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We continue here with part 2 of 3 in our “saimin series”, hot off the heals of the last stop at The Old Saimin House, where now we’re here at Palace Saimin, which is literally right across the street. King Street that is, in the heart of historic and scenic Kalihi, or as we like to say here at The Tasty Island, “The Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe”, a.k.a. “God’s Country”.

Reading over the numerous positive Yelp reviews, the bottom line appears to be unanimous that if you’re looking for truly “Old School Saimin” done the way it should be, Palace Saimin is where it’s at. Shoots. Hook. Me. Up.

Palace Saimin is located at 1256 North King Street on the mauka side, not far down the street Daimond Head-bound of the Kapalama (Kalihi) Post Office (if you don’t understand those Oahu-kine directions, Google it). It’s on the ground floor of a walk-up nondescript apartment building, making it truly a hidden gem that you could easily pass by if you weren’t looking for it.

There’s very limited parking in the front of the building, and this place tends to pack a lunch hour crowd, so if you plan to eat here, it’s highly recommended to arrive early, lest you there not be parking (there’s also very limited parking along King Street during the work week). Arrive in the heat of the noon-time lunch hour rush, and chances are you’ll also have to wait in line outside, where notice they have stools in front, which indicates just how busy they get! Seriously.

Once inside, Like The Old Saimin House — or any hole-in-the-wall gem for that matter — you’ll find a very small dining room that can seat I’d estimate no more than 30 people at a time…

Kinda’ like Hamura’s on Kauai, Palace Saimin has at least one communal table in the center that you share with anyone and everyone who’s there, which I think is great, as you get to meet the Palace Saimin “regulars” (and really nice local folks) as I did on my visit.

You notice whenever I review restaurants,  along with the food, I also I like to showcase the artwork they decorate with, which truly reflects the owners’ background and interests that they want to share with their customers, family and friends…

Speaking of owners, the history of Palace Saimin goes like this…

THE PALACE SAIMIN STORY

Palace Saimin was the vision of Kame Ige, who immigrated from Okinawa in 1924. Mrs. Ige named the restaurant “Palace Saimin” after the Palace Theater on Beretania Street. The shop was opened in 1946 near the theater and the Palace Saimin experience began.

In 1950 Palace Saimin moved next to Tamashiro Market on King Street and again in 1960 to the existing location. In 1975 Mrs. Ige decided to offer the stand to one of her trusted waitresses Felice “Setsuko” Arakaki (“Mama”).

Mrs. Arakaki has been working hard with Mrs. Yoshiko “Aunty Yoshi” Takahashi, (waitress for over 40 years) and the rest of the friendly staff to serve the customers and keep the tradition alive. In 2010 Mrs. Arakaki’s son-in-law agreed to support the business and put forth his best effort to keep the tradition alive. We look forward to keeping Palace Saimin around for the generations of the past to enjoy, and the future generations to experience.

Keeping the tradition alive for generations to come, indeed. In fact, “Aunty Bobo”, a Palace Saimin regular who I met and sat next to on that communal table on one recent visit, told me she’s been coming here regularly for over 47 years (her whole life), and pointed out the baby chair they have there, is the same chair her daughter sat in when she was just a baby…

Her daughter is now 30 years old, and now HER daughter (Aunty Bobo’s grandaughter) sits in this same baby chair at Palace Saimin. Is THAT AWESOME and heartwarming or what?!!! Generation to generation to generation of saimin tradition, fo’ real ‘kine!

Oh, do you enjoy central air conditioning? Of course you do. Well, Palace Saimin has that, albeit done the old school way…

Classic! Cool, too, as it almost feels like there’s this tradewind effect swirling around in what would otherwise be a very arid and muggy, closed room environment (no A/C).

Now that we have the history and place covered, let’s check out Palace Saimin’s menu…

That’s pretty darned GREAT prices. Most of which are much cheaper than The Old Saimin House which was already very good, save for the BBQ Stick, which is 35 cents more here at .25 each vs. The Old Saimin House which are .90 each. BUT, at least here they really GRILL it! More on that later.

Now you might be asking yourself , “What the heck is “Saidon”?” Well, it’s pretty easy to figure out: SAI(min)+(u)DON=SAIDON. Then what’s the mathematical formula for the “Combination” you may ask? Easy: SAI(min)+(u)DON+WONTON=COMBINATION. In other words, EVERYTHING they have to offer, all in one bowl, sans the BBQ Stick. Shoots, they should just throw that in there too! lol

And that’s pretty much it. No plate lunches, nor burgers, nor candies ‘n snack ‘n shave ice on the side, and God forbit, no “fru fru” stuffs. This is a Saimin Stand through and through and to the core. Hardcore. All you’ll find on the other half of the menu are their business hours, phone number and customer appreciation message…

You have to love this place already without even haven eaten yet.

Before we get da’ grindz, let’s see what have for table condiments here at Palace…

Same as The Old Saimin House, where I must note here they use my favorite shoyu brand, Yamasa, as I find Y amasa strikes a good balance between the more milder taste of Aloha and the salty, bold flavor of Kikkoman.

But does Palace Saimin’s broth NEED condiments to kick it up? Or is it fine just the way it is, OEM? We shall soon find out!

Hai, itadakimasu (let’s eat)!

First to arrive at the table are the standard saimin stand “tools of the trade”, a set of hashi (chopsticks), renge (soup spoon) and (Coleman’s) mustard, which you of course add shoyu and stir thoroughly for use to dip your noodles, charsiu garnish and/or wontons into.

And here it is in all its glory, my Palace Saimin’ Saimin (small order) and (Teri’ Beef) BBQ Stick…

Palace Saimin – small Saimin and BBQ Stick (with Coleman’s mustard and shoyu dipping sauce)

Tell me you wouldn’t want to be sitting where I’m sitting at this moment in time, with this staring at you, just seconds away from devouring it? Good LORD, there is a heaven.

Let’s zoom in…

Palace Saimin – small Saimin, .75

I immediately notice the broth here at Palace has a richer, more colorful tone than the light-looking broth at The Old Saimin House. Come to find out from 47-year regular “Aunty Bobo”, they use shrimp AND pork in the broth here. Ex. Cel. Lent! Surely there’s other secret “ingrediments”, but if that’s the gist of it, I’m already a happy camper.

As for garnish, there seems to be a trend that Kamaboko and sliced egg omelet is out of the picture at both Old Saimin House and here at Palace. That’s the only thing I scratch my head at, as I think those two are important ingredients that truly complete the dish. What’s even more perplexing about that is the fact that Okuhara Kamaboko factory is right down the street! Wassup’ wit’ ‘dat?!!! Next time I going come here da’ kine “BYOK” (bring your own Kamaboko). I bet da’ waitress and guests would trip out. lol!

Oh, before I continue, here’s Aunty Bobo’s Wonton Min…

Palace Saimin – large Wonton Min, .25

Getting back to my Saimin, note I took this shot after already having eaten the saimin, but can surely attest, based on broth alone, I have definitely found THE BENCHMARK OLD SCHOOL SAIMIN right here at Palace!…

There’s certainly a background hint of shrimp, while the pork bones “umamifies” it, or in other words, gives it an added dimension of “meaty-ness”. Yet it’s all still subtle and not as much a predominant element like it is in Japanese Ramen, where the broth is the central focus. Here, the broth more like gently carries the noodles and garnish than it does take it along for the ride, if you know where I’m getting at.  It definitely DOES NOT need any of those table condiments unless you’re really starved for more salt and spices. It’s pretty much perfect just the way it straight outta’ the kitchen. I’m not saying you shouldn’t add anything else, just that you really don’t need to. Broth=”CHERRY”. lol

Rewind back now, and let’s slurp some saimin noodles done “Palace style”…

Like The Old Saimin House, Palace Saimin also sources their noodles from Eagle Noodle Factory.  And the noodles here are indeed cooked a little more (softer) than the more firm doneness at OSH. It’s still acceptable, but if I had a choice, I’d take I’d prefer it cooked like OSH does it. Flavor-wise, Also like OSH, Palace’ noodles are somewhat neutral in flavor, without any of that egg-like undertone from the potassium and sodium carbonate (Kansui) that Sun Noodle uses.

Oh well, no egg, as mentioned earlier, since there’s no kamaboko or sliced egg to be had here, all’s left to try is the sliced Charsiu pork and green onions…

Spot on in flavor, moist ‘n tender Charsiu. She go. I must note they also are a little more generous in portion compared to OSH in that regard.

Summing up Palace Saimin’s Saimin, solid 4 SPAM Musubi, with a broth that taste just how “old school” Hawaii saimin broth should taste. If it had Kamaboko and slice egg omelet, I’d give it a 5.

I enjoyed it so much that I “polished’ the bowl….

Moving along, let’s try the BBQ Stick…

Palace Saimin – (teriyaki beef) BBQ Stick, .25

Of course I didn’t eat the BBQ Stick AFTER the saimin, but along with it, as you should.

