Jimbo's Restaurant

A while back one of my readers mentioned that I should do a post on Jimbo's, and well, here I am.  Since a friend of mine had asked about this place as well, I brought him along.

Once inside, we took the table next to the kitchen and looked over the menu.  The interior of the restaurant was dimly lit and filled with lots of dark wood furniture.  There were quite a few people here, at about 2:00 pm, but the place was not as crowded as I had anticipated.

Jimbo's is known for their homemade udon noodles, so I decided to have the nabeyaki udon (US$9.10).

Nabeyaki udon is traditionally cooked and served in a donabe (earthenware) pot.  I don't know if this pot was a traditional donabe pot or not, but most of the times that I've eaten nabeyaki udon here in Hawaii, it came served in a pot similar to that in the picture above. 

This bowl contained lots of thick, homemade udon noodles that were perfectly cooked.  The udon noodles were topped with pieces of boneless chicken thigh, vegetables, a poached egg, one piece shrimp tempura, one piece eggplant tempura and one piece kamaboko (fishcake).  It was all swimming in a piping hot bowl of broth.  The broth, or dashi, tasted like it was shoyu based and it was nice -- not too salty and not too fishy.  The best part of this dish for me were the noodles.  Thick, slightly chewy, with just the right texture and doneness.

My friend on the other hand had the spicy beef yaki udon (US$7.25).

The udon noodles were stir fried with string beans, carrots and beef, then topped with some green onions, benishoga (red pickled ginger) and some spicy sauce.  While it looked tasty to me, I was told that this was just OK and not something to be ordered again.

I would definitely come here again for the hot udon, and I'd most likely want to try the cold udon dishes here too.  The service here is efficient, my bowl of udon arrived in about 3 minutes, and the wait staff is helpful.  The prices here are on par with most other saimin/ramen shops in town.  The main reason for coming here, though, would be for the perfectly cooked, homemade udon noodles.

Jimbo's Restaurant
1936 South King Street
Telephone:  (808)947-2211

Jimbo's Menu   
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Comments

[milgwimper]

Wooo! The noodles look so GOOD! I am totally drooling over them. I hope they were as good as they look? Is that a piece of egg plant on top of the Nabeyaki udon? What was that pink stuff on the spicey udon, shredded ginger? Looks good and i will sit here and impatiently wait for the report. ^_^

milgwimper

[Reid]

Hi Milgwimper,

The nabeyaki udon was good, and the yaki udon was not so good according to my friend that joined me. =(

It is indeed a piece of eggplant tempura on top of the nabeyaki and that's benishoga on top of the yaki udon.

[MrsT]

Yummy..!! too bad the fried udon wasn't that good.. but it did looked good though.. like you said.. ;) and i'm one who loves fried udon.. ;)

[stacey]

yay!! jimbos! that's exactly what I think about their noodles, it's rare that I can find noodles so PERFECTLY done. When I go there, I usually get Curry Udon, without the soup base. Just curry and the noodles...it's SOOO delicious. I don't understand how they get their noodles so perfect. I also think it's a little *too* dark in there sometimes though, especially if you're going for lunch.

[Jo Rutherford]

I adore noodles! Regardless of shape, size, ingredient, or country of origin. Question:
1. If you are going to "fry" udon, would you boil/steam them first?
2. Should they be fried at a normal heat or at high heat?
3. Do you need a lot of oil for the frying process?

In regard to the "kamaboko", I've seen this in the grocery store. It looks like an extruded, half moon shaped log about 3" or so long and is sold on a small wooden plank. Would any preparation be required for this ingredient beyond slicing it an placing it in the hot soup?

In Asian markets I see all kinds of noodles, fresh and dried. I would adore trying to prepare them but shy away because they are so unfamiliar. On one occasion I purchased a smallish package of udon which had a "seasoning" packet inside. The noodles were "fresh" or at least soft rather than dry. I put them in boiling, unsalted water, waited about 2 minutes until they were "dancing" in the water, added the seasoning gave the pot a stir and allowed them to continue to cook while I got a bowl. I poured them up and served them to my husband for lunch. I tried one but it's been a while and I've forgotten how the result tasted. I would like to try this again but with enough noodles to feed my entire family.

