Oahu - Tanioka's (Waipahu), Tamashiro Market, and Char Hung Sut (Honolulu)

I think I need to start this post off with an apology..... to friends (especially you, Reid)  and relatives I hadn't seen in almost a decade. Due to time constraints, I wasn't able to see but one of my good friends. I'll make sure to correct this the next time I'm "home", I promise.

There was one thing that I promise the Missus on every trip home. Every morning (when possible) She'll get Her "swimming session". Arriving in Honolulu mid-morning, we first headed to Her parents new home in Ewa Beach. The Missus and I then made a beeline straight to Ko'olina". And got one swim session "paid in full".

 
The Missus used to enjoy the beaches Ko'olina, but on this trip She didn't enjoy swimming here as much.

Being a "townie", I'm not an expert on food on the "West side", but a few jobs I've had included servicing accounts in Waipahu and Waianae. I will say this much, Ewa Beach sure has changed..... I used to service the PX located on Iroquois Point, and a good friend of mine used to live in "Old Ewa Beach town"...... man, I barely recognized anything. And the first thing the Missus wanted to eat was, what else, Poke. At first, I thought we should check out Poke Stop. But decided on a place that's been around for a good 30 years..... and it did seem that on this trip, I went kinda "old school" with my choices.

 Tanioka's Seafood and Catering:

Tanioka's has always been pretty dependable, and this was no exception. The selection was good, the prices are a bit on the high side, but the quality is good.

The Missus told me on the flight over She "didn't want old fashioned Poke.....", so She was on the look-out for newer offerings. Being the old fuddy-duddy dude, I wanted stuff that was more traditional. So to compromise, we did a variety.....

Our favorite, by far was the "Dried Poke", made with dried fish. Due to yield, it was obviously the most expensive at $23.95/lb.

Savory and salty, with a nice chew, this was delicious.

Also a favorite of ours was the Pipikaula Poke. Pipikaula, for those that aren't familiar with it is seasoned and dry cured beef.

Mixed with onions and scallions which added some pungency, this was quite good.

I made sure to get some of that oldie, but goodie, Limu Poke.

Good quality fish, this could have used a bit more limu, but it was good.

Not quite at the same level was the Onion w/Limu Poke.

The quality of fish was not as good as the regular Limu Poke, and even the coating of shoyu (soy sauce) really couldn't help out.

The Missus got Her "new and different" Poke. This was called "Hot Alae Poke". And I really have to say it was pretty much none of the above. It wasn't very spicy, nor did it have a significant Alae (orange/red salt containing clay) saltiness.

It was very sweet though....... too sweet for our taste.

Three out of five was not bad, and Tanioka's pretty much delivered as usual.

Tanioka's Seafood and Catering
94-903 Farrington Hwy
Waipahu, HI 96797 

The following morning, the Missus decided that She's prefer Ala Moana Beach for Her morning swim.

She's always enjoyed Ala Moana Beach in the morning before the crowds, and was glad that not much had changed. The Missus always enjoyed swimming alongside all the old-timers..... From that point on, "Ala's" was Her choice.

We stopped in Chinatown on our drives back to Ewa, picking up vegetables and other stuff. And on this morning, the day before leaving for Beijing, I went with another old and dependable choice:

Tamashiro Market:

Tamashiro Market has been my choice for fish for as long as I can remember. On this day we went with three different Poke.

The best was the Limu Poke with Inamona (Kukui nut):

This had a good amount of inamona, which caught the Missus off guard. It really didn't taste right at first. After sitting in the fridge for an hour, it tasted much better. I think the Poke needed some time for the flavors to meld.

We didn't care much for the other two Poke. The spicy Poke tasted a bit off, and the quality of fish didn't seem to be very good.

The "Korean style Poke with scallops" was again too sweet, and the fish also tasted a bit off. The Missus enjoyed the scallops though.

There were two things that came out of our Poke sampling. Number one, the Missus realized that perhaps "traditional" when it came to Poke was not a bad thing. Number two, I've been making Poke with the best quality fish I can find. I usually will drive to Los Angeles or order from Catalina Offshore to get my sushi quality fish....sometimes paying $29 a pound for good maguro. There's no way that Poke selling for under $10 a pound will use the same quality fish. Of course, I can never get the same quality Limu in LA......  

Tamashiro Market
802 N King St
Honolulu, HI 96817

Speaking of "old school" and tried and true. Walking back to our car in Chinatown I told the Missus that I had one stop to make. As we walked up an almost empty North Pauahi Street, I stepped into the doorway below this sign.

Char Hung Sut:
The Missus had no clue...... I guess I'd never brought Her here. Puzzled, She stepped into the doorway, and "hit the brakes" with a look of surprise on Her face. Looking around at the folks kneading and folding dough, and doing other tasks, She asked me, "why did you enter through the kitchen?"  I told Her "this is the shop, welcome to Char Hung Sut." I'm pretty sure that many folks have had the same reaction the first time they visited Char Hung Sut. You basically enter right into the kitchen here......check out Reid's post for some good photos.

Growing up, there were basically "two schools" of Manapua (what we call Charsiu Bao). It was either Libby Manapua Shop or Char Hung Sut (baked manapua from Royal Kitchen came later) . My relatives on the neighbor islands preferred Char Hung Sut. 

I ordered a Charsiu Manapua, and two "pork hash" (what we call Siu Mai) for old time's sake.

The pork hash, though large, was very bland, tough, with some "hard bits".

