Teshima's Restaurant - Kealakekua, Hawaii

Lunch at Teshima's was a difficult decision as I had also wanted to have lunch at the Aloha Angel Café.  Teshima's was a recommendation from a reader of this blog who actually lives in Honolulu, but was raised on the Kona side of the Big Island.

According to this sign on the wall in the main dining area, Teshima's started out as a general merchandise store, retailing beer and wine, in 1929.  In the years that followed, Teshima's expanded until it became a full fledged restaurant in 1940.

I arrived at the restaurant first and proceeded to stand in line.  There was a full house here at 1:00 pm on a Sunday afternoon.  As we proceeded to wait, the line of patrons behind us started to build.  After 15 minutes of waitiing, we were finally offered a seat, not in the main dining area, but in the dining area off to the side.

Looking over the menu proved to be no easy task.  There were so many things here that I really wanted to try.  In the end, I decided on one of my favorite comfort foods, pork tofu "in-a-kettle" (US$9.75).

This dish was served with rice, miso soup, tsukemono (salted vegetables), sunomono (sweetened vinegared vegetables) and some ocha (hot tea).  Here's a close up of the pork tofu.

In the pot were chunks of tofu, julienned bamboo shoots, slightly chewy shirataki (thin konnyaku noodles), some thinly sliced onions and shiitake mushrooms, chopped green onions, slippery long rice noodles and quite a bit of sliced pork.  Although most of the pork was tender, there were quite a few gristly parts in the pot as well, making this a challenge to eat.  The sauce which was flavored with shoyu, sugar and ginger, was just a little too sweet for me.

I addition to my lunch set, I also ordered the shrimp tempura appetizer (US$6.00).

Included were two pieces of shrimp, two pieces of eggplant, as well as two pieces of Okinawan sweet potato (there was something else as well, was it green beans?).  The tempura was crunchy and surprisingly, very light.  I appreciated the assortment of vegetables here and I was so happy that this wasn't oily.

Here is the "PUPU TRAY" (US$9.00).  I had planned to order it, but I wasn't quick enough.

Included in the tray was vegetable tempura, BBQ beef, and sashimi as well as a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, tsukemono, and sunomono.

Does this fish look fresh or what?

When asked if I wanted dessert, I really couldn't make up my mind one way or the other.  The waitress recommended the chocolate truffle (US$3.75), which she said was one of their more popular offerings.  Sure, why not right?

When the dessert arrived, I thought to myself is that it?  I took the spoon, scooped up some of the dessert and aimed for my mouth.

At first, the thick consistency and firm texture of the truffle reminded me of fudge.  Then, as the chocolatey goodness dissolved in my mouth, the flavor reminded me of...what else?...chocolate truffles.  Cool and smooth, this had just the right combination of bitter and sweet flavors.  Much thanks to the waitress who recommended this dessert.  It was perfect for sharing over a cup of coffee.

The food here at Teshima's was quite good, though not great.  It was flavorful and tasty, just like the food straight out of Mom's kitchen.  The prices here were quite reasonable considering the amount of food we received.  And the service?  Well, since it was really busy, I'll give them a break.  Because we weren't sitting in the main dining room, it took more than 15 minutes for someone to come by to take our orders.  Once our order was placed, the food arrived in a timely manner.  Water and coffee, however, were not refilled regularly.  I guess the old adage "out of sight, out of mind" applied to us on this particular visit.  Would I come back?  Well, if I wasn't in a hurry, and if I was in the mood for some value-priced, homestyle cooking, I just might consider it.

Teshima's Restaurant
79-7251 Mamalahoa Highway
Kealakekua, Hawaii
Telephone:  808.322.9140