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Maguro-Ya, a closer look
 Maguro-Ya Kaimuki from Kat, at a Passion for Food! |
Maguro-Ya Honolulu from popular local blogger Reid! |
 Maguro-Ya Kaimuki on Yelp! |
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Aloha!
6/24/11 - I was actually surprised re-visiting Maguro-Ya in Kaimuki recently. I could be wrong, but last I remember, it was a lot smaller, regarding not only the sushi bar and entire dining room itself, but also the menu! Our kind waitress didn't know what I was talking about, though, so I guess it's been a while since they expanded, if at all!
I kinda like the set-up here. After walking through the rather non-descript entrance and a short hallway, the scene opens to a smallish to medium-sized dining area, where a reverse wave is pretty darn cool and a Japanese boat sticks halfway out the wall above it!
There's lots of light-colored, clean woods, in the true modern Japanese way, while the ceramic tile floors and two-toned tables with jet-black chairs lends a bit of style to the mix, too.
One wall in particular does break the continuity of clean lines and sleek colors, though, serving as a long bulletin board that portrays more of the working class, mom-and-pop aspect of the restaurant:
That's a whole lotta specials! I didn't know where to start! Having come both for lunch and dinner in the span of a few days, I opted for a typical teishoku meal for lunch and a more izakaya/sushi kind of deal for dinner. Seeing that the chef/owner of Maguro-Ya is brother to the chef/owner of Yohei's in Kalihi, and since Yohei's has a killer miso butterfish, I had to try it here, as well:
Here's a typical teishoku set - rice, miso soup, salad, tsukemono veggies, and one or two other small dishes, in this case a spinach/mushroom in some type of light sesame vinegar sauce. Everything was presented well and in good taste, especially the main attraction:
Reee-diculous! Just as great if not better than Yohei's! You know... There's something to be said about a hyper-fresh piece of white or pink-meat fish like opakapaka, onaga, halibut, or even mahimahi; the delicate flavors, when perfectly cooked, are indeed phenomenal. The taste benefits, however, are more of an adult pursuit, the sensing of inherent good qualities reflecting a more refined palate. There are a few fish types, however, that, either by themselves or with some type of strong sauce, are just on a whole different taste level. They are bolder, fattier, fishier, and in your face stronger as compared to a typical white-meat species. Three I can immediately think of are saba, in all its oily-fishiness; salmon, in all its fatty, orange goodness; and a miso butterfish, bursting with the heaven-sent combination of its own oily, super-tender flesh and the concentrated punch of a sweet miso marinade. Like them or not, it's hard to deny the sheer presence, uniqueness, and fishy essence of all three! The miso butterfish above had it all - a blackened, crispy skin, a beautifully sheened crust created by the caramelization of sugars in the marinade as well as its own oils, and a silky, flaky, extremely tasty flesh. Doesn't get any better, fo' sho!
Meanwhile, Kumi went with a sushi combination plate:
Good-sized pieces, nice presentation, and freshness, spot-on! Same goes for mom's chiraishi:
Kumi and I were pleasantly surprised by our lunch-time visit, and with all those goodies posted up on the wall menus, we knew we'd be back in short order!
Upon returning, we found a wide variety of fish choices and menu items in general. Shoulda known with one look at their fan ducts:
Guess I'm just getting a little bored with the typical ahi, hamachi, and salmon nigiri, is all. Judging by some of the tails, there sure are some non-conventional fish choices here, at least by Hawaii standards, both of the pelagic and reef-dwelling types. 'Probably a few freshwater species thrown-in, too! The fan-shaped ones are no doubt from a triggerfish-like fish, as in "Humuhumu-nukunuku-apua'a." Haven't tried it yet, but I hear the black species of triggerfish found in Hawaiian waters, the one's that we always throw away when they stubbornly attack our hooks, are pretty darn good. I wonder what a typical reef fish like aholehole, mamo, menpachi, or aweoweo tastes like raw, over a piece of sushi rice? Anyone know? The boy'z here at Maguro-Ya, it seems they try anything! Check out this particular fish head:
Yup - trumpetfish!!! Gotta say, the thought would have never entered my mind! It wasn't on the menu tonight, but you know I would have tried it in a heartbeat!
