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Zippy's Sushi, a closer look
 Zippys Sushi Kahala on Yelp! |
Zippys Pearl City on Yelp! |
Aloha!
5/9/11 - Who can describe the shock when the Twin Towers went down? Or when Saddam Hussein was captured? Or most recently, when Osama finally got his just due? Well, I remember when Big Al first told me there was a sushi bar at Zippy's, and the shock factor was probably the biggest I remember experiencing - regarding food and restaurants, that is! Bad analogy? Maybe. But c'mon now - sushi at Zippy's? And no, we're not talking local-styl maki and inari here - we're talking real, genuine nigiri and a working sushi bar stocked not just with ahi, salmon, and hamachi, but also things like uni, mirugai, ama-ebi, and ikura. Who'da thought?
Folks abroad may be wondering what the big deal is, so let me just say that for as long as I've been alive, we've all known Zippy's as a cheap, every-day, local-grindz spot famous for chili, fried chicken, and local-style bento and plate lunch! It's like McDonald's or KFC serving rack of lamb or Wagyu steaks!
But before you head to your nearest neighborhood Zippy's for a quick sushi fix, just remember that there are only two Zippy's restaurants which house sushi bars - Kahala and Pearl City, the latter of which, since there are several Zippy's locations in Pearl City, located across the street from Leeward Bowl on one side and Flamingo restaurant on the other. We've been there several times, but since Kahala is much closer for us, that's where we've been going since they opened a few years ago.
In Pearl City, the sushi bar fronts the main dining room, but here in Kahala, it's set apart slightly, just across their bakery, Napolean's. Sushi and Japanese specialties, however, can be ordered from the main dining areas of either locale.
Here's a look deeper, facing the sushi bar. A row of 4-seater tables line the opposite length of the bar.
Like any good, traditional Japanese restaurant, most non-ala-carte meals come with your standard teishoku items - rice (unless ordering sushi!), tsukemono vegetables, and miso soup, all done well here:
As for main dishes, there are all your typical Japanese items, which I won't mention here since I've been doing so many restaurants in this particular category lately. Just trust me. And if you're one of those that can't handle raw fish or consider Japanese a little too exotic, just stick with a super-safe choice like teriyaki chicken, katsu, tempura, or perhaps a simple, always-pleasing chicken karaage:
Good quality, nice presentation, big portions - no complaints here! The boneless, battered, deep-fried morsels were cooked perfectly, and the coating was crispy and light, yet full and substantial. In fact, this chicken is a prime example of how the sushi/Japanese section here at Zippy's is a separate entity in itself, completely distanced from the main dining room and all the dishes they are historically known for. I mean, don't get me wrong - I love a good Zip pac, chili dog, or hamburger steak plate, but dishes like this chicken karaage are done with a higher degree of quality over-all and in a proper Japanese style. It's also much more expensive, though, so rather than picking from a normal Zippy's menu of items mostly well under $12, you'll be starting from around that price instead!
Take a look at this shrimp tempura shot taken when I first started this site many years ago, on my old Casio point-and-shoot, complete with flash!
Laying aside the photo critique, it does get the job done in the sense of showing that a Zippy's Sushi shrimp tempura is definitely the real deal! Lots of light, super-crispy fluff going-on here, just how I like 'em!
It's much better than their fish tempura, not that the fish tempura is bad or anything. On the side are a bunch of vegetables, such as button mushroom, carrot, kabocha, eggplant, and zucchini.
At $23, it doesn't come cheap, but ordering chiraishi is a good way of sampling a wide variety of sashimi choices. Sometimes the fish and other toppings are arranged over a bowl of sushi rice and sometimes it comes separately, Zippy's apparently favoring the latter style. There's salmon, ahi, squid, imitation crab, ama-ebi, tamago, ikura, hamachi, octopus, kazunoko, and whitefish, although items can change slightly.
I know, right? Zippy's? Plates like these would have been at home in any good sushi house anywhere!
