Posts Tagged ‘sticky rice’

Opal Thai Food Wagon – Haleiwa’s Hidden Gem

September 1, 2010

When wifey and I spontaneously decided to have date night out in Haleiwa the other night, I did what any unassuming young American would do: I checked out Yelp one fast one. At the top of the list was this curious place called Opal Thai Food. Curious because 1) it was a wagon and 2) it was a wagon that didn’t serve your banal Haleiwa shrimp. What are the chances? 😛

No offense to you non-locals, but my strategy when it comes to review sites like Yelp is to give higher precedence to da kama`aina. We’re usually quite honest about our eateries and tend not to get caught up in the hype of a place. After that, like most, I take into consideration the rating level and the number of reviewers rating it. Opal Thai Food had a winning combination of all: great reviews from us locals, high ratings (4.5 out of 5), and a high review count (currently at 75).

Done. We were off to visit our north shore neighbors for some curious Thai food for din-din.

Opal Thai Food Wagon in Haleiwa
Opal Thai Food Wagon in Haleiwa

Ed’s Tip: If you Google their listed address, it’ll actually show that they’re somewhere near Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. The Opal Wagon is actually more in the beginning of Haleiwa (coming in from the south), across the street from McDonald’s, where some of the other shrimp wagons are.

We started with their Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings (with deep fried basil) appetizer.

Woah.

Talk about nom-nom-licious!

Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings (with deep fried basil) - $7.95
Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings (with deep fried basil) – $7.95

I’m not even a basil fan, and I loved the way the flavor of the deep-fried basil matched up nicely with their sweet, semi-spicy glaze. This is a MUST TRY!

Next up, we ordered our two go-to Thai dishes: Shrimp Pad Thai and Yellow Chicken Curry, with a side order or Sticky Rice.

Shrimp Pad Thai Noodle - $8.75
Shrimp Pad Thai Noodle – $8.75

Yellow Chicken Curry - $8.25, with a side Order of Sticky Rice - $1.75
Yellow Chicken Curry – $8.25, with a side Order of Sticky Rice – $1.75

Like what some of the Yelp reviewers wrote, the wagon’s proprietor Opal was very friendly. He brought over a tub of a dry chili flake mixture and suggested that we add it to our Pad Thai. Later, he came over and poured the cucumber/onion namasu looking side dish (see above photo) into our curry and said that it’ll enhance the flavor. It did.

Opal seems to have a pay-after-you-eat methodology, much like sit down restaurants. We felt a little guilty digging in without paying for anything, but we just went with it. I’m convinced that he does this so that he can speak to each customer as to how they enjoyed their meal.

If you’re a big eater, you would probably think that the portions are on the small side. We did come near the end of the night (they close at 6pm with last call at 5:30pm) though so that may’ve possibly had something to do with it.

Ed’s Tip: Since you’re pretty much “roughing it” and dining on their outdoor tables, you may experience some annoyances from your friendly neighborhood fly or 6. You may consider asking for a take-out plate so you can close/cover things as you eat or take it with you if da little buggahs get to be a little much for you.

Overall a great find that we will definitely return to for future date nights.

Our Yellow Chicken Curry, Shrimp Pad Thai and Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings in front of the Opal Thai Food Wagon
Our Yellow Chicken Curry, Shrimp Pad Thai and Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings in front of the Opal Thai Food Wagon

Ed’s Tip: BTW, bring your Road Runner Mobile connection because it works here as well!

Opal Thai Food Wagon
66-460 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712 (map)
(808) 381-8091
Hours: Wed-Sun 11am-6pm (last call at 5:30pm)

Don’t forget… THIS month…

===========================================
Rice Fest
Diamond G Rice presents the 1st Annual Hawaii Rice Festival
Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace
September 11, 2010 from 12PM-8PM
For more info:
Ricefest.com / Twitter / Facebook
To RSVP:
Twtvite / Facebook Event
===========================================
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Bangkok Chef – The Little Thai Restaurant That Could

May 1, 2009

Back in the day, when we used to play ball at the end of Iliahi Street (in Nuuanu), my boy Bari used to tell me that we just HAD to go and try this new Thai food place he was all hot and bothered for. Now I don’t know about all y’all, but for me, after a long, hard, sweaty game of hoops, I’m not exactly in the mood for hot, steamy food. An icy cold, tall pitcher of [insert favorite brand name] sports drink maybe, but definitely not food.