What kind of broth should I use? I keep Knorr bullion cubes on hand in fish, shrimp, chicken, and beef flavors. I also stock Mirin, Chinese & Korean soy sauce, rice vinegar, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce.

Geez, I've made myself hungry now. Somebody better answer quick because I have to make lunch soon and I do believe it's going to be udon... ;o)

[Julia]

Ooh, now you've got me all hungry, Reid! I haven't had much luck with udon, so this one at Jimbo's sounds really good to me. The toppings are gorgeous too. :)

[Julie_S]

Ooohh yummy! I like the Nabeyaki udon, but Jimbo's Curry Udon is the best!

[babe_kl]

mmmm yumyum nabeyaki udon!! IMHO the fried udon has too much sauce.

[Trisha]

One time I went in there for lunch and the owner came out to tell me that he just made my noodles. Can't get any fresher than that! I like their ozoni udon. It has plain mochi inside. Just like the soup but with udon. Yum! I also like the cold noodles. If you are brave, try the cold udon with natto!

[Reid]

Hi MrsT,

Yeah, too bad it wasn't good. My friend said that he wouldn't come here again because of it. =(

Hi Stacey,

I'm glad you like the noodles at Jimbo's because I did too. There are so many items on the menu that I want to try, but I will definitely try the curry udon soon! =)

Hi Jo,

I've never actually fried udon, so I'm not sure how much oil you'll have to use. I would say a tablespoon or two should be sufficient. If you're using "fresh" noodles, then no additional preparation is required.

Kamaboko is indeed the fishcake that comes on the wooden plank. It's already cooked so you can stick it in the bowl right before you eat it. I like to eat it cold out of the fridge too! =)

Now as for the dashi (broth), there really is a science to making it, and each dish has it's own type of dashi. What I've done in the past is use katsuobushi (shaved bonito) and konbu (kelp) to make the dashi, then combine with both mirin and shoyu (soy sauce) to make the broth. For added taste, add a clam or two and allow to cook in the broth. Trust me, the taste will be wonderful. If you can't bother with making homemade dashi, then the one in the package should be fine.

Hi Julia,

Udon is really easy to make. Maybe I can return the favor and share a recipe with you. It does take a while to make, especially since there are lots of ingredients that need to be prepared, but the next time I make nabeyaki udon at home, I'll post the recipe.

BTW...the toppings here were great. I especially liked the fishcake.

Hi Julie,

Both you and Stacey mentioned the curry udon at Jimbo's. Hmmmm.... I'm definitely going to have to try it then. I almost always order nabeyaki udon when I go out as I can't be bothered to make it at home! The process for making the dashi is too intense.

Hi babe_kl,

Do you like nabeyaki udon? It's probably my favorite besides kitsune udon which has aburage in it. Mmmmm. I agree with you, the spicy beef yaki udon had too much sauce on it, and I was told that it wasn't spicy.

Hi Trisha,

Wow! You're lucky if he made the noodles just for you. =) I haven't had the ozoni, but don't you find that it's just too much starch? The cold udon with natto.... I don't know about that. I'm not too fond of natto, at least the ones that I've eaten before.

[Jo Rutherford]

wow... What the heck is natto?

Reid:
I had to rush out and buy some udon and whipped it up for lunch yesterday. I didn't yet have your "dashi wisdom" so I left some dried shitake to soak while I ran to the store. The biggest package of udon was actually 3 individual packages with 3 packets of flavor powder. When I got home, I put water to boil, added the water I soaked the mushrooms in and some shoyu & mirin. Then came some thin sliced carrots and yellow onions, followed leftover terriyaki burgers (pork&beef with seasonings) thinly sliced, the noodles, sliced green onions, and bean sprouts. I almost added some tofu and egg but figured that was a bit much for lunch considering that the pot was very nearly full at that point already. Mike loved it and he didn't add extra shoyu which is a good sign! ;P The boys ate out the noodles, typical. I was pretty impressed with myself.

Now, what kind of product is katsuobushi? Is it dried, canned, or would I get it at the counter? Same question for the konbu. I have Korean toasted laver, would that be an adequate substitute for the konbu?

I have some thoughts on making the fried udon. I want to find noodles that are not packaged for individual use though. I didn't have time to check out several stores yesterday, just the closest one which is mostly Vietnamese/Philippino products. I might have to break down and go to a Japanese store although my purse screams in anguish at the thought. Japanese store prices are higher than in some American stores. We shall see...

