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Sushi King, a closer look
Other fine views of Sushi King Honolulu!
Reid's take on Sushi King!
Kat on Sushi King!
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Foodbuzz checks out Sushi King!
Aloha!
3/29/10 - Sushi King has long been known on the island as a great spot for good grindz at great prices, and their late-night hours also help immensely (till 2am nightly except for Tuesday, when they close by 10pm). However, I've got knowledgeable sushi friends who wouldn't touch this place with a ten-foot pole! Yes, there's lots of strengths here at Sushi King, but also a few possibly glaring weaknesses, depending on what's most important to you. In fact, bear with me on this page, as it may seem like I'm all over the map. Awesome, terrible, ok, bad, maybe-so - it's all here. It's just that, for some reason, there are few other places I know that incite so many different opinions, each saying completely opposite things depending on who you ask. To begin with, love it or leave it, sushi is just one of those areas, period, that can stroke heated debates as passionate as it gets in the food world, so any kind of anomoly on the subject will likely be prone to a kaleidoscope of sharp and differing angles.
Me personally, I think Sushi King has a lot going for it, but the entire story on this place has been a long, much-varied, and, uh, interesting one for Kumi and I. Actually, I could have easily followed down the sushi-snob road after our first several visits here, stretching way back a good three to four years past. Some of the biggest problems had to do with how we were treated, as for some reason, we consistently received some of the most hurried, most dispassionate customer service we'd ever had at any Japanese restaurant. Some of my friends, one bad experience, and they're gone for good, never to come back! And I know there are plenty others out there of the same mind, as well. The gamut, for us, ranged from waitresses who acted like you were bothering them to Sushi Chefs who were basically the same, except with much more attitude, and on to high-school-looking busboys who, after hurriedly and down-right rudely dropping dishes and drinks on our table like a newspaper boy sending one through the kitchen window mid-pedal, actually spoke to us for the very first time. His exact words were to ask "pau?" I felt like grabbing his neck and asking him a question as well, like, I dunno, maybe... "son, didn't your mother ever teach you any manners???"
No "hello," no "thank you," no "here you go." Not even a simple smile, just one word - "Pau?" I must say, that's a feat in itself! Means finished for our non-local friends.
Attempt a single-word sentence like that, and you better darn-well be Mr. Aloha and have already established a local-friendly repoir with your guests, and not say it with a blank, personality-challenged stare. Luckily, in another of many but's coming, there's a super-friendly guy there nowadays who is a huge exception to the norm, always providing everything we've ever needed with a big smile. That's him on the right, with the white shirt.
I guess I shouldn't be too hard on the staff, as lots of problems stem from the fact that Sushi King is always packed with customers, whether for lunch, dinner, or even late-night at times. Hey, they must be doing something right to continue packin 'em in like that. Throughout this page, I'll get into some of the other possible problems that have permanently scared my friends away, as well as some of the desirable aspects that make this place rock!
But first, as always - where is it?
Sushi King is located between Puck's Alley and the Humane Society on S. King Street. Fukuya okazuya shop is immediately on the right, while TCBY and University Flowers sits just left, in the same building. Actually, on the map you see now, those Google guys have the location slightly off. Hopefully, they'll correct it one day soon, but in case they don't, Sushi King is in the building immediately left of the long, L-shaped parking lot (with a stubby base on the L) near the middle of the map:
Street view? Yeah, I'm gonna start throwing-in another little feature. Like the aerial maps, this one is also from Google, and you can basically roam around as if you were right there on the street! I would have imported the entire map right on the page, just as I did with the aerial view, but for some reason, when you do so, it does some funky things to the page, like taking a while to load, dropping you onto different parts of the page, and so on. I've seen it on other pages, and it's pretty irritating, so here you go - the next-best thing is a simple link.
Parking at Sushi King is usually not a problem, as the lot is reasonably large. I do say usually, though, not always, as I've seen this lot completely filled, and rather than parking on the road, another option, we've just moved-on to Plan B.
But getting back to the issue of customer service, that's only one aspect of what I find important in a restaurant. You know these Sushi Chefs, they're not exactly known for their, uh... accomodating nature. No, no, with all of us well-aware of at least a couple of sushi Nazi's out there, sometimes, you've just gotta grin and bear it if you want the best sushi. In fact, many Chefs are fussy as a direct result of them being so completely devoted to only the best product. In such cases, mediocrity is simply not an option, and they run an extremely disciplined shop to maintain such standards. To make matters worse, unlike traditional Chefs hidden behind kitchen walls, Sushi Chefs perform their magic directly fronting customers. Any ideas on how brutal an Executive Chef can be to his Saucier, Sous Chef, or even waitstaff when things go wrong (and something always goes wrong!) back in the kitchen? It can get pretty darn ugly, believe me. Yes, I have worked at restaurants before...