Come to find out from Palace Saimin regular Aunty Bobo, you can request to have your BBQ Stick “Koge” or burnt on the edges, a.k.a. “Papa’a”…

Palace Saimin – BBQ Stick done “Koge” style (seared edges, free service upon request)

What I also found out is that the way they “Koge” their Teri Beef BBQ Sticks is by searing it with a handheld propane torch, an old trick chefs use to make Crème brûlée. Hey, whatever works! All I know is next time I’m gettin’ mine BBQ Stick “Koge’d” like Aunty’s are.

Let’s have a bite…

Oishii (delicious). It’s not heavily marinaded in Teriyaki sauce, which I like, as I want to taste the beef. The medium-cooked beef itself is a little tough, but tolerable. While I didn’t ask, my guess is this is cut is no better than your average top round choice. Huge thumbs-up for serving it on a plate in a puddle of the (thin) Teriyaki sauce, which also has little bits of burnt beef in it, as that helps to add moisture to the medium-cooked beef, so every bite is tasty, moist ‘n juicy from start to finish. Nice.

3 SPAM Musubi for Palace Saimin’s BBQ Stick.

I enjoyed my lunch so much at Palace Saimin, that I returned a week later with Diner A and C to join me! This time around, Diner A ordered the Large Saimin and BBQ Stick, where both he and I requested some “Koge action” for our “sticks”…

Palace Saimin – “Koge” BBQ Sticks and large Saimin

A closer look at his large Saimin…

Palace Saimin – large Saimin, .50

Deciding to try something a little different, Diner E ordered Wonton Udon…

Palace Saimin – small Wonton Udon, .00

And yours truly went for the Combination (Saimin, Udon and Wonton)…

Palace Saimin – large Combination (Saimin, Udon & Wonton), .25

Zoom in on my Combo’…

Here I dug up all the three different types of noodles so you can see it better…

Talk about carbo’ load. Makes you wanna’ run the 26k just looking it. lol

This time around I added some black pepper, as that’s what I usually add to my saimin when not in taste-testing mode…

Very, very consistent. The broth tasted EXACTLY the same as on my previous visit, save for my personalized addition of black pepper.

Let’s try the Wonton (notice the spelling, where as OSH spells it “Wun Tun”)…

Like the softer-cooked saimin noodles, the wonton are also cooked on the soft side. Which one diner who was waiting outside told me he prefers The Old Saimin House’s Wun Tun better because it’s firmer and has a better filling. Although he prefers the broth here at Palace. Sounds about right. The pork filling was kinda’ “manini” (skimpy), but I suppose adequate enough to validate it. It was also pretty basic, tasting simply like ground pork and that’s it. No green onions, onions or other veggies in it. Good though. I have no complaints. I definitely need to try OSH’s Wun Tun Min so I can compare the two, but that’s a different story for another day.

Let’s go for the dunk in the hot mustard shoyu…

Oh yeah, ‘das da’ winnah’ right deah’ ( that’s the winner there lol)! So funny how no matter what, once the food hits that Coleman’s Mustard and Shoyu, you get immediately transported to a Chinese restaurant.

Let’s try the Udon now (this next shot is actually shot Diner E’s bowl, but I had Udon in mine too)…

Diner E agrees with me that the Udon, while good in and of its fat, fat noodle self, doesn’t quite work as a substitute for traditional Saimin noodles. I think because the mild nature of Saimin broth doesn’t quite cling or absorb well into the fat, slick Udon noodles. So when you eat the Udon, that’s all you taste is noodle, as the broth just slips on back into the bowl, barely clinging any of its flavor on the Udon. That’s pretty much the best way I can describe it.

The finer, more absorbent nature of traditional Saimin noodles holds onto the broth like glue in comparison when you slurp it up.

You can hear “SLURP, SLURP, SLURP” just looking at that.

Overall, the combination of textures between the thin Saimin noodles, fat Udon noodles and slippery-soft wontons made for unique “noodle soup” eating experience and certainly an option other saimin stands should follow.

Let’s try some Saimin noodles and Charsiu in the Coleman’s…

Winnahz. Dig that “clear-your-sinuses” effect that hits you first, then you taste the noodles and Charsiu soaked in Shoyu that immediately follow and it’s like POW!

Moving along to our “Koge” BBQ Sticks, you see how much more seared they are then on my previous visit…

Here you can see on this visit they’re also cooked to medium doneness…

Personally I would have liked it even more “koge” then that,, where it looked more like the ones Aunty Bobo had on my previous visit. So if you like REALLY “koge”, tell them so. I know I will. Still, those seared edges added a whole lot more flavor and but the BOLD in BBQ. Winnahz.

Summing it up, I give my Combination Saimin/Udon/Wonton Min at Palace Saimin a very solid 4 SPAM Musubi, and once again would give it a 5 if had Kamaboko and sliced egg omelet. Diner E gave his Udon 2 SPAM Musubi, while I must note, he and I ate here a few weeks prior where he ordered the saimin, to which he gives a very solid 3, which to you and I would be either a 4 or 5.

Diner E gave his Saimin a 4, and surprisingly, the BBQ Stick a 3, which I think is because both and Diner A prefer their Teri Beef SOAKED DEEP with Teriyaki marinade, which I’m opposite in that regard.

As for service, very, very friendly and quick, where on all three recent visits, my/our order landed on the table within a 4 to 10 minute window.

So the benchmark of what old school Hawaii saimin should taste like has been found right here in beautiful downtown Kalihi at Palace Saimin!

Now with my taste buds educated on “Saimin 101″, next up, a review on Sun Noodle’s new S&S “Old Time Island Style” Saimin featuring “traditional shrimp soup base”.

Palace Saimin
1256 North King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii  96817

Tel. (808) 841-9983

The Tasty Island rating:

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

The Tasty Island

We’re back again at the “Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe” in and historic and scenic Kalihi, this time sampling some truly “old school” saimin at The Old Saimin House.

This is actually part 1 of a 3 part series, leading up to a review on S&S Saimin’s new “Old Time Island Style Saimin”, which makes it seem even more apparent that just like cars, retro is the new cool in the food industry as well.

Reason this is a series, is that I needed to refresh my palate on the benchmark representation of Hawaii’s truly classic saimin taste in order to compare with S&S’s (under parent company Sun Noodle) latest attempt to replicate that. Therefore I chose two old school saimin stands as my benchmark source: The Old Saimin House and Palace Saimin, both almost within a stone’s throw of each other in Kalihi.

How “old school” is The Old Saimin House? Well, they were established by Okinawan nisei (second generation) in 1962. Whereas Palace Saimin right across the street on King was also established by Okinawans in 1946.

Not to forgot the many other classic saimin stands around the island, including Forty Niner Restaurant out in Aiea, who was established around the late 40′s. Then there’s Boulevard Saimin, which has since changed to “Dillingham Saimin”, who got their start in 1955, while over on the Garden Isle of Kauai, Hamura Saimin set up shop in 1952. Not to leave out a few more places still in business that feature saimin as their signature dish, including Shiro’s, Shige’s and Zippy’s.

So we’re here today at The Old Saimin House, which is located at 1311 North King Street (nearby the Kalihi Post Office), in a tiny strip mall next to New Diner’s Drive Drive-In, with another notable neighbor being Kiawe Grill.

Without further ado, let’s check out The Old Saimin House tableside menu…

The Old Saimin House menu (current as of June 2011)

As is “standard” on the menu at most old school Hawaii saimin stands, The Old Saimin House has the requisite basic option of either Saimin or Wun Tun Min (the latter often spelled in various ways), along with a (teriyaki beef) BBQ Stick to go along with it. Think of the BBQ Stick to Saimin as what Gyoza is to Japanese Ramen. From there, the menu can vary quite a bit at each place.

The table condiments often say a lot about what type of cuisine is being offered. Where like most local style food restaurants in Hawaii, The Old School has the usual Shoyu, Tobasco, Salt ‘n Pepper. While indicating their Japanese/Okinawan influence, there’s also a shaker bottle of Shichimi Togarashi, which is a ground mixture of chili pepper and several other unique ingredients that make its spicy flavor unique…

One thing you hardly see anymore at local eateries on Oahu is Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water, whom Hamura Saimin on Kauai still includes on the tables in their condiments set.

The Old Saimin House was founded by Okinawan nisei Tomizo and Mitsue Ikei in 1962, where today you see their “Uchinanchu Pride” up in the form of a painting of what I’m assuming is their family’s home town of Henza Island in Okinawa…

As for the restaurant space, like most saimin stands, The Old Saimin is rather small, while being very clean, with a rather newly renovated look to it…

There’s a decent amount of designated free parking in the front of this tiny strip mall, although of course it does become tight during peak dining hours.