A mere shadow of what I remembered.....

The Manapua was pretty much just as I recalled. The dough is not as sweet as other versions, and the filling, which is also not too sweet, was quite generous in portion size. It did seem that the pork filling was closer to a charsiu flavored, moist pork sung......

Due to leave for Beijing the next morning, I'd made up my mind that I would go with mostly golden oldies on my return to Oahu.....

Char Hung Sut
64 North Pauahi St
Honolulu, HI 96817

Comments

[kat]

glad you got to re-connect with some old favorites.

[Dennis]

I didn't know there could be so many different poke! I agree with Kat, it's so great reconnecting with old favorites.

[sara]

mmm, what I would do for some good poke and manapua right now! I agree with the Missus that good old regular poke is best. I usually get with da limu too.

[Rosa]

Hrmm...now I wonder if I should go to Oahu for our next Hawaii trip just for poke... Husband does want to scope out other islands.

[Little Miss Contrary]

Wow, I can't believe all the place you traveled to on one trip! Mr. Tall and I were just in Waikiki a month ago, and loved every minute of our time there. Hawaiian food is amazing, and it's depressing that there is really no decent Hawaiian restaurant in San Diego :(

[PedMa]

Always enjoyed Ono Seafood (not to be confused with Ono Hawaiian Food. 747 Kapahulu by the Shell Station.

[RONW]

yeah, Kapolei/Eva all wall-to-wall houses, today. Unrecognizable.

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - You're so right.

Hi Dennis - Most places have counters devoted to Poke.... you won't be short of variety!

Hi Sara - Actually, it was the Missus who wanted to try all of the "newish" stuff. I'm all for the tried and true, and I think She now feels the same way as well.

Hi Rosa - You won't be short of Poke in Hawaii, that's one thing for sure.

Hi LMCC - You're right in that there is no real good Hawaiian Food.... I'm not talking plate lunch in San Diego. I haven't been overly impressed with the stuff in LA either.

Hi PedMa - I've been told about that place. I worked almost right across the street for many years. On this trip, I just tried to hit as many of my former haunts as possible.

Hi RONW - Man does the area look totally different now!

[bill]

I'm caught up. Yum!

[kirbie]

I didn't know there were so many poke offerings! I want to go to Hawaii now. It's funny, just yesterday during lunch I noticed Boyfriend was wearing this Hawaii shirt we got from our trip a few years ago. And it is really faded. I told him we needed to go to Hawaii now so he can get a new shirt. Now I really want to go back after reading your post.

[Kirk]

Hi Bill - I'm glad you managed to catch up! Thanks, as always for reading.

Hi Kirbie - Sounds like it's time to replace that Aloha Shirt! If you'd like a huge variety of Poke; try Alicia's Market!

[Linda]

Oldies but goodies! It's unfortunate that "pork hash" wasn't as good as remembered, but that's always reason to try again next time. Glad the missus found a place for that morning swim :) Now I need to try some dried poke, but have no idea where to find any. Great post

[Mel Tanioka]

Thank you so much for your
comments which always means
so much to all of our hard
working employees. Please stop
by again on your next trip to
beautiful Hawaii and we'll make
a special poke for you!!!
Let us know ahead and hopefully
we can make it 5 out of 5!!!
Lol,

Mel Tanioka

btw, did you get a chance
to see Sam Choy's new POKE
book, in my opinion, it's
the best ever!!!

[Kirk]

Hi Linda - We did end up going with the oldies, but goodies on this trip!

Hi Mel - Thanks for dropping by and commenting! Tanioka's sure has grown since the last time I visited. A sure sign you've been creating some good stuff. We'll definitely be back, especially for that dry poke, which was delicious! And yes, Sam Choy's new Poke book is on the way...... I saw it when I dropped by Border's in Waikele! Thanks again for dropping by and taking the time out to comment.

[Natalie]

Fred & I are off to Waikiki in a week and a half for a family wedding. I get to try Poke for the first time... judging from these pictures, I can't wait :D Hopefully we'll find some good stuff.

[Reid]

Kirk,

awww man. When were you in town? Glad you enjoyed your short stay in the islands, but we must get together next time. We missed each other last year when I was in LA too. Third time = charm? I hope so.

Am writing this from a hotel in Taipei. When I saw the link to your blog post on China on Twitter last night, I thought we were in the same part of the world at the same time!!!

Keep in touch. Hope we get to meet up soon!

[Kirk]

Hi Natalie - I hope you both hae a great time.... and try to get out and explore. You can find Poke in a good number of places.

Hi Reid - Sigh...... I felt so bad that I didn't have time to get in touch and grab a bite. I promise, next time ok? So I hope the third time is a charm. I hope you're having a great time in Taiwan!

[foodhoe]

wow, all that poke fun! when you have such a limited amount of time, you first have to indulge the specific cravings... looks like a great start to your trip! My aunt used to bring back those pork buns when we were kids.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - Yeah, Char Hung Sut or Libby's is real old-time Omiyage stuff. We'd always have boxes of it for relatives and friends on the neighbor islands.

[Navywife]

We're a Navy family that was stationed at Pearl Harbor. My husband found poke and loves it; but I was all about Char Hung Sut. My friend and I literally stumbled into it and like your Missus, thought we were in the kitchen/workroom of a restaurant. Love the menu on the back wall and the "Hawaiian-Chinese" names for dim sum that we knew from the mainland. When my mom visted us, she took home dozens of manapua.