HAWAII PART 2: FOOD

MORIO’S
2443 Kuhio Avenue, Honolulu
On our first night in Honolulu, we went to the front desk of our hotel to ask for recommendations.
“What do you wanna eat, Denny’s?” - Shit No...
“You like Japanese?” - Fuck Yes!
So we head a few blocks down the street to Morio’s, which was small and chockfull of people, and squeezed in some seats at the Sushi Bar. We tried to order beers, but found we’d have to BYO and Marika zipped around the corner for a sixer of Asahi.
The chef, Morio, whom everyone called “Mo” was quite a character, and musta been a pretty good sort, cos everyone seemed to be dropping in and giving him gifts. I loved the US banknote bandana his friend had bought him, asked where it came from, and went and gots me one too!


Morio with his awesome bandana on


Me sporting my copycat bandana whilst driving through the Nevada Desert and chewing on some jerky – a yank snack that had its place on the road trip, but doesn’t by any means warrant its own blog chapter!

Anyway, back to the Sushi. We asked Morio for a selection of Nigiri, minus any shellfish. We were also treated to a procession of things we hadn’t requested, including a Green Salad, Miso, Spicy Beef Salad, sliced oranges, and some extra desserts that Mo’s friend had delivered – a peanut shortbread and a mini sweet potato pie. I was startled at the sweet potato being bright purple in colour!

We couldn’t believe it when the bill came to just US$10 each, plus our BYO beers. Genius!


Morio’s Nigiri Platter - Take One

On our return trip, when Ono’s (further below) eluded us yet again, we were quick to agree to hit up Morio’s again. It was rather fitting, really, that we ate there the first night of our trip and again on the final night, coming full circle.


Morio’s Nigiri Platter - Take Two


ONO’S
726 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu
Well, for the first time I’m going to make mention of a place I haven’t even eaten at, but because Ono’s was so elusive, it simply must be good. “Ono” means delicious in the Hawaiian language and apparently they serve authentic Hawaiian food. A few locals we'd met had recommended it.
So some ditz at the Hotel gave us bad directions, and after getting lost in dead ends on the ghetto side of Ala Wai canal, we found Ono’s had closed already. We tried again on our return trip, after salivating at the thought of it for weeks, but the restaurant was due to close before we could get there, and sadly the dream was defeated.
We have vowed to eat at Ono’s one day, if it’s the last thing we do.


IRIFUNE
563 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu
When we found Ono’s closed, we wandered back down Kapahulu and noticed a bustling joint called Irifune. As we perused the menu out front, a dude came out clutching a wine bottle and said... “It’s awesome. And you can bring your own booze”. So we head to the bottle-o and got some beers [Note: American’s don’t call them bottle-o’s... you’ll likely get your grog from a bodega or a mini-mart].

I ordered Vegetable Tempura (which also had the purple yam) and got the whole works thrown in on the side; Miso, Salad and Brown Rice. Again the bill came to US$10 a head. Laughing!


Vegetable Tempura and one of my favourite beers, MGD (Millers Genuine Draft or “Mission Gangsta Drink” as i once heard it referred to as)

The restaurant was pretty kitsch, with knick knacks and funny art all over the place. The walls were filled with photos of famous people who’d eaten there. I was particularly impressed with this autographed photo of “Miss Hawaii 1992” on the wall behind our table.





Midway through our meal, all the lights went out, leaving the whole place in complete darkness. Shit! I thought… not only is Hurricane Flossie headed our way, but the bloody power’s gone out! Much to my relief, the staff soon emerged with candles, singing Happy Birthday for one of the patrons. This occurred on two occasions for two Birthdays that night and we all sang and then partook in a tradition of looking up at the “stars” (AKA twinkling lights on the ceiling) and saying “oooohhhh.... aaaahhhh....”. Very cute!


AHI & VEGETABLE
1126 Fort Street Mall, Honolulu

Good cheap lunch stop in Downtown Honolulu. I had Tanuki Udon and Marika had a Crab Salad.