Before leaving Newport Beach to head up to the Bay Area, Kyle and I made a detour and headed down to San Clemente. Some of Kyle’s fam live in the area so we spent a day with them relaxing at the beach.
For dinner, we tried a Hawaiian inspired restaurant called Happa J’s.
It was really nice and spacious with several rooms (the lounge, the main dining area, and the bar) surrounded by windows with a cool surf ambiance.
They brought us edamame to snack on while we browsed the menu.
I decided on the vegan dish, which was grilled tofu with a tomato garlic jus, brown rice, and baby vegetables.
I have to admit, this combo seemed pretty odd to me when reading the menu’s description. Brown rice, sure. Veggies, great. Both pair nicely with tofu. But tomato sauce? Hmmm…
I suppose I never really think of eating tofu with tomato dishes, mainly because Italian food is not my favorite (and in general I mentally categorize tomato sauces in the Italian genre), but it was a surprising success for my taste buds. The main components in the tomato sauce were asparagus and garlic, which, again, isn’t necessarily a group of ingredients I would think of combining on my own. However, when mixed in with the rice and tofu and veggies, it was good! Like a big tomato based stir-fry concoction over rice. Anyways, I left full and happy.
Kyle and his dad both got the same Thai Curry Chicken pasta dish.
The noodles were topped with a coconut flavored curry sauce, paired with stir-fried veggies and chicken breast and thigh. I’m pretty sure there were raisins in there too.
If you are in the area, I definitely recommend Happa J’s 🙂
That looks absolutely delicious! I love bok choy. So are you vegan?
tomato sauce is my favorite food, actually. i love it with peas, seitan and some nooch. trader joe’s “rustico” brand is the best jarred tomato sauce i’ve ever had – i have dreams about it.
That noodle dish looks so freakin good. Next time I visit San Clemente I’m going to check this place out!
vegan-ish. i am lactose intolerant, and i dont eat meat, but the rest of my eats are mainly dictated by how my IBS reacts. i have been dealing with it forever so i know my body pretty well. i wrote more about my path in the about me and FAQ section but i’d be happy to answer any more specific questions if you have them…
the sad part of this is that i have missed you in so cal by like 4 days! SIGH. Ok well there is always next month 🙂
xoxo
Looks very appetizing. I love the second photo of your dish cuz the baby bok choy makes an appearance. hehe…It’s my fave veggie.
p.s. my mama suggested that for your wedding present, I should just give you rando Asian veggies throughout the rest of the first year or marriage. What do you say? There’s already like 4 different kinds of squash from the Asian market we go to that I’ve picked out. I mean, I know that’s not what you registered for, but good suggestion by the mama, right? 😉
Your dish looks awesome -beautifully presented too. Hapa in Hawaiian means mixed Asian heritage, and it looks like the dishes had a sort of fusion theme?
That tofu dish looks incredible! I never really liked tofu until I tried tofu and rice stuffed peppers- amazing! You should try ’em. They have cheese in them, though, but you could use soy cheese instead: http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/tofu_and_rice_stuffed_peppers.htm
i love it!!
great idea – totally bookmarking it. thanks!
definitely. i only knew that bc one of my friends is half japanese and always referred to herself as a happa. i think its such a cute term…kinda wish i were mixed.
thai with curry with pasta?! MADNESS.
id love to get out there and try it out.. or experiment in my own kitchen.
glad you enjoyed it 🙂
mmm your dish looks great, love the big bok choy