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Sushi, page 1
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Sushi bliss at Sasabune! Crab-stuffed squid and two different maguro, a bigeye from Midway and a Spanish bluefin in the foreground.
Sasabune. A Closer Look. 1419 S. King St. in McCully/Moilili. 947-3800. Dinner nightly except closed Sunday. Parking in lot behind restaurant or on street. Prices: $$$$. Map. This unbeatable experience can be a little intimidating, but be brave and chance it! The big sign on the window ominously says “TRUST ME.” This is the world of omakase, where you sit down and not only eat what you are told to eat, but how you are to eat it, and believe me - show the chef disrespect by eating your sushi with shoyu when you are clearly instructed not to, and you will get thrown out regardless of how important you think you are! Yes, this chef quietly prepares everything with an air of confidence and knowledge that lets you know that you are a visitor in his domain, and if you don’t like it - leave! The first time I tried the restaurant I was a bit apprehensive, but by the time the many courses were over, I was ready and eager to listen to just about anything he said! Actually, I was already impressed from the very first of many courses, which was a combination of ahi and hamachi sashimi bathed in a light citrus/soy sauce. The lobster sashimi that came later was fresh and crisp, yet tender and amazingly sweet, while the lobster dynamite, which came at the same time, was a little heavy on the mayo but perfectly cooked and flavorful. The house specialty, negi-toro sushi, was outstanding, consisting of chopped toro (high-grade, very fatty tuna) mixed in a light, slightly sweetened shoyu sauce and green onion. The menu changes according to whatever is fresh, but will always feature sushi and sashimi, along with a few other interesting items such as ika-meshi, which is a rice-stuffed squid. Remember that this omakase style is only for those choosing to sit at the sushi counter with the chef. You may also sit on one of the small tables and order your way, or from a menu, in a more, shall we say, relaxed, atmosphere? This is also the only place I know that serves sushi with rice that is still warm. The more I visit, the more I notice how much of a positive difference this makes.
| Sushi Bistro Shun is a relatively little-known spot that should be much more well-known than it is. |  |
Sushi Bistro Shun. A Closer Look. 1914 S. King St. in McCully/Moilili. 941-1333. Dinner nightly, except closed on Monday, late night till 12am Tuesday-Saturday (Sunday till 10pm). Parking outside store. Prices: $$$. Map. Definitely a hidden jewel of a place! Since 1999 this restaurant has been a “secret” of sorts, rarely showing up on the radar of any English-speaking publications or guidebooks. We have no idea how this place hasn’t gotten more attention! The stern sushi chef/owner is quite the force of nature, quick to bluntly correct his staff if things are not going perfectly with guest patrons, but that is the level of skill and precision he demands of his restaurant. The toro (belly part of the bluefin tuna) is simply amazing! As in the finest Kobe beef, this cut is not the bright-red of a typical maguro serving, but is white with fatty omega-3 goodness! Toro variations can be o-toro, which is the pinnacle of sashimi, or chu-toro, which has a slightly lower, yet still more than substantial level of fat. They are also one of the few places to regularly carry ankimo, or monkfish liver. The unagi is great for those wanting a break from anything raw, as it is served hot, delicious, and in the biggest portions I have ever seen! They even have a very economical all-you-can-eat nabe pot (explained later in the nabe section) for about $25, using rib-eye beef cuts. The restaurant itself is modern, clean, and orderly, and the chef is a lot nicer than his initial appearance may seem!
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The sizzling butter-yaki scallops at Akasaka are a must-try! |
Akasaka. A Closer Look. 1646 Kona st. right outside of Ala Moana S.C. 942-4466. Lunch daily except closed on Sunday, dinner nightly, late night till 12am on Sunday and till 2am every other day. Parking outside store. Prices: $$$. Map. I hate to start with negative’s here, but I gotta mention the hostess bars and seedy shops in the surrounding area. Just don’t hang out outside, is all! Once inside, it looks like a simple, traditional sushi bar, complete with small tatami rooms, but the American music that often plays confuses the mood. The sushi chef is quite gruff and a bit stern, but is nevertheless attentive to whatever you ask for. Despite these roadblocks, the quality of sushi is very good. The fatty hamachi is creamy-rich with a slight crispiness while the toro is buttery-soft and delicious. The butter-yaki scallops, which is the house specialty and simply outstanding, comes in a hot, sizzling pan that stays bubbly-simmering for quite a while. The slight translucence on the inside is barely apparent for the first bite, but by the time you reach your stride the residual heat has cooked the scallops to just the perfect degree.
