mmm-yoso!!!

Odds and Ends - Cubano Kings (Little Italy Mercato), and Desserts by Clement Revisited

I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather here. Just a couple of things for a mellow Saturday.

Cubano Kings:

So, I was doing my regular Saturday shopping at the Little Italy Mercato. But on this morning, well, I was a bit hungry. So, since I didn't have too much to do on this day, I took a look at various stands and this one caught my attention.

It had been a while since I'd had a Cubano and this seemed like a nice option. A Cubano was priced at $12, which seemed pretty reasonable, so I ordered one and went for short "walk" before picking up my sandwich. Which was ready when I returned.

I could tell by weight that it was quite hefty. I found a nice peaceful place to have a seat.

Like I said, the sandwich seemed quite hefty.

    Which turned out to be true...at least for me. Man, look at all that pork! The pork was nicely seasoned; though, at least for me, I'm all about proportion and balance of flavor and frankly, this was just too much pork, and where's the jamon? And the bread was just not up to the task as it got really mushy plus all of the pork muted the pickles. And was there even mustard on this....I do like a good counter-point to the rich pork.  Still, if you want a very porky sandwich, here it is..... It's just not the kind of Cubano I enjoy.

Still, in terms of price, well for $12 you can't really complain.

Cubano Kings at the Little Italy Mercato
Saturday 8am - 2pm

And in my post on getting the Missus the Pistachio Spiral Croissant from Bonjour Patisserie I mentioned having to go back to.....

Desserts by Clement:

Which I did.

On a quiet weekend morning. I found that PB wakes up a bit later than most places.

And so the Missus got Her Pistachio Spiral Croissant. 

Which She enjoyed and said this is the best She has had in San Diego......

Now, with some hesitation, I need to ask, do you know of a better version?

Desserts by Clement
1380 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109

Hope everyone is having a wonderful....and much cooler weekend!

The Croissant Files - Bonjour Patisserie and Cafe de l'Opera

Here are a couple of more croissant visits.

Bonjour Patisserie:

I had read that one of the pastry booths in the Little Italy Mercato had opened a brick and mortar shop on Cedar street. I had tried the croissants from Bonjour Patisserie's stand at the farmer's markets and wasn't very impressed, but since the Missus wanted to try the Spiral Croissant to compare against the version Desserts by Clement. So, after doing my typical Saturday Farmer's Market stop, I headed on over to Cedar to the newly opened shop.

Walking in I was greeted by the nice young lady working. And there was the Pistachio Spiral Croissant that the Missus wanted.

I got one butter croissant and the spiral croissant and headed back to the car and then home.

Once home I went and tried the butter croissant.

  Though it looked over-baked, the exterior wasn't flakey and crisp. The interior was on the doughy-bready-chewy side and the croissant, in my opinion really lacked butteriness. This was mediocre at best and was the same as what I'd had before from their stand. Well, at least they're consistent, right?

The Missus also dug into Her spiral croissant. Which looked pretty good.

    But the Missus cut into it and took a bite and made a face. She made me have a taste. The crust was doughy, gummy, and lacking in crispness. It was on the thick side. The filling was too sweet for my taste as well.

So guess who was sent back to Desserts by Clement as few days later?

Well, another croissant tried and marked off.......

Bonjour Patisserie
320 W Cedar St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Tues - Sun 8am - 4pm
Closed on Mondays

Cafe de l'Opera:

During my visit to Izola's new location, while walking back to where I had parked my car, I passed a newish looking cafe. I took a quick look inside and saw that they had various patisseries, including croissants. The friendly young lady noticed that I had the Izola box and we had a short chat; the gist of it being that Cafe de l'Opera made their own croissants. I promised to drop by for some coffee and to try their croissants.

A few Sundays later, I decided to get a bit of walking in; so I headed down the hill and caught the Blue Line to the Park & Market stop and then hoofed it over to the Diamond Terrace Condo building where the cafe is located.

The same very nice young lady was working. I placed my order and had a seat in the nice looking cafe.

I had ordered a Cold Brew along with my croissant.

Man, this was a pretty stiff cold brew! It pretty strong and really woke me up! Not bad at all.

As for the Butter Croissant.

   It was soft and doughy, lacking in that flaky-crispness that I enjoy. I'm not sure why they call this a "Butter Croissant" as sorely needed more butter flavor. The interior was a bit too "moist" for my taste as well. 

