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Da Kitchen, a closer look
Click above picture for the offical Da Kitchen website and info on their three locations in Kahului, Kihei, and Honolulu!
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Da Kitchen Honolulu full menu! |
Russ and Lyle eat at Da Kitchen! |
 Yelper's review Da Kitchen Eisenberg! |
Dale of LocoKine Grindz with his new site! |
Aloha!
8/15/10 - It's been my experience, basically, that there's local grindz and then there's local grindz deluxe-edition. That is, local grindz from da outer islands! Yeah, there is a difference, I do believe. From up-country Maui to the Paniolo Country of Waimea to the ranches of Molokai, those buggah's know how to rustle-up some grub! Of course, I'm not saying the outer islands are a single entity, as I know they all have their own unique traits from island to island. It's just that it seems the locals outside of Honolulu, as a whole, are a hardier breed, having grown-up closer to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoorsy pursuits than us cushy guys here in the big easy, and active lives mean larger appetites, right?
Whatever the case, the plethora of rich brown gravies, succulent smoked meats, super-fatty sausages, and sumo-sized bowls seem to abound even more than your typical Honolulu eatery, even at plate lunch houses and other spots here specializing in local grindz.
Da Kitchen hails from Maui, where they've been operating an original location in Kahului and also an express diner in Kihei. Fortunately, they've been generous enough to share some good tidings with us-folks on Oahu, planting themselves firmly right across from Stadium Park on Eisenberg St., just above (mountain-side of) Maple Garden Chinese restaurant and just below First Hawaiian Bank on S. King St. Don't mind when you don't see their name planted on either the aerial map or on the actual building in street-view, as Da Kitchen is a relatively new spot that came along after the Google vans made their way through town:
You may be familiar with the facility, as it was formerly the location of Kanak Attack Hawaiian Foods and also fronts the St. Louis (High School) Alumni Association, which, in a beneficially symbiotic relationship with Da Kitchen, is provided with all their catering needs and even rents-out the facility for parties up to 300 people. Though there's lots of parking spaces behind the building, it can oftentimes still be full of cars, as I guess there's lots of Alumni roaming the grounds! Street parking is another option, but you're gonna have to cross your fingers either way.
Once inside, the place is surprisingly small, and they don't allow an over-flow into the spacious Alumni facility next-door. I actually thought there would be a plate lunch set-up here, where you'd order and pay at the counter before seating yourselves, but I guess not, as there's full waitstaff services just like any other restaurant. Arriving at my typical off-hours to not bother other diners, as in 3pm, it was even time for the waitstaff to take a break, a few of them taking some time in the almost empty dining room to have a meal. But even at this time, there was only a window of about five minutes before at least a few tables were taken by hungry guests, while a steady flow of take-out orders were a constant.
I kinda like the decor inside. I find the easy-blue pastels rather relaxing, while the sturdy, light-colored, wooden table-tops contrast nicely with touches of rich-darkness in wood trimmings and chairs. The feng shui is decidedly bright and sprightly, no doubt helped-along by the mostly up-tempo, modern local music playing reasonably but not uncomfortably loud. Here's a couple of shots inside, the first facing the high counter behind which employees operate and the other facing opposite. Like I said, it's pretty small for such a busy place:
As for da mean local grindz here, we're gonna start-off with a bang!
Waddaya get when you cross these following local specialties:
A Portuguese sausage-laden fried rice
Two whole patties of chicken katsu
A giant hamburger steak patty
Two runny eggs, sauteed onion, fresh mushrooms, a thick brown gravy, and chopped green onions for garnish?
A MEAL FIT FOR A TWO HUN-RED FIDDY POUND LOCAL BRUDDAH, DASS WHAT!!!
Our kind and personable waitress didn't waste any time in recommending one of their top seller's, an item not even listed on their regular menu, but on a chalkboard special. It's called a katsu moco, and it combines two local favorites, loco moco and chicken katsu! Arriving in a giant saimin bowl as big and as deep as you'll see anywhere, this colossal creation comes with as much heft and guts as the Brawny Towel guy, so standing toe to toe with this thing, I didn't stand a chance! Yeah, at $15.50, it's not something you'd order every day, but just the thought of something called a katsu moco was enough to draw me in. I gotta admit, though - the older I get, the more I notice how decadent a plate lunch really is, and I knew from the very beginning I wasn't about to attempt finishing it. Turns out, I probably could have downed almost a half, maybe, but fearing the consequences, I stopped about a third way's through so I could carry on the rest of my day without being completely incapacitated.
Here's what I couldn't finish, in a take-out plate looking as large as a full plate just about anywhere else!