Yohei Sushi. A Closer Look. 1111 Dillingham Blvd. in Kalihi. 841-3773. Lunch and dinner daily, except closed on Sunday. Parking in center lot. Prices: $$$. Map. I figured the further you get out of Waikiki or the town area, which is where most Japanese nationals live, the less traditional the sushi becomes. That is, until I went to Yohei’s! Deep within the heart of Kalihi you will find great sushi, fresh fish and other items brought in from Japan two or three times per week, as well as locally, in an ambience that is undeniably Japanese. The owner/chef has a brother who owns Maguro-ya, which is in Kaimuki (3565 Waialae Ave., 732-3775), and is a smallish, similar restaurant that also has a sushi bar, along with many other traditional dinner sets complete with sides of tsukemono, miso soup, chawan mushi, and more. Any fish choices here are sure to please, especially the karei karaage (fried flounder), and the hot-pot nabe is delicious, with its steaming bowl of crab, scallop, oysters, shrimp, fish, and veggies.
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Nothing goes to waste! At Mitch's, you see the critter live first, right before its top gets boiled in miso soup or it's bottom chopped up into sashimi.
Mitch’s Fish Market. 524 Ohohia st. near the airport. 837-7774. 11:30am-7:30pm daily. Parking outside store or on street Prices: $$$. Map. Quite the interesting name for a sushi restaurant, but this little hide-away stands up to and often surpasses the big boys of sushi in every way! The only drawbacks are that the parking is tight fronting the store and, because it has grown out of a wholesale fish market that holds a large variety of fresh fish and seafoods, it does still smell just a wee bit like, well – a fishmarket! For some, though, the whole ambience and industrial feel is absolutely delightful, reminding me of one of the small, unassuming sushi shops located in and around the large wholesale fish markets of Japan, such as the undisputed King - Tsukiji Market in Tokyo. They may look humble, but as for authenticity and sheer freshness of seafoods, they are tough to be beat! Owner Craig Mitchell, a warm and inviting chap from South Africa, has employed skilled chefs from Japan that present a wide variety of sushi and sashimi sliced as fresh and as large as you’ll see almost anywhere. Besides a great toro, they have a beautiful spiny lobster sashimi, a great abalone, and large party platters that should be ordered ahead of time. I definitely recommend getting reservations, as the shop is very small and quickly becoming a rising star.
Kin-chan Sushi. A Closer Look. 500 Ala Moana Blvd. at the Restaurant Row in Kakaako. 534-0088. Lunch and dinner Monday-Friday, dinner only Saturday. Parking in Center lot. Prices: $$$$. Map. This little shop at the row was recently closed down for a while, but as of the last year or so, opened up again, much to the delight of devoted regulars and sushi enthusiasts everywhere. The new shop is clean, well-designed, and attractive, giving off that hide-away type of sushi-bar-feel you just love to find! There are only a few tables nestled around the 15-20 or so seats surrounding the wrap-around sushi bar itself, where the kind Chef works feverishly to keep up with the action.
| The sushi bar action at Yanagi's gets hot 'n heavy, lemme tell ya! |  |
Yanagi Sushi. A Closer Look. 762 Kapiolani Blvd. in Kakaako. 597-1525. Lunch and dinner daily, late night till 2am nightly except for Sunday closed at 10pm. Small parking lot, valet only during busy hours. Prices: $$$. Map. For a long time Yanagi’s was undeniably the place to be, although these days, many other places have risen to crowd the upper echelons of the sushi world. Pictures of celebrities and dignitaries from around the world adorn the walls, and during dinner-time hours valet parking is mandatory and seating difficult without reservations. There are also many teishoku (set course) meals available, along with all of your sushi stalwarts like uni, ama-ebi, maguro, hamachi, and a live abalone that they pull out of a tank, quickly slice up, and serve while still alive and twitching! After 10:30 they carry a 20% off menu, which is much smaller (1 page) than the regular menu, but does offer a decent variety of favorites.
