Bistro A Un

For several years now, I've passed by Bistro A Un on my way to CoCo Ichibanya, never giving a second thought to the restaurant that used "shower curtains" as window dressings.  Several weeks ago, however, my curiosity finally got the best of me.  I was walking by with a friend on my way to eat curry, when I decided to stop and read the menu board outside.  There were a number of interesteing, reasonably priced dishes on the menu, so we decided to give this place a chance.

Entering the restaurant, I discovered the place to be empty.  On one side of the room was a bar, on the other, were five or six tables situated along a wall of banquette type seating.  The soft, dim lighting made the inside of the restaurant feel quite relaxing and created the perfect atmosphere for a quiet night out.

Since we had already looked over the menu outside, there were a couple of dishes that we ordered right away.  The first to be ordered, and to arrive at the table, was the omurice with pork cutlet (US$8.75).

Under the egg "omlette" was a pile of fried rice that had been seasoned with ketchup and onions.  A lot of ketchup was also poured on top of the rice, giving it a lot of sweetness.  The tonkatsu (pork cutlet) was crisp and well fried.  Lacking the usual oiliness, the pieces of tonkatsu were also quite tender.

Next to arrive were the crabmeat croquettes (US$4.75).

Crunchy and golden brown, the croquettes arrived in a pool of sauce.  Hot out of the fryer, the creamy insides spilled out after I took my first bite.  Along with the chunks of crab, these were sinful and quite tasty.

Following the croquettes was the eggplant gratin (US$5.50).

Thick pieces of eggplant were first topped with a tomato based sauce and lots of cheese.  The eggplant was baked, resulting in a tender eggplant dish that was savory, gooey (from the melted cheese) and satisfying.

Shortly thereafter, the sautéed spinach with bacon (US$4.75) was brought to the table.

Fresh spinach was sautéed until tender with pieces of bacon.  This dish was a bit oily because it was probably sautéed in the bacon grease, but the spinach was also tender and smokey, just like the bacon.

Shortly after the spinach arrived, came the tofu leaf spring roll with shrimp (US$4.95).

When I saw this coming, I was actually disappointed.  I actually ordered this because I was curious to see what tofu leaf actually meant (it meant yuba).  The crisp and crunchy spring rolls were filled with cabbage and tiny pieces of shrimp.  The rolls were good, but not exceptional.

And finally, our last dish arrived,, the deep fried yakisoba (US$8.95).

I was actually quite interested in seeing how this was going to turn out.  To my eye, it reminded me of cake noodles that we get here.  Pan fried noodles topped with gravy, vegetables and meat.  Ordinary and my least favorite dish.

The food here at Bistro A Un is a bit eclectic, and that's not really a bad thing.  You can enjoy standards, like the omurice with tonkatsu here, or you can enjoy something fusion, like the eggplant gratin.  There really is something for everyone here, and most often, the food is good to better than average.  Although the serving sizes are a bit small, I found the prices to be quite reasonable.  Besides, we like to share, right?  The service is great and the staff is helpful in providing recommendations.  I definitely look forward to visiting Bistro A Un again sometime soon.

Bistro A Un
McCully Shopping Center
1960 Kapiolani Boulevard Suite 107
Telephone:  808.947.4914

Comments

[clare eats]

hehhheheheh :) Shower curtains.You ARE SO RIGHT Reid LOL!

[Mama BoK]

Hey..Reid,
Do you have a good recipe for Omu Rice..??

[RONW]

da Eggplant Gratin....kinda creative isn't it. How's the cheeze match up with the taste of the eggplant?

[Kathy]

Yes! I've walk by countless times but never found the courage to stop it for fear of what kind of fusion food I may encounter - thank you for enlightening us! Can't wait to hear your opinion on the dishes.

[Lajja]

mmm....omurice! it's one of those comfort foods that taste best when made by someone else if not by mom.
Hopefully it was just as good??

[Easily Pleased]

they DO look like shower curtains! I'm surprised you didn't have to sit on toilet bowls as chairs! (wait... i could totally see someone doing some weird theme restaurant...)

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - Haven't heard of Omu Rice on a menu in years, maybe decades! The Eggplant Gratin - Nigiri looking thing, looke interesting, but very rich.

[Michele]

they do look a little bit like shower curtains, I can see why you were hesitant! But the food looks great, especially the eggplant and the crabmeat.. yum!

[Reid]

Hi Clare,

I keep thinking that everytime I pass by. I guess that's why I never wanted to go inside.

Hi Mama BoK,

I do have a recipe and I will e-mail it to you shortly! I promise.

Hi RONW,

The eggplant gratin was actually one of the better dishes here. The eggplant was creamy and the subtle sweetness of the tomato sauce went well with the cheese. Kind of reminded me of eggplant parmigiana.

Hi Kathy,

I felt the same way as you did. I'm glad I stopped. Everything was quite tasty and I will definitely go back.

Hi Lajja,

I LOVE omurice, though, I did find that there was too much ketchup on top. I think I need to make this at home soon.

Hi Easily Pleased,

Welcome to my blog!

I was actually alerted by one of my readers to a Japanese toilet restaurant. Here's a post someone did on their blog:

http://blogasian.com/andrew/index.php/2005/08/24/toilet-restaurant/

Hi Kirk,

It's actually quite hard to find omurice on menus here. I used to see them on Korean restaurant menus for a while, but not on Japanese ones. I love it, and I'm glad I found it here.

As for the eggplant gratin, it was probably the best dish here. It was way delicious and not as rich as it looks.

Hi Michele,

I'm glad I did finally have the courage to eat here. The eggplant gratin and the crabmeat croquettes were great!