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Michinoku, a closer look
 MilknCookies at Michinoku! |
 Big Ed Sugimoto checks out Michinoku! |
Michinoku from Yelp!
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 Mari Taketa and crew at Michinoku! |
Aloha!
4/17/11 - Michinoku never was a well-known sushi spot, not even when they were nestled in their former location on busy Kalakaua Avenue, right under our very noses. No, not the Waikiki portion of Kalakaua, but the Mauka side near Don Quijote. Still... there's only about a zillion cars zinging by there each and ever day, the vast majority of which have never been to nor even taken mental note of this humble eatery. Now that they're smack-dab in the center of Korea-moku instead, with plenty of parking in the maze of lots connecting the various establishments around, something tells me they made the right career move, as far as location goes. Being flanked closely by Wal-Mart, Ross', Ala Moana, and, of course, all those yummy Korean restaurants, there's definitely lots and lots of Japanese tourists milling about, and any visit here will immediately tell you that Michinoku is no secret to their brochure-happy eyes.
The humble decor and attitude of the past is still prevalent in their new dig, with no flashy gimmicks outside to draw folks in and ha ha, even a spelling faux pas on their banner!
Once inside, it's about as roomy as it was before, meaning - pretty darn small!
Only a few tables and a clean, cozy-little sushi bar!
I like the mini-ornament set behind the counter!
Now, I'm not gonna lie to ya's. Despite its humble demeanor, Michinoku ain't the most economical place to eat. After all, premium-grade fish, top-shelf rice, and the skills of an accomplished sushi chef never come cheap, right? I mean, don't get all freaked-out on me or anything, as costs are right about in-line with other fine sushi houses around (but less than glitzy guys like Nobu's and Morimoto's, of course!) - it's just... I don't want you thinkin' that because it's a hole-in-the-wall, with an unassuming, mom-and-pop signature, that it'll come with bargain-basement prices, too! That being said....
Anytime I walk into a place, am presented with a dish, and get an explanation that goes something like this:
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"This comes from the best part of the (cow, pig, etc...)"
"This come from (whatever country or origin)"
"This type of (species) is known for..."
"We make this from scratch with (blankey-blank)" |
You always like to hear stuff like that. Lets you know that they're not just pulling generic things out of the freezer, but really trying to present the best and putting in the A+ effort. This wakame seaweed, for example, was from the thickest, middle section of the plant, and was thicker and fuller yet sweeter and mellower in taste than normal wakame. I've had some absolutely horrendous wakame before, so I can appreciate the fact!
During lunch, there's a small but sufficient list of teishoku set items like unagi, saba, tempura, and the rest of the usual culprits, as well as soba, udon, donburi, and the like. A small, non-flashy, traditional place like this, I had to bring mom one day. She chose to forsake her normal chiraishi and instead went with a bara-sushi set, of which the head and namesake item is located on the top right corner:
Bara-bara is a kind of slang word for rough-cut, chopped, or cut small in chunks, so bara-sushi is a bowl of sushi rice mixed with unagi, gobo, tamago, shrimp, or whatever else the chef feels like adding-in:
Mom was surely well-pleased, as the rice was full, firm, and beautiful, with a touch of unagi sauce and other items in just the perfect amounts. Mom doesn't care for ikura, though, which was placed on-top, and I only eat it when it is rinsed of excess salt, as this one was:
Completing the set was miso soup, salad, tsukemono vegetables, chawanmushi, wakame, and a few gorgeous pieces of ahi and hamachi sashimi - mmm-mm, like buttah!
My lunchtime order was of a butterfish, which was amazing - soft, flaky, and with a sweet miso marinated deep into the fish itself:
Minus the sashimi on mom's set, it was pretty much identical as far as side dishes go:
The very, very kind woman working here seems to be the only waitstaff they have available, as she's here every time we come, whether by day or night. But night-time is when Michinoku itself really shines, as they feature sushi using fresh sashimi and seafoods which arrive from Japan in the afternoon, almost every day of the week.
Me, I've kinda been on a hottate (scallop) binge, addicted to its soft, fleshy, subtly shellfish-tasting qualities, and also because it is a harbinger of freshness at any sushi house in general. Unfortunately, the hottate here came slightly aburi'd, or flash-grilled, a technique that is often used purposely for a slightly different taste, but can also be used to mask freshness. When it's not fresh, there can be a sticky film over the surface, and the grilling makes it harder to detect. Whatever the case, the pieces are only seared ever-so-slightly, and you can still enjoy the natural flavors of the scallop, which was indeed fresh and delicious:
In the background is a piece styling quite the interesting hair-do, one of thinly-sliced cucumber. Underneath lay a chunk of King Crab leg - fully cooked, of course, as I don't know anyone in Hawaii who can get a hold of fresh, raw King Crab. I wonder how that would taste?
With an order of tamago coming, I was also beginning to wonder what the deal was with all these cooked items! Once again, however, I was one happy camper with the generously-portioned, slightly sweet, slightly dashi'd eggs:
Before arriving for sushi with the wife, Big Al, and Da Gooch on a separate occasion, we all wanted to sample the chef's best, or omakase. This particular set doesn't arrive one after the other, but all at once, on a single platter. It's smaller than most omakase courses, but for under $37, that's about half the price, or even less, than normal omakase sets.
From left-to-right and clockwise, ahi, ??? (sorry, I forgot this one!), ama-ebi (sweet shrimp), saba (mackeral), shako (mantis shrimp), and hamachi (yellowtail). Didn't think I'd have it in me to do raw saba again, but since I did put my trust in the hands of the chef by ordering omakase, I figured I'd better get it down somehow. Saba is one of the oiliest, most pungent fishes anywhere, and it usually comes with a good deal of ginger to mellow the potent fishiness down. Actually, it wasn't really raw in the strictest sense of the word, as it seems there was a slight vinegar marinade that made it more palatable - not bad at all, actually - and better yet, I didn't become a saba-breathing dragon afterwards! Shaka, or mantis shrimp, is another interesting choice not often found here in Hawaii sushi houses, and it came pre-cooked with a glaze of kabayaki-like sauce - good to try, but since it wasn't raw, it didn't really command quite as much respect, raw being so much harder to present fresh and all.
All told, it was a great sushi platter with fresh, well-presented, generously-portioned servings of fish and seafood. We definitely found Michinoku to be the real deal.
Hey, you all keep on keepin' on! Thanks for all the great comments lately. I cringe when I think of all the people who've wrote in the past that I haven't responded to because they were filtered out through my Spam folder. I check it at least every other day now, and it almost always has something nice there. Thanks guys! And thanks Rubba Slippa for the kind words - not only did I find you in my Spam folder, but my return mail was denied and sent back for some reason, so I'm mentioning it here.
Been busy working lately, but we had a nice hibachi last night, with teriyaki ribeye, lobster ravioli, deep-fried chicken wings, deep-fried bittermelon, crab cakes, fresh-made fishcake, and even Eisenberg hotdogs, the King of Dogs in my book! You can't even get it by the pack anywhere, but our buddy has the connections! Yup, it always goes so well with family and friends!
Have a great and wonderful week! Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
