Cafe Imperial (or Kaffe Imperial??)

I have quite a bit of catching up to do with my reviews. I have two restaurants and two movies to share with you. I'm going to begin from the oldest to newest.

Last week, I was once again in the mood to try something "new." I'd been wanting to go to Cafe Imperial on Kapiolani. We tried going there once before on a holiday, but they were closed. This time they were open. Here's an Ono Kine Grindz review: click here. Cafe Imperial is known for their katsu.

The restaurant is located in a tall building at 725 Kapiolani Blvd., which is diagonally across from the Lexus dealership. You can enter the parking garage from Kawaihao Street, and you'll need to take a ticket and get it validated. The restaurant is fairly small, but was not very crowded when we arrived for dinner. I would imagine it would be crowded during lunch since it's an office building. There appeared to be just one waitress who couldn't decide where to seat us, or maybe she expected us to choose our own table. She ended up leading us to a table that was a bit awkward with a big pillar next to it and a fairly large party sitting right behind us. Normally I wouldn't think much of this, except that there was only one other occupied table, and there were other options available. Oh well, not a huge deal.

Upon receiving the menu, there are many appealing options ranging from a variety of different katsu, to udon and other noodle-brothy things. A great majority of the items were under $10, and I don't think anything was over $15. There were also some side dishes that sounded good. I decided to try their tonkatsu, which is what they're known for. At $8.95, this was a bargain. My dining partner had a combination katsu, which was somewhere around $12.95. I love trying gyoza from different places, and I decided to order it since it was on the menu. 8 pieces seemed like a good deal.

While we were waiting for our entrees, we were served some soybeans and miso soup. The miso soup was rather boring and unflavorful, but not horrible. Just there. Then the gyoza showed up. Sure, there were 8 pieces, but just looking at it I could tell it was not going to be nearly as stellar as the gyoza I love at Gomaichi. Not even halfway stellar. The gyoza looked rather soggy and was not fried crispy on one side as most gyoza are. I picked one up and noticed that the skin was torn on quite a few of them. I dipped it in the sauce and took a bite. The sauce was quite good (but they didn't give enough for 8 pieces), but the gyoza was pretty lukewarm and no where near the quality of gyoza I've had at Gomaichi, Hokkaido, or just about anywhere. Pretty disappointing, especially for a place specializing in Japanese food. After telling a friend my experience, she suggested that perhaps the gyoza were frozen. I think she was right. And they were just boiled, not steamed and fried on one side like most are. In other words, don't get the gyoza. You won't really need any other appetizers anyway.

When our entrees arrived, my spirits lifted after seeing the huge portion and all the stuff on the plate. The plates came with rice, a couple types of tsukemono (pickled vegetables), a Japanese-style potato salad, two slices of cucumber, and a wad of shredded cabbage. Yes, you heard me, a wad. There was a pretty generous portion of tonkatsu, nice and hot, and just the right thickness. The combination included chicken, pork, shrimp, and scallop, all cooked katsu-style. There was a lot of chicken and pork, but the shrimp and scallop were pretty scarce -- I can't remember which was which, but there was only one piece of one and two pieces of the other. My partner said the scallop was very moist, but the shrimp was just okay. You can put as much sauce as you want on your katsu since the sauce is a condiment on each table. I started off with just a bit, but ended up using a lot. The sauce was a Japanese-style sauce that you could probably get at Marukai or Don Quijote, but it was still good. Especially because I don't eat tonkatsu all that often. The entrees made up for the weird seating, the bland miso soup, and the junk gyoza.

We ended up having a lot of leftovers, so I asked for a box. I should have specified what size box I wanted. She just gave me a small box, and I couldn't fit everything I wanted to in the box. I should have asked for a larger box or a second smaller box, but at that point, I didn't really care, as long as I could take the yummy leftover katsu home.

