Aku Eats Oahu : a closer look : Sushi Company, a closer look

Sushi Company, a closer look

Aloha everyone!

7/16/08 - Don't do it! It's not worth it! You'll end up spending every last dime at a small take-out place called the Sushi Company, goin' fo' broke with the spicy ahi don bowl. I've recommended this dish to many an unbeknownst individual, completely un-prepared for the instant and hopeless addiction it creates. Of course, you gotta have at least a slight appreciation for raw fish to love it, as it is made from uncooked ahi pieces. But more on that later.

If raw is not your thing, owners Tamiko Ogura and Yagi-san, as he is affectionately known as, give you several other options. After all, sushi does come in many cooked versions, with such fare as unagi, shrimp tempura, smoked salmon, and even spam! The very popular hand rolls come with all of these items and more, and feature the one set of fillings most responsible for the modern "roll craze," at least in Hawaii and the rest of the states - the California roll. Most of you probably know that it is stuffed with imitation crab and avocado and/or cucumber, along with a small slathering of mayo. Fancier versions come with real crab and the open-ended, bugle-shaped cones familiar around the world these days.

That clear sheet of plastic used to package and also keep the nori crisp on these rolls is pretty ingenious. They make a huge difference, as places that do not use them either have wraps of nori that have melted down into a soft and texture-less version of its former glory or, worse yet, a tough, elastic shell you may need canine incisors to cut through. If not, you'll end up with a tube having both ends open, and you know what happens when the tube is squeezed!

The way it works is pretty simple, really, as many ingenious things are - separate the moist rice from the crispy nori by a thin layer of plastic until just before eating, and voila! You have nori that snaps broken with merely a touch of your mortal front teeth, and which holds its briny seaweed flavor admirably. They are perfect for take-out snacks, most of them being priced between one and two dollars.

Though the owners are experienced sushi-makers with a distinctly Japanese product and atmosphere, they have lived and worked in the islands for many years and have also fine-tuned a few dishes to better suit local tastes. Our spicy ahi donburi is just one example, as is the garlic chicken, both of which are my personal-favorite dishes here, local-boy that I am. They also serve three other types of chicken, with mochiko on Wednesday, karaage on Friday, and katsu and the previously-mentioned garlic chicken daily. All of them come either ala carte or in the very popular bento form, where the chicken is placed on a bed of rice and served along with various maki sushi and a small scoop of mac salad.

Here are ala carte servings of katsu and garlic versions, both of which we ate at home. The only caveat I have with the chicken here is that some of them come over-cooked, especially the garlic, but even then I can't get over the garlicky, sweet-shoyu flavors it contains, and neither can any of my friends I regularly send over!

As you can see from the next pic, there's not much space to eat in-house - this is, for customers, just about the entire store! This tiny space can get really crowded at times, especially during Holiday's, when party-goer's come in to pick up small and large platters of sushi that can include up to 51 pieces each. Make sure you call well in advance for your sets. And just to let you know, the Sushi company is open 365 days a year! I don't know how they do it, but that's how it's always been! It's a good thing I don't work here!

For all you visual people out there, just point and smile. Don't forget the smile. No need to worry about not knowing the difference between a kanpyo maki, a hotate nigiri, and an inari set - it's all right there for you to see!

Any of you out there know much about the perfect sushi complement - sake? Or is sushi the perfect sake complement? Honestly, I don't really know much about the art, but I've made it a point to learn in preparation for the Joy of Sake Fair held at the Hawaii Convention Center on the 28th of next month, August. It's always fascinating and intriguing how so many levels of skill and quality separate each pour, just like in the world of wine. I've got a little over a month to brush up on my skills so I can really appreciate the differences between pours.

As for now, I'm just sampling some of them, trying to distinguish any flavors and separate the various qualities. Why? Because it's fun, is why! What trips me out is that every single field out there, no matter how small, has an entire world of interesting aspects and angles to learn about, and each one attracts its own following of specialists who sometimes know things only a select few in the entire world know - how wild is that? A doctor-friend once told me it's not even enough to be a doctor these days - there are so many of them! But... to be a hand doctor, a foot doctor, a neurology or immunology doctor, aaah, here is where everyone will seek you out for your specialized knowledge.

