Gyu-Kaku Honolulu...Delicious

As my headline suggests, the food at Gyu-Kaku in Honolulu, Hawaii is delicious or "ono" as we say in Hawaii. It was a Friday morning and I was making plans to have a date with my husband on Saturday night. We already planned to take our boy to the sitters, so all we needed was a place to dine. I was combing the yellow page's restaurant section, searching for a teppanyaki place because I was in the mood for steak and I figured that teppanyaki would be a less expensive option for meat since we're not rich. I only found two options listed for teppanyaki restaurants which seems odd since this is Hawaii and we have so many Japanese folks living here (myself included). Anyway, I chose Gyu-Kaku mostly due to the location, at first . Then, I found a coupon for a complimentary plate of kalbi meat with a $15 or more purchase which helped seal the deal (and my husband concurred). Then, I looked the restaurant up on the Internet and caught a glimpse of a sample menu which looked pretty good. Gyu-Kaku had great reviews by the local newspaper and individuals. I had higher hopes but no expectations since I had no idea what it would be like. I called to make reservations but I got a voice-mail system instead of a person. I left my reservation information on the voice-mail and later in the day, I received a confirmation call from a human.

Saturday evening finally arrived and we were off to Gyu-Kaku. Our reservations were for 6:15 PM and we arrived a few minutes early. We were welcomed the traditional way you are welcomed in a Japanese restaurant by a loud greeting of "irashaimase!" (This word means "welcome" or "come in" in Japanese.) Our table was available and we were seated right away. One of the first things I noticed were the built-in table grills which meant we got to (or "had to" depending on the way you look at it) cook our own grub! As we sat down to look over the menu, we were greeted by our server, Yuu. He asked us right away if we wanted to order anything. The "specials" menu had a sampler plate of several different meats ($12.50) that caught our eye and we ordered it. Yuu explained that the portions on the sampler were very small, but we love to eat and were already planning to order more! The beef tongue ($7.25) and the "gyu salad" (1/2 portion for $4.95) appealed to my husband while I wanted to try the kim chee ($4.95) and a cocktail. Yuu suggested the "sexy back" cocktail which consists of vodka, peach schnapps, orange and cranberry juice ($6.95). On the side of the booth, there was a sign that said "Highly Recommended: 30-day aged fillet mignon for $8.95 and a Kobe Beef for $21.00". I decided to order the Kobe beef since I was craving for steak and also chose asparagus ($3.95) for a vegetable to complement all the meat. Then, I remembered the coupon for the free kalbi meat and I asked Yuu if the coupon was valid. He said it was "no problem". We also ordered two bowls of rice as everything is ala carte. Our drinks, salad and kim chee arrived first. The salad was not memorable, but it was fresh and had a nice dressing to it. The kim chee was nice and spicy. It consisted of cucumbers, daikon (white radish) and won bok cabbage. The drink was fabulously refreshing. Next, the sampler platter of four of the most popular meats arrived along with our other meat choices and lastly, the asparagus. On the sampler platter was the Harami miso (meat around the diaphragm), garlic kalbi, garlic shrimp and basil chicken. Our great big bowls of hot, white, steamed rice arrived in between. We had issues with the grill not being hot enough, but the service was outstanding and we were taken care of quickly. Someone came and added more hot coals to our grill and we were cooking. My husband feared that the meat would have no flavor because we were cooking it ourselves, but his fears were quickly forgotten as we tasted our first bites of kalbi and Kobe meat. The meat was incredibly flavorful and tender. They also give you a bit of course salt and lemon to season the meat to your taste. The asparagus was buttery and crunchy and sweet. The shrimp was seasoned perfectly with garlic and butter. Ummm, so good. Oh, and let's not forget the wonderful choice of dipping sauces that every teppanyaki restaurant offers though I believe they offer a few more choices on the menu. My favorite was the ponzu sauce which had a lovely, light vinegary salty flavor. I dipped most of the meats into that one though there were two other sauces to choose from on the table. Throughout our meal, the service was genuine and the atmosphere was uplifting and fun. Overall, we truly enjoyed our experience and we left with our tummies full and happy.

On another note, we observed that you definitely need to make reservations to eat at Gyu-Kaku at Kapiolani Blvd in Honolulu because the hostess must have turned away 10 or more customers that walked in without them. They are incredibly busy and now we know why. Oishii!