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Sunrise, a closer look
Please Scroll down for a second look at sunrise!
Aloha!
4/25/09 - Don't remember much about the first and last time I visited this super-casual, super-hole-in-the-wall place right off of Kapahulu Ave., next to Waiola Shave Ice store. What I did remember, however, was how much it looked like a liquor store from the outside, how much it reminded me of my auntie's 100-year-old (I'm guessing!) home deep in rainy Manoa Valley, and that they specialized in old-school, home-style Okinawan foods and sushi. For those of you not from Japan or Hawaii, Okinawa is considered part of Japan, but that wasn't always the case, as the island chain was actually once part of the independant Ryukyu Kingdom between the 15th and 19th centuries. Depending on how close you are to the two cultures, there are differences found even today that can be either subtle or blaring.
Being of the same general latitude as Hawaii, the weather is very similiar, with year-round summer temperatures, beautiful oceans, and lots of beautiful country-side. Its people are generally more laid-back than the main islands of Japan, and, because of more sun, are also much darker! As for the extra bodily hair and shorter legs, I have no scientific explanation whatsoever at this time... Here in Hawaii, which has the largest Okinawan population outside of Japan, there are Okinawan Festivals all over the place and a fierce pride in their own, even going so far as to name themselves by the older and more indigenous terms, Uchinanchu or Ryukyuan. Cultural pride, baby - I should hope that we all preserve our cultures as strongly as the Okinawans.
Now, we all know that the Japanese people are among the longest-lived on earth, but Okinawan's, as a whole, live even longer yet! For this reason, many are now touting the Okinawan Diet in the mainstream, which comes rich in nutrients and low in calories. One thing I don't understand, however, is how a place that eats so much pig can be so healthy - I guess the other things off-set all that lovely pork fat! Every part of the animal is used, in dishes like kakuni (sweet braised pork), chanpuru (stir-fry w/eggs, tofu, bittermelon, and other ingredients), mimiga (pig ear), tebichi (pig feet), pork tofu, and good ol' shoyu pork, to name a few.
We'll get into more of the different Okinawan food types later, but first we'll get back to what is perhaps the best place to find Okinawan food on the island, Sunrise Restaurant.
With only a few parking spaces right out-front, and one of them (on the right) perhaps involving a little four-wheeling, you may have to park somewhere on the street. If it looks a little beat-up and old from the outside, you can be consoled by the fact that it's not nearly as bad on the inside!
Not that it's a posh place or anything - Like I said, it reminds me of my auntie's 100-year old home, but at least its reasonably clean, and questions about sanitation issues don't start entering into the back of your mind. Kinda homely and comfortable, actually!
Likely there to greet and serve you is Tomoko-san, a really sweet, really kind, really gracious woman that is actually a radio announcer on the Japanese radio station, KZOO. Her husband, Chokatsu-san, is the Chef behind this operation, and is often seen behind his natural domain, the sushi bar shown here:
He may not have all the fancy and wide varieties of fish found in expensive sushi houses, but all the staples are surely here, fresh and done right, at extremely friendly prices. You'll still find fresh, high-quality ahi, salmon, hamachi, tako, and others, in both sushi and sashimi forms.
Though not many have so much as heard of this place, you may be surprised that Chef Chokatsu-san has been around for quite a while, and has trained and worked with many of the top sushi Chefs on the island. I won't begin dropping names, but believe me, this guy's the real deal! He knows his sushi inside and out, not only using the best grains but also cooking them right, as well. You may think that using high-quality grains guarantee a perfect rice all the time, but that's just not the case - I had no idea how much technique and skill is employed in the making of sushi rice until mom, who used to work for a sushi company, was trained by a special Chef from Japan. Every single aspect of the process was done with purpose and regulated tightly, down to the very angle of the shamoji (rice spoon/scooper), length of each stroke for mixing-in the vinegar, and the perfect timing in every step along the way, all of which can make for huge and measurable differences in the final product.
