 |
 |
Kuni, a closer look
Aloha!
5/6/09 - Judging by the looks of any Oahu map, it looks like the furthest distance between any two points on the island are between Makapuu Pt. and Kaena Pt., and that's just about the distance mom, wifey, and myself travelled on this particularly gorgeous day in Paradise. I figured we were already making our way into West-side territory by visiting Restaurant Kuni in Waipahu, so we may as well go... All... The... Way!!!
The Waianae coast and West shore has some of the most gorgeous beaches around, with deep blue waters that resemble the spectacular spots drawing much bigger crowds on the North Shore. Maybe it's not quite as popular because of the rough reputation they got out here, or maybe it's because the huge homeless cities that line many of the beach parks right off the main road... Who knows? Whatever the case, these amazing ocean playgrounds are pristine and often completely void of people, especially during weekdays. And like the North, the surf here also gets huge and gnarly during Winter swell seasons, with famous breaks like Makaha, Tracks, Channels, and this lovely beach right here leading the charge:
Sorry guys, but some things are just not meant for you to see... But no worries - plenty of other things to fixate upon, ey? So take your eyes off wifey for just a moment and mesmerize upon the glistening sands and deep blue's of one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, Yokohama Bay, and a surfer just before pullin' inside. I love a spot where sets jack-up in a single area, so you don't have to work so hard fighting your way back out after each wave, but only when the crowds are as minimal as they are here. If these very breaks were found anywhere closer to town, there'd be thirty or forty guys out, all jostling for position in this one tiny area. Not a very good situation to get involved in, lemme tell ya.
Here's a couple more shots of Yokohama Bay, which is connected to Kaena Pt., the Western-most tip of the island and the literal end of the road - unless you have a mountain bike, in which case you can connect on the other side to Waialua, Haleiwa town, and the rest of the North Shore:
But before all this fun in the sun, we all stopped by a very casual Japanese restaurant that I've been hearing about for quite some time now. Thanks Doug B. for the mention! As I've said on a few occasions before, I'm not the most schooled on spots anywhere from the Pearl City/Aiea region and out, so I do appreciate hearing about new places to eat.
Not that this is a new spot, though! Kuni doesn't at all fit the mold of modern, fancy Japanese restaurants that are clean, bright, and well-designed from the top-down, but of the old-school, half-local type of eatery that goes waaay back, back to the days when Waipahu, Wahiawa, and Pearl City had more Japanese than Filipino's! Imagine that! Not that the food is half-local, though - it stays pretty true to its roots - I'm just talking about the atmosphere, service, and super-casual manner that they do business here. Signs need up-dating? Aaah, no worries, brah - 'dey still come!
Clearly visible from the main Waipahu thoroughfare of Farrington Hwy., right at the intersection with Leokane St., this humble eatery serves teishoku (set course) meals that offer the choice of many different items, all beginning with miso soup, tsukemono (pickled vegetables), green salad, and rice. Contrary to my normal form of getting right up-close and personal with most dishes, this time I'll back-up and give you a birds-eye view of no less than 12 small bowls shared between the three of us, and that's not even including the main dishes coming later!
On the other hand, staying with my normal form of arriving at a place early, before the bigger crowds begin arriving, I took a snap of the main dining area, which was almost fully booked by the time we left. Seated was a jovial crowd consisting largely of small groups of elderly local/Japanese, along with a few businessman-types and other local folk - ain't gonna see many tourists in this store!
The place is reasonably comfortable, but definitely carries an aged feeling to it, especially when entering the lounge area, where it gets darker and there's a bit of a musky smell hanging around, just to let ya know.
We all had different versions of the double combination sets, both mom and wifey starting off with an order each of tempura, both coming with two large shrimp and sides of carrot, eggplant, and sweet potato. The shrimps were indeed large and full (not halved!), but the batter also came very large and full, as well. Though the outer batter carried a very crisp, firm finish, I found the entirety of the batter a bit too thick and heavy, instead of the light, airy texture I was kinda hoping for. Taste-wise, however, it was still a winner, and overall, definitely worth ordering again, especially if you love fried foods. You just won't find the delicate, dainty, and perhaps more elegant versions of tempura here, is all!
