Tenkaippin Ramen

A pet peeve? Maybe. A common misconception? Definitely. It is a sad fact that most of Hawai'i doesn't understand the difference between ramen and saimin. The two words are used almost interchangeably and yet if you were to ask someone what the difference between the two is a common reply might be, "Ramen is that dried packaged stuff right?" wrong! Well, technically yes, but there is so much more to ramen than a two-and-a-half minute soak in boiling water. When someone asks me what the difference is I send them to Tenkaippin.

Located along busy Kapahulu Avenue, Tenkaippin Ramen provides parking in the rear of the building. The first thing that I noticed when approaching Tenkaippin Ramen was that there were chairs outside with a sign stating to form line to the right. Fortunately there wasn't a line out the door when I arrived and was seated promptly.

The atmosphere at Tenkaippin Ramen is one of a kind. In particular it was of the Ultimate Japan type. Ultimate Japan everywhere infact! Ultimate Japan playing on the wall-mounted TV, Japanese wall-mounted posters featuring ramen, and what's that in the corner on that bookshelf -- is that manga? It is no surprise that the mastermind behind this restaurant is the man himself Scott Suzui (co-host of Ultimate Japan).

Tenkaippin Ramen prides itself on providing the freshest, top-quality ingredients from all over Japan (which makes sense since the bulk of the restaurant chain is located in Japan). This is the phrase that stuck with me as I was considering my options of what to eat.

On my first trip to Tenkaippin Ramen I ordered the paitan ramen with fried rice and gyoza. The fried rice and gyoza both came out at around the same time with my ramen following about five minutes later.

The fried rice was interesting to say the least. It wasn't bad yet it wasn't good. Usually I am used to either local-style or Chinese-style fried rice so this was an interesting take (perhaps it was Japanese-style!).

The gyoza was next. I ate one without any sauce and it was quite bland. It was almost like the ones that you get frozen in a package at your super market. There also wasn't any gyoza sauce to be found so I ended up mixing the bottles of shoyu, vinegar, and minced garlic together to make a sauce for my remaining two gyoza.

I (of course) have to talk about the bottle of minced garlic. It is genius. Although I'm not sure of the actual recipe it seems that they mince a truck-load of garlic and mix in Japanese chili pepper flakes. The results are astonishing. Potent, slightly spicy and perfect when mixed into shoyu or ramen (I was told this upon the arrive of my ramen the second time that I visited).

Before we get into the actual ramen itself, there is the fried chicken which I also was able to taste. When it came out it was hot and sizzling from the oil and I wasn't able to eat it right away (good sign I suppose). However when I did take a bite into it a few minutes later I found it (again) lacking flavor and slightly dry.

As for the ramen... it was excellent. As I stated before, I ordered the paitan ramen on my first visit. Paitan ramen is made using a pork and chicken based broth. I orderd this over the ever-popular kotteri because I had just finished watching the movie Ramen Girl the previous day (good movie!) and was craving tonkotsu ramen (similar to paitan). The ramen was filled with ingredients including the more intresting toppings of fukujin-zuke (pickled radish) and fried garlic chips. In my opinion these two toppings overpowered the taste of the ramen (especially the garlic chips that had a slightly burnt taste). I moved these to my empty gyoza plate and dove right into the good stuff. The broth was thick and rich as well as full of flavor (as ramen should be). The milky white color of the broth is achieved through a long cooking process in which the pork and chicken bones give off all of their flavor and texture (produced from the breakdown of collagen).

After taking several spoonfuls of delicious broth to my lips, I took my first bite of noodles. I could tell immediately that these noodles were special. They were perfectly cooked and were a lot more dense than the ramen noodles that I have eaten at other ramen houses. This of course was a good thing (not a Martha Stewart "good thing" but a good thing texture-wise).

On my second visit to Tenkaippin Ramen I ordered the famous kotteri ramen. The kotteri ramen is what made Tenkaippin Ramen famous here in Hawai'i. The rich chicken based broth was robust and full of flavor. I then understood why people would line up on the sidewalk for a bowl of ramen here. The koterri ramen is unlike anything most of us have tasted here in Hawai'i. The kotteri ramen was topped with bamboo shoots, green onion and roast pork instead of the nasty garlic chips which was a pleasant surprise. Half way through, I dabbed some of the minced garlic into my ramen and I just couldn't seem to get enough of the garlicy goodness running through my ramen (four spoonfuls).

I must admit, when I first walked into the door of Tenkaippin I wasn't much of a fan of Ultimate Japan. But now I'm starting to understand what the hype is all about. The ultimate ramen straight from Ultimate Japan.

