Diner A picked up a bento from Tanioka’s in Waipahu the other day, where from along with that, he brought a couple musubi to share with us.

So Tanioka’s is doing Goteborg Musubi now, eh? I wonder where they got that idea from? Hmmmm. Any chance they’re offering a Poke Bowl as well? After all, they are well known for their poke, which I must say, theirs is up there with the best.

Goteborg Musubi from Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering

Notice for Tanioka’s take the on Goteborg Musubi, they form the musubi rice in the traditional extruded triangle shape, then sprinkle it generously with Goma Furikake (sesame seaweed seasoning). Then instead of the Goteborg Sausage acting as the foundational base underneath it, they cap it with it.

In comparison, here’s how the folks from Kauai (where this unique musubi is known to have originated from) do it…

“Jobos” Goteborg Musubi from The Poke Bowl (now DBA Pa’ina Cafe in Ward Warehouse)

See, so they’re each “DIFFEFRENT BUT DA’ SAME”. lol Actually I have to admit, I kinda’ preferred the more compressed texture of the rice in Tanioka’s version, as well as the much more generous sprinkling of Furikake on it. Not knocking the Oahu-from-Kauai original, Poke Bowl’s “Jobos” version though, as that one ROCKS as well.

In case  you never heard of Goteborg Sausage, I’ll once again repost the description: According to this website, Goteborg sausage is described as “Swedish sausage or Goteborg consists of 75% beef and 25% pork. The meat is chopped coarser than cervelat. It is stuffed in beef middle casings and smoked hard. In appearance it is similar to Farmer sausage. Swedish sausage is popular with the Swedish and Norwegian trade”.

I’ll just say it tastes sort of like a “gamey” Salami-meets-summer sausage if you will. Like any other cured or salted meat, frying it just ever-so-lightly really punches out the Goteborg’s flavor.

As for the history of Goteborg Sausage in Hawaii — or the island of Kauai in particular — Tasty Island reader ‘Anahola Tita’ gave the best and most entertaining explanation to date!

Re: Kauai Classic: Goteborg Musubi, Anahola Tita comments:

 OMG Guteberg!  Yummo !!  I am Kaua’i girl born/raised from Anahola Hawaiian Homes … My mom used to work at Kojima Store in Kapa’a–and the meat market in the back of the store was Da Bes’ Meat Market on the island … they were, and still are known for their marinated Kal Bi — and GUTEBERG !!  Already sliced in the perfect 6mm cut, plastic wrapped in foam trays –you can just walk in the store and pick it up in the meat section … along with trays of marinated kal bi … just down the road, literally, at Pono Market, you can get Guteberg Musubi–gotta go early or else sell out … whenever I go back home … those two stops are a must! And of course Hamura’s, Hanamaulu Cafe, and if I can make it to Lawai Store.

I’d like to share what I remember from either someone sharing with me or perhaps reading about, or maybe a combination of both–The History of Guteberg on Kaua’i evidently traces back to GERMANY.  It is a German Sausage or Salami — similar to Italian sausage, etc. — it’s a European-style deli sausage.  It was introduced to the island of Kaua’i when a German Stone Wall builder moved there back in the plantation days, and was hired to build stonewalls for the plantation owners, mostly on the West side of the island — as is evident by all the old, man-made stone walls that are strewn around the island.  The story goes that he introduced the sausage to the plantation owners he was hired by … and they introduced it to the plantation workers — at lunchtime — the one thing that every culture had in common — FOOD … it became customary for all the different cultures to share food … it became sort of a fun way to get to know each other and have respect for different cultures.  People couldn’t speak to each other — they all spoke different languages — so food became a universal language … and that is how they started to learn about each other.  Guteberg was the “Haole” man’s “kokua” or contribution to the lunchtime pot luck.

Anyways–I live on O’ahu now…married with child.  My husband is from NY and looooves Guteberg–he’s part-German…I looooove German sausage…(and Guteberg too…ahem!)–my mom lives with us now…she’s the one that used to work at Kojima’s…gotta have her saussage…so we satisfy our Guteberg urges @ Marukai Dillingham.  Although we found it in other stores, she looooooves the butchers there … and they loooooove her too — she’ll grab a long thing of sausage and walk up to the butcher’s sliding glass windows and press their button … and they slide the door open with big smiles on their faces … and she’s holds the sausage up in front of her — like, facing longways towards them … and she says … “I like ‘em t’ick (thick)” … aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha !!  Crack Up!!  Yah!!  One Full-On Potagee Gramma asking the butchers at frickin’ Marukai if they can give her “6″ — serious !!  She go, “You Can Do 6?” aaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha !!  Da guys look at me and dey turn all red — dark-skinned filipinos !!  you can see ‘em blushing !! aaaaaaaahahahahaha !!  And they have no idea that my mother has no idea … hahlarious !!  frickin’ cartoons I’m tellin’ you!!  A bunch of deers with no eyes (no eye dear…no idea…never mind)…alrighty then–

btw … having a brain fart right now — wanna address the comment about the difference between UFOs and Flying Saucers …. Das Right !!  ONLY ON KAUAI !!  No other island has Flying Saucers … Kaua’i people know the difference … Kaua’i may be full of spacey people, but the upside of that is, they can tell the difference between UFOs and Flying Saucers … that’s what happens when you live on another planet …

kden — gotta get going — long over due for a visit to marukai…my mom was just saying she hasn’t “had it” in awhile … aaaaaaaaahahahaha!!  aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha !!  hoo boy … classic … hey–at least she’s free entertainment … toodles all !!

 

Mahalo Anahola Tita! ROFLMAO! That was CLASSIC!

I was hoping maybe Tanioka’s would “surprise” us by poking an Ume in the center of the musubi as a sort of “buried treasure”, but nevah get…

 

 

 

 Summing it up, I give Tanioka’s take on Goteborg Musubi 5 SPAM Musubi. Or should I give it 5 Goteborg Musubi? Now I’m confused. lol

 

 

As for Tanioka’s Fish Patty Musubi, as you see in the first photo, unlike their “famous” fish patty served at their okazuya counter, the one for this musubi is shaped rectangular to look like a slice of SPAM. In fact, when I first looked at, I thought it was a SPAM Musubi.

 

 Slicing it in half, you can see how Tanioka’s grinds the fish meat (not eats it, but grinds it like hamburger lol) really fine…

  

Tanioka’s Fish Patty Musubi (sliced in half with a Goteborg Musubi next to it)

 

I LOVE Tanioka’s Fish Patty, and with that I’m also giving Tanioka’s Fish Patty Musubi 5 SPAM Musubi. Or make that 5 Fish Patty Musubi. Sheesh! Now I’m REALLY CONFUSED! LOL

As mentioned earlier, Diner A picked up a bento from Tanioka’s, which he’s been having to eat fish every Friday in observance of Lent. That in mind, he chose a bento that had Tanioka’s famous fish patty, a salmon patty, shrimp tempura and one giant aburage cone sushi…

Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering – Salmon Patty, Fish Patty, Shrimp Tempura and Aburage Cone Sushi Bento. $n/a

Diner A’s rating? 5 SPAM Musubi. Winnah’, winnah’, fish patty dinnah’! Err, lunch that is.

Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering
94-903 Farrington hwy.
Waipahu, Hawaii  96797
Tel. 808-671-3779
www.Taniokas.com

The Tasty Island rating:
5 Goteborg Musubi/5 Fish Patty Musubi/5 SPAM Musubi

Related (Tasty Island) links:
• Kaka’ako Eats: The Poke Bowl
• Kauai Classic: Goteborg Musubi
• The Goteborg Musubi Project

Ah yes. No mistaking the wonderful array of choices on display behind the front window of your favorite local Okazuya, where we return here today at St. Louis Delicatessen.

Amongst all else, Musubi is usually my first visual allure at an Okazuya.  Case in point here where they have “Cone” Sushi, Maki Sushi and Nori Musubi ready for action…

To put into perspective how popular otherwise “obscure” places like St. Louis Delicatessen are, by the time I arrived here at around 8:30am in the morning, half of these musubi and sushi were already GONE! Wow. Imagine getting here around lunch hour where you just might be “S.O.L.”. lol

Once I’ve got my musubi choice selected, next on my radar is some salty, savory meat(s) to go along with that…

Specifically that would be fried “shoyu” hot dogs (where here they’re simply fried, then placed in a light shoyu “sauce”) and luncheon meat (not SPAM®).

Complimenting the salty meats, we have the hash patty in back, which is another starchy-meets-sometimes-savory staple at every okazuya.

Speaking of savory, here we have both shoyu chicken and fried chicken for your choosing….

Continuing on with da’ “shoyu-sweet” action, you can opt for teriyaki beef and long rice done both in that style…

Next to that, one of my favorites from “SLD” is their Nishime…

Behind that is simply what they refer to as ‘Tofu’, which I honestly have never ordered yet. Yet I will certainly in a future visit. By the looks of it, I’m guessing it’s simply fried and steeped in a dashi, shoyu and sugar based sauce.

Next to these warmer pans, there’s this warmer box of delights, including your choice of Vegetable Tempura, Potato Tempura…

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, you have what St. Louis okazuya is most famous for, their signature Chowfun!…

Um, “hellerr?!”, I have my pick-up truck in the parking lot. You can drop that whole pan in the back there, thank you very much. lol

See, the beauty of St. Louis’ okazuya is the sheer simplicity of their menu…

You’re not going to find any complex preparations or myriad blend of herbs and spices in any of their dishes. Just simple, back-to-basics comfort food that’s done well, done right, with barely any questions to ask.

Oh, like say for instance Diner A’s choice on this visit of bento ‘B’…

Diner A’s SLD Okazuya ‘Bento B’ Plate: (clockwise from top left) Cone Sushi, Plain Rice Musubi, Potato Tempura, Shrimp Tempura, Luncheon Meat, Fried Chicken and Chow Fun. $7.50.

Folks, in this day and age, $7.50 for all that is a STEAL in the world of Okazuya, or any plate lunch for that matter. A steal of a deal.

Then we’ve got Diner E’s customized okazuya selections…

Diner E’s SLD Okazuya Custom Plate: (clockwise from top left) Fried Chicken, Shoyu Chicken, Nishime, Long Rice, Cone Sushi (plus Vegetable Tempura shown next) and Chow Fun. $6.75

He was kinda’ freaked out at first, thinking “mama san” forgot it, then we realized after checking that in a separate package there was his order of vegetable tempura…

Brah, no make! If dey ‘wen fo’get da’ tempura, I would have been all sick! (Dude…….. DUDE! If they forgot the tempura, that would suck!) lol

Finally my plate, which was also a custom order…

Diner P’s SLD Okazuya Custom Plate: (clockwise from top left) Kombu (marinaded seaweed), Nori Musubi, Hot Dog, Nishime, Vegetable Tempura, Hash Patty and Chow Fun. $8.25

All that’s missing in this equation is THE BEACH! Yes, them negative ions play a big part in making comfort food like these here Okazuya plates go from just that to AWESOME. Well, we have work to do, so we’ll save the beach for the weekend, never-the-less, we’ll still enjoy da’ grindz!

