Whew! That one word about sums up our recent trip to the motherland. Our schedule was brutal, but we were able to accomplish much of what we set out to do. First order of business, check into our hotel. This image struck me as Japan is trying to be more regulatory about smoking in public.
Hence, a smoking room. I'm not a smoker (only when I'm Hot! Ha ha) but my brother and Brian are. So they made frequent trips to this little box.
Then on to the good stuff. Luckily for me, there's a plaza named, "Caretta" nearby our hotel. In it, there's a terrific ramen shop that we try to go to all the time.
For me, it's kinda like painting by numbers as the menus are in Japanese, of course.
I did successfully manage to order one of my favorites there, a pork tonkotsu ramen. The char siu is a little different from what we serve here, but I have no complaints. There is a topping called "takara" there that is a secret recipe in house. Added to my ramen for an extra kick.
Not too much biz on the first day, only delivering a custom made ukulele to our pal, Mikku Meskin. He's been a long time supporter of us and finally got his custom after a 2 year wait.
Got to hang out with Mikku a little bit, but the first day was killer. We usually arrive in the late afternoon, so the time adjustment is not as bad. Take a look at the inlay on his fingerboard. It's a representation of East/West as he is a Kauai boy living in Japan.
Late at night, we went off to see a familiar site, good 'ole McDonalds. The menu is similar and the prices are really not all that bad. So much for the perceptions of Japan being expensive. It's actually a pretty affordable place to go.
This is a bacon potato pie. Like I mentioned, the menu is slightly different from home. Guess if I bought one...
Well, good guess. I did indeed buy one. But that lead to another issue: I'm an American boy, so gotta get the meat to go with the potato right? I proudly present you "Shaka Shaka" chicken. Not like our shaka, but "shaka shaka" as in "shake shake." These really moist and tender chicken patties are served with a small package of seasoning that is shaken in the serving bag. So ono I tell you.
Some of you may have heard of Japan Airlines filing for re-organization. Apparently, times are hard not only for American flyers alone. There is high hope though, Dr. Kazuo Inamori, CEO of Kyocera Corporation has accepted the challenge of restructuring the business. Dr. Inamori is known for his ability to turn things around and do it well. He is also gaining noteriety for his formation of Seiwajyuku study groups around the world. This past week, over 300 people gathered to launch the Hawaii Chapter of Seiwajyuku at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.
Me and my family were a part of organizing the program for the night. Here's my folks with Kumu Hula Chalani and daughter Charnay Kalama.
Here we are busily preparing for the night ahead.
Herb Ohta Jr and our own Brian gave lessons to a group of Seiwajyuku members for the past month as they took the stage to perform "Sanoe" and "Ulupalakua."
Then the ladies of Seiwajyuku shined as they performed "When You're Down in Honolulu" and got out in the crowd for a 300 person hula lesson.
My Braddah Tony C wowed the house with his rendition of "Furusato" in Hawaiian. The oohs and ahhs were flowing.
An den it was amateur hour as I took stage with my "Uilani, Baby Kalae" medley. I was soo happy as my pops gave me an unusual compliment for my performance.
My heart leaped with joy to watch my mom take the stage for the first time, dancing "Papalina Lahilahi" with my brother.
The evening was a total good feeling thing. Dr Inamori even gave a rare song.
More than getting to meet this mover and shaker, I am proud to say that he has a lot of heart. The premise behind Seiwajyuku is personal development of companies' executive staff. "A company's character is a direct reflection of its executives.." states Dr. Inamori. Though thousands of miles away, Seiwajyuku shares the Aloha spirit with us. So deep is his commitment that Inamori told the government of Japan that he will give only 3 days a week to JAL as he will not forsake Seiwajyuku.
Character. Some people are, some people have it. I would like to be the latter.
Food, such a beautiful subject. For those of you following me on Twitter, you may wonder, "Is he even Trying to lose weight??" I am. But I do enjoy going out to eat. Me and wifey are quite opposites, but food has always brought us together. I knew from our first date (she wasn't shame fo eat) that I had found a keeper. More like, she keeps me, ha ha.
Enter, Julie'Z restaurant in Kapolei. One of my favorite Filipino places to eat. Me and wife started our married life together out in Makakilo, but didn't hang around long enough for them to open up.
In the "real" home cookin' style as my boys at work say, Julie'Z is run by this wonderful family.
