With one successful restaurant concept to his credit, I was surprised to learn that instead of sticking with the tried-and-true, Jialiang Wei, owner of Honolulu Skewer House, was entering hot pot territory.
It turns out that Wei ran both kinds of restaurants in Beijing before moving to Hawaii and, although his favorite style of eating is the Chinese hot pot, he saw more opportunity in being the first to introduce the Beijing street-style skewered meat tradition to Oahu in 2018.
Now, he’s finally bringing his passion for hot pot to Honolulu Hotpot Hale in the Pacific Guardian Tower on Keeaumoku Street, where he wants guests to enjoy an authentic experience. It’s a good sign that most of the patrons in the house when I visited were Chinese.
I have to admit feeling some confusion when reading the menu and trying to fathom what was meant by portions described as a half yard and yard of meat. It turns out that a half yard equals 8 ounces of meat that, when spread out, measures 18 inches, and a yard is equivalent to a pound of meat.
There are important decisions to be made here, starting with your individual broth that, for $7.99, also includes one dipping sauce. Adding other dipping sauces and condiments will cost $1.99 each.
The broth I recommend for newbies is the standard Beijing-style beef broth that is mild and plays well with any of the meat you order. Other selections are quite bold and can overwhelm the meat flavors. If you’re worried about any lack of flavor, the dipping sauces will have you covered.
Otherwise, tomato soup has a sour flavor and Hale spicy soup is a tongue-numbing Sichuan-lover’s favorite, while the Hale mild soup has all the flavor of a Sichuan-style hot pot without the numbing effect, unless you happen to be unfortunate enough to bite into one of the few Sichuan peppercorns in the roiling pot.
The chef’s recommendation is the salty-sour Chinese sauerkraut soup verdant with chopped, pickled cabbage. The flavor is strong so if you’re there to taste the meat, you may find it overpowering.
The next important decision to be made involves your dipping condiments. Thankfully, there are only four options due to Wei’s de sire to control the experience. OK, I admit to being one of those guilty of stirring multiple sauces and condiments such as green onions, garlic, cilantro and chiles when made available to me, but he eyes such random concoctions with horror. So he leaves no room for error by offering only his personally approved sweet sesame sauce, mild sesame sauce, lime vinaigrette and Honolulu Skewer House’s special 16-ingredient red pepper-cumin spice blend.
As much as I love the spice blend, my first recommendation would be the lime vinaigrette that at first sounded too light to be appealing, but turned out to be a revelation with it’s additional flavor-enhancing combo of sesame seeds, shoyu, garlic and oyster sauce. My second recommendation would be the sweet sesame sauce that paired well with lamb and beef. And a sprinkling of the spice blend is enjoyable with the meat and pairs well with the sauces.
At this point, just order what you like. Prime brisket runs $19.99 for 8 ounces; $35.99 for a pound. Prime short rib is $25.99 and $45.99, respectively. Other selections include New Zealand lamb ($21.99, 8 ounces), kurobuta pork belly ($19.99, 8 ounces) and prime beef shank ($19.99, 8 ounces). If you can afford the splurge, A5 Miyazaki wagyu rib-eye is $79.99 for 6 delicious, fatty ounces.
To avoid Wei’s judgment, swish the meat and other ingredients around shabu shabu style for a few seconds. It upsets him to watch some diners toss everything into the pot, which causes everything to be overcooked.
For offal lovers, braised meat selections include a $15.99 set of beef tendon, beef tripe and beef throat with luncheon meat, and a $15.99 set of pork feet, chicken feet, chicken gizzards and pork intestines.
Seafood selections range from a fresh set ($19.99) of Kauai shrimp, fish fillets, abalone and squid, to a box ($12.99) of seafood dumplings and roe-filled pouches, fishcake and cuttlefish sausage. If you’re there solo, smaller individual orders are available for $11.99 and $7.99 for the respective sets.
Veggie sets look like a full harvest, most arriving in boxes that look like mini planters. There are six combos and at the top of the list is a mushroom set ($12.99/$6.99 individual) with enoki, king oyster, black wood ear and brown shimeji fungi. The most greens ($9.99/$5.99 individual) are a combo of baby cabbage, iceberg lettuce, chrysanthemum greens and spinach.
Other sets involve bean curd strips, dried and fried tofu ($12.99/$6.99 individual) and glass and sweet potato noodles ($9.99). Handmade noodles ($5.99) and udon ($5.99) can be added to the pot to close your meal.
It all adds up to a huge meal that left me no room for dessert, but if you’re up for it, there’s ice cream ($3.99 scoop), a chef’s recommended mung bean milkshake bowl ($7.99) and sweet soup with jujube and white fungus ($5.99).
Honolulu Hotpot Hale
1440 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ***½
Value: ****
Call: 808-888-8869
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Daily
Prices: About $80-$90 for two
Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).