Believe it or not, this entire sushi set, plus a hearty bowl of pigs feet soup, was only $12.75! Whaaa??? And as you can see, they don't mess around with tiny slivers of fish, either. Look like the real deal to you?
There are always a good deal of regular's in the room, obvious just from the tone of voice and interaction between staff and customers. And with cheap, quality sushi and friendly people like here at Sunrise, I can see why. In fact, to save you even more money, it's totally byob, so bring along your own bottle of sake and you'll be surprised when the bill arrives, for sure!
The other part of wifey's combination order was a dish that is widely-recognized and well-known as a staple in Okinawan meals. It came in a hearty broth, generous sections of nabe-tender daikon, and giant pieces of super-fatty pig feet. Does this look like a staple dish of some of the longest-lived peoples on earth? It's definitely got lottsa luuuv, that's for sure!
But even more popular in Okinawan dining than pigs feet, arguably, is goya (bittermelon) chanpuru. Goya is shaped like a cucumber, only its texture is a green, crinkly pattern that kinda resembles a brain, forgive me for saying. The taste is extremely bitter and probably an acquired one, but I'm glad to be counted in the ranks of those that have definitely acquired it. Wifey makes goya chanpuru from time to time, and though mom hates it, I devour those bitter greens like a Zip Pac after a few hours in the surf! And with a bitterness that strong, it has to be good for you, right? It's actually been used all over the world, in Chinese Traditional Medicine, Ayurvedic Healing, and even Central and South American modalities, as a remedy for everything from malaria to diabetes to HIV!
Chanpuru is the most popular way of cooking bittermelon in Okinawa. It's name literally means something mixed, and is a form of stir-fry that combines a variety of different items, such as egg, bittermelon, tofu, and pork. All of these were found in the particularly great bowl of goya chanpuru shown below, right after a shot of that beautiful, delicious rice that was served alongside (sorry for the sad pic - it's so hard to catch detail with paper-white-colored rice!).
After getting my share of healthy grindz, I was quite content and could have walked out right then and there, happy as a mynah bird after a fat, fallen papaya. But everything was so cheap, I figured why not go ahead and try their Okinawa soba, which is very much different from the regular, brown or cement-colored buckwheat soba most of us are used to. This version is actually not even made from buckwheat, but regular wheat varieties, and comes much thicker, almost to the size of udon.
I expected something light and small, but the bowl that arrived was very much large, hearty, and filled with these thick, slightly crinkled noodles. I thought it might be a pork-based broth, but it was actually a katsuo-boshi broth. The pork overtures came from the very tasty, very tender pieces of shoyu pork also added-in, giving it a much wider flavor dimension. Chef Chokatsu says that it is also done with pork broth in Okinawa, but for tonight, this was very much fine for us. Besides, we already got our share of pork broth from wifey's pig-feet soup!
Good food, good people, good prices - what else can I say?
How 'bout... Shamisen! Huh...?
I hear this place kicks-it-up a few notches on Saturday night, when it's open music night, and the regulars and more all gather to bring down the house! The shamisen is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument that Chef Chokatsu himself is also very skilled at, and shares the floor with others who also know how to perform and just have a great time. I surely gotta get out there one of these weekends!
A guitar also accompanies them, along with whatever else anyone decides to bring, I'll bet!
It's definitely a good idea to make reservations (737-4118), as this is a tiny, very cozy-little restaurant with only five tables, plus the sushi bar. And three of them were already reserved when we got there! You can get more specific directions on Sunrise in the Japanese Family Restaurants section of the main pages.
Hope you're all having a wonderful, fantabulous, super-stupendous, outrageous weekend!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
A Second Look at Sunrise
5/7/09 - A short while ago, "J" e-mailed me, suggesting I do a section on byob spots. It's a funny thing, too, because we were already planning a second trip to Sunrise, which is byob. We arrived there armed and dangerous with a fully-iced cooler loaded to the brim! Yes, a 2 litre plastic bottle of good 'ol Budweiser straight from my beer machine to start the four of us off, and I won't even tell you how many bottles of sake we brought along! And this was no ordinary stuff, either - there were two varieties that night, a daiginjyo Ken and a Junmai Daiginjyo Daishichi Minowamon, both of which run between $80 and $90 per 720 ml. bottle and almost $200 at a restaurant! Like I said, I won't tell you exactly how many bottles we had, but let's put it this way - there was so much it began finding its way to other tables, as well, and we sure did make a lot of friends that night!