Too bad, because I liked the cold brew and the young lady working here.

Cafe de l'Opera
910 J St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 7am - 3pm
Saturday  7am - 2pm
Sunday     730am - 2pm

And so my exploration of croissants in San Diego continues.......

Cuppa Cuppa Coffee Lab and Lemon Grove Coffee

I recently had to take my vehicle in to get an estimate for some repairs. I ended up leaving my vehicle after the estimate. During that time I had two coffee stops, here they are.

Cuppa Cuppa Coffee Lab:

I initially set an appointment for an estimate and after handing over the keys decided to find a place for a cold brew and maybe a bite to eat. On a previous visit I had noticed that Cuppa Cuppa, which had a drive thru booth on Mission Gorge Road had a new shop in the Vora Apartment complex on Twain, so I decided to walk on over.

The shop is pretty small, a couple of outdoor tables, a few indoors, and some bar seating.

The Barista working was very friendly, she explained that they roast their own coffee beans and actually showed me the roaster which was in the corner.

It was pretty darn hot, so I went with a cold brew and inquired about something savory. The young lady recommended the ham croissant and said that it was much better heated, which sounded good to me.

The cold brew was nice and strong, which perhaps might be a bit much for some, but it provided a nice "kick in the pants" for me on this morning.

The croissant was quite light, it had attained a dark color during the toasting process.

    Which meant that when I bit into it, flakey croissant shrapnel flew everywhere! Also, the ham had attained almost a bacon like texture during the heating process. The ham gave the croissant a good bit of saltness; though I would have enjoyed a straonger butter flavor. The interior was light and not overly doughy. This was not bad.

I liked the service and the strong cold brew. I'll probably return for my caffeine fix when I take my car in for servicing.

Cuppa Cuppa Coffee Lab
4440 Twain Ave. Suite 102
San Diego, CA 92120
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 7am - 2pm
Sat - Sun 8am - 1pm

Upon returning to the shop, I was told the scope of work, parts would be in fairly quickly, the work would span a couple of days. I decided to go ahead a leave my car and just get the work done. Which meant that I still had a full day ahead of me and no car. Then, I came up with an idea. I'd catch the trolley to Lemon Grove. Why, you say? Well, read on my friend.

Lemon Grove Coffee:

A few months back, Emily, one of my favorite folks who works at Clairemont Coffee told me that Hannah, the co-owner, along with her sister in-law Casey were opening up a coffee shop in Lemon Grove, appropriately named Lemon Grove Coffee. A couple of weeks back, I saw Hannah working at CC, and she told me that I should go and check the place out if I'm in the area. So, having a good amount of time on my hands, I went ahead and caught the Green Line, to the Blue Line, to the Orange Line, and ended up at the Lemon Grove Trolley stop. 

I must say, Lemon Grove Coffee has a nice spot, right across from the trolley stop.

So, I headed on over. This shop is quite spacious, like twice the size...or more of the Clairemont shop.

There's an area with what almost looks like bleacher seating. After I took this photo, a couple of folks came in and sat in the "stands", busting out their laptops. Remote workers I guess.

It's a nice place for a break from the scorching weather outside.

I didn't know any of the gals working, but they were all very friendly. And my cold brew here is a buck cheaper ($3.25) than what I get at the Clairemont Drive shop.

The cold brew was fine; in line with what I get at CC.

Service was friendly, the prices were quite inexpensive, seem like a nice addition to the neighborhood which seemed to have more than few closed businesses, and I'm really happy for Hannah!

Lemon Grove Coffee
7801 Broadway
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
Current Hours:
Daily 6am - 3pm

I took a good amount of time with my cold brew. I wasn't looking forward to the trolley trip and walk back home. By the time I looked at my phone, it was just about lunch time. There was one place that had been recommended to me several years ago. And how often am I in Lemon Grove? I decided to find that restaurant and get some lunch.

Stay tuned!

What's in a name? Cakey Bakey and Cluck n Sip

Recently, I had to get my iPhone battery changed. Our business of choice for this is iTech which is in the same strip mall as Balboa Market. Funny thing, there's a dessert shop here, the sign says "Balboa Bakery".

But, the actual name of the place is.....Cakey Bakey!

What a name!

We actually came here a couple of months back....you know me, I don't really have a sweet tooth. But on the first visit, the Missus tried a couple of items....there's a great variety of traditional Persian confections for sale, but the Missus was more interested in the "other stuffs".

