While many of you have your turkey in the oven, gravy on the stove and a whole bunch of pots and pans to wash, it’s now also time announce the winners of The Tasty Island Zoom Contest Round I winners! Yay!
First of all, I must say, of the HUGE amount of traffic this site gets – especially now during the holiday season, there were only two of you who entered. That’s OK, I’m cool with “lurkers”. As long as you enjoy reading this blog, that’s what makes me happy most. Of course, being a large amount of you are Hawaii folks, had the grand prize been a vacation package to Las Vegas, I’d probably have to open an entirely new eMail account just to handle the amount of entries. lol
But hey, the gift of food is something we should all appreciate, as we do in part today for Thanksgiving, along with the laughter and love of family and friends.
That said, the grand prize winner of The Tasty Island Zoom Contest is… drum roll please………
Mimi! Yay!!! Mimi described every photo to the “T”, right down to date of the post and notable comment I wrote about the dish from that particular review. That makes her score a maximum 14 points. For that, Mimi wins three $10 Jack in the Box “Jack Cash” cards, valued at a total of $30. Cheeeeeee-hooooooooo! lol
The second place winner is…
Lois! Yay!! Lois also “aced” the answers, including the theme, however, her answers weren’t as detailed as Mimi’s. Yet still, Maika’i (well done)!!! Which makes her total score 13 points. For that, Lois wins two $10 Jack in the Box “Jack Cash” cards, valued at a total of $20. Cheeeeee-hoooooo! Was that the same amount of “e’s”? lol
Here’s the breakdown of the correct answers, as grand prize winner Mimi submitted:
Theme: Island/Local Desserts
ITEM PICTURED
Date of Post
Picture quote
1
Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant @
327 Keawe St. (next to the former Comp USA)
Honolulu, Hawaii
March 6, 2010
Fried Ice Cream (Vanilla only)
2
Vietnamese Mango @
Diner C’s sister’s tree growing in the north-central Oahu area
August 2, 2013
Locally-grown Vietnamese Mangoes
3
Ivy Pantastico’s “Pantastic” Pumpkin Crunch dessert @ Silva’s store in Ewa Beach @
91-455 Ewa Beach Rd, Ewa Beach, HI 96706
April 26, 2013
Silva’s Grocery & Liquor in Ewa Beach – Ivy Pantastico’s “Pantastic” Chili & Rice Bowl for $3 and “Pantastic” Pumpkin Crunch dessert for $4
4
Suman from Alicia’s Market @
267 Mokauea St
Honolulu, HI 96819
October 22, 2011
Suman from Alicia’s Market
Also posted in September 6, 2008
5
Liliha Bakery Coco Puff Cake @ office baby shower @
Liliha Bakery
515 N. Kuakini Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
August 18, 2010
Therefore I’m putting this Coco Puff Cake up in the spotlight today to get the word out,
6
Cherry-topped Pistachio Cheese Cake @ Diner KK’s Aloha Oe Potluck Luncheon @ Pomai’s office (Honolulu)
August 14, 2012
Rounding things out for dessert, a couple full pans of home-made Cherry-topped Pistachio Cheese Cake…
7
Ciao Mein – Tiramisu dessert @ Hyatt Waikiki
2424 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
August 28, 2009
Ciao Mein’s absolutely delicious take on the classic Italian favorite, Tiramisu…
8
Green Tea Shaved Ice at Gyotaku @
1824 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96826
July 25, 2009
We also tried the Green Tea Shave Ice…
9
Aloha tofu mousse; factory @
961 Akepo Lane
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
October 11, 2012
Oh, there’s chocolate chips in here for sure, in the form of chunky bitty nibs…
10
Champion Malasada @
1926 South Beretania St.
Honolulu, HI 96826
November 3, 2013
Still on the Portuguese theme, via Macao, next up, we have a box of Champion Malasadas….You know the rules around here…
11
Bali salak @ KCC Farmer’s Market @
Kapiolani Community College
4303 Diamond Head Road
Honolulu, HI 96816-4421
November 8, 2013
Frankie’s Nursery – ‘Bali Salak’ Snake Fruit (a rare Indonesian fruit with a crunchy fruit taste like a sweet pineapple)
12
Egg Cream Buns. Birthday Lunch at Fook Lam @
100 North Beretania Street
Ste 110
Honolulu, HI 96817
November 4, 2012
But wow isn’t wow yet, as these here Crispy Egg Cream (Custard) Buns dessert dim sum were like seriously WOW!…
Mahalo for playing and congratulations for winning, Mimi and Lois!
