'Ono Kine Grindz

Kuru Kuru Sushi

I first discovered Kuru Kuru Sushi a couple of years back and was I glad to have found this place.  A worthy competitor to Genki Sushi, this conveyor belt sushi restaurant serves decent food at affordable prices.  The prices have increased a bit over the last year (the spicy tuna donburi increased from $5.00 to $7.50), but for the price, this place really can't be beat.  Try to stop by on a weekend evening, and you'll see just how popular this place is.

Ahi poke

Masago

Kalbi

Ingen

Spicy unagi

Coffee jello

Kuru Kuru Sushi
Pearl Kai Shopping Center
98-199 Kamehameha Highway
Telephone: 808.484.4596

Kat's Sushi

I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

Kat's Sushi
715 South King Street Suite 105
Telephone: 808.526.1268

Genki Sushi

I'm not really one to visit "robot" sushi places as I think I'm a little old fashioned.  You see, I like to be able to interact with the guys behind the sushi counter -- talk to them about what's fresh, and most of all, find out what they enjoy.  This was my first ever visit to Genki Sushi, and let's just say that it might not be my last.

A couple of weeks ago, after spending a few hours at the mall, I was asked if I was hungry.  When I said yes, my friends asked if I had ever been to Genki Sushi.  Well, once they discovered that I had never eaten there, they told me that I didn't know what I was missing.

When we arrived, it was about 8:15 pm, and there were a few people there.  It was strange to see the plates of sushi going round the room on a little conveyor belt. 

What I didn't know at the time was that you could actually "order" sushi off the menu.  There were quite a number of choices available here -- much like you'd find in any sushi bar, except at 1/3 to 1/2 the price!  The prices start at US$1.35 for a "gold" plate, US$1.90 for a green one, US$2.45 for a red one, US$3.60 for a silver plate, and the most expensive plates, the "black" ones, are US$4.40.  This sort of tiered pricing system can either work for you or against you.  As you can see in the picture below, the items are pictured in the corresponding "plate" section of the menu so you know what to look out for on the conveyor belt.

Tobikko (green, US$1.90).

Vegetable croquette (gold, US$1.35).

Inari (gold, US$1.35).

Ahi (tuna; red, US$2.45).

Chicken karaage (red, US$2.45).

Shishamo (river smelt; gold, US$1.35)

Ebi (shrimp; green, US$1.90).

Dragon roll (silver, US$3.60).

The photos above represented a small sample of what we actually ate.  As you can see below, we enjoyed a few more dishes that were not photographed.

While the sushi here may not be of the best quality, the ingredients seemed fresh and some of the items sampled were just as good as any that I've had elsewhere -- the chicken karaage and the vegetable croquette come to mind.  The sushi is worth the price and now that I know about ordering from the menu, I'll be sure to visit again.

Genki Sushi
885 Kapahulu Avenue
Telephone:  808.735.7700

Sunrise Restaurant

After making a few calls this afternoon, a few of us decided to get together tonight for dinner.  Since everything was planned at the last minute, we wanted to go somewhere that didn't require reservations and that didn't require us to get dressed up.  Someone suggested Okinawan food, and since it was still early, we ended up here at Sunrise.

As you enter, you can hear the sound of Okinawan music as it fills the room.  The restaurant is small and cozy, with seating for about 25 people.  It was quite busy when we arrived as there were only a couple of tables available.

Besides a few specials listed on a couple of boards behind the sushi bar, the dinner menu is quite short.  Actually, there are 10 different items on the regular menu to chose from.  On the bottom of the single paged menu are the sushi combination dinners.

While snooping around in the condiment tray, which is something that I often do, I noticed this.  Anyone know what it is?  I wanted to open the bottle to smell the contents, but I decided not to.  These actually looked like pickled chili peppers if you ask me.

After placing our orders, the first items to arrive were the tea and some takuan (pickled daikon).

Two of us ordered the sushi combination with Okinawan soba (US$12.00).

Topped with a tender, meaty pork rib, the soup was further garnished by a lone slice of kamaboko (fish cake) and some chopped green onions.  The bowl here was on the small side, but it was full of noodles.  The broth was clear and had a meaty, slightly spicy flavor.  After eating some of the noodles in the bowl, I was surprised to see lots of benishoga (shredded pickled ginger) in the broth.

Here is a close up of the Okinawan soba noodles.  See how the noodles are thick and somewhat flat?  These noodles are usually made using wheat flour instead of buckwheat flour, which is what traditional soba noodles are made from.  These noodles were firm and slightly chewy -- perfectly cooked if you ask me.

(Sorry this one's a little blurry.)

The other two ordered the sushi combination with the special miso soup (US$12.00).

The miso and shrimp flavored broth was garnished with a slice of kamaboko, some chopped green onions and a shrimp head.  After digging through the bowl of soup, we discovered it filled with all sorts of stuff -- bean sprouts, tofu, luncheon meat (!), wakame (seaweed), salmon, daikon and Chinese cabbage.  I'm not sure if I missed anything, but if I did, it's because there was quite a bit in that little bowl of soup.

This was the sushi platter that was served with our combination meals.