Starting off, I love-ee-love-love their Nishime, which is sort of a Japanese “stew” if you will…

A simple medley of huge chunks of daikon, sliced carrots and Kombu steeped in a broth of dashi, shoyu and mirin. Good stuff.

Diner E’s St. Louis favorite (besides the Chowfun) is their Long Rice…

This one is flavored similar to the Nishime. Then you have that MASSIVE stuffed Aburage Cone Sushi…

Personally I’m not an Inari (cone sushi) fan, mainly because of the strong taste of sushi-su (seasoning) flavoring the rice. I’ll stick with the basic Omusubi simply seasoned with salt and an Ume in it, thank you very much. For sushi, Maguro Nigiri Sushi with just a dab of Wasabi between the ahi and the rice, thank you very much.

Moving on, there’s the Shoyu Chicken, which Diner E said had a great-tasting sauce, while being very moist and tender inside…

While we’re on Chicken, Diner A shows off a bite of his also moist and tender piece of fried chicken from SLD…

I think I’ll blow this photo up to a 4 feet x 8 feet wide wall mural and hang it up in front of my treadmill. lol

Then you have the Vegetable Tempura and Hash Patty…

Notably it’s interesting on the part of the Vegetable Tempura, as the batter almost has the texture of Okinawan Andagi. Which makes sense, as like most Okazuya, SLD is owned by a Higa family, who are Okinawan (like Diner E), or “Uchinanchu”.

Even more Andagi-like is the Potato Tempura…

Seriously, their Potato Tempura tastes essentially like an Andagi filled with tender slices of sweet potato in it. Simple as that. Yet really ono! On that note, Leonard’s Bakery should try making sweet potato Malasadas. I bet it would work! Also, the Okinawan Festival should try selling Sweet Potato Andagi. Sounds GOOOOOOOD eh?

Finally there’s SLD’s most beloved dish, their Chowfun noodles…

No bells ‘n whistles, save for a little grated carrots here, green bean there. Barely any seasoning at all, with what only tastes like salt and perhaps just a dab of shoyu and/or oyster sauce, yet none of us are even sure what the heck they flavor it with. It’s just simple to da’ max’ and really, really good! This is da’ kine Chowfun that if you were surfing in the morning, then came to SLD around 11am for a fix on it, you’d be in major refueling BLISS and ready to go back and rip more. Ya’ know?

Along with the simple-yet-ono grindz, what I admire at SLD is how friendly the folks are there. Like Linda Hatori, who served me on this day yesterday…

Super nice lady, who I joked with about calling the Nishime “Namasu”, which she said lots of folks mistakenly call the dish. lol

If you didn’t know what or who they were, you’d just assume St. Louis Delicatessen was merely the service entrance for St. Louis Drive In next door, as to today, there’s no prominent sign in front of their shop…

Only store hours, the menu and “We’re OPEN”.

But NO! Don’t make that mistake! SLD is an entirely different kind of eatery and as hole-in-the-wall, ULTIMATE HIDDEN GEM as it can get in the city of Honolulu.

The prices are great, service is friendly, hours are typical of an Okazuya (open 7am to 1pm; or until food runs out), and most of all the grindz are really OISHII!

This blog has lots of readers who are past or future visitors to the islands. If you plan on visiting, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you put a Honolulu Okazuya on your dining to-do list while on your next stay on Oahu. St. Louis Delicatessen is only about a 10 to 15 minute drive from Waikiki. Go here and get your plates, then head to Diamond Head or Kahala Beach which also just about 10-15 minutes drive down the street, take your food and sit on the beach while overlooking the ocean (and taking in the negative ions) and ENJOY. I promise you’ll have one of the most unique and delicious “like the locals eat” experiences you could ever have by doing that.

St. Louis Delicatessen
3147 Waialae avenue (Kaimuki)
Tel. 732-0955
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 7am – 1:30pm (closed Sundays and Mondays)

Menu (<—download PDF; 1 page; current as of 2/10)

The Tasty Island Rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

Related links
• Okazuya “Chowfundamentals” at St. Louis Delicatessen – The Tasty Island
• St. Louis Delicatessen – Yelp user reviews

P.S. Just want to send out a condolence to the Fasi ohana. God Bless.

Courtesy of The Honolulu Advertiser

Every Okazuya has their signature item, from Nu’uanu Okazuya’s Fish Cakes to St. Louis Delicatessen’s Chow Funn. At Mitsuba Delicatessen, folks come in really early for their Sweet Potato Crumble.

Essentially it’s a larger pierogi/turnover-shaped version of Maui’s own Home Maid Bakery Crispy Manju. Specifically in this case, each one measures approximately 3-1/2″ long by 1-3/4″ width and height.

It has a very similar type of kinda’ doughy, kinda’ oily, very flaky and crumbly Crispy Manju style crust, encasing a finely-mashed steamed purple sweet potato filling.

Mitsuba Delicatessen’s Sweet Potato Crumble. $1 each.

Not surprisingly given the circumstance, the main advantage I find to these over Maui’s Crispy Manju is that they taste fresh-baked, as that’s what they were, picked up early this morning at Mitsuba’s School Street (Kalihi) deli by Diner E (mahalo braddah!).  They also have a slightly more buttery, lightly salted flavor, as well as a little more character thanks to its larger size and shape.

It’d be nice if they introduced more filling varieties, such as haupia, chocolate, and/or banana to name a few.

If you’re a crispy Manju fan and you’ve never tried Mistuba’s Sweet Potato Crumble, definitely put these on your “must Manju list”. You’ll be delighted.

What? Sweet Potato Crumble
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? Mitsuba Delicatessen, located in upper Kalihi (Oahu) at 1218 N. School street. $1 each.
Big shaka to: Fresh-baked taste with a ever-so-lightly-buttery and salted zip to it, while the crumbly and flaky factor is spot-on. Purple sweet potato filling matches well and is in good balance of amount with thickness of crust.
No shaka to: Only one filling flavor to choose. Runs out quickly (go early). People who “Ack’ manju”. lol
The Tasty Island rating: 3 SPAM Musubi

This past Wednesday Diner “Santa” (a.k.a. “Saimin Kaukau”) E treated us to a fantastic Christmas lunch at the New Violet’s Grill.

Their signs out front suggest they specialize in steaks and chops…

and saimin and seafood…

Yet upon looking over the menu, while for the most part  they offer these dishes, if they could update it, the sign should now say simply ”Okinawan, Japanese and Local Cuisine” (is it OK to say “Local Cuisine”? lol)

According to Cindy, sister of current owner Kevin Seuhisa, Violet’s Grill started in the 1950′s, and has passed local Okinawan ownership several times, with the second owners being the Tamashiro family, then Kevin and Cindy’s aunt owned it, to which Kevin now owns and operates it. Hence the succeeded name ‘New Violet’s Grill’.

The dining room is totally retro-70′s looking,  just like Boulevard Saimin right up the street, with the same style of faux wood Formica-paneled booths throughout…

The dining room capacity is actually quite large, belying its rather inconspicuous appearance and lack of windows in front. If you look to the far side in the photo above, there’s a doorway there that leads to another lounge area, suggesting this place must fill up later at night with the drinking crowd, as the sign out front states that they serve cocktails. 

At least during the lunch hour we were there, the room was very quiet, with everyone speaking at intimate levels, making our dining experience that much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Well, let’s see what’s on the menu…

This is too funny…

The lunch and dinner menu, partitioned into local, seafood, Japanese and Okinawan categories…

Sandwiches and saimin…

Side orders and beverages…

Booze…

Bulletin…

Diner A went local, getting a mixed plate of Chicken Katsu and Teriyaki Beef…

Diner “Santa” E also went local, getting a mixed plate of Ahi Katsu and Teriyaki Beef…

And yours truly went Okinawan, getting the — drum roll please — Pig’s Feet Soup…

The Pig’s Feet Soup is served (by default) with a bowl of white rice (or you can opt for mashed potato or fries) and a dish of shredded ginger, which you add shoyu to use as a dipping sauce for the pig’s feet.

All the lunch and dinner menu items also include either Miso Soup…

Or tossed green salad…

Their “house” dressing is essentially Thousand Islands.

We didn’t realize until we were almost done with our meal that our server forgot to bring us our Tsukemono (pickled vegetables), which the menu says it’s supposed to include. We were enjoying everything so much as is, we apparently didn’t really miss it. Come to find out from Cindy (the owner’s sister), they had run out of Tsukemono, so that explains that.

The meals include drinks (with free refills), to which we all went with an old school favorite, ‘Green River’….

Green River? Man, I haven’t had that since I was a kid! This sure brings back “hanabaddah dayz” memories. I asked our server how this is made and she said it’s simply Malolo brand lemon-lime syrup and water.

So how was the food? Diner A noted the Teriyaki beef was tender and marinaded well with a well-balanced teriyaki sauce. The chicken katsu was golden-brown-delicious, but he said was just a little on the dry side. Thankfully they serve Ikari brand Tonkatsu sauce – a top 5 finisher in the ‘Great Tonkatsu Sauce Shootout – for their katsu dishes, so huge bonus point for that!

Diner E enjoyed his Ahi Katsu, noting how moist and flavorful it was…

Instead of Tonkatsu sauce, he opted for using their house-made tartar sauce…

Wow, that’s a pretty chunky lookin’ tartar sauce. Looks more like potato salad. He said it was good though.

Last but absolutely certainly not least — more like DA’ BEST! — we have my (Okinawan) Pig’s Feet Soup, where here we’ll have a closer look and taste by first taking inventory of what’s in it…

Kombu, check.

Daikon, check. Mustard cabbage, check.

Pig’s feet, CHECK! Wow, BIG CHECK! Perhaps you can tell by the scale of it in comparison to my finger and chopsticks just how huge this thing is. As you could see in the first photo, it spanned the entire diameter of the bowl.

Pig’s feet number two, CHECK! Not as big as the other one, yet still a considerably hefty cut. Plus you can see several loose chunks of pig’s feet on the sides that must have fallen off the bones into the broth as the cook dished it up.

All that was missing was Togan, which is an Okinawan winter squash. No biggie. As long as got the Daikon and Kombu, I’m happy.

Now when I said those  pig’s feet were ”falling off the bone”, I literally mean FALLING OFF THE BONE…

It didn’t take any chopsticks effort at all to pull this tibia bone right out from the middle of the buttery-tender meat and skin surrounding it…

Here you see they browned the pig’s feet skin before simmering it…

Under that skin is this lusciously tender, succulent and juicy pig’s feet meat…

And more meat…

Take some pig’s feet and dip it in the grated ginger-shoyu sauce…

BAM! OMG, this ROCKS! It so rocks. While I’m not a veteran Pig’s Feet Soup eater (can that be a person’s title? lol), as far as I remember in my collective memory, this is by far the BEST Pig’s Feet Soup I’ve ever had. Possibly the best of bowl of soup in general I’ve ever had.  It certainly give’s my previous recent favorite, the Oxtail Soup from Pho Bistro 2 a run for the money.

