'Ono Kine Grindz

Sushi Izakaya Gaku

Creative, memorable and delicious beyond words.  The food at Sushi Izakaya Gaku is probably better than most of the Japanese food that you would find around town.  Open for about a year now, the crowds at this izakaya/sushi bar have been growing steadily.  Inexpensive Japanese food this is not, but it is so worth every penny spent.  It is that good!

Sushi Izakaya Gaku
1329 South King Street
Telephone: 808.589.1329

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

Wagamama - London, UK

A lot of people recommended Wagamama so I was particularly interested in trying the food here.  I visited the location in Bloomsbury which was right around the corner from the British Museum.  Little did I know that this was the original location and that it opened in 1992.  The shop did brisk business and for some reason or another, I left the restaurant feeling a bit disappointed.  The food did not live up to the hype.

Duck gyoza (£4.95)

Tori kara age (£4.20)

Chicken tama rice (£6.95)

Wagamama ramen (£7.40)

Wagamama
4 Streatham Street (this visit)
various locations throughout London
London, UK
Telephone: 207.323.9223

Mochi Creams available now!

I am a little late in posting this, but mochi creams are available now at Shirokiya Ala Moana just opposite Saint Germain Bakery.  Twenty or so different flavors are available including black sesame, green soybean  and sweet potato.  I have tried many of the flavors already and the soft, chewy mochi have a silky mouthfeel because of the lightness of the cream filling.

Mochi creams were named as one of Food and Wine magazine's 100 tastes to try in '08.  So try some soon.  They are a bit pricey (US$1.65 each or a half dozen for US$9.00), but worth every penny. 

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin
Outrigger Regency on Beachwalk
255 Beach Walk
Telephone: 808.926.8082

Matsugen

Back home!  Finally...my apologies to all of you that were looking for local write ups.

Matsugen
Outrigger Regency on Beachwalk
255 Beach Walk
Telephone: 808.926.0255

Kitto Japanese House - Vancouver, BC, Canada

Kitto Japanese House
833 Granville Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Telephone: 604.687.6622

Hata Restaurant

Check out photos of the food while you wait for a table.

(Folks, I think you should replace these.)

Under the nabemono section of the menu, it's the pork tofu (US$8.95).

Dinner special "C" (US$13.50).  It includes sashimi, tonkatsu and ahi (fried or nitsuke).

Here is the ahi nitsuke.

Hata Restaurant
1742 South King Street
Telephone: 808.941.2686

Satura Cakes

Now available at Ward Centre!

Below is a small sampling of some of my favorite treats from Satura Cakes. 

(green tea corone)

The green tea corone uses puff pastry (or phyllo) to create a crisp and crunchy exterior that surrounds a subtly flavored pastry cream (also available in mango).

(chocolate gâteau )

The chocolate gâteau is rich, dense and chocolaty and is presented topped with some whipped cream and a shard of chocolate.

(Kona coffee blancmange)

If you love coffee, you'll love the Kona coffee blancmange.  Take some coffee-flavored pudding (that's what I'd call it), add a few squares of coffee-flavored gelatin, then top with a dollop of whipped cream.  The perfect combination of flavors makes this smooth, creamy dessert one of my favorites.

(mille crêpe)

The mille crêpe takes a stack of 15 delicate crêpes and layers them with whipped vanilla cream.  Light and airy, this is what a Beard Papa cream puff in cake-like form would taste like.  Can I have this flavored with green tea, please???

(salty chocolate cookies)

The salty chocolate cookies are made with Valhrona cocoa powder, Himalayan salt, macadamia nuts (I'll have to ask again) and organic sugar.  Taking a bite of these cookies, you first taste the bittersweet chocolate.  As the cookie starts to dissolve in your mouth, the flavors of sugar and salt come through, making these the perfect cookie.

Since they opened, I must have visited about a dozen times, each time trying something new.  I've had almost every dessert and have yet to be disappointed.  I heard that they will be starting a limited menu for breakfast and lunch.  Let's hope these offerings are just as good.

Satura Cakes
Harbor Court
55 Merchant Street Suite 110 (lobby)
Telephone: 808.537.1206

Tokyo Tokyo

My family is usually gone during the Christmas holidays so I often have the opportunity to dine out with friends.  This year, we decided to enjoy a Christmas dinner at Tokyo Tokyo at the Kahala Resort and Hotel.

Known as a "fine dining" Japanese restaurant, I was a bit excited to make the journey here. We encountered quite a few bumps in the road between making reservations up until the actual dinner, and maybe they were a sign of what was to come.

