UYE Downtown Lunch Bunch @ Kan Zaman

Thomas O. from Long Beach, CA is back in town and hosting a UYE lunch at Kan Zaman! Count me in!
Thomas O. and I share a little secret. I met Thomas O. when he was a Unilocal Intern back in 2012, specifically at the first Unilocal Event that hubby and I attended — Unilocal’s Holiday Hoopla @ Mercedes Benz of Honolulu on 11÷28÷12. I had posted only two reviews at that time, and when hubby and I attended this Holiday Hoopla Event, we did not know anyone… not a single person. The two of us had a fun time after eating/​drinking our way through this pre-​holiday celebration. At the end of the night, we befriended one person — you guessed it, Unilocal Intern Thomas O. dressed in theme as a full-​fledged Christmas tree! He was instrumental in providing me answers to my many Unilocal questions, and I credit him for helping me to start my Unilocal venture. Thank you, Thomas O.
It was sad to see Thomas O. move from Hawaii to Orange County, CA in 2013; then to Long Beach; and soon-​to-​be LAX. So, I was glad that he was coming to Oahu for a visit and better yet, hosting the UYE Downtown Lunch Bunch @ Zan Kaman! It was great to see some 20+ Unilocalers on a State holiday and take part in a delicious Moroccan/​Lebanese lunch. While I had enjoyed dinner at Zan Kaman, I was looking forward to trying the Merguez Sandwich, which is only offered at lunch and enthusiastically recommended by veteran Unilocaler Grant S.
The Merguez Sandwich is a grilled lamb sausage on pressed toasted baguette, served Panini style, with a spicy harissa (house-​made hot pepper and garlic sauce with Moroccan spices) and cheese, served with fries. The fries were perfectly fried and sprinkled with parsley flakes, with the outside crispy and the inside so soft. The fries were accompanied with a Sumac (Middle Eastern spice made from a berry) aioli sauce with garlic and mayo, which was a perfect complement. We all shared a fresh garlic mixed with yogurt, which is a condiment that we could slather on anything, and despite the resulting garlic breath, it was a delicious and delightful condiment.

I also had the iced Moroccan mint tea — slightly sweet with a taste of mint. It was so refreshingly good, as it was sweltering hot outside.
Kan Zaman had also served us a complimentary Chicken Shwarma Sandwich with veggie salad and a Beef Kabob served on rice with tabouleh, hummus, and pita. The beef kabobs, which included big chunks of grilled marinated beef cubes, were perfect for meat eaters. The fresh green salad was delicious with orange blossom and honey vinaigrette — tangy and yet sweet. Surprisingly, the rice was really delicious, as it was very flavorful and buttery.

Compliments of Chef Kamal, the restaurant provided two complimentary bottles of its house red and white wines in honor of Thomas O. That was a nice gesture — thank you, Zan Kaman!
Thank you to our friendly server Ashley, who was very helpful tending to a filled restaurant and to our large group. She did the best she could in taking our orders, refilling our water/​iced tea glasses, removing our empty plates, and processing the billing for each one of us. She also sprinkled orange blossom water on our hands to refresh them — nice fragrance and knowing that your hands are clean.
It was so cool to socialize with other Unilocalers! Great to have met Unilocaler Laine K. and also sat next to Unilocaler Lauren H., as we shared our mutual exciting experiences in attending Unilocal’s 10^th anniversary events. But most of all, attending this luncheon was to see Thomas O. again, and he’s doing well and enjoying himself in CA!
A very nice luncheon at Kan Zaman indeed! Nice to see you again, Thomas O., and I’ll never forget the «push» you gave me to be where I am in the Unilocal community today!

Thank you Thomas O. for throwing this UYE at Kan Zaman! I’ve been wanting to try here ever since it opened! A solid group attended this event, and I got to see friends that I’ve made over the years and fun new yeeps!
What I ordered:
+ Moroccan mint iced tea (both sweeted and unsweetened versions, of which I prefer the unsweetened one)
+ Chicken shawarma (warning: salad dressing is sweet)
I also tried a bite of the beef kabob (which is tasty for you carnivorous types, but a bit beefy for me… hehe!).
We also received a complimentary glass of wine. Mahalo Kan Zaman!

