Kiwami Ramen

Recently I've been craving ramen.  When I get this way, two things happen.  The first, is a planned shopping trip.  The second, is a planned shopping trip to Waikiki.  Waikiki is loaded with ramen shops, and good ones at that.  I guess it's because of all the Japanese tourists that come to visit.  Previously, I stopped in at Tenkaippin, and Ramen Nakamura.  Tonight, I didn't feel like eating at either one, and went searching for another place.  Entering the food court at the basement level of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, I came upon this sign.

Turning the corner, I saw the entrance to Kiwami Ramen.  I started by looking at the menu that was posted outside the shop next to the front door.  The prices seemed to be quite reasonable, and the place was full of Japanese (usually a good sign).

There were no tables available for us to sit down at, so instead, we had a seat at the counter.  Most of us in the shop had just arrived and were waiting to place our orders.  After reading the menu more thoroughly, I placed my order and waited.

About 5 minutes later, my mini shio ramen (US$5.25) was delivered.

According to the menu, the clear broth was seasoned with Hawaiian salt and scallops.  After a couple of sips, I came to the following conclusion -- the broth was very lightly flavored, and it was not salty.  The noodles were thin and done perfectly in the Japanese style, which means they were still firm.  Most often times, the noodles will be cooked a bit longer to appeal to locals, but not here.  The toppings that were included at no charge were menma (pickled bamboo shoots), chopped green onions and corn.  This was quite good and I ended up finishing the entire bowl of broth.

Along with my mini shio ramen, I also ordered a medium charsu (roast pork) rice (US$3.50).

When the bowl arrived, I was pleasantly surprised.  I saw two pieces of sliced charsu and quite a nice pile of cubed charsu as well.  The charsu was on a bed of white rice, then garnished with a "tasty" baked egg and topped with some chopped green onions. The marinated egg was tasty and delicious.  The charsu, while not melt-in-the-mouth tender, was lean, moist and slightly sweet.  Instead of just serving the charsu as is, they included a bit of sauce which made this taste even better.  In fact, I finished the entire bowl of rice because of it.

Since I never go to Waikiki alone, I brought a friend along who ordered the shoyu "AO" ramen (US$7.50).

I took a sip of the broth and found that unlike traditional shoyu based ramen, this was also quite light and not too salty.  The broth had a nice flavor with a slightly spicy kick to it, most likely because the bowl was full of mizuna (Japanese mustard greens).

The ramen here at Kiwami was much better than I anticipated.  The light stock was a welcome change from the heavier, and often times, saltier stocks found at other ramen shops.  The service was excellent, with our ramen being delivered about 5 minutes after our orders were placed.  The prices here were quite reasonable for the quality and quantity of food provided.  Recommended.

Oh, and one other thing that I forgot to mention.  Prior to handing us the bill, our server asked if we were Hawaii residents, to which we replied, "yes".  When the bill arrived, we had discovered 15% deducted from the cost of each dish.  How's that?

Kiwami Ramen
Waikiki Shopping Plaza
2250 Kalakaua Avenue Space LL102
Telephone:  808.924.6744

Comments

[Kirk]

That Shoyu Ramen looks realy interesting to me! I'm waiting for the description. Another impression based on your pics - looks like the lights are really bright in there. Anyway, I await your review.....

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

That shoyu "AO" ramen was not mine =(, but I intend to try it the next time I go. I did get a taste of the soup and found it to be delicious and a little spicy.

The shop was actually well lit in certain spaces. As you can see from the third photo, this shop had recessed lighting. The pictures look bright because I moved each dish under the light before taking the photo.

[Allen Wong]

Hey Reid,

I haven't had the time to check food blogs lately, but when I checked the feed from yours, I was shocked by how many I missed. I read through most of them, and I must say - I'm impressed. You did an amazing job of blogging California.

Kiwami Ramen looks really modern and appears to have a nice atmosphere. I usually associate that with a younger owner of the "new generation." Unfortunately, the times I've gone to restaurants with that kind of atmosphere usually ends up with disappointment.

On a more obscure note, I just really love the look of green onions floating in broth.

Allen

[stacey]

hi reid! where do you park when u go to waikiki? anyway, i love the firmer japanese style noodles. all that AND kama'aina price ??!?! i should spread the word!

[keona]

You're so lucky having so many good ramen stores. Bummer on that Kamaiiina rate thing ..grrrrr...I had to pay so much more for the dairy Queen in Waikiki.. Next time maybe I'll go yo wasssup bruddah gimme dakine flavor ( u think it'll work??hehehe)
We were taken to a nice homey japanese restaurant ( its very small and has beautiful Jpanese decor with that huge kettle holder and indoor hibachi and another out door eating area covered only by a zinc roof ) and you had posted it in one of your posts before .. now its just niggling at me as to what the name of that place is.

[Suebob]

Great - you get to live in Hawaii AND you get cheaper food. life ain't fair! But on the other hand, I guess you deserve a little something for putting up with hoardes of tourists all year long.

