Cafe Maharani

Best for: Indian
Location: Mo'ili'ili

This is probably the best Indian restaurant in Hawaii. Sadly, that's not saying much, considering we have about 5 of them, and the other four have atrocious names e.g., Cafe Taj Mahal, India Cafe, causing them to lose any credibility they may have had otherwise. Times like these make me miss Portland... or at least Portland's assortment of Indian, Lebanese, and Thai restaurants.

I came with four others and was amazed that we were immediately able to find a table. The infamous wait is the sole reason I hadn't tried Maharani before. As an "exotic" restaurant, Maharani has an obligation to Hawaii to be impeccably decorated in order to fulfill our stereotypes of a culture about which we know much too little. Thus, the restaurant is beautiful. Warm red tones, art covering the walls, gorgeous silk curtains, themed metal cups, and yes - just as I expected, a TV playing nonstop Bollywood.

The food is served family style, so we shared 3 orders of naan (2 plains and 1 basil), saffron rice, and a bunch of lamb, chicken, and seafood dishes. Everything tasted good, but none of the dishes were very memorable. Or maybe that's because I was tipsy by the end of the meal, thanks to all the wine Matt, Mizuki, and Darin brought (it's BYOB). Not sure how much each dish cost, but our total bill was about $90, which was much lower than what I expected. No wonder everyone loves this place.

I should probably come back (actually, I definitely will, now that I know that it is possible to find a table on a Thursday night without a 2-hour wait) to write a better review. Besides, I'm still mad at myself for not finishing the meal with a masala chai -- how was I able to leave an Indian restaurant without ordering all my usuals? I'm sure it's the best in Hawaii.

Bubbie's

Best for: Ice cream
Location: Puck's Alley, Hawaii Kai

  
Do I really have to explain why mochi ice cream makes the world a better place?

Imanas Tei

Best for: Traditional Japanese, Izakaya
Location: Puck's Alley

 
You know I really like you when I let you order my meal, especially when you're ordering things like sea urchin and beef tongue. In a previous post [about Nobu], I had established that if any place could get me to eat things I normally wouldn't, it would be at a good Japanese restaurant. So when I went to Imanas Tei for the first time with one of the few people whose impeccable taste I'd trust with my life, I knew I was in for a treat and in good hands.

After hearing horror stories about the inevitably long wait before being seated, I was amazed that Mizuki and I only ended up sitting on the outside bench for about 3 minutes, and were then taken past the crowds to a table that seats four. Nice! I guess it helps coming with someone fluent in Japanese.  

We started off with a couple of drinks: a grapefruit chu-hi and a sweet potato sake. Not bad.

seafood salad

We ordered the grilled beef tongue, some maki, a salmon skin hand roll, hamachi kama (broiled yellowfin ahi collar), and seafood salad. My first grilled beef tongue and hamachi kama! Both were amazing. The grilled beef tongue is sliced thinly, cooked just right, and perfected with a splash of lemon. My salmon skin hand roll was one of the most beautiful handrolls I've ever seen, with tobiko (flying fish caviar) and long shreds of daikon artistically sticking out. The hamachi kama has so much flavor, and the meat falls off the bone when you pick at it with chopsticks. 

grilled beef tongue

salmon skin hand roll

hamachi kama (broiled yellowfin ahi collar)

Time for round two of drinks. This time I ordered something safe, a plum wine on the rocks. Perfect. Mizuki ordered a sake, which was actually served in the traditional masu, a box made of hinoki or sugi. The server put a glass inside the box and poured the sake until it overflowed and filled both containers. Now that is how to drink sake!

the proper way to drink sake

We ordered even more dishes: abalone and mackerel, uni nigiri (sea urchin sushi), and tataki bonito (seared ahi). My first time for all three dishes! The abalone has an interesting texture that I'm still getting used to, but the mackerel was delicious. As Mizuki instructed, "Eat the abalone with wasabi, and the mackerel with ginger." Good advice. Watching me attempt to slurp down an uni nigiri is one of the funniest (or maybe most disgusting?) thing you can do; I'll have to work on that. It's creamy and smooth - characteristics I would never expect from such a spiny little creature.

our beautiful abalone and mackerel dish

uni nigiri (sea urchin) - not something I'll be ordering on a first date

Despite being packed the entire time we were there, service was always efficient and graciously put up with our multiple orders and my indecisiveness. Towards the end of our meal, our adorably clueless waiter - as in, it's a good thing he's cute because he's also kind of clueless - came over and sheepishly told us, "By the way, you two look very beautiful tonight." Wow. I wonder how he could sense the generous tip Mizuki was planning to give him. 

Dozens of people have called Imanas Tei the "best Japanese restaurant in Hawaii." While I could easily say the same, Mizuki has warned me that there are a couple more places I still need to try, so I'll hold off on definitives until then. Our bill came out to about $115, excluding tip. Definitely worth it, considering the ambiance, number of dishes ordered, and quality of food. Even more important, I broadened my palette and thus more fully appreciate another culture - and that in itself is one of the greatest achievements in life.