This one deserves a caption of its own. My all time favorite, Lechon Kawali, or roasted pork. Julie'Z serves it with finely sliced onions and diced tomatoes and of course the vinegar sauce with onions. Sarap! Soooo good! Hui, I like dat one!
No sense we look at the menu, we always order the same things. We're kinda western in our taste of the cuisine of PI, but it's good anyways. Standard Okami fare also includes; pancit bihon, pinakbet and adobo fried rice. The kids complain like hell when we say we gonna eat Filipino, but their plates always start out full and end up empty. Go figgure..
If you just can't make up your mind, they have a nice hot line buffet. The selections are nice and price is good too. This one of the brothers always ends up as our server and he's really nice. Heck, they all nice over there. Restaurants are hurting folks, if you are in Kapolei, head over to Julie'Z. I personally guarantee that you'll love the place. If you don't, my guarantee does not come with a money back offer. Instead, I will happily take any leftovers off your hands. Julie'Z makes me miss my first home out in Makakilo a little more, but always makes me happy when I go there.
Back again, with more about eating. No wonder I need to hit the gym so hard. This time, we headed for Hawaii Prince Hotel's Prince Court. My mom threw a surprise birthday party for my dad along with all the guys from work.
As always, the staff is friendly and superb. I have Never been disappointed in them.
Whenever we all gather in this way, we pule before we eat. My dad did the honors and can tend to be a little lengthy. He's kind of quiet, so when we pule, he tends to share his inner thoughts. Oh let me tell you, he's got a lot of thoughts...My little one asked during the prayer, "You think we gonna eat this year, dad?" When my pops was pau, he said, "Ho grandpa, that was looong!"
See food? As in lots of Seafood. Prince Court is known for their large selection of seafood. I pretty much ignored all the other stuff and gorged myself on crab and shrimp tempura. Cannot go wrong with that.
I always like to work the tables and be all niele to see what everyone else is dining on. Consensus shows that crab was the overall winner. Though there was also; pho, clam linguini, sashimi, prime rib, hand made sushi and much much more.
And of course, dessert. I'm not much of a desert person, more of a second serving guy, but their spread was overflowing. Not only did they look pretty, they all had the taste to match. And I did say ALL. Ooops. (burp)
Local eateries need our support. They, like many out there, are having a difficult time. Being the epicurean that I am, I WILL do my part to support the local economy.
Back in the day, me and the missus would go to eat weekly ay the old DaiRyu on King Street. According to my friends from Japan, it was close to "Hon mono," or the real thing. I guess having a ramen cook from Japan made that possible. Maybe the major difference being cooked in Hawaii. It was a place of comfort and good food at prices we could afford at the time. After we got married, we moved to Makakilo and our DaiRyu days were over. Sadly, the restaurant closed a few years later. I don't mean to make any disparaging remarks, but the new Dai Ryu in Kapalama is just not the same. So what is a ramen lover to do?....
Easy, braddah, easy. The new place for me is Chimpei. They are located in the old Misuzu location on King Street. Spicy food lovers may remember It's Chili in Hawaii on the corner.
The menu is pretty extensive and I like it that way. I take my ramen quite seriously. You can order many different varieties and a few that are a little off the ramen path.
There are also many specials that are posted right up on the wall in typical Japanese mom and pops style and like Misuzu used to do. Try the mochi inside your ramen, it's so good.
Ever hard at work, owner, Mr. Hashigami crafts the tasty broth and noodles with whatever toppings the item calls for. My mouth is watering as I write...
Hon mono desu (The real thing lidat) Hashigami san even has someone that helps with the cooking duties right out of Japan. Yes, I know that I'm not from Japan, but had ramen there and Chimpei is the closest thing to being in the motherland.
And of course the star of the show, my favoritest ramen, Chimpei's Miso Ramen. There are little soy beans in the broth from the miso paste that float around. I try to get the noodles, the broth and the beans in perfect proportions. That way, I can enjoy every single bite in the exact same way.
Now no visit to any ramen establishment is complete without the ever famous ramen sidekick, gyoza. Now that my 2 sons are growing, we are gonna have to start ordering more than 12 pieces. My little one already counts and rations the order.
My side order of bean sprouts. Just kidding. As much as I love Chimpei, I do not like bean sprouts. Only problem is that I always forget to ask to leave them out. In typical "no waste" Hawaii style, my wife eats em for me. Good wife.
Chimpei Ramen
2080 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 947-5919