The broth seems simple yet complex at the same time, taking on the myriad of flavors from the pig’s feet bones and marrow, with what tasted like a subtle hint of the kombu and daikon. I think it’s the daikon and/or ginger that gave the broth a little bit of “bite” if you will. It had this little “snap” to it.

You might recall a while ago I did a write-up on my first attempt at making Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup, and you know what? This broth from Violet’s actually reminded me a little of the one I made, except without that strong dashi flavor mines had. Otherwise, pretty close. I think I can make it properly, now that I’ve reacquainted my palate in how Pig’s Feet Soup SHOULD taste. There were some great recipes you readers out there shared with me in comments under that post, so I’ll go through them again and pick one to use.

All I gotta’ say is if you’re in search of a truly amazing bowl of (Okinawan) Pig’s Feet Soup, head straight for Violet’s Grill. Ichi ban desu! This gets a very, very, very oishii 5 SPAM Musubi. Awesome.

Violet’s lunch and dinner menu also includes dessert, to which Diner E chose Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream…

While Diner A and Diner P (me) got the Green Tea Ice Cream…

The green tea ice cream was ono! Very creamy, with a very subtle robust element from the green tea and just the right amount of sweetness  to balance it out. I asked our server where they get it from, and she said Meadow Gold by special order only. Well, Meadow Gold should be selling this Green Tea Ice Cream in the stores, as I give it a very solid 4 SPAM Musubi.

The speed of service was OK, but could have faster considering how slow it was at the time of our visit. Other than that, our server was very friendly and went out of her way to get information I asked about the food from the cook, so points made up on that.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal here, and once again I can’t say enough about their STELLAR Pig’s Feet Soup.

Big Mahalo to Diner “Santa” (a.k.a. “Saimin Kaukau) E for the EXCELLENT Christmas lunch at the New Violet’s Grill!

New Violet’s Grill
Kapalama Shopping Center (across the street from City Square)
1210 Dillingham Blvd.
Honolulu, Hawaii  96817

Tel. 841-8535

www.NewVioletsGrill.com

Business hours:
Open daily 6am to 10pm

The Tasty Island rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Related links:
• Munch your way through Kapalama mini-mall – Honolulu Advertiser
• New Violet’s Grill – Yelp user reviews
• The Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup Project – The Tasty Island

P.S. I did some last-minute gift shopping yesterday on Christmas Eve at Ala Moana Center, where I came upon their ‘Candy Cane Train’ for the kiddies. Since had some cool food props on it, I thought it would be aptly interesting to share here. Check it out…

It looked like they had just finished their last “hop” when I got there, which was around 2pm.

This sure is one big mango and papaya!…

Matsumoto’s should get a massive shave ice prop like this and put it on their roof or out front by the roadside…

Hope Santa got you everything you wanted for Christmas this year.

Once again, Mele Kalikimaka!

Off the Wall Restaurant / Bar / Catering has quite an interesting concept going on. Owners Kyle Matsumoto and Grant Sadami “Sanda” Murata describe it as “Comfort food with a twist! It’s the best of the best local food, strongly rooted in Okinawan cuisine, yet infused with Japanese, Korean, Italian, and French flavors, making the dishes different than any other restaurant you’ll visit on the island.”

“Strongly rooted in Okinawan cuisine” eh? Sounds great! And the roots are planted well with traditional Okinawan dishes offered on the menu including Goya Chanpuru, Shoyu Pork (Rafute) and Yakisoba. While the “twists” are turning with dishes such as their Rafute-filled Andagi, Rafute Pasta and Fukuoka Tonkatsu – a dish prepared in the form of Choy Sum wrapped in layers of apple-smoked bacon, thin slices of pork, then breaded with panko bread crumbs. Wow, all that sounds very oishii desu!

Yesterday was the first time trying this place, where here were the specials of the day and “OTW Favorites” listed on the board…

The “5 Items at $5″ selections are touted on their menu as “Our version of the Stimulus Package”. Indeed! That’s a great deal for such good food.

While not shown here, Diner E had da’ onos for a burger today, so he decided to take Off the Wall’s Hamburger for a spin, which is part of their everyday menu…

Off the Wall – Hamburger (includes a 21 oz. soft drink), with garlic cheese spread, $6.00 ($5.00 without the garlic cheese spread)

A burger just ain’t a burger without fries, so Diner E completed the meal with a side of Off the Wall’s Hapa Fries…

Off the Wall – Hapa Fries (half regular and half sweet potato), $3.00

Here’s a cross-cut view of the burger…

Off the Wall – Hamburger (& 21 oz. drink), with garlic cheese spread (and spicy aioli)), $6.00 ($5.00 without the garlic cheese spread)

Looking back to the first photo of the hamburger, notice there’s something orange-colored mixed within the white garlic cheese sauce. As it turns out upon first bite, they had apparently also added some of the spicy aioli sauce intended for their more upscaled “O Baka” Burger Jr. item.

This shot of the bun peeled off clearly shows the spicy aioli sauce slathered on…

Spicy Aioli

Yeah, we’re nitpicking here, but hey, in this day and age of a highly competitive burger market, you gots’da! Fortunately, Off the Wall NAILS it. Diner E gave me a slice of his burger to sample, and personally I must say this burger ROCKS! So good. That garlic cheese spread, along with that spicy aioli really kicks it up. Bam!

The first and foremost visual indication this burger was gonna’ “rock” is the rather unorthodox-yet-promising grill-marked bun. How awesome is that! The second indicator of greatness was the leaping FLAME shooting of f the grill in the kitchen while they were cooking it. I sat on a dining table within visual range of the kitchen watching them prepare it, saying to myself, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”. lol

The reason I made a big deal about the spicy aioli sauce is that it added an unexpected heat to the party. But not overwhelmingly. At first, based on the Japanese and Okinawan theme, we thought it was Wasabi mixed into the garlic cheese, but the red color then told us it was that spicy aioli added to it. But hey, it works!

The 1/3 lb. house-made beef patty was char-grilled to medium-well just as advertised, and was mighty, mighty tasty. I can’t emphasize “char-grilled” enough in words, as this one really carried that all-important flavor aspect through and through. The only thing we would have asked for is to form the patty a little smaller in diameter and THICKER. As it was, it was a bit too flat and “pancaked”.

Still, for any media outlet planning a future “Hawaii’s best burger” or “Honolulu’s best burger” shootout for publication, you must consider adding Off the Wall’s Hamburger to your battle roster. This one truly is a contender for “best burger in Honolulu”. Super-critical Diner E gave it a solid 3-SPAM Musubi, but I give it a solid 4. Supah’ ono!

Off the Wall – Hamburger with Garlic Cheese and Hapa Fries

Then there’s those ‘Hapa Fries’. For you readers not from Hawaii, “Hapa” is a Hawaiian slang term which means “mixed” or half-breed, usually used in context referring to race, which is exactly what the potatoes that make up these fries are. Specifically half regular and half sweet potato. To note, the orange-colored sweet potato fries are lightly coated in a simple batter, bringing additional texture and flavor to the mix.

Summing up the fries, they were cooked to “GBD” perfection, nicely tender inside and seasoned with just the right amount of salt. Another winner. Diner E noted as a suggestion, Off the Wall should offer the fries in either “Hapa” or either or regular 100% sweet potato or regular fries. I’d certainly opt for 100% pure breed sweet potato fries.

You’re probably now saying that a garlic cheeseburger and “Hapa” fries has just about nothing to do with Okiniwan cuisine, and you’r right. That’s why they said, “with a twist”. Ha ha! Yet not to fret, as I was ono for the most defining dish of Okinawa, which here we have Off the Wall’s preparation of authentic Goya Champuru…

Off the Wall – Goya Champuru with Brown Rice and Tossed Salad with oriental dressing, $10

At least I think it’s authentic. Whoah, these Goya slices were BITTER! It didn’t taste like they macerated them with salt to remove any of that bitter taste, but threw them in the pan straight-up from cut raw form. Not that I’m complaining, as believe it or not, I actually enjoy that bitter flavor, which gives it plenty of character.

Here’s a closer look at Off the Wall’s presentation of Goya Champuru…

Goya Champuru

Compared with my first attempt at making Goya Chanpuru (notice I spell Chanpuru with an ‘n’, not ‘m’), theirs tasted pretty much the same, except I couldn’t taste as much miso in it, if any at all, yet it was hard to say for sure, as the Katsuobushi flakes on top masked/added flavors that confused my palate from coming to a conclusion.

Here’s an even closer shot…

Goya Champuru

In this shot, it must be noted that the pork in this Goya Champuru (with an ‘m’) was FORK-TENDER, having me guess they roast the pork prior to, versus how I added my strips of pork straight from raw in the pan.

Otherwise a well-executed, albeit very bitter traditional Okinawan Goya Champuru. With that a solid 3 SPAM Musubi. Oh, note I opted for the healthier brown rice and tossed salad with an light shoyu-based oriental dressing, although you can also choose white rice and mac’ sal’ if you want that extra “oomph”. lol

Here’s my “polished” Goya Champuru plate to back-up that solid 3 SPAM Musubi rating…

*Burp*

This is the first time I’ve ever polished an entire plate in one sitting. Usually I need to wait for a “second wind” to finish an entire plate. Also, usually Diner A is the “plate polishing” champ, but he wasn’t here today, so the “task” was left to me. Actually the lightness of the dish thanks in part to the brown rice and tossed salad made it easier to whack it all.

I wanted to try the Andagi Rafute that Metromix teased us about from here, but unfortunately at the time of my visit, Kyle told me they didn’t have any Andagi mix currently ready. Shucks. That’s OK, I’ll be back to try more stuff here for sure!

That’s just a nip in the bud of the progressive Okinawan-infused menu they’ve got going on here. For a look at much more they have to offer, check out The Honolulu Advertiser’s Metromix’ coverage of Off the Wall here. Also check out the Shoyu Pork (Rafute) Andagi here.

Also check out Donna’s blog coverage of Off the Wall here at Chanpuru.net.

Off the Wall Restaurant / Bar / Catering is located in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center, a bustling city-within-a-city strip mall in Aiea located on the Makai side of Kamehameha highway, right across the street from Pearlridge Shopping Center. They’re situated 2 doors over from Blazin’ Steaks, between Wang’s Garden Northern Chinese Restaurant and a All Access Wireless Communications…

The modestly-sized dining room is clean and comfortable…

Notice the Sake shelf. Everyone should have a “Sake Shelf” in their home. lol Actually, according to their menu, you get 50% off on all Takara Sakes and Sakes-by-the-glass.

