[Alki Seattle, WA] - Ma'ono Fried Chicken & Whisky

When I first looked at the menu for Ma'Ono, I found the prices a bit offputting. A loco moco for $17? Saimin for $15? It better be a damn good loco moco for that price! The thing is though, I pay those kinds of prices for good food, even though I have never paid that kind of money for Hawaiian comfort food. I still had to give them a chance, because honestly, fried chicken is one of the things I really enjoy in life. I will pay that $21 for half a chicken or $40 for the full. 

This was during my birthday weekend (yes, I celebrate the entire weekend), so I was with a few people. I read online that if you want the fried chicken, you have to order it in advance when you make your reservation (which means I have no idea what happens if you try to walk in and order it, but you are welcome to find out if you are that curious about it), so we had to figure out sooner than later if we wanted the full or half chicken. There were four of us, and we wanted to get some sides also. Because of that, we ended up just pre-ordering half of the fried chicken. We also ordered the butter lettuce salad for $11 on top of the chicken, not realizing just how good it was going to be. If you want some veggies with your fried meats, get the butter lettuce salad! It has parmesan, some herbs, sliced radishes, and it's mixed with a citronette dressing. 

The fried chicken now, was delicious. The skin was crispy perfection with the meat so, so juicy and tender. The flavor, as advertised was umami. You can also use the syrup that they serve with it. Since I'm more partial to savory, I ate the chicken "plain." Still really good. The only thing I was left for want was hot sauce. I really need to carry some hot sauce in my bag for these occasions. Served alongside the chicken are some biscuits. They're a tad dry, but go well with the gravy.

I also enjoyed the ice cream. I'm glad we shared though, because after all of that chicken I was running low on stomach space. If you aren't used to sea salt, it might be too much for you. I let the larger pieces sit on my tongue while scooping more small spoonfuls of the ice cream. It tasted, as advertised, like buttery popcorn. If you like popcorn and ice cream, I feel like you'll enjoy this. Next time though, I want to give the malasadas a try.

Btw, if you are a whisky connoisseur, you'll probably like this place. They have Pappy VanWinkle on their top shelf. You're welcome. 

Half order of the fried chicken. In the menu it's described as "The Fuller-Ishida Families own Hawaiian style fried chicken" and that the "local birds... are twice fried for crispiness then umami spiced." 
Their super popular popcorn ice cream. Each $8 order gets you two scoops with sea salt sprinkled on top.

 Address:
4437 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116

 Phone #: (206) 935-1075

 Hours:
Sun-Thurs: 5PM-10PM
Fri & Sat: 5PM-11PM
Sat & Sun Brunch: 9:30AM-3PM

Comments

Post a Comment

I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

[Kaohsiung, Taiwan] - 桦達奶茶 Huada Milk Tea (Original Location Only)

Image
If you are a milk tea fan, this is a must go spot. It's one of the oldest tea milk tea shops in Southern Taiwan, and from the looks of it, do everything the same as they always have. This post is only about the original location. They have many other locations around the island, but this was the first. I'm told the other locations aren't that great and some people even told me not to try it. But, I like trying the originals, and I have loved milk tea since the summer of 1992 so no harm in throwing down 30NT for one, right? When I mentioned to the local milk tea shop owner that I was going to Kaohsiung, he said I have to try Huada also, so that was definitely good enough for me! Located close to the Yangchengpu KMRT station and in a smaller road, remember to watch out for those scooters! They have a good variety of drinks, but I ordered the original milk tea. They shake it with ice so it's cold, but probably not cold enough for American standards. This milk tea is d
Read more

[Kaohsiung, Taiwan] - 查理布朗咖啡店 | Charlie Brown Café Taiwan

Image
I have been a huge fan of Snoopy for as long as I can remember (which is a long, long time). Having already been to one of the Charlie Brown Cafes in Hong Kong, I figured why not also go to the one in Kaohsiung? If you want to go, it's pretty easy. Kaohsiung has an MRT system like the one in Taipei. Take the red line to the Hanshin Arena KMRT stop and walk up Baoi Road 2nd to Baoi Road 3rd. You should see the Hanshin department store on the left. Just walk a few blocks and you'll see the Charlie Brown Cafe on the left side of the road (same side as the department store) with the cross street of Zhizhen Road. It's pretty hard to miss! If you're lucky, it's not too busy and Snoopy is available to join you for some afternoon coffee, tea, sparkly drinks, and/or snacks. Lemon mix blue curacao/檸檬藍柑氣泡飲 When I went to pay at the counter, I saw that there were these super cute waffles in the shape of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Woodstock. How often
Read more

[Taipei, Taiwan] - 富宏牛肉麵/Fuhong Beef Noodles

Image
This is currently my favorite beef noodle restaurant in Taipei. It was on my list for a while (like so many other places, but always so many places and so little time!). So what makes it so special in a city like Taipei? I judge by noodles, broth, and meat. Some people care about the location, cleanliness, and service also, but I'm willing to overlook most of that for a fantastic bowl. Which is exactly what this is, at Fuhong Beef Noodles. Incredibly simple, extremely beefy, and supremely hot and satisfying. For now, this is it for me. Of course, I intend to keep up the search because there are just too many shops there and I think unless I lived in Taipei and had nothing else to do, I wouldn't be able to get to every single beef noodle restaurant! Bowl of beef noodle soup (medium size) with some seaweed and pig ears Accoutrements:  辣牛油 or "spicy butter," 辣椒粉 or special chili sauce, 辣椒醬 another chili sauce, and pickled veggies As soon as I sat down I
Read more