Taiwanese in Honolulu, HI
Sweet Home Cafe is one of those hole in the wall places that is not seen from the main street, yet is always busy. It is a badly kept secret. But it is oh so tasty.
Came here yesterday with my parents because my mom seemed like she was getting a cold. I figured it would be a great family fun activity, to make our own soup. Or rather, add ingredients to an already flavorful broth. Pretty foolproof for even the most inept cook. We got there around 7:30 and waited for about 20 minutes. The staff was buzzing around and seemed to flow well, able to help customers and clean the old dishes up quickly, but loudly. When you arrive you will see a line of people, mostly waiting on cheap stools located outside the restaurant. There is a list right by the front door that you add your name to. During the weekends the restaurant opens another location a door down from the one that operates during the week. This allows more customers and turnover. Also, there is a 90 minute table limit for every table. When we sat down our waiter was very helpful in explaining everything to my parents, but he didn't come back, he told us everything and was there to answer questions and promptly take our order. We decided on splitting our hot pot so we could try two different broths, the herb/spice broth, and the house specialty. I liked the herb broth better, but both were good. The house specialty seemed cloudier, or milkier, but it did not taste like dairy. We also ordered our meats, chicken and beef tendon. Upon ordering my parents and I all ventured to the back of the restaurant where they have 4 refrigerators full of different colored plates ranging in prices from $3-$5. We grabbed watercress, oyster mushrooms, black fungi, fishcake with mochi, udon noodles, and a variety of sauces located next to the fridge.
The hot pot came out quickly and I divided the watercress immediately into the soup so it had time to wilt. We then haphazardly threw in most of the plates, but cooked the meats only when we would eat them since the soup was boiling and the meat would cook quickly. When we did cook the meat it was placed in a little spoon net so that we kept track of it. There were tables having a good time, one girl had been there three years in a row for her birthday, and everyone sang happy birthday to her which was joyous. The waitstaff was very attentive at answering questions and refilling our water. My dad got a Vietnamese iced coffee and they just warned us that it would take 5-8 minutes to make it. It was good, but nothing out of the ordinary realm of vietnamese coffee. So tasty that it is gone in a quick 5 minutes.
The fishcake encrusted mochi was interesting and different because the mochi was kind of tough. Perhaps it was too wide or maybe I just wasn't used to the consistency. The fischake surrounding it was great though, it had black sesame seeds and was light. My mother said the oyster mushrooms had a great flavor, although I couldn't really appreciate them as much.
Once we were scraping the bowl and had only broth left, the waiter brought us a big bowl of shave ice with brown sugar and then a layer of almond tofu, haupia, and coffee pudding, followed by mango and strawberry tapioca, topped with lychee and mango mochi. this dessert is awesome and flows together so well. It is the perfect accompaniment to a hot pot! Every table at Sweet Home Cafe gets complimentary dessert and it is delectable. It was interesting how well the flavors and textures went together. I was amazed because my mother had found more room for dessert than me and my father had, which is rare.
Overall they were very happy and full as we left the restaurant, feeding three people a very satisfying meal while having a fun experience "cooking" all for around $45.
yousharknotpass
janainaart
areudirty
titsay
vaporwave
dailybridgerton