[babe_kl]

the charsu rice looked so yummy... feeling hungry already even though i just down 4 slices of kaya toasts

[Jo]

I'm with you Allen Wong! Nothing beats a beautiful "float" of green onions. I have them growing in my garden and bring them in as needed. I'm thinking of making udon for dinner with some marinated beef in a chicken broth, fresh sting beans, tofu, rice, & lemon.... LOTS of onion!

[Oliver]

Hey Reid,
Although Allen and Jo already pointed it out, I have to chip in and say that the mini shio ramen (with the green onions) look delish. I wish we had just parts of the variety of Asian cuisines here in Munich...Not that there aren't any places...it just seems that the one's here can't hold the candle to yours... ;-)

[Reid]

Hi Allen,

Thanks for taking the time to read all of those posts. I'm sure that you were quite busy. How did you finals go?

I too love lots of green onions in my bowl of ramen. I don't always get too many though. =(

Hi Stacey,

When I go to Waikiki I normally park at the King Kalakaua Plaza, which is where Niketown and Banana Republic are. They offer a kama'aina parking rate of $1.00 per hour with a validation and a Hawaii drivers license.

Hi Keona,

Yes, I'm really happy that we have so many good ramen places to choose from. Must be because of the demand from all those Japanese tourists. =)

You might be able to get away with that, as long as you can say it convincingly. Even I can't do that. I guess it's because I speak with a local accent I guess.

I think the restaurant that you are speaking of is called Yamagen. I did a post of it a while back.

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2004/12/restaurant_yama.html

Hi Suebob,

I think they give us locals a break because not too many of us go to Waikiki. This is good because if for some reason tourists stop visiting, the shops have already built up a local customer base. There used to be a retail store in Waikiki that used to give it's employee discount to local customers to encourage them to shop there. Sadly, the shop has since closed. =(

Hi babe_kl,

After I ate the charsu rice, I wanted more...even though I had just eaten the ramen as well. =P

Hi Jo,

Sounds great! I wish I was there to enjoy it with you! =(

Hi Oliver,

Nice to see you again. I love the green onions too. It really is nice that we have such a great selection of Japanese and other Asian cuisines here. They are not all great, but when they are, they're really good.

I can understand how you wish you had more of this sort of stuff in Munich. I wish that there were more of a selection of European foods here. There are a couple of Austrian places, and maybe a French place or two, but that's really about it.

[keona]

Thanks Reid. Finally I can put my mind at rest...:) You know how it is..its like having a tune in ur head and cant remember what the title was.

[Trisha]

Hi Reid! It looks great. I hae passed by but never tried this place. It's always crowded when I go. Oh BTW, the 15% is the automatic tip that they remove when you are a local. Japanese don't have a tipping system in Japan so many places that serve a lot of tourists automatically put a 15% tip in their total bill. They take it out if you are local. Nakamura Ramen does that too.

[umami]

I love japanese char su, makes me wonder why our local ramen shops ( what few mediocre ones are around) does not offer charsu rice like yours in their menu.

[pinkcocoa]

hi Reid
Ohh I like ramen with light broth :) Your charsu rice looks just gorgeous and so full of charsu, esp. the cubed charsu!! I only wish we have something similar here in Sydney!! *hmmrrrfff not fair*

[Reid]

Hi Keona,

I know exactly what you mean. =)

Hi Trisha,

Thanks for that bit of information, however, usually when the tip is included in the price, it's noted on the menu. I'll make sure to check, or ask, nextime.

Maybe that's why she was surprised to receive the 15% and then some when I paid for the meal. Hmmmmm.

Hi umami,

I don't know why they don't sell Japanese charsu in Singapore either. I guess it's because most Chinese people prefer the real stuff. *shrugs shoulders*

I must say though that the charsu rice here is wonderful. I thought of driving back to Waikiki today just to have some more of it! =)

Hi pinkcocoa,

I also like lighter tasting broths with my ramen, but then again, every now and then, I'll order a miso or shoyu based broth just for a change of pace. The charsu rice here was great! I thought that Sydney would have lots of wonderful Japanese restaurants, especially since so many Japanese visit Australia. Hmmmm.

[keiko]

Reid, you're making me homesick... a lot!

[Reid]

Hi Keiko,

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!

I take it that you really miss the ramen in Japan. I do too. In fact, while we do have a lot of good ramen shops here in Hawaii, I think the ones in Japan are much better. Too bad you can't get really good ramen in London.

Hope to hear from you again!

[Joanne]

I just wanted to thank you for reviewing this place. I visited Honolulu this past week and usually don't eat out in Waikiki. Kiwami Ramen was really tasty - I definitely wouldn't have stopped to try it had it not been for your blog! :)

[Reid]

Hi Joanne,

I'm glad you liked Kiwami Ramen. I like it too. This is one of the places that I eat at when I'm in Waikiki.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[ernie]

Had lunch here recently and the food was quite good and the ambience clean and bright. The service however, was a little impatient as we were asked three times if ready to order in less than a span of ten minutes, and our server attempted to remove side-dishes before we were finished eating. It wasn't busy and the place was less than half full. In all, the food wasn't worth the bother.