Okata Bento

A while back one of my readers sent me an e-mail recommending the food at Okata Bento.  It's been a while since I've actually been here, so my recollection of the food that I ate here previously isn't what it should be.

Like many of Hawaii's Mom-n-Pop operations, especially those that have been in business for 20+ years, this is your typical hole-in-the-wall -- maybe Okata Bento qualifies for that title more than some of the others....

The entrance on the sidewalk leads to a take-out window.  There are no tables or chairs to sit at here.  You order and take your food away -- to the beach, to the park or home to eat.  I decided to sit and eat my lunch on a bench fronting the shop.  The food here is cooked to order so be prepared to wait for a few minutes.  If it's busy, the wait could be even longer, so if you're in a rush, you may want to call ahead.  Today, I waited for about 10 minutes which isn't too bad considering the food was cooked on the spot.

On this occasion, I ordered the bento with chicken katsu (US$6.75).

In addition to your main dish selection, each bento includes mahi-mahi, luncheon meat, egg roll, fishcake, takuan, ume and shredded cabbage on a bed of white rice.  The chicken katsu was crunchy outside, and moist inside.  It was pounded really thin, which is how I like it.  And even though it was deep-fried it wasn't oily.  The mahi-mahi was lightly floured and pan fried -- fresh and tasty.

On another occasion, I decided to have the bento with teriyaki chicken (US$6.75).

The bento contained the same items as the one above substituting the chicken katsu with teriyaki chicken.  The teriyaki chicken was cut into bite-sized pieces and well marinated.  The chicken was tender and slightly sweet, the marinade reminding me of Mr. Yoshida's sweet teriyaki sauce.

According to the menu - "All foods are cooked to order.  Our beef, chicken, and pork are trimmed of fat, bone and gristle, then cut into bite sized pieces...." - this makes the food here a little healthier, even if it is deep fried.  Oh OK, who am I trying to kid?  The food here is fresh, tasty, and decently priced.  Okata Bento is definitely worth a return visit. 

Okata Bento
3616 Waialae Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.6063

Comments

[AugustusGloop]

I love cheap n' cheerful!

That's a nice kitchen action shot too!

[santos]

that's some sorta crazy luncheon meat shape--economy loaf??

[clare eats]

Yum looks good!
Don't forget that it was served on cabbage, Cabbage is healthy ;) *grin*

[Kirk]

Man Reid - That luncheon meat brings back many a lunch wagon memories!!!!

[Reid]

Hi AG,

I love cheap and cheerful too! And thanks for compliment on the photo. I actually took a few and I thought this one was the best! =)

Hi Santos,

This is probably something like Hormel luncheon meat or Armour luncheon meat. It normally comes in a long square can. I haven't eaten this type of luncheon meat in ages, but it's really good if you can burn the edges. YUM!

Hi Clare,

You're right...there was the cabbage. Silly me, how could I forget about that. I'm not going to feel bad about all that fried stuff neither! =P

Hi Kirk,

The luncheon meat brings back memories for me too. We used to cut a thin slice off of the "block", put it in a hot pan, and watch the middle rise. Once the edges were crispy, we used to slap it between two slices of white bread with lots of mayo...mmmm!

The good ole days! =P

[A]

It comes with mahi-mahi?! Wow, that's the first time I've seen a bento come with mahi-mahi. Looks yummy, I'll check it out next time I'm in the area. :)

[Makan Kings]

Reid,

Wow!! The bento looks good. We think its a good thing to have for a quick lunch. Unfortunately the quick bento's we get here in Malaysia(from supermarkets) are not really good.

Cheers,
-Makan Kings-

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - You want healthier bento? That's impossible, well...hmmm...maybe remove the Takuan - gassy - might bloat you, even air takes up space. LOL!

[Big Bok]

Looks yummy.. Reid..! i hope the luncheon meat taste as good as the ones we have back home.. ;)
The ones here taste diff.

[milgwimper]

Oh those bento's look really good. I agree with Clare, the cabbage is healthy right? So you can catagorize it into health food! ;P Oh Crispy fried luncheon meat over rice, that i think I can do...*waddles off to search for luncheon meat*

[Jo]

What are you waddling for woman? Gads, all the luncheon meat talk and I'm not allowed to keep it in the house. What a pit! Anyhow, Reid, as a kid we made fried baloney sandwichs the same way. The middle would pop up, the edges would be black, mayo, white bread, tomato if it was in the summer, wowzers! Then again, you remeber the pineapple ring from Kirk's post, that would get slapped on white bread with mayo also! ::wink & wave to Kirk::

[Kirk]

Jo - Pinapple ring...ack, ack P-toey, p-toey! Actually after reading all of this; it's basically a bento-salad, yeah, that's the ticket!