Me, I'm not disciplined enough to follow any one subject and master it. My mind always goes a-wandering. Much more interesting and fun to me is peering into many different fields just long enough to learn the theories and principles behind what makes each of them tick instead of mastering all of the technical aspects, which could possibly take a lifetime in any given specialty! Yeah, I know it's considered a cheap education and looked down upon by some in the educated elite, but who cares, right? The reason I do so is because learning new things in a field I previously knew nothing about just gives me a rush and an innate sense of satisfaction, like a kid learning how to ride a bike or something. It also allows me to acquire an appreciation for what they are doing, a healthy respect for the knowledge and skills they have garnered, and opens my mind up to the wonders of another fascinating niche in the incredible world we live in. How can that be a bad thing?

There's just so many things we can do in this world, I find it amazing! And sake is no exception. I know you were wondering how I'd tie it all back in.....

This novice tongue could actually tell the difference between the two types of sake we had tonight with our sushi. I won't really get into any descriptions yet, seeing that I'm still learning. I can tell you, however, how they tasted to me! The first one, a honjyozo from the familiar and well-respected Hakkaisan brewery, was pretty straight-forward and smooth going down, but did have a little bite and aftertaste that seemed a bit harsh later on.

The second was a junmai-daiginjyo from another well-respected brewery, Tamanohikari. This one really hit me hard! And I don't mean the alcohol. I mean it was really good! Very, very smooth, delicately sweet... it just seemed, to me, a really refined product, with a tail that was lighter but still pleasantly apparent.

After sampling the two bottles and obtaining a firm grip on the differing tastes, we were finally able to fill our empty stomachs with wifey's favorite food in the whole-wide-world!

Most "fast-food" or "take-out" sushi outlets are priced much lower than restaurants, understandably, but the quality of fish is much, much lower, as well. The Sushi Company is almost an anomoly in the business, as the quality is noticeably higher than any other take-out sushi store I've seen while prices remain just as low. It's hard to beat that combination, for sure.

The first pieces down were a few orders of salmon nigiri. Does this fish look good enough to put in a restaurant? I can tell you right now, it was! Yes, the sizes would have been a bit small, but c'mon now - we paid about $6.50 for these three sets (two pieces in each set), when they'd easily pass double that and then some at a restaurant, before tip and all!

We also had two very American-style rolls, one a Cali with imitation crab and one a Philly with salmon and cream cheese. Both of these came in the plastic wrapper we saw earlier. If the only rolls you've ever had before are the familiar local-style maki sushi sets at the grocery store or okazuya house, make sure you try one of these. There's a whole world of difference, with sweet, good-quality, fluffy-white grains that are never mushy like they always are at the store and a crispy nori that snaps almost like a potato chip.

As for the moment you've all been waiting for... Here is the spicy ahi donburi. Those pretty red sprinkles you see are actually bits of habanero peppers, that former "hottest pepper in the world," before becoming unseated by the much hotter Naga Jolokia of India.

The owner, Tamiko-san, created the sauce on her own, and is easily the best version of spicy ahi anywhere. It is mixed with the ahi pieces and placed on a bowl of excellent-tasting rice, with a few garnishes of green onion, ginger, and nori strips. Like I said in the beginning, don't do it! You'll go broke!

I really wish the Sushi Company would franchise out their stores so I don't have to drive out to McCully all the time. Hey, if Kozo, Aloha, and Hana Sushi can have different branches, why not these guys! The island would much appreciate it, for sure.

In parting, I'll leave you with a quick shot of the entrance and small store, right next to Papa John's Pizza and across McCully Street and On On Chinese Restaurant. Can't miss it. As with all the other eateries you see on this site, tell them Aku sent you, and get a 50% discount. Easy, brah, just kidding... But you can still let them know I sent you!

Y'all be cool!

Aloha!

Aku

Back to A Closer Look

Back to Fast-Food Sushi

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 without consent, either way! Hope to hear from you all!