On my next visit I plan on ordering the Fukuoka style Tonkatsu and of course a sample of that Shoyu Pork (Rafute) Andagi. I also want to try their Soba Soup, which must be a hit, as four patrons there during my visit waiting for our order were eating that, so it must be good.. and well priced too! Gotta’ try that Rafute Pasta as well. Not to mention getting one of them killer burgers and Hapa Fries that they certainly know how to do right.

Based on our first impression, Off the Wall fits right into the 3-SPAM Musubi club and promising even more!

Off the Wall
Restaurant / Bar / Catering
Pearl Kai Shopping Center
98-199 Kamehameha Hwy #B-10
Aiea, Hawaii 96701

Tel. (808) 486-9255 (WALL)
www.offthewallhawaii.com
Menu (current as of 9/13/09)

The Tasty Island rating:

(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)

P.S. A few months ago in following up to my first attempt at making authentic Okinawan Goya Chanpuru, I took “Hawn Pake in Okinawa” Nate’s highly qualified advice for preparing it how they do it in Okinawa as followed: “Of note is that the goya chanpuru pork that is prepared here in Okinawa is with sliced rafute or prepared shoyu pork, the tofu is usually not sliced but broken into rough chunks by hand., the beaten egg is not cooked ahead too, but stirred into the almost completed chanpuru And usually don’t see round onions. A more simpler preparation. Is the norm as far as I can see. As far as the goya itself, there’s a different type in Okinawa. The stuff there has more sharper bumps, not sorta smooth like the stuff you got at KCC.”

That said, instead of the Chinese Bitter Melon I used in my first attempt, the second time around I bought the smaller, darker and more bitter Indian variety…

Bitter Melon (Goya) – India variety

These were quite pricey as far as fruits (it’s a fruit, not a vegetable) are concerned, running about $3.50/lb. at Don Quijote/Daiei/Holiday Mart. Notice how bumpy their skin is, like an ugly Iguana, while they’re shaped like a mouse with a tail. lol

Here’s how they look sliced and cleaned out…

Bitter Melon (Goya) – India variety

Here’s a fresh batch of Rafute (Okinawan Shoyu Pork) I made for my second attempt at Goya Chanpuru…

Pomai’s Rafute (Okinawan shoyu pork)

As instructed by Nate, I broke-up the tofu by hand and added in the pan with everything else instead of neatly slicing and pre-frying it…

Pomai’s Goya Chanpuru second attempt, featuring Rafute (shoyu pork) and hand-crumbled tofu

For flavoring, I added the same mix of miso, sake, shoyu and sugar. Once this was all browned and cooked through, I added the egg to finish it…

Pomai’s Goya Chanpuru second attempt, featuring Rafute (shoyu pork) and hand-crumbled tofu, with egg added to cook for the finish

Once the egg cooked through and evenly coated everything, it went to plate….

Pomai’s Goya Chanpuru featuring Rafute and hand-crumbled tofu, with Beni Shoga and Takuan Tsukemono

The red condiment is Beni Shoga (Japanese tart pickled ginger) and the yellow condiment is Takuan (Japanese pickled turnip).

It’s good to see Off the Wall tops their Goya Champuru (with an ‘m’) with Katsuobushi (dried bonito) flakes, so at least I know I got that part right. As for the shoyu pork and hand-crumbled tofu, it did make a big difference and it tasted even better than my first attempt, although I did miss the white onions, as I’m a huge onion fan. At least the green onion condiment was there to help. I say my take on Goya Chanpuru was comparable to the one from Off the Wall, and I’m quite confident Chef Murata, a.k.a. Sanda, would approve of my dish if he tasted it.

While we’re on the craze, here’s two packages of Goya seeds from Okinawa that “HWN Pake in Okinawa” gave to me on his last visit here (he now moved back home and resides here)…

2 Packages of Goya seeds from Okinawa, courtesy of fellow food blogger Nate

I STILL haven’t planted them, although I’m not sure even when I do whether they’ll even germinate, as they’re already over 2 years old.

I have a favor to ask of you readers here: if you can read Japanese, can you please translate the instructions on the back of the package shown above for me? I’d really appreciate it! Onegaishimasu. Nate has a fresh package of Goya seeds from Okinawa he’ll be giving to me soon, which I ‘m sure will successfully grow here.

I’d love to hear other favorite recipes you have using bitter melon. Also share your favorite Goya Chanpuru and Pinakbet recipes, too! Especially if get da’ “secret ingrediment”. lol

Bitter Melon is another one of those wonder foods with many acclaimed health benefits, including aiding in digestion, to being an effective anti-oxidant, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, to prevention and treatment of diabetes and cancer. Native Okinawans statistically have the longest lifespan in the world, and surely their diet, which consists of Goya, is a contributing factor to that. So here’s to eating more Goya!

With fellow food blogger Nate, the “HWN Pake in Okinawa” recently posting all these super-oishii lookin’ Okinawan grindz before he makes his epic move back home (to Oahu), this sounds like an ideal time to visit an Okazuya again.  As you know, most Okazuyas in the islands are owned and operated by local Okinawans, with Masa  and Joyce in Kaneohe being up there with the best of the best.

On my most recent visit, they gave me permission to take photos of the okazuya selections behind the display case available on that day.  Mahalo! This was on a Friday around 10:30am when there was quite a few things still in stock.

Let’s see what they got…

You probably immediately noticed that void space on the second shelf in the center. Yup, you guessed it. The item that already sold out was their ever-popular Teriyaki Ahi Patty. Damned it!

No worries, get plenny odda’ stuffs, starting with the cone sushi…

Ginger Maki…

SPAM Musubi…

Fried Rice Musubi…

Furikake Musubi…

Hot Dog Maki…

Hamburger Patties…

Teri’ Burger Patties…

Grilled Tofu…

Omelet…

SPAM…

Grilled Saba…

Ahi Tempura…

Sweet Potato Tempura…

Corned Beef Hash…

Shrimp Tempura…

Vegetable Tempura…

Chicken Katsu…

Yaki Soba…

Teriyaki Chicken Bits…

Shoyu Long Rice…

Ahi Kama (tuna collar)…

Nasubi (Shoyu Eggplant)…

Nishime…

That rounds up the (warm) Okazuya items. Under an adjacent counter are all the cold pupu items, including various styles of Poke…

Shoyu Limu Poke Poke…

Limu Poke…

Tako Poke…

Boiled Peanuts and Edamame…

Lomi Salmon…

There was too much glare for me to get the shot, but also under this cold counter were containers of Haupia, fresh Ahi Sashimi platters and a various styles of dried and smoked fish and tako.

Masa and Joyce also serves hot meals to order, including breakfast and soups…

Plate Lunches…

and Hawaiian Food…

Next time I visit Masa and Joyce, I’ll definitely give their Hawaiian Plate a try. Our good friends over at WOWGrinds.com need to do a “Best Lau Lau” challenge. So far it’s in the middle of the field in a poll they have going on there. Wow, Lau Lau!

Here’s what we ended up ordering on this particular visit, starting with Diner E’s plate…

Masa and Joyce Okazuya – clockwise from top left: Vegetable Tempura, Nasubi (in cup), Cone Sushi, Teri Beef Patty, Yakisoba and Ahi Tempura

And Diner P’s plate…

Masa & Joyce Okazuya – clockwise from top left: Corned Beef Hash, Hot Dog Maki, Nasubi, Yakisoba and Vegetable Tempura

As The Tasty Island always like to do, here’s a cross-cut view of the corned beef hash…

Seriously, this is probably the best corned beef hash I’ve had from an Okazuya. Quite unique too with the various veggies mixed in it, along with that contrasting golden panko crust. So winnahz!

Oh, what the heck, here’s my entire plate in dissected view…

I’m not much a fan of their tempura batter, finding it too glutinous and thick. I prefer the more traditional Japanese style light and crispy batter. Perhaps if it came with some kind of dipping sauce I may change my mind, but plain like this it’s a bit overboard for me. Still ono though, yet gotta’ note that.

Their Yaki Soba is solid. Seasonings are just right, yet I could do without the SPAM in it, as I have enough meats from the other dishes. As a meal in itself, great, but with the other things, no need da’ SPAM.

This is the second time I chose the Hot Dog Maki, for good reason. The  hot dog that’s in it is the protocol Okazuya style that’s lightly simmered in Shoyu, which works so wonderful with the plain white rice and nori surrounding it.  Simplicity at its best.

Finally the Nasubi, or Shoyu Eggplant. If you ask me, the “shoyu” flavoring it’s simmered in tastes like Andamisu, that pork and miso condiment served with Okinawan Champuru. It tasted like it had fat drippings from Rafute (Okinawan Shoyu Pork). Diner E didn’t think so, but that was my detection. However it’s made, the Nasubi is excellent here. It’s veyr deep and savory thanks to the attributes mentioned above, so make sure you’ve got a musubi along side it to help buffer that intense taste. With the rice, winnah, winnah Eggplant dinnah… err, make that lunch.

With that, both Diner E and yours truly give our plates a solid 3-SPAM Musubi.

As you see (again), Masa and Joyce has all the local and Okinawan favorites at reasonable prices and most importantly, everything is fresh and tastes great. Next time you’re in Kaneohe, check ‘em out.

Masa & Joyce Okazuya
Hawaiian & Japanese Foods
Sashimi – Poke – Bento – Etc.
45-582 Kamehameha Hwy.
Tel: (808) 235-6129
Fax: (808) 235-0992

Business hours:
Wed – Fri : 9:00am – 6:00pm
Saturdays: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Sundays: 9:00am – 2:00pm
Mondays & Tuesdays: CLOSED

Tasty Island rating:

The Travel Channel recently rebroadcasted Bizarre Food’s visit to Japan, with one segment having host Andrew Zimmern trying the various cuisine of Okinawa. In that segment, he noted how Okinawans are reputed to live very long and healthy lives, with more centinarians per capita there than anywhere else in the world. At that time, his guest’s mother was preparing a few of her favorite okinawan dishes, both of which featured Goya (bitter melon). She says This fruit is what gets partial credit to the amazing longevity of Okinawans.

A quick search online about bitter melon reveals its known effective uses in medicinal applications, from treating infections, to digestive problems, and even type 2 diabetes and cancer. Surely eating this wonder fruit from a young age must help prevent one from even getting these sometimes fatal ailments to begin with.

So during my usual relaxing browse through the KCC Farmers’ Market this past Saturday morning (where were you Nate?!), I seen a few vendors selling bitter melon, so I bought a couple and set off to make the most celebrated Okinawan dish of the genre, Goya Chanpuru.

It didn’t take long to find a recipe online, where I quickly landed upon a rather entertaining video cooking lesson by “Cooking with Dog”…

Kawaii nei! lol

Here’s the video…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp-a5y8rY28

Here’s the Goya (bitter melon)…

As per the instructions in the video lesson, I scraped the seeds and white pulp out of it using a spoon, which you can see still intact in the center example.