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Quality sushi at Zippy's? You bet! This chiraishi bowl (rice not pictured) is typical of the large slices of fresh fish used here. |
Zippy’s Sushi. 2 locations: 4134 Waialae Ave. in Kahala, 733-3737; and 806 Kamehameha Hwy. in Pearl City (map shown), 433-3715. Lunch and dinner daily. Parking outside both stores. Prices: $$$. Map. I know, I know - you thought you were picking up fried chicken and chili, right? Well, you can still find all your local favorites, but that's not all, folks! These guys have some truly gigantic slices (especially the Pearl City location) of a wide variety of sashimi, especially the fish choices like ahi, salmon, and hamachi. You can also order set dinners like shrimp tempura, chicken katsu, and even ochazuke bowls. The Kahala and Aiea locations are the only ones to offer full-fledged sushi bars, so don’t bother looking for sushi at the other Zippy’s restaurants.
| Soft-shelled crab sushi tucked-away in the Breakers Hotel on Beachwalk St. |  |
Wasabi Bistro. A Closer Look. 250 Beachwalk at the Breakers Hotel in Waikiki. 922-1133. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner nightly. Parking at Bank of Hawaii (formerly ANA) Building on the corner of Kalakaua Ave. and Beachwalk after 6pm. Prices: $$$. Map. Part of a small chain of restaurants in Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, this quirky restaurant can’t be seen from the Beachwalk road. You’ll have to find the Breakers Hotel, across from Ginza Bairin, then walk past the pool and into the small open-air location. The menu, service, and certain aspects of the dining room are elegant and upscale, but the part-tarp, part straw, part shoji roof, combined with the economy hotel surroundings and general quirkiness of the place make it a curious combination, indeed. There are teishoku sets, ala carte items like miso butterfish, chicken karaage, and tenpura, along with, of course, lots of sashimi and sushi, and not just traditional sushi – there are spider, dynamite, and several other fusion rolls that would even make Sansei proud.
Morio’s Sushi Bistro. 2443 Kuhio Ave. in the same store of Ruffage Natural Foods in Waikiki. 741-5121. Dinner nightly except closed Sunday. Street or public parking only. Prices: $$$. Map. The ultimate sushi hole-in-the-wall! Forget about the Zen and hush-hush of traditional Japan, as this tiny store with an 8-person sushi bar and a few more tables carries much more of a street-wise edge, with straight-talking jokester and Chef Morio-san often pushing the party himself with his personable attitude and sense of humor. To get here, find the pink building right across from Hy’s Steakhouse, then look for Ruffage Natural Foods, which actually shares the property by making room for Morio’s Bistro by night! Chef Morio is actually also a fish wholesaler like Mitch’s Fishmarket, so you can be assured the absolute freshest of seafoods! Prices are well below the norm for this quality of top-shelf sushi, along with a few izakaya-type dishes, and being byob, you’ll save even more money. Be sure to make reservations!
| Despite being a hole-in-the-wall, Gaan serves some very classy sushi and other exquisite, traditional Japanese dishes! |  |
Gaan. 2375 Ala Wai Blvd. at the Sand Villa Hotel in Waikiki. 922-3399. Dinner nightly except closed Monday. Valet parking in hotel or on street. Prices: $$$$. Map. This tiny cubby-hole at the little-known Sand Villa Hotel in Waikiki once carried sushi and izakaya-like small courses, but have since changed their menu to several omakase (Chef’s choice) courses ranging from $38-$80. Though the hotel may not be anything fancy, the store itself is an oasis of Japanese style and attitude, with menu choices all as exquisitely delicate and finely nuanced as you’d expect from a top-shelf sushi restaurant. Gaan takes pride in their traditional Edo-style sushi, using no additives or preservatives, specific types of red vinegar, the best rice, and the freshest of fish. Definitely a jewel in the rough sure to please hard-core sushi enthusiasts.
