This article was reposted from a reader’s WeChat public account, “懒人33的吃喝玩乐.” Original link.

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I worked remotely in Hawaii for a week during my little winter break, and it happened to line up with Presidents’ Day weekend, so I ended up with 4 working days and 5 days off.

Work is work, and you still want to eat well. Every night I booked dinner in advance. We opened at 5:00 PM and finished around 7:00 PM. Back at the hotel, the kids took a shower and went to bed. Here’s an overview of the dinners; I won’t separately score brunch, but I review it in detail below.

Chef’s Notes

Sushi Sho

I thought the chef had moved to New York to open a new restaurant and assumed the Hawaii location was getting hard to book, a sign that restaurants sometimes decline. So I went in with some skepticism, but it was a surprisingly good experience. I couldn’t bring kids, so I snagged a solo reservation. I initially asked the teammate who usually takes on all the child-carrying to go, but he said it wouldn’t be fun to go with him, and he still told me to go.

It’s located at the Ritz in Waikiki, and it’s within walking distance. As expected, punctuality is strict at this place in Hawaii—more people arrived late than on time (I was one of the on-time folks). There are a total of 10 counter seats; the chef said they’re arranged from the center outward in the order reservations are booked. I sat third from the right, and this chef ended up only serving the three people on our right.

Plush sweet shrimp.

The firefly squid was better than a few servings I had in Japan.

It’s squid, too, but it looks like a marinated egg.

Washington State shucked oysters, cured just right.

Now for the sushi course. The sushi was very good piece by piece, with no real misses except the prized crab. For me, temperature is important, and every nigiri at Sushi Sho was warm, which is exactly what I like. The vinegared rice had a great balance of stickiness, moisture, and acidity. The fish seasoning was consistently good, and each piece tasted different in a good way.

Pufferfish roe. You can only get both roe and firefly squid during the winter-spring transition. This fish broth and roe pairing didn’t come together well, it wasn’t seasoned through, and the roe was too hot.

It looked a bit unremarkable, but the texture play between the ingredients was excellent.

This was the least-favorite dish overall: Washington State prized crab with egg yolk, and the crab was still too salty.

Mullet roe with fried taro chips. I don’t usually have a lot of appreciation for mullet roe, but this pairing was very good and would make a good dish if you enjoy drinking.

Yuzu pearls on grilled fish were the perfect way to cut the richness.

This one was a bit wild—boiled tomato. It was good, but definitely unusual.

The cucumber wasn’t especially memorable, either.

That’s where it ended. I was already full, but at that point the head chef pulled out more ingredients and said we could add some, so I reluctantly added ankang fish liver.

To be honest, the ankang fish liver was average; it was cooked too sweet and rich, and I didn’t particularly enjoy this pairing.

Desserts can be ordered one of each. Even though I was very full, the server said each item was just a small portion, so we had one each. The mango smoothie was not great.

I don’t really recommend this noodle dish either; honestly, it was much worse than the ice-jelly noodles at home.

There was also a sea-salt ice cream I forgot to photograph, but it was really good! The head chef also suggested drizzling brown sugar over the noodles, but I recommend not adding it—the plain flavor was better.

tamago was also a bit ordinary.

The decor and atmosphere are very Japanese, with several assistants helping in the kitchen. The chef would call out loudly whenever he needed ingredients and accompaniments. Apart from a few dishes that weren’t quite to my taste, this meal was very satisfying and was the best-flavored meal on this trip. If you’re not staying in Waikiki, you can park at the Ritz and the restaurant can validate parking.

@sushi

This Hawaiian omakase newcomer is held back by its name; you can’t find it with a direct Google Maps search.

The location is near Ala Moana Mall. Here’s the link. It’s in a mall, and parking is quite convenient; the restaurant can validate parking: https://www.google.com/maps/place/'@SUSHI'/@21.3016861,-157.8670515,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x7c006f19e2b59a29:0x5419dbf1fe7ed645!8m2!3d21.3016862!4d-157.8621806!16s%2Fg%2F11sbft6hfs?entry=ttu

What makes this place special is that you can sit at the counter with kids, and the experience is genuinely good. I called the chef to confirm, and he said to book two seats on Resy and add a note. In total there are 8 seats. The restaurant has the head chef, an assistant chef, and a female server who speaks English.

