Kapahulu Avenue - For When You Have Had Enough of the Waikiki Strip

As I said in an earlier blog, we were really looking forward to spending two more days and nights in Waikiki at the end of our trip .

Nevertheless, how many times can you walk up and down the main strip in Waikiki Beach without getting the idea that maybe there is something else to explore.

For that we were thankful for having read an article during our flight from Kauai to Honolulu. The article that was published in the in-flight magazine of Go Airlines extolled the virtues of Kapahulu Avenue that is one of the three main avenues that lead to Waikiki Beach.

We were lured by the promises of interesting shops, boutiques, snack bars, restaurants and bakeries and shave ice.

Needless to say this is an area we had to explore and explored we did for a part of the two nights that we were still in Waikiki. The exploration on both nights took on the form of a search for a restaurant.

The good news is that all is within walking distance if you like walking . An hour's walk from our hotel the Waikiki Sand Villa took us about eight blocks down to 888 Kapahulu Avenue to the recently completed "Avenue Shops at Safeway Center".

The Safeway Store is worth the walk itself. This is undoubtedly the nicest Safeway we have seen to date. Most remarkable was the large selection of prepared foods that could be eaten in the self-service restaurant located in the store.

While the prices were tempting we continued our relentless pursuit of excellence (LOL) by settling upon Mr. Odjan Ramen and Japanese Cuisine the first night, and the Ono Restaurant the second evening.

For whatever reason I was fascinated by the concept of "ramen" even though Barbara kept saying "well you know the instant noodle soup that you buy at Costco and to which you add boiling water to make a noodle soup, this is very similar".

I found that a little hard to swallow (excuse the pun) . There were several of these restaurants along Kapahulu Avenue so there must be something to this and I was going to find out what was so special about it.

Judging from the exterior the most inviting "ramen" restaurant was Mr. Odjan Ramen and Japanese Cuisine. The interior was modern, clean and friendly, as one would expect of a Japanese restaurant. On the menu we headed straight for the ramen which was offered with a salad.

That was our first disappointment for the salad was small and without imagination. That was not a good start and it went downhill from there.

The ramen - well it is after all glorified noodle soup. It is what it is - noodles bathed in lots of broth, slices of pork, dried seaweed, green onions, maybe half an egg and a few crunchy things which were not that pleasant to eat to the uninitiated.

Everything said and done, I may prefer the Costco version, which comes in a large bowl, and all you have to do is add hot water . I enjoyed this as a quick meal until one day I read the ingredients and realized that a good part of it came from a chemistry set. That I am sure was not the case with the ramen here at Mr. Odjen.

In summary, considering the number of times we saw the seductive word "ramen" along a certain part of Kapahulu Avenue we just had to try it. It will, however, take another trip to Hawaii to repeat the experience.

On our second night, our choice of the Ono Restaurant along Kapahulu Avenue was a no brainer. We had somehow managed to spend four weeks in Hawaii without participating in a "luau" which is the traditional Hawaiian feast offered in most resorts. Therefore the Ono Restaurant was our last chance to eat some typical Hawaiian food.

In Montreal, Quebec, Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen is a little dive of a restaurant that is world famous for smoked meat. It is a fare that has been served here since 1928 and from the looks of it, little has changed inside the restaurant including handwritten bills in what looks like Hebraic script (unreadable) .   It is also characterized by long lineups outside the restaurant. I was there this past September and I have to say that it may be a Montreal institution but I was less than impressed by the over all experience.

The Ono Hawaiian Foods Restaurant on Kapahulu Avenue is also like Swartz's - a local institution that is not to be missed.

As I write this, I am reminded that both Schwartz's and Ono's have that time-honored tradition so typical of restaurants that are absolute institutions in their own right. I am referring to the time honored hackneyed practice of papering their walls with photos of Hollywood celebrities that have frequented the restaurant, albeit many years ago.

At Ono's we had a table right beside a photo of Richard Chamberlain, alias Dr. Kildare, if my memory serves me right. The photo of Richard Chamberlain probably graces the walls of Schwartz's in Montreal.

