Maui: Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar

For our one "big" dinner, we decided to stick close to Kapalua, and have dinner at Sansei. I'd always wanted to check out Sansei, I just never thought that it would be at the Kapalua location. Sansei had recently moved up the road, and now was right next to the Honolua Store. In fact, there was still a minimum of signage to identify the restaurant.

For those that don't know, the word "Sansei", is Japanese, and literally means "Third Generation". And is the creation of D.K. Kodama, a Third Generation(hence the Sansei) AJA Chef and Restauranteur. The cuisine is a called Japanese-inspired Pacific Rim Cuisine, aka "fusion". Pacific Rim fusion when done well, is eye(and palate) opening, and innovative. But when done poorly, as with most restaurants jumping on the Pacific Rim band wagon, the food is gimmicky, the flavors confusing (what I call, con-fusion cuisine), and is just plain terrible.

As we walked toward the restaurant, I was really glad that I had made reservations; there was a pretty long line out the door. It was 630 pm on Thursday, and all three dining areas, the sushi bar, and the lounge was packed. The Hostess was informing people walking in hoping to score a table, or a seat at the sushi bar that there was a 45 minute wait. We had a short wait and was shown to a nice little table. Over on the next table were a tourist couple. The matching His and Her Big Flower Aloha attire, and the very, very, bad (think lobsterville) sunburn was a real giveaway. During the evening, this young couple provided us with some amusement. We could hear them asking the Server, "what is this shish-shimi", and "ewww, that's goose liver!" he-he-he.

Our Server was named Todd, actually it was Todd #1, I'll explain later. We decided to go the "small plates" route and placed our order. I need to apologize, we had so much stuff, that I didn't really keep track of the prices, but I'll let you know the total later. Also, the photos aren't the best, and because everybody was taking photos in this really dark restaurant, we really didn't feel bad.

The Panko Crusted Ahi Sashimi Sushi Roll, the menu said that this was a "must try" item.

This "roll" is Ahi, wrapped with Arugula, and Nori, crusted with panko and deep fried. Apparently this roll had been lying around for a bit, it arrived in less than 5 minutes, the panko crust was cold, the fish over cooked, though I loved the flavor that the arugula brought to the dish. It was served with a very tasty Soy Wasabi Butter Sauce that I could have eaten with a whole bowl of rice.

The Seared Foie Gras Nigiri Sushi($17), when this arrived, I started salivating.....

And this did not disappoint; it was by far my favorite dish of the night. 2 Nigiri style rice balls, with seared Foie Gras(remember "Ewww goose liver"). The Foie Gras had that nice slightly crusted, buttery texture; with a bit of the caramelized onions to add sweetness, and a bit of the reduced Nitsume Tare(Eel Sauce), this was delici-yoso!! I was really tempted to order more.....

Sansei's Ahi Poke and Sweet Maui Onion($11), I was really looking forward to this. Just the thought of sushi grade fish combined with Maui onions!

The unfortunate truth was.....train wreck. First off, there was way too much Togarashi, so the dish was so very lip burning spicy, that you really had a problem tasting anything. The Wakame was too tough, like eating rubber, and all the cucumber pseudo-Kimchi added was to make it sour.

Matsuhisa Style Miso Butterfish:

This is a "baseline " dish for the Missus, since I've been making Misoyaki for years using my Mom's modified recipe. So whenever we visit a restaurant, the Missus will go for the Miso Black Cod. I once sat in amusement, while the Missus told the Uber-Yuppified Server at Matsuhisa, "my Husband's Miso Black Cod tastes better than this"!

When this arrived at the table, I was a bit apprehensive. It looked under marinated. But one taste erased all doubts. The fish was super fresh and moist, the flavor, a combination of sweet-salty-umami, was in perfect harmony. The Missus cleaned it up, skin and all, and it was all I could do to stop Her from licking the Mirin based sauce off the plate. Her favorite dish of the night.

Dungeness Crab Ramen with Asian Truffle Broth($14):

Too much going on, the heat from the red chilies and the strong basil flavor nullified any possible Truffle flavor. The broth was nothing special, and the noodles were mushy. The Dungeness Crab had no taste.

The Kenny G, slices of Onaga(Ruby Snapper), in Ponzu Sauce, over a bed of grated Daikon(oroshi), topped with Masago(Smelt Roe), and a fine julienne of Thai Basil.

Like hearing a constant loop of a Elevator-Muzak version of Songbird, this was a very uninspired dish. The snapper was dry and tough, the oroshi just made the dish bitter, too little ponzu sauce didn't help matters, and the combination of "all of the above" with the Thai Basil, gave the dish a medicinal taste.

At this time, we decided to order a few more items, but had no clue. Todd #1 to the rescue. Todd made two recommendations, and I found something interesting to order. Todd recommended the Chinese Style Snapper Sashimi:

Hot oil is drizzled on thin slices of Opakapaka(Hawaiian Pink Snapper) with soy sauce and a touch of sesame oil. This is a good example of how good fusion can be when it works. The only gripe would be that I'd like my fish to be more rare.

Todd's second recommendation was the Lobster & Blue Crab Ravioli, served in a Truffled Shiitake Mushroom and Madiera Cream Sauce...whew, what a mouthful!

The Ravioli were good, the crab meat sweet, and the lobster meat adding a great texture to the ravioli. The sauce was a bit over the top and rich, but pretty good overall.

I couldn't help myself and ordered the Tako Shiokara($5). As the dish arrived Todd told me; "You're lucky, this is the last order we have........the rest is being used as bait tomorrow!" Ba-Dum-Dum.