Over time She's had most everything the place had to offer and has settled on one item She enjoys; the "Napolian" a mille-feuille type pastry. 

She likes that it's not too sweet and the crisp textures. 

I dunno since I've never tried it, but I'm not complaining as in these days of $10 and up pastries; well this is five bucks. So, I make sure to get one when I'm in the area.

Yes, Cakey Bakey......

Cakey Bakey
5921 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Cluck n Sip:

Well, on that same visit I needed to head on over to 99 Ranch Market. I went to use the restroom, it was 1030 and as I made my way past the food court, the place that I knew as Krispy Krunchy Chicken that had changed to Cluck n Sip was just putting out the first batch of chicken.

I noticed it was the same really nice folks working from the KKC days so I walked on over. I was told that the basic fried chicken recipe was the same as before. It was just a name change and there's some different sauces and such. Interesting.

I went and ordered six wings and some potato wedges. Of course, everything had just come out of the kitchen so it was all fresh.

    So yes, this was scalding hot. Did I notice a difference? Well, 6 wings were now $9.99 and it seemed to have much more black pepper and was even saltier than I recalled. Also, the coating got soggy quite quickly. Not sure if it was just my imagination, but it seemed that way. The wings were of decent quality, it was moist, but again really high on the sodium scale for me.

As for the Potato Wedges ($3.99), man this was a large portion for a "small size".

Like the chicken, it was like a sodium bomb. It was fairly crisp initially, but got really hard and chewy as it cooled.

Regardless of what I was told, I seem to detect some changes since the KKC days. Not sure I'll be back. Though I need to try the original location in Hillcrest one of these days.....

Cluck n Sip
5950 Balboa Ave (In the 99 Ranch Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

Thank You Very Mochi! (Hogetsu Japanese Tea Cakes)(Chula Vista)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing.

Kirk wrote his first post about Hogetsu almost 19 years ago.  His most recent post was in 2021.  This Chula Vista storefront at the back of a strip mall has not changed in all this time. 

 Mr. and Mrs. Takeda, who opened Hogetsu in 1983, have retired and passed along their knowledge to a younger couple.  The name, Hogetsu, was given by permission of the prefecture when the store opened.  The name now must be retired. 
 What's that in the top left corner?

 They've added a neon sign!  Modern times are coming...

Step inside: the display case is the same.  Traditional flavors, shapes, fillings.  Made with short grain, glutinous rice, pounded into a paste, the tea cakes here are the freshest you can find; I won't even purchase any mochi in grocery stores if I know I will soon be in Chula Vista.



 There is always a good variety to choose from when I stop in, and everything is always fresh.  




 I have purchased the frozen Komochi so I can have a savory snack at home.  The container is about one pound.  The texture is similar to the suwama (chewy mochi).
  Here are a few of my recent purchases.  Yes, one day I was able to walk in and only order one coffee and one green tea-each were gentle flavored at first bite and ended up so flavorful at the end. 

   The new owners have been experimenting with the name change and did tell me that they have settled on Thank You Very Mochi and will be ordering signage soon.  The Takeda tradition will continue.

Thank You Very Mochi 1210 Third Avenue Chula Vista 91911 (619) 422-6677 Open Wed-Sat 10a.m.-5 p.m.

The Croissant Files - Desserts by Clement

Desserts by Clement was recommended by two "FOYs" (John Dowd and Stephanie) in the comments on my post on Patisserie Melanie. Seeing that the Missus has been wanting all these newfangled croissants since we visited Le Deli Robuchon in London trying the Instagram "superstar" cube croissant, which btw was a disappointment. Still, the Missus has been wanting to try these new spiral croissants. So, I decided to head into PB early on a Sunday morning, the patisserie opens at 8 and I figured I could then hit up TJ's on the way back home.

Being a Sunday; it seems that PB wakes up a bit later on that day of the week, plus the rain we had earlier in the morning, the streets were empty. Check out what Garnet looked like!

I parked on Garnet and walked on over to Desserts by Clement. The nice young lady had just unlocked the door.

The shop was clean and bright; the two young ladies were super friendly as well.

I got one croissant and asked the young ladies for something not overly sweet; they recommended the Pistachio Rolled Croissants and also said the Swiss (Pain Suisse) was very popular.

