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Stumbled on some random Hawaii food blog on Japanese eats and found this place. The 1st time I passed by it, it was closed (as one of the reviewers said, it's got odd hours), luckily the 2nd time I passed by, it was opened (so my friend & I had a SECOND dinner).
I don't recall ever having Okinawan food, but this was yummy. I had the oxtail soup + sushi combo. The oxtail soup reminds of a cross between chinese soup & sulung tang.
The sushi wasn't huge, like other places (i.e. kuru kuru sushi) but I believe the quality is higher. The presentation is nice. The prices are very decent!
I love the fact that it's a mom + pop place. It's very "homey", however, I found the service to be lacking, but I let it go due to it's quaintness.
There's super limited parking, I parked a few blocks away on some side street.
They only take MC or Visa.
DEFINTELY coming again to try the soba & intestines!! :D
My companion, who knows the co-owner wife, recommended this place.
Although it opens at 11:30am, we got there about 11:15 & was able to find one parking spot.
The lunch menu is only one page, but it had all the Okinawan specialties you'd want. We ordered the pig feet and oxtail soups; the former came in a sushi combination. The sushi was superb with four maki sushi and six inari.
Since we had heard about the dish called dynamite, we also had that. A grilled salmon dish, it'd be great as pupu IF the place had a liquor license and sold beer.
Both oxtails and pig's feet were fall-off-the-bone tender. Seven hours, I've been told, is needed for their soups. Oxtail soup only available starting Thursday.
Next time: nakami (intestine) and sparerib soups.
What a find!!!
Not too happy maybe we ordered wrong? As much as I love all the soups from other places - this udon was stale tasting and the soup - coulda ordered it at zippys. Sushi was mediocre too....so sad. It was kinda like when you go to your aunty's house who never cooked as good as your mom when you're craving real good homey cooking....=-( there are so many great asian places to eat on this island and i don't think i'd ever come here again.
Aside from Suibi in NYC, Sunrise is only the 2nd Okinawan restaurant I know of in the USA.
It's a no-frills place, with all the usuals: goya chanpuru, okinawan soba, nakami rafuti, umi budo, shikuwasa and awamori cocktails.
If you travel another 3000 miles west of here, the quality and service is a zillion times better but hey, I'll round up to 4 stars just for the effort.
fresh sushi and great okinawan soba!
and crazy funny master!
Small mom and pops restaurant on a side street off Kapahulu. The place was brightly lit and cozy. Didn't know that the place was BYOB but the lady was kind enough to inform me that I could just walk over to the gas station for some drinks. 2 large Sapporo cans! The menu is a little limited but there are a lot of specials written on the wall behind the sushi counter. We ordered the Misoyaki Butterfish, Sushi Set, Champaru and Pork Kakuni. All of them which was very delicious. One bonus was there was a friend of the owner who was playing some stringed instrument and singing traditional Okinawan songs, this kind of helped to add to the ambiance of the place. Would recommend!!
Quaint, family run hole in the wall serving Okinawan food next to Waiola Shave Ice. The food was plentiful and cheap, with large bowls of Okinawan soba. The staff was friendly, offering my date and I a small dish of stir fired pig intestines free of charge when we asked about them!
The meals are very reasonably priced, with a combo of Soba and a full plate of sushi for $12.50. I enjoyed the soup, but the sushi itself wasn't very good. Still, at $12.50 it was a bargain. The fried squid appetizer we ordered was pretty tasty.
You can have a really cheap, hearty meal here. The place is even BYO, so you can bring in a beer or two from the gas station down the block. When all is said and done though, I wish I liked this place more than I did.
In case you were wondering, the intestines tasted better than you would think, but still not that great.
We went on the suggestion of some dear Okinawan friends. So one Saturday after work, I went with my family to Sunrise for lunch. The menu is really small and there is another menu on the wall. We proceeded to order Oxtail Soup because this is supposed to be their specialty. We also ordered some yakisoba for the little guy and wanted some miso butterfish. Unfortunately, we were told that they were too busy to cook what was on the hanging menu so only from the paper menu.