As you see by its outer appearance, it looks kinda’ like a shriveled cucumber. It’s also about as big as a typical cucumber.

Taste wise, I didn’t find it terribly bitter. It’s difficult to assimilate its flavor with something else, except to say it tastes “green”, which I suppose means it’s good for you! Texture-wise, it’s fairly crunchy in raw form, but softens quickly once it hits the heat.

So you chop the Goya into slices about 1/4″ thick, then dust it with salt to macerate it, which they say also regulates its bitterness. After letting it stand in salt for about 10 minutes, you rinse it with water then let it dry, where now they’re ready to use in the Goya Chanpuru…

As you see in the method of  “Cooking with Dog”, each element of the final Chanpuru stir fry is done in steps prior. Now that the Goya is ready to go, next you prepare the egg by simply whisking it until the yolk is combined with the white, season with salt and pepper, then fry that up…

When the egg’s done, put in a plate and set aside.

Another key ingredient in Chanpuru is Tofu, which I used Aloha Brand (my favorite)…

According to the video lesson, you wrap the tofu block in a paper towel, then microwave it for a minute or two, then use another paper towel afterward, all in an effort to absorb and remove as much water out of it as possible. After doing that, you cut them in little “steaks” and pan fry them until gold brown on the outside…

When you’re done browning the tofu, set that aside on a plate.

Now make the “condiment”. This is the all-important sauce that will flavor the dish. It’s basically a simplified misoyaki, using miso paste…

The “condiment” (misoyaki) sauce used in this Goya Chanpuru dish is made using: 2 tbsp. miso, 2 tbsp. sake, 1/2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. soy sauce. Here’s how it looks after those ingredients are thoroughly combined…

You know what? This sauce ROCKS! OMG, it so rocks. Easily another one of those culinary wonders that could make road kill taste great. Best of all, it’s so easy to make.

We’re getting close to putting this whole thing together. A few other flavor components to mention are the sliced onions…

And to finish the dish off, Katsuobushi flakes…

Katsuobushi flakes are shavings of bonito, which is a dried and smoked tuna.  This is absolutely one of the most unique culinary signatures of Japanese cuisine. Anyhow, this will be used as a finishing touch to the Goya Chanpuru.

Last but not least, we have the pork, which here has been marinading in equal parts of shoyu and sake…

So now that all the elements have been prepared and pre-cooked and in place, it’s time to make Goya Chanpuru!

Here we have the pork pretty much cooked through, with the onions just added…

After the onions caramelized, next went in the Goya and fried eggs…

Then goes in the browned tofu and “condiment” (simplified misoyaki sauce)…

After thoroughly combining everything, here’s the finished Goya Chanpuru in the pan…

Then, once again, it goes to plate, with it garnished with Katsuobushi and – per my personal preference – the addition of sliced green onions (negi)…

How is it? Oishii desu!  In the sum of its parts, this dish rings of comfort food. While my first take on it certainly will not compare to that which was made by your favorite obaasan, I’m quite proud and delighted how it came out.

Watch the video of “Cooking with Dog”,  buy the ingredients, and try make Goya Chanpuru yourself. Highly recommended recipe and dish!

Mention Nu’uanu Okazuya to those “in the know” and chances are, they’ll mention fishcakes. They’re certainly one of the more well-known of the genre on Oahu, thanks in part to being included in the Okazuya guidebook, Okazuya: “Oh ‘Cause You Hungry” published back in 2000.

Nu’uanu fits the classic Okazuya business profile under several common denominators: 1) They’re located in an inconspicuous, hole-in-the-wall location; here being on a lesser beaten path back street, just a few blocks mauka of bustling downtown Honolulu. 2) The trays of food are placed in a shop-front window so passersby can see what’s available. 3) They’re owned and operated by a local Okinawan family. Therefore, many of the dishes offered are heavily influenced by Okinawan and Japanese cuisine. And 4) They open very early in the morning, and close within 1 or 2 hours after the lunch hour rush, or whenever food runs out – whichever comes first. Therefore, it’s a good idea to arrive as early as possible for best selection, especially if you want your claim of their most popular specialty items.

And I really agree with this statement in that Star bulletin article linked above: “In some ways I think it was the predecessor of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine,” Dela Cruz says of okazuya food. This really is fusion cuisine at its core, blending ingredients and cooking techniques from both east and western cultures.

Enough rambling. Let’s take a peek through the window to see what get!…

We arrived at 10:45am today (Friday), ahead of this 3-day Memorial Day weekend, therefore many folks (we assume) took off from work to extend the holiday, so most of the good stuff here was still available. Yay!

Still, inventory was already thinning, considering this to be a “slow” day. Look, all the shrimp tempura was wiped out, and only had this much vegetable tempura remaining…

Had Butterfish and Saba…

Hash patties, hamburger patties, Spam slices and Egg Omelets…

Nori Fishcakes, Gobo Fishcakes, Plain Fishcakes, Chive Fishcakes and Crab Fishcakes…

But shoots, they sold out of the Hot Dog Fishcake. Whaaahhhhh! Whaaaaahhh! That’s my favorite! Oh well, next time!

Musubi, check…

Cone Sushi…

Kabocha slices…

Whew, just in time. Only had three left! Had plenty of the diced Kabocha with shrimp, though…

OK, I’m drooling already, time to head in the door to order before people beat me to whatevah get left!…

As I said earlier, this was a Friday preceeding a 3-day weekend, so as you see, the dining room, which is usually at maximum capacity around this time, on this day was empty…

Earlier I showed you the the room-temperature items in the window. Then inside, there’s the hot station…

As you see on the bottom right, the tray of Nishime was all wiped out. But not to fret! As we were there, the cook just loaded up a fresh batch!

To the left of that is Squash (Togan) with Chicken and Tofu. Our nice server lady is shown putting together Diner E’s plate, grabbing a serving of Chicken Long Rice, Okinawan style. There’s also simmered Tofu, Chow Funn, and a few other items not clearly visible in the photo.

Well, we have our plates, so it’s back to the office where it’s time to grind!

Diner C ordered this…

Gobo (Kimpira), Simmered Tofu, Saba and Chow Funn. Total was about $6.

Here’s Diner E’s order….

Clockwise from top: Kobu Maki, Vegetable Tempura, Furikake Musubi, Cone Sushi, Garlic Chicken, Kabocha Pumpkin slice and Chicken Long Rice. Total for his was about $9.

Finally, here’s my order…

Clockwise from top: Vegetable Tempura, Teriyaki burger, Chow Funn, Nori Fishcake, Gobo Fishcake, Kabocha slice, Nori Musubi and Kobu Maki. Total was $9.55.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Kinda’ pricey. Yeah, we all agree on that. But.. but, most of what’s on these plates are worth it. Especially when you consider that many of these are specialty items that take long hours to prepare, or the ingredients involved simply cost more.

Let’s take a close look at that absolutely FANTASTIC! Kobu Maki…

Kobu Maki

This is made by wrapping strips of pork and gobo (Burdock root) in Kobu (a.k.a. Kombu, or sea kelp) and tying it up with Kanpyo (dried gord), then simmered in a shoyu/sugar/sake/katsuoboshi liquid until it’s flavorfully infused and tender. The Kobu Maki at Nu’uanu Okazuya should be a top priority on your must-have list when going here. Sugoi oishii desu yo!

Again I’ll say, I was really bummed they ran out of the Hot Dog Fishcake. But they still had a nice selection of other types. Here’s a closer look at the Gobo Fishcake…

Gobo Fishcake

And the Nori Fishcake..

Nori Fishcake

Good stuff!

Let’s also inspect that Chow Funn closer…

Diner C really enjoyed Nu’uanu’s take on this classic Okazuya dish, preferring its relative “complexity” in comparison to St. Louis Delicatessen’s back-to-basics approach. I didn’t care for it though. It had pieces of chicken in it, which to me didn’t match, IMHO. And the seasonings also was a bit off. Texture-wise, they were also a bit mushy and overcooked.

My favorites, at least on this particular day’s order, was the Gobo (Kimpira), which Diner C shared with us, the Kabocha (pumpkin), and the Kobu Maki. Order just those 3 items, and guaranz’ you got yourself a mighty tasty, and also quite healthy lunch.

Diner C gave her plate a solid 5 Spam Musubi rating based on taste alone, but scales back to 4, only because of the high price for “take-out food” such as this. $6 is a bit steep for that “mini plate” she had. Still, loved the Saba, saying how moist, tender and flavorful it was. That, along with that fantastic Gobo Kimpira gotta’ be a winner right there.

Diner E, our resident Uchinanchu, was also mostly favorable of his plate, except was disappointed with the long rice, which he said paled in comparison to that from Toshi’s and Masa & Joyce ; two of his favorite for that particular item. He also felt a little shortchanged on the Garlic Chicken, which as you can see, is a quite a scrawny small piece. Especially since the Okinawan lady knew he was Okinawan too. Wassup wit dat? lol

Like I was disappointed the Hot Dog fishcake ran out, he was also disappointed that they didn’t have Okara available on this visit. That’s his number one ichiban favorite item from Nu’uanu. Okara is a soy pulp byproduct which comes from the Tofu-making process.

With that, Diner E gave his plate on this day an overall 3 Spam Musubi rating. Not bad, all things considered.

Yours truly gives my plate a 4. But let me go beyond a simplified average and grade each item individually!

Kobu Maki:

Kabocha (Pumpkin slice):

Nori and Gobo Fishcakes:

Vegetable Tempura:

Nori Musubi:

It would have scored one more Spam if it had Ume inside, but nevah get

Teriyaki Burger:

Chow Funn:

Price/Value:

Service:

Convenience/parking:

So to average that breakdown,
the total score for my plate is:

and a half

I need to make a half-eaten SPAM Musubi icon to represent half points!

While techincally my plate is 3.5, I’m giving mines a solid

due to how delicous the Kimpira, Kabocha and Kobu Maki was. Winnahz.

And of course everyone has their favorites, no matter which Okazuya you go. Others might swear Nu’uanu’s Nishime is da’ best. Others might favor their shoyu pork. As always, to each their own.

Nuuanu Okazuya is located in a low-rise business building, with neighbors that include Hosoi Florist, another Okazuya (can’t remember the name), a saimin shop and I think a barber shop. Something like that. It’s on the Daimond Head side of Nuuanu Avenue, across Hosoi Mortuary, just behind Pali Long’s and Safeway. There’s usually a few metered parking stalls available on the street in front. Usually. Depending when you go and your timing. Funny enough, as soon as I drove up towards there, two cars moved in stalls I was gonna’ take! Ack! Luckily I scored one just a bit further down.

