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Tanaka Saimin, a closer look
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Ed Morita blogs for Non-Stop! |
 Blogger Nanigurl on Tanaka Saimin! |
 Tanaka Saimin from a Yelper's View! |
Aloha!
11/9/10 - It's hard to have missed that shiny-glass building on Nimitz Highway by now, sitting prominently on the old Weyerhaeuser property in Iwilei. 8 out of 10 times in passing, the large glass panels covering much of the exterior reflect a clear-blue Hawaiian sky much deeper, much more vivid, and much bluer than any man-made paint of metallic or flourescent, lemme tell ya! Having the largest Party City Center on the island also helps quite a bit with traffic as well, its inviting sign and endless aisles of fun-time treasures now coaxing hordes of island folks to stop by!
A beautiful new building in a highly conspicuous location, yes, but what's the deal with parking? With only two tenants currently housed and several more coming, the place is already as packed as can be! The single, double-sided row of slots fronting the length of the building just doesn't cut it, as employees alone could fill more than half that space, if allowed to park there! Hopefully, more slots are opening somewhere on-premise, but if that's all they're planning, mark my words, we'll be seeing lots of angry locals driven away in disgust! After turning into the lot from Alakawa St., you are lead past the back of the building in a big U-turn to the front. Before even arriving out-front, however, we were met with a traffic jam right there at the crook of the U, of at least 10 minutes! Worse yet, once into the lot, there's no coming out without braving through, as it's a one-way-only configuration! While waiting in A/C comfort and tunes pumping, I was already busy concocting Plan B in my mind, almost assured that we wouldn't be finding any open spaces on this particular day! Luckily, however, near the very end, a space opened, and I quickly shimmied-in.
Here's a few looks in getting you there in the first place:
Tanaka Saimin is the off-shoot of the former Boulevard Saimin, itself now re-named as Dillingham Saimin but still occupying the same location just up the street. Without getting into rumors of family squabbles, which should never happen, let's just say that the two are basically identical except for the fact that the new spot has a much ritzier pad, for sure! Older brother Dillingham Saimin is your typical old-school, nothing-changes haunt of the super-local variety, but this new spot has instead embraced a very modern decor, softened a bit near the entrance by tropical foliage and lots of maneki-neko dolls for monetary luck and fortune:
Elsewhere, it's got a pretty darn slick look 'n feel for a local-out grinds-spot, with relatively high-backed booths for privacy and a spacious, open, very comfortable dining room:
A long aisle extends to restrooms and the kitchen/storage area out-back. Check out the length of this particular passage, minus the last booth, which was occupied by oba-chan assembling a giant pan of beef sticks:
Tanaka Saimin very much reminds me of Shige's, that other popular saimin house that not only serves the specialty of the house but also a wide variety of local goods for decent prices (mostly in the $7-$12 range), including teri chicken, chicken katsu, beef stew, fried noodles, burgers, and more. And speaking of burgers, forget the saimin/french fry combination that local girls love so much. It's all about the guy's combination of saimin and hamburger, the perfect manly-match!
The size of this particular burger shocked me quite a bit, as it was much larger than your typical saimin-stand patty, which usually comes from a simple grocery-store 12-pack from Love's Bakery. This one was much more substantial, with a denser, firmer bread that kinda resembled a hybrid ciabatta. And if you're wondering where the lettuce and tomato are, you're not alone, as I was thinking the same thing, myself! The only other item outside of a patty and bun was a ketchup/mustard sauce sparingly applied on one side. The burger itself was also large and not too shabby at all, but without any other fixin's to spice things up, I found the totality of it all a bit boring and under-whelming:
Sitting at the top of the menu is a Tanaka Special Mix plate, a hearty meal of teri beef, shrimp tempura, two scoops of rice (we chose brown), and fried or regular saimin:
And you know I've got a few words about each item on this plate! First of all, let's talk teri-beef - absolutely horrible. Dry, thinner than cardboard, and almost like a jerky. I was expecting something more like their teri beef sticks, which are thicker, more tender, and served with a luscious teri sauce drizzled all over. Oh, well...
As for the shrimp tempura, I've been around long enough to not be under any delusions. I mean, I already knew that we wouldn't be enjoying the light, crisp, original Japanese version, but a local-local-style version, in all its batter-filled glory. As expected, the tiny shrimp went Waldo on me amidst the puffy, dense cloud of fried flour! Shrimp tempura or fried batter with shrimp?
That being said... When you're a fried-food junkie like me, and when you're as hungry as I was, there's a kind of sinister attraction to greasy, Okinawa-donut-looking balls of shrimp like these. And since I found both the teri-beef terrible and the fried saimin even worse, I couldn't help but satisfy my hunger with the oily treats, which were, surprisingly, the best item on the plate! And when I get really desperate to fill my belly, as I was, I'll take the cap off the pepper bottle, apply liberally, then add some shoyu on my brown rice (never on white rice, though)!
Here's a better shot of the fried saimin, which was, without mincing words - dry, mushy, and tasteless. 'Nuff said:
But alas, even if all else fails, how 'bout the feature dish? With a name like Tanaka Saimin, nothing else really matters if there's a great bowl of saimin, right?
Unfortunately, I would consider this particular local specialty here not much better than restaurants that serve it as an aside, buried somewhere on the last page of the menu. The noodles, of the non-crinkly variety, were firm and al dente but very much on the starchy side, while the broth was very light on taste. My little niece happily finished her entire bowl, but Kumi and I have been around a few years longer to know better!
I'm feeling really bummed for having to give such an account, as the folks here are really friendly and nice. Both the ladies at the front counter and our kind and helpful waitress brought us service with a smile, and near the end, even brought us a promotional sample of their Okinawa sweet potato haupia pie, which was delicious! I forgot to check if they made them in-house or not, but whatever the case, these pies are definitely worth ordering.
While Tanaka Saimin obviously didn't make a great impression on us, I can still see why folks are coming here in substantial numbers. Meals are relatively inexpensive and given in generous portions, while the dining room is nice, comfortable, and very relaxing. Besides, with Halloween recently passing and the Holiday Season almost upon us, you can be sure lots of island folks will be checking out Party City right next-door! If you've found parking, may as well stay longer for lunch or dinner, too, ey?
Come to think of it, aside from today, we've had mostly positive things to say about our dining experiences as of late, but next time, you'll see a spot with some of the worst ramen we've ever had. The good, the bad, the ugly - I gotta report 'em all, right?
See y'all soon!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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