So, I got all three....man, three pastries, over $21....who'd have thought?

I got home and the Missus was anxiously waiting and immediately went for the Spiral Croissant, which looked quite Instagram ready.

   The Missus loved this! And made me have a taste. While more bready than the flakey-crisp of a regular croissant; the exterior was nicely lacquered with a bit of a crunch, the inner layers not overly doughy. The pistachio filling was on the lighter side; with a mild nuttiness and not overly sweet. This was pretty good!

The Swiss was a bit too sweet for the Missus, so I passed.

As for the Croissant?

 Well, this was pretty good. I prefer my croissant aux buerre a bit more crisp, but this was not bad. It was light , fairly fluffy, and not overly doughy with a nice, balanced butteriness, and a mild hint of salt. While not in the same league as our favorite in Paris, La Maison d’Isabelle, this was easily the equal of Ernest & Valentin.

I was happy with my croissant as was the Missus. Man, I need to head on back to Wayfarer and can't wait until Izola opens at their new location.

You can read about Soo's visit here.

Desserts by Clement
1380 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Tues - Sun 8am - 6pm
Closed on Monday

Thanks again for the recommendation John and Stephanie!

Taipei - Chia Te and the Taipei 101 Food Court

So, now that we were back in Taipei, it as time to resume our hunt for Pineapple Cake for my MIL. We had a specific target on our schedule; but first....well, the Missus needed Her tea and I wanted a cup of coffee. Que in Wilbeck, a shop right around the block from where we were staying.

A decent Americano for $50NT - $1.25/US and the Missus got some tea as well.

Interesting place.....

And then we were off.....we had started collecting Pineapple Cake in Taichung at Dawncake and a couple of other places in the city, then at another place in Chiayi. But the one place the Missus was looking forward to getting pineapple cake from was this one.

Google best Pineapple Cake in Taiwan and Chia Te will just about always be on the list. Established in 1975, Chia Te has won best Pineapple Cake at the first Taipei Pineapple Cake Festival in 2006 and from what I gathered four more times after that. Add to things that Chia Te has only one shop, located in Taipei (though I understand you can order delivery and get boxes at the airport), you can understand this:

Yes, a line of course. We had arrived at around 815, Chia Te opens at 830, but the line already stretched all the way down the block and around the corner. Unlike typical lines in Taiwan; this one didn't move quickly. It took us nearly two hours to get into the shop.

They kept posting signs listing items they were out of.

The actual shop is tiny, we got our act together and ended up getting all of this.

I will say, that I really enjoyed this. I wish I got more than one small box.

You can get Chia Te in the states; but it is $$$. Though I'm not sure I'll want to stand in that line again when we return to Taipei.

Chia Te Bakery
No. 88, Section 5, Nanjing E Rd.
Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

By the time we finished it was time for lunch. Being on this side of the city, Taipei 101 was a 30 minute walk away.  I thought it would be fun to check to grab lunch at the food court there. Yes, I said food court. I know most folks would head to Din Tai Fung here, but we'd already been to the original location of DTF in Xinyi and as tempting as that was; I'd read about a Chinese BBQ Hawker with a Michelin Star having an stand in the food court. So, we headed to the basement of Taipei 101.

It was just past 11am when we arrived, so the place wasn't overly busy, though that changed quickly. And we quickly found the shop I was looking for.

And the Missus ordered some Roast Duck and Char Siu.

We saw this stand.

And we'd been wanting to try an oyster omelet, so we walked over and ordered that; along with another item....

We had no problem finding a table. We were lucky because in what seemed like a few minutes later, the place was packed.

First up; the Oyster Omelet and of course a pork chop.

We enjoyed the oyster omelet, even the sweet-sourish gooey sauce which added a nice acidity. The eggs were nicely tender, the small oysters meaty-briney; there were some nice greens mixed in. Overall, really savory and good.

And of course, the pork chop.

Nicely pounded, salty-peppery-porky; some mild garlic tones, mild crispness. Yes, I know, "I didn't meet a pork chop I hated in Taiwan".

On that note; the duck and char siu were diappointing.

The duck was dry, lacking in fattiness, the skin hard, not crisp, without enough five-spice flavor. That pork was tough as leather the edges strangely bitter, and also lacking in flavor.

Well, you can't win 'em all. Though about that Michelin Star thing......

No.45 City Hall Rd.
Xinyi District, Taipei City 110, Taiwan

All was not lost though as we saw this on our way out.