Now let’s take the time to thank our prize sponsor, Jack in the Box, by doing a review of Jack’s Munchie Meals. And gee-o-golly is this one gonna’ be a “doozie”! lol
Thanks to complimentary gift cards from Jack in the Box, these were purchased at the Honolulu location on the corner of King and McCully Street, which is nearest to where I live. I mean, really, with a 9pm to 5am “I suddenly have the munchies” window, how far would one be willing to drive to satisfy the crave?
These, being the Grilled Cheese Burger Munchie Meal and Brunch Burger Munchie Meal.
Let’s start by checkin’ out what’s in the Brunch Burger Munchie Meal box…
“SPIN THE TACO”? Seriously? We’ll get more to that shortly. First let’s unwrap everything…
My heart rate went up just looking at that. While I don’t need to take them anymore, I’m sure glad I still have Lisinopril on me. Whew!
As always in Tasty Island fashion, let’s split ‘em open for a better look…
So what you have there are “Halfsies”, which are an obvious combination of Jack in the Box Fries and Curly Fries, 2 tacos and a quite substantial “Brunch Burger”. Let’s now deconstruct this so-called “Brunch Burger”…
Star of this “stoner’s” show, we have a standard Jack in the Box Jumbo Jack hamburger patty, paired with a fried egg, bacon, hash brown, encased by a croissant that’s been generously buttered and slathered with mayonnaise on the top half. Wow. Just wow. Where were those pills, now?
And how is this here “Brunch Burger”? Over the top. Just way too much going on.It didn’t come across as some magical combination, such as how I feel about, oh say, a classic BLT sandwich. It simply tasted like a Jumbo Jack with a hash brown, egg and bacon on it, with every part having its own character, instead of them all complimenting each other as one harmonious masterpiece. And I’ll leave it at that.
Next let’s check Jack in the Box’s Taco, by first taking her literally for a spin!…
I think the taco grease-to-paper game surface ratio was off, because the taco couldn’t make an entire revolution in one spin. Either that, or I just don’t have “Spin the Taco” game. lol
Looking at what’s underneath where my taco is pointing, I either have to sit on the person next to me, or text my ex. Well, believe you-me, I’d rather sit on a wava (prounounced “vuh-nah”, which is a sea urchine) next to me, as opposed to the latter. I can burp anyone’s name. I’m pretty good at that. lol
Let’s get better look inside this
lab experiment
taco….
Trying it, all I can say is, no wonder the JITB Taco is included in an over-the-top combination menu item called a “Munchie Meal”, and again, I’ll leave it at that. You can figure it out.
But hold on a minute, we’re not done yet. You now me, Mr. McGuyver of the kitchen, trying to concoct something inventive out of whatever my resources are. Well, introducing the “Munchies-to-da-Max Brunch Burger Taco”!…
Oh yes my friends, I “went there”. Taco? Check? Hamburger? Check? Fried Egg? Check. Curly Fries? Check. Hash Brown? Check. I was gonna’ throw in the croissant “bun” as well, but it was already too stuffed. Let’s try it…
Dude, like totally, sober notwithstanding, this is WAY better! While I’m sure I’m not the first to do this, this is the first time I’ve tried a “Taco Burger”, and you know what? Pretty awesome, like dude! Totally! The crunchy-yet-chewy corn tortilla, in all its greasy glory really gave all the other “stuff” a nice contrast.
That said, if you do ever, for some remote reason get a Munchie Meal, definitely try combining everything in the box in the taco. That’s the way to go, for sure!
Summing up the new Jack in the Box Brunch Burger Munchie Meal, I give it… no comment.
Well hey, if the “Munchie Meal” is a bit much for you, there’s lots more options on the menu to use your Jack Cash on…
I have to run now for my Thanksgiving Day family festivities, so I’ll put off my review of the Grilled Cheese Burger Munchie Meal for later, or in a future post.
Mahalo to Jack in the Box for sponsoring the prizes for this game. Much appreciated!
In the mean time, to you and yours, have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving Day!
P.S. Since there’s still a third place $10 Jack Cash card prize up for grabs, the first person to comment where this here quote, unquote “Bank of Waikiki” is located, wins it!…
Bank of Waikiki? Where stay dat?