I suppose I should show you the actual product, instead of all this de-constructionism. Here it is:
Taken one by one, the different elements constituting this bowl were great in and of themselves. The brown gravy was thick, dark, rich, and tasty, and perhaps knowing this, it wasn't given in overwhelming amounts. The eggs were nice and runny, oozing over everything and bringing it all together. The sauteed onions, button mushroom slices, and sprinkling of green onions added that extra amount of TLC I could appreciate. As for the two main ingredients, chicken katsu and hamburger steak? Both were absolute winners, and I highly recommend ordering either dish alone on their own merits. The katsu was noticeably made to order with a light, crispy coating and a clean, white-meat on the inside that was cooked to a tender perfection, while the giant patty of hamburger steak was well-flavored and came with minimal if any filler, relying as it should on the great taste of the charred beef itself. And finally, their fried rice came with that always classy, undeniable result of a hot pan producing a seared, smoky-grilled taste without burning, something you always want to have anytime a quick pan-frying is involved. The only objection I had to the dish was that, after all the bold tastes and ingredaments added, I would have preferred some fluffy white rice instead of a flavored fried rice, just to mellow things down a bit! After the tasty hamburger, the luscious gravy, and the crispy-fried chicken, to name a few power-words, I just couldn't handle so many bits of Portuguese sausage and added tastes to load me down anymore! A bit over-kill, was all, at least to this wimpy local bruddah!
Seeing as how everything else in the bowl was so great, I was a little dissapointed with both the salad and white rice, though, as the rice was of a typical plate-lunch quality, meaning starchy and over-watered (or over-cooked) and the salad just, I dunno, didn't quite do it for me, either. There was a little too much mayo and the potatoes were way too hard and under-cooked.
Before tackling the katsu moco, however, and part of the reason I couldn't eat so much of it, was that I had already tackled another one of their specialties, a must-try dish I highly recommend. It takes another one of our beloved dishes, near and dear to the heart of every local boy and girl - Spam musubi - and truly transports it to another level. I've never seen anything like it before! Check this this out:
Destined to be a classic, it is! Costs are surely prohibitive, at $4.50 ($3.25 for a regular Spam musubi!), but it sure does carry a statement. The rice inside is ever-so-lightly seasoned in a sweet shoyu sauce, the Spam is nice and thick, and the nori generously covers the entire musubi. I immediately assumed it was deep-fried like any other katsu, but on second thought, it must have been pan-fried in a layer of oil on each side, just like a seared ahi, otherwise the rice would be soaked and loaded with oil, yes? Turns out that the contents inside carried no oil whatsoever, and the crispy perfection on the outside was further accentuated by a glaze of sweet-shoyu sauce and garnished with a sprinkling of green onion. Lemme tell you - no can touch!!! And I have a feeling others will try, but few will be able to duplicate it, as you could tell by the excellence of the panko coating that there was some real skill and experience in the kitchen on this particular dish. I overheard a couple with their young son, obviously from an area of the Mainland as foreign to Hawaii as we are to the deep farm-lands of Kansas or Oklahoma, who were absolutely raving about it! The brave souls, I tell you, trying Spam musubi for the very first time, much more a panko-fried Spam musubi! All I can say is, you gotta try it, and hopefully while dining in-house, as I'm not sure how much the crispy coating will degrade when taking-out.
However, on a later visit, I wasn't particularly pleased with my next choice, a Korean chicken ($10.95):
The first thing I noticed after ordering this particular take-out plate was that it wasn't nearly as well-portioned as I'd expected. After all, I know these guys are known for crazy-huge amounts of food - three cutlets of chicken katsu, giant hamburger patties, huge bowls of saimin, etc. - but this one was rather normal as far as plate lunches go. Oh, well. Not that I can even finish a normal plate lunch, anyway!
Attempting to eat on one of the benches at Stadium Park just across the street, I quickly found the giant, aggressive horseflies unbearable and headed to a safer location. My hand is constantly waving just above sight in the photo's!
Korean-style chicken is another one of those ethnic dishes given a local twist and inherited as our own, and is similiar to our version of garlic chicken, except with a bit of sesame oil and green onion. Local Korean chicken versions are also notable for oftentimes being marinated in a sweet shoyu base before being fried, a virtue also found in some Korean chicken katsu's. This one was definitely marinated before-hand, but actually, it's probably one of the big reasons I don't much care for it, as the pure taste of chicken was definitely drowned-out in a big way, and it was way too sweet over-all. I think it would have tasted better without any marinade, and instead dipped into the marinade only after frying.
The crunchy coating had a nice flavor to it, for sure, but it seemed to only adhere in a limited way to the chicken, perhaps because of the slick marinade? Had there been a more even and deeper coating of fried goodness all around, it would have made a big difference for the better. Do you see the adherence issues in this closer shot?
Not that it was terrible, though. I still enjoyed the plate, but I just see so much more potential here, is all. The small veggie salad, ordered instead of the potato/mac, was relatively classy, though, featuring a bed of crispy romaine lettuce topped with shredded cabbage and carrots, then drizzled in papaya seed dressing:
Wait a minute. What's wrong with this picture?
Aaaarrrggghhh!!! All my hand-waving, and these flies are still landing on my plate?!!! The nerve!!! Don't worry, though. I didn't lick the edge of the ponzu sauce container. I just dipped...