 And yes, more pineapple cake to carry back with us. 

I'm sure we'll be back to the area. We need to check out the observatory at Taipei 101.

From Taipei 101, it was a 30 minute metro ride back to the hotel. 

We had time to rest and relax. And wonder....we had reservations at a Michelin starred restaurant for dinner. How would that fare?

Paris - Bercy Village, Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji Revisited, and Takumi Patisserie

It was a winter Sunday morning in Paris and after my morning croissants we had to decide what to do for the day. We had already spent nearly two weeks in Paris and the Missus was getting fidgety and really needed different stuff to do each day. So, I thought that Paris might be pretty crowded on this day, so why not head out to Bercy Village, formerly wine storehouses the area was converted into  a "shopping village" in 2001. It was just a 15 minute metro ride from Chatelet to Cour Saint-Émilion. Plus, we'd never really visited the 12th Arrondissement.

It was an easy walk to the Village.

It was a nice paved, pedestrian street. Surprisingly quiet for a Saturday morning. 

We'd arrived just before most of the shops opened, at about 945. And just strolled up and down the courtyard. The Missus explored some shops, but didn't find anything of interest. There were quite a few chains represented; Sephora, Five Guys, Nicholas, etc. I'm thinking this must be nice for locals, but it was not very interesting for us. Except for a few things.

There is a really nice park right across the street from the mall and we really enjoyed our walk there.

Then we decided to head on back. While on the metro, the Missus decided that She wanted the ramen from Kodawari Tsukiji again. The Pyramides stop was just one further from Chatelet.

The shop still had open seats in this most interesting seafood market themed ramen shop....

Not being too hungry, we got the Sea Bream Tatare.

Loved the shiso in this dish as it added a nice palate cleansing mintiness to the dish. The fish was tender; the rice a bit mushy, but the beany-sweet miso and shiso tones carried the dish.

Like on our previous visit; we got the Sea Bream Paitan Ramen.

And any doubts about the Missus having truly enjoying this on our previous visit was erased as She loved it just as before. Maybe She is ready to have niboshi ramen again on our next visit to Japan! The broth as a bit richer this time around, the noodles slippery with a nice chew. As you can see, that tamago was perfect and still warm....you know my pet peeve regarding cold eggs. The sea bream was tender and we finished the entire bowl...again.

Looks like the Missus has Her favorite ramen spot in Paris now!

Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji
12 Rue de Richelieu
75001 Paris, France

The Missus wanted something for Her "tea time" and I thought that perhaps getting some Japanese Cheesecake might fit the bill. It would also be interesting to see how that measured up in Paris. And since we were in the area of the city dubbed "Little Tokyo", I thought it might be fun. I had a place named Takumi Patisserie on my list which was close by on Rue des Pyramides, so we headed on over.

There's quite a selection here. The young man working was really friendly as well.

The Missus inquired about the cheesecakes and then decided upon Her "test". She asked about how "jiggly" the cheesecake was. Apparently, the young man was ready for this as he brought out a cheesecake and proceeded to show us how it jiggled like a true Japanese cheesecake. The Missus was sold. So we bought one. And when it became  le goûter (tea time) the cheesecake was presented.

So, this was bit sweeter and more dense than what is preferred for Japanese Cheesecake. It wasn't bad. And.......when I tried to wiggle it around; it didn't do the "jiggle". Hmmmm. To this day, the Missus and I joke about seeing that jiggling demonstration at the shop. We think they have a "stunt cheesecake" on hand to show folks!

Takumi Patisserie
29 Rue des Pyramides
75001 Paris, France

Paris - L’Éclair de Génie and Fondue 9

Man, the first ten days of our two week stay in Paris just seemed to fly by. At least for me. On this bright, but chilly Saturday morning, we decided just to do the flâneur thing as we headed down Rue Vieille du Temple. We found a couple of shops that caught our attention.

And had fun browsing.......

Man, I want to find an English edition of this book.....

Right across the street was a lovely park and garden.

This is the Jardin de l'Hôtel Salé.

Further down the street is a large community center; the Halle des Blancs Manteaux. Since it was Christmas season, there was a large craft fair going on.

We had a fun time exploring.

We made our way down to Rue Rivoli and saw this Eclair shop on Rue Pavée.

The Missus had been wanting to try some elcairs so we headed on in.