[boo_licious]

You don't get any japanese economy bento restaurants around in Malaysia - it's either the luxury ones or the supermarket ones. Some of the supermarket ones can taste awful but I still like Isetan's bentos.

[Trisha]

LOOOOOOVE Okatas. I grew in Kaimuki. Nuff said :)

[babe_kl]

wished we could have something similar here! btw we do not have a single hawaiian restaurant here in malaysia!!! how come huh?? :p

[Reid]

Hi A,

Yes, there was mahi-mahi in the bento and a pretty sizable piece too if you ask me. It's reason enough to consider this bento a great deal.

Hi Makan Kings,

Exactly. Bentos are a great idea for a quick lunch. However, if you were in a rush, you probably wouldn't just stop over at Okata to grab a bento -- you'd have to call them first to let them know you were coming. Otherwise, you'd have to wait.

Too bad you don't have stuff like this in M'sia.

Hi Kirk,

LOL! Maybe I should get one that isn't full of fried stuff, but then what's that point right?

Hi Big BoK,

Sorry, but I didn't have a taste of luncheon meat there. =(

I'm going to try some next time I'm there and will let you know if it's the same OK? =)

Hi Milgwimper,

The bentos were so good! I just wish the luncheon meat had been cooked on the grill a little longer. I think I'll ask next time. Hope you enjoy your luncheon meat!

Hi Jo,

Pineapple ring on white bread with mayo? *scratching my head* Am I missing something?

Hi Kirk,

Hmmmm! Bento salad....

Hi boo_licious,

Thanks for the tip. I think I'll check out the bentos at Isetan when I'm in Singapore. The last time I was there, I made it a point only to try food that I couldn't get here. Next time, I'll try a few things that I CAN get here just to see how they compare. =)

Hi Trisha,

I love Okatas too.

I did not grow up in Kaimuki, but I love them anyway...and I've been eating here for quite sometime. =)

Hi babe_kl,

I don't know. Maybe I need to come and open one! =)

[Jo]

Well, the pineapple ring actually is from Kirk's blog. I'm not sure (now) why it came over here, but I'm sure I had a good reason at the time. Regardless, as a kid, pineapple sandwichs were a special treat. We didn't get fresh pineapple in Florida back in them thar prehistoric like dayz...

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

Prehistoric days? OMG! That means I must be nearing extinction! LOL! =P

[Clinton]

Jo,
Pineapple sandwiches? Now that's a new one on me too. When we grew up as kids in Kaimuki, I remember one of our favorite sandwiches was sugar sandwiches. Another variation was honey sandwiches on soft white bread (especially from Love's Bakery in Kapahulu where they baked it daily). Ouch, my blood sugar count just jumped a hundred points just thinking about it!

[Jo]

::laughing:: I hear ya with the blood sugar Clinton! Yep, my Grandmother would feed me pineapple sandwichs. Banana sandwichs also, but that's more common. My boys fav is peanut butter honey. Mike's a beekeeper so we have tons of honey at all times. Kirk tried a couple of them last night. Wild honey is great stuff, but you can't control the flavor!

[Jo]

Ya know Reid, and don't let this be a downer here, we are all getting closer to extinction by the minute. I don't know about other folks, but for me, that just makes everything sweeter! =o)

[808650foodie]

Reid, u da bes. Nice pictures...I used to eat the whole bento when I wuz in high school, but now I can barely eat a mini-plate.

Do da folks mind u taking pictures of da food and stuff? Anyone give u da stink eye? ;-)

Mahalo for making our mainland/international mouths water for the foods of Hawaii...

Aloha No!

[Reid]

Hi Clinton,

Sugar sandwiches. LOL! My blood sugar went up just reading that.

Hi Jo,

I've had peanut butter and honey and I find it tastes good, but it's so sticky!

And no, it's not a downer...I like to take things in stride. When it's time, it's time.

Hi 808650foodie,

Thanks for dropping by the blog and thanks for the compliment.

For the most part people don't mind the photos. I haven't gotten any "stink" eyes just yet! =)

I hope to hear from you again!

[Moira]

Reid, Reid, Reid...the bentos look SO good. I love your action shot of the kitchen...of course no one in Hawaii would give you stinkeye for taking photos!

[Jo]

You might not get stink eye, but if you sneak in to the wrong spot at the wrong time... ::smiles innocently::