Chan’s friend visited us from Japan and felt like a seafood dinner so we came to Upstairs at Pier 38! I haven’t been to this restaurant before so I was excited to try! This was the rare day we had a break in the rains during March – although the rain started up again very soon after. This restaurant is located upstairs of Nico’s Pier 38. Highly recommend making a reservation if you plan to dine here.

One-in-a-Melon | $12.00
fresh-pressed watermelon, washington apple cider

Mocktail of the night! I appreciate restaurants that offer up good mocktails. This drink was super refreshing, delicious! Should I have thrown that dried fruit inside the drink? I never know.

Spanish Octopus | $22.00
chimichurri, garlic, chili, duck confit tomato

Very good octopus! Nice and tender – can’t go wrong with these seasonings! I still can’t tell you what duck confit tomato is but I’m sure it’s good lol.

Pommes Frites | $12.00
garlic, parmesan, truffle oil

Can’t go wrong with fries. We thought you had to choose either garlic, parmesan or truffle oil. Were told it just comes with all three seasonings so that was a score!! It was good (how can it not be).

Angry Ahi Tartare | $20.00
auction fresh ahi, quail egg, kimchee aioli, wonton crisps

Hands down, Chan and I’s favorite dish of the night. This was so good and not angry at all. I don’t know what spice level they using but it certainly wasn’t spice queen’s level (ha!). This dish was super flavorful and went perfectly with the wonton chips. Definitely a must-order.

Bacon-Chimi Brussels | $14.00

I don’t know what bacon-chimi means – maybe it was a chimichurri sauce? Anyway, these Brussel sprouts were just alright. I wouldn’t get them again.

Sauteed Mushrooms | $13.00

These were just okay, good tasting but nothing to write home about. Just a nice side to have but I don’t think it’s worth $13.

Catch du Jour (Mahi Mahi) | MP

Herb & Panko Crusted Salmon | $45.00
fall vegetables, asparagus, butternut squash puree, candied pecans

16 oz USDA Choice Ribeye | $60.00
with cafe de paris butter

Misoyaki Sea Bass | $49.00
bok choy, daikon puree, miso caramel, white rice

We basically family styled all the dished including the entrees. I think the salmon was my least favorite. The misoyaki sea bass of course was good, but it always feels kind of wrong to pay for this dish in a restaurant when you can buy it in the store and make it at home. Well, it’s okay because it’s always gonna be a good dish whether at home or at the restaurant. The mahi mahi was very good too and good thing for the steak to balance out the seafood.

Gelato Scoop | $7.00 (each)
vanilla, kona coffee, chocolate

We were all so full and had leftovers to take home but everyone wanted to squeeze in a little dessert. Wish they had haupia as an option but these were all good! Very creamy and smooth.

It was a very nice meal and has a nice sunset view of the pier. A good place to take tourist visitors!

Spam Musubi Rating:

Lady Elaine is located in the Manoa Marketplace – near the post office and O-bok. We used Spring Break as a great excuse to come out for a nice little lunch during work! Got my good parking back at work after the meal so it worked out perfectly. Lady Elaine is a bit of a trendy restaurant – American fusion. Very cute concept and decor, they draw inspiration from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. We came right when they opened and it seems like a very popular restaurant for retiree ladies and that is not a bad thing at all lol. We tried to get our orders in as soon as we could before the other groups ordered Ha!

Cute table decoration!

Artichokes & Feta | $9.00
herb breadcrumbs, sofrito, pita

Delicious appetizer to start! Perfect serving for 4 or really for 2. I’m gunning for two pita pieces! LOL It was good! A lot of breadcrumbs so it can be a bit grainier than expected for a dip but to me it was fine!

Short Rib Stew Bowl | $16.00
crispy potatoes, harissa, ulu

Not my dish, but was enjoyed by my dining companion! I think the lunch prices are a bit less since they serve up a lunch portion.

Chermoula Shrimp Couscous | $22.00
cilantro, garlic, sundried tomato

Yes, yes, and yes. This was my dish. Could I body a bigger portion? Yes. Was this still satisfying? Yes! I loved the flavors of this dish and the huge couscous! The shrimp were plump and tender and I loved the sauce. Would definitely get this again. Yum!

Ricotta Fritters | $12.00
lemon curd, cinammon

My dining companion is more of a dessert person than me and really wanted to eat this! I don’t know if ricotta fritters would draw my attention by title alone but I am happy to report that it was quite good! Loved the tart lemon curd offsetting the creaminess of these ricotta balls. Yum!