Nuuanu Okazuya. Whether you go for the fishcake specialties, their most excellent Kobu Maki, Kimpira, the Kabocha pumpkin, or the many other classics offered there, DO check them out. Buggah is oishii!

Here’s their info…

Click on the image above to view/download/print their take-out menu (PDF)

Nu’uanu Okazuya
1351 Nu’uanu Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96817
808-533-6169

Open Monday – Saturday
6am to 2pm

The Tasty Island rating:

Related Links:
• Okazuya: Cause You So Hungry! – Star Bulletin

When it comes to the back-to-basics, simple-is-best approach to Okazuya-style grindz, St. Louis Delicatessen is where it’s at.

This classic Okazuya shop, located at the corner of Waialae and 3rd avenue, across the St. Louis-Chaminade campus, has been here for decades and is still owned and operated by the same local Okinawan family.

Their signature Chowfun noodles are the foundation to their keep-it-simple approach, and above (or more often underneath) everything else, is THE item to order here.

Full serving Chowfun noodles, $2.00

The simplest execution of ever-so-slightly flavored Chowfun noodles (Hula brand we think), julienned carrots and string beans. That’s it. The flavoring is difficult to detect what exactly they’ve got in there. It doesn’t taste like oyster sauce, but perhaps a combination of chicken stock and/or dashi, and maybe perhaps just dash of shoyu. It’s just on the verge of tasting outright plain, yet there’s “something” in it that’s their secret. That verge-of-being-plain flavor is what makes them the perfect compliment with all the savory items that go with it.

Continuing this simple-is-best approach are all the “goodies” to complete the meal…

Pomai’s custom “oda”, $6.75

Here above on this custom order of mine we have: (top to bottom) vegetable tempura, shrimp tempura, potato tempura, nori musubi, nishime, fried chicken, potato hash and luncheon meat, over a bed of their signature chowfun noodles.

Diner “E”‘s order…

Diner “E”‘s custom “oda”, $6.70

Shown above on Diner “E”‘s plate is: (top to bottom) vegetable tempura, nishime, long rice, cone sushi (aburage), potato hash and fried chicken, over a half serving of chowfun noodles.

Diner “A”‘s order…

Diner “A”‘s order: Plate B, $6.50

Diner “A”‘s order shown above includes: (top to bottom) cone sushi (aburage), musubi (plain), potato tempura, fried chicken, luncheon meat, shrimp tempura, over a half serving of their signature chowfun noodles.

Just look at how much Okazuya grindz you get for under $7! Unless you’re really, really hungry, I swear any one of these plates could easily feed two, possibly even three adults. My eyes were certainly bigger than my stomach on my particular order, as it kept me busy nibbling away at that over a four hour period just to rebuild my appetite and finish it.

I already explained their signature chowfun noodles, so now let’s into detail on the rest of the items here.

First we must clarify on the tempura selections here. As you notice the, the batter isn’t your traditional Japanese style that’s delicate and flaky, but more “local style”, having a more glutenous and chewy texture to it. This applies to the vegetable and shrimp tempura.

Going back to simple again, the vegetable tempura is just carrots and string beans; the same thing used in the chowfun. But the combination works beautifully. I love this tempura! The shrimp size in that tempura is kinda’ small, but the flavor of it sure does permeate throughout the thick, glutenous batter its encapsulated in.

The potato “tempura” is the most interesting here, as it’s essentially a traditional Okinawan Andagi, with a thin sliver of sweet potato (not the purple Okinawan type) in the middle of it…

Potato “Andagi” Tempura

What’s interesting is how the flavor of this thin piece of sweet potato really punches through in that slightly sweet, chewy, nicely crusted Andagi “shell”.

The fried chicken is pretty much just your basic recipe, very crisp and crunchy on the outside, tender and moist inside. Simple. This goes great with that nori musubi.

Speaking of musubi, this is also another basic that St. Louis Okazuya excels at. The musubi has great integrity, and doesn’t fall apart like some other places’ musubi have a tendency of doing. The nori version (compared to the plain) has a piece of seedless Ume inside. That alone is worth the extra 10 cents.

The Nishime is another winner here. The broth has a deeply simmered dashi flavor, and the daikon, kombu and carrots are all tender and just soaking in the “onoliciousness” of that broth (hey, new word!).

The luncheon meat is the “institutional type” (not SPAM) found in that white square can, simply fried up. This also goes great with the nori musubi.

The potato hash is more potato than corned beef, and a bit loose (falls apart), so there’s better out there, but still, it works.

Diner “E” loves their long rice (a regular item for him), which is he says is also a simple recipe (he’s guessing) of shoyu, sugar, with the noodles cooked in chicken stock. Sounds good to me.

That pretty much covers our favorites at St. Louis Deli. I’d say the ultimate way to enjoy this type of food is to go buy your plates, then head on over to a beach park, either Ala Moana or up Diamond Head-Kahala side. Go for a swim to build up your hunger, then head back on the sand and dig into your St. Louis Okazuya lunch plate. The filling starch and salty, savory meats just hits da’ spot, along with the ambience of salty air and blue ocean just hits da’ spot. Das’ da’ best’est’est’est!

Here’s the menu*…

*Current as of this writing.

The front of the shop…

St. Louis Delicatessen shop front

Truly a hidden gem! The inside of the shop is very cramped, with only enough standing space for about 6 people max.. I arrived to pick up this order at around 10:30am, which when I walked in, there were only 2 people inside. Within minutes of me standing there, a line had already built leading out the door. Folks, as hidden as this place is, they are very popular, so don’t underestimate anything! And with most Okazuya shops, when food items run out, it’s out. That’s it. No more. Arimasen. So I’d recommend going early for best selection. At least before noon.

Located next door (to the left) of St. Louis Drive In on the corner of Waialae and 3rd avenue…

Remember, don’t get confused with St. Louis Drive In, or that sign. St. Louis Delicatessen is an unaffiliated business that’s NEXT DOOR!

So if you want Okazuya style grindz that’s fundamentally simple, yet absolutely delicious, at an unbeatable value, check out St. Louis Delicatessen.

St. Louis Delicatessen
3147 Waialae avenue
Tel. 732-0955
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 8am – 1:30pm (closed Sundays and Mondays)

The Tasty Island Rating:

(4) Excellent. Worth another visit or purchase. (Winnahz!)

Mention Chow Fun noodles to anyone who grew up in Hawaii, and chances are what immediately comes to mind is the “Manapua Man”, or an Okazuya. For the latter, my pick for “best Chow Fun” goes to Matsumoto’s on Gulick, and the “keep it simple” approach to perfection at St. Louis Delicatessen on Waialae.

Chow Fun is another of those seemingly simple dishes, yet it can also be ambiguously complex, with so many interpretations, and no “local standard”. It’s easy to mess up it up by overdoing it and adding too many ingredients, where it ends up “lost”.

Recently a new member on a discussion board I frequent shared a recipe for her “Vegetarian Chow Fun”, which had me intrigued to try, since she mentioned she used to operate an Okazuya shop herself.

I’m assuming it’s called “vegetarian” due to the lack of chicken, charsiu or luncheon meat in it, which is most often what Chow Fun is prepared with here in the islands. But what had me most curious was the use of Hijiki, which I’ve never cooked with before.

So I went for it. Here’s the recipe…

—————————————————————–

Vegetarian Chow Fun Noodles
by kani-lehua
Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 1 package dried chow fun noodles (Hula brand)
• Shiitake mushrooms (don’t forget to soak them first, julienned)
• Carrots and onions, julienned
• Green onions, chopped (for garnish)
• Broccoli and zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 can water chestnuts (the ones already sliced)
• Hijiki (dried black looking seaweed, soak in water to rehydrate)
• Oil for stir frying
• Sesame oil for drizzling when everthing is pau cooked.
• Grated ginger and garlic (according to taste)
• 2T shoyu (i guess you could sub bragg’s amino acids, but i don’t know)
• 1T vegetarian style oyster sauce (if no more, use regular)

Boil noodles until al dente. You have to keep checking on them. app. 9 minutes. rinse in cold water and drain. Cut noodles in half and set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, saute the garlic and ginger (do not burn) for app. 1-2 minutes in the oil. add the shoyu or bragg’s and oyster sauce. mix until well blended.

Stir fry all the veggies until al dente. Add the cooled noodles and heat through. Drizzle with sesame oil (don’t over do it) and then toss in the hijiki at the end.

—————————————————————–

What’s obviously the most important factor in this recipe is the type of Chow Fun noodles, as in this case is called for HULA BRAND…

Hula Brand Chow Funn, purchased recently at Tropic Fish & Vegetable Center on GOB clearance for just 50 cents a bag!

Interestingly, when uncooked and dry, these noodles appear “pasty” and delicate, but once they begin to cook in the water, they really tighten-up and become resilient. I think that has something to do with the Potassium Carbonate in it. I’d go as far saying you could make a darned tasty Fetuccini Alfredo out of this.

What’s nice about this package is that it includes 4 individual servings bundled up separately, which should come in handy for restaurant service.

Here’s the cooked Chow Fun (Funn), perfectly al dente…

So while that’s set aside, you saute all the veggies…

When these are all cooked, throw the cooked Chow Fun into the pan with it, combine and finish the dish according to the instructions in the recipe above.

I actually rushed this job, not paying particular attention to how I cut the veggies, as you can tell. As far as the quantity of veggies, it’s really up to you. For that one package of Chow Funn, I used half a Zucchini, 1 large carrot, and about 8 medium-sized Shiitake mushrooms. I also only used only about 1/3 of the can of sliced water chestnuts, as any more than that looked like it would have been too much.

I must note, sometimes the noodles may be sticky or dry from sitting, so when I added them in, I also sprinkled some water and a drizzle of extra cooking oil to “loosen” it up. That worked. I also had to readjust by adding a little more Oyster Sauce.

Speaking of Oyster sauce, that’s another key ingredient here, as that’s the main “flavorizer”. In this preparation, I used Shirakiku brand Premium Oyster Sauce, which was fantastic. Others swear by the Lee Kum Kee brand. Up to you.

I added very very little Sesame oil at the end, as the stuff can be overpowering. But what little was added gave it that “nuttyness” that helped punch out the flavor of the Shiitake mushrooms.

That first photo shows the finished dish in the pan, all done and ready to serve.

Note that I also added Beni Shoga on the right side (red stuff), which goes well with anything savory.

What does bring savoriness to the table here is of course the Shiitake mushrooms, but also the Oyster sauce, along with the way the garlic, ginger and onions are sauteed in the oil before everything goes in.

The Hijiki added a “seafood” like element to it, along with it’s crunchy texture, yet I added just enough, but not too much where it may have been overpowering. You have to be careful how much you add in.

As for the “vegetarian” part, most carnivores would be hard-pressed to find anything “not meaty” about this dish. It doesn’t miss the chicken, char siu or luncheon meat at all.