But there's one thing Zippy's Sushi is known for, even beyond other Japanese restaurants. I'll give you a hint right here, compliments of Bruddah Nels on a recent hibachi night:
See the ahi in the middle? See the chopsticks? Why... That's almost the full length of the chopsticks!!! And this ain't no fluke, either, or a chef giving us special favors! Sizes do vary slightly, but if size is important to you, there is simply no other sushi house on the island matching this kind of sheer endowment, perhaps besides Sushi Bistro Shun's giant unagi nigiri!
Flanking the ahi on both sides is a hamachi, foreground, and unagi, back. Here's a better shot at both:
Items like ika, tako, karei, and such won't come in such megaloid sizes, but when it comes to ahi, hamachi, salmon, and unagi, most definitely - count on it!
Besides nigiri, there are new-wave rolls like caterpillar, rainbow, and spider, too. This next roll was a "Special Roll" featured on their "Special of the month" list, and was basically an ura-maki (inside-out) with a shrimp katsu and imitation crab salad center, topped with sesame seed and drizzle of sweet chili sauce:
Another great thing about Zippy's sushi is that they open for lunch, and you know that most of the best sushi houses are only open for dinner. It's definitely a go-to spot for mom, who enjoys nigiri rice and fresh fish in a casual, laid-back atmosphere. Just a comfy, safe place to be, is all.
And on a final note, Kumi and I finally did it the other day:
The Koko Crater steps is a very popular trail, but for those who don't know about it, just take a look left-wards anytime you're driving up on the road to Hanauma Bay, just past Koko Marina Shopping Center in Hawaii Kai. You'll see a straight line going right up the mountain, with little dots moving up and down along its length. On this particular day, we were just two of those dots:
About a third way's up, there's an elevated section perhaps about 10 feet at its highest point, and running about 20-25 feet in length. For the woosy, you can always step off the track and by-pass it altogether. Other than that, the only thing you gotta worry about is the shape of your knees, especially while coming back down, not to mention, oh yeah, the whole cardio thing in general!
Bad thing is, once you get past the elevated section, it only gets worse! The grade increases significantly after that, and you'll more than likely find one or two people during that stretch seated beside the track, in the bushes, sweating profusely, with a glazed look in their eyes, debating whether to proceed or not! One word for the weary - you can do it!!! Just take it slow, is all! Rest briefly after so many steps, place one foot in front of the other, don't look up as much as possible, and like swimming, never, ever panic, or you're dead! I've seen that look many a time, and most times, it's just a matter of getting them to relax and not fear.
After the steps, or more accurately, rail tracks, there's still a short climb to the tippy-top, where you'll find pill boxes and a broken helicopter launching pad.
The State actually tried to close this trail down a couple of years ago, for fear of folks getting hurt on things like this. I actually don't blame them - it's the bloody lawyers who are really to blame. You jump on something like this and get hurt, it's your fault, not the State's! You stick your head into a blowhole, it's your fault, not the State's! You drink and drive till you can't see, it's your fault, not the liquor store!
Though this is the first time for us up the steps, I actually scaled this mountain at least 25 times before, when we as neighborhood kids made our own trails to different spots all over this mountain. Centipedes, scorpions, waterfalls, ponds, mossy rocks, hidden gulches darkend from the canopy, looking like an Amazon rain forest - it was a kids wonderland for us growing up, especially when it rained heavily! I was waxing nostalgic at one point, checking out the rock outcropping that we as kids had to scale in order to get to the helicopter pad/pill box area where we stood. Do you think parents these days would let their elementary and intermediate-age kids climb this thing? Aaah, the good old days!
In the end, the reason I'll probably never do this trail again is the reason I haven't done it until now - sheer boredom. I mean, not even mentioning the dirt dust, there's no switchbacks, no ropes, no chance for exotic birds, no intermittent shade, no deviations, no interesting side-perches - just a straight line all the way up! For a good workout, it's definitely up to task, but that's about all it is - a good workout! To me, it's one of those things you have to do at least once, but after coming and conquering, the allure is pretty much gone.
There are, however, many faithful folks who climb here regularly. All the more power to them! Bruddah Nels, who brought over our sushi above, once did this trail 5 consecutive times, just for the heck of it! Insane, I tell you!
Hey, hope you've all had a great and wonderful weekend! Hope you did something especially nice for mom! We can celebrate a hundred mother's day's, and still not equal the debt of love we all owe her!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
