Big Island: A revisit to Teshima and other stuffs

On our last full day on the Big Island we decided to just relax. We took a walk down Ali'i Drive then back around Kuakini Highway.

It was a quiet day, so we just drove around a bit and talked about lunch.....yes, you know us. Teshima's"old school Japanese restaurant" charm had really gotten to the Missus. So with not much else to do, we drove back up to Kealakekua and stopped by Teshima for lunch.

The Missus was craving fish so She immediately went for the "Fresh Catch" Sashimi Tray ($17.50) which was ahi.

 For some reason, the Missus really enjoys the old fashioned tsukemono and sunomono. Ditto the old school miso soup.

The fish was very, very fresh, and the Missus scarfed up all twelve pieces in no time.

I went with the "Monday Special" ($12.75). Now I've read some complaints about the prices and portion sizes at Teshima.....but take a look at this for $12.75........

Geeez.....really?

Five slices ahi sashimi, the teri beef was very "local" a bit chewy. The fried fish here is quite good as well.

The makizushi and inari sushi take me back to "small kid" time...though combined with a chawan of rice....man, that's more carbs than I usually consume in a whole day, or two, nowadays.

The Missus got the fried fish, tsukemono, sunomono, and miso soup.

So I had an order of the famous shrimp tempura($7.25) as well.

If you like crunch, these will fill the bill. The tempura is surprisingly light and crisp.

We both thought that it tasted a bit of old oil that needed to be changed though. There seemed to be a bit of an off taste and even some greasiness to all the tempura.

So in the end a good meal, but not wow'd by the tempura.

Teshima Restaurant
79-7251 Mamalahoa Hwy
Kealakekua, HI 96750

We spent the rest of the day "just cruisin' around". Went to various stores, including a couple of health food places and walked around a bit.

After a very typical afternoon nap, we went out and took another walk around......through Long's, Hilo Hattie looking for gifts for the Missus's relatives and friends.

As it was getting to late afternoon, we discovered we were still pretty full. So we thought we'd go for some poke and beer for dinner. We walked back to the KTA and the pre-packaged selection looked terrible, so we went across the street to Sack n' Save. The poke selection there was better. I eventually settled on some ahi limu with inamona and of course boiled peanuts (not pictured), which went well with the Mehana Humpback Blue, which was the best of the three we gried during this trip.

This was ok. Not the best quality fish, the ogo kind of tough and dry, but passable.

I'm not a big fan of seaweed salad, but the Missus likes it......

As evening settled we saw a good number of locals who seemed to know each other parking in the back of the King Kamehameha. It seemed like there was a big party going on. So after eating and a quick shower we headed downstairs and strolled over to Kailua Pier.

That's Ahuʻena Heiau in the foreground. I guess some company was having their Christmas Party....yes, it was that long ago.

The chatter and laughter brought smiles to our faces as we just sat and took in the wonderful Kona evening. We had a great time in the Big Island. It had been too long since we were here last. We'll be back again soon......

Comments

[kat]

I hope you guys get to go back soon :)

[Kirk]

I do too Kat!

[Kyle]

Doesn't look like Mehana Brewery will be around. They filed for bankruptcy protection. Are you guys fired up in SD to have local boy Manti?

[Kirk]

That's too bad. We really liked their beer. I think SD is a great place for Manti.....

[Hulacook]

Just got back from the Big Island and had just gone to Teshima's. I was there with Mom and ordered the Shrimp Tempura on a recommendation. Although crispy, we were a bit disappointed at the "one-sided" tempura. Is that "local" style? The tsuyu was also a bit too sweet for our taste and no suri-daikon.

[Dean Masutomi]

Interesting note on Teshimas's I got from my Kona ohana when I visited this past Thanksgiving, My aunt was telling me that after Mrs. Teshima passed away this pass fall, their longtime Mexican cook(a 30 year employee)quit and opened up his own restaurant in Kailua on Palani rd. near Starbucks(in the same shopping center as KTA). He took another cook from Teshima's with him and they are serving the EXACT same food. The reports are it's really good.