Now the devil on my right shoulder knocks on my brain and says, “Wait a minute? No meat you say? Well, let’s add some on top of it, Okazuya style!”
So I added a cooked Teriyaki Winner on top. This kine..

I swear, these are one of the BEST hot dogs on the market. I’m not really a huge Teriyaki fan, and I try not to eat too many hot dogs for health reasons, but for what it’s worth, this one has that perfect balance of savory-sweet going on, with hint of shoyu-laced depth that’s unlike any other hot dog I’ve ever had. Knowing how popular Teriyaki is in Hawaii, If Costco sold these at their concession, they’d probably move containers full of the stuff.

The devil made me do it…

I think I’ll name this one “Da’ Hana-koko-lele” Okazuya plate

Hey, this was somethin’ yum! There’s almost this “surf ‘n turf” thing going on with the combination of the Hijiki and the savory-sweet hot dog. I’d take out the Shiitake mushrooms next time though, if I’m gonna’ “carnivorize” this Chow Fun, as that, combined with the porky wiener was a little too “meaty”. Still ono though.

Back to the original recipe, this Vegetarian Chow Fun recipe, as is, turned out to be a winner. It’s relatively cheap and easy to make, and best of all, it can be served as a delicious, satisfying, nutritionally balanced, guilt-free (if you resist the hotdog!), all-in-one meal.

Mahalo kani-lehua for sharing it!

We were going to make a trip to Kaka’ako yesterday for lunch, so I called Tsukenjo Lunch House to ask if the lunch wagon was open, but was sadly informed by Doris, the owner that the lunch wagon is no longer in operation. It was shut down this past November of 2007, and the wagon itself was sold.

The family business began as a saimin stand in 1959, with the lunch wagon coming into service in 1970.

Tsukenjo’s famous red lunch wagon, paint weathered from years of active duty in the hot Hawaiian sun, has been at that same location in Kaka’ako at the corner of Ward and Queen Street, in front of what is now Z-Interiors, for decades, serving up meat loaf, roast pork, shoyu chicken and many other plate lunch favorites to generations of locals and tourists alike.

Thankfully, Tsukenjo Lunch House continues business as usual on Cooke street, so you can still get your fix there.

I hope whoever bought that famous faded red lunch wagon preserves it “as is” as a possible future museum piece on “Hawaii’s Culinary History”. Seriously.

With that, I wish the entire Tsukenjo family a very happy new year and big, big, big mahalo for all the years of hard work and dedication in establishing what has become a household name in Hawaii with Tsukenjo Lunch Wagon. 37 years is a long run, yet surely an “onolicious” ride! Aloha Oe.

This might as well be named “The Tasty Noodle Island” blog, as here I present yet another store-bought fresh oriental noodle product in the form of Okinawa Soba by Sun Noodle. You may know by my previous posts how fond I am of Sun Noodle’s Ramen products. With that in mind, I just had to pick up this Okinawa Soba item up and give it a spin.

This 14.7 oz 2-person serving package was purchased at Ward Marukai for $2.79 (regular price). It includes a sealed inner bag of soba noodles (single batch) and two packets of soup base…

Notice how these Okinawan Soba noodles are light in color and have a wide and flat profile vs. Japanese Soba noodles which are more brown and have a thinner, round profile.

Well, like Saimin and Ramen (or any noodle dish for that matter), they require further garnishment to make it a complete dish. With that I added julienned carrots, celery and sliced green onions. There’s also a small amount of minced fresh ginger and garlic for extra “kick”…

As well as two types of Kamaboko (fish cake)…

Hilo’s Amano brand Vegetable Tenpura Deep Fried Fish Cake – 6 oz., $1.27 (on sale) from Marukai.

Here it is unpackaged…

Notice all the bits and pieces of green onion, peas and carrots. This stuff is awesome just eaten alone, so imagine how good they are in the Yakisoba noodles!

Also…

Hilo’s Amano brand Uzumaki Steamed Fish Cake – 6 oz., $1.27 (on sale) from Marukai.

Notice the attractive swirled profile…

This stuff is mandatory in saimin.

So I also made Julienned strips out of these two fish cakes. You could also add (or substitute) with Spam or Charsiu (local style), but I opted to stick with these. Especially since the deep-fried Vegetable Tenpura Fish Cake already has a “meaty” flavor profile.

Now that we’re prepped, on with the cooking, which is VERY easy (like making Saimin)…

In a large sauté pan or wok on medium-high heat, first sauté the vegetables…

Once the vegetables begin soften and cook through, add the Kamaboko (or other meat)…

In that photo, you can see how I cut the Kamaboko, so that everything is uniform and combines easier with the soba noodles.

The Kamaboko is already cooked out of the package, so all you’re doing here is heating it up. Then you add the broth. First combine the broth packet with 1-1/2 cups of boiling water in a cup. There are two packets in here, so make that 3 cups for the 2 packets. Then pour the broth into the pan with the vegetables and fish cake…

Unlike ramen or saimin, this is a “dry” noodle dish, not a soup; where the broth is only for flavor and moisture, and the noodles will mostly absorb all of it.

Then add the Soba noodles…

The broth will begin to boil and steam and cook the noodles, which the noodles will also absorb most of its moisture and flavor. With chopsticks (or tongs), combine the noodles, vegetables and kamaboko (or meat) evenly…

If you want, you can adjust the final flavor with Shoyu…

As you can see, the soba noodles absorbed that broth, making them tender and moist. These Yakisoba noodles really are “sponges”, also taking on the Kamaboko flavors.

From the time the noodles are added, it only takes about 5 minutes to reach the ideal tender, and moist finish. Finally, garnish it with the green onions and that’s it!

Itadakimasu!

As you can see, this is a popular item with local Okazuya shops, as many of them are owned Okinwans, such as shown in this plate from Masa & Joyce in Kaneohe…

And the dish really is flexible as to what you garnish with. Here’s a Yakisoba plate from this year’s Okinawan Festival…

I’m willing to bet Sun Noodle makes the noodles sold at the festival. Next year I’ll ask. But they do look like the same one I have here from the store. As you can see, they put SPAM in theirs. Mines mo’ bettah with da’ Kamaboko!

Next time I’ll try added that pickled ginger garnish on top. That looks good!

Anyway, next time you’re in the mood for noodles, give this Okinawa Yakisoba by Sun Noodle a try. It’s really easy to make.. and to make it your own. It’s also a fantastic one-dish meal, great for pot lucks or to pack for the beach. Oishii desu!

Still bearing “Okinawan fever”, this past week I decided for the first time to attempt (stress ATTEMPT) making Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup, which is called Ashitibichi. I have little exposure to this delicacy, except for the one I tried at the culture festival two weeks ago, which I absolutely loved!…

Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup from the 2007 Culture Festival

There’s a considerable difference in both color AND flavor of the broth in my version, when compared with the version from the Okinawan Festival.

The simplicity of its flavor being key. Mine was too complex, probably because I didn’t stick with the original online recipe published by the Star Bulletin, or my other reference from the KaukauTime food blog.

My Pig’s Feet Soup tasted more like Oden, a Japanese fish cake “stew”…

Playing “doctor”, I think I made the mistake of putting too much dashi (a recipe from a book) and too much Kombu (sea kelp), including not rinsing the salt off the Konbu. Don’t get me wrong. My soup was absolutely delicious (I love Oden!), but it wasn’t as mild and simple in flavor like I remember the Pig’s Feet Soup from the Okinawan Festival, which had a very simple & mild ginger, pork and salt flavor profile.

I’ll recap on my deviations of the original recipe(s) later.

Instead of providing a formal written recipe with instructions, Here’s a pictorial narrative of the ingredients in approximate quantities, and the method that I followed…

The Pig’s front foot. Yeah, looks gross, but there’s TONS of flavor in the bones here! I found this at Foodland in the freezer section, which is where most of the “other cuts” of pork are found.

Mustard Cabbage, a.k.a. “Gai Choy” (Chinese) or “Takana” (Japanese). This stuff really has a mustard-like flavor to it with some bite.

Left to right: Ginger, Daikon (radish) and long squash. I’m told the usual ingredient is Winter Melon (Togan), but because the Togan in the store was so big (it looks like a dark watermelon), I opted for the long squash. The daikon is easy to peel using a standard vegetable peeler. The squash’s skin had to be cut off using a knife.

Dashino-moto, a Bonito-flavored (dried fish) seasoning with plenty of MSG in it. It’s commonly used in various Japanese soups, including Miso soup. I added 4 packets of this stuff in my broth. Too much.

Nishimi Kombu (sea kelp).

I also used shoyu and sake for flavoring the broth.

First I boiled the pig’s feet…

Then I added ginger, kombu and sake…

After letting that boil and then simmer for about 1-1/2 hours, I put it in the refrigerator overnight to harden the fat given off from the pig’s feet on the top surface…

Yeah, looks kinda’ gross, but this is a necessary step that makes it easier to remove the fat from the pig’s feet stock. So I scooped that out using a large spoon and discarded it.

Then I soaked, but didn’t rinse the Kombu to be tied for the finished soup, as I wanted the salt on them to help flavor the broth…

The look like long “leafy strips” when rehydrated. I cut the kombu in 4″ lengths and tied a knot in the middle of each one…

Isn’t that pretty? lol

Then peeled and diced the squash…

and the Daikon (turnip)…

Reheated the broth, strained it through a sieve and cut the pig’s feet (and lower leg) into bite size pieces (this looks gross too, but this is the “soul” of the dish!)…

Then added all the cut up pig’s feet parts back in the pot. Note that I also added some cut up belly pork just to have more meat…

Then added the bow-tied Kombu, diced daikon, squash, some chopped mustard cabbage stump pieces, along with the strained broth back into the pot with the pig’s feet and simmered it for about an hour to cook until everything was tender. At the last moment, I also decided to add some soaked Shiitake mushrooms. I adjusted the flavor with shoyu.

Here’s the finished pot of Pig’s Feet Soup…

Once again, here’s the finished bowl, my first attempt at Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup…

And here’s a nifty way to make use of saved S&S Saimin bowls!….

I dished single servings for that I can freeze to enjoy this soup later, with an equal amount of each ingredient bowled in each one. Cool huh?!

Note that I put in pieces of mustard cabbage raw at the last moment, as they heat from the broth quickly breaks it down and soften it.

Now to recap where I deviated from the recipe, and why it came out tasting “different” than the one from the Okinawan Festival.

• First, note that I put in an excessive amount of Dashi; some recipes don’t call for dashi at all, but use Miso and/or shoyu only.
• Second was that I used Kombu when boiling the pig’s feet, thinking that would enhance the flavor. Well, it did actually, but it also CHANGED it considerably.
• Third was that I put in over 1 cup of Sake, when the recipe only called for a few tablespoons. Go easy now!
• Fourth is that I didn’t rinse the tied kombu, so the natural sea salt on them was somewhat noticeable, taking away from the star of the show, the pig’s feet!
• The Shiitake Mushrooms also was somewhat dominant and also masked the pig’s feet flavor.
• I’m also not sure if I boiled the pig’s feet properly. Either not long enough, or overdone.
• Perhaps I needed more pig’s feet? Is just one enough? I didn’t want to spend too much money on an experiment, so I only bought one as shown, which costed about $8.
• Perhaps my substitution of long squash for winter melon, a.k.a. Togan, affected the outcome.

