Eric's Tummy Points
Monday, 30 November 2009
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Okonomiyaki Chibo Restaurant
Okonomiyaki Chibo
Restaurant
Royal Hawaiian Center
2201 Kalakaua Ave #A305
Honolulu, HI 96815-2585
808-922-9722
http://www.chibohawaii.com/
Price: $$
Ambiance: Casual
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Tummy Points: 2.5/5
Notes: They skimp on the
meat ingrediants. Okonomiyaki
is not for everyone
A common Japanese food rarely found in your typical North American Japanese restaurant but commonly found throughout Japan is okonmiyaki, Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pan cake made of various ingrediants. One of the more popular style of the dish is made of flour, eggs, cabbage, and grated yam. Inside you can layer some toppings of your choosing like sirloin, squid, prawn, avocado, pork , bacon, corn, and scallops. The okonomiyaki is usually cooked on a teppan or a special hot plates. It's flipped only once during the cooking process. Finally, a layer of Japanese plum sauce called okonomiyaki sauce is drizzled over the okonomiyaki just before serving.
While in Hawaii, a few foodie friends suggested I visit Chibo which is well known in the area for their okonomiyaki. It is located in the very busy and touristy Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki Beach. Inside is dimly lit and I highly recommend sitting at the teppan cooking table so you can watch your okonomiyaki being prepared and get a chance to talk to the chefs.
Before any cooking, okonomiyaki batter is not very appetizing to look at. It resembles something like a oatmeal. One layer is poured onto the teppan then the layer of additional ingredients are added. I chose sirloin and scallops. Then another layer is poured on top.
A okonomiyaki while it's cooking on the teppan looks really good. I love the browning. I watched some teppanyaki dishes being prepared like steak and later wished it was what I ordered and wished they didn't cut up that fine piece of meat into tiny cubes. The chefs are really friendly but most only speak Japanese well.
A big handful of dried bonito flakes tops each okonomiyaki along with a Japanese plum sauce called okonomiyaki sauce. The sauce is overly sweet so I had to brush most of it off. The bonito flakes are overwhelmingly fishy and for those of you that are afraid of eating live things, they move ontop of the okonomiyaki at first.
The ingredients are fresh but the amount of sirloin and scallops added is very little. Sirloin ended up tasting more like ground beef and I didn't even taste any scallops. You can easily taste the yams used as they're still in strips as the middle of the okonomiyaki is still fairly raw and goo'y like the pre-cooked batter. After eating 3/4's of it I was ready to hurl because the inside had the texture of puke to me and a very muted fishy flavor. There were a lot of Japanese people eating at the restaurant and they didn't have my facial expression so I assume the food is good but it just didn't agree with what my stomach is used to. If you're curious for something new and willing for some food adventure, I'd recommend Okonomiyaki Chibo. If you end up coming here because of peer pressure I'd recommend getting the teppanyaki. Otherwise I'd recommend visiting somewhere else.
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Comments (11)
It shouldn't have that texture. It simply is undercooked. Doesn't sound like a good place. We make okonomiyaki at home and I think if they make their portion sizes smaller (two smaller ones instead of a giant one), it might be cooked more evenly.
@yang1815 - If it were cooked inside too... perhaps fried the outside, I'd like it more. I just found a more appetizing photo of one: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/50/165191159_52352bd761.jpg. I do like Chinese turnip or yam cakes which are usually properly cooked since they're small.
@rice_eric - Yeah when it's that big and thick it's hard to cook thoroughly. The ones we make are usually about 4 inches in diameters and only one layer.
That way you can put different proteins on different ones. We usually have chicken, imitation crab, and some kind of beef.
this is the first time I hear about this dish. injteresting. I will see if there is such restaurant in the LA area. Thanks!
I make Okonomiyaki at home also.
I'm sorry your experience with Chibo was so bad. I haven't been there in some time now, but they used to be good. The photo you linked to looks more like what it's supposed to look like. Okonomiyaki is a street food. To be honest, I was surprised when you showed me the picture you did that night -- there's another place that makes them for half the price that looks better than that; but it wasn't within walking distance for you.
Okonomiyaki, when done right, is a light batter with fresh ingredients; filled with generous amounts of seafood and beef and whatever else; crisply fried with a good balance in textures. I'll do one on CHOW, so you can see what it's suppose to be like.
Also, I started a personal blog at http://arenadi.xanga.com. The content isn't great; it's just a personal blog. I'll be posting food there too; just things not full-size recipes like on CHOW. I just wanted to invite you to come take a look.
"After eating 3/4's of it I was ready to hurrle because the inside had the texture of puke to me and a very muted fishy flavor."
Shit. You make me laugh, man. Good review.
@chow@ireallylikefood - it's alright. Most things are worth trying once. It also adds something to my blog too. Going to review Rainbow Drive-in soon. I look forward to seeing your okonomiyaki. Maybe i'll have to go to Japan next year to have a good one.
@falconfraudless -
glad you're enjoying my reviews. It definitely wasn't the best thing I had while in Hawaii.
and here i was thinking: oh, they speak japanese; this must be an authentic place that would serve good non-chinese/korean-fied japanese food! hrm. my assumptions need to change.
@see_lai - LOL... yeah, that assumption isn't true. While in Japan I found out not many sushi restaurants are good... usually not even matching Toronto's quality and that is sad.
Looks tasty - I see you have this restaurant listed as being both in Honolulu as well as in St. Paul. Is that correct?
@chow@ireallylikefood - "The content isn't great; it's just a personal blog." Oh, give me a break Michael, the content is every bit as interesting as your IRLF blog. Such modesty!
@christao408 - lol, thanks for pointing out that copy and paste error. No wonder the address looked so long. Should be fixed now.