Getting to my order, on this solo mission, I stuck with the bare bones basic Saimin, this one being the large…

A closer look…

Now this truly is your bare bones basic Saimin, with just sliced Charsiu pork and green onions garnish, and that’s it. Not even Kamaboko nor sliced egg omelet is to be had here, making this a far cry from the “everything, including the kitchen sink” approach at Shiro’s Saimin Haven.

The reason I didn’t order the more popular Wun Tun Min, which is essentially the same dish with the addition of ground pork-filled wun tuns in it, is because I didn’t want the wun tun to muddle or change the flavor of the basic broth.

As for not ordering the usual BBQ (Teriyaki Beef) Stick as an accompaniment, upon asking how they were cooked, my server told they were griddled on a flat top, so I passed. No probs, as this large bowl of saimin by itself was plenty enough to fill me up on this lunch hour visit.

Hai, itadakimasu. Let’s begin with a taste of  what appears to be rather clear-toned, mild looking broth…

And? Definitely yet another shrimp shell based broth, albeit not particular “shrimpy”, along with salt, and that’s about it. I don’t think there’s any katsuoboshi stock enhancement or dashinomoto in it, nor pork or chicken bones in the stock-making process.

As long as you arrive with your palate in a neutral state (like you didn’t just get done snacking on some chips or anything salty), the broth should be acceptably seasoned without any further enhancements. Yet it is still on the very low key end as far as saimin broths are concerned, leaving the broth door wide open to add that shoyu and/or tobasco and/or Togarashi and/or Salt ‘n Pepper condiments provided on the table to suite your personal taste.

Let’s slurp some saimin noodles…

As others on Yelp have mentioned, the noodles here are on the firmer side of al dente doneness, which I actually prefer over softer-cooked noodles, whether it be for saimin, ramen or pasta.  Come to find out, unlike many other noodle houses around the island who source their noodles from Sun Noodle Factory, The Old Saimin House sources theirs from Eagle Noodle Factory. The latter of which I’ve been told doesn’t use chemicals in their noodles. With that, they’re somewhat neutral in flavor, without any of that egg-like undertone from the potassium and sodium carbonate (Kansui) that Sun Noodle uses.

Only thing left to try here is the rather sparse sliced Charsiu pork and green onion garnish…

The Charsiu was spot-on in sweetness and overall authentic flavor profile, while being very moist and tender. Thumbs-up, except for all that saimin noodles in the large bowl, they need more charsiu to accompany it. I suppose at .25 for the large, an additional 50 cents is worth the additional garnish needed to fully complete the dish in and of itself. Or of course order the BBQ Stick to offset the carbo load.

But yeah, this broth is certainly on the low-key side, and it had room for some shoyu to kick it up…

Ah, perfect! The (Aloha) shoyu really enhanced and “umami-fied” the subtle shellfish base of the broth’s flavor profile.

I also tried dipping the noodles and charsiu in the included (Coleman’s) mustard (and shoyu) sauce, which totally makes it taste Chinese.

The large saimin by itself was the perfect portion to sate my lunchtime hunger, while the addition of just a drizzle of shoyu was all it needed to make The Old Saimin House a good choice at the right price. So much so, that I had no problem polishing my bowl…

This was a good refresher start to get a benchmark taste of what true “old school” saimin should taste like. Next stop, right across the street over at Palace Saimin!

The Old Saimin House
1311 North King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii  96817

Tel. (808) 842-7697
www.TheOldSaiminHouse.com

Business hours:
Lunch: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Tuesday to Saturday

Dinner: 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Dinner: 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Friday, Saturday

Closed:
Sunday & Monday

The Tasty Island rating:

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it. (Ono)

The Tasty Island

Sato’s Okazuya “Famous” Fried Noodles

Fans of this popular genre of local style eatery know that each Okazuya has their own claim-to-fame dish. Well, enter Sato’s Okazuya in Waipahu, where their Fried Noodles reign supreme. Where, “Best Fried Noodles in town” is pretty much the common description given by reviewers on Yelp. Where, if this is true (as we shall soon find out), then this adds yet another reason to head out to Waipa-HU for some seriously ono ‘kine grindz. Where in this old plantation town on Oahu’s west side you can also get a mighty fine Fish Patty at Tanioka’s, some “wow, das’ some winnahz! ” Laulau at Highway Inn, “Triple-D certified” Poke at Elmer Guzman’s Poke Stop and definitely some “masarap-sarap” Spanish Rolls at Nanding’s Bakery… just to name a few!

Sato’s Okazuya is tucked away amongst a row of small businesses in the Y-H building, located on Hanawai Circle, right up the street around the corner of Bank of Hawaii on Farrington Highway in Waipahu. As you enter the parking lot from Hanawai Circle, to the right will be the Waipahu Festival Marketplace…

Notice in the background the old Oahu Sugar Mill smoke stack still stands to this day.

Across the lot you’ll find Sato’s Okazuya in the Y-H Building…

As hole-in-the-wall as it gets.

Typical of this type of eatery, Sato’s Okazuya is made up minimal seating accommodations (two 4-place tables and one 2-place table) with the center of attention being the service counter that doubles as a window-faced food display featuring what’s (hopefully still) available for the day…

I’ve heard the wait here for their famous Fried Noodles can be long, where it’s better to call ahead for your order. Yet I took a chance and walked in, where around my noon-time arrival (considered LATE by most Okazuya standards), thankfully there was plenty of Fried Noodles that had just been cooked sitting in a pan awaiting me and a few other fellow patrons who were there for the same thing…

Right above the noodles on the display counter, they have three sizes of takeout containers marked with the prices to help you quickly make your choice…

Check out that extra-large (XL) takeout container on da’ left… sheesh, da’ buggah is MASSIVE! Never seen that sized “plate” before, and thankfully so, as the last thing we need are local plate lunch joints offering “super-sized” plate lunches. Not that many don’t already do so, except they just pile da’ grindz VERTICALLY. lol.

To the left and right of the Fried Noodles pan, you can sort of see the other warmer pans next to it are already “Elvis” (gone), as were most of the musubi and other prepared Okazu selections in this part of the display case….

Speaking of selection, here’s Sato Okazuya’ main menu boards (sorry, they didn’t have any printed handout takeout menus)…

Apparently the Pork Chops & Fried Noodles is one of their most popular combos, yet I came here specifically just to try their “famous” Fried Noodles so I could savor it in all its own glory, which really, as is, can be considered an all-in-one meal.

The very first thing I asked the server was “where do you get your noodles from?”, to which she immediately revealed Sato’s sources their noodles from Okahara Saimin Factory. Well I’ll be darned, finally a place that doesn’t get their noodles from Sun Noodle Factory. I actually was surprised they outsource their noodles, as I thought a place with such a reputation as theirs would still be making their own in-house (if they ever did do that).

Spock da’ bottles of what looks like some kinda’ “secret sauce” by the Fried Noodles prep area. half-shoyu/half-oyster sauce, perhaps?

So here now I FINALLY get to taste for myself what everyone is raving about…

Sato’s Okazuya – Fried Noodles (large).

Let me start by saying that, while I certainly enjoy eating it occasionally, I’m not particularly a Fried Noodles enthusiast myself. So I don’t have many other places to compare this to, with the only other Fried Noodles consumed in recent memory being from none other than Zippy’s. I certainly much prefer this “local style” saimin-influenced version of the dish, as I’ve never been a fan of Chinese style Fried Noodles, mainly because of the flavorings in the sauce, and also because it’s often kinda’ greasy (at least in my experiences). Especially if they use Hoisin (uggh) or too much Oyster Sauce.

Zippy’s – Fried Noodles (notice they put SPAM in theirs)

Being this is an Okazuya and saimin stand, I’d say Sato’s Fried Noodles is essentially a bowl of  Saimin (same noodles), sans the liquid broth, thrown into a wok and fried along with an ever-slight addition of julienned carrots and cabbage, then like the typical “standard” Saimin you’ll find at most stands, it’s topped finely chopped charsiu, ham and green onions.

Sam Sato’s – Dry Noodle, a.k.a. “Dry Mein”

In fact, speaking of the Sato name, this reminds me a lot of the also very popular Dry Noodle, a.k.a. “Dry Mein” offered at Sam Sato’s in Wailuku, Maui. Except with Sam Sato’s Dry Mein, they kick it up a notch by also providing a small bowl of broth on the side so you can “wet” your noodles. Because you know, we all like “wetting our noodle”. lol

OK, let’s do this…

Right off the bat, EXCELLENT texture. Kinda’ rubbery ‘n chewy in a VERY GOOD WAY, and certainly not “pasty”. I think that firm yet tender chewiness is what makes it stand out the most and is its greatest virtue. There’s an ever-so-slight oily coating, yet certainly not greasy whatsoever, with just enough of a slick surface coating all the noodles to prevent them from sticking together into one clumpy mess. These Fried Noodles remain in individual strands, so more props on that, and also once again for having just the right amount of oil coating.

