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Jin Din Rou, a closer look
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11/19/11 - Chinese? Taiwanese? Japanese? Shanghai, uh, neez?
What is it? Well, they all play a part, actually.
This was one of those restaurants that no foodie on the island could miss long before its opening date. Its prominent location near hyper-busy S. King and Kaheka allowed for any and all to witness the construction process gradually unfold before our very eyes, transforming this formerly run-down corner unit on S. King St. into a contemporary, big-budget restaurant, leaving everyone in anticipation over-drive for a long, long time.
But first, logistics. Yeah, yeah - you probably want the goods now, but for the minority living in lava tubes, having not been here yet, as well as for our much-valued tourist crowd, it's something I can't skip!
You may try to find a space on either S. King or Kaheka, but chances are, they won't be closer than the actual parking lot, which is located on Kaheka, just behind the building. Being a shared lot, there are only a limited number of spots specifically designated and completely free for Jin Din Rou, but if not, the fee isn't any more than street parking would be. When they first opened, it was a chore finding any parking at all without walking half-way to Don Quijote, but now it's not too bad, especially when arriving early for either lunch or dinner (11am weekdays and 10am weekends for lunch; 5pm daily for dinner). Here's the back entrance and a major portion of the lot, as well:
Back-door access is possible, but to get the full effect, try the formal entrance. Once past the front doors, the second floor is gutted to expose an open mini-cathedral, bordered by glass walls and decored with the center-pieces of the design scheme - tannish-yellow steamer covers set inside hanging brown beams. The same framed steamers, only smaller, are also applied over dining room tables, where they act as lights in collaboration with the over-all design. Pretty cool, actually. I wouldn't say it's nightclub-flashy or anything, but it is pretty chic. Minus the Halloween decorations and shave ice maker, that is!
That's one of the managers, Sato-san - real cool guy!
A shot of the main dining area will probably give you a better idea of the cool-ness factor inside:
The gutted second floor isn't completely gutted, however. There's still lots of room upstairs for a few private rooms and over-flow areas:
But getting back to the whole mess of ethnic influences regarding this restaurant, let me try to explain things a bit - it's Japanese owned, thus the stylish atmosphere and crisp execution. It's based off a Taiwanese restaurant (no stinky tofu, though!), thus the hodge-podge of various Chinese and Japanese influences on the menu. The most famous dish, xiao long bao, is a dish originating in Shanghai. So there you have it. Of all people, we in Hawaii should understand it all - hapa, kapakahi, poi dog - we know how it is!
And as a related aside, you know how Japanese places welcome you with a loud "Irrashai," or "Arigato," or otherwise uninhibited expressions? An energy thing, is all. Street vendors from Uganda to Sao Paulo do the same thing - yell, clap, sing, whatever - it brings up the energy level and encourages people to let loose, enjoy themselves, and... buy more things! Here, a young woman in the kitchen was shrieking-out every few minutes in some kind of Chinese dialect, possibly when orders were ready, sounding like a cross between an old Kung Fu movie and a Mariah Carey number. Pretty cool. Brought this whole ethnic vibe thing to the table.
But what is xiao long bao, anyway? Well, here's what it looks like when presented:
Looks like any other dim sum to me. One bite, however, and you'll see how it differs - especially if you bite into one while still steaming-hot! No one on the staff tells you, but instructions on every table make it clear that a little bit of care is much-advised - xiao long bao comes with a hot soup, and not on the side, but inside the actual dumplings! Whaaat??? If you're not careful, you'll squirt hot broth half-way across the table or, worse yet, down the back of your throat! Thus, enter the instructional, which says to first grab a dumpling by the crown and dip into black or white vinegar sauce (black house-recommended), both supplied on each table:
Second, place on Chinese spoon and poke a hole right into the side of the dumpling, allowing the hot soup to escape (and cool down a bit). Drink soup first:
And finally, place a few strands of ginger on-top, provided along with a side of crispy pickled vegetables, and finish-off the dumpling.
Personally, I don't see why the soup goes first. I prefer everything one time, after a short wait to cool down, of course. However, I wouldn't wait too long, as I think all this talk about hot soup is greatly exaggerated, mainly for liability reasons. Once you pop the easily-pierced shell, you can better gauge how hot it is in there, and chances are, it won't be so bad.