A total blast was had by all, as the drinks were flowing freely, with Chef Chokatsu-san and wife Tomoko-san even treating us to a great performance through vocals, a shamisen, and a few other little instruments! It was amazing! But more on that later...
It was Big Al and the Goochie's first night at Sunrise, and we started-off with a bang by an order of sashimi, which came on this particularly fabulous night with ahi, hamachi, salmon, tako, and cucumber slices. judging from the super-cheap sushi platter on our last visit (above), I was expecting something a lot bigger and with much thicker slices of fish, but at $21, it's comparable to what you'd see elsewhere, and doesn't carry very much variety at all, either. Oh, well... Can't win 'em all!
Didn't see much of a need to repeat pics of sushi and goya champuru that we also had, so here's the Goochie's request of shoyu pork, or kakuni. Get ready for some thick slabs of butter-soft pig fat when ordering this dish! This staple of Okinawan cuisine was a simple, home-style, shoyu/dashi-cooked pork that melted in your mouth, especially the fatty portions - see the giant sections of fat on the smaller piece on-top, and the even larger section in the foreground? Mmm-yoso!
The last time I came, I saw someone order an ikageso, or fried squid, and it looked so good, I've been looking forward to it ever since! And it did not dissapoint, either, the crispy batter outside offering the perfect complement to the soft, tender legs, which are the best part of the squid! Something about them tentacles that just makes 'em so much more flavorful and texturally pleasing than the boring strips coming from body sections. And the small dollop of Kewpie mayo added just the right creamy, slightly tangy finish. This will be a party favorite for all of you who happen to drop by, for sure!
Another very popular item here is the hamachi kama. This gill, or collar section of hamachi is renowned for its tasty-soft flesh, which is so delicate that you have a hard time picking certain sections up with your chopsticks, as the meat literally falls apart almost like a mound of Uncle Ben's rice! The crispy, firm, grilled skin provided a more robust contrast to the soft flesh.
Once thought to be a rubbish area discarded or made as soup, it's catching-on more and more in the islands as a staple dish in many Japanese and even local restaurants these days, and with good reason.
Wifey and I fought over her choice of grilled sanma or my choice of grilled saba. Of course, that's no fair fight at all, as wifey always wins, for some reason. I was so mad, I didn't even taste it! No, just joking - it was one of the last dishes on the table, and by that time, we were all getting full. Even wifey didn't touch it, but did enjoy the whole thing for lunch the next day!
My photographer-friend Jeff Benik says that when photographing birds, or animals in general, you always want the eyes in focus. Sorry Jeff, but things have a way of slipping your mind after who-knows-how-many bottles of premium sake!
And last-up, Tomoko-san recommended the seafood dynamite, a cheese and mayo-covered mix of seafood that I couldn't even identify by that time... Don't worry, we did have a designated driver!
I did, however, remember that this was a great dish, although a bit on the small side. I can imagine that this mix'd be even better over a bed of rice, scalloped potatoes, hot potato salad, or even bread!
By this time, we were already sharing sake with other tables, and a festive atmosphere suddenly took over! We met a Pilot and Co-Pilot there from Japan, and through a mix of broken Japanese, English, and wifey's translations, we all ended-up finishing the sake on the same table and closing the place down! It was only a matter of time before Chef Chokatsu-san picked-up his shamisen and Tomoko-san played along with some type of chime instrument - even our Pilot-friend was pounding to the beat on a Japanese drum, as we all clapped along.
A great time was had by all, and I really gotta give it to these guys - Chokatsu-san sounds just like the music in those old Japanese movies, and his wife has a beautiful voice, a beautiful smile, and a knack for performance, that's for sure!
Hope to be back again soon for a third look soon, but we'll see...
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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