Flavor-wise, just like Sam Sato’s “Dry Mein”, Sato’s Fried Noodles (don’t confuse the two!), it’s kinda tough to really tell exactly what’s going on (in) here. It’s kinda “dashi-ish”, yet there may also be if just a TAD of Oyster Sauce, but not much. There’s definitely some “shoyu action”. They may also be using chicken broth in there somehow as it’s being fried up. The juliienned carrots and cabbage added some “earth tones” to the flavor and texture profile, yet there’s very, very little in it, as obviously Sato’s theory on Fried Noodles is that it should be kept as SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, which I too firmly believe is THE way to go with most “local style” noodle dishes, whether it be Mac’ Salad, Chow Fun, Saimin or this.

Speaking of which, what underscores this tasting essentially like Saimin in fried form is the chopped Charsiu, ham and green onions. Both the Charsiu and ham were very moist, tender and flavorful, while the Charsiu was particularly OUTSTANDING here. I really noticed that, even with what sparse bits and pieces were mixed throughout my generously portioned large plate of Fried Noodles.

At for the large Fried No0dles, it’s easily enough to fill you up, or would also be an adequate portion if you were to split it among 2-4 people along with another entree, such as, oh say, their pork chops. In fact I shared 2 small bowls from my plate with my coworkers so they could try it and still had enough to leave me carbo-loaded ‘n STUFFED after all was said and done.

Summing it up, I give Sato’s Okazuya “Famous” Fried Noodles a “Simple is always best!” 5 SPAM Musubi, and definitely “in it to win it” for Oahu’s BEST local style Fried Noodles. Looks like we’re going to have to hold a “Best Fried Noodles on the Island” SHOOTOUT some time in the future!

Sato’s Okazuya
94-235 Hanawai Circle (turn off Farrington Highway at the corner of Bank of Hawaii)
Waipahu, Hawaii  96797

Tel. (808) 677-5503

Business Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 7:30am to 2:00pm
Saturday: 7″30am to 1:00pm
Sunday & Monday: Closed

The Tasty Island rating:

(5) Superb. Worthy of repeat visits or purchases. (Broke Da’ Mout’!)

P.S. At least in my opinion, most of the best okazuya delis (and many other types of restaurants) on Oahu are owned and operated by local Okinawan families (Sato’s is the exception, as they’re originally from Sapporo, Japan). Where back on the Ryukyu islands motherland, SPAM (and other competing luncheon meat brands) remain very popular, and is often incorporated into some of Okinawa’s most traditional dishes.

You regular readers of this blog may recall my recent post featuring my entry for Hormel’s contest to pick a winning design for their new, soon-to-hit the shelves SPAM’ Hawaii collector’s edition can label. In a comment by regular reader “Debbie-chan”, she  pointed out the special 70th Year Anniversary of SPAM in Okinawa collector’s can, to which she so kindly eMailed me a few EXCELLENT photos she took of her own copy.

Well, here it is!…

Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

That is pretty. darned. COOL! I Especially like the masked Japanese “kimono” style artwork that makes up the “70″ font. If you can read Japanese, I’d really appreciate if you could translate the entire backside of the label for us in a comment, onegaishimasu.

Debbie-chan noted that the artwork has a similar style to the one that graces this “Yonaha Toru presents Kachashii a go-go” CD cover…

Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

It also reminds me of the illustrated character designs in the Crayon Shinchan anime series, which by-the-way is a RIOT! I sure miss that show, which KIKU-TV used to air here with GREAT subtitle work. Unfortately, KIKU had to give the reels back to the producer, as Asahi TV in Japan bought the rights to the show. Boo! Anyhow, look up “Crayon Shinchan” on YouTube and watch a few episodes… funny (and often naughty) stuff!

While on the subject of SPAM, Debbie-chan also sent me this photo of an “Okinawa Burger”, which was (or still is?) available at MOS BURGER locations in Naha, Okinawa…

MOS BURGER’s (Naha, Okinawa locations) “Okinawa Burger”. Photo courtesy of Debbie-chan

Get the heck outta’ here… a slice of fried SPAM and egg on a “bed” of Nori encased by a rice “bun”? Simply BRILLIANT! I SO need to try making this! My guess is that rice “bun” is made by pressing a tightly compacted small ball of white rice onto a saute pan on about medium heat and browning it ever so slightly. I dig how the Nori acts as the “lettuce”. Genius.

I tell you, when it comes to cookin’, dem’ Uchinanchu folks know how it’s done RIGHT!

Mahalo Debbie-chan for all the fun ‘n cool pics!

The Tasty Island

‘Tis the season for birthdays, as hot off the heels of our celebration for honored guest Diner C at Bella Mia Pizzeria just a few weeks ago, not long after that it was my turn. Where on this occasion, the gang threw me an intimate birthday party luncheon at Ah-Lang Korean Restaurant.

Now believe me when I say, this isn’t like any other restaurant you’ve ever been to before, whether Korean or whatever it may be. See, Ah-Lang is known as much for its, should I say, “firecracker” of an owner, as it is for its AMAZING food. So much of a “firecracker”, that she’s been dubbed the “Angry Korean Lady”, a.k.a. Won Lam, where notice I “a.k.a.’d” her real name, and not her nick name .

In fact, the printed menu in the restaurant, as well as on their website is versed the same way, while even the domain name for said website is registered under that. Which you gotta’ admit, is a very catchy and powerful marketing tag line!

Now there’s probably all kinds of ways you might picture what an “Angry Korean Lady” might look like by just the sound of it. Perhaps it could be what you remember of that “Mama San” that kicked you out of the local “KB” (Korean Bar) 20 years ago when you were cash broke, falling down drunk and sloppily hitting on her barmaid cousin. Or maybe she could resemble your Korean neighbor who brings you fresh batches of homemade Kim Chee every time she makes some (we really have a neighbor that does that).

Well upon seeing her for the first time, you just might be perplexed by her famous nickname, as she really doesn’t look that menacing, and at least to me anyway, underneath that hardened and jaded sneer she wears, she’s quite an attractive woman!…

“I’m already angry. Don’t make me more angry.” ~ Angry Korean Lady

Yet she certainly keeps her “Medusa” hat on while at the restaurant, crackin’ a whip while at it. And with that, she’s established a set of RULES (yes, rules) patrons must follow if they want to be fed by her. Because “Angry Korean Lady” isn’t merely serving you, she’s lovingly cooking for and feeding you like only your own mother would.

Like any good parent, she nurtures and provides for you through “tough love”, where you have to earn your keep, as she’s not just going to hand everything to you on a silver spoon and platter. When you’re in HER HOUSE, you and your guest(s) become more her CHILDREN or good friend, than her CUSTOMER, which would be the best way to describe it.

Won, the “Angry Korean Lady” is a one-woman band, where she does all the cooking, cleaning, serving and cashiering herself. Which wouldn’t you be angry if you had to do all that? lol Hence, because (as her tag line goes) she’s “already angry” and you don’t want to make her “more angry”, it would be wise to abide by her rules so you can enjoy the FANTASTIC Korean specialty dishes she prepares…

Just in case you can’t read that, for your convenience I’ll transcribe her rules here:

AH-LANG KOREAN RESTAURANT
HOUSE RULES
“I’m already angry. Don’t make me more angry.” ~ Angry Korean Lady
1. Write down your order and bring it to me in the kitchen. If you don’t write down your order, I won’t bring you your food. First order in, first served.
2. Food first, then water — unless you serve yourself.
3. No outside food or soda allowed.
4. You break it, you bought it — please be careful with the glass table covers. (Big glass = 0/small glass = 0)
5. If you BYOB, bring me some too, or there’s a corkage fee.
a.) Don’t bring me Coors Light — it gives me a headache.
b.) Don’t give me Yellowtail — it gives me a stomachache.
6. If you BYOB, bring your own cups and supplies. DO NOT use mine.
7. The kitchen closes 15 minutes before closing. I’ll let you know when I’m closing.
8. Don’t attach hooks/anything to the table — don’t break the glass.
9. For dishes indicated as spicy, choose your own spice level between 0-8, and write on your order as: “Spicy #_____”.

I didn’t get around to asking her, but looking at a few of the rules, it appears she’s had incidents in the past where patrons have abused, wrecked or broken her furniture and/or dishware. Going along with that territory, notice there’s BOOZE involved in her rules. Namely, Won highly appreciates when you SHARE some with her, and is one of the surest ways to win her heart, or at the very least, grant you acceptance into “her house”. While she notes not to bring her Coors Light or (cheap) Yellowtail Wine for said reasons, what she doesn’t note on her rules is that her FAVORITE beer is Michelob Ultra, and of course Korean Shoju, although I didn’t get around to asking her which particular Shoju brand. If you ask, she’ll probably just tell you to get the most expensive one. lol While I wasn’t about to lug around a 12-pack of Michelob Ultra (that’s the only size I could find at the store), I did manage to stop bring her a “Bombucha” bottle of the the new Primo Beer, which I’m personally quite fond of their new brew formula.