The restaurant does not have a liquor license, so you need to bring your own alcohol. Since none of us drink, we didn’t bring any and just ordered tea.

We started by having the chef make a cooked hosomaki for our child. The kid, to our surprise, loved it and ate it all, then had chawanmushi, and still said he wasn’t full, so the chef made another one for him.

The chef is meticulous, but a little slow. After slicing each piece of fish, he carefully wraps it fully in plastic film before moving on to the next step. The presentation was a bit like Seattle’s Wataru. It was interesting: we ate the first piece by hand, and only then did the server make and bring finger towels for us.

The kid also got chawanmushi, with a really rich variety of ingredients, including lots of seafood and even cheese.

The ankōn fish pairing was pretty unique, and I liked it; it was better than sushi sho.

Finally came the egg-white/fish roe and uni ikura rice, and the shiroko didn’t blend very well with the other two ingredients.

A beef and quail-egg-yolk over rice dish—classic pairing and really tasty.

On food alone, this place is not as good as sushi sho, but it is child-friendly. I highly recommend it for parents like us who are die-hard eaters and want omakase without anyone to help us out—stable execution, good value, and there’s kid-friendly rice too. The chef isn’t a very lively personality, and since there are few people in the restaurant, the atmosphere is relatively quiet, so you can bring an iPad for the kid. It was the last dinner of this trip, and it ended things perfectly.

Ginza Onodera Sushi

This was the first place we ate during the trip, and expectations were high, so we were quite disappointed. We got there by Uber, and street parking didn’t seem to be very convenient.

With our kid, we thought we’d be able to sit at the counter, but once we entered we were taken to a private room. Based on past experience, private rooms are often worse in quality than counter seating, and it didn’t feel right right away.

The plum chawanmushi was tasty, but it was cold.

The kid had his own small set—just vinegar rice, grilled fish, and miso soup. I also ordered chawanmushi for him.

It looked a bit like a bit of “dark cuisine,” but surprisingly that ended up being the highlight of the meal.

The sushi looked good, and we all started trying it with high expectations, but after finishing our bites we just looked at each other. They were very dry, made our throats tight, and the vinegar rice was very cold and even dropped rice grains. Overall it felt like it had been pulled straight from a refrigerator, and by color it was clearly not rich or glossy.

For the second item on the right, the garlic bits overpowered the fish flavor. The server even introduced the wrong piece at first, then came back to correct it. Not very professional.

The soup was okay, at least much better than the sushi.

We forgot to take photos of the last round.

Then came the little desserts, which were also just average.

The value was truly low. The 2.5 points are mainly for the atmosphere and chawanmushi. This is a place that isn’t worth coming to, even if you can bring children.

其他晚餐

Han no Daidokoro

Japanese-style yakiniku. The output is not as good as my benchmark, Tsuruhashi, but it’s still good. It’s near Ala Moana Mall, and parking at the mall garage is relatively convenient.

This place also serves Miyazaki beef. In recent years, as I’m getting older, I find fattier food can make me feel nauseated quickly. Worried that Miyazaki beef would be too rich, we ordered two small portions, and the rest was U.S. wagyu.

This is a sashimi platter, and it was all quite good—good enough as an appetizer.

Sukiyaki is my kid’s favorite; we added another serving later. Of course, the kid had the version without raw egg to dip in. We also ordered grilled vegetables.

The ice cream came in two huge scoops, and thankfully we only ordered two servings.

I still recommend this place, but don’t order too much Miyazaki beef, or you’ll definitely feel it getting too fatty later. For yakiniku restaurants, it’s ingredients first, then dipping sauce. The ingredient quality meets the standard, though freshness felt just a bit off, and the sauce was also only okay. But it still has enough edge to beat the yakiniku spots in Seattle, and it is definitely a place worth recommending.

