Back in the 808: afternoon snacks
As soon as TM and I landed in Hawaii, we had to rush home to catch the end of the Niners game. We managed to see most of the second half of the incredible game they played against the Saints (truly a bummer they lost to the Giants in OT this past weekend) while eating a bunch of goodies my in-laws had picked up for us. TM had put in a request for a bunch of our favorites so we could eat them as an afternoon snack as soon as we got into town!
TM loves Genki Sushi. It is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain that started in Japan. They now have locations in Hawaii, Seattle, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuwait as well. Ryan (my brother-in-law) picked up some salmon nigiri for us. TM had forgotten that they serve it with thinly sliced onions and mayo on top. It was perfect.
I am not crazy about salmon skin roll but TM loves ordering it whenever we’re at a sushi place. He bases how good a Japanese place is by comparing their salmon skin and spicy tuna to those at Genki Sushi. The salmon skin has just the right amount of crunch to it according to TM.
I think TM’s favorite thing to order from Genki Sushi is the spicy tuna roll. We usually order this at sushi places but are often disappointed because a lot of restaurants serve tuna drenched in Sriracha sauce. I love the red rooster as much of the next person but that is not what spicy tuna should be. Genki has a great blend of tuna, mayo, chili powder, tobiko, sesame oil and green onions to make up their spicy tuna.
When we visited Seattle last year, we were driving around after we had eaten lunch when we saw a Genki Sushi sign. TM’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, he was so shocked! We had no idea Genki Sushi had locations outside of Japan and Hawaii. Even though we were full from lunch, TM insisted we pick up a few rolls of spicy tuna to go. That is how much he loves his spicy tuna!
Ryan also picked up spicy poke from Masa & Joyce Fish Market for us. There are so many different kinds of poke with different flavors. They actually have ahi poke, shoyu (soy sauce) poke, limu (seaweed) poke, tako (octopus) poke, etc. to name a few. Every restaurant seems to have their own variation and every person seems to have their favorite. Personally, I like shoyu poke the best. It doesn’t mask the flavor of the fish, just enhances it in my opinion. TM likes limu poke the best because of the crunch and flavor of the seaweed. The spicy poke was good although I felt like the spicy flavors covered up a little too much of the fish.
TM’s parents picked up cake noodle with minute chicken from Kin Wah Chop Suey for us. The first time I had cake noodle at a friend’s house in Hawaii, I was in heaven! It seemed genius to pan fry a bunch of noodles together and serve it with oyster sauce and chicken. As a little kid, I used to search for chunks of noodles in chow mein plates so I wouldn’t have to subject myself to any vegetables. Even though I’ve grown up some, I still love noodles and only noodles at times. These were a bit on the oily side but since I rarely get to eat this dish, I figured it was okay. Plus, we were on vacation!
TM’s parents also picked up kau yuk with buns from Kin Wah as well. I actually didn’t get to try these because I was so busy eating everything else. These are char siu pork that you wrap in the buns yourself to eat.
We were so excited to eat and watch the game that we didn’t even sit down! We stood around the kitchen counter with our chopsticks and took bites of all the amazing food as we walked back and forth between the kitchen and family room. Our crazy nine-day food tour in the 808 had begun!!
Genki Sushi (various locations) 45-480 Kaneohe Bay Drive Kaneohe, Hawaii
Masa & Joyce Fish Market 45-582 Kamehameha Highway Kaneohe, HI
Kin Wah Chop Suey 45-588 Kamehameha Highway Kaneohe, HI
Explore posts in the same categories: UncategorizedTags: afternoon snacks, cake noodle, Genki Sushi, Hawaii, Kaneohe, kau yuk with buns, Kin Wah Chop Suey, Masa & Joyce Fish Market, minute chicken, poke, salmon nigiri, salmon skinn roll, spicy tuna roll
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
For the Love of Food 
January 29, 2012 at 5:31 pm
i can get sushi here pretty easily…;) but i’m jealous of your masa & joyce poke and minute chicken w/ cake noodles from kin wah!
March 13, 2012 at 6:46 pm
I forgot how good overall Genki is. I love that they serve their salmon nigiri with the mayo and onion. The spicy tuna is way better than anything we get here on the mainland. And I still haven’t found anywhere that can match their salmon skin rolls. I remember going there, often with some beer (it was BYOB, not sure if it still is or not) and stacking up those plates from the conveyor belt. They even have poke sushi and pipikaula sushi, and one of my surprising favorites the hot dog maki.
Growing up I never really ate much seafood. I was extremely turned off by the smell of it cooking. Eating it raw also seemed really off-putting to me. Poke was the game changer. When I finally built up the courage to give it a try, I loved it. Granted I still am not a fan of crab and lobster, but I’ll easily eat shrimp and will order cooked fish once in awhile. Poke is always one of the first things we get when we land in the islands.
Cake noodle is one of those things that growing up in Hawaii I took for granted, but now that I realize it isn’t available in practically every Chinese restaurant it is a must get when we go back to visit. The kau yuk with buns was one of the things my family used to always get when we went to chinese restaurants. It’s almost like a do-it-yourself char siu bao (or manapua for those from Hawaii). Man I wish we could get some of this stuff on the mainland, though I guess it would be a few less reasons to go back to the islands.