Enough about “AKL” for now. TIme to check out the restaurant — or more appropriately as previously said, “HER HOUSE”….

That’s it. Just six 4-place tables, which yields Ah-Lang a 24-seat capacity. And judging by the numerous reviews on Yelp, if you’re on the tail end of the first-come, first-served ordering list, you WILL wait for quite a while, as Won is very particular about how her food comes out of the kitchen. Meaning, she’d rather have each table have all the necessary dishes that compliment each other, then to serve a table here or a table there, leaving each party’s order as an incomplete meal.

One of the first house rules you’ll realize you must follow upon seating yourself at Ah-Lang (because “Angry Korean Lady” certainly isn’t going to do that for you, let alone even greet you), is to get your own water glasses…

All Won will do is bring out a plastic jug filled with ice water. Then she’ll look at everyone and analyze whether she even likes you based on how you talk to her, what you ask of her, and maybe even how you look! I’ll put it you this way: 2 groups of people walked in and sat down. After looking over the menu and asking a few questions to Won, they walked right out, and Won didn’t care one single bit. lol

Fortunately the five of us in our party were “accepted” by her, where we would soon experience — because that’s really what it’s all about here, is the “Angry Korean Lady Experience” — what would turn out to be one of most memorable and enjoyable meals we’ve ever had. Period. Whether that bottle of beer we gave her got us “in”, doesn’t matter. Main thing is we walked out with very happy, and “Angry Korean Lady”, well, she stayed angry (which is a good thing). lol

I’m not sure what the reason is (other than the obvious), but this is yet another Korean restaurant popping up around Honolulu that touts not using MSG…

Also note that with or more of purchase, there’s FREE validated parking in the Imperial Plaza building on Cooke Street, where Ah-Lang is located at the ground floor of.

Restaurant owners often throw in their personal keepsakes ‘n stuff as decorations, where here Won has this interesting good luck charm mounted above the door entrance…

We asked her what it signified (see that link for one suggestion), and all she said was that her mother told her put it there.

If I didn’t know where this photo was taken, I’d think it was at a place that had Portuguese ties…

What appears to keep “Angry Korean Lady” happiest is cooking (and then booze), where here she is tending to a pot of vegetable-based soup stock for her highly acclaimed Soon Dubu, as well as finishing up our order of steamed Mandoo, Meat Jun and Chive Jun, all using very, very, VERY well seasoned, seriously “old school” vintage cast iron cookware…

Being we arrived right at the 11am sharp opening time, not only was our party of five the first ones there, but we were also the ONLY ones there on this beginning-of-the-work-week lunch hour visit. Which it pretty much stayed that way throughout our entire meal, where only after about noon time rush did more people start to arrive. With that, our order came out fairly quickly, with a wide assortment of Banchan first to land on the table…

Of course, there’s Kim Chee, with Won’s take on it tasting rather “rustic” and a bit different than any store-bought brands I’ve tried…

Another Banchan standard, the usual marinaded Bean Sprouts…

One of my favorites in this spread were these marinaded strips of Fried Fishcake…

My other fave’ were these marinaded slices of Gobo…

Reason the Gobo and Fishcake were my two favorite Banchan here, is that they were both well-saturated with a nice blend of salty, sweet, acidic and savory flavor profile, with the Gobo especially having a pronounced “crunch” in texture, which complimented the main dishes really nicely.

Marinaded Choy Sum…

These sauce-smothered cucumbers may look spicy-hot, but they actually tasted fairly tame…

Rounding up our Banchan dishes was this mixture of marinaded smashed Tofu and Watercress…

Take a little of each, and I’ll be ready for some good accompanying eats when the main dishes arrive…

Being we were the only ones in the restaurant at the time, “Angry Korean Lady” had the time to take the individual Banchan dishes off the massive serving tray and set them on the table as shown. Otherwise if its busy, I hear she’ll just drop the order on the table, tray and all, and expect YOU to remove each dish and place it on your table, then YOU take the empty tray and give it back to her in the kitchen.

Immediately following the Banchan, Won returned from the kitchen with a plate full of piping hot steamed Mandoo…

Now for the BEST PART, which is something I’ve NEVER, EVER experienced before: someone on our table mentioned to Won that it was my birthday, when to our absolute astonishment, she introduced her incredible cooking to us by personally cutting a steamed mandoo piece using just her stainless steel Korean chopsticks. Then, using her chopsticks, proceeded to personally HAND-FEED me a piece!…

We missed snapping a photo of her doing that, yet I was at least able to capture this one of her just as she finished cutting the mandoo apart. But, WOW, so much for all this “angry this ‘n that” jazz… Won really should be nicknamed the “Sweet Korean Lady” or “Super Awesome Korean Lady”! I mean, how cool is that?! When was the last time you can remember an owner and/or chef of a restaurant coming to your table and hand-feeding you your very first bite of their cooking? Well, it was certainly the first time for me, making it one of the most memorable and endearing dining experiences I’ve EVER had. Of course part of the charm was the very notion that this gesture of good will and “motherlyness” completely caught me by surprise. I swear, it was literally a “love at first bite” initiation, in a mother-son bonding kinda’ way (with all due respect to my REAL mother of course!).

As for the Steamed Mandoo, each piece was larger than your typical Mandoo, making up the size of approximately the fingers part of an adult-sized man’s clenched fist. The wrapper was steamed to perfect al dente doneness, with plenty of moisture content goin’ on. While the filling medley of ground pork and various veggies had nice balance, yet otherwise subtle, flavor-wise.

The Mandoo dipping sauce tasted like the usual Korean style combination of shoyu, sugar, vinegar, sesame, chili paste and green onions, helping to punch out the subtle flavor of the pork ‘n veggie mandoo filling.

Summing it up, we’re off to a mighty Mandoo of a good start, where we unanimously gave Ah-Lang’s take on the dish 4 SPAM Musubi.

Next to arrive on the table was Ah-Lang’s famous signature Chive Jun, which was what I was looking forward to trying the most…

Serve ‘em up…

The Chive Jun is sorta’ like a Quiche, sans the dough crust, while having just enough egg to bind the chives, which also forms a very thin egg batter “crust” of its own on the top and bottom surface area, like every typical Jun dish should have. There’s also a noticeable flavor accent, as perhaps Won adds Shoyu, Vinegar, Sugar and/or other spices into the egg binder for added dimension.

What’s interesting is that, even though it’s made almost entirely with fresh chives (which I understand she has her own farming space somewhere in Manoa), it’s not overpowering with a “chive-ee” or “green onion-ee” flavor, but tastes just “vegetable-ish” in a green, earthy kinda’ way. How’s that for descriptions. lol It tastes AWESOME on its own, yet it does come with the same dipping sauce she serves with the Mandoo for some added “kick”.

All I can say quite frankly, is that the Chive Jun is OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD DELICIOUS and a MUST-ORDER dish at Ah-Lang, where upon the first bite, 3 out of the 5 of us immediately badged it with the highest 5-SPAM Musubi award.

Soon following, Angry Korean Lady returned with a piping hot plate of her Fried Specialty Wings…

Another angle (not that it’s much different)…

Ding-ding-ding, we have another winner! I’d say these are kinda’ like the Korean version of Japanese style Karaage Chicken, yet with all “kinda’ stuffs” going on in its flavor profile. The batter was nice ‘n crispy, while being post-soaked with what tasted almost like the same sauce used for dipping the Mandoo, with perhaps a lot more garlic and chili paste added into it.

Biting through that kicked-up Korean flavored batter, the tongue is wonderfully greeted with juicy, fall-off-the-bones, super-tender chicken wing meat. I might also add, overall it just had this “homemade, comfort food” edge to it that set it apart. Personally, I give Won’s Specialty Wings another glorious 5-SPAM Musubi! And that’s a lot coming from someone usually not so hot for chicken.

On to the next dish, this SERIOUSLY sizzling platter of Ah Lang’s Barbecue Chicken soon followed suit…

Da’ odda’ side (the other side)…

This tasted a lot like Japanese Yakitori, sans the skewers. With that, like the Specialty Wings, the sliced, bite-size grilled Korean style BBQ chicken strips here were juicy ‘n tender, with pronounced “kogi” seared edges sealing the BBQ deal. Awesome. That’s now 5 sizzlin’ SPAM Musubi dish number three.

Last yet absolutely not least to land on our celebratory Birthday Table was Ah-Lang’s also-famous Meat Jun…

Angle B…

Reading over the numerous Yelp reviews on this place, you’ll often come across the expression of “BEST I’VE EVER HAD” attached to folks’ description of Ah-Lang’s Meat Jun, which all of us in our group agreed after DEVOURING the plate, is SO TRUE. This is arguably THE BEST MEAT JUN in HAWAII. Probably the only people who wouldn’t agree with that are assessment, are those who don’t like meat that’s too sweet, as these are certainly on the sweeter side.

