slippahs

Alright, I'm going to cheat a bit and copy and paste:

brendamc

Drive up to the North Shore to the shrimp trucks - yummmmm...

PETEFLYS

I think the best seafood restaurant is John Dominis 43 Ahui Street Honolulu
808-523-0955

TropicalFlyer

Slippahs,

I think you to have a mistake in your recommendations. The fish taco place on Monserrat near Kapiolani Park is called South Shore Grill. They do have great fish tacos and their french fries are heavenly.

Side Street Inn is the not to be missed place near Ala Moana Shopping Center on Hopaka Street.

One addition to try if you haven't before on Oahu is Machino Chaya. All you can eat Japanese food and sushi. Go for lunch and you won't need dinner.

TF

slippahs

Yikes, you're right.

Well both are to be recommended, sorry Chuck!

Makino Chaya has never been a good place for us. Whenever we go, we always get stuck with poor service/cruddy food. I've always much rather choose Todai's over Makino Chaya...

TropicalFlyer

I guess I'm just lucky. I've had very attentive service and good food the few times I've gone. Of course, I pick and choose what items I eat carefully. I prefer the King Street location and usually go on weekdays for lunch so maybe that makes a difference. Of course, one can't go too often without the waist expanding a lot.

I went to Taste of Honolulu tonight and had the most delicious spicy ahi caesar salad at the Top of Waikiki booth. They are also handing out buy one get one free entree coupons at the booth. This is great since the ribeye steak is huge and yummy there.


TF

vprp

PLACES EASILY ACCESSIBLE FROM WAIKIKI

My favorite place to have lunch is at Mariposa on the third floor of Neiman Marcus in Ala Moana shopping center. I love the atmosphere there and the food is decent.

Right near Ala Moana is a Japanese yakiniku (barbecue) restaurant called Gyukaku. It's an interesting experience. Their food is tasty and their service is excellent. It's right on Kapiolani Boulevard.

Right by Waikiki (across the street from Ala Wai golf course), is a plate lunch place called Rainbow Drive Inn.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Someone earlier mentioned Yama's Fish Market. I go there whenever I want Hawaiian plate lunch. It may be tough to find but it's where I go for lau lau, kalua pig, lomi salmon, etc.

That same poster also mentioned 12th Avenue Grill in Kaimuki. It's now one of my favorite restaurants. It's small and has its own personality and I love their food. They only serve dinner there.

If you go to Hanauma Bay, there's a really good burger place in Koko Marina shopping center called Teddy's Bigger Burger. I think they have the best burgers in Honolulu (better than Kua'aina). There's also a Teddy's in Waikiki, right across the street from the zoo.

tbear

1) For sushi/sashimi try Yanagi Sushi Restaurant, 762 Kapiolani Blvd. (btw Ward Ave and Cooke St.), Ph. 597-1525.

This is our favorite Japanese restaurant for the last 15 years. Sashimi and sushi are always fresh because they're always busy and sell so much. Don't be put off by all the pictures of celebrities (both Japanese and American) on the walls. It's not a tourist trap as locals patronize this place too.

Used to have one of the best shrimp tempura in the city. However, they must have lost their tempura cook maybe five years ago. Tempura is still decent but the batter for the accompanying vegetables is hard and the veggies are soggy. That's our only knock on this place.

Best value are the combo dinners. Two entrees combo is priced at $16.95 while three entrees combo is $19.95. You get to choose from about 18 items IIRC. These combos come with miso soup, tossed salad w/ thousand island dressing, tsukemono, rice of course, and ice cream dessert (Hawaii's own Dave's brand with choice of green tea, mac nut, azuki bean, or Kona coffee). Everyone gets tasting portions of appetizers of soy beans, some type of black seaweed, and bean sprouts with some other veggies and Japanese green tea (if requested). Two entrée combos are usually enough unless you're really hungry.

2) For fusion Japanese try Shokudo Restaurant, 1585 Kapiolani Blvd. (corner of Kapiolani & Kaheka St), Ph. 941-3701.
Website: www.shokudojapanese.com

This restaurant opened about six months ago. Some people have raved about it. Check out their website for the menu. Most dishes are to be shared by three persons if you order enough.

3) For a great tasting pie try the sweet potato haupia pie from Ani's Bake Shop, 99-840 Iwaiwa St (Halawa Valley), Ph. 488-2193.

Crust is fabulous as it has bits of macadamia nuts and made with pure butter.

KonaHi

I often go to Genki Sushi on Kapahulu for cheap solid sushi. The only problem is the crowds.

Sweet Willie

GREAT!!!


For breakfast, got to get malasada’s from Leonards!!!
933 Kapahulu Avenue
808-737-5591
http://www.leonardshawaii.com

Good Pho and Vietnamese at a place just behind Keo’s near the Hilton Hawaiian Village, can’t remember the name now.

