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Tsukuneya, a closer look
Aloha!
8/12/09 - Hey, it's been a while since we've hit-up an izakaya. As you know, both wifey and I absolutely love them! The different shops in this genre truly contain a wide variety of styles and experiences to keep everything more than enough interesting, ranging from super-old-school and simple to the most modern and sophisticated anywhere in town. Tsukuneya in Manoa is of the modern variety, with a well-designed, hip, and casually sophisticated look and feel that may surprise you.
Located directly across from the University of Hawaii, at the intersection of University Ave. and Dole St. (although it may be easier for some if I just say the old Players Sports Bar, or the old Pizza Hut, for you even older folk like me!), you can't miss the single-standing building upon driving by:
Yeah, they've really done a number on the building since its days of flat-screen televisions and even further-back to pushing pepperoni, but if you like the changes now, wait'll you see the inside! Upon walking in, you'll immediately feel the essence of what modern-style izakaya's are all about. With one foot in the present and one step in the past, you can see both hints of Japanese traditionalism, with its use of bamboo, shoji-screen walls, and wood, as well as some undeniably current and very stylish impressions, such as funky wave designs on faux-paper lamps, wooden wall grains exaggerated to highlight its natural patterns, and a well-balanced, rich, warm network of lighting that enhances the look and feel of the place immensely.
Though generally open and visible one from another, each table, for the most part, is situated with a subtle kind of separation between them, maybe a solid pillar blocking a quarter of the view or walls without panels of separation, only framework. It all allows for the sharing of party-energy with other diners also enjoying themselves, yet with a certain deceptive degree of privacy, as well.
You may wanna know that during all but the very earliest and very latest hours (open at 5pm nightly and closing at 12am weekdays, 1am Friday and Saturday), you'll have to deal with valet parking, even with your car located all but three whole steps away. Don't you hate that!
Tsukuneya literally means tsukune store, and thus, specializes in tsukune, another type of Japanese street food consisting of ground chicken grilled over a fire - chicken meatballs, if you will. The sub-text description next to the name then says tsukune-style robata grill, robata simply meaning a type of grill used to fire-up tsukune and other items in front of customers. The robata grill, however, while being open to view, is not quite accessible to the majority of the dining room, so don't count on a free show while dining, as in a typical teppanyaki restaurant. Another similiar but different spot, Kohnotori, also specializes in grilled chicken on a stick, though not necessarily tsukune, all done in a more casual atmosphere and with much-less demanding prices - yeah, prices can add-up quick here in Manoa!
There's also a whole lotta other dishes available at Tsukuneya, all pictured and described well throughout a large, colorful menu, including paitan ramen, nabe, kamameshi, house-made tofu, yamakake, ahi poke or sashimi, and original Nagoya-style specialties like miso kushi-katsu (miso-covered chicken katsu on a stick), tenmusu (musubi with shrimp tempura inside), and tebakara (Nagoya-style buffalo wings), which you'll see later.
For now, we'll start with the specialties of the house:
I guess you could call this your basic model, a teri-glazed chicken tsukune. For the many out there looking for fireworks and drama, guess again, because you probably won't find it with this particular dish, despite the buzz. Many even mistake the ground texture of the meat for something processed or manufactured, a conclusion I can sympathize with because it is so soft and light inside. However, don't be fooled! These sticks are made with freshly-minced chicken, mixed with yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam), other vegetables, and a whole mess of different flavorings. Yeah, the results may not seem the most awe-inspiring, to tell you the truth, but like I said, this is a Japanese street-type of food, so don't come expecting the world! Besides, you gotta give 'em kudo's for originality and the use of fresh ingredients, right? It's not the easiest process in the world, so they at least deserve credit for the preparation.
Anyhow, sometimes, they don't even come on a stick, but in the form of these next two varieties shown, the first coming with a dab of daikon oroshi and green onion, and the second, a simply-salted version. Stick or no stick, they all have that delicate, super-soft, pillow-like inside that characterizes a well-prepared tsukune.
