Mamaya Japanese Foods – Mamma Mia!

Yeah, I know “Mamma Mia!” is an Italian phrase and this place I’m about to cover is not, but “Mamaya” is not exactly the easiest word to rhyme or come up with something clever for. It was either that or something to do with Papayas. 😛

We have a tradition in the Sugimoto household where we pack up our mat, drinks and selves, head to a favorite eatery to pick up lunch, and then head to Moanalua Gardens for a family picnic. One morning, the wife excitedly exclaimed that she wanted to pick up from this new place called Mamaya that recently (December, 2012) opened up in Pearl Kai Shopping Center. She heard about it from her mom and was particularly excited because it was the same bento company that serves up her favorites at Shirokiya’s Yataimura.

As a fan of new eateries and not having to drive very far, I was intrigued. So off we went, with drinks and selves in tow.

Mamaya Japanese Foods sign

It’s located on the east end of the shopping center (to the left of Sprint, Kuru Kuru Sushi and Subway), where I believe BBQ Hut used to be.

When you first walk in, you’ll notice a delicatessen style lineup on the right.

Delicatessen style options at Mamaya

Keeping things simple, everything from the “deli” – hot or cold – is Mix and Match style for $7.75 per pound. Here are the options we found that day.

Fried Ahi Belly with Teri Ginger Sauce, Mochiko Chicken, Yakisoba Noodle, Whitefish with Butter Caper Sauce

Tofu Steak with Vegetable Sauce, Beef Broccoli, Chicken Katsu, Nishime

Assorted Sushi, Pumpkin Tempura, Fried Pork Hash, Eggplant with Teriyaki Sauce, Potato Salad

Sweet Egg, Broccoli Salad, Water Crest with Sesame Seed, Kinpira Gobo, Namasu, Takuan, Aokappa, Kim Chee

Then you move along to the left and find something unique.

Poke Bowls!

You can make a mini Poke Bowl for $5.75 or a regular sized Poke Bowl for $7.50 with your choice of rice (plain or multigrain). You can also go for the Mamaya Special Bowl for $8.25, where you can choose two kinds of Poke in addition to one side (Seaweed Salad or Won Bok Kim chee) with your rice. Looking at the per pound prices for the poke by itself ($14.50 for previously frozen ahi!), cost-wise, you’re better off going with the bowl.

Just past the register, we get to the drinks and the prepackaged stuff. The neat thing about the bentos is that if you are looking for a particular kind or combo and they don’t have it out, you can make a special request and they may be able to custom build your order (depending on supply) with a 10-20 minute waiting period. We were there just before lunch, and they were already decently wiped out. Luckily, we were able to find what we wanted. (Hint: the Misoyaki Butterfish and Mochiko Chicken are their popular items.) Here were some of the tasty looking options we found.

Mochiko Chicken Bento ($7.50)

Hamachi Kama Combo Bento ($9.95)

Salmon Dynamite Combo Bento ($8.50)

Grilled Salmon Combo Bento ($8.50)

They even have donburis, musubis, handrolls, chichidango and mochi, amongst other interesting items!

Mochiko Chicken Curry Donburi ($5.75)

Mochi with Peanut Butter ($2.50)

Then we were off to Moanalua Gardens for our family picnic.

My Mochiko Chicken Bento at Moanalua Gardens

So if you’re a born-again westsidah like me, check out their new, closer location at Pearl Kai Shopping Center, and then come meet us at Moanalua Gardens. Just be sure to bring some fruits too. I dunno, maybe some papayas?

The fam

Mamaya
Pearl Kai Shopping Center
98-199 Kamehameha Hwy
Aiea, HI 96701 (Street View)
(808) 492-1863
Hours:
Mon-Sat 10am-7:30pm
Sun 10am-5pm

 

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Hungry for Some Soosh? How About Michinoku?

One hot summer night, the plan was to meet the ‘rents for a scrumptious Japanese dinner. Having exhausted all of our other choices for delectable Nihonjin restaurants, we suggested checking out Michinoku, as we’ve heard a lot of good things about them.

”みちのく！？”

(That’s my dad exclaiming “Michinoku!?”, at the top of his lungs, for those who can’t read Japanese. 😛 )

Apparently, moms and pops used to loooooove going to Michinoku back when they were on Kalakaua Avenue, and have been utterly depressed (not really, but it adds to the drama don’t it?) since hearing of their closing. So when they heard from us that they had re-opened their doors at the (slightly) more convenient Keeaumoku Street location (across Walmart), they were down to pound and get round.

The familiar Michinoku sign outside their new Keeaumoku Street location

The first thing I noticed was that familiar Japanese family-style warmth. We were greeted with a hearty “Irasshaimasei” with a bow and a smile, and then welcomed to our seats in their native Japanese tongue. I know this is cliché to say, but it honestly felt like I was eating at somebody’s house.

A patron getting personally helped to his seat

It’s a very small space with probably only about a half dozen or so tables for customers, plus the sushi bar, which matches the whole, feels-like-Japan vibe they got goin’ on.

Interior or Michinoku

On to the Soosh!

Moms and I ordered the Michinoku Special, which included Barachirashi, Sashimi, Kobachi, Oshinko, Chawanmushi, Salad, and Miso Soup for $16.

Michinoku Special (Barachirashi, Sashimi, Kobachi, Oshinko, Chawanmushi, Salad, and Miso Soup) – $16.

Although, it was quite delicious, I must admit that I was a little disappointed. I guess when I saw the word “chirashi”, I was expecting tons of fish on top of sushi rice, chirashi sushi style. My fault. I guess barachirashi is something different. I did enjoy the ikura quite a bit though. YUM!

Close up of the Ikura on top of the Barachirashi

Luckily, I also got an order of hamachi sushi on the side to fill my soosh void.

Hamachi Sushi order

Pops ordered the Nigiri set, which comes in three sizes: Ume ($19.50), Momo ($26) and Sakura ($32). Don’t quite remember which one he got, but alls I know is that I was a little j!

Ume ($19.50), Momo ($26) or Sakura ($32) Nigiri Set

Not in the mood for raw fish, wifey ordered their Salmon Teishoku, which includes Kobachi, Oshinko, Chawanmushi, Salad and Miso Soup for $14.

Salmon Teishoku (with Kobachi, Oshinko, Chawanmushi, Salad and Miso Soup) – $14

They also have teishokus with sashimi ($20), butterfish ($18), sanma ($13) or chicken teriyaki ($13), and other Japanese favorites like hot and cold udons, and a variety of donburis. Side orders of agedashi tofu (fried tofu), edamame (soybeans), chicken karaage (fried chicken), among others, will also tempt more than a few tummies.

So support local businesses and give the nice, Japanese family from Michinoku some love by eating there. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find my pops there randomly yelling ”みちのく！？” from time to time…

Michinoku
835 Keeaumoku St
Honolulu, HI 96814 (map)
(808) 942-1414
Hours: Mon: Closed, Tue-Sun: 11am-2pm (lunch), 5:30pm-10pm (dinner)