For plate lunch
Gina's Bar-B-Q
Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Blvd.
Honolulu
808-735-7964
http://www.ginasbbq.com/

rhwbullhead

Is the Sunday brunch at the Halekulani any good? I'm not sure if it was a buffet or not but I believe they only offered this on Sundays. My girlfriend had wanted to take me there last year, but we weren't able to secure a reservation. I'm wondering if I missed anything.

BTW, I like this thread. I'll make sure to go to some of these places next time I'm on the island.

slippahs

A few years ago, the family went to the brunch at Christmas, which was pretty good. However, I much rather enjoy the Sunday buffet at the Prince. Personal preference, I guess.

FlyinHawaiian

Chuck:

I like Assigio's on the ground level of the Ala Moana Shopping Center (Italian), the buffet at the Waikiki Parc Hotel Cafe (Asian/Pacific Rim), and the restaurants at the Pacific Beach Hotel (to look at the fish in the aquarium). All are within walking distance or a short ride on TheBus.

Please also allow me a shameless plug for a Chinese place that some friends of mine run, Asia Manoa, near the Manoa Marketplace and also reachable by TheBus.

Hope this helps!

slippahs

Asia Manoa is a great place (and no, no friends who worked there for me )! We usually go down on Fridays when we can to take advantage of the Ma Po Tofu Special. FlyinHawaiian, last time we went there (last week Friday) we noticed that the waitress had changed. Do you know if she still works there?

justin thyme

My favorite sushi, in Hawaii or anywhere else in the United States, is at Sushi Sasabune on King Street, makai side, just Diamond Head of Keeaumoku. Chef Seiji is a master of his art. The menu is simple: "Trust me!" (In other words, there is no menu.) Sasabune serves a set course that's designed to present your tastebuds a progression of flavors and textures -- it's as much a virtuoso performance as a great meal. (And oh! what a performance it can be!)

Don't expect to find anything on the (non)menu from local waters; Chef Seiji rarely finds anything at fish markets here that meets Sasabune's high standards. They prefer harvests from colder waters and fish with higher fat contents. The seafood served at Sasabune consists of whatever's the freshest and best-quality available from markets all over the world on a given day, be it from Spain or Santa Barbara, Tasmania or Tokyo, Boston or Bali. All of the seafood is flown in daily (sometimes twice daily) from the "mother-ship" Sushi Sasabune in Los Angeles. I have never eaten fresher seafood aside from what I've caught and cleaned myself.

Start with the initial sashimi course and a beverage, and pay attention to what's being served around you to other guests who arrived earlier. (If you have a food allergy or a particularly strong dislike of something in particular, tell the chef or server and they'll skip that course.) As the courses keep being delivered, when you think you're getting near (but not yet) satiated, let them know, and they'll wind-down the series of presentations with one or two final offerings.

Sasabune's sushi is served over fresh, fragrant loose warm rice (not cold sticky vinegared rice), which means you must slide your chopsticks under a piece of sushi and lift carefully instead of grasping it from the sides. The sushi is mostly pre-seasoned and -sauced (the chef or server will tell you whether it's okay to dip into shoyu-wasabi or not). At Sasabune they are serious about the "one piece, one bite" rule -- the piece of sushi goes into your mouth whole. Let it sit on your tongue awhile and feel the warmth of the rice in contrast with the cool slice of fish against the roof of your mouth. The sushi literally "melts" and the experience is very diffferent, very wonderful.

The sake collection is extensive and excellent. Sasabune also offers some wines that pair well with sushi (no chuckles, now!) and a great Japanese beer menu.

I expect there will be controversy about my opinions, as Sushi Sasabune is not your everyday dining experience and some people may find it intimidating. Hawaii is quite a sushi-haven, and there are more contemporary venues with devoted followers who may not agree with me. Sasabune is also predictably expensive (but actually reasonable, IMHO, considering the extraordinary freshness and quality of what you're eating and the expense involved in getting that wonderful seafood onto your plate). To newcomers, the "rules" can seem onerous -- but they're only long-observed quasi-ceremonial traditions for the enjoyment of sushi.

A request: please, don't refer to kind, gracious Seiji as a "Sushi Nazi" -- he's actually very charming and sweet, as is his wife, Tomoko. He works very hard, is understandably proud of the extraordinary sushi he serves, and doesn't deserve that nasty epithet. If you're fortunate enough to be seated at the sushi bar instead of a table, and if it's not horrendously busy, chat with Seiji (he's multilingual in at least four languages that I know of) about the fish and how he's preparing it -- you'll learn a lot.

If you take Sushi Sasabune's "rules" in stride, have fun, and go with the flow you will be in for a remarkably delicious and very memorable meal.

Trust me!