Japanese & Okinawan

Chiba-ken

Chiba-ken is a quiet garden in Dante’s dark wood of outer Waikiki, just over the bridge and the crawling Ala Wai canal. Their outdoor seating even includes a proper lava rock wall to shield you from the sidewalk traffic and really makes you feel like you’re in Hawai’i. While they offer Western-style drinks, the true star is the sake. They have over a dozen selections ranging from very sweet to very dry. And the sushi? Chiba-ken makes it as it’s supposed to be made: perfectly bite-sized with just a tiny mouthful of rice under a slice of fish you don’t have to gnaw in half. Reasonably priced delicious sushi in a great location with a spectacularly helpful staff, Chiba-ken promises a perfect evening before you can say “banzai!”

– Rachel Brown (5/21/08)

Gaku Sushi Izakaya

The staff is exceptionally knowledgeable about the menu, even though a good portion of it changes daily. Izakaya-style specialties include baked king crab, ribeye steak with garlic or ponzu and asari clams either sauteed in garlic butter or steeped in sake. Among the cooked specials, there was beef tongue wrapped in shiitake mushroom and grilled green mussels. A hand-lettered and photocopied menu insert of the day’s specials showcases what Kikuchi picked out that morning at the fish market.

– Napua Leong (4/4/07)

Kyoto Ohsho

The new sit-down-and-order dining format is not a bad thing. The teishokus (set meals) are very affordable. The grilled misoyaki butterfish is tender, sweet and juicy, just like grandma used to make. More options for teishokus include hamburger steak, grilled yellow tail kama, chicken cutlet, beef teriyaki, sweet & sour pork, the giggle-inducing grilled horse mackerel and other favorites. All come with miso soup, assorted vegetables and chawanmushi–egg custard steamed in a cup. Expect friendly service and the frequent bussing of superfluous plates.

– Ryan Senaga (2/27/08)

Matsugen

The handwritten, photocopied menu reflects the artisan allure of hand-crafted soba. The fresh soba noodles are perhaps best enjoyed mori style, served simply boiled and chilled and reverently laid atop a lacquer tray alongside a carafe of tsuyu dipping sauce to pour into a broader dipping dish along with a clump of fresh wasabi and sliced scallion whites. There are izaka-style appetizers whose origins are primarily confined to the maw of sea creatures. There’s no sushi here, but you can get assorted seasonal sashimi and traditional “Edo” style poke.

– N.L. (2/30/07)

Nobu Waikl-kl-

Dinner at Nobu’s is divided into two sections on the menu, cold dishes and hot dishes, with entrees, sushi and sashimi. It doesn’t take a savvy palate to recognize that Nobu really likes ponzu. It seems to be on everything. What was fascinating, different and exciting was the duck breast with wasabi salsa. The space itself is breath taking and almost alive with a subdued swirling chic attitude. It’s a restaurant that you bring a date to, with the expectation of getting laid after dessert–or after the chu-toro, for that matter. To that end, Nobu is a stomach-driven aphrodisiac in a whole new style for Honolulu.

– R.S. (6/13/07)

Rokkaku

Rokkaku offers an extensive menu with plenty of seasonal specials and is a great place to try the unusual. With the tastefully minimalist setting and handmade serving pieces it is easy to believe that you are in an elegant Tokyo bistro. For those who appreciate the Japanese concept of exquisite morsels savored slowly, Rokkaku is the perfect dining out excursion. Their signature dish is kamameshi, rice cooked in a ceramic pot with a choice of goodies, such as unagi, ikura and shiso. The grilled dishes or sumiyaki are another of the menu’s featured attraction. All dishes are suitable for sharing and savoring.

– Eugenie Goodman (1/23/08)

Wasabi & Nadaman

With the environment of a fine-dining classy affair, fresh flowers and pleasantly scented pillar candles accent the tables with larger orchid arrangements to denote key areas of the restaurant. The option to order dishes izakaya-style is there, so if you’re in the mood to scarf, by all means this is the better option with which to dine in style. But food snobs will not be disappointed by the kaiseki menu. Food snobs with smaller stomachs, that is.

–R.S. (10/24/07)

Yohei Sushi Restaurant

The food at Yohei Sushi exceeds expectations. Tamago sushi, the traditional litmus test to check out the cooking skills of the chef and/or his recipe was superb, definitely an in-house production by an experienced hand. The Shokado, the most expensive item on the prix fix dinner other than the market price sushi combo, is a colorful assortment of more than 11 dishes on a large laquer tray. For true traditional Japanese dining, you don’t need to go to Japan. The delightful mini-dishes range from kazunoko and ikura in a bonita broth transitioning to mini-sashimi platter of tuna, tuna tataki, hamachi and flounder. The word to describe the food at Yohei’s is “Whoa!”

– Walter Rhee (3/26/08)

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