We tried for a while to get reservations for dinner here using the email at the hotel's website (three emails to the hotel went unanswered) and calls to the restaurant directly (2 voice messages left with no return call).  All the while, we remained upbeat and hopeful that we would get a reservation.  About two weeks before Christmas, a call to the restaurant was answered and we were able to get a reservation for 8:45 pm (!!!).

Upon arriving at the restaurant at 8:40 pm, we were told that our table was not ready yet and that we could wait in the hotel's lobby.  We sat, and waited....  and waited.... and waited.  In all, it was 25 minutes before the hostess came to the hotel's lobby to escort us to our table.  Once seated, at a table right next to the restaurant's entrance (probably the worst seat in the place), it was another 15 minutes before our server made an appearance at our table.

Before going any further, here is the menu, with accompanying photos, for that evening's dinner.

Special Christmas Menu

1st course (Appetizers)
Grilled white fish finished with saikyo miso cream sauce and garnished with ikura.
Japanese style onion soup with compliments of chicken and mozzarella cheese.
Succulent duck breast simmered in dashi broth to a perfect medium and finished with a red wine and shoyu reduction sauce, atop a mound of bacon and foie gras mashed potatoes.

2nd course (Sashimi)
The freshest sashimi in Hawaii including: Blue fin, kaware wrapped in Atlantic salmon, Shima aji, and boton ebi, all served under the warm glow of a daikon votive.

3rd course (Black Angus Beef)
Certified Black Angus Ishiyaki
The finest certified Black Angus rib-eye medallions cooked on your own heated lava stone at the table.
or
Certified Black Angus Shabu Shabu
Served with an assortment of vegetables and inaniwa udon.  Comes with a pot of Dashi soup broth. 

Intermezzo
Moscato di Asti sorbet with diced oranges and peach.

4th course (Sushi)
Includes: Blue fin zuke finished with sesame seeds, white fish, yellowtail and American Kobe beef finished with red chili ponzu sauce and garnished with fine julienne daikon and green onion.  Comes with a petite torotaku sushi roll.

Dessert
Chef's symphony of sweet Japanese delicacies featuring a butter cream Kona coffee "bouche d' Noël".

Cost: $98.00 per person

While the events leading up to the actual meal were disappointing, what I found even more odd, is that we were given a table right near the restaurant's entrance.  We were shoved into a corner near an artificial Christmas tree.  The tables in this area were very close together, so much so, that our server couldn't even sqeeze into the space between the two without us moving our table closer to the Christmas tree!

I'm not going to go over every dish that we were served because this dinner doesn't really deserve all of that attention.  What I will do is mention the highpoints, which aren't many, and give a quick summary of everything else.

The simmered duck breast was the highlight of the trio of appetizers.  It was indeed succulent, tender and perfectly cooked -- the center of duck breast was a beautiful pink blush.  The foie gras mashed potatoes were pure indulgence.  Earthy, creamy and smoky, I could have eaten an entire bowl of these potatoes and left feeling satisfied.

With the second course, the sashimi, we thought the restaurant would redeem itself.  Not so.  With a plateful of mediocre offerings, the only standout, on a plate that also included boton ebi and a tiny mouthful of uni, was the ootoro.  This ultra-fatty piece of tuna had a smooth texture with a creamy, almost buttery, flavor.  Sublime.

I would have enjoyed the third, or beef, course more if I had been given a choice.  Like the diner sitting at the next table, I had made up my mind to have the shabu shabu prior to coming here.  When I asked for it, I was told that it wasn't available and that the menu had changed.  Well, why wasn't I told this when they called to confirm my reservation the day before? 

The intermezzo, or sorbet, made with Moscato di Asti, was really bitter.  When asked if this contained alcohol (I'm allergic), I was told it was made of grapes (duh, grapes = wine?).  By the way, when did canned fruits become part of a gourmet meal?

The sushi "platter" left much to be desired.   There were no standouts here and I was really annoyed with the Kobe (Wagyu) beef sushi which I felt was cut too thick and was not marbled well enough.  It didn't help that it took me 5 minutes to chew through the entire piece of beef.

By the time dessert showed up, more than 2 hours later, I was more tired than full.  I'm not sure how a strawberry purée topped with a cream cheese ice cream would be considered a "Japanese delicacy", but I didn't find anything here satisfying.

The pacing of the meal was extremely slow.  Many times, we would be waiting 15 or more minutes between courses.  They did serve an excellent green tea throughout the meal and I must say that my cup was never empty, or that the tea was never cold (they continuously replaced the cup with a fresh one).  The waitstaff was knowledgeable and more than willing to answer questions, but overall, this experience was disappointing.  I'm not sure that I'll want to come back here again.

Tokyo Tokyo
Kahala Hotel and Resort
5000 Kahala Avenue
Telephone: 808.739.8901