Hawaii is home to the food-obsessed. The social media realm is always abuzz with a chorus of raves for the best of everything, whether cupcake, tiramisú, ramen or sushi.
Reps for both Yelp and Foodspotting came to town last year to reach out to users, demonstrating how important Hawaii’s dining community is to these social media food-sharing sites. For both, Hawaii ranks within the top three or four cities for users, which makes sense in a community that loves food — such that being the first to set foot in a restaurant is a competitive sport — and the latest news/gossip spreads fast.
At the same time, that enthusiasm can be a source of irritation for restaurateurs who complain about the hordes that descend "too early" and disappear just as quickly, delivering a false sense of true patronage. As soon as the "Open" light goes on, dozens are on the doorstep, ready to tweet, post, photograph and videotape the good, the bad, the ugly and broadcast it to the world, or at least all their Facebook friends and family.
Because of this, I had a hard time convincing managers and the owner of Yaki Yaki Miwa to allow our staff photographer in to take photos. They’ve been taken aback by diners’ singular obsession with okonomiyaki, and just want to be represented as they are, a teppanyaki restaurant, rather than a one-hit temple for okonomiyaki, that beloved savory pancake or Japanese pizza.
The Bible says, "Man shall not live by bread alone," but in Japan they might change that to read, "Diners shall not live by okonomiyaki alone."
A manager informed me that in Japan, okonomiyaki is not a main dish, but meant to be enjoyed at the end of a full, balanced meal.
More important, because of the time-consuming nature and relatively low cost of the dish, apparently a restaurant can’t survive selling okonomiyaki alone, either, so ironically, super-fans of the Japanese-style pancake could conceivably end up killing the very thing they love. Waiting for okonomi-yaki only turns out to be the culinary equivalent to Wi-Fi cafe squatting.
Luckily, several dishes allow diners to build up to what they consider to be the main attraction.
Yaki Yaki Miwa sits in a well-trafficked stop between Sasabune and La Pizza Rina on King Street, just past Keeaumoku Street. I don’t even remember what was there before.
The restaurant is small and cozy, with a few booths and counter seats surrounding the griddle, the restaurant equivalent to the "Star Trek" command center, where chef Jin Kawamoto displays his prowess cooking up to a dozen dishes at a time, from noodles to steak, and that thing that shall barely be named. Kawamoto is continually in motion and amazing to watch, so when you call for a reservation — a must here — you might request a seat at the counter to watch your meal materialize. It’s a communal experience, and I’ve seen strangers bond while watching the show and chatting while waiting for their dishes to arrive.
To start, there’s no denying this is one of the best places for okonomiyaki, which forms a quarter of the menu. The company was founded in 1968 in Osaka, so it has had more than 40 years to perfect its recipes.
Place your okonomiyaki order as soon as you can decide whether you want the classic tama ($9.80 to $15) made with cabbage, flour and eggs; thin negi yaki ($11.50 to $16.50) made with green onion; or modan yaki ($12.50 to $15) layered with noodles, because these will take 20 to 30 minutes to cook. They’re quite filling, so one, with side dishes, is enough for two people. The gluten-intolerant can take refuge with Andy’s okonomiyaki, made with rice flour instead of wheat flour.
There’s plenty to fill the time before your pancakes arrive. Appetizers include a poke and tomato salad ($8.50) finished with a slick layer of mountain yam and sprinkling of nori, and an array of meat and seafood sautés. If you’re seated at a table, steer clear of the hot metal plate in the center, which gets plenty of use finishing many of the dishes. You expect clams prepared with white wine and garlic ($11.50), for instance, to arrive fully cooked in a bowl. Instead, the fresh clams arrive on foil, placed on the griddle to bubble and warm before your eyes. Many would consider the dish a bit pricey for the number of clams offered, but you’re here for the experience, not to count pennies, right?
Organic chicken ($13) and Hawaiian white fish ($14.50 for two 4-ounce pieces) are presented the same way. The chicken portion is geared toward bigger appetites, but I loved the fish, ehu on one of the days I dropped in. It’s served with tartar sauce, but to reinforce the fish flavor, you might try a sprinkling of bonito powder that sits on the table.
Green nori flakes, also at the table with the usual suspects of togarashi and tonkatsu sauce, works with many of the dishes.
From there you might move on to seared ribeye with a perfectly medium rare center, served atop a slice of Japanese white bread that absorbs the juices, and accompanied by a couple of pieces each of asparagus, sliced zucchini and lotus root. After you’re done, they neatly fold the bread up, and you imagine you’ve seen the last of it. But it resurfaces later in the meal, crisped from the griddle.
To accompany your meal, there’s also garlic, kim chee or seafood fried rice, as well as a variety of noodle dishes. For $14 there’s Spam fried noodles. I thought it would be served fried saimin style, with just a small dice of the pink meat. Instead, it’s sliced into long 1/4-inch strips. When you sort it out, it appears to add up to half a tin’s worth.
By this time you should be fairly full, and the okonomiyaki arrives in its juicy, savory splendor, with your choice of seafood, pork, beef, cheese or combination layered onto the creation. When you rave about it later, don’t forget to tell your friends about the other dishes as well.
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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