Tenkaippin Ramen
Rating System: 1-2.5-5 (poor-average-excellent)

Service: 1.75 (note: a bit pushy)
Food Quality: 3.5 (note: I'd mark it a 4.5 if it were only based on the ramen)
Monetary Value: 2.5
Quality vs Quantity: Quality
Overall: 2.5

617 Kapahulu Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815
808-732-1211

NOTE: You may be wondering how I score all of my reviews. It is based on the type of restaurant (ex. a ramen house, a steakhouse, plate lunch, fine dining, etc.).

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Genki Sushi Kapahulu

Genki Sushi Kapahulu

>:(

Genki Sushi is a most loved and cherished sushi restaurant. On Sunday November 9th, 2008 we decided to drop by one of my all-time favorite restaurants. As we parked our car in the small cramped lot, we were greeted not by a smiling face but by a big angry one. Some may think, "Why is he angry? Shouldn't he be smiling?" In my opinion it doesn't matter. That angry white face speaks one thing to me; sushi. Lots and lots of sushi.

As The Host, a friend and I walk from our car to the front doors, I ponder the meaning of "genki". I've taken Japanese classes and through it I've learned the phrase, "O genki desu ka?" which translates to "how are you?" in English. Genki, in the literal sense, roughly translates to "healthy". This gave me pause -- Healthy Sushi? The thought passed as we walked through the doors and we were greeted by our waiter.

Our waiter seemed a bit confused. He had a slight mix-up on open booths and didn't seem to know where there were open chairs for three. We finally got a booth about a minute later. I was starving.

The basic layout of any Genki Sushi is a long usually round counter with stools and in our case at Kapahulu Genki Sushi there were booths as well. The counter holds a moving conveyor belt with slow moving plates of sushi. The way your bill is totaled up is by the color of the plates on which the sushi are placed on. The plates are counted up and your bill is given to you.

Here you can see the conveyor belt and the plates of sushi. Note the sushi prep area in view of the public.

The prices of the plates ranges from $1.20 - $4.80. I should note that when quality vs quantity is concerned, quantity is the winner in this case (which is why I love it on an empty stomach). Genki Sushi Kapahulu also offers take out and party platters. Besides sushi Genki also serves a range of Japanese treats. You can choose from edamame, miso soup, fried chicken, shrimp tempura -- desserts such as mochi ice cream, green tea ice cream and cheesecake; the list goes on.
Above is my favorite dish at Genki Sushi (Scallop Mayo). Below is one of Genki Sushi's more expensive rolls (soft shell crab roll).


It is important to note the time at which you eat at Genki Sushi. We sat down at 3:00 PM so some of the sushi had been sitting out on the conveyor belt for quite some time. Although I'm sure Genki Sushi complies with local health regulations, leaving the sushi out that long makes me cringe at times. This sitting of food is easily noted as I order sushi off of their menu (which is freshly made). The nori of the sushi that we had ordered off of the menu was crisp while some of the sushi that we had eaten off of the conveyor belt felt chewy.

The best tip that I can give you if you are going to any Genki Sushi restaurant is to order off of the menu. The conveyor belt doesn't always have everything that is on the menu circulating all at the same time. So if you want freshly made sushi (especially those that you cant find on the conveyor belt) I highly recommend ordering off of the menu. I also suggest sitting near the chefs work station. If you are sitting near the chef, he will usually hand you the plates himself instead of giving it to the waiter. I say this because our server had some problems remembering who ordered what and how many. Now I must admit, this is the first time that I've encountered waiter problems at any Genki Sushi so this might have just been an off day.

As for the quality, Genki Sushi serves decent sushi. If you were to ask me for a comparison, I would say better than Kozo Sushi and Aloha Sushi but not as good as a formal Japanese restaurant. The main reason for going to Genki Sushi is the variety of sushi and the cost. For the amount of money that you are paying for sushi at Genki Sushi, you would be eating only half or even less than half at a formal Japanese restaurant.

Arigato Gozaimasu, Genki Sushi Kapahulu! Thank you for another great meal!

Rating System: 1-2.5-5 (poor-average-excellent)

Service: 2
Food Quality: 2.75
Monetary Value: 4
Quality vs Quantity: Quantity
Overall: 3

Contact Info:
Address: 900 Kapahulu Ave.
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808-735-7700
Hours: 11AM - 9PM (Sunday-Thursday), 11AM - 10PM (Friday-Saturday), 11AM - 9PM (Takeout 7 Days A Week)