Spam Musubi Rating:

Hi folks, I apologize for the delayed and unannounced break from blogging. It’s been stressful for the past two months and I think I just finally futted out these past weekends. Was just too tired to do anything so I listened to my body and rested. Yesterday was a crazy day too because of bai san (IYKYK) but I’ll use today to rest a bit and refresh! You should have already heard by now, the sad news that Neiman Marcus at Ala Moana is closing down. I didn’t really have the riches to shop there but have dined at Mariposa a few times here and there. We made a reservation the day we heard of the closing and thankfully we did. There are no reservations to be made now!

When we walked in, Chan spotted a waiter he had before and was whispering to me that he hopes we don’t get seated in his section. Well, we did. I think you know where this story will go. I went into the meal with high hopes anyway. I wanted it to be a positive experience because they are shutting down and these folks are going to be losing their jobs. The dining experience was good for the most part, though the supporting staff were better than our waiter. I’ll share more at the end, since it happened at the end!

Mariposa Punch | $8.00
guava, orange, and pineapple juices

Haleakala | $9.00
creamy coconut and pineapple, layered with strawberry

Yum! Chan and I both went non-alcoholic for this dinner. A virgin lava flow is always gonna be winners and it was. Chan said his punch wasn’t very punch-y, just tasted like plain orange juice. *shrug*

Popover

Their famous popovers. They had the popovers ready to go and serve for every customer who came in. That was nice to have one last time. I’ve never been a big fan of popovers – Chan said it’s normal for the inside to be a bit wet and doughy. Popovers are definitely not my favorite part of dining here.

Truffle Fries | $18.00
parmesan cheese, rosemary aioli, chives

These fries are always winners. Thin strips fried perfectly crisp but not too crisp. Still get a bit of softness in the middle which I like. The rosemary aioli is okay, I like the ketchup. I feel like the ketchup is more of a cocktail sauce taste? Anyway, I like that.

Grilled Octopus | $25.00
pistachio gremolata, pickled onion, zaatar potato, castelvetrano olives, heirloom tomato romesco

I was super excited to try this dish. The last time we dined here, I saw another table get it and knew I had to get it the next time we came! How was it? Well the octopus itself was nice and soft and tender, the seasonings in the dish weren’t great. Not sure what a pistachio gremolata should taste like. I thought it was a pesto forward mix but it wasn’t. The seasoning was lacking something, something umami.

Tiger Prawn Puttanesca | $39.00
olives, capers, maui onions, spicy pomodoro sauce, penne pasta

I was hoping they would have their crab pasta on the menu, I’ve seen pictures on Yelp! Alas, no. Chan got this dish and it was pretty good! We enjoyed it.

Fresh Fish of the Evening | MP ($44?)
grilled mahi mahi with a butter cream caper sauce with green beans and white rice

I went for the catch of the day, the dish was good. The mahi was nicely cooked. They only give you one piece but I guess that’s good enough for your sole entree. Not sure it was worth this price but was tasty. The sauce was already sour on its own so I’m glad I didn’t squeeze the lemon on top.

Mariposa Affogato | $12.00
vanilla gelato, nm chocolate chip cookie, illy espresso shot

Okay, here’s where the anger comes in. Chan and I both decided to get the mariposa affogato to end the night right. Delicious affogato with a signature NM chocolate chip cookie. We order it and when the waiter brings it to our table, he drops them both down and says they are out of cookies. They’re sold out for the day and walks away. No apology, nothing. He was very rude about it and Chan says, let’s just wait for the bill and see what they do. Yeah, so not only did we not get half our dish for the dessert, there was no discount for missing half our desserts. I was irate. Any good waiter would find out there is no cookie and come back and inform the table so that we have the choice to change our mind or say that’s fine. I was very very mad. He also drops the bill without and then the credit card slips back to us without a single word, no thank you, nothing.

Look, I get that they are closing and I feel bad about them losing their jobs. It was really nice to see all the other staff members being in such high spirits and being so nice. They were doing service exactly as it should be done. Our waiter (his name is John) was awful, I can see why Chan was unhappy with him before. I tolerated him during the meal, he was not genuinely nice but he was professional and that’s all I need. The meal ending was awful and I think if they were not closing, I would have made somewhat of a fuss. To me, it’s the principle. No sense giving a spam musubi rating since they are closing, I will definitely run in another direction if I see John serving in any other restaurants.