While it wasn't a perfect dining experience, it was still a good one. The slight service imperfections can be overlooked -- the waitress, while maybe not the sharpest tool in the shed, was still nice and obviously a hard worker and provided the service that we needed. I could do without the starters and appetizers, but the entree totally made up for any shortcomings of the gyoza (which I would not order again) and miso soup (which was included with the meal anyway).

Yet another food review...Kalapawai Cafe

I decided I should write a review as soon as I can after I have eaten at a restaurant rather than waiting two weeks. So tonight, a friend and I tried Kalapawai Cafe in Kailua. Those of you from or familiar with Kailua might be thinking, "Kalapawai, isn't that the store by the beach?" Kalapawai Cafe is associated with the Kalapawai Market, but it's not the little shop you go to to pick up a soda on the way to the beach. Oh no, this is a very different experience.

I had my eye on the Cafe for quite a while now, but since we are creatures of habit and always go to Fat Boys, Amina Pizzeria, or Round Table Pizza, we didn't have an opportunity to try it. Then recently, I read a review by Wanda Adams in the Honolulu Advertiser. She gave it four out of five forks, which is a pretty high mark coming from her.

This is an interesting place. It's kind of like a deli, where you can go to the counter and order items to heat-and-eat at home, or you can order a sandwich, salad, or pizza. They also serve breakfast. From 5 p.m., it turns into a table service restaurant. We arrived at about 6 p.m. tonight (a Saturday), and while a number of tables were taken, there was no problem getting seated right away. We were immediately provided with water, although we had to wait just a bit for our server to arrive.

We were tempted to order an appetizer, but decided against it since we both wanted a starter. I was going to order a side of fries, until our server informed me that the entree I was thinking of getting already came with fries (the menu items seemed to list only the main part of the entree, not the side dishes, so you should ask about what comes with the dish). Our server was pretty good, but I felt things could have been done a little better. For example, I don't think we were ever asked if we wanted anything other than water to drink, which led me to forget to ask for a flight of wine which I asked for after placing my food order.

A wine flight consists of 3-2 oz. pours of wines you select from a specific list. I chose a rose, a semillon (which I had never heard of before -- it was a delicious white wine), and a pinot noir. The pinot listed on the menu was not available, so they substituted another pinot, which was fine. However, my server never told me what it was replaced with. I didn't really care, but it would've been nice if the information was volunteered.

For starters, my friend ordered the Maui Onion Soup, which my friend greatly enjoyed. I started with a side Caesar salad, which turned out to be quite a big portion for a side order! It was slightly different from a traditional Caesar, with a lighter dressing, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Our server's second mistake was not offering me any fresh ground pepper, which I later saw was available when I spotted another server carrying the pepper mill to another table. However, I have to say that what I enjoyed at this place, which possibly led to the forgetting of offering fresh ground pepper, is the team server approach. Other servers brought our food and took plates away, so we were not completely dependent on our server alone. I actually prefer this kind of team work to the "you take care of your own station" type of place.

Anyway, off my soap box about service...for our entrees, my friend ordered a parmesan-crusted stuffed chicken breast (I think it was stuffed with spinach and riccotta) which was served with vegetables and what looked like homemade pasta. she gave me a piece of the chicken and it was excellent, and both visually and edibly moist. I ordered the steak frites with peppercorn sauce, served with shoestring fries. The cut of steak was a bit different, I think maybe a flank steak. My only minor complaint about this entree was that I ordered the steak medium rare, but it was done a little more toward medium -- in hindsight, I suspect this may have been intentional given the cut of the meat.

We looked at the dessert menu and while there were some tempting options, nothing really grabbed us, so we ended our meal there. I could not finish my meal, so they boxed it up for me. Our check came out to about $59 plus tip. While our server could have done things a little better, overall the service was pretty good and I would definitely recommend it to others. I also want to go back for lunch and try their sandwiches, which are only available during the day. There are a number of other items that looked good in the deli counter and that I saw others eating (brushcetta and pizza come to mind).

So the next time you're in Kailua looking for some grub, go and check out Kalapawai Cafe!