As Shiokara is concerned, this was very tame, lacking the heavy fermented-fishy flavor of Shiokara. As an appetizer, this was pretty good. I was surprised at how the Kimchee sauce worked so well with the raw Octopus.

All told our meal + 1 small Sawanotsuru Zuicho Daiginjo(smooth....) the bill came to $120 without tip. We didn't think the prices were too bad considering all the stuff we ate.

A quick word on Todd#1, he did a great job. We could tell that he was absolutely slammed, but he always had time for us, had a great sense of humor, did a great job explaining the dishes, and was very efficient while being unobtrusive. What's in the name? Apparently at one time there were up to 6 "Todd's" working at Sansei, so they gave each one a number..... So on this visit we got the one and only original Todd.

So would we return? I'm pretty sure we would. The food when it was good was very good, and the service was excellent. As we left there was a long line of people still waiting for tables, or maybe a seat at the Sushi Bar..........

Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar
600 Office Road
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761

Comments

[liverbomb]

We liked Sansei a lot, but we went to the one in Kihei. I forgot which day of the week, but we took advantage of their 1/2 price night. Kinda had to use our medical training when the person at the next table syncopized...maybe they couldn't believe how cheap the bill was for such good food!

[Pam]

oh, i didn't know the sansei in kapalua had reopened! we never made it here either, but we really wanted to b/c we heard good things. we had passed by the one in kihei when going to foodland and there was a line of people waiting to get in before the restautant opened.

i'm glad you're covering alot of the places we didn't get to try! =)

[Jack]

Hey Kirk,
Any chance of sharing your recipe for butterfish?......

We haven't been to the new location but have gone to the previous location many times. It sounds and looks the same to me. Pretty good, some ups, some downs. Didn't care for the sushi they served...or at least for the price they charged.

[Reid]

Kirk,

I'm glad you had a good time at Sansei and I'm really glad you got good service. I've been to Sansei three times and each time the service got progressively worse! I swore never to go back!

[Fred]

Very nice post, Kirk. I agree that when fusion cuisine is bad, it's really bad. In fact, I haven't yet had what I would call "good" fusion food, and oftentimes I'll say, "Fusion is for atoms."

I am also interested in misoyaki. Could that word be used to describe the miso grilled salmon they have at Tajima?

[Trent]

It seems strange that Ramen and fried sushi would be among the weakest dishes. I guess they were just too busy. Anyway, it's great to hear about how nice of a time you had despite an unfortunate start.

[nhbilly]

nice review...yummy raw fishy ;-)

[Chubbypanda]

Kirk,

An excellent sushi Frenzy. I couldn't have done any better myself.

So what you're telling me is I should just get about five orders of Fois Gras Nigiri if I ever go? =D

- Chubbypanda

[Kirk]

Hi Liverbomb - That customer doesn't realize how lucky he/she was.

Hi Pam - I believe they reopened during the last week of September. The crowd was pretty crazy.

Hi Jack - The next time the Missus requests it, Ill do a post.

Hi Reid - We had really great service, probably due to our Server who did a super job. I had expected really lousy service due to the huge crowd, but was pleasantly surprised.

Hi Fred - Yes, I would think that you could call it Misoyaki. It's "Miso" and Yaki means grilled.

Hi Trent - I think the roll was obviously premade and sitting around, letting the fish get overcooked and letting the dish get cold. The ramen was just a mess.

Hi nhbilly - Yes, really yummy...especially the Foie Gras!!!

Hi CP - Just don't check your cholesterol level after eating all of that. LOL!

[j]

Kirk
We spent $200 between 2 people at Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, and the best thing that my companion said on the menu was the miso black cod. You know how to make it better? Ohh. Can you please share the recipe?
Much thanks...

[RONW]

have you ever tried monkfish liver?

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/10/26/hooray-for-ankimo-season/

[Kirk]

Hi J - Personally, I don't think the version I make is a big deal, but the Missus likes it....I'll do a post and recipe next time I make it. Not really anything but Misoyaki Black Cod with a few variations.

Hi RonW - I love Ankimo, I adore Ankimo. And winter is the best time for it. I was wondering if I've posted any photos:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/05/5_days_of_feast_2.html

I'm kinda careful where I get it from. I've had some really bad versions of it.

[Ben]

Hi Kirk: I simply love seafood. Looks like you had a great time in Hawaii. Never been there and do want to make a visit someday. When I do, I'll print off your archives as a guide. More coming?
Ben

[Kirk]

Hi Ben - Yes, a few more coming! And of course Pam from Daily Gluttony got married on Maui, and is still posting about it:

http://dailygluttony.blogspot.com/2006/10/maui-part-3-section-b-on-road-from.html

And Jeni from Oishii Eats recently visited one of my favorite restaurants on Oahu:

http://oishiieats.blogspot.com/2006/09/ono-hawaiian-foods_25.html

And the penultimate resource is Reid from Ono Kine Grindz:

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/

[Ben]

Wow, thanks for the links ... I like those kind of sites!

[thranduil]

We went last night, and happened to order many of the same dishes you did. The butterfish was definitely the highlight! Our panko crusted ahi looked better than your pictures (ruby red) so I think you unfortunately got unlucky. Couldn't note the truffles in the ramen, but thought it was good as well as the ravioli. We also got the apple tart and the tempura fried ice cream - the apple tart was light but the caramel sauce was the highlight, the tempura crust was a bit thick, but fried+ice cream = good. A lot of nearby tables asked their servers about our desserts.

There is also a discount on food (not alcohol though) if you get there between 5:30-6:00. There was a line out to the street when we got there at 5:20 but everyone got seated.

[Kirk]

Hi thranduil - There's alsolate night specials on Friday and Saturday.