2011-09-29 Snacks @ Bobby's Hawaiian

1011 Hewitt Avenue, Everett, WA

425-259-1338

Head back towards Vancouver, we stopped by Bobby's Hawaiian Restaurant.  Yup, we were stopping for food every chance we got.  We woke MomM up from her nap, only to her horror, it was another place to eat.

We found a spot right in front of the restaurant.  Gee, I never realized that the restaurant had a funky look out front.

Similar to our last visit (see post 2010-12-17 Dinner @ Bobby's Hawaiian), we ordered the Hawaiian Plate.  Surprisingly, we enjoyed it more this time around .  The Lomi (salmon) and the Poke (tuna) were much more flavorful and less salty.  The Kalua Pork was just okay, it was on the saltier side and it was a bit one dimensional.  All of us enjoyed the LauLau (pork wrapped in taro leaves).  The pork was a bit salty, but it had a nice flavor.  The taro leaves added a soft texture and a hint of fragrance in flavor.  None of us liked the Poi (taro pudding).

Since MukMuk-D was with us (and he does eat beef), I ordered the Loco Moco to share.  The order came with two hamburger patties with eggs smothered in gravy, served with rice and macaroni salad.  The beef patties were pretty bland and lacked any crusting or flavor from the cooking process.  It looked a bit charred, but lacked the flavour.  The eggs were over hard.  The gravy was pretty bland.  Overall, this dish was a fail.

We also ordered a side of Mochi Chicken.   Battered in mochi, the chicken was a bit on sweeter side.  These were not crispy, but these were pretty tasty.  We'd order this again.

Being the spam sucker, I ordered the Spam Musubi again.  Similar to our previous visit (see post 2010-12-17 Dinner @ Bobby's Hawaiian), I wish the meat was thicker, but hey, this was way better than what I had at the Powell Street Festival (see post 2011-07-30 Quick Visit @ Powell Street Festival).
 

Overall, this meal was merely okay, something was lacking.  It wasn't until later on at night when I realized what was missing...the teriyaki sauce.  Bobby's Hawaiian has a homemade teriyaki sauce that really gives a lot of the food additional depth and flavor.  Bobby's wife brought us the sauce when we visited last time, and apparently, according to her, most of the customers love the sauce.  This time around, we forgot about it and our server never offered.

2010-12-17 Dinner @ Bobby's Hawaiian

ADDRESS :  1011 Hewitt Avenue, Everett, WA

PHONE     :  425-259-1338

Buddhas' Trip to the USA: Dinner

I have to admit, I'm a fan of Food Network's Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Buddha Girl sometimes watches it.  On this occasion there was only one place we wanted to go for dinner, Bobby's Hawaiian Restaurant.  We were starving, mind you we did have a light lunch. (Sorry about the picture quality, couple friends played around with the settings on Buddha Girl's camera, then after, any indoor pictures with lights turned out poor.)

Simple place, I called this place a really nice dive, but Buddha Girl calls it a Hawaiian diner.  Either way, the decor was simple and nice.

Bobby himself was sitting at a table when we walked in.  We were the first dine-in customers of the night.  It got busier as we left, but it appeared that they do a brisk take out service.

Me being the spam-lover, I gotta have the Spam Musubi.  It was okay, I wish the meat was thicker though.

I ordered a 2-Item Combo, with Kalbi and Mochi Chicken.  The kalbi ribs were good, pretty much the same as maui ribs, probably better.  The mochi chicken was good, a bit sweet, but not salty.  There wasn't a wow factor here but I'd order it again.  This combo came with two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.  There was a light teriyaki sauce that went well with the rice.  It appeared that their mochi chicken's a favorite here (from what we saw others order).

Buddha Girl ordered the Hawaiian Plate.  This had Lomi (salmon), Poke (tuna), Poi (taro with a pudding consistency), Kalua Pork (almost like pulled pork) and Laulau (pork wrapped in taro leaves).

Starting with the poke and the lomi, I liked the poke better while Buddha Girl liked the lomi.  This worked out since we didn't have to fight over the two fish dishes.  The kalua pork looked and had a texture of pulled pork, but it had a much lighter taste.  Watching triple D, the pork was apparently slow cooked in between banana leaves.  I'm used to smoked pulled pork and the stronger taste, so I found this a bit too light for me.  And since Buddha Girl's not a big fan of smoked meat, she liked this.  Now to the poi, I don't know if it's an acquired taste, but I found it okay, it's not bad, it's just not something I would order again, maybe because it wasn't meat and it leaned more on the vegetable category.  

Finally, the laulau, I'd consider this a signature, it reminded me of a Chinese "zong" (粽), but without the rice.  The laulau was basically pork belly pieces wrapped with taro leaves, then steamed.  This' one item that both Buddha Girl and I really enjoyed.  The leaves impart a nice flavour to the meat, which was very tender and juicy (probably trimmed to the right amount of fat).  This was tasty, and the leaves were edible as well.

Buddha Girl had room for their Guava Cake, I don't have a sweet tooth (except for fresh Krispy Kreme donuts), but Buddha Girl really liked this.  We were told that the coconut version's more popular, we'd have to try this the next time.

The service was superb!  They were personable, fast, and attentive.  The trip D show has brought more business, and on the day we visited, there had been 32 Canadian customers already.  The prices and portions were quite good.  We plan on coming back soon, afterall, they're only about 20 minutes south of Seattle Premium Outlets.

Please click on the menu for larger view.