J.J. French Pastry

While I always have these grand plans to try new restaurants, we inevitably find ourselves eating at the same places over and over again because we like the food and the service so much. One of those places is Gomaichi. Gomaichi's one downfall is they have a tendency to close on random nights without notice, which is what happened to us a couple weeks ago. So after driving by and seeing the lights off I say, "why don't we try something new?" Sure, that's easy enough to say, but it's not always easy to actually THINK and FIND that something new to try. I suggested we try J.J. French Pastry on Waialae. By the way, when I say something "new," I don't really mean new as in it just opened, but more like "different," as in some place we've never tried before even though it's been open for years.

So we drive around looking for street parking, which we later found out was unnecessary because J.J.'s shares a parking lot with other businesses behind the building in which it's located. We entered through a door to find a very contemporary cafe-like setting, and the desserts in a bakery-like case immediately catch my eye. J.J.'s is known for their chocolate pyramid dessert. It happened that we new one of the waitresses, another bonus. She asked us which side of the restaurant we wanted to sit in...the cooler side or the warmer side. The cooler side was the side we entered through, with the contemporary decor. J.J.'s recently acquired the next unit, which is the warmer side with a Parisian theme, complete with an Eiffel Tower. Well, an Eiffel Tower painted on the wall. We settled on the warm side.

I love to watch other people receive their food because it helps me decide what I might want to order, and I also love to see the expressions on their faces to see the delight the food brings them (or the sense of disappointment or the "what the heck is this?" look, but more often than not, it's a look of joy and appreciation). One thing I noticed is the eclectic, mismatched but not cups and saucers. And EVERYONE gets dessert. You can't go here and not order dessert, I don't care what diet you're on.

Ordering was tough here. There are a lot of different things on the menu, and they make it easier, yet harder, by having fixed price (prix fixe) menus. There are pizzas, salads, pasta, sandwiches, and other entrees on the menu. My dining partner got the 4-course menu which came with asparagus soup, a salad/appetizer (it looked like a salad with a summer roll-like thing), an entree, dessert, and drink. He ordered the Lao Pot Pie for his entree. I had a 3-course meal with a salad, entree, dessert, and drink. I ordered the Fisherman's Pot Pie for the entree.

The salad had a nice, light, ginger sesame dressing. The pot pie's were not the traditional pot pies, but with puff pastry which was fresh, light, and crispy. The Lao Pot Pie was made with a tomato-like sauce, and the Fisherman's Pot Pie contained a light, white sauce that had a hint of coconut milk in it. Both dishes were "just-right" portions and consisted of just the right amount of protein and vegetables. Besides, we already had soups and salads and dessert was still on its way.

Ooh, the desserts...when you're done with your meal, you get up to look at the dessert display and choose what you want. The chocolate pyramids cost a dollar more if you order one of the fixed price menus. We settled on a lilikoi mousse cake and a chocolate orange mousse cake. They put the desserts on nicely dressed plates with a mini-serving of creme brulee -- yummm!! Our friend was nice enough to give us little mini-pyramids which were also VERY good! Our complete dinners totaled just under $38, plus tip. Not a bad deal at all! We left satisfied and happy. The next time I'm trying the hen, which seems to be a dish they are known for.

If you go there, I would suggest one of the fixed menus. And big eaters may want to order an appetizer in addition to an entree, which as I said, for me, are "just-right" portions. The pizzas are a bit small and are really meant to just be an appetizer, or something to be combined with a soup or salad (we saw a growing young man next to us eat the pizza and asking for a menu so he could order something else -- he decided on a pasta). Also, the food here has a Laotian spin on things, so people who like very traditional tasting food might want to ask questions (especially about the sauces) to find something that suits their taste.

All in all this was a great find and a great "new" experience!

J.J. French Pastry
3447 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 739-0993

Tango Contemporary Cafe

Thought I'd squeeze in a quick restaurant review since I've been slacking on updating my blog once again!

