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Kyoto Ohsho, a closer look
Aloha!
2/5/09 - It seems like I go to a lot of Japanese restaurants, more so than any other type of eatery, doesn't it? I know that my wife and mom are both from Japan, but still, I can't help but think even if it weren't so, I'd still be hitting them up more than any other kind of food. Even besides the fact that wifey loves sushi so much, I think it's just because there are so many Japanese eateries on the island, is all. Furthermore, there are so many entirely unique styles of Japanese foods, I can go to ten different restaurants and get ten completely different menus. I mean, most ethnic flavors, whether it comes to Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, French, Thai, Indian, or any others, simply don't divide their restaurants into so many different categories and specialize in just one, but instead, mostly offer a healthy cross-section of their entire country's respective cuisine types. At least here on the island, that is. Only Japanese (with sushi, izakaya, yakiniku, etc.), American (burgers, hotdogs, steak houses, etc.), and local (plate lunch, okazuya, saimin houses, etc.) offer so many different, uniquely separate categories to choose from.
In fact, if you were to take just the three - American, Japanese, and local - of the main pages of this site, where all the restaurants are listed in guide-book-style fashion, they would actually make up more than half of all the content in total! No wonder, then, that I've done 26 Japanese-influenced Closer Look's, 18 local, and 13 American, while the next closest in number are Korean, Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese, with only four each!
Nevertheless, curiosity always drives me to new tastes and flavors, so I'll make it a point to try a few places from food types I haven't done any Closer Look's on yet - I got my sights set on a Filipino, a French, a Singaporean/Malay, and Morroccan restaurant - hopefully wifey and I can make it out to all four this month, but I make no promises!
Meanwhile, as for now, it's back to more of the same (not to take away from today's restaurant, though!), with one of the newer spots in town, Kyoto Ohsho at the Ala Moana Shopping Center.
You probably know by now that this used to be an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet when they first opened, but I don't think it helps any when right across the aisle sits another mega-Japanese buffet restaurant, Tsukiji Market! I think it was a good move, though, as Kyoto Ohsho seems to bring in a decent crowd (at least nowadays!), with very economical teishoku-set meals that start from as little as just over $10! I'd have to pay almost that much for a pre-made, deluxe take-out bento! I start with the great prices because I wanted to add a little positive balance to all the negativity this restaurant has accumulated over the internet. It seems that anyone and everyone out there is giving this place the gag, big-time!
You know, on a lot of sites where people post reviews, there are certain restaurants that seem to carry such heavy criticisms, and it all builds up into this giant snowball of twisted, gnarly, mean-spirited opinions, to the point where you can literally feel the pressure out there not to go against the grain. Peer pressure is palpable and real, whether it comes to your workplace, your neighbors, your internet community, or your kindergarten class! I mean, it's ok to put down a restaurant, because that shows just how superior you really are, but try giving a thumbs-up when everyone else is pee-ing on a place, and boy, your palate will be treated like a 200 lb., buck-toothed, bi-focal-wearing bookworm in the middle of a quadruple-keg party filled with jocks and cheerleaders!
Not that I think Kyoto Ohsho has the best food around. But they sure don't have the worst, that's for sure. Besides, there are a few things to consider before you go jumping on the bandwagon. I've already mentioned the super-cheap prices, which will mostly cost between $10 and $16-$17 for complete meals - we're talking main dish, rice, chawanmushi (no pic today!), three or four tsukemono items, and miso soup. And as for variety? The menu includes most of everything you'll ever find in a family-style Japanese restaurant, and then some - saba, katsu, grilled salmon, sushi, sashimi, izakaya-style small dishes, udon, hamachi kama, agedashi tofu, and more, as well as a decent selection of sake and shochu. But how about the huge, clean, very-reasonably stylish dining room? Can you imagine how much rent costs at a place like this, or how much money went into the furnishings? And this is only about half of the actual restaurant!
To sit in a nice, comfortable place like this, you'd normally be paying much more. And yeah, the waithelp is understaffed, but let's not be all about take, take, take every time! For these prices, in this atmosphere, you gotta give a little, too, no? I've been here on four separate occasions, and while the lack of service was apparant and the help sometimes-friendly and sometimes-not, it really wasn't all that bad. Never did we have to wait ridiculously long, and never was there someone serving us who I felt really needed to find another vocation all-together!
