Shiro's Hula Hula Drive In

UPDATE:  October 2005
Shiro's Hula Hula Drive In has closed. 

Before visiting Singapore a couple of months ago, I went to eat at Kalani Korean Bar-B-Q with a friend.  As we were exiting the parking lot, I noticed a Shiro's Hula Hula Drive In there.  This past weekend, we stopped by for lunch.

If I remember correctly, this Shiro's location used to be on the other side of Dillingham Boulevard.  It relocated here when this strip mall was developed a number of years ago.

On the right side of the entrance to the restaurant, there is a take-out window and counter.  Inside, the restaurant is spacious and sparsely decorated.  A couple of things that stand out here are the yellow sheets of paper plastered onto the walls and the exclusive use of diner-style booths for seating.  On those yellow sheets of paper are many witty sayings, most written by Shiro himself.

My favorite, though, comes from the cover of the menu itself, "The place with a song in its heart and dedicated to the proposition that the hard working people must be taken care of with invigorating, nourishing, soulsifying food that is not too skimpy, plenty tasty and geared to the pocketbook."

Since it was late, about an hour before the restaurant was to close, when we arrived we found it to be quite empty.  I wonder if it's like this all the time?  Oh well, at least we got to choose where we wanted to sit.  Since my friend paid for lunch the last time, it was only fair for me to return the favor.  He ordered the country fried noodles with yakitori chicken (US$7.30).

I was told that the noodles were a little bit on the oily side and quite flavorless.  It's too bad because this dish actually looked quite good.  And the yakitori?  A bit sweet.  Oh well, just sprinkle some shoyu on those noodles and dust it with some black pepper. 

Since Shiro's is known for saimin, there are 60 different offerings on the menu, I decided to have one.  The one I chose was the Dodonpa (US$7.70).

The menu proclaims this to be "The Ultimate King of Saimins, Bombarded with 10 Garnishes", but was it?  The Dodonpa, is one of Shiro's original recipes and dates back a couple of decades, explained the waitress.  The 10 garnishes that this saimin contained were shrimp tempura, roast beef, char siu, wun tun, Chinese roast pork, luncheon meat, imitation crab, mushrooms, eggroll and vegetables!

As you can see in the photo above, the bowl is huge and is filled almost to the rim.  The only thing that was missing from the bowl, was the eggroll.  Shucks.  The shrimp tempura, seen below, was served on the side with tartar sauce.

So how was it you ask?  The broth itself was very "meaty" tasting, probably from the huge slab of roast beef that was in there.  The wun tun, was just OK.  I found the skin to be too thick and quite chewy -- disappointing.  The char siu and the Chinese roast pork were tasty, but just a bit too fatty for me, so I didn't eat to much of it.  And the shrimp tempura was a disappointment as well.  The piece of shrimp was first butterflied, then coated in batter and deep-fried.  The batter was really thick and "flour-y".  This made the tempura, heavy and oily.  Not good.

Would I come back here again?  While the service was prompt and efficient, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the eggroll that was supposed to be part of my saimin.  And although the saimin broth was tasty, the saimin's individual ingredients didn't seem to be of the best quality.  So to answer the question, I'd honestly have to say probably not -- especially since Palace Saimin, my favorite saimin stand, is nearby.

Shiro's Hula Hula Drive In
City Square
1199 Dillingham Boulevard Suite
Telephone:  (808)842-1740

Comments

[Clinton]

So Reid...

Tell me more about Palace Saimin! I'm still in active pursuit for the Holy Grail of Hawaii Saimin. I guess I'll scratch Shiro's off my list. Now I need to go open up a frozen package of S&S saimin from the freezer and satify my craving.

[Allen Wong]

Reid,

I'm not sure, but the colors on the char siu and the tempura look pretty fluorencent. I'm not sure I would like to eat something so ... bright.

Allen Wong

[MrsT]

Arrrghh.. wat a disappointment ..Reid..!

[Sue]

That's too bad! Man, I could use some saimin right now. Ok, I could use a cheese sandwich right now...if I was eating it in Hawaii! Aloha.

[Reid]

Hi Clinton,

Palace Saimin has been around for at least 30 years or more. It's been in the same location for all of those years. If you're not familiar with the Kalihi/Kapalama area, it's right down the road from Farrington High and across the street from the Kapalama Post Office. They don't offer much on the menu, but in my opinion, it's the best bowl of saimin around. You just have to try it.