It contained three pieces of tekka maki (tuna roll), three pieces of kappa maki (cucumber roll), two pieces maguro (tuna), two pieces hamachi (yellowtail), one piece tako (octopus), one piece unagi (eel), a pile of gari (pickled ginger) and a mound of wasabi.  The fish was fresh, and I felt we were given a nice assortment of sushi.  As always, my favorites were the hamachi and the unagi.

The food here at Sunrise is good, and to some, it's just like homemade.  Even though the portions may seem small, by the time you're done eating, you realize that you're full.  All those things, along with the homey atmosphere, the prompt service and the not-so-usual flavors and dishes, give me enough reasons to keep coming back.

Sunrise Restaurant
525 Kapahulu Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.4118

Ninja Sushi

Several months ago, I did a post on Sushi Supreme.  Well, that shop has since closed and a new sushi shop, Ninja Sushi, has opened in its place.  I've been wanting to try this place for a while, so today seemed as good a time as any.

Ninja Sushi has a layout that's similar to the two previous occupants of this space -- a walk up counter and a few seats upstairs for those who prefer to dine in.  What's really different is the take-out window on the Union Mall side of the building.

After looking over the colorful photographs on the menu, I decided to order the tiger maki (special US$5.99, regular US$7.25).  This handroll was actually listed as a "Grand Opening" special.

It's an uramaki-style (reverse) handroll that has cucumbers, imitation crab sticks, mayonaisse and shrimp tempura on the inside, and some spicy ahi (tuna) and chopped green onions on top.

Here is another view.

The flavors of the ingredients complimented each other quite well.  I really enjoyed the combination of the imitation crab, shrimp and ahi.  The one thing that was missing, though, was the spiciness.  Next time, I'll ask for more wasabi in my sushi.

Besides maki sushi, Ninja Sushi offers party-sized sushi platters, nigiri sushi, inari sushi and several types of donburi.  Since this particular roll was such a tasty success, I most definitely will be back soon to try some of the other interesting menu items.  I was also impressed by the quick preparation of my order and by the prices on the menu, all of which seem to be quite reasonable.

Ninja Sushi
1150 Bishop Street
Telephone:  808.541.9797

Sushi Supreme

UPDATE:  December 2004
Sushi Supreme has closed.
Ninja Sushi now occupies this space.

Several days ago, I went out to lunch with a couple of friends from the office.  We ended up getting lunch from Sushi Supreme.

This is basically a take-out sushi place, however, they do have a few seats upstairs in a small cramped dining area (I think there maybe 12 seats there).  We decided to get our lunch to go and enjoy it outside in the nice warm sun.  I ordered the Creamy Ahi (tuna) Dynamite Roll (US$6.95)

Comparable in price to many other sushi restaurants, the only thing this place lacks is the ambiance.  Otherwise, the food you'll find here is on par with some of the best.  The sushi took a little while to be prepared, but at least it was fresh. 

This sushi is actually eight pieces of uramaki (reverse rolled) California roll sushi (imitation crab, avocado and cucumber).  The topping is made from ahi, mayonaisse, masago (smelt roe), sweet unagi (eel) glaze, Thai chilli sauce and a bit of sesame oil.  It's then baked and topped with sesame seeds.

The combination of flavors in this is just simply amazing.  No, it's definitely not sushi in the traditional sense, but it sure is delicious!  Have another look at this...

Sushi Supreme offers something for everyone from nigiri (hand-pressed) sushi to miso soup and more.  Although I can't eat this for lunch all the time, I do make it a point to come here at least once a month for some of the best lunchtime sushi around.

Sushi Supreme
1150 Bishop Street
Telephone:  808.531.9000

Sushi King

Hungry for some Japanese food at an incredible price?  Head on over to Sushi King. 

They have a full service sushi bar as well as lots of seats for diners.  You can even have them keep your bottle of saké for you behind the bar.

They've got a midnight special that won't break the bank or your wallet.  The dinners are served with tonjiru-style miso soup that has lots of tasty ingredients...pork, onions, daikon (Japanese white radish), carrots, green onions, potatoes and kuro konnyaku (devil's tongue gelatin).  Check this out!

Tonight I have the chirashi special (US$11.45).  This loosely translates to "scattered sushi".  What I get tonight is a treat!  I've got toro (fatty tuna), hokkigai (surf clam), and seared maguro (tuna) sashimi (sliced raw fish).  I also have ama ebi (sweet shrimp), maguro (tuna) and hirame (flounder) nigiri sushi.  Also included is sushi meshi (which is rice flavored with a combination of rice-wine vinegar, sugar and salt), tamago (which is a slightly sweet, Japanese-style scrambled egg), kaiware (radish sprouts), tobiko (flying fish roe), shredded daikon (Japanese white radish) and shiso (perilla or beefsteak) leaf.

Also popular are the combination platters (US$7.45), these are served with rice, salad that's topped with a miso dressing and your choice of California roll or inari sushi (sushi rice stuffed in a deep-fried tofu pocket).  Tonight we have the shrimp and vegetable tempura with California roll:

There are 2 pieces of shrimp and one piece each of broccoli, potato and zucchini tempura.

As usual, we also have a side order of chicken karaage (deep-fried) (US$4.95)  that's served with lemon.

If you're looking for some delicious Japanese food at a reasonable price (and at a late hour!), look no further than Sushi King.

Sushi King
2700 South King Street
Telephone:  808.947.2836