There was quite a collection of beautiful looking eclairs.

After some hemming and hawing, the Missus made Her selection.

And we headed on back to the apartment.

L’Éclair de Génie
14 Rue Pavée
75004 Paris, France

After storing our purchases, we gave some thought to lunch. For some reason, we felt pretty cold on this day. I mentioned a hot pot place we'd seen on Rue Saint-Denis a few days before. Hot pot sounded like just what we needed, so we headed off to Fondue 9.

The restaurant seemed a bit tiny, until we realized that there was dining upstairs as well. Can you imagine carrying hot pot up and down stairs....one false move! We also noticed that the customers during our visit were all Chinese, a bit of change since we'd seen pretty much a 50-50 mix during our visits to various Asian restaurants in the city.

After checking out the menu; we decided on the "lunch special".

After which we headed straight on over to the condiment bar to get our "stuffs".

Not much in terms of spicy sauces and no fermented bean curd. And we started to worry that the hot pot was going to be a bust.

But as our Yin Yang hot pot made it's way to the table we knew this was going to be ok. You could smell the herbs and spice.

Lots of white pepper.

All the usual suspects arrived.

Even frozen tofu! The noodles were quite stretchy.

The tripe was a bit too tough; though the seiche; the cuttlefish was surprisingly tender.

What was most surprising of all was the fish, which had been nicely velveted and rubbed with chili oil.

It was wonderfully buttery and tender after a brief swim in the broth.

The meat were of good quality; especially the lamb, which was so gamey and tender.

This was quite a satisfying meal for us. We had found a solution to the cold; at least for a while.

Fondue 9
168 Rue Saint-Denis
75002 Paris, France

We headed on back to the apartment and took a short nap.

When we woke; it was "tea time" for the Missus. Time to break out the eclairs.

These were a bit too sweet for me.

The Missus, it turns out, is not a fan of crème pâtissière, the custard fillings used for eclairs.

But of course, we had to eventually try elcairs....because, when in France, right?

Big Island - Tex Drive In (Honokaa), a Revisit to Suisan (Hilo), and Liliʻuokalani Gardens

After enjoying our visit to the Waimea Town Market, we packed up, checked out, and headed back to Hilo. We could take our time since our flight wasn't until 230pm and decided to stop at Tex Drive In in Honokaa. It had been a bajillion years since we'd been here and decided it was time to try out the malasadas one more time.

We were surprised that it wasn't very busy as this was a Saturday.

We just ordered one plain malasada.

   It was as we remembered; a bit too dense and bready for our taste. But it was fun just to be here again after all these years.

Tex Drive-In
5-690 Pakalana St.
Honokaa, HI 96727

From here it was a clear shot down the Belt Road. We had been in these parts many times so we really didn't bother to stop until our "lunch" destination. You know what the Missus wanted, right? Yep, it was Suisan one more time! In other words "hana hou"!

This time we got a plate; with the Ahi Shoyu and the Ahi Mango Habanero, a half pound of the Ahi Limu, and a Half pound of the Spicy Ahi.

The quality of the fish in the Shoyu Ahi was much better this time; but still not the best. The ahi habanero was quite buttery and there was some decent spice and salt. I never knew that the Missus had never had Ling Hing Mango before! She just loved the stuff! The rice was a bit on the dry side but passable.

There was much more limu in the ahi limu this time around and the fish was nicely salted and tender. This was quite "old school" delicious.

The spicy ahi was good as well. Mild spice, the fish tender.

Suisan Company Limited
93 Lihiwai St
Hilo, HI 96720 

We were lucky and scored the bench right in back of Suisan.

We still had a bit of time on our hands after lunch, so we decided to cross the street and check out Liliʻuokalani Gardens. Man, we hadn't been here in years!

The original 5 acres was dedicated by Queen Liliʻuokalani to be a public park in 1907. The park was increased in size to 17 acres in 1917.

The park was then dedicated to the first Japanese immigrants to the island and has claimed to be the largest Edo-style garden outside of Japan.

There are lovely arching bridges over fish ponds, pagodas, torii, stone lanterns, and a wonderful view of Hilo Bay.....

Funny thing, even though I've been here several times, I never knew the history of the park until after my return from this trip.

You can find even more info here.

Soon enough, it was time to fill up the rental car, and head to the airport.

I'm hoping we won't have to wait another decade before returning!