EXOTIC, EUPHORIC, ETHNIC FOODS, FOLKS, AND FUN! Instead of just the McD «Food, Folks, and Fun» slogan.
Thomas O was our wonderful host for the Aloha Holiday Friday edition of UYE Downtown Lunch Bunch @ Kan Zaman. It was great to be on a holiday to be able to go to lunch as a UYE instead of missing out due to work.
May I just mention?- everyone at the event was super friendly. If you have not gone to a UYE because of being nervous or shy — don’t be. Everyone just wants to ‘hang’ and get to know others in a very non– confrontational way.
Got to spend a little time sharing about my own experiences and hearing about others interesting lives on the Mainland and how some of those things that are different are so much the same interest to the rest of us.
Foodwise– wonderful. Servicewise– wonderful. Friendswise– amazing.
The tastes of the foods seemed similar to Greek but it had different twists that could be more Arabic. I must be difficult to waitress for a table of over 20– she just kept going and was as helpful as she could be, we knew the food could take a little longer than a normal setting but that did not stop some people at the table to take food pics before digging in.
There was a well rounded time for friends to catch up and new friends to be made. Wonderful lunch time all round.
The wine at the end does top off the day to well. Mahalo.
Maka will tell anyone that they have to try the mint ice tea. No higher recommendation needed. Do try it.
From my other restaurant review if you may have missed it…
Going in a group is a definite must for this place. It is not a big room, seats maybe 30 people in the normal seating area. There is more open air area seating but it is outside.
Food. I ordered lamb as my main plate. I can not see ordering chicken if it is going to taste like chicken which btw it does taste like chicken. The lamb (which I know from experience can be hard to cook) was great. It was tasty — not juicy — but cooked well so that each CM has taste on it. It is spiced and salted evenly so that the flavor just pops out onto your tongue. The beef is well done, both cooked well done and has flavor tastes that are well presented. I tasted from another the chickpeas/​falafel (sp?) it was fried and I liked that but the taste was odd and I would not recommend ordering that– I just personally did not like it and if asked I would advise not to order it– only saying IMO the lamb was by far way better for taste and uniqueness. Style French Fries are just basic fries but the cream sauce instead of ketchup are what make the flavor stick. The garlic oil paste sauce goes so well with the fried flavor. The side salad that comes with many meals is basic fresh garden greens with slices of red onion that soak up the fragrances of the red vinaigrette like dressing that is lightly added.
The food is filling!!! Don’t be fooled with what looks to be a small plate of food– with the pita bread and other fillers — one can get full very quickly and feel full for a long time.
Getting splashed with orange water is a different cultural treat. Fragrant and unique that as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (though in the Pacific –not a Muslim country) I can really appreciate.
Price is good. It is in the $ 10 – 20 range so a ticket for a couple is not that hard to get to $ 50 with appetizers.
This used to be the Café Joy location which was Thai and before that It was Vietnamese type food and I forget the name of it when it was that but is seems that many different restaurants have come and gone though in and out of this location– Hopefully since the food at Kan Zaman is way better than what was previously here that it will be better and stay longer in the area. I know it is a hard area to make it in since the nightlife is random at best. They do say that they have belly dancing on Wed Nights at 7:30 pm which may draw in some people but by then most of the city worker crowd is already out of downtown.
It is located between the King and Hotel bus stops on Bethel. So if you know the area you know that parking is a pain in the butt. Just plan accordingly.

For a limited time only, Thomas is back! I’m happy that I got to eat with him yesterday at his UYE at Kan Zaman!
Kan Zaman impressed me the first time I had their food and impressed me again today! The food did take some time to come out, but we had a lot of people in our party. The food today was so good!
I ordered the Beef Shwarma. I never had shwarma before and have always wanted to try ever since I learned about their existence from The Avengers movie. It was so good and satisying! Chef Kamal even brought us out a few extra dishes for free that we all shared and on the house red and white wines!
It was so good dining with and seeing everyone again! I haven’t seen some people in forever. Also it was so nice meeting new people.

Unilocal 100 Challenge #66/​100
Today was Aloha Friday and it’s always a great day when it’s Aloha Friday right? It was my first UYE and not my last. Thanks Thomas for putting on the event. It was great to meet new faces and talk to foodies like Maka, Darin, Reina, Thomas, Pualena, Lauren, Jo, Garry, Andrew, Lai, & Russ.
The food was delicious. Thank you to Russ for the garlic spread. My garlic breath now is soooo worth it.
Big shout out to the staff at Kan Zaman. Our server Ashley was rocking. With all those tables to attend to, she did great.
Thank you for the wine that was served at the end. Whoever did provide the drink (hiccup), I thank you!
If you haven’t been to a UYE you should check it out. It really is like the McDonald’s 1990s slogan which is «Food, Folks, and Fun»!

Hanging out with a bunch of wonderful Unilocalers is a great way to spend lunch on a Friday.
The Cuisine was Fabu as usual besides all the nice ppl.
Lot’s of smiling faces… and garlic breath from that wicked sauce.