Palace Saimin

I remember when I was 7 years old and taking karate lessons.  Every Saturday after practice, my mom would ask what I wanted to eat for lunch...saimin???  You got it!  And not just any saimin...it had to be from Palace.  This place was located right behind the hall where the karate lessons were, and you can bet we were there every Saturday afternoon. 

Many, many years later (too many to count)...and this place is still here, still serving the same great saimin.  What is saimin you ask?  It's the comfort food of Hawaii.  I can't name anyone who doesn't eat it, let alone anyone that doesn't like it.  All it is, really, is a bowl of noodles with soup and garnishes, usually green onions and char siu.  What really makes, or breaks, this dish is the soup...and the soup here at Palace is #1.  I couldn't even tell you what actually goes into this soup, but I do know that what I make at home doesn't compare.

The menu here hasn't changed in at least the last 20 years.  It's still on a board on the wall and still contains only 6 items:  saimin, wun tun soup, wun tun min, udon, wun tun udon and Bar-BQ (sticks).

Tonight is a perfect night for saimin.  It's a bit cool and rainy.  When I arrive, only one of the 8 tables is still available.

I quickly seat myself and order a large wun tun min(US$4.00) and 4 Bar-BQ beef sticks(US$1.50 each) (I'll take 2 home).  When the bowl of wun tun min arrives it's steaming hot!

Wun tun min is a bowl of noodles in soup, with wun tun (or won ton) and garnished with char siu (Chinese barbeque pork) and green onions.  Shortly after the bowl of wun tun min arrives, the Bar-BQ beef sticks are delivered.

The Bar-BQ beef sticks are made with lean, tender pieces of choice beef, marinated in a sweet soy sauce and then grilled over a charcoal grill in the kitchen.  These are the best bar BQ beef sticks that I have ever eaten! 

20 years from now, I hope to still be enjoying saimin and especially the saimin and Bar-BQ beef sticks at Palace!

Palace Saimin
1256 North King Street
Telephone:  808.841.9983

Comments

[Renee]

oh my! those beef skewers look FANTASTIC!
and what generous-sized wantans!
: )

[AL]

*drooool*

[FatMan Seoul]

Hi Reid, finally found time to pop by! Long overdue, I know. Nice .... :o)

[Min]

I've tried hawaiian bbq beef sticks before and yup it's really delicious!:D~~

[Reid]

Min & Renee...yes, they are very yummy! This is a must have for me and it's also the one thing that makes or breaks a saimin stand.

FatMan Seoul...welcome!

[Wena]

sigh. when can i ever eat those things again?

[Clinton]

Beautiful Reid,

Thanks for the blog. This is a must the next time we go back to the islands. I'm starting to drool now!

[Reid]

Hi Clinton,

Thanks. Hope you make it here. When you do, let me know what you think.

[Jo]

oh my gosh... ::happy sigh:: yep yep yep, I gots ta try that Reid, really I do! Now why on earth didn't any of your posts pop up BEFORE I went to Hawaii?!?! Our vacation would have been SO much different! Well, no use crying over spilt saimin... Questions:
1. What is the plain wun tun like?
2. Are the 2 udon versions the noodle equivalent of the the min?

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

How long ago were you here? I only started this blog in April '04.

Plain won ton is won ton and broth, no noodles. And you're correct. The udon dishes substitute udon noodles for the thin saimin noodles.

[lance]

Reid,

I finally got a chance to check out Palace Saimin after a long break (since college days). I think I might have figured out the broth. As soon as I walked in I could smell the shrimp and bonito broth. And now I can confirm by my allegric reaction that they do have a light shrimp flavor in their broth and a strong bonito flavor. What you think? Could it be a bonito shrimp broth? Or scallop powder?

[Olivian]

Gonna be there in November...same as Clinton, my cuz. Can't wait!

Aloha,

Olivian

[Reid]

Hi Lance,

I'm sorry you had an allergic reaction to the broth at Palace Saimin. Maybe that's why you haven't been there in years. If you ask me, it tastes like bonito, but maybe not shrimp. It could either be scallops or clams. I'm really not sure.

Hi Olivian,

Welcome to my blog!

Woo hoo! Hope you have a nice time while you're here. Eat up!

[lance]

Thanks, after walking in and my nose started tingling, I knew it would be some kind of shellfish in the broth, but had to make sure by having the saimin. The ultimate test, allegric reaction. But the allegric reaction goes away in about three hours, so that was a small sacrifice for knowledge of a recipe. Too bad, I don't have different reactions to different shellfish, that way, I could pin down the ingredient exactly. hahaha..... Too bad, the Chinese restraurant across the street is gone. The owner/cook make a great noodle soup and his secret ingredients, which gave the added flavor, was scallop powder. If only you could taste that soup and compare. I used to really enjoy going there, as he didn't mind you standing in the kitchen while he cooked and he'll tell you everything you'd like to know. He also was the cook at the infamous "Tin Tin" restraurant in downtown.

[Clinton]

Lance,

Tin tin on Maunakea St. was one of my all time favorites. One thing that sticks in my mind was the dark yellow mustard they used which had little black flecks in it. Most other Chinese restaurants use something very similar to the Coleman's mustard but not there. I have not seen anyone else use it since the olden days of my youth.