Mom's other half came in the form of a miso butterfish, which was done very much different from any other place I've seen. I guess these guys love their deep-fryer, as this version came with a light, crispy, outer batter that was flavored nicely with salt (and who knows what else!) and then covered with a sweet miso sauce that was kinda like a hybrid mix of miso, sugar, and a touch of American-style bbq sauce or Worcestershire! Most places marinate their fish in sweet miso, then bake it with the flavors already infused-in, but this method of dropping the paste on after cooking is something I've only seen once before, at the former Komakata Restaurant in Aina Haina, where I didn't care for it at all (although they had other items that were great!). This one here at Kuni, however, worked well, as the crust formed a light, crispy shell that seemed to seal-in the juices of the fish, which was moist, very tender, and very delicious. In fact, even without the miso sauce, it'd still be excellent. If, however, you're looking for the same classic taste of miso butterfish found at most Japanese restaurants, you won't find it in this particular dish.
Wifey's other-other half was a simple ahi sashimi. Nothing to get excited about, but nothing to frown upon, either. The slices were reasonably fresh, no problems at all.
My two main dishes were both items that are staples in both Japanese and local restaurants - teriyaki beef and chicken katsu. In fact, ask most locals, and half will likely beam with pride that the two of them are, in fact, local dishes, even though they both came from Japan!
Unlike most local restaurants (especially plate lunch houses), this beef wasn't from layers of super-thin cuts that are normally used, but a single slice grilled nicely and slathered with extra teri sauce. The char-grilled flavor, the reasonable tenderness, the sweet sauce, and the convenience of coming pre-sliced, pupu-style, all added up to a tasty and enjoyable dish.
And finally, I ended up with chicken katsu, that favorite of every local boy with a belly protruding over his belt. Oops, that includes me, especially these days! As expected, this was a great katsu for this type of restaurant - not the best, but still done very well. Most of all, it wasn't over-cooked, and the katsu flakes around weren't pre-coated and pulled out of the freezer from the day before or earlier. Blows away most plate lunch katsu orders, for sure!
Though the atmosphere may not be the best, with dishes like these, I'd say Kuni is as good or better than most of the casual Japanese restaurants in town, with portions and over-all quality definitely at or near the top of the list, at least for spots listed in this particular section of the site.
Before leaving, make sure to ask the straight-forward but very gregarious owner to do the cup thing for you - he'll know what you're talking about, trust me...
He can seem a bit gruff at times, but he's a good guy in the end, forever joking around just like your tough, no-nonsense, but very loveable and motherly auntie can be, which is just how they like it on the West-side, no? You know, not uppity and always-proper, even stiff-lipped, like us townies on the South-side can be sometimes, yes? Hey, just hang loose and no shame 'em, brah!
Have a fabulous week!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
------------------------------------------
Comments:
Jack T (11/14/09) - Aku, Do get me wrong, I love the food at Kuni's, but the last week my family and I went there. My daughter and me order Beef Teri and it did not have any grill marks on the beef, like the pass times we ordered it and your picture. It was like it was cook on a flat top grill. So I told the owner that his quality is going down. All he could say that he was sorry, but no comps.
Aku (11/14/09) - Wow, bummer, man! Let's hope it was a momentarily lapse or a new chef still learning the ropes, and that the bad news doesn't extend to the rest of the dishes, all of which were great when I visited a while back! It's the first time I've heard of anyone at all being disappointed from the food there, but who knows, things can change at any time! Thanks for the head's-up! Anyone else out there notice a drop in quality at Kuni?
Jack T (3/18/10) - We went to Kuni's last week and they are back on track. The Beef Teri had nice grill marks on it and was very ono.
Aku (3/18/10) - Thanks for the head's up!
------------------------------------------
Post a Comment or just say hello! Don't worry about leaving REAL names if you don't want to! Changing to Code names are fine, but just stay consistent with your code names, allright? No E-mails will be posted, unless you want to make friends! Hope to hear from you all, even if you disagree!