“Angry Korean Lady” makes it a point when she brings her very special Meat Jun to your table to try it first WITHOUT the dipping sauce, as she swears it DOES NOT need it..

And you know what? NO NEED SAUCE! Like any dish that’s prepared with utmost attention to preparation detail and quality of ingredients, this Meat Jun speaks VOLUMES on its own terms, not needing any dipping or basting sauce to “compensate” for dryness, toughness or lack of flavor.

I don’t know how Won does it (nor did we ask), but the super-thin sliced beef is so moist and tender, I swear you could practically suck an entire piece of this Meat Jun through a drinking straw, I kid you not. It’s like buttah’ (butter), I tell ya’, like BUTTAH!

It’s also entirely penetrated with what tastes like a mild, toned-down marinade of shoyu, sugar and sesame oil. Key is, the mildness of the well-penetrated marinade is what makes it so good, in that you can still taste the BEEF, without being overpowered by the shoyu. Yet that thoroughly-penetrated marinade also aids in bringing out the natural moisture your palate expects of the beef.

The egg batter had a slight crunch, yet was mostly on the soft and pliable side, apparently taking on plenty of the moisture from the thinly-sliced marinaded beef underneath it.

We had to try at least a few Meat Jun pieces dipped in the accompanying sauce, which tasted pretty much like Ponzu, a “citrus” flavored Soy sauce, albeit in this case made with vinegar. To which the acidic tang provided a nice and complimentary opposing contrast to the inherent sweetness of the beef marinade. That was pretty good, but seriously, once again, this Meat Jun DOES NOT NEED SAUCE, as it’s THAT GOOD “plain” as is. So AWESOME is it, that we unanimously give  the Angry Korean Lady’s Meat Jun a far above-and-beyond SUPERB 10 SPAM Musubi. Woo hoo!

Our entire meal was so incredible delicious, that amongst the five of us, we pretty much “polished” everything Won fed us…

Of course, just as wonderful is the authentic Korean food at Ah-Lang, is the genuine spirit and heart of Won the “Angry Korean Lady”, who, just like many other reviewers  have noted in their experiences here, she came out and chatted with us after we were finished eating….

Hell hath no fury…

Ah-Lang Korean Restaurant is absolutely a MUST DO on your Honolulu dining itinerary, and gets the highest Tasty Island recommendation and praise.

Kamsahamnida “Angry Korean Lady”!

Ah-Lang Korean Restaurant
725 Kapiolani Blvd
Ste C119
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Tel. (808) 596-0600

www.AngryKoreanLady.com

The Tasty Island rating:

(10) OFF THE CHARTS!!!!!! (FREAKIN’ MEAN, CUZ!!!!!)

Related links:
• Anger is good for the menu at Ah-Lang – Honolulu Star Advertiser
• Ah-Lang Restaurant – Yelp user reviews

The Tasty Island

Several weeks ago we celebrated Diner C’s birthday with lunch at Bella Mia Pizzaria, a relatively new, casual American-Italian eatery located on South Beretania Street, situated amongst a corridor of detached homes, low-rise apartments and small businesses. This is actually one of two restaurants under the same name, with another Bella Mia (sans the “Pizzeria” extension) location on Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki, where as it turns out, that location is owned by Brooklyn native Joey Gonzalez, while his son owns and operates this restaurant.

Obviously converted from an older residential home itself, parking here is limited to, well, as many cars you could fit in the front of a yard typical of the size in this area, which, IIRC, was about seven vehicles max’. The lot was already full on our early arrival lunch hour visit, yet thankfully we quickly found a parallel parking space just a stone throw away on the street front.

The dining room is made up entirely of an open-air porch fronting the establishment, with a romantic and relaxed ambiance suggested by its subtle Mediterranean themed decor…

Try your best to transport yourself and make pretend the “view” from here on busy South Beretania Street is overlooking Italy’s beautiful Amalfi Coast, not REALLY what you’re looking at. lol

The kitchen occupies the back half of the restaurant, which is semi-open to view from the dining room. They don’t sell alcohol, yet of course being an Italian eatery, BYOB is certainly welcome, and best of all, there’s no corkage fee.

Let’s check out what’s on the menu…

Here’s the daily specials that run throughout the week…

Wow, .95 is a lot less than most plate lunch takeout joints charge nowaways. Sounds like a great deal!

With that, let’s get our Italian grind on! First to arrive at the table is a complimentary basket of their house bread rolls…

Bella Mia Pizzeria — Complimentary House Bread Rolls

As they appear to be, which our server confirmed, their bread is essentially baked roll-up versions of their house pizza crust. That said, it’s seasoned with just the right amount of salt, while the lightly-toasted, semi-firm “shell” and glutenous, yet light and airy interior bring it all home.

The house marinara sauce it’s accompanied with is rather low-key, as far as infusion of herbs go, yet it does have a good balance of sweetness and acidity to it. Some may find it a bit too plain as far as seasonings go, yet you can always zest it up by adding your own Parmesan and/or red pepper flakes provided in shaker bottles at each table. As always for me, more cheese please.

For appetizer, we all shared a massive platter of their Fried Calamari…

Bella Mia Pizzeria — Fried Calamari. .95

These are served with the same house marinara sauce that’s served with the complimentary bread rolls, which the sauce is “bottomless”, and our friendly server lady was more than happy to refill for us throughout our meal.

Bella Mia Pizzeria — Fried Calamari

Both the Calamari squid’s head (ring) and leg parts were decently tender and fresh tasting, with nothing “funky” going on. I found the legs had better flavor and texture, being more characteristic of Octopus (tako) than squid.  The Calamari’s batter was lightly golden-airy and crispy, being sort of “Tempura-ish”, with barely if any salt or other seasonings at all in it, allowing primarily the marinara dipping sauce and lemon to provide that.

Bella Mia Pizzeria — Fried Calamari

Now on to the main course, where we begin with birthday girl Diner C’s choice, Bella Mia Pizzeria’s Chicken Marsala with Linguine Pasta…

Bella Mia — Chicken Marsala: Chicken breast sauteed with mushrooms in a Marsala Wine Sauce. Served on a choice of Spaghetti, Linguine (shown) or Penne. .95

As you may already be able to tell, the portions here at Bella Mia are very generous, with each entree easily enough to share between two hungry adults and walk out with satisfied tummies. While that Calamari app’ we ordered certainly was enough to sate all us five hungry adults’ appetites ahead of the main course.

Bella Mia — Chicken Marsala

As for the Chicken Marsala, like all our entrees, it arrived at the table PIPING HOT, with visible steam steadily billowing off the plate for at least a minute while sitting there. Already a good sign! Upon first bite, Diner C immediately noted the Linguine pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, followed with a big thumbs-up for the Marsala Sauce it was evenly coated with. The two generously-sized chicken breasts were also very tasty, tender ‘n moist.

Bella Mia — Chicken Marsala

Summing it up, she gives Bella Mia Pizzeria’s take on Chicken Marsala very solid 3 SPAM Musubi.

Next up we have Diner AA’s choice, which must be noted, she came intent on ordering her usual favorite, eggplant, hoping to try Bella Mia’s Eggplant Parmigiana. Unfortunately our server broke the news that they were out of Eggplant. What? Needless to say, Diner AA was very disappointed, but what else can you do? So she simply moved her selection to the nearest, most similar dish in preparation and ordered the Chicken Parmigiana with Linguine Pasta…

Bella Mia — Chicken Parmigiana: Chicken breast breaded and lightly fried, topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese then baked to perfection. .95

Having all the same aforementioned positive attributes of Diner C’s Chicken Cacciatore, Diner AA also gave a thumbs-up 3-SPAM Musubi of approval for Bella Mia’s Chicken Parmigiana.

Switching out a bed of pasta for a roasty-toasty, seriously super-sized bread roll, Diner E decided try Bella Mia Pizzeria’s Chicken Parmigiana Hot Sub…

Bella Mia — Chicken Parmigiana Hot Sub. .95

As always, the (in this case ooey-molten meltin’ Mozzarella cheesy-gooey) cross-cut view…

Bella Mia — Chicken Parmigiana Hot Sub

Straight to the point without much said, Diner “Saimin Kaukau” E gives this 2 SPAM Musubi.