There's only one element necessary for a gruff, hard-nosed Sushi Chef to continue along successfully, despite being out there in the open for everyone to see, and that is... to have a flawless product!!! Yes? If a Chef comes across as snobby, disrespectful, or even down-right bigoted, he's already painted himself in a bad light, two points down, having to catch-up and prove himself to any customer. Already behind, they can only redeem themselves one way. If their sushi is just good, it's still not enough. It has to be perfect, without reproach, untouchable, and that not only refers to taste and quality, but also to cultural authenticity. Because the sushi at Sushi King doesn't always reach such levels, the two points back proved an insurmountable challenge to overcome for some of my friends, who probably won't ever be back.
Me, however, as stated, am a different story. Though I wouldn't come just for sushi, and wouldn't come with a friend I'm trying to impress from Japan, I do especially luv, luv, luv their teishoku and other non-sushi items. Prices are very reasonable, especially day-time and late-night. Check out their special menu items:
$8.95? Honestly, those are on the high end of plate lunch prices! Portions are not the largest for these specials, but they're not the smallest, either - more than enough to fill an average person, let's say. Plus, they come as full meals - rice, miso soup, tsukemono, and veggie salad, along with the main-course items you see above.
My favorite listed is a salmon katsu, an interesting choice you don't often see anywhere. On this particular day, there was a further special of salmon katsu and curry for the same price, so I was quick to jump on the opportunity:
The salmon was perfectly cooked, meaning, mostly, not over-cooked. Being the fatty fish it is, though, it is a little easier to manage than a dryer fish like ahi or aku, maintaining a softer, silkier, juicier meat for a longer period of time. Though not widely found, salmon is actually perfect as a katsu dish.
The curry was also a winner, with a deep, rich sauce base and the right amount of meats and vegetables added.
Chicken katsu is killer, too. And so is their chicken karaage. In fact, all of their fried items are killer! They seem to have hot oil down to a science here, their katsu choices always coming freshly panko'd, light, and very crispy. At these prices, why settle for a regular plate lunch katsu?
Check out the ahi version, also very good but not quite as enjoyable, to me, as the salmon:
Chicken karaage is a popular, very simple deep-fried dish that Sushi King does as good as it gets anywhere on the island:
Well, I suppose not perfect, as you can see small, dark speckles on one section of the crust, the result of oil not being strained adequately enough, leaving residue from items fried earlier. Despite the fact, this karaage was delicious (who doesn't use oil more than once?), with a crust that was more substantial than most but not nearly as much as a typical American batter-fry. Small bubbles of deep-fried goodness protruded out and sections of crispy skin were unbelievably tasty, while the chicken itself was juicy, tender, and moist. These, along with a couple of musubi's or a fancy roll, and I'm all set!
The miso soup included with these teishoku sets are a bit different from most other Japanese restaurants in that they come with lots of hard ingredients, such as pork, konyakku, potato, daikon, and carrots. Not nearly as much as a Korean version, but much more than a typical Japanese miso soup. The soup itself was well-flavored, with a good dose of both dashi and miso, everything combining for a hearty, rustic, yet still traditional-tasting miso soup:
When a Japanese restaurant carries a full sushi bar, non-sushi items, if there are any, usually consist of izakaya, or small-dish items, alongside. If there's any teishoku, or complete dinner-set meals, there's only scant mention. At Sushi King, not only is there a full sushi bar and a wide variety of izakaya dishes, but there's also lots and lots of teishoku choices, such as those mentioned above, and they are quite popular. Satisfying different preferences is one of the big benefits of this place, for sure.
Their udon/tempura set is perfect for folks like mom, who yearn for the deep dashi broth and full-figured noodle, as well as the great texture balance added by a side of deep-fried tempura, which comes light, crispy, and with lots of flaky coating. Both are nostalgic tastes of Japan, and both are done well here.
I dunno, with all this eating I've been doing these last couple of years on this site, I'm having to work harder at staying healthy. Growing up on white-noodle somen, it took some time getting used to brown-noodle soba, but just as in bread, rice, or even pasta, I'm now finding fibrous types much more appealing. Buckwheat noodle is much healthier than bleached-white somen, but be careful when purchasing soba at your nearest Marukai, Don Quijote, or Shirokiya (forget about brands at your normal grocery stores!). Buy cheap, and you'll likely find buckwheat watered-down in huge proportions by more normal types of flour, and the difference in taste, texture, and health properties are compromised greatly. A matter of $1.50-$2 or so makes a huge difference. If you're gonna eat soba, just get the good stuff!
I know soba is a tiny part of the menu here at Sushi King, and they don't by any means specialize in it, but just to let you know, they don't carry the good stuff! It was completely lacking in the firmness, substance, and taste found in better soba types.
