Yajima-Ya Lunch Wagon Revisited

Yatai in Hawaii (Part I) |  Yajima-Ya Revisited (Part II) 

The last time I covered the Yajima-Ya Lunch Wagon (located off of Sheridan Street near Keeaumoku), the majority of their menu items consisted of the noodle (soba or udon) and don (rice bowls) variety. Since then, they’ve expanded their menu to include well received plate lunch style items like teriyaki or mushroom chicken, steak, and a Japanese style beef stew called Hayashi Rice. I figgah now’s a good time as any to pay chef Tomoki Ito a (re)visit to see what’s new… with a little food p0rn/eye candy of course!

One of my favorite (and incidentally one of their most popular) dishes here is the mushroom chicken. Made with egg and tempura flour, the breaded crispiness of the chicken is offset nicely with the rich “graviness” of the rue. With a side of spinach and Japanese style mac salad, this one is fo’ real kine brok’ da mout’!

Mushroom Chicken Plate ($8.50)

Prepared in a similar way sans the gravy, is their Teriyaki Chicken plate. Love the touch with the Furikake over the rice!

Teriyaki Chicken Plate ($8) (Photo Credit: Tomoki Ito)

Another favorite of mine is the Hayashi Rice Plate (the Japanese style beef stew). Here’s a shot of that gem.

Hayashi Rice plate ($8)

Wifey likes their Buta Shougayaki (Pork Ginger) plate, which is strange because she’s not a fan of ginger. In fact, neither am I, but we both can sure whack this buggah like that. Here’s a shot of Yajima-Ya’s combination plate with Pork Ginger and Wafu style New York Steak w/ponzu.

Pork Ginger and Wafu w/ponzu Steak combination plate ($9)

It’s hard to tell, but there’s a stack of steak underneath all that onion and ginger.

One of the great things about a combination plate at a place like Yajima-Ya, is that your options are practically endless. Some days you might be in the mood for Japanese style fair, while on other days, you might want full on local kine grindz. And then, there are those days when you just can’t make up your mind. This is when you combine the flava of the East with that of the options from way out west.

Here are a couple of combination plates, blending Hawaii and Japan.

Tempura and Teri Chicken combination plate ($8.50)

Samurai Donburi & Mushroom Chicken combo ($8.50)

And of course, they still have their tried and true donburi, udon and soba items like their Samurai Donburi…

Samurai Donburi ($7.50)

… the Bukkake Sanuki Udon…

Bukkake Sanuki Udon ($8)

… and their Sansai (Vegetable Tempura) Soba.

Sansai Soba ($6.50)

Other interesting menu items include the Kara Soba (Spicy Cold Soba) for $8.25, the $4 Breakfast Special (Rice with 1 scrambled egg, 2 slices of bacon & 3 slices of Portuguese Sausage), and a couple of Salad options (with a choice of Udon or Soba) for $8 each. A far cry from the humble beginnings when their main clientele was employees from the neighboring Yajima-Ya (Cosmo) service station.

A few things to note since my last article… Although they’ve expanded their menu options to include the local style favorites mentioned above, they’ve also streamlined operations, choosing to shorten their hours of operation, and do away with extraneous things that take time to prepare like their Belgian Waffles, specialty drinks, and their Daily Specials menu altogether.

Yajima-Ya Hours of operation

Kudos to chef Ito-san and the rest of the Yajima-Ya family for constantly evolving and finding ways to please our palate. I just hope my food p0rn/eye candy did the food justice.

Check them out the next time you’re in the area (or even if you’re not!). Trust… You won’t be disappointed.

Yajima-Ya
@yajimayahawaii
Sheridan Street (Behind Hinone Mizunone, between South King & Liona)
Honolulu, HI. 96814 (Street View)
808-497-7991
Mon-Fri: 7am-5pm
Sat: 7:30am-4:30pm

Yatai in Hawaii (Part I) |  Yajima-Ya Revisited (Part II) 

 

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Wot! Like Beef!?

