So I’m finally getting around to my Big Island vacation eats from the summer. I didn’t really plan on any specific places to hit up. In fact, I did very little planning for the whole trip. Thanks to Fat-Skinny-Fat-Less Fat and Dairy Queen, I just hopped along for the ride and kinda played the fooding by ear. It’s a pleasant surprise when you just stumble upon delicious gems. I really feel Lemongrass Express was a fortuitous find. It was close by. It was well rated. It was reasonably priced. There was no wait. I guess it helps when you eat at 3pm. Maybe it was so delicious because we were all so frickin’ hungry. A day at the beach, snorkeling and boogie boarding can do that to you. Of course, everyone (The Mexican Manchild, FxGf/FW, Fat-Skinny-Fat-Less Fat, Sleepy Snoozer, The Cat Whisperer, and Ho-Bag) kicked back and let me do the ordering. The waiter was really helpful in guiding me to their most popular specialties.
Thai Beef Salad sweet onion, pepper, cucumber, fresh herbs, lemongrass citrus vinaigrette
I just had to throw in another salad. More brightness and crunch.
Crispy Pork Belly fresh market greens, garlic, dry chili sauce
Sometimes the leaves of morning glory can get mushy while you’re trying to get the woody stalks cooked through. But when you have nice tender greens, everything gets cooked perfectly. The pork was crispy and maybe a tad dry. Overall, great dish.
They showcased some fusion aspects here using udon noodles instead of the traditional wide flat rice noodle. Texturely, it made for some unctuous slippery noodles. Normally this dish is more on the pan fried side, but this version was saucey and watery. I loved the variety of vegetables here.
Delicious and so well balanced with spice, sweet, salt.
Nobody does a better orange chicken than Panda Express. I’m just gonna put that out there now. This was a tasty showing though. The orange and pineapple flavors were obviously fresh.
This was an amazing fusion dish. A big hunk of tender oxtail in a Japanese style sat atop a generous helping of Korean kimchee fried rice. There was an overall sweetness to the dish that was all Hawaiian. This is a must get.