Yesterday, a friend and I went on a free Downtown Honolulu architectural tour, which I will write about sometime soon. After the tour ended, we were in search of food. After much discussion, we unanimously decided to try Tango Contemporary Cafe, which neither of us have tried before, but we both heard good things about.

Tango Cafe is located next to P.F. Chang's, right down the street from Ward Centre. We tried parking in the parking lot behind the Cafe (which is actually part of a condo whose name escapes me). We pull up to the thingy where you push the button to get a ticket. I push the button. Nothing happens. I push the button again. Still nothing. My friend leans over and says, "it's out of tickets!" Sure enough, the digital screen is saying the machine thingy is out of tickets. "Their loss," I say. We end up parking at Ward Centre and walking. We already walked 20 miles on the architectural tour, what's another mile? (Slight exaggeration, but not much!)

Considering it was after 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, it was quite crowded, but there were seats available. It took them a couple of minutes to seat us, but we had time to look over the menus posted in little stands near the entrance. Prices were quite reasonable for lunch, ranging about $6 - $14. Many items were $10 or less. We were provided menus and water promptly, and a server came to ask us if we wanted anything else to drink a minute or two later. My friend and I both ordered Italian sodas, mango for her, passion fruit for me. Cream was provided on the side. These cost about $2.75 and were okay. I think my friend liked hers more than I liked mine. Next time, I'm going to try an iced tea.

We both started with the sweet caramelized onion soup ($5.50). This was not exactly like a traditional French onion soup, but it was very yummy, and probably a lot healthier than French onion soup since there wasn't a layer of cheese on top of it. The onions and broth were very tasty, and it was topped with a slice of French bread which was topped with just a little bit of cheese (parmesan I think). This was a nice start to the meal.

We both struggled in deciding what to order and were craning our necks looking at what other people were eating. The couple next to us had a portabello "burger," which was basically a portabello mushroom sandwich and did not involve any hamburger, and a ham, salami, and brie on naan bread sandwich, which both my friend and I considered. I finally decided on a classic burger ($8.25) and my friend ordered the herb butter sirloin steak ($13.50).

We were both pleased with our selections. My burger was served on a really yummy, soft, bun that looked healthy (it had seeds and stuff on the top), but it tasted really good! Mayo was on the bun, and there were onions, lettuce, and tomatoes on the burger. The hamburger itself was very tasty and tasted very homemade. I was offered fries or greens, and I chose the fries. They were thick, but not quite as thick as steak fries, and were nicely salted. I was given mustard and ketchup on the side. There was also a small side of what seemed like a carrot/raisin slaw. I'm not a fan of raisins, but I did eat the carrots which were good. They probably would have been good on the burger.

My friend's steak looked REALLY good, and it impressed our neighbors (with the portabello sandwich and naan bread). At first, they placed the plate in front of my friend which only had fries and something else I can't remember at the moment. As a side note, although I had my camera on me, it completely slipped my mind to take pictures during lunch! Anyhow, another server followed with a cedar plan with the steak on it, already sliced, with the herb butter on top. It looked and tasted yummy! The menu says it's a 6 oz piece, but it seemed bigger, especially since my friend ordered it well done and it must've shrunk quite a bit. Because our neighbors were in awe of the steak, I took the opportunity to ask her (the one with the naan bread) how her sandwich was, and she said she enjoyed it. In the meantime, the guy with the portabello sandwich asked one of the servers where he'd seen him before. Turns out a bunch of the servers previously worked at On Jin's, which has since closed. I got the impression that the portabello mushroom dude was a frequent diner at On Jin's and may now choose Tango Cafe as his new frequent dining spot.

While we were eating our meals, we discussed whether or not we would order dessert because the menu looked so good. Then, our neighbors on the other side received their desserts: one had crepes, the other bread pudding. We were sold. I cut my burger eating short so I'd have room for dessert. My friend ordered the crepes. The waitress thought we would be sharing...how silly. I ordered the lemon creme brulee and a cup of coffee, which they make fresh.