Which is why I’ve called this a “project”. Therefore I ask YOU, my fellow bloggers and visitors, if you have any tips, family recipe or other suggestions for making authentic Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup the way you know it should be, please leave a comment. That will be highly appreciated!

Like I said, this came out absolutely oishii. Sugoi oishii desu! But it was too complex, and more Oden-like. I will thoroughly enjoy each and every one of those “Pig’s Feet Soup S&S bowls”, but I’m gonna’ try it again by following the original recipe to the “T”, and perhaps by also following suggestions by you folks.

As always, big mahalo for visiting The Tasty Island, and I hope you enjoy this article as much as I did making the soup for it! Kampai!

“Ashitibichi, in Okinawan, is warm, soul-satisfying, comfort food, considered health food, actually, because the gelatin that slowly cooks out of the feet and into the broth and is believed to prevent deterioration of the knee ligaments.

That gelatin, released over two or more hours of cooking, is also what gives the soup its special taste.” – Betty Shimabukuro, Honolulu Star Bulletin

Continuing the Uchinanchu spirit from last week’s Okinawan Festival, today we decided to make a stop over in Kaneohe at Masa & Joyce Okazuya. A first for me, yet a frequent stop for my Uchinanchu friend, who’s order is shown above.

On the right side of the establishment as you enter is a glass refrigerator case with various poke, seafood and other pupu items. Head straight towards the front counter where the menu board is hanging and there under the glass case you’ll find the various trays of daily Okazuya items to pick from. This is “the gold”! All the other stuff on the menu looks ono, but we’re here today for Okazuya!

As is typical of many Okazuya shops, there aren’t any signs with descriptions or prices on each item, making it a little challenging to make your choices if you’re not a regular here. I arrived around 10:30am, thinking I’d beat the lunch hour rush. Which I thought I had done, as it was rather empty when I walked in, but before I knew it, there was a line building behind me that was already practically out the door! So I had to hurry and select items for two plates to go, which totaled $15 for both of them.

There’s also (limited) tables and seating if you prefer to dine in.

So the plate shown above was my friend’s order, and here’s my order…

Okazuya plate from Masa & Joyce: Okinawan Yakisoba Noodles, Vegetable Tempura, Ahi Tempura, Ahi Belly, Hot Dog Maki Sushi

So how is it?

The stir-fried Okinawan Yakisoba Noodles are a meal in itself, el dente, with generous slices of SPAM, carrots, white and green onions in it; the sum of its parts seasoned nicely in a shoyu-base that we can’t pinpoint, but works perfect. This the OTHER chow funn!

The Ahi Belly… OMG, this is like “buttah”. Being the fatty party of the tuna, this piece was super moist, very very flavorful, and gladly hardly had any bones in it. It had a light shoyu and sugar glaze on the seared exterior which gave it that signature “Okazuya style”. Highly recommended!

The Ahi Tempura has a rather thick and chewy, somewhat salty batter, which contrasted, yet complimented the tender ahi meat inside nicely. Here’s how that looks on the inside…

The Vegetable Tempura seemed to share the same thick, chewy and slightly salted batter as the Ahi version, except in this case being made up of carrots, onions, green onions and string beans.

Because of the batter, both these had character on their own, and didn’t need any kind of dipping sauce, as is usually the case with Japanese-style Tempura. Both good choices.

The Hot Dog Maki Sushi is such a no-brainer idea as far as “local food” is concerned, yet I don’t see this too often. This is a great alternative to the more familiar “Spam Musubi”. Here’s a cross section showing how it’s constructed…

Each bite: rice and hot dog, rice and hot dog, rice and hot dog. Life is complete!

That sums up my plate. My friend ordered the Teriyaki fish patty, which he gave me a sample of. OMG! That ROCKS! Order that on your next stop at Masa & Joyce. Trust me. I know I am. It’s not “fishy” at all. It taste nothing like the fish patty at Tanioka’s, which is excellent in its own right. It’s almost like hamburger-like, yet has something “Japanese” about it, and not fatty like a burger. I’d love the recipe for this.

He approved of the Nishime, which was the first time he’s ordered that from here since they didn’t have Kinpira (Gobo) today. While he says it doesn’t beat Ige’s, it was ono.

Other items included Okinawan Sweet Potato patties, various other fish items, Okinawan Long Rice, Teriyaki Fish Meatballs (same like the fishcake patty, but in different form), Aburage, Spam Sushi, Fried Tofu, and many other dishes just I can’t remember or identify.

Besides Okazuya, they also have a regular menu to order from, including a basic breakfast and soups such as Ox Tail, Ju Shi Me (Okinawan Rice Soup) and Okinawan Soba (like Saimin). There’s also plate lunches, bento lunches and Hawaiian Food, including all the favorites.

The Okazuya offerings are located in that glass case under this counter. “Da’ Gold”!

Now that I’ve sampled their Okazuya, which is on par with the best the island has to offer, next time around, I’m gonna’ go for one of the Hawaiian plates and see how M&J stacks up with Young’s Fish Market and Ono Hawaiian Food.

If you’re ever in the Kaneohe area and looking for Japanese, Okinawan, Hawaiian and overall local ‘kine grindz all in one stop, check Masa & Joyce out. Buggah stay winnahz, ono and oishii all at da’ same time! Go check ‘em now go!

Masa & Joyce Okazuya
Hawaiian & Japanese Foods
Sashimi – Poke – Bento – Etc.
45-582 Kamehameha Hwy.
Tel: (808) 235-6129
Fax: (808) 235-0992

Tasty Island rating:

Winnahz!

*Masa & Joyce Okazuya is located across Windward City Shopping Center (Foodland and First Hawaiian Bank). They’re in a small business plaza complex on the corner of Kamehameha Hwy. and Luluku Rd. (mauka side), and are also neighbors with Kin Wah Chop Suey, another popular place!…

What better way to begin this year’s coverage of the 25th Annual Okinawan Festival, which took place from August 30 to September 2, 2007, than to talk about Saturday evening’s FREE concert performance by the Rinken Band. For those not familiar with this very popular group direct from the motherland, Rinken Band blends traditional Okinawan folk music with modern pop and rock influences, along with a dynamically percussive, mostly upbeat stage performance.

Their show started at 8pm on Saturday evening following the usual Bon Dance on an exclusively-built concert stage in the middle of Kapiolani Park, just outside the fence to the Waikiki Shell, with Diamond Head crater as a backdrop. The sound and lighting was superb, and it also included 2 large projection screens so folks could zoom in on each performer.

Speaking of performers, the 3 other male frontmen really got the crowd pumped by their energy!…

I can’t pinpoint the songs, as I don’t own any Rinken Band albums, but let’s just say the live show was something to behold, and those who were lucky enough to see it, including yours truly, probably sure were glad not to have missed it. It was just awesome in every way. The crowd, compiled of everyone from 2 to 80, kept a steady clap throughout the show, and during the final 5 or so songs, the younger folks got in front of the stage and danced the night away, getting the band even more pumped! We even learned how to say “Hanahou!” which means “One more time!” in Hawaiian in Okinawan. The term is “Ma-Ti-Che”. Not sure on the spelling, but it’s pronouced “Mah-Tee-Shay”. So next time you’re at an Okinawan event and you want an encore, say that!

Here’s the entire Rinken Band on stage…

You can’t see the drummer in this shot, but we were told this young fellah’ was only 10 years old, yet he could sure lay down the beat… he was rockin’!

During the final two encore songs, it began to drizzle, then drizzle a bit heavier, almost as if the band brought on a blessing to everyone there. It was that kind of chicken skin feeling you felt watching them perform. If you ever hear of this group coming to your neck of the woods, consider seeing them. Highly recommended. Sugoi Tanushitakatta… that was a lot of fun!

Wind back the clock to 1:30pm that same day, and here we are at the same stage…

Daimond Head crater for a backdrop. Nice!

The two open frames on the sides are where the projections screens will go later in the evening…

As you can see, it was clear blue skies, sunny and HOT!…

Not to mention crowded, yet controlled enough that I didn’t have to wait too long in line for anything…

All the Okinawan grocery foods could be found under one tent…

The keiki were kept busy with plenty of bouncers to choose along the Diamond Head end of the tent booths…

Other kids enjoyed the Andagi Dunk game just to cool off…

All of the performances scheduled throughout the 2 days at the park this year were held on that new concert stage, which relegated the Kapiolani Band Stage as a place for folks to get some shade and a place to sit..

Which brings us back to the food. All the usual suspects were in attendance, this time with me getting to try a a bowl of the ever-popular Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup!…

Okinawan Pig’s Feet Soup, 28 scrips ($7)
Oh my, this is GOOD stuff, having an almost medicinal quality to it; like kicking chicken noodle soup up a notch. lol It has a strong ginger flavor that compliments the deep and “porky” pig’s feet broth. There was also generous cuts of fatty pig’s feet in it, while kept in balanced by the large cuts of daikon, mustard cabbage, kubo (konbu/seaweed) and celery.

Here they are preparing bowls, sans broth, for service…

So everything doesn’t get soggy, the broth isn’t added until you make an order. It’s served with a small plate of rice and minced fresh ginger as a condiment.

Anyhow, don’t let the name scare you, just try it… buggah stay ono!

My niece ordered the Yaki Soba plate…

Okinawan Yaki Soba, 28 scrips ($7)

The noodles were a bit soggy, but otherwise the combination of flavors and textures from the luncheon meat, ginger, carrots, green onion and seasoning was delicious (I sampled a bit).

Volunteers stationed at multiple woks cook up crowd-pleasing portions of Yaki Soba…

While volunteers at another tent prepare plain Okinawan Soba noodles, which will be used in a soup-style preparation…

Due to the scorching hot sun, one of the longer lines while I was there was at the shave ice tent…

Here’s the Okinawan Plate…

Okinawan Plate: Champuru (the cabbage and agedofu mixture), Shoyu Pork (Rafute), Rice and Andamisu (pork and miso condiment), 28 scrips ($7)

I also grabbed a few Andadogs to go (gotta’!)…

Okinawan Andadog, 5 scrips ($1.25) each

A note on the prices, just about everything went up this year, including most of the main entree items, which were $1 higher than last year.

From the looks of the crowd, which was estimated around 75,000 over the course of all three days, and the line-up of performances and demonstrations, including that fantastic Rinken Band concert, this year’s 25th Annual Okinawan Festival appeared to be the biggest ever and a total success. Here’s to generations ahead for this wonderful cultural event… Kanpai!