Rinka

A Japanese home-style cuisine restaurant. This place is almost in the same area as the previous one, very, very close. But this one, for me, was a miss. Another day I got misled by Xiaohongshu.
Let's start with the beef-intestine hotpot everyone recommends as "must-try." The tripe was almost all fat, which is not very suitable for older people like us. The broth flavor was also pretty plain, and it felt less like Japanese food and more like Korean food. I don’t mind fatty meat, but this pot was too fatty and too greasy, though the portion size was small. We also ordered tempura and udon, both of which were so-so, really so-so.

The price was a bit on the pricey side, so I don’t recommend it.

Yakitori Hachibei

A Japanese yakitori spot near Chinatown. It’s quite far from Waikiki, so we went by cab. The place has a slightly American-style yakitori vibe. The skewers are charcoal-grilled, and the dishes we had were good, though when I watched the chef seasoning with salt, his hand looked like it might shake at any moment.

My daughter loved the corn and finished a whole plate.

The salad and vinegar sauce included with the set were pretty refreshing.

The set also came with corn.

This dish was a bit greasy for me—kinda American-style.

Grilled quail eggs are my daughter’s favorite, so we had them multiple times. After ordering more, they came out pretty quickly. The dip was mayonnaise with horseradish, and the horseradish was quite spicy. I personally thought the grilled quail eggs were just average.

The chawanmushi was not better than one I make at home.

The dessert (tofu pudding with sesame) had a strong sesame flavor; freshly ground Japanese sesame can really be the perfect finishing touch in many Japanese dishes.

At the end you could choose noodles or oyakodon. I usually don’t care for oyakodon, but this one was actually quite good.

The ramen was good, too.

Around Chinatown, it wasn’t very crowded and there were some odd characters around, so be mindful of safety. We took the bus back after dinner.

This place is neither mind-blowing nor a bad bet. Yakitori restaurants can be easy to do wrong, and by that standard, I think this is one I’d be willing to revisit.

FUJIYAMA TEXAS

A Japanese karaage-style skewer restaurant that Rednote bloggers strongly recommended. Don’t be put off by the name; the owner apparently just likes Texas.

The menu focuses on fried skewers, with a few other Japanese snacks. The dishes are made fresh in front of you, and in the open kitchen you can see the chef dredging each skewer in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in order.

The spiced roe with yam was pretty tasty.

Tofu and natto—both are ingredients my husband likes. I was okay with them.

Here come the skewers. The skewers themselves aren’t heavily seasoned; you get soy sauce, yuzu sauce, salt, and a few other dips. They weren’t greasy, but they also weren’t as crisp and clean as a good tempura place. The batter coating was thin and a little bit hard.

Still, they were tasty, though I wouldn’t say they were outstanding. Even though skewers aren’t the same as tempura, I still think I’d choose a tempura restaurant instead.

There wasn’t a dessert menu, so we ended by ordering grilled dango skewers as dessert.

You can book here by DM on Instagram, which is convenient. We came in around 5:00, and it was still quiet, so a walk-in should have been fine. Overall, it’s also a place worth revisiting.

Tanaka of Tokyo Central

A teppanyaki restaurant. We actually came here when we visited Oahu four years ago. This time, on the day we were going to eat at Sushi Sho, I helped pick a few spots for my teammate and my daughter. My daughter said she wanted to watch a teppanyaki performance, so my teammate took her there. The last time she was here she was only 1.

My teammate said my daughter ate a lot of fried rice.

We also paid $20 for a photo the restaurant took for father and child.

According to my buddy, the food was still just so-so like last time we came, and the main point was basically to let our kid watch a little fire show. Ah, I miss that teppanyaki place we had in Sapporo.

Brunch

Halekulani Bakery

This is the famed Waikiki area Halekulani scene: Halepuna by Halekulani, a sister-property of the iconic Halekulani, has a Japanese-style bread and brunch spot downstairs. From the Sheraton, you can cut through the small path beside the parking lot, and it’s about a two-minute walk.

