My gosh, I’ve been wanting to try Imanas Tei for the longest time now! Finally had a chance the other week and took a chance by walking in. Firstly, don’t do that. They are always booked but they were willing to place us at the sushi bar as long as we could be out by 7 for the next reservation.  We said yes and there are no regrets! The meal was amazing. I’m pretty sure I pissed off the sushi chef in the beginning, and I feel bad. I had laid the menu open leaning against the counter and he kept saying something to me but I couldn’t hear him so he had to raise his voice. -_- My menu was blocking him from putting this down…

The serving dish for my sushi! That faux pas aside, the meal was extraordinary.

Grilled Beef Tongue. Delicious! Great taste and prepared well.

 Stewed Miso Based Beef – flavorful. This dish really packs a punch and I think it would go great over rice. Alone, I think it’s very strong.

One of their signature dishes, Seafood Dynamite. It looks as good as it tastes. Also very flavorful – big chunks of seafood smothered in a creamy sauce.

Salmon Nigiri. Oh. My. God. I don’t think I’ve had good quality salmon until this meal. I mean seriously. This was my favorite of the night. It was so flavorful – what have I been eating all my life? I can’t believe how much better it was at Imanas. It was so good that I had to order another one. Definitely recommended.

Kaki Nigiri (Oyster) – it was good! But to be fair, this was served after the salmon and I was still thinking about the salmon. If you like fresh oysters, you’ll love this.

Unagi Roll. Very good, unagi and avocado served up nicely.

Spicy Tuna Roll. I just had to get my spicy tuna fix in. Honestly, I wouldn’t waste my time getting rolls next time. I would just want the nigiri!

Fresh Scallop Nigiri – delicious. Meaty, fresh, soft yet firm (does that make sense?) – highly recommended!

Mirugai (Geoduck Clam) Nigiri. I haven’t had geoduck clam in such a long time so I definitely wanted to try this. This is very expensive and while it tasted great, it is very pricey so I can’t recommend it fully. The taste of the clam is crunchy and has a good taste of the ocean which is what I always loved.

Obviously, the whole meal was amazing. And we were in and out in like an hour so they are very prompt with their service. The only downside to sitting at the sushi bar is that you not able to order their shabu shabu or nabe which is something they are also known for. I would definitely love to come to this restaurant again! Their parking is horrendous though, they share a very small lot with another popular restaurant which makes it worst! But I would definitely consider Imanas Tei as one of the best Japanese restaurants on the island.

Sushi Bay is a fairly new sushi restaurant in the Kapolei Shopping Center. Anytime there is a new sushi anything – I’m down to clown. Okay, I don’t know where that phrase comes from, I heard it on Parks and Recreation and I really just wanted to give it a shot. Sushi Bay will undoubtedly be compared to Genki Sushi and Kuru Kuru Sushi. Well after trying it, I’d say it’s almost an exact copy to Kuru Kuru Sushi but dare I say…better! They do have a few more items than Kuru Kuru and serve the same big slices of fish as Kuru Kuru (Genki’s serving sizes pale in comparison to both).  Ahhh…let’s let the pictures tell the story.

Garlic Hamachi – $2.80, yummmmy…so good!

Onion Salmon – $2.80

Hamachi – $2.80, there’s bits of green onion on this and in another dish. That’s the only small complaint, they’re a bit sloppy in that regard.

Ika – $1.50 (hi green onion/furikake again!)

Ahi Poke – $2.20, delicious! And it doesn’t come with limu which I prefer.

Mix Don – $8.99, half Spicy Tuna and half Ahi Poke. Topped off with sliced onions and a slice of ahi and salmon. Heavenly.

Avocado Chicken – $2.20, here is something new that I had to try!  Sorry that the avocado is browning but it was delicious!  It’s just a slice of avocado topped which karaage chicken. Well not just…it was good!

We came on a weekday at about 10:30 am and they already had diners! This place definitely picked up as we ate. I hope they get successful enough to branch out and open in town. They offer a lot of other noodle and rice bowl dishes too which I enjoy! If you’re ever out in Kapolei, give them a try. I like the Target and Costco in Kapolei because it’s much slower than the ones in town.