'Ono Kine Grindz

Hamura Saimin Stand - Lihue, Hawaii

Hamura Saimin Stand
2956 Kress Street
Lihue, Hawaii
Telephone: 808.245.3271

Nori's Saimin & Snacks - Hilo, Hawaii

It's hard for me to visit Hilo without visiting some of my favorite places to eat.  Nori's is one such place.  Located away from the main shopping area, on what can be considered a "back road", Nori's can be hard to find if you haven't been here before.

Stepping through the door, there's a long narrow walkway that leads to the main dining area.  As you walk towards the cashier station and the main dining area, you'll notice several booths off to the side.  The decor here is nothing to write home about, but this is what casual, island dining is all about.

My initial choice was my favorite, the seaweed won ton min.  Unfortunately, they were sold out.  Instead, I ordered the New Hilo-style saimin with won ton (small special US$6.60).

A few minutes later, a steaming hot bowl of saimin was delivered to my table.  From what I was told a long time ago, Hilo-style noodles are "curlier" than normal.  I never really noticed that, but maybe because I was always too hungry.  The noodles here were cooked perfectly with the right amount of "firmness" to them.  The won ton had thicker than normal skins, but with a huge mouthful of juicy pork filing.  The only downside to this bowl of saimin was the broth.  It was much saltier than usual, rendering it "undrinkable" - definitely not what I was used to.

Here are the chicken sticks that were included with the small special that I ordered.

Two bamboo skewers covered with marinated and grilled teriyaki chicken.  The plump morsels of chicken were just a little too sweet this time, and I wish they had grilled them just a little while longer as I really like those crispy, charred bits.

And if all of that wasn't enough (!), I also had a Nori burger (US$3.50 ?).

Topped with a tiny square of nori, which didn't have much to contribute to the overall flavor of the burger, the teriyaki flavored burger was juicy and had a nice balance of salty and sweet flavors.  Simply dressed with pickles and lettuce, the bun was moistened with just the right amount of mayo-mustard dressing.

Nori's Saimin & Snacks
688 Kinoole Street
Hilo, Hawaii
Telephone: 808.935.9133

Boulevard Saimin

Whenever it's wet and rainy, I seem to crave noodle soups and tonight was no exception.  Initially, I had planned to go and grab a bowl of pho at Pho 97, but it was already after 8:00 pm and I believe the restaurant was already closed.  Instead, I decided that I would visit Palace Saimin, but as I pulled into the driveway, I discovered that they were closed too.  Since I was already in Kalihi and craving a bowl of saimin, I decided to stop by Boulevard Saimin.

A number of years ago, when I used to work in the neighborhood, Boulevard Saimin was a popular lunchtime spot for both myself and my co-workers.  The bowls of saimin were huge and filling, and there were quite a number of different choices that were available on the menu.  When I arrived tonight, there were people occupying a few of the many booths inside the restaurant.

Since it was already late (a little after 8:30 pm) when I arrived, I decided to quickly place my order for a bowl of the tsukimi (poached egg) saimin with wun tun, which is something that I've always ordered here.  Just as I was placing my order, I recalled an e-mail that I received from a reader of this blog not more than a couple of hours ago.  I decided to try his usual, the kayaku saimin with wun tun (kayaku saimin US$6.25; with wun tun US$6.80).

A few minutes later, the bowl of piping hot saimin arrived at the table.

The bowl was filled to the rim with noodles and broth, then garnished with some char siu, a couple of slices of kamaboko (fish cake), some chopped mustard cabbage (kai choy) and Chinese cabbage (won bok) and quite a bit of aburage (deep fried tofu).  The bowl of saimin was warm, flavorful and comforting, but just a little salty.  There were six wun tuns floating in the bowl, and although they were meaty, the wun tun skins were just a little to thick.

To go along with my bowl of saimin, I also ordered two bar-b-q beef sticks (US$1.85).

Marinated pieces of beef are first skewered before being grilled.  This time, the beef was a little tough and dry, and I really didn't enjoy the coating of overly sweet bar-b-q sauce.  In fact, when the bar-b-q sticks were brought to the table, the bar-b-q sauce started to become a little "firm" and jelly-like.

The saimin here at Boulevard is OK.  Not the best, in my opinion, but definitely good enough to be considered when you're craving saimin and it's raining outside.  There are quite a few choices on the menu, so you won't be stuck with too few options.  The service here is efficient and friendly, and the prices are reasonable considering the size of the bowl and the amount of ingredients in it. 

Boulevard Saimin
1427 Dillingham Boulevard
Telephone:  808.841.7233

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

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