9/9/08 - You know, one of the stalwart sushi houses on the island, and one that's been around for as long as I can remember, has gotta be Yanagi Sushi, or "Yanagi's," as it is affectionately called. This hangout near the end (or beginning) of Kapiolani Blvd., where it turns to meet S. King, has been the place to be for celebrities looking for raw fish and chopsticks, at least for a time, there. These days, there are so many other options for good sushi that it no longer stands out quite as much as it did in the past. That's not to knock this place at all, though. Yanagi's is still a pretty darn good sushi house, and one I wouldn't hesitate recommending to anyone.
Because of a tiny lot, parking is valet-only during prime-time hours, a completely necessary function, as it tends to get really busy. You may want to call in for reservations. Later in the evening, tip-happy attendants have called it a night and crowds thin out considerably. That is, until it starts getting close to 10:30pm, which is precisely when the last page on the menu, full of discounted items, becomes applicable. There are no nigiri sushi prices lowered, but there are a few simple rolls like California, salmon skin, and spicy ahi, along with katsu, fried squid, sashimi varieties, other pupus, and entire combination dinners.
A no-brainer we always get from this section is the salmon and Maui onion, which comes very ceviche-like, already marinating in a soy/dashi sauce and arranged in a classic pinwheel tower, then topped with tobiko. With such generous servings of salmon, all for only $4.50, this choice is automatic every time.
Rather than one large dining room, the restaurant is separated into smaller rooms and sections. Don't worry, though, as there are enough of them to handle quite the decent flow of traffic. The main sushi bar sits right at the entrance, with several experienced chefs manning the large station.
If sitting in front of a knife-wielding chef is not your style, spacious, comfortable booths make up the majority of the restaurant. As you can see, walls everywhere are covered with celebrities, rock stars, professional athletes, and other such personalities, all signed their's truly.
The menu, besides the 10:30pm discount page, is filled with a large assortment of sushi varieties, izakaya-like pupu dishes, complete teishoku meals, and pretty much anything else found at any Japanese restaurant around town. Before we could even order a cold, frosty, 22 oz. Kirin, however, our kind waitress placed two tri-pocketed containers on the table for wifey and I, both identical and containing a single whole shrimp, bean sprouts, and edamame. Better than pretzels and party mix, no?
At first opportunity, wifey was quick to call for a single shooter. Oyster, that is - raw, slimy, and full of brine! It came in a cute little shot glass, prettie'd up Japanese-style, with a tiny quail egg, daikon/chili oroshi, and green onion, all bathed in a ponzu sauce. Lovely.
I, on the other hand, chose a more local-style approach - deep-fried chicken wings! These little buggahs are the perfect pupu in my book. How can you go wrong combining meat always in close proximity to bone, a proportionately large degree of skin (fat), and submersion in a seething pot of hot oil? The only way to ruin the party is to grotesquely overcook it to a dry toughness, but that's not gonna happen at Yanagi's. The insides were perfectly soft, moist, and tender, the outsides golden-brown and crispy, as you can see.
In typical izakaya fashion, wifey and I were content taking it slow and leisurely, ordering just a few small, ala-carte or pupu dishes at a time (sometimes just one) while enjoying some good laughs and engaging conversation.
One of the small dishes I particularly appreciated was the enoki mushrooms, covered in hot oil and a soy-based sauce. The taste and texture of this dish was absolutely amazing to me. It had an odd, yet deliciously different overture of Marsala wine, but I can't say for sure what actually made it so. It may have been just a tad overcooked, but at the same time, the singed tips gave it a nice "edge," a rustic touch, and a comforting, home-style taste. The texture was still nice and crisp, as inoki mushrooms should be, the long, thin stalks crunching in your mouth and exploding with flavor at every bite. There was no bacon, cheese, or anything else heavy as a bullying accompaniment, just the pure, slightly (and perfectly) gamey taste of this exotic mushroom, along with a few accentuating flavors. Excuisite.
Wifey also, predictably, went with an ama-ebi nigiri, or sweet, raw shrimp sushi. I still haven't learned to appreciate these critters raw.
Another dish wifey orders like clockwork is a chawan-mushi, the hot, savory, dashi/egg mix of traditional Japanese menus. It seemed a little on the firm side, with less dashi liquid than I'd normally see, but was delicous, nonetheless.
Perhaps the most stunning plate of the evening contained two pieces each of three different sushi types. First, in the foreground, was an aji, also called akule in Hawaiian or big-eyed scad in English. I'm pretty sure this was the local akule, which differs from Japan-caught akule (aji) in that it has less fat content. Like many fish that have a "fishier" flavor, it came topped with grated ginger and green onion, as was the next type of sushi in the line-up, a sanma, or Pacific Saury. Though I've had pan-fried or broiled sanma many times over, I've never had it raw. Being an oily fish, I hesitated a bit because I thought it may be as fishy-tasting as saba, a similiarly presented fish.
Though cooked saba is one of my all-time favorite fishes, the last time I tried saba raw I walked out of the restaurant burping up the smell and desperately trying to rid myself of the taste, despite it being one of the very first courses eaten! Who knows, it may have been because it wasn't particularly fresh that evening, but I'm not especially keen on trying it again to make sure.
The pieces in the background, blurred and distant, were of a very safe yet very delicious salmon.
The last order of the evening was a spicy ahi roll. At under five bucks from the after-10:30pm page, it didn't come with a whole lot of frills. The filling of ahi was very spicy and held more of a Korean-style, red-chili paste flavor, which I actually don't care for much when it comes to sushi. With bi bim bap or kook soo, yes, but with sushi? Aaah, not really.
Though it was getting real close to the midnight specials of cheap Kirin draft beer, we already had enough food and beer to call it a night. Boy, I can't remember the last time I stayed out past twelve! Good thing or bad, I'm not sure...
Given their track record and continuing popularity, Yanagi's will probably always be a reliable choice for sushi, drinks, and Japanese food in general, albeit laced with a few Korean and local twists here and there. This is probably the most ethnically diverse crowd of any sushi house in town, with locals, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Haole, Japanese - anykine! The late-night hours, till 2am except for Sundays (10pm), along with the special deals, make it a convenient stop at a time when good meals become more difficult to come by.
Wifey and I were certainly satisfied with the evening. I'm definitely going back for those enoki mushrooms!
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