Fabulous selections (mostly!) of teishoku aside, here's where folks get a lot more fussy when things are not completely perfect - sushi! Yeah, I guess I can be a little fussy, too, but not anywhere near the degree as my wife and some of our friends - I'm a softie compared to them. Nothing gets by such a breed! One bad experience is like something going wrong on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or a Helicopter ride over the Na Pali Coast!
There are usually several Sushi Chefs manning the counter, and display cases are impressively large and filled with all manner of seafood varieties:
You know, one thing about these Japanese Sushi Chefs - some of them may seem really gruff, rude, and even spitefull about having to be at work at all, but once you show some respect and engage them properly, you'll find that they really aren't so bad. From there, it doesn't take long before you begin feeling the heartbeat and mindset of your Chef.
When asking what is arriving freshest, or in season, or, perhaps, what he would recommend, and he tells you "everything," then, well... don't believe him! He's either too busy, or, much worse, he just doesn't care. Either way, it's not a good situation to encounter. I mean, some will tell you "everything," then come back with a big "but..." and give you suggestions from there, or at least at some point throughout the evening, preferably before you've eaten your fill! No problems with that. Sometimes they just need time to warm-up to you. But when the single-word response is followed by a night-long silence, it's time to worry. And when a Sushi Chef does this to a person of Japanese descent, like my wife, then it's really time to worry. Of course, not that the Japanese race is more special or anything, but it simply speaks to a deeper issue - if you're from Japan, chances are, you love the stuff or at least can recognize good from bad. When Chefs care for what they do, and are proud of their work, nothing makes the best of them happier than to produce something that people who really know can enjoy and appreciate.
Our Chefs' one-word response was, I dunno, like he didn't really care. Kumi oftentimes popped her head up and looked at a couple of them when they weren't doing anything but standing there, and they responded by taking a few steps away and looking the other way. We just didn't feel that same sense of pride as we would have elsewhere. Like I said earlier, Chefs like this are already two points behind, and it's tough to come back from there. I wouldn't say that the sushi is particularly bad or anything. Most times everything was fresh and in good order, but more than once, it wasn't. It just isn't stellar, is all, and oftentimes, not quite as authentically or meticulously-minded as Kumi would prefer. Take this 7-fish roll:
Presentation was obviously sloppy and maybe a bit uninspiring; on the other hand, everything was fresh and the rice, good. Only... it's not exactly a seven-fish roll. I was really looking forward to such a piece, which would have been magnificent, but I counted only four different fish! We presented our Chef with the platter, and he concluded not by a price-cut, nor a sorry, but a "yes, there are only four fish there." I mean, there were more than four types of fish right there in the display! Not being one to give people a hard time, though, I just smiled and said "Ooooh-K..."
Moving right along... This little platter, you've seen many times on this site - I can't get Kumi to order anything else!
Ama-ebi, ika, aji, you know how that goes. Presented well, authentically done, nice and fresh, all the little details down-pat, but... But? There is no but! Like I said, most things here are done great, just not perfect all the time, is all!
Same goes for this gorgeous pair of mirugai clam nigiri:
I love these kinds of pieces, pieces that show lots of detail like tiny toppings of daikon oroshi stained orange with peppers, dainty choppings of green onion, and a sauce included in the piece, where there's no need for a shoyu dip. Right into the mouth!
A really great special listed on the banner above, for $13.95, is their chiraishi set. Basically an assortment of sashimi with a serving of sushi rice, this is an unbelievable price for an order like this:
Hey, look - only four different types of fish here, too! No, at these prices, I'm not complaining. That's on the generous side even for a normal chiraishi, actually. There's also shrimp, tako, and dashi tamago, as well. I thought for sure they'd give tiny pieces of fish, being a special and all, but nooo... they were as big and fresh as you'd find anywhere. And those pieces of ahi on the top-right are pretty darn fatty, yes? That's almost chu-toro territory!
Local boy that I am, I had to try their garlic ahi sushi. I was glad I did. With a sprinkling of yuzu-kosho and minced garlic on-top, an extra grating of garlic elsewhere, a slightly seared outside, and a finishing touch of slightly sweetened shoyu, this was an absolutely delicious piece. Culturally correct? No, but who cares! Dis' buggah was ono!
So what's the conclusion? Good? Bad? Ok? Lemme try simplifying by offering these few opinions to wrap things up:
Sushi: Sometimes. Hit or miss.
Back-kitchen, or cooked items: Great.
Prices: For sushi, nothing special. For cooked items, great.
Atmosphere: Busy.
Service: Mostly lousy, except when waited upon by the guy spoken of earlier.
So there you have it. Just my simple set of opinions, is all. Do come for teishoku sets, though. I can highly recommend them, especially fried items, as they are all done extremely well, in decent portions, and at great prices. Everything else, I'm not so confident about.
And with that, hey - it's been great...
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
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