Or how 'bout this one, coming wrapped in sheets of super-crispy nori:
There seems to be quite a bit of specialties here, another being a house-made tofu, of which there are three different varieties. The first is a classic agedashi, or deep-fried version, served with mushrooms and a light soy/dashi sauce, the second a grilled variety, covered with sweet miso and arriving on a stick, and the last being perhaps the most simplistically powerful way of enjoying the natural flavors of a home-made tofu - zaru tofu. Zaru is the word for a type of bamboo basket, often used for items that are moist to allow for liquids to drain underneath, and also used for other dishes like soba, udon, and somen.
Topped with a garnish of yuzu kosho and carrot, the creamy, fall-apart mounds of tofu are either sprinkled with natural salts or dipped in a light dashi sauce.
Of all mushroom varieties, shiitake is perhaps the most extensively used and well-known in Oriental cooking, for flavor as well as for health benefits. It's firm, silky texture and hearty, almost meat-like taste bodes well for a wide variety of cooking styles, soaking-up and enhancing whatever meats, seafoods, vegetables, or other ingredients it combines with. However, one of the best ways to enjoy them are without anything else, save for a little seasoning, and simply grilled over a fire, in this case, a robata. We do this a lot at our hibachi times, with just a little fresh-ground natural salt, fresh-ground pepper, and a touch of olive oil and/or butter - super winnah'z.
Here's a couple of different versions of shiitake - one grilled and served with a soy/dashi sauce, and the other stuffed with tsukune:
You may not consider cheese a very Japanesee kind of thing, but at izakaya restaurants, there are a surprisingly large number of cheese-filled numbers, sometimes with katsu, sometimes with renkon, sometimes with bacon, and sometimes, like tonight, wrapped simply in wontons and deep-fried.
But that's the thing with izakaya-like restaurants, especially those of the more modern variety, where there's a slew of different dishes you wouldn't normally associate with Japan. Take this lumpia, for instance, with its sweet, tender chunks of Kahuku shrimp and dips of cocktail and zesty mayo. Nothing fancy, nothing awe-inspiring, but not bad for sampling a mix of smaller dishes.
And then there's one of the most highly-recommended pupu dishes here, the tebakara, or Nagoya-style buffalo wings. Plump and juicy, these large wings definitely live up to the hype, and come not with spicy American sauces and butter, but with, of course, a shoyu-based sauce that is neither too sweet, too salty, nor too overpowering, with a lightness that plays-up well to the natural goodness of chicken wings. Perfectly done.
The perfect complement to Japanese-style wings would be a nice, fat, triangle-shaped musubi! But probably not the kind of musubi you're thinking about, with its ivory-white, warm, fluffy rice and wrapping of nori. These-here are of the grilled variety, coated with teriyaki sauce or miso and re-cooked slowly over a fire. Looks like brown rice, but this yaki-onigiri is just singed on the outside and stained with teriyaki sauce, is all. Inside, it's as white as a Hokkaido girl on the beach in Waikiki for the very first time.
Though specializing in tsukune, there are a surprisingly large variety of diverse items, with a handful of changing specials that are experimented with from time-to-time, such as King crab fried rice, konbu-steamed fish, and ahi/tako (octopus) hand rolls, all available at this current time.
I hear lots of folks griping about prices here, and I can actually concur that, yes, they are a bit high when considering the prices to portions given. But with the sleek, cool atmosphere, which counts for a lot in my book, I can kinda see how it'd be a bit steeper than most other places. Hey, izakaya's are not a place for those looking for something inexpensive, anyway, except for the most disciplined of folks who can stick strictly to a plan and budget accordingly. I, for one, am definitely not one to hold myself back in the presence of so many interesting dishes, and with a couple of cold Kirin's and great company, I get carried away every time!
Nonetheless, I can surmise a place like this would be perfect for a couple of tsukune sticks and a quick drink or two from their extensive bar selections, right before a movie or show. Or maybe after the show, with dinner already down a few hours of hours ago, as they do close reasonably late, as mentioned earlier. It's a nice and cozy place for a quiet conversation to end the evening. Or to start the evening, if you get lucky...
Hey, look at the time... Catch you all layduh'z.
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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