Hi Allen,

I'm not sure if my camera accurately captured the colors...I'll have to work on that. Char siu here is normally bright pink to dark red in color, probably because the Chinese here tend to use a lot of artificial coloring. The yellow color of the tempura actually comes from egg yolk.

Hi MrsT,

That's exactly what I said to myself. =)

Hi Sue,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I could use a cheese sandwich myself...especially if it were a cheese sandwich served on the beach!

BTW...thanks for linking your site. I'll take a look around when I have a chance!

[Julia]

Seems like Shiro thinks quantity is the way to go in order to be the "Ultimate King of Saimins". Well, I'd like to think that quality should always come before quantity. :)

[MBS]

Small-kid time, I used to frequent a Shiro's saimin shop in Kaimuki. It was right across the Christian radio station where I took ukulele lessons.

In retrospect, I can't remember whether or not Shiro's served good saimin. I did like the variety offered. I also remember that the guy was very good at marketing. Oh well. Guess I'll try Palace Saimin next time I'm back home. =)

[AK]

I haven't had the chance to go to Palace Saimin. I've been going to Boulevard Saimin all my life, and I still try to find time to make my way there once every two weeks. I've eaten at Shiro's occasionally over the years, but like someone mentioned, it seems to be more quantity than quality.

[babe_kl]

hmmm looked kinda plain...

[Clinton]

Hm-m-m-m...Boulevard Saimin? I heard a lot about that place but have yet to try it. Isn't it close to Palace Saimin on Dillingham? What my ongoing search is looking for that "old-time" Japanese saimin taste with the "al dente" curly noodles with that undescribable taste. I'll know it when I find it. The closest thing was the old Tanoue's in Kaimuki. The soup stock was the key. But I'm still a-searchin'!

[Reid]

Hi Julia,

I think so too. Actually, the saimin here used to be so much better. I don't know what happened. Oh well, chalk it up to the changing times.

Hi MBS,

Shiro's does offer a lot of variety, and I'm sure that some of the saimins are better than others. I was hoping for a bit more consistency. If you haven't tried Palace Saimin before, you should. It's so plain and simple. In my opinion, that's what makes it great!

Hi AK,

Thanks for visiting my blog.

I've been an off again, on again Boulevard Saimin eater. As with Shiro's, the quality has gone down a bit over the years, but the saimin is still tasty. If you haven't been to Palace Saimin before, you should definitely try it sometime.

Hi babe_kl,

Plain? Hmmmm, are you speaking about the country fried noodles? If you are, I was told they were quite bland.

Hi Clinton,

Boulevard Saimin is on Dillingham Boulevard right next to Sizzlers. In fact, the three shops -- Shiro's, Palace and Boulevard -- are located within 2-3 minutes of each other. When you come back, do try Palace and Boulevard and let me know which you like better. I'll be doing a post on Boulevard Saimin shortly. Stay tuned.

[Joseph]

Hi Reid,

First time too write a comment here. I enjoy your site very much. Shiros eh! That will be the last time I ever go there. Service was poor and to make matters worst, they even brought me the wrong order. Talking about being in there for almost 1 1/2 hour. I'm sure I'll be going to Palace Saimin next time. Many thanks.

[Reid]

Hi Joseph,

Thanks for leaving me a comment. I'm sorry that your experience at Shiro's was a bad one. Although I don't normally like to report when service or food is bad, I think I owe it to everyone to try to be as honest as I possibly can without being too negative.

Hope you enjoy the saimin at Palace. It's my favorite!

[Jimmy]

I very much agree that Shiro's saimin is so-so. I've been going to Palace Saimin for almost 20 years and have found their saimin to be the BEST. The broth is outstanding, the noodles are excellent, and the garnishes are very simple yet tasty. Yes, everyone should definitely go there.

[Reid]

Hi Jimmy,

Welcome to my blog!

I think that the quality at Shiro's has actually gone downhill over the years. Too bad. Their variety can sometimes be appealing.

I've also been going to Palace Saimin for many years, at least 30 or more. I agree it's the best saimin that I've had.

Thanks for dropping by.

[nai]

Reid--fyi, this branch of shiro's has closed. we noticed it when we went to the crab tank (pretty good crab cakes; the gumbo was okay; i prefer buying crab from tamashiro's and cooking it myself, esp since it was $11.00 for three blue crab boiled in old bay that i could barely taste and took half an hour's wait). have a great day!

[Reid]

Hi Nai,

Thanks for the information. I'll put a disclaimer at the head of the post. When I went to eat at Utage, I noticed the Crab Tank. I actually thought it was a seafood market.

Thanks again!