Here’s another order/example of the same Chicken Parmigiana Hot Sub that came out of the kitchen (right behind our table)…

Bella Mia — Chicken Parmigiana Hot Sub

If you’re not quite in the mood for a (sub) sandwich or pizza in pie form, consider having the best of both worlds by ordering Bella Mia’s Stromboli…

Bella Mia — Made-to-Order Stromboli Pizza Roll: Sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives & mozzarella cheese. .95

Essentially a Stromboli is a “Pizza Pocket”, except here at Bella Mia, the  Stromboli arrives at the table MASSIVELY PUMPED UP  like an edible version of the over-the-top ‘roided-out Incredible Hulk, if that helps explain the dramatic visual and psychological impact it has imposing itself upon gawking table guests. NNNNNNNNO-O-O-OH! GGGRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! lol

To give you some scope of scale, notice the size of Diner A’s iPhone in comparison to the Stromboli laid out on the plate in front of him…

Bella Mia — Made-to-Order Stromboli Pizza Roll

While it appears imposingly massive upon arrival in whole form, most of the Stromboli’s size is from the crust being “pumped-up” with hot air during the baking process. Cutting it open reveals that, where you’ll then see the sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives and mozarella cheese lay mostly at the bottom quadrant of its puffed-up, cavernous interior space…

Bella Mia — Made-to-Order Stromboli Pizza Roll

It’s always visually stimulating and taunting to the tummy when molten ooey-gooey cheese and other yum-yums come spillin’ out like that. Ooohh…. ahhhhh…

Bella Mia — Made-to-Order Stromboli Pizza Roll

Of course this thing has so much girth, you’d need a mouth that opens up as gaping wide as a feeding Basking Shark in order to heave this in your mouth as is. So Diner A quickly devised a “plan of attack” in taking on Bella Mia’s “Strombilinator” (I made that name up, but sounds kinda’ cool, huh?!), where he cut basically flattened the “poofed-up” crust and cut the entire thing up into bite-size pieces more reasonable for the average human…

Bella Mia — Made-to-Order Stromboli Pizza Roll

How was it? Deliciouso! Diner A was notably fond of their Pepperoni, which had a nicely-spiced and very “meaty” flavor to it, which I got to try a piece and concur to that. The sauce in it also had plenty of zest, while as a whole, of course how can all that other good stuff in there all smothered melted Mozarella Cheese NOT taste awesome? Because it was, simply AWESOME! Adding to that awesomeness filling it, the obviously well-toasted crust it was encased in had a nice crunch on the surface, while underneath it, the “meat” of the crust had a nice, glutenous, yet airy “chew” factor going on, just like their house pizza crust-based bread rolls had.

Summing it up, Diner A gives Bella Mia’s “Strombilinator” (ha ha!) an Incredible Hulk hoppin’ 4 SPAM Musubi. (Hey, that’s two completely different “menacing superheroes” in one sentence lol). Seriously though, he enjoyed it so much, he noted he wants to bring his family back here soon to try it, he enjoyed it so much. Especially considering the portion and prices, which are indeed very family-friendly.

Last but never least, yours truly decided to try Bella Mia’s Spaghetti Meatballs..

Bella Mia — Spaghetti Meatballs. regular .95 (daily special price for Monday only .95!)

And no, I didn’t order this just because it was the Monday special of the day, as I actually had my mind set upon seeing it on the regular menu, before taking notice there was a special on it. Yet hey, for just .95 (that’s off the regular price), shoots, hook me up! Yet even though it was highly discounted in price, it surely didn’t appear they compensated with a smaller portion, that’s for sure!

And how was it? Very good. Like all the dishes the others ordered, my Spaghetti Meatball “platter” (because it was practically sized as one) arrived at the table PIPING HOT. Also like the other linquine-based pasta dishes, my spaghetti noodles were cooked perfectly al dente. The sauce tasted like the same “low key” house Marinara they use for the complimentary bread rolls and Fried  Calimari we were served. Which again didn’t have much in the way of a complex combination of herb in it, yet was well balanced in sweet and acidic, the latter of, which is always an important factor in any good Marinara sauce.

Bella Mia — Spaghetti Meatballs

As for the three meatballs topping the spaghetti and smothered in Marinara sauce, they were fairly large, where I’d say each one was about the size of a racquetball. Unlike that hilarious scene in The Mask, these “meat-a-balls” certainly weren’t spicy, nor were they infused much with herbs. Yet they did have a nice balance of what tasted like a combination of ground beef, pork and bread crumbs, with what also tasted like simple salt and pepper seasoning. Quite plain, actually, yet it was still tasty and very moist. If there’s anything to improve, I’d say it just needed to be browned more on the outside to kick up its meaty flavor.

Summing it up, I give Bella Mia’s Spaghetti Meatball 2 SPAM Musubi, while I must once again note the incredible value at just .95 for the Monday daily special on this dish. Can’t beat that!

While I didn’t ask, I’m assuming the customer who ordered this Meatballs on Penne Pasta requested that instead of Spaghetti, yet still got the Spaghetti Meatballs Monday special .95 price  …

Penne Pasta Meatballs

Don’t forget, there’s also “Lasagna Tuesday”, “Alfredo Wednesday”, “Stromboli Thursday” and “1 Topping 10″ Pizza Fridays” .95 daily specials at Bella Mia, which that alone is worth the trip here.

Summing it up, we all enjoyed our lunch at Bella Mia Pizzaria. Service was friendly and attentive, and while the entrees took a while to come out (about 20 minutes), the relaxed ambiance and reward of having all our dishes arrive at the table together at once, each fresh made, piping hot, and overall well prepared ‘n tasty, made the wait worth it. I’m definitely returning again to try their pizza, as well ordering my very own “Strombolinator”. That’s some good eats right there!

Bella Mia Pizzeria. Check ‘em out!

Bella Mia Pizzeria
2222 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, Hawaii  96826

Tel. (808) 941-4400

Bella Mia Pizzeria menu (1.1mb 2-page PDF; current as of 2/11)

The Tasty Island rating:

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

P.S. Us “Yelpers” recently had an online discussion on “Ghetto Recipes“, where everyone brought up their favorite “poor man’s grub” either while growing up and/or when times were tough. Not that now is any different for many folks.

With that, being Hawaii-based “Yelpers”, “dishes” that came up naturally included just about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING with RICE. That’s a given. Then there were other desperate or weird “recipes” that were mentioned when the wallet’s thin, including the venerable dry, uncooked saimin (the stiff Maruchan and Nissin brand kinda’ stuff) eaten straight outta’ the package, and Spaghetti that uses Ketchup as its “Marinara Sauce”.

Well, speaking of ketchup being used as a desperate measure for a desperate time,  recently  I was “desperately” craving a tasty snack, where not having everything I needed on hand with what I had to work with, I came up with a new recipe I’ve at least temporarily named “Jiffy Salsa”, a.k.a. “Ghetto Salsa”…

“Jiffy Salsa” a.k.a. “Ghetto Salsa” n’ Chips

You’re probably now saying, “No you didn’t. You didn’t! Please tell me you didn’t do that!” Yes, I did my friends. YES. I. DID. lol!!!!

The deal was, we had this “ginormous” bag of Costco-issue Organic Tortilla Chips that was sitting around in our office pantry and nobody was eating it, as we ran out of REAL Salsa to go along with it. Yet our little pantry area also has an assortment of condiment packets saved from past lunches stashed away in a jar. So I thought to myself “Hmmmmm, I wonder? What if I make a “Quickie Salsa” by combining several condiment packets of fast food ketchup with a condiment packet or two of fast food taco sauce?” So that’s exactly what I did, and guess what? It turned out pretty darned tasty and a pretty darned acceptable substitute for the real deal, I kid you not!

Of course, like most fast ‘n cheap foods (specifically, PROCESSED FOODS), this here “Ghetto Salsa” isn’t gonna’ be praised about and graced on the cover of your periodical HMO members’ magazine anytime soon. Yet that’s besides the point here. We’ll save the trip to WHOLE FOODS PAYCHECK for another post.

For this — ehem, cough, cough — “recipe”,  I simply combined exactly 5 packets of ketchup with 1 packet of taco sauce, as we only had that one packet of taco sauce remaining in the jar, and, cha-cha-cha, ariba- ariba, “Jiffy Salsa”!…

“Jiffy Salsa” a.k.a. “Ghetto Salsa” n’ Chips

The cumin and other spices in the (Tex-Mex) taco sauce “Mexicanized” the ketchup, where I swear, if I only had real tomatoes I could dice up and throw in there, this would be very close in taste to at least mass-produced, bottled (processed) salsa.

If I ever make it again (stress “IF” and “EVER”), I’d go with a ratio of 4 packets ketchup to 1 packet taco sauce, as this batch was a just little too sweet from the ketchup, while it also could have used just a little more of them “Mexicanized” taco sauce spices to “salsafy” it.

Perhaps add some chopped onions, cilantro and a squeeze of lime along with that, and shoots, it would probably taste almost as good as the fresh stuff! Well duh, then that’s pretty much at least “half fresh salsa”. lol

Anyhow, if you ever happen to have a lonely bag of leftover Tortilla Chips sitting just around with no fresh or bottled salsa to finish it up with, “raid” your fast food condiment packets stash jar and dig up the ketchup and taco sauce, combine it in a ratio as suggested above or to your own personal taste, serve with Tortilla Chips and enjoy.