The crepes, I think 3 of them, were served with a warm berry compote and a scoop of vanilla ice creme. The lemon verbana creme brulee was served with berries on the side as well. The coffee arrived with a slight foam on the top, and although it was a bit strong for my taste, it was very good coffee, and it's strength was toned down by my liberal sprinkling of splenda and splashes of cream.

We ended up spending about $50 for all of this, but it was worth it. The food and service were both very good. I probably will just stick to an entree and an iced tea the next time, but this was a splurge since it was our first time and we were also very hungry after our urban hike. I am also anxious to try dinner there, which is slightly more expensive.

A couple of observations: I was ogling some other things that other guests were eating that looked really good, like the salmon salad and trio of sandwiches (the trio can change daily). Our neighbor's bread pudding looked excellent too. They seemed to try to make things slightly healthy here, but in a balanced way -- nothing looked like it would taste like cardboard. I noticed that they use a light hand with ingredients like cheese, and they have healthy options like salads and greens instead of fries. And the sandwich buns have grains in them, but I can tell you that mine was nice and soft and looked like white bread, except it was sprinkled with some oats and nuts on the top.

They also serve breakfast, which I hope to try someday. Give this place a try, and tell your friends about it. But not too many friends. We don't want TOO many people to find out about it and crowd the rest of us out!

More Anchorage Eats...

I decided to focus this post on the food we ate in Anchorage. Why? Because, now that it's five months after I've completed my trip, the first thing I remember when I think of Anchorage is the food! I was pleasantly surprised with the food in Alaska because I really wasn't expecting much, especially after reading people's reviews on travel websites. What were those people thinking??? What did they eat? Just about everything I ate was wonderful, including the hotel food!

During our stay in Anchorage, most of our breakfasts and lunches were provided as part of our conference. The hotel food was quite good. At least twice, we had full breakfasts with cheesy eggs, and what we suspect was reindeer sausage. The lunches were pretty good, although they got to be pretty standard after a while since there wasn't as much variety as I've experienced at other conferences. There were a lot of wraps and sandwiches, including boxed lunches for us to take with us one day when we took a bus to go on a "photo safari."

Our second night in Anchorage, we went to the Glacier Brewhouse, which turned out to be quite a find. It was very close to our hotel, and it had everything to offer -- a great atmosphere, great food, and alcohol! I could not go to Alaska and not have Alaskan king crab. I also had a salad to start (I think it was the blue cheese salad). I'm not sure if the crab was any different than the crab we can get here at Costco or Sam's Club, but somehow it just tasted better eating it IN Alaska! The Glacier Brewhouse is known for their prime rib, but by the time we got there, they had run out (I think we waited about 45 minutes before we got a table, that's how popular it is!).

On day three, breakfast and lunch were once again at the hotel. For dinner, we made an attempt to go to Humpy's, a place I learned about on one of Rachael Ray's shows (I think it was Tasty Travels). However, it turned out to be another popular place! I was slightly disappointed to learn that this was actually more of a bar than a restaurant, so it was one of those places where you had to kind of wander around and see if you can find a seat. We were unsuccessful, so we attempted to go back to Sack's Cafe, where we had lunch on our first day. The dinner menu looked a little pricey, but we were game, so we walked in. But they were all booked too! So, we went back to the Snow Goose. Third time's a charm.

When we walked in, we noticed something going on in a private room off to the side. It looked like some kind of ballroom dancing class! It was really cute watching older couples dancing. Anyhoo, back to the food...they had some interesting things on this menu, so I decided to try something I would not likely find elsewhere. I ordered a caribou burger with fries. I enjoyed the burger, although I'm not sure it tasted significantly different from a traditional hamburger, which I suppose is a good thing! One of my colleagues said she thought the caribou burger affected her somehow because she had really strange dreams that night!

I will end my post here. I think that takes us half way through my stay at Anchorage, although I will definitely have separate posts on some of the places we visited in or near Anchorage including Hatcher Pass, the Native Alaska Heritage Center, and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

More on Anchorage...