Nah, I like chicken! 😛

Ehn-nee-waaaay…

In a recent study, it was discovered that eating red meat increases your chances of dying early. Their study of “red meats” included succulent steaks, bodacious burgers, and precious pork chops. Geez, why don’t you just take all the fun out of BBQs, picnics and sports bars already? Next they’ll be saying beer causes blindness or somethin’.

So here’s the article. Read um and I’ll meet ya at the bottom with tears in our eyes…

Red meat linked to risk of earlier death

Eating red meat increases the chances of dying prematurely, according to a large federal study offering powerful new evidence that a diet that regularly includes steaks, burgers and pork chops is hazardous to your health.

The study of more than 500,000 middle-age and elderly Americans found that those who consumed the equivalent of about a small hamburger every day were more than 30 percent more likely to die in the following 10 years, mostly from heart disease and cancer. Processed meats also increased the risk.

The new study is the first large examination of the relationship between eating meat and overall mortality.

In contrast, routine consumption of fish, chicken, turkey and other poultry decreased the risk of death slightly, the study found.

Although pork often is promoted as “white meat,” it is believed to increase the risk for cancer because of its iron content, said Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute, who led the study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“This would be the Rolls-Royce of studies on this topic,” said Barry Popkin, a professor of global nutrition at the University of North Carolina, who wrote an accompanying editorial.

There are many explanations for how red meat might be unhealthy: Cooking red meat generates cancer-causing compounds; red meat is also high in saturated fat, which has been associated with breast and colorectal cancer; and meat is also high in iron, which also is believed to promote cancer. People who eat red meat are more likely to have high blood pressure and cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. Processed meats contain substances known as nitrosamines, which have been linked to cancer.

The American Meat Institute, a trade group, dismissed the findings, saying they were based on unreliable self-reporting by study participants.

After accounting for other variables such as smoking and physical activity, the researchers found that men who consumed the most red meat — about a quarter-pound a day — were 31 percent more likely to die for any reason, 22 percent more likely to die of cancer and 27 percent more likely to die of heart disease than those who ate the least meat. Women who ate the most red meat were 36 percent more likely to die for any reason, 20 percent more likely to die from cancer and 50 percent more likely to die from heart disease.

FDA TOLD TO GIVE TEENS ACCESS TO PLAN B PILL
The Food and Drug Administration let politics cloud its judgment when it denied teenage girls over-the-counter access to the Plan B morning-after pill, a federal judge said Monday as he ordered the FDA to let 17-year-olds obtain the medication. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman blasted the FDA’s handling of the issue during the Bush administration, saying it had “repeatedly and unreasonably” delayed issuing a ruling for suspect reasons.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by individuals and organizations advocating for wider distribution and access to emergency contraceptives. The FDA, which said it was still reviewing the decision, has 30 days to comply with the order.

Sad no? Actually, to be quite honest, I’m not a heavy duty red meat eater. Don’t get me wrong. I looooove me some steaks/burgers/pork, but I don’t necessarily eat it on the regular. Reading this article makes me want to sell out and turn veggie though. You?

Talk to me!
* Are you a meatatarian? How often do you grind the red stuff?
* What’s your favorite? Beef? Burgers? Pork? Other?
* Got any secret new bbq steak recipes for the WWE `Ohana?
* What about you chicken lovahs out dea? Holla!
* Are you a vegetarian? Any one particular reason why you chose to do so?
* Allergic to shellfish? This seems to be common in my personal experience.
* Hate foods with fishy tastes?
* What food can’t you stand?

P.S. Congrats to Team Japan for beating Team Korea 5-3 in extra innings in an exciting World Baseball Classic Championship game! Sorry for yelling so loud neighbors. 😉 Apologies also to the neighbors’ of my ‘rents. I’m sure they were equally loud. 😛

Have a happy Tuesday y’all!