1. Gomatei Ramen is by far my fave ramen place here. The char siu tan tan is my recommendation. The tan tan broth is rich, dark, and extremely tasty. Their char siu is the best I've had: thick, tender, beautifully marbled slices of roasted pork. I also highly recommend their chicken tatsutaage appetizer: deep fried, but still very juicy chicken with a delicious, crispy batter that comes with a tasty citrus sauce. Oh and I've always had excellent customer service here, very rare(check back with my earlier blog, lol).
2. Nico's is a fantastic fish place that was a recent find. I've been there twice now, and it has definitely earned a spot in my food crave rotation. I recommend the furikake ahi: perfectly cooked ahi(still pink in the middle, don't worry the fish is definitely sashimi grade) with a tasty tartar sauce. This is a plate lunch place so you don't get served, but the two times I went, the people at the counter have been friendly.
3. Fresh Catch is another fish place that I love. They also have a wonderful variety of poke. For all the non-locals: poke is a raw fish appetizer in which the fish is marinated and mixed with tasty ingredients such as onions and seaweed. If you love sushi, you'll love poke. I recommend the furikake salmon. Surprisingly, they also have the best cupcakes I've had. They are made by a friend of mine, which is how I discovered the place. But I promise I'm not only saying this to help her out, her red velvet cupcakes are truly delicious. This is also more of a plate lunch place so you don't get served, but the counter people have been good the few times I went.
4. Kakaako Kitchen is a gourmet plate lunch place. All their plates are good, but I almost always order their sweet chili chicken. Deep fried, battered chicken drenched in a sweet, very mildly spicy sauce. Not always the friendliest people at the counter here. And if you called in an order, you have to speak up to get their attention. They won't say anything to you even if they see you waiting. But the food is worth it.
5. Another recent, awesome find is Koreamoku BBQ. They are especially known for their bbq pork ribs, which come in a delicious Korean style bbq sauce and are fall- off-the-bone tender. But I've also had their chicken katsu and mochiko chicken which are both very good. Even their veggie sides are very tasty. I'm excited to try more of their menu. This place does have a few tables so you can sit down and get served if you choose to. I've done both and have received excellent service.
6. I recently got to try Soul, which won the best new restaurant in Honolulu magazine. I went with my sister and we tried the fried chicken and jambalaya. The jambalaya was decent, but I wouldn't order it again. The chicken, on the other hand, was excellent. The batter was perfectly crispy, sweet and delicious. I think I tasted maple syrup, that must be why it goes well with waffles. The chicken was very juicy and tender. The sides were also very good, except for the chili which was a little watery and salty. Maybe it's meant to balance the sweet delicious cornbread that was next to it. The coleslaw was also very good. And that was the first time I had collard greens, they make it with corned beef. I would give it a rating of pretty good, it went well with the other food on the plate. This is another place that you can choose to take out or dine in. We received good, attentive service on our visit.
If I find or think of more places, I'll make another list. Until then, happy eating everyone! Oh and all these places except for Soul are in the 8-12$ range, Soul is in the 15-20$ range. Yeah, I'm not much of a fine-dining guy, simple guy remember? Lol.
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