I'm back with more on Alaska. The last post only covered half of the first day, so we'll see how much I can cover in this post!

Downtown Anchorage is a great walking town. We did not have a car, and really didn't need one, at least not while we were attending a conference there. Our first afternoon, we spent a bit of time just walking around, checking things out. We came across a scenic lookout, Resurrection Bay. The water itself was not much to look at, and looked more like mud flats. But looking out into the distance was a very unique experience for us, seeing snow-capped mountains. Since it was fall, we also saw autumn leaves, something we never see in Hawaii.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are number of tourist traps in Anchorage, and I think we walked into just about all of them. For any future Anchorage travelers, before you buy anything, look in all of the shops first. You will probably find that the exact same item can be priced very differently in a number of shops!

We found a number of restaurants within easy walking distance of our hotel. I think I am going to steal an idea from another blogger and list the restaurants here now, so you can look at them whenever you'd like (since you know it's probably going to take me another six months before I finally complete posting about my entire Alaska trip!):

Anchorage:
Sack's Cafe
Snow Goose Restaurant
Glacier Brewhouse
Crow's Nest (we only had a night cap here)
Fletcher's
Snow City Cafe

Seward:
Christo's Palace
Chinook's
Apollo

Alyeska:
The Pond Cafe (served in the Aurora Lounge)
Double Musky Inn

And here are the hotels we stayed in:
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage
Holiday Inn, Seward
Hotel Alyeska, Alyeska

We ended up eating at a couple of the restaurants more than once, partly because we couldn't get into some of the restaurants we wanted to try because they were crowded, and partly because we just really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Snow Goose was one of the places we ate at twice. On our first visit, I tried the crab stuffed halibut. My point of view is that almost anything stuffed with crab has to be good! Alaska is known for halibut, and it's also known for crab, so I couldn't go wrong. It was served with asparagus, and probably some kind of starch that I can't remember at the moment. In any case, it was good enough that we didn't mind going back again later during our trip.

That's it for now...gotta get to bed since I have to go to work tomorrow to be able to earn enough to pay for all of my adventures! But hey, at least I'm starting to make a dent on posting about the trip I took 4 1/2 months ago!

Tokoname

Tonight we tried something new, Tokoname in Kailua. It's a Japanese restaurant that's been open for about a month. The owners are two brothers who are friends of a friend. They're nice guys, and they're doing a really terrific job with this venture.

Tokoname's menu offers quite an assortment of items, including sushi. Something is sure to please any palette. I was quite torn between the rib eye steak, which I heard comes on a sizzling platter, the shrimp tempura, or the tonkatsu. Items can be ordered ala carte or as a teishoku (a set, or complete meal, that comes with a tossed green salad, rice, miso soup, and tsukemono - Japanese pickles). When we walked in, we saw some friends who were also trying Tokoname for the first time. They ordered the shrimp tempura, teriyaki steak, and the dynamite sushi roll. As we were chatting with them, we heard distinct sizzling sound -- apparently a rib eye steak being served. My mind was made up.

I decided on the rib eye. Sadly, by the time it arrived at our table, it was no longer sizzling, but it didn't matter. It was just as tasty even without the sizzle! And I didn't have to worry about anything getting splattered on my blouse, the one downside of a sizzling platter. Before the rib eye arrived, we were served the miso soup. It was just the right size and flavored well, containing tiny cubes of tofu and pieces of konbu (seaweed).

We didn't wait too long before the rest of the meal arrived. My rib eye arrived first, and it was a HUGE piece! It had to have been at least 12 ounces, and it filled up the entire sizzling platter. It was cooked just to my liking, medium rare, and already sliced in just-right-sized pieces. I was already in heaven looking at the steak, then tasting the first piece, and then I discovered that the steak rested on a bed of grilled onions and mushrooms! They were cooked just right. There was a hint of ginger on the steak, and it was seasoned just right to give it a little flavor, without overwhelming the taste of the beef, which seemed to be very good quality and was extremely easy to chew. The 3 pieces on the end were mostly fat, but that is to be expected with a rib eye.