I ordered strawberry mousse and coconut cake; both were quite good, though slightly on the sweet side.

This egg sandwich was great! The egg portion was generous, not heavy, and the bread was soft and elastic. The egg was cooked just right, and even inside the bread it didn’t get watery or soggy. Great.

This is the path. If you navigate with Google Maps, it may take a longer way.

Waiahole Poi Factory

A casual local eatery for everyday Hawaiian food. The original location we visited is takeout only, though there are some outdoor tables nearby. If you are on the east side of the island and heading to places like Sandbar, 古兰尼牧场, or 平等院, this is a place you can stop by on the way. We went at a pretty casual time and still had a long line. You can pre-order online first, then pick it up directly.

I ordered a set with a little bit of everything. Honestly, nothing in it was especially tasty—it reminded me of the food from the office canteen. It did fill me up, though. The best was the poi ice cream. Desserts with contrasting hot and cold textures are often where this kind of mix really shines.

Ice cream cannot be ordered online, but if you only order ice cream in person, there is no queue—you can just order directly at the pickup window.

Island Vintage Coffee / Wine Bar

An old local favorite. The coffee shop and wine bar are right next to each other. The coffee counter is takeout only and has a line, while the wine bar is usually not crowded. If you want to be safe, you can reserve a seat on OpenTable. This place is also very close to our Sheraton, so on workdays ordering brunch for pickup is very convenient. We ate here twice.

The coffee was still quite sweet—very sweet.

loco moco, with regular beef. The beef texture was good—chewy and springy, and it broke apart nicely with each bite. But I found the flavor to be average. The portion was huge.

Hot cocoa for the kid.

My kid’s meal was just average.

LOX ube bagel. I can never get used to the bean-sprout smell in the LOX, so I removed all of them.

The second time we packed it to the room, I forgot to take photos, but the second order was better. I once tried ube bagel with two sauces—purple and white. Both sauces were unique and very tasty; the hype is real. I also ordered the Crab and Egg Brioche, which was very good too. Their papaya is also very sweet—recommended.

Tropic Poke

I didn’t bother taking photos. This one is on the west side of the island, close to my favorite Oahu snorkeling spot Electric Beach, and also near Disney Hotel and the Four Seasons. The poke here was pretty good and fresh, and I went with the signature sauce.

The staff in the shop were also very friendly. They served hot miso soup, and even though the tempura was a bit cold, it wasn’t hard and was still pretty good. It’s an ideal place to stop for a meal after snorkeling.

Musubi Cafe Iyasume

The second time I came to Hawaii, the timing was early pregnancy. I felt lively on the first day, but by the second day, pregnancy nausea taught me a lesson. Most of the ten-day trip was basically spent in the hotel. The musubi was my lifeline, keeping me going when I could barely eat anything. Every day I had my teammate bring musubi from downstairs.

Musubi may not be astonishing or heaven-sent, but the rice balls are just fragrant and tasty, and not too salty. They’re also great to bring to the beach or on a plane. On the way back, we bought six or seven to bring onboard, and they smelled amazing when opened. This time, we also bought a really cute thermal bag.

There are many branches now. The one near the Sheraton did not have a queue when we were there. Even without waiting, it’s still worth buying. Of course, there are lots of places selling musubi in Waikiki, and I don’t think Lawson is much different.

罗森

Speaking of Lawson, on the first morning we bought oden and took it back to the room. It’s not as good as Lawson in Japan or FamilyMart in China, but it is still quite good. There is something truly comforting about a hot soup for breakfast.

After that, my teammates bought things like fried noodles and dumplings, as well as the musubi mentioned above, almost every day. For an Asian stomach, Asian-style breakfast is deeply satisfying.

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About the Author

This is reposted from a WeChat public account reader from a WeChat group: Lazy 33’s Food and Fun. These are all original quality articles. If you’re interested, feel free to follow.