Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Cream Pot



Call me a girly-girl, but The Cream Pot is the nicest place for the girls to get together to have girly food and feel pretty! I was drawn to this dainty place when I saw it from the window of the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel. From the outside, I could see pretty tables, laced curtains, and flowers as I drove by several times. When I heard that the restaurant finally opened, I was anxious to see what this adorable restaurant was all about. With my boyfriend's sister expecting her first child any day now, it was a perfect opportunity to spend some quality girl time with her and her mom.



If the food wasn't good (which luckily, it is) I would come to this place just to sit in it and feel pretty! It has a Japanese-inspired french cottage feel, with wrought iron chairs and tables, terra cotta tiled floors, flowers, rustic wooden doors, and an assortment of french country accessories. The smallest details (like the single carnation resting inside of an empty salt shaker) make this place so quaint and homey. Don't forget to look down on the floor when you enter, you'll see little kitty foot prints in the tiles of the floor!

The menu consists of sweet and savory crepes, belgian waffles, french rolled omelets, eggs benedict, baked eggs, salads, and an assortment of fresh fruit juices. The most unique item on the menu is the Maguro Benedict, which is rice cakes, maguro ahi carpaccio, avocado, shiso, daikon sprouts, and an orange miso shoyu sauce. It looked very delicious, but I had to try the other brunch items first. Maybe on my next visit. In addition to the typical menu, there is a combination menu which allows you to order an entree with your choice of crepe (a smaller portion crepe). This is a good choice for your first visit because you'll get to try several dishes.



I had the Baked Eggs with Shrimp. I have never had eggs prepared in this way before, and it was so delicious! It inspired me to try and make it myself. This dish had four large pieces of shrimp, spinach, bechamel sauce, and a light broth topped off with two eggs cracked "sunny side up" style and baked. It was so delicious to dip the toasted baguettes into the gooey yolk!



The Classic French Rolled Omelet was baked maple-cured bacon, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, potato and gruyere cheese. It was served alongside a seasoned pilaf and a mixed green salad. The eggs were very light and fluffy!! The pilaf was very flavorful, possibly seasoned with butter and garlic.

All three of the crepes that we tried were delicious! All crepes are topped off with fresh cream. I still don't know which one I like the best!



I had the Fresh Maui Strawberry Crepe, which was filled with dark chocolate and fresh strawberry coulis. As soon as the waitress brought it to the table I could smell the sweet smell of strawberries!



The Apple Tatin Crepe was like a delicate apple pie. It included homemade caramelized granny smith apples, and a caramel sauce. Very warm and comforting!



The Kahuku Banana crepe was filled with homemade vanilla custard cream and dark salted caramel sauce. Although this one also contained caramel, it was a completely different flavor when paired with the vanilla custard!

This was such a perfect place for the girls to enjoy quality time together. We couldn't help but feel happy! The service is also excellent. The owner, Nathan Tran, stopped by to talk to us while we waited for our food. He was very friendly and accommodating. He explained that after graduating from UH, he worked in several restaurants in Japan before returning to Hawaii to open the restaurant.



There aren't very many places in Hawaii like this one! I'm so glad that there's finally a place to get a great crepe! Thank you for such a special lunch, Aunty Sharon!

The Cream Pot
444 Niu Street
Honolulu, HI 96815

8 comments:

shandam said...

Ahhhh....definitely a perfect afternoon! :o) Looking at your pics I'm craving another crepe!

Lori said...

I think I would have loved that chocolate strawberry crepe! But the apple one looked so good too, maybe I'd have to get both! :)

Unknown said...

ooh how come your most girliest and beautiful friend was not invited to this girly event

surfchik4jesus said...

your blog entry was one of the reasons my sister wanted to check this place out =) we had a wonderful morning there --- thank you!

kakaako said...

Great food, service, wait staff. I am totally loving the food here. As a non-girl, it took me quite a while to figure out what Cream Pot was trying to accomplish with the decor, but I think I got it. Its a scene from a Manga (Japanese cartoon) where a French farm house gets decorated by a 14-year old girl enamored with cuteness.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I am new to your blog! I love all theing food, wine, yoga, and HI! A teacher friend of mine is living in Honolulu this summer and just mentioned The Cream Pot to me and how much I'd love it. A Google seach brought me to your blog. I am excited to see your picks as we plan on visiting again in October - from Phoenix, AZ. Thanks for sharing your food experiences!

-Jen B., Arizona

Larisa said...

I too have a blog and find myself always writing about food. I was Googling The Cream Pot (I live on Oahu) and your blog popped up (which is great by the way). Anyway, I love The Cream Pot and I'm so happy to see that the love is spread far and wide!

Larisa said...

I love The Cream Pot! I live on Oahu and when I was Googling The Cream Pot for my blog, then yours popped up (I like!). So happy to see the love for The Cream Pot reaches far and wide.