We didn't wait long before the unagi and the rest of our teishokus arrived. My dining partner enjoyed his unagi, which was a generous portion. I commented that it looked different from unagi he's ordered at other restaurants.

The other items that come with the teishoku are quite yummy, and meticulously presented. The green salad is actually a pretty generous portion, garnished with 3 tomato halves and served with just the right amount of a very delicious homemade dressing. And no, they won't share the recipe! There were also two types of tsukemono, and a dish with 3 thin slices of avocado (probably the only thing that could have been improved - the avocado was still a little hard for my taste), sliced cucumber, with a scoop of a crab salad (imagine the stuffing of a California roll) and topped with what I think was nori strips. It was a great combination of ingredients, and the crab salad had a little bit of kick to it. There was also a small bit of dressing on the plate. Of course, a teishoku is not complete without a bowl of rice. Something about this rice seemed a little different, in a good way. I'm guessing it was not your typical Hinode Calrose rice, but probably a higher quality rice, maybe the same type they use for their sushi.

And speaking of sushi, I couldn't resist ordering the dynamite roll, which received rave reviews by a Yelper and the friend we ran into there. I have to admit I ordered it on blind faith, and really didn't know what was in it. Even when it arrived and I tasted a piece, I still was not sure what it was. It was like a California roll topped with some kind of fish, and two kinds of sauces. But I couldn't tell what the fish was. I asked the waitress after we finished eating, and she said it was baked maguro (it was hot when it arrived). The sushi rice was very flavorful and nicely seasoned -- none of that plain unseasoned rice stuff at Tokoname! And considering how new they are, it seems like they've developed a little bit of a following already, and a number of people were ordering sushi. There were three people sitting at the sushi bar when we arrived, and they were still there when we left! I heard a lot of people ordering the spider roll, which is made with soft shell crab. I also caught a glimpse of the spicy tuna maki, which looked very good.

The service was very good, and they managed quite well with only two waitresses, and one of the owners helping to serve as well. The service is very comfortable...professional, yet informal, and very polite and friendly. I also enjoyed the atmosphere. It's a smaller place, I would guess seating 40-50 people, the furniture is nice, and they improved the interior, giving it Asian accents such as lantern lights. It also stands out from the street, making it noticeable to people driving by, which is important in a location like this one which is slightly off the main path, yet it is close to a few other table service restaurants in Kailua. (For those of you familiar with Kailua, it's next to Jack in the Box, on the same street as Assaggio's.)

The prices are very fair, and the meals are a good value, particularly considering the quality. The rib eye teishoku is one of the most expensive items on the menu, along with the sashimi, at $20.95. The Unagi teishoku is $18.95. Shrimp tempura teishoku is $16.95 (and it's HUGE!!! I'm ordering that the next time), and the lowest priced teishoku is the vegetable tempura at $12.95. Most of these items are available ala carte as well. The Dynamite roll is $8.95. I will try to take a picture of the menu and update this post later. They do not have a liquor license, at least not yet, but you can BYOB. And their beverages are almost a steal, at least as far as restaurants go, at $1.50 (canned drinks served over ice). Their lunch menu is very affordable, with items ranging $7.95 to $9.95, and I've heard they also have bentos available. And as if that weren't enough, they're open for breakfast too! I don't know what that menu is like though. When I find out, I'll let you know.

Oh, and if you know anyone looking for a job, please call them! Jeff and Brian are the owners. They need help in all areas! Yet, even though they're working with a skeleton crew, they do a great job, and I didn't feel that we waited very long for anything. And the quality of the food was excellent. If you're looking for something new, try Tokoname. We felt it was worth it to drive to Kailua from town just for dinner there!

Tokoname
442 Uluniu Street
Kailua, HI 96734
(808)262-TOKO (8656)

We THINK the hours are something like this, but please call to double check (they also may be closed for private functions on occasion):
Breakfast: 6 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Lunch: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Dinner: 5 - 9 p.m.