[Clinton]

Since we're on the subject of saimin, there seemed to have been a distinct difference between Chinese and Japanese saimin as I saw it. The Japanese-type noodles were much more flour-y and curly while the Chinese noodles had a more soba taste and texture...kind of long and slippery if I had to describe it. Each also had their own distinct soup base taste. As I had mentioned prior, I'm still on my personal quest for the Holy Grail of the best saimin.

[lance]

Clinton,

I hope you find your favorite combination of flavors and noodles for the best saimin ever. Probably the difference of texture and flavor between the chinese noodles and the saimin noodles have to do with a different combination of flours and the use of lye water, plus probably the use or no use of eggs. Reid would probably know. I haven't gotten into the experimental stages of noodles yet. Only made pasta noodles so far. Some of the Singapore blogs make their own noodles from scratch and have posted their recipes. Sorry, I can't think of whom at this time. Will check.

[Reid]

Hi Lance,

What Chinese restaurant across the street? By the way, Chinese-style handmade noodles are much different than saimin noodles and I hear that the noodles are a guarded secret. I'm hoping never to have to make my own noodles.

Hi Clinton,

Well, with most of the mom and pop places gone, it will be hard to find really good saimin. Personally, my favorite is still Palace with Hamura's on Kauai coming in a close 2nd. I know that Hamura's used to use king clam to flavor the broth, but they don't do it anymore, which is why the saimin doesn't taste like it used to. Bummers....

[lance]

Here's an interesting article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Well, it's an obituary for Aiko Hamura, the co-founder of Hamura Saimin Stand. It states, "The original broth for the saimin was made with Hokkigai clams, but they became too difficult to get and too expensive, and the couple devised a new blend of chicken broth and dried shrimp, which is used today." There's also a little history. "http://starbulletin.com/2002/01/27/news/story10.html". If Clinton or yourself is interested, Lily from Lily Wai Sek Hong blog makes homemade hokkienn mee. http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/07/fresh-homemade-hokkien-mee.html There's also blogs that make chow fun noodles from scratch. I also found a recipe for hand-pulled noodles.
I forgot the name of the chinese restaurant, but it is now replace by Sea Dragon restaurant next to Saimin House. Don't know why they closed down. Would you know?

[Reid]

Hi Lance,

Actually I think Aiko's daughter-in-law runs Hamura's now. I used to go there quite often when my grandfather worked on Kauai back in the mid-70s. In fact, we were in Kauai practically every other weekend on those small 6 seater charter planes. It was quite fun! The saimin was much better then than it is now. Too bad. The noodles there are great though!

[lance]

Several months ago, I went back to Hilo for a visit and my mom told me to take whichever cookbooks I wanted as she hardly cooks anymore. Found a cookbook called, "Gail Wong's Authentic Chinese Recipes" copyrighted 1955. In the introduction it says, "Mrs. Wong, a life-long resident of Hawaii, had many years experience as a restrautateur..........." Anyways enough background. Found a recipe that's very intriguing. I'll write it exactly as it's written:

Noodles In Soup (Sai Mein)

1/2 box canton noodles
1/4 lb. sweet pork (char siu)
2 stalks green onion (minced)
2 beaten eggs (fried thin and shredded)
Chinese parsley

Cook noodles in boiling water until done. Do not overcook. Drain and run cold water through noodles immediately. Beat eggs and fry very thin. Cut into thin strips. Slice pork into thin slices. Fill serving bowls half full with noodles and pour soup (page 150) over them to fill the bowls. Garnish with egg strips, pork, green onion and parsley.
-----------
Page 150
How To Make Soup Stock
Chicken bones, neck and feet
Pork bones
3 dried scallops (washed)
1 piece chung choi (washed)
1 slice ginger
1 stalk celery
1/2 tsp. ve-tsin (monosodium glutamate)
salt to taste
water (allow 1 cup per person)
Simmer chicken bones, neck, feet, dried scallops, pork bones, ginger, chung choi and all other ingredients in as much water as needed for 60 minutes or more. Strain. This stock may be kept in the refrigerator for a week.
----------
Interesting isn't it. The word "Sai Mein". Was that the beginning of the word saimin? Or just her version?

[Reid]

Hi Lance,

Thanks for the recipe. I'm not sure how the soup will taste, but most often times, when I've made saimin at home, it's been shrimp/bonito based rather than chicken/pork based. That recipe does sound good though and if I were making this for a bunch of people, I'd definitely give it a try.

The words sai and mein in Chinese mean small and noodle. So the word saimin could have definitely come from that.

[lance]

Reid,

I was really surprised to see the chung choi and celery in the recipe. I know for sure that chung choi adds a lot of flavor to steam fish and its broth, so maybe. If you do make it, let me know how it turns out and visa versa.

[Reid]

Hi Lance,

Those to ingredients surprised me as well. If I do make this, I will definitely post it here.

Thanks again for sharing the recipe.

[Jo]

What is chung choi? By the way, I sure would like a concise listing of Chinese/Asian veggies so I can try to source seed before going East. With online ordering it might not be difficult from back there, but here I can pick up a lot of stuff from the store. I just don't know what's what.