Sushi Robot is located outside of the Kaheka Don Quijote – they been there forevers and sell all kinds of good grab and go foods. I got this bento one morning after an early shop. Can’t lose with a $5 meal! And it’s definitely filling. I would get it again!
Okinawan Soba | $13.00 (or $14.00)
Raysam Hawaii is a cute little Okinawan food truck that comes onto the UH Campus! I like to support him when I can, it seems like a one man operation. I enjoyed their handmade omusubi and decided to try their okinawan soba this time. It was delicious! And I love that he serves it separate from the broth, no bloated noodles!
I saw this bag of turtle chips at 711 and couldn’t resist because I love truffle. Bugga was expensive, $6.09 and how is it? Junk brah, no get it. It’s still too sweet and the truffle taste is minimum yet artificial and just tastes like MSG or something. No waste your money.
Izakaya Naru is a bit of a non-descript restaurant located in the same lot as Sushi King. They are more of an Okinawan restaurant but they like to make special twists on certain dishes which are quite enjoyable! They have extensive drinks on the menu along with an extensive pupu menu. Reservations are highly recommended since they are very small. How was the food?
Look at this cute welcome sign! I called to make a reservation and this greeted me when we were seated! Love it!
Shiso Awamori | $7.25
I can’t be taken at my word on this, I didn’t like this drink. I am also not an expert on alcoholic drinks. The reviews on Yelp seem to review this positively so I assume it tastes good? I was not a fan and the shiso taste wasn’t strong. I should stick to soda or cocktails.
Homemade Peanuts Tofu | $6.00
Oh my, one of my favorites of the night. I loved this. I think tofu throws off the diner’s expectation. It’s not tofu mixed with peanuts – I think it’s peanuts mixed with a kudzu starch to resemble tofu. The taste and the aroma of the peanuts was mildly roasted, it was perfect. The tofu itself isn’t really seasoned, the sauce on top tastes like a thick kabayaki sauce. It’s perfection, I would definitely order this again.
Hamachi Carpaccio w/Okinawan Lime Sauce | $12.00
Great cuts of Hamachi and a nice light lime sauce, not at all sour…just a quick jolt of citrus. Very good!
Rolled Fried Egg (Dashimaki!) | $6.50
Okay, I’ve been experimenting with dashimaki tamago at home so I’m a bit biased with my version! This one was okay, I think I would have preferred a stronger dashi taste. Also, $6.50 is a bit steep in price for me.
Homemade Okinawa Soba w/Shoyu Pork Belly | $10.75
Nice dish! A pretty good sized pork belly with slightly al dente okinawa soba (in a good way!). A nice comforting dish.
Garlic Fried Rice w/Squid | $9.50
One of their famous dishes is their taco rice in a stone pot but we were feeling more like squid and garlic fried rice this day and boy am I glad we did! I haven’t tried this before but am very happy we did. Another one of the favorites of the night with very tender morsels of squid, I would recommend this!
Sukiyaki Pizza | $9.00
Okay, so they have a gyoza pizza which is popular but once again, I wanted to try another pizza! The sukiyaki pizza is interesting, did I taste an obvious sukiyaki flavor? Not really, I actually likened it more to like a lightly smoked kalua pig. The mayo on top contains a hint of wasabi which I enjoyed. I enjoyed this dish a lot but I wouldn’t have any sukiyaki expectations when I order it.
Sunrise Restaurant is an old school Okinawan restaurant located at the edge of Kapahulu near Waikiki. I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant for the longest time but dang, there is absolutely no parking. We tried lunch one day here and my gosh, it was worth the wait and we are itching to go back. Super small restaurant, if you can’t make it right when they open, you better wait a bit for next seating. They definitely have their regulars…and there is one chef. Seriously. He makes all the plates of sushi and then he has to hustle to the back kitchen to prep the oxtail soup. The lunch orders seem to be mostly oxtail soup and sushi combination so that’s what I got!
Looks like a typical sushi offering but it tasted great.
Oxtail Soup – star of the show. It was delicious. They don’t give a whole lot…probably because it’s part of a sushi combination. The soup is flavorful yet very clean tasting. We don’t have enough good Okinawan restaurants around, I want more, more and more! Wish they had more readily accessible parking…perhaps the hunt makes the meal all the more worth it.
Took a quick pic of their hours in case you’re curious, they’re not always open for lunch!