On another noodle, I adore chow fun but was once told that you have to have major BTUs to get the wok hot enough to keep them from sticking and becoming a disaster in the pan. Any advice?

[rr]

Mmmmmm! Jimbo's is absolutely my favorite place to eat udon. It's perfect! Although, I think someone needs to mention this because it took me a couple of times before I got that they have a special system for seating. You put your "reservation" in by writing your name on the door when you get there and then sit outside to wait for a table. Okay, maybe this is pretty simple but I had no idea and felt bad when I realized that this is how it works. Although, none of the waitstaff explained it to me even though they saw me standing there all confused!

[stacey]

hehe. what is natto? natto is this SMELLY stuff that's supposed to be good for you. japanese parents force their kids to eat it until they start to kind of like it, and it just becomes a sick chain of generational natto eating. Anyway it's made out of soybean and it looks like poo. I LOVE IT!

[Jo Rutherford]

uhoh Stacey... You're scaring me! ;o)
Made from soybeans and looks like poo huh? ::grin:: Sounds like something I should start feeding my kids!

[Trisha]

Yeah natto is fermented soybeans. I refused to eat it growing up but forced myself to try it when I used to work at a sushi shop. I like it but don't love it. I can't eat it plain. No way! I have to put the mustard, dashi, shoyu, and green onion to really eat it. It's not bad in the cold udon though.

I also tried natto in my curry at the curry house. The curry overpowers the natto and I didn't like the combination at all.

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

Katsuobushi is dried and shaved bonito flakes. Here's a link to a photo.

http://www.jhg.co.jp/recipes/images/katsubushi.jpg

It's used to create a base for many Japanese simmered dishes and soups, like miso soup. You can probably find small packets of it in a Japanese grocery for about $2-3.

In regards to chow funn, I think that the wok has to be hot, and that you have to use quite a bit of oil. I don't normally cook it at home though.

Hi rr,

Thank you for dropping by my blog. I like Jimbo's too, and I never knew that. I'm not sure how many of my readers did, so thank you. Normally when I visit, there aren't too many people there (I must go at odd hours). I usually walk in and get seated right away.

Hi Stacey, Jo and Trisha,

I haven't yet met natto that I liked. I guess I really can't get overcome the odor. My aunt loves it though. She eats it on rice with just a little shoyu and wasabi. I have to try it sometime just to see how it is...

[Jo Rutherford]

Thanks for the photo of the katsubushi Reid! I received some email regarding the chow fun with some great tips for acquisition & preparation. I'll let you know the outcome when I try it.

[Cindy]

I've been reading your blog for a while, just wanted to say it makes me miss Hawaii even more! I'm keeping a list of all the places you've reviewed that looks promising, for my next trip home ^_^ BTW, is Taiyo Ramen still open? It's my absolute favorite ramen shop, but with all the construction near Ala Moana on my last trip home, I didn't get to go and wasn't sure if they had closed.

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

Good luck with making your chow funn!

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for stopping by.

I'm glad you enjoy my blog. There are a lot of changes coming, so I hope you continue to visit. Yes, Taiyo Ramen is still open. My favorite dish there is the kim chee fried rice. =)

[Zahoul]

Hi!, i love tempura udon, too bad i can't go to Jimbo's and try some, all of that noodle talk made me hungry; i have a question, what's natto?
i've already have the bonito flakes, so all i lack is that... Thanx!!

[Reid]

Hi Zahoul,

Thank you for stopping by.

Natto is fermented soy beans and they are sold in little containers. The smell is quite bad, but I'm told they taste good. Here's a link to a photo:

http://納豆.w3.mag.keio.ac.jp/natto.jpg

[Zahoul]

Hello again Reid, thanx for answering :-)
There's something called "miso" or "miso shiro", is that the same as natto?
Btw, thank u for the photo, but the link is broken... :-(

[Reid]

Hi Zahoul,

I tried the link again and it worked fine for me. Here's another link that you might want to try.

http://electricpenguin.com/blatherings/pics/2004/2004-08blatherpics/040818natto.jpg

[margy]

I love JIMBO, their combo meals let you taste both rice and noodle dishes, you can put toppings on the udon to add more of the flavor you want, I had a tempura combo and it was soo tasty.