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IzakayaTakonoki, a closer look
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Great blog on Takonoki Waikiki! |
 Izakaya Takonoki on Yelp! |
Aloha!
7/22/11 - Takonoki is one of many Waikiki restaurants, particularly of the Japanese variety, that does virtually no advertising whatsoever to the general public here on the island. Instead, they choose to target the 1-2 million Japanese tourists visiting every year, and I don't blame 'em at all. I mean, through 9/11, through the earthquake/tsunami, through recessions in both Japan and the US, they still keep comin', and with the strengthening yen, they're apt to spend even more than the already high amount they already spend per person while visiting. Hence, there's no designated parking on their busy Royal Hawaiian Ave. location, so aside from getting lucky street-side, the closest places I know of are the three public parking buildings one block Diamond Head, on Seaside Ave. A sum of between $5 and $7 will basically buy you parking for 5-7 hours, so just go shopping/restaurant hopping and make it a Waikiki night! That's always a blast, even for us locals!
With top-shelf US and Australian Kobe and Wagyu beef at Yakiniku Hiroshi's just steps away, on the same street, you may be faced with a difficult decision. If prices are a factor, however, you might just take a pass on butter-like beef and find this particular building below, with the mysterious stairwell to who-know's-where, instead!
With the sign being largely in Japanese, no friendly hostess downstairs, and barely even a clue as to whether you're walking into a restaurant or massage parlor, it takes a bit of gumption to climb those stairs for the very first time. Don't sweat it, though! It all adds to the hide-away, hole-in-the-wall nature and mysterious allure of the place. No looking back once you're up!
Everything opens up quite nicely once upstairs, with a small counter area as well as several different compartments and rooms housing standard table seating. Though there's a small sushi bar display case, I didn't see any sushi on the menu, only several types of sashimi. Sometimes, the place is empty and sometimes it's nearly at full capacity, but always, there's a casual, laid-back atmosphere I can really appreciate after a long day of work. Or surf!
The over-all menu scheme is a bit on the small side, but still comes with a respectable degree of variety. There's super-traditional stuff like hiyayakko, mozuku, ankimo, and ika natto; teppan items like yakitori, Kurobuta sausage, butteryaki scallops, and garlic steak; deep-fried staples like chicken, squid legs, and wings; seafoods, noodles, okonomiyaki, and a few set menu courses.
Kumi and I opened with a simple cabbage dish with chirimen ($6.50):
Now, this is rustic stuff! I love it! Quickly pan-fried in oil and shoyu (at least), that really is a little fish you see on-top there. Called chirimen and translated as anchovies here at Takonoki, I believe they are actually sardines, not that it really matters. Common in Japanese stores everywhere, they are prepared by a quick blanching in seawater, followed by a period of sun-drying, to produce a kind of mini-whole-fish jerky that can be eaten over hot rice, as a flavor enhancer, as a side dish, or even alone as a salty snack.
Another very rustic, very simple, but somehow very elegant starter was a whole sweet onion ($5.25):
One of the staples on my own hibachi is a few whole onions, sliced cross-wise in wheels, moistened in olive oil, and sprinkled with rock salt and fresh-cracked pepper. The natural flavors of sweet onions, after caramelizing and concentrating on the grill, are simply amazing! The serving above, being steamed, didn't carry the smoky crust I'm accustomed to, but being finished with fried garlic pieces and a small shot of shoyu, the dish was still fabulous in every way, its layers pulling apart easily with chopsticks in tender, sweet lengths!
As stated earlier, there was no sushi available, only small sashimi sets including items like ahi, squid, scallop, octopus, and aji ($7.50), shown here:
Quite honestly, these slices of aji weren't very good at all, and judging by its dry, stiff flesh, was obviously once-frozen. If I take my snobby glasses off, however, there was no stinky, fishy smell whatsoever, and you'd be surprised how much fish, beef, and other meats are served once-frozen at even the best restaurants! A smidgeon of minced ginger (which they always serve with stronger-tasting fish!), green onion, shoyu, and wasabi, along with a wash of cold Kirin, and we were aaall good!
One of the popular grilled fish types in Japan is called hokke ($12.50), a type of mackeral:
Not sure if they ever sashimi a hokke, but I've never seen it done before. Like that other, more famous type of mackeral, saba, it does carry an oily, fishy flavor, but that only makes it taste even better on the grill! It's not the most tender fish in the world, at least by the time we get 'em here in Hawaii, but boy, does it taste good!
Takonoki seems to specialize in okonomiyaki products. Not found at too many spots here in Hawaii, the famous Japanese pancakes here range from $9.75-$15, and come in variations like shrimp, squid, cheese/mochi, yakisoba, and a standard pork/cabbage, shown here:
Looks pretty good, ey? Unfortunately, it wasn't! I dunno, the inner mix seemed a bit over-doughed and homogenous, while its taste was rather boring, at least inside. Of course, with all that Kewpie mayo, okono sauce, and bonito flakes on-top, the dish was far from being bland over-all, and we didn't have a problem not leaving any hostages.
The best thing I had all night, hands down, was the spicy garlic chicken wings, at $3 per piece:
Wow! These were everything a good fried chicken should be - moist, juicy, and tender inside. Piping-hot, super-crunchy, and light outside. Well-flavored but not over-bearing. Savory with a touch of sweetness. Once again - wow!
Perhaps Takonoki is not the kind of place you wanna hold special occasions at, but for an exploratory kind of night, when you want something a little further from the beaten path, this just might be the right place for you. It's casual, it's non-pretentious, and it's very much hole-in-the-wall'ish - a perfect place to not expect anything, then to get blown away by it all!
Hope you're all having a great and wonderful week!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
Izakaya Takonoki
355 Royal Hawaiian Ave. in Waikiki
926-8256
Nightly from 6pm-12am, later if busy
Parking on street or 3 public parking buildings on Seaside Ave.