Anyhow, yet another return trip to Da Kitchen on Eisenberg allowed me to sample a couple more dishes. Though they carry full Hawaiian plates on a regular basis, I didn't have the probable pleasure of trying any of their lau lau, chicken long rice, or lomi salmon, but was able to try their kalua pork, only not in plate, but sandwich form:
I give them credit for taking the extra time to sturdy-up their buns by a quick searing, but just fyi - don't ever order a kalua pig sandwich ($9.95) for take-out! By the time you open the lid, which I did only about 10 minutes after, the juices from your pork will have soaked completely through the lower-extremity bun, a fact which I only realized after slipping my fingers underneath and pulling them out completely covered in grease! I had to carefully flip it over or the bottom bun would have literally fallen apart in due course! There was also no mayo at all, something I'd like to have seen. On the better side, there was a huge scoop of that tender salt and smoke-flavored pork, and the classic combination of onion, tomato, and lettuce always works. Regarding soaked buns, I'm sure the situation would have been much more favorable in-house, with less mush-time, as they were of the larger, more expensive variety of bread than normal.
And finally, what's a good local grindz spot without saimin ($8.25; $10.50 with pork wonton) and fried saimin ($8.99)?
Only, doesn't look very much like noodles, does it? That's because most of your onions, green onions, Chinese cabbage, carrot, kamaboko fishcake, and slivered teriyaki beef are largely sitting on-top, with the noodles packed generously underneath. How did it taste, though?
Well... I was expecting an easy slam-dunk with lots of island attitude, however, it was probably one of the worst fried noodle plates I've had anywhere! Hopefully, I caught them on a bad day, but at least on this particular afternoon, I could only take a few bites before calling it quits. There was a surprising lack of flavor to these floury strands, and they were unbearably starchy and gritty. I also expected a slice or two of teri beef sitting whole, but they instead came, as you can see, chopped into little slices like a garnish - not quite the same thing! Here's a better shot at the noodles:
With only a handful of dishes tried, I've always asked for recommendations, but haven't tried what they say on their Facebook page is their most popular item, a fish tempura, because of at least some degree of reasoning. The two trusted folks I know who've tried it say it is so laden with oily crust that they both couldn't handle it, and just so you know, both are local bruddahs in the 200 lb-range, not exactly pencil necks by any stretch of the imagination! Still, it's all hear-say since I've never tried it. Other menu items, which you can see from the link above, are pretty much all the types of grindz you'd expect from a local-kine eatery like this.
I dunno, with all the hooplah surrounding the opening of this popular Maui-born restaurant, I came away from my several visits here with mixed feelings. There seems to be more attention to detail and a slightly greater deal of sophistication than most local spots, and my thumbs are waaay-up for their excellent, made-to-order chicken katsu, delicious hamburger steak, tasty locomoco, and perhaps most of all, their ono kine, very imaginative fried Spam musubi. Everything else, however, was pretty marginal, especially when considering prices, which, at mostly a range of $9 to $15, are already set at a disadvantage because of naturally higher expectations. Add to that a relatively tough parking situation and a relatively tough chance of even finding a seat without waiting, and things can get, well, a bit tough, I'd say. Unless, that is, you order some of the dishes I recommended above, or can find something else that'll hit the spot, after which all will be just fine and dandy.
Anyhow, hey, it's always a great day! I've been fortunate to have been working a lot recently, and we're still making final arrangements for our trip to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in just a couple of short weeks. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to post something daily or almost daily, as I'll be doing it in a quick Twitter or Facebook fashion, simply adding short notes and pics to a long page instead of completing an entire Closer Look page before posting - a pre-runner of the new format I'll be implementing to this site shortly, by the way!
Hope you're having a great weekend! The oama have finally come in, so I'll definitely be fishing this week!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
Comments:
Terry T (8/23/10) Leeward drive inn fried noodles used to be better long time also, now it's just ok. There BBQ burgers are the best. If you want really good fried noodles go to Sato Okazuya, but be ready to stand in line or phone in your order.
Aku (8/23/10) Now you really got me interested. Within the week, I'll be there! I did a quick google search, and I'm thinkin' fried noodle, pork chops, bbq burgers, and anything else that looks interesting. I'll let ya know how it goes.
Kyle H (8/19/10) The loco moco looks really good! The fried rice looks super too! I agree, though, that white rice should be used for the loco moco. For the best fried noodles, go checkout Leeward Drive Inn in Waipahu!
Aku (8/9/10) Aaaah, Leeward Drive Inn! I've been there before, but totally forgot what I ate. Yeah, those things at Da Kitchen you mentioned were good, but to me, the best thing is the fried Spam musubi!
Kyle H (8/20/10) That looks good too, but very greasy! I actually want to try the fried rice spam musubi at the Uptown Fountain, though I never am around the area around the right time.
Aku (8/21/10) Fried rice Spam musubi? Dang, there's another new one I've never heard of before!
Kyle H (8/22/10) Yup! I actually saw it on Anthony Bourdain No Reservations Hawaii episode. Looks good! You should check it out! He seemed to like it quite a lot, and they had a lot of dishes I've never seen before.
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