The oxtail soup was absolutely delicious! We ended up having to double the order because my little guy hogged a bowl for himself. The sushi was also not bad. The Okinawan Noodles were also quite good and the portions were HUGE.
The only reason why they didn't get a 5 star is because they said they were too busy to make the miso butterfish and there weren't many people in the restaurant. I have no clue why many restaurants on the island don't adhere to their menus. Most of the time they will say they don't have time to make it, but it's mainly because they just don't feel like making it. I've seen restaurants that are just brimming with clientele and they still try to give the customer what they want unless they've run out of a certain menu item.
Still, it was a really good meal!
Whenever I drive by this place, the 4 parking stalls out front are jam packed, people are waiting, and there's no close street parking. Whenever I attempt to go there, the restaurant is closed. I have never figured out their schedule and still don't know what it is.
One day, however, the stars aligned and lady luck was on my side. I drove by with the intention of going if it was open, and voila, like a ray of light through the clouds, the restaurant was open, AND there was parking on the street right in front of it! Yes! So in we went.
The place is pretty small, there's a little sushi bar next to the wall, and the menu offering is limited. But pretty much everything on that menu item is darn good. We had 4-5 dishes to share, and all of them were really really good. I'm now a huge fan of Okinawan food (or O-food, as it will be called henceforth).
The owner is really friendly. Good food is clearly universal, and here we had some good food.
Alas, I've tried to go back since but to no avail. The parking situation has not improved and I still don't know when they are open. Sigh. But I will prevail.
This place has the best OKINAWAN soba (next to my mom's)!!!
When I am able to get my butt out here I basically only order the okinawan soba. If I am here with my mom we get the bittermelon and spam dish. I am not sure if it is on the menu but we did get it *wink*wink*
Parking sucks. It is street parking and it basically a residential area. But that whole kapahulu area sucks with parking.
Staff was very friendly.
I think this place will get an update from me soon. I need to try their oxtail soup. Mmmmm.....
Kazu-san is my favorite chef/host/server/sushi chef on O'ahu. Although I tend to some of his (or his employees') duties at times, I love this restaurant so much that I don't give a damn.
My family usually orders the oxtail soup, goya champuru, ika geso karaage, dynamite, Okinawa soba & sushi moriawase. EVERYTHING is awesome. I assure you you'll have a great old time here. My dad brings all of his clients & friends from Okinawa to this restaurant. BYOB, so bring all the Awamori you can find.
Go Mom! Yes, I trust my mother a lot when I head home for some R & R. She hasn't failed me yet.
This place is a superstar! Quaint, family-owned and operated.
Oxtail soup, bitter melon dish, dynamite, misoyaki butterfish, and so much more. When I visit HI my friends and I always head to this spot. It's cozy, friendly, and downright delicious.
If you want to experience real Okinawan food, (and see why they live so long) then this is the place to go to in Hawaii. It's a small, casual "hole in the wall" GEM that has fantastic Okinawan Soba, Nakami(which I will eat no where else) and other classic Okinawan dishes like bittermelon and tofu. It's only run by the owner and one other staff and is often busy at lunch and dinner with lots of local regulars (from Japan and Okinawa) as well as a lot of visitors from the mainland and Japan (This place does not advertise, everyone knows about it through word of mouth as well as featured articles in Japan magazines) Everything is really light tasting, but extremely flavorful. I always try to go there at least once on trips to Hawaii.
Don't worry...everything is great. You may not recognize much on the Okinawan menu but your stomach and pocketbook will be very happy. Dynamite is a must and don't forget the miso soup. The chef can make whatever sushi you want and they are most helpful in deciphering what will satisfy your pallet.
Honolulu, HI
Category: Restaurants
Honolulu, HI
Category: Japanese
Honolulu, HI
Category: Japanese
Honolulu, HI
Category: Korean
Honolulu, HI
Category: Japanese
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