Fast forward to the day after several weeks of constant badgering. Yeah, I gave in. Bari’s constant whining finally got to me. 8) So, sweaty and all, we headed one street over to the hotspot B was raving about: Bangkok Chef. I’ve never heard of this place. It was fairly new and actually called Nuuanu Open Market at the time. They specialized in produce of all types, with their Thai food serving as just an “oh-by-the-way.”

Today, that “oh-by-the-way” has transformed this once top secret hole-in-the-wall into an island must.

Bangkok Chef sign
Bangkok Chef sign

Bangkok Chef is the brainchild of owner Patrick Chang and his wife Sansane Pornchairattanakun.

“We started out as a produce market in September of 2001 known as ‘Nuuanu Open Market.’ My wife is from Bangkok where restaurants, food kiosks and eateries offering delicious Thai food can be found at virtually every corner, and my wife’s family operates one of those restaurants (there). With the fresh vegetables and Thai cooking ingredients readily available at Nuuanu Open Market, and my wife’s first-hand knowledge of Thai cooking, in November of 2002 we decided to offer Thai food to customers and called our tiny operation ‘Bangkok Chef’.”

What remains of the Nuuanu Open Market
What remains of the Nuuanu Open Market

The quaint interior, complete with fluorescent green walls and a garage door doubling as the entrance, gives it that “authentic” hole-in-the-wall feel.

Inside Bangkok Chef
Inside Bangkok Chef

Prices here are very reasonable with dishes ranging from just $4.75-$8.25. This is just part of the reason for their immense popularity.

There's always a line
There’s always a line

The other part, of course, is their food. They are well known for their Pad Thai noodles and crispy Spring Rolls.

Pad Thai - Rice noodles fried with eggs, chicken & tofu with bean sprouts, chives, in a house Pad Thai sauce ($5.70)
Pad Thai – Rice noodles fried with eggs, chicken & tofu with bean sprouts, chives, in a house Pad Thai sauce ($5.70)

They also offer Fish ($7.70) and Shrimp ($8.25) versions.

Shrimp Pad Thai ($8.25)
Shrimp Pad Thai ($8.25)

Crispy Spring Rolls (Ground chicken, bean threads, carrots, black fungus, onions & taro wrapped in wheat-flour paper. Golden fried until crispy. Served with lettuce, cucumbers, mint & a house special sauce. ($5.95)
Crispy Spring Rolls (Ground chicken, bean threads, carrots, black fungus, onions & taro wrapped in wheat-flour paper. Golden fried until crispy. Served with lettuce, cucumbers, mint & a house special sauce. ($5.95)

Editor’s note: Their Spring Roll order comes with 6 pieces. Three just photographed better. 😉

And what’s a review of Thai food without a mention of yellow curry and sticky rice riiiight? Mmm, mmm, mmmmm!

Yellow Chicken Curry - Sliced chicken breast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in yellow curry sauce and coconut milk ($5.70)
Yellow Chicken Curry – Sliced chicken breast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in yellow curry sauce and coconut milk ($5.70)

Like the Pad Thai, they also offer Fish ($7.70) and Shrimp ($8.25) versions.

One of the common misconceptions of Thai curry is that it’s spicy. Trust me, this bruddah cannot handle spicy stuff, so if it was, I’d tell you. *grin* Don’t get me wrong, they do indeed serve up the “full-on” spicy kine, but owner Patrick Chang wants to dispel some of the many myths people have about Thai food.

“People may have the misperception that Thai food is spicy and exotic and expensive. At Bangkok Chef that’s not the case. Our next goal is to take that myth out of people’s mind and to turn Thai food into a household item so that everyone can enjoy.”

In fact, there is a wide variety of foods here that will appeal to those with very particular palates.

Chang continues, “Our curries are rich and creamy and our Tom Yum shrimp soup is fabulous. We offer green papaya salad, shrimp long-rice salad, and green mango salad. The chicken larb is awesome and the mango ice cream over sweet rice dessert is surely a treat.”

Bangkok Chef recently opened another location in Manoa valley (complete with fluorescent green walls!), so you have no excuse NOT to go and support our local businesses. Delicious, authentic Thai food at very reasonable prices. What are you waiting for? Go check um out, go check um gooo!

Bangkok Chef – Nuuanu
1627 Nuuanu Ave.
Honolulu, HI. 96817 (map)
(808) 585-8839

Bangkok Chef – Manoa
2955 E Manoa Road (map)
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 988-0212