Restaurant fills teishoku void

In the 1990s, Japanese entrepreneurs began seeing Hawaii as a nice place to live, and so began the arrival of Japanese-run restaurants. What started as a trickle became an avalanche of specialists in everything from sushi to okonomiyaki to tonkatsu, ramen, takoyaki and yakitori, and it changed the way subsequent generations viewed and enjoyed Japanese cuisine.

Beyond eating to fill one’s belly, seeking the best of any category of Japanese fare became an elite pursuit. Losing ground in this evolution was the teishoku restaurant, created as a convenience to be all things to families and generalists. The idea of an affordable, set-meal restaurant made decisions easy. All one had to do was pick one entree, or two for a combo. The rest — typically rice, miso soup, a salad, tsukemono and tea — arrived automatically. But in the new world of specialists, the teishoku restaurant developed the culinary reputation of being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

So, while izakayas, ramen bars and sushi bars keep coming, it’s rare to see a new teishoku restaurant open. Yet, I talk food with enough people to know that many miss them.

Filling this craving is Teishoku, marking its first anniversary at the Kamehameha Shopping Center. The family-run, neighborhood operation is quite humble when compared with glitzy arrivals from Japan, but it’s about as luxe as dining gets in Kalihi. It’s rare enough for the area that people are prone to territorial feelings. Upon finding one of our photographers snapping pictures there, I received a text from a friend pleading, “Don’t tell people about my spot!”

Teishoku’s owners have put in effort to create ambience above and beyond that of its mall neighbors, with partitioned, shoji-style booths that allow for a degree of privacy throughout.

There is such a thing as Napoleon syndrome, even with restaurants. When you’re small, you have to do a little more than your competitor to get noticed. Teishoku does this by claiming the “best misoyaki butterfish in Honolulu.” I’m not so sure about that. For instance, the Nobu restaurants win accolades all over the world for their black cod (same thing). Even so, I did enjoy Teishoku’s butterfish, which strikes the right balance between salty and sweet, steering clear of being overly treacly.

It’s available as part of a teishoku meal ($13.75) with green salad; appetizers of soybeans, takuan and Korean-style sesame vegetables; miso soup; and the option of white, brown or sweetened, vinegared sushi rice. It can also be part of a two-entree combination meal ($16.95), for $2 extra.

For me the butterfish and broiled misoyaki salmon ($13.75) are easily the highlights of the menu, along with soy-marinated kalbi ($13.95). But we all have our favorites, and all the classic teishoku entrees are here, such as sweet, crunchy mochiko chicken ($12.95), teriyaki beef and chicken ($12.95 each), chicken katsu ($12.95) and rib-eye steak ($19.95).

Whenever I’ve been here, I’ve seen a lot of shrimp tempura ($13.95) being delivered. The dish is a bit skimpy on the shrimp but has the right amount of crunch and flavor to settle a craving. Even better, but not to everyone’s taste, are the plump fried oysters ($14.95 for eight pieces), also available as a five-piece side order ($7.95).

Whenever you see something deep-fried, like the mochiko chicken or oysters, chances are it’ll come with tonkatsu sauce — not very imaginative, but I’ll concede it’s popular with many.

Despite the restaurant’s name, there is more to enjoy than teishoku, including sashimi, nigiri and rolled sushi, curry and donburi. Ramen is also offered, but it’s my least favorite part of the menu. The paitan broth lacks body and character.

Rolled sushi is quite compact, as befitting low prices of $6.45 for a California roll or $8.75 for a hamachi-avocado roll. I would prefer to see more fish, and if that’s the case with you, I’d skip the rice and simply order sashimi. Ahi is $11.95, salmon is $11.45 and hamachi is $11.95.

All of us must be feeling a little trepidation at ordering raw fish from nonsushi bars in light of the hepatitis A outbreak, but the presentation here is clean and the textures fresh and firm, above and beyond supermarket offerings. If you have concerns, you should always ask questions about sourcing.

If you usually enjoy green tea ice cream ($3.25) for dessert, you might try green tea cheesecake ($2.95) for a change of pace. I was told it was imported from Japan, but the heavy texture and scant green tea flavor suggest Western origin. Either way, I gobbled it up.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.