Be that as it may, the Ono Restaurant is certainly a repository of all the foods that are Hawaiian and it is for that reason that tourists and locals line up in front of the restaurant on most days of the year .

As is shown by the menu below, the choice is abundant and for the most part esoteric.

It was therefore with relief that we engaged the convivial waiter/owner as our guide through the menu. In the end, we ended up with a combination plate that of course included the Hawaiian staple - poi.

At the end of the meal, one has to pose the question - is Hawaiian food tasty or tasteless? But in the final analysis, it is an answer that has to come from every participant according to his or her own taste buds. I would lean towards the "tasteless" except for the fact that the restaurant is so authentic and offers such "simple fare" that in the end it comes across almost as a cultural experience and therefore "a great success".

It is with the latter impression that Barbara and I left the Ono Restaurant and in a certain way we felt it was a fitting end to our Hawaiian trip .

Barbara was flying back to Prince George, via Vancouver tonight, yes tonight. I was scheduled to fly out of Honolulu tomorrow at 13:00.

For anyone interested, below is a "somewhat scrambled" version of the menu at the Ono Restaurant. As I look at the prices I cannot help but think that part of the popularity of the restaurant is not only its authenticity of Hawaiian plates but also its absolutely reasonable prices.





ONO HAWAIIAN FOODS
726 Kapahulu Avenue
Phone: 737-2275
Open Monday-Saturday 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Closed Sundays)

 

 
***ONO HAWAIIAN FOODS SPECIAL PLATES***
                   
KALUA PIG PLATE    
$12.00
        CHICKEN LONG RICE PLATE    
$12 .00
      Kalua Pig         Chicken Long Rice
      Pipikaula         Pipikaula
      Lomi Salmon         Lomi Salmon
      Haupia         Haupia
      Rice (One size only) or         Rice (One size only) or
      Poi (Small) (Large-$0.50 more)         Poi (Small) (Large-$0.50 more)
                   
LAULAU PLATE    
$12.00
        COMBINATION PLATE    
$15.50
      Laulau         Kalua Pig and Laulau
      Pipikaula         Pipikaula
      Lomi Salmon         Lomi Salmon
      Haupia         Haupia
      Rice (One size only) or         Rice (One size only) or
      Poi (Small) (Large-$0.50 more)         Poi (Small) (Large-$0.50 more)

Please no substitutions for the above specials: Except for rice or poi. Take-out box lunches are available for the above specials.

 
***ALA CARTE***
     
           
Kalua Pig    
$6.00
        Tripe Stew    
$6.25
Laulau    
$5.50
        Chop Steak (Monday only)    
$7.50
Chicken Laulau    
$5 .50
        Lomi Salmon (Small)    
$4.00
Pipikaula    
$6.30
        Lomi Salmon (Large)    
$5.50
Naau Puaa    
$6.30
        Poke Squid (Tako)    
$8.20
Hua Kai (Egg Soup)    
$4.00
        Lomi Fish & Onion    
(Prices Vary)
Chicken Long Rice Soup    
$5.50
        Fried Fish    
(Prices Vary)
Chicken Luau    
$5.50
        Poke Fish    
(Prices Vary)
Squid Luau    
$5.50
        Spam    
$3.50
Butterfish Luau    
$5.50
        Portuguese Sausage    
$3.50
Plain Butterfish (Boiled)    
$5.50
        Poi (Small)    
$3.00
Salt Meat Luau    
$10.50
        Poi (Large)    
$3.25
Salt Meat Watercress    
$10.50
        Rice    
$2.00
Sardine Watercress    
$5.50
        Sweet Potato (2 pieces)    
$2.20
Chicken Watercress (Soup)    
$5.50
        Haupia (3 pieces)    
$1.10
Beef Stew (Except Tuesday)    
$6.30
        Kim Chee    
$1.90
Beef Stew (Small)    
$5.25
           
Beef Curry (Small)    
$5.25
       
Beef Curry (Tuesday Only)    
$6.30
       

SORRY NO CHECKS OR CREDIT CARDS
PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ALL PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO 4 .712% TAX


COMING SOON:

One Last Paseo on Waikiki Beach