Here's another fish species plentiful in Hawaiian waters, but for some reason, won't be found in many sushi houses on the island, let alone restaurants of any kind!
What is it? Well, besides the fact that we are well-acquainted with their roe, called tobikko, the long pectoral fins should also give you a clue. I mean, they look more like wings than fins. And that they are, actually! Flying fish have been recorded soaring in the air for close to 45 seconds in one shot, up to 20 feet above the ocean, while covering well over 1,000 feet in distance! Most times, it's a lot less for every figure, but still waaay cool to behold, nonetheless! Anyone in Hawaii on a boat more than once has seen these cool fish skipping and jumping over the wide, blue Pacific waters. Gotta say, though, I've never eaten one before!
Taste-wise, I guess it was a bit aji'ish in crispiness and even a hint of taste, but much more neutral and mellow in flavor. Very nice-tasting fish.
Suzuki, or sea bass, is another mellow and great-tasting fish, though much creamier and softer than our flying fish above.
As stated, we were looking for watery creatures not typically found on your average sushi house visit here in Hawaii, and a tiny species called kibinago fit the bill. A type of herring, it can be eaten as sashimi or cooked in various ways.
If we were sitting on a pier in Japan, we'd definitely have them raw, but here in Hawaii, the recommended preparation was cooked. A splash of lemon, a sprinkle of tea, curry, and black pepper salts, and down the hatch, head, tail, fins, and all!
They also presented us with the same fish in a separate bowl, but for the life of us, we can't remember what the whole dish was! I guess there was a little too much sake going around, and we were also getting a bit carried away with one of their chefs, who shared a love for fishing like me! Some subjects, you can go on talking about forever!
To me, it looks like an agedashi tofu in soy milk, but Kumi seems to disagree.
Fish aside, I always love when a sushi house offers hotaru ika, or firefly squid. Though only 2-3 inches long, these tiny cephalopods are actually full-grown, and named after the flashes of glowing pigments in their skin. Each morsel carries all the great flavors of squid and even more so, since each piece contains not only clean, white meat flesh, but also that that wonderfully exotic thing called guts! Being cooked so small, however, you can't really taste anything too wild. I know they can be eaten raw, guts bursting in all their glorious, intact blobbish-ness, but like the tiny kibinago above, I think I'll wait till I'm sitting on a pier restaurant in Japan, watching them flash colors and wriggle tentacles before sliding them down my throat!
Another rather exotic item for Hawaii, but probably like cheeseburgers in Japan, is sazae, a type of Japanese sea snail:
Concerning these guys, I'm not nearly as brave! With gut sacs bigger than their meat, I just can't do it, not even after cooking! The clean, yellowish-white meat is no different from the meat of a clam in ickiness factor, but those giant innards are best left to true gut-master connoisseurs like Kumi!
Though that flying fish was delicious and incredibly impressive in presentation, perhaps my favorite dish of the evening, as far as pure taste goes, was this anago tempura:
Boy, did this guy taste unbelievable! Anago, of course, is the saltwater version of a freshwater unagi, or eel. The flesh on this anago was moist, white, flaky-light, and substantial in size and texture, very much unlike the thin, overly-soft, cheaper versions from parts of Asia outside of Japan. The coating was super-crisp and just a tad bit heavier than normal shrimp tempura batter, which is a good thing, of course, as it stood up much better to the slightly fishy taste of eel. A few mounds of flavored salts completed the dish perfectly! Absolutely deee-licious!
And to cap things off, there are few things better at the end of a Japanese meal than a hot bowl of either zousui or udon, this time the latter.
We had a great time here at Maguro-Ya. The atmosphere is nice, parking is ample at the Atrium Shopping Center lot, and most of all, the food was fantastic!
Have yourselves a wonderful weekend!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
Maguro-Ya
732-3775
3565 Waialae Av. at the Atrium Shopping Center in Kaimuki
Lunch and dinner daily except closed on Mondays
Parking in Shoppind Center lot.
