The ghosts of restaurant tenants past — from Okonomi Cuisine Kai to Yakitori Yoshi — still haunt 1427 Makaloa St., and that’s a good thing for Japanese Restaurant Aki.
If you like okonomi, they’ve got it.
Nabe? Yes. Yakitori? Check.
Plus daily sushi specials. What’s more, it’s all done well in the setting established years ago by former tenants. The space is comfy and familiar and, despite nearly a half-dozen comings and goings, still looks clean, spare and elegant. There was a time when new restaurants erased every trace of their predecessors, but with today’s quick turnarounds, redesigns are kept to a minimum.
Yakitori, or kushiyaki, is still a highlight, and patrons will find at their tables a checklist for grilled chicken and other edibles so they can start ordering right away. Those range from king mushrooms ($2 per skewer) to the popular cow tongue ($3.50) and delicious pork belly ($2.50). Favorites also include sausage ($2.50) and chicken breast coated with mentai mayo ($2.50), with the roe adding its spark of saltiness. If you want even more variety, there’s chicken breast served pizza style, with a layer of cheese.
But don’t exhaust your budget on yakitori until you’ve studied the rest of the menu, because temptations abound. There’s no gimmick to these dishes, which by today’s flashy standards makes the menu seem old school, but many will find comfort in food done well at decent prices. The menu offers a vast selection, and I haven’t come across a bad dish yet.
Start with takoyaki ($6) or deep-fried baby octopus ($5.50) in a crisp, sweet coating. Sadly, for every one thing you order, there is another you’ll probably want to try, but the human stomach can handle only so much food. In making my selections, I had to remember to come back for chicken karaage ($6) and hamburger steak ($10.50). Skipping the garlic shrimp with mushrooms ($8) meant there was room to accommodate the spicy kim chee pork ($7).
Add a touch of green to your table with a grilled Caesar salad ($8.50). Salmon tartare ($9.50) also arrives on a bed of greens and is topped with a nearly raw egg, stirred into the salad to match the silken fattiness of the fish.
Many places specialize in sushi, so Aki keeps its offerings short and sweet, with a selection of popular rolls such as spicy tuna ($8), California ($7), natto ($8) and tempura ($25). Why the latter commands such a price I don’t know. For about the same price, you can order a set with eight pieces of nigiri, plus tamago.
The tan tan nabe (hot pot) rises above all but requires a minimum of two orders at $15 per person. The rich sesame broth is laden with pork, tofu, noodles, green onion, bean sprouts and enoki mushrooms, with more veggies on the side, to be added as you clear the pot.
If you have room for dessert, there is cheesecake ($9), green tea creme brulee ($9) and a choice of vanilla, green tea or black sesame ice cream ($3).
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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.
