and restaurants that compete to be Singapore’s #1 chicken rice.  If you have the time it's worthwhile to look up 'Hainanese chicken rice', a subject that apparently an entire country of passionate food lovers is mad about and has an opinion about.  

Although widely debatable the consensus #1 is Tian Tian Chicken Rice in the Maxwell Hawker Centre.  But for all the non-Singaporeans out there, all you need to know is that of all the chicken rice places to go to in Singapore, this one was featured on Mr. Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations’ show.  Also, it’s the longest damn line I’ve ever stood in for some “street food!!” (other than for Nam Kee on the weekend before Chinese New Year which I'll get to later on down the road).  How long was the wait for Tian Tian?  I got there at 11:15 to beat the lunch crowd as all the blogs told me to do and it still took 40 minutes until the lady took my order.  The lady patron of Tian Tian is extremely happy and overly gracious (obviously due to the ridiculously long line that leads to her food stall).   She efficiently works the line handing out business cards and taking your order as the other stall owners seemingly look at her with contempt and envy.  For two people, I ordered two orders of chicken and two orders of rice. Being very on the ball, she told me that I could come back and cut the line to order more food if the first order wasn't enough, as she heard me mumble out my desire to possibly order three orders of each.  By the time I received my order it was 45+ minutes since I had first stepped into line.  I was hungry... Worth the wait?  A mouth watering hell yes.  The chicken is as juicy and as flavorful as any I’ve previously had.  The rice is fragrant, moist and importantly not too oily.  The chili sauce, equally the star of this dish has the perfect heat and is not garlicky (just the way I like it).  Tian Tian was an overall wonderful food experience from doing the research all the way to putting that last grain of rice in my mouth.  Sometimes these over blogged, over publicized places are vastly overhyped and can bring my expectations to such a high that the food will in the end disappoint me but Tian Tian chicken rice met all my expectations and can stand up as Singapore’s undisputed #1. 

This had better be good...

Chicken Rice, Chicken Soup, Chicken and Chili... Mmmmmmmm

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Maxwell Food Centre

12 Murray Street #01-10

Closed on Mondays

Edit: Most hawker food in Singapore is cheap although prices seem to have gone up a bit since I first started making my annual trips there. Nonetheless two portions of chicken and two portions of rice came out to be approximately $8USD. At a US Singaporean style restaurant you could expect to pay around 3 times that for the same amount of food.