And how 'bout the food? Well, let's just say I'll break it to you slowly over the next several pictures, beginning with this set of starters. In the past, I've seen four of them, but today there were just three - a simple salad on-top, a marinated daikon in the middle, and a cold mix of pork, Chinese cabbage, and wakame seaweed. Following is a closer shot of the daikon.
The whole meal gets even cheaper when you clip out a few of those coupons always available in the paper - you know, the ones for a free order of gyoza with any teishoku-set meal? They don't put a limit on one for each party, either, so wifey, mom, and I got two free sets of six pieces each! The first time I came, I expected these freebie's to come either super-tiny, previously frozen, or void of any pork inside, but these medium-sized dumplings actually tasted as fresh and as good as you can get in most ramen shops. And there's also condiments of shoyu, vinegar, chili oil, and togarashi chili flakes on the table for dipping, just like a ramen shop! Not bad at all, I must say.
Wifey and I tag-teamed together, as usual, both of us collaborating orders so we could share them later-on. Mine was a miso butterfish, which came as a surprisingly large fillet. Top-quality cuts tear cleanly between the large, tender flakes, but this one was just a bit on the soft side. Yes, the fish perhaps wasn't of the freshest quality, but was still good enough to enjoy. The sweet-salty marinade of miso really helped it along and did the trick, soaking perfectly into the fish to capture that fabulous taste that keeps me coming back. I'm always so surprised to hear so many people out there who have never tried this dish. If that's you, I'd recommend Yohei in Kalihi, although most other Japanese restaurants will serve a pretty decent one, such as Gyotaku and Kabuki.
Again, not the best I've had, but I wouldn't hesitate to order it again, especially considering the large portions. Sorry 'bout the bright orange color - I don't know what kind of light it was bouncing around there! Looks almost like a salmon!
I've always been a fan of the tempura here. It comes standard-sized, standard-tasting, and nothing out of the ordinary, but has a light, natural, no-frills taste that could have been plucked out of any oba-chan's kitchen. The simplicity of this dish speaks for itself, and as long as you don't mess it up with overly-heavy or mushy batters, bad oil, or super-tiny shrimps hacked-up and stretched-out to double their original lengths and half their original girths, the dish should be able to speak volumes. Fresh shrimp, a little salt, a little batter, and a lot of oil - how can you go wrong?
Uh, actually, I have seen it go wrong at many a spot, but not here.
Four out of five times, when dining at a Japanese restaurant, mom orders Chiraishi, which she's already had here before. Unfortunately, they've discontinued it for some reason, and mom settled for an order of mixed sushi. Filling her platter were nigiri ahi (tuna), ama-ebi (sweet shrimp), dashi-tamago (dashi-flavored egg), sake (salmon), and, in the following pic, two gunkan-style sushi pieces of uni (sea urchin) and ikura (salmon egg).
Perhaps out of everything tried here, these raw items have been the most inconsistent, which is actually pretty understandable. It's always hard to stay super-consistent with raw seafood, as any signs of aging show up quickly, so much so that even in some of the better sushi houses, you can't always expect every single order of fish, crustacean, or other creature to be top-shelf fresh, every single time.
Today was actually one of the better days for sushi. Mom was happy, as everything was reasonably fresh. As is a recurring theme here at Kyoto Ohsho, it was nothing spectacular, but nothing terribly bad, either. I think all those internet people are giving this place a bum-rap, to tell you the truth. All things told - prices, atmosphere, quality, taste, service - this place is very middle-of-the-road, with perhaps a slight lean to the better side. I say that because the first two, prices and atmosphere, are very good; quality and taste were about split-even over-all; while service came as the only real downfall. Hardly enough to merit a whole lot of criticism, me thinks.
But as always, that's just me...
I'll leave you all with a parting shot of the makai-side entrance of Ho'okipa Terrace, where Kyoto Ohsho is located. There are many a fine choice up these escalators, as well the new spot directly to the right of the elevators - Pearl Ultra Lounge. Pretty cool hangout, it is.
Hope you're all having a fabulous new year!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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