But how's the taste? Well, first of all, if these wrappers aren't hand-made from scratch, I'd be really surprised. They are chewy, aromatic, and very good. The inner mix of chicken and pork was soft and delicate in texture but very bold in taste, and completely different from your standard pork and shrimp-filled dim sum piece. The combination of pork and chicken, a pronounced, very earthy spice mix, and that burst of juice flooding your palate at the same time (if you consume the dumpling all at once like me, soup and all!) all combined for a strangely haunting, mysteriously appealing taste for me. To tell you the truth, neither mom nor my wife cared much for it, but me on the other hand, I absolutely loved it! The mixing of so many deep, rich flavors and opposing textures made for an unusually addicting taste sensation that first hooked me with question marks, then kinda grew on me with each successive bite! It was waaay different, and you know that different is generally a positive term in my book!
An order of shrimp and pork dumplings was also delicious, coming with the same enclosed treasure of hot soup inside:
There are several other different choices of xiao long bao, including a spicy, a tea-wrapper, a couple of pork/shrimp types, and perhaps the most interesting, as well as most expensive, a foie gras dumpling:
And yes, it did taste of foie gras, which means super-rich, and perhaps a little too strong for many out there! Like any foie gras, you really can't eat too much at any one sitting, but two or three go down real nice if you happen to be into fattened goose livers!
Of all the xiao long bao pieces I've tasted, however, I think I gotta go with the original pork and chicken variety. With pork/shrimp being the safest and foie gras being the most exotic, the original combined both aspects into one. It's a good thing I didn't arrive at night on either of my visits here - a few rounds of sake or Kirin, and I'd probably be throwin' em down all night!
And thanks to good Yelp-friend Will L., I just learned that there are other places on the island with this particular dish, namely Fook Lam at the Chinese Cultural Plaza and Ming's in the shopping center on Dillingham and Waiakamilo, as well as Golden Deli and Royal Garden on a periodic basis.
As for everything else on the menu, I may as well just tell you right now - in my opinion, outside of xiao long bao in all its forms, nothing else really grabs me enough to wanna come back. There's various entrees styled rather multi-ethnically, such as soup noodles, sweet-sour pork, fried rice, pork eggplant, fried chicken, and exotic mushroom dishes, but nothing impressed me like the soup-dumplings. Taste-wise, the dishes were generally a bit too light for me. Presentation and skill-wise, however, the dishes were clean and done extremely well, so if you prefer that Japanese style of less seasoning, simpler, more natural flavors, and high-quality ingredients as well as high-quality chefs, this may just be the place for you, even without xiao long bao.
Whatever the case, here we go with an order of takana rice:
I don't believe there was any meat on this plate, although there was some protein from shredded scrambled egg. Most of the flavor came from, of course, takana, which is a pickled mustard cabbage that is tart and sour. It wasn't the most exciting combination of flavors on its own, and I couldn't help but wish there was some type of meat and Oriental gravy to pour over it! The grains were larger and fuller than a typical Chinese fried rice, but like a Chinese fried rice, the grains fell apart like Uncle Ben's - not that it's like Uncle Ben's in any other way, though!
Here's another type of fried rice, beef tomato:
Once again, the fried rice didn't carry much taste, with the only excitement coming from diced tomatoes sparsely placed throughout. The beef on-top, however, though a bit tough, was laden with a tasty gravy of savory/sweet tomato, balancing the rather bland rice well. A little more beef would have gone really far on this particular dish, though!
Soup noodles are another big part of the menu, and tan-tan ramen is by far the most popular:
Lots of people seem to love it, but I think ramen is probably the single-weakest link on the entire menu. Unlike the xiao long bao wrappers, if these noodles were house-made, I would be really surprised! I was expecting so much more, but they didn't come close quality-wise. The broth, though looking very flavorful, was also a bit of a downer, being on the light side as compared to tan-tan ramen or Japanese ramen in general.
Showing a bit more flavor was their shoyu-based ramen:
Once again, with Japanese ramen being an art form pushed to amazing heights, I don't think this version quite stacked-up.
I did order one of their entree choices, a mapo eggplant:
Gorgeous, ey? It looks like a ball of fire on the heat level, but it's not too bad. There was a luxurious blend of spices, garlic, meat, and oils on the dish, with perhaps my only wish being a little more salt. I actually added a touch of shoyu, and it was much better!
Currently, manager Sato-san says there is a Happy Hour from 9pm till closing, but that an early Happy Hour will also be added sometime soon. If you haven't been here yet, you really should check it out. The dishes are clean and well-orchestrated, a fact many will appreciate. And for those who need more of a flavor punch, xiao long bao is all you need to know! The dish is unique, original, fun, and somehow, super-addicting. One day I will be back during Happy Hour!
Hope you've all survived APEC, and are having a great and wonderful week! The weekend is upon us! Happy Hibachi'ing!!!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