“Jiffy Salsa, a.k.a. “Ghetto Salsa”. Try it.  If you’re craving a tasty snack, yet your options are limited, you just might like it! For what it’s worth (free), winnahz!

Hmmmm, now to brainstorm what I can “creatively” do with all them leftover fast food condiment packets of Aloha Shoyu.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JnGBs88sL0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR8RDo2E98o

The Tasty Island

For today’s review we’re back in Kalihi, where it’s repeatedly and affectionately designated here on this blog as “The Center of Hawaii’s Food Universe”, a.k.a. “God’s Country”. This time around at yet another hole-in-the-wall gem over at Monarch Seafoods, located next door mauka (towards the Koolau mountain range) of Chun Wah Kam Noodle Factory on Kalihi Street, with Bank of Hawaii’s Dillingham Boulevard branch also adjacent to them if that will help you find them.

Monarch Seafoods is a fish distributor that also offers catering services, as well as what we’re sampling here in this review from their daily takeout operation. And the place is strictly takeout with no dine-in seating.

Without further ado, here’s their most current menu as of this writing…

Upon entering, you’ll find the customer service area is rather small, where as little as 10 people waiting in line for their order can already make it feel crowded. Yet that’s how it is at most hole-in-the-wall gems. Here’s the front end service counter, made up mostly of a refrigerated display case filled with a goldmine of ono kine grindz…

Being a seafood purveyor — with nearby Honolulu’s fish auction block right down the street, mind you — naturally there’s no shortage of fresh fish and prepared Poke to be had here…

Of course they also have prepared bento lunches ready to go…

Next time I visit here, I definitely need to try “Pop’s Homemade Banana Cream Pie”, as that’s one of my favorite kinds of pie…

So on this first-time visit, Diner A decided to go “Surf ‘n Turf” and chose a mixed plate of Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke and Hamburger Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions…

Mixed Plate of Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke and Hamburger Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms ‘n Onions and House Nalo (as in Waimanalo) Greens. .45

A closer look…

OMG, Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke is da bomb!…

Seemingly simple, yet easy to mess up if done the wrong way. Yet Monarch NAILS this, as the thoroughly cooked-through Ahi cube is seasoned with just the right amount of what tastes like a shoyu-based marinade (because you know, it’s Poke), while the Panko crust is offers a wonderful “GBD” taste and texture contrast to the delightfully tender and moist Ahi meat. Superb indeed. In fact, , just drop a bunch of these absolutely scrumptiously onolicious Deep Fried Poke bites in a big bowl along with a case or two of ice cold Heinekens amongst a bunch of you and your best friends, and you’ve got one heck of a great paina (party)!

They provide a chili Aioli sauce for the Deep Fried Poke, but both Diner A and I agree what REALLY makes this OUTRAGEOUSLY OFF THE CHARTS is their AMAZING House Salad Dressing…

Chili Aioli Sauce (left) and Monarch’s signature House Salad Dressing (right)

I swear, you could dip your car bumper in Monarch’s salad dressing and it’d taste awesome. Seriously, if you ever visit this place, ASK FOR EXTRA DRESSING. Trust me, you’ll thank me (and them for giving you an extra cup) for that tip.  It goes great with, well, EVERYTHING.

To explain it, it’s got a sweet ‘n sour-meets-creamy flavor profile goin’ on, with a subtle hint of garlic. It sort of reminds me of Costco’s Parisian Dressing that comes with that salad kit they sell. But this one BLOWS that and is by far one of the BEST salad dressings I’ve ever tasted in recent memory.

As for the Hamburger Steak, the gravy is solid (tasting that is), also sporting garlic undertones, with plenty of depth and “beefy-ness”, while having perfect thickness and body. The single hamburger patty was on the small side, yet according to Diner A it was seasoned nicely and had all the right fillers that make a hamburger steak taste like it should.

Overall, Diner A gives Monarch’s Deep Fried Poke and Hamburger Steak mixed plate a super solid 4 SPAM Musubi.

Next up is yours truly, where I just had to go with what everyone on Yelp raves about, which is Monarch’s ever-popular Nori-wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi…

Monarch Seafoods – Nori-wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi with Nalo Greens and Brown Rice. .95

A closer look…

What nobody on Yelp mentions nor probably haven’t tried experimenting with, is dipping the Nori-wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi roll in their AMAZING House Dressing!…

Oh man, I tell ya’, that dressing takes what is already an awesome dish to levels unknown to mankind. Bam! You can see they drizzle the Nori-Wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi with Wasabi, which is great. Then you add the creamy, sort of garlic-ee, sweet ‘n sour element from the dressing and, I swear, it  just makes you wanna’ roll your eyeballs backwards in your noggin. lol Seriously, so ono!

Construction-wise, it appears they take a thinly-sliced slab of ahi and top it with minced imitation crab that’s mixed with other ingredients I couldn’t quite pinpoint, although I’m sure there’s at least some mayonnaise in it. They take that and roll it up all wrapped up in several multiple layers of nori maki, then it gets a quick dredge in tempura batter then deep fried. You know, the kinda’ thing Kahai Street Kitchen right down the street would probably do.

The end result is Ahi that’s super moist and imparted with plenty of “Umami” thanks to the Nori and (imitation) crab meat surrounding both sides of it, while you get that “decadent crunch” factor from the lightly crispy tempura coating it’s encased in. Genius.

As for the Nalo Greens, they were super fresh ‘n crispy, and incredibly packed into the left corner pocket of my plate. Where after I finished the Ahi, I was able to fill the entire main entree section with my salad!…

I tell ya’, it was like having a refreshing appetizer salad after the main dish!

Summing it up, 4 SPAM Musubi for Monarch’s Nori-Wrapped Crab-stuffed Ahi. Use real crab meat and I’d give it 5. Trade out the crab for lobster and I’d probably give it a TEN! Bu-Ya!

We enjoyed our lunch from Monarch Seafoods so much, that we made a hana hou (encore) visit just a week later! This time around with Diner EY (different guy than Diner E) in tow, where he decided to give their Garlic Roast Pork plate a spin…

Monarch Seafoods – Roast Pork with Gravy. .95

I got a taste of the gravy, and can cofirm it’s certainly “garlic-ee”, yet not obnoxiously so. In words of Rap Replinger’s “Aunty Marialani”, it’s “jussssssss right”. Go check ‘em now, check ‘em now, go. lol  Diner EY also gave a thumbs-up of approval for the roast pork, saying it was fork tender and packed with flavor. 4 SPAM Musubi.

This time around, Diner A decided to try Monarch’s Crab Cake, Mochiko Chicken and Fried Poke Bento…

Monarch Seafoods – Bento: Crab Cake, Mochiko Chicken and Fried Poke. .95

The crab cake…

How was it? 3 SPAM Musubi.

Finally, yours truly laid it down this time with Monarch’s Garlic Butter Sauteed Tiger Prawns with Zucchini and Mushrooms over Linguine pasta…

Monarch Seafoods – Garlic Butter Sauteed Tiger Prawns with Zucchini and Mushrooms over Linguine. .95

A closer look…

How was it? Eh, it’s OK but nothing really worth writing home or here about. It wasn’t drenched in garlic butter as much as I would have liked, while the tails were on the verge of being overcooked and rubbery. They also weren’t as sweet as I was expecting it to be. As for the pasta, the linguine was cooked perfectly al dente, but the “cream” sauce just did not work. It literally tasted like somewhat thickened canned cream, while having barely any seasoning or flavor, whatsoever. Someone please pass me some butter and fresh grated parm’ please. I gotta say though, there were generous slices of zucchini and sauteed white mushrooms in it, yet even then, the really lame, plain Jane cream sauce didn’t lend them a helping hand in flavor ‘tat all.

Summing it up, I give Monarch’s Garlic Butter Tiger Prawns 1 SPAM Musubi, which I’m being generous at even that. Thankfully, again, I had their awesome House Salad Dressing to save the day and make a lame plate at least decent enough to eat.

Regardless,

Leave it use to take advantage of a scale when we see one, where here we weighed my Nori Wrapped, Crab-stuffed Ahi plate on our first visit, which clocked in at 1.065 pounds…

So if they charged us .95 per pound (the average price of their fresh raw ahi), this plate would have totaled out at .73. Thankfully that plate is just .95, which is truly a bargain for a truly inspirational and creative seafood dish you’d easily pay 3 or more times that in a finer dining restaurant.  Gotta’ love Kalihi for that.

Monarch Seafoods
515 Kalihi St
Honolulu, Hawaii  96819

Tel. (808) 841-7877

Monarch Seafoods & Catering menu (71k 2-page PDF document download; current as of 1.11)

The Tasty Island rating:

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

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