Kaimuki Shokudo

Kaimuki Shokudo offers a lunch menu that focuses on soba, donburi, sushi, and tempura.  They also have daily lunch specials from 1130am to 330pm.  One of the specials is a Teishoku Lunch Set for $20 (Hot / Cold Kake Soba, half size, Okinawan Sweet Potato Salad, half size), Sashimi, Rice, and Washugyu Sukiyaki Beef or Grill Saba).

The other special is a half Donburi for $7 with any Soba order. 

I took advantage of the half Donburi special.  

I got the Ume Oroshi Shiso Soba (Cold), which also included nori, takuan, and bonito flakes.

It was such a huge portion, and it was very refreshing for such a warm day.

For my half donburi order, I opted for the Veggie Tempura Don, which had eggplant, maitake mushroom, and shishito pepper tempura. 

It was so delicious and actually so filling - I ended up barely touching my Soba (of course I took the leftovers home)!

Half Order Veggie Tempura Don

And of course we got the Honey Toast.

Honey Toast

I know it's "Honey Toast," but I thought they put a little too much honey - it was so overpowering.  My friend loved it, however, and ate nearly all of it!

We were a little disappointed in the service, however.  Although the staff members were friendly, no one came to check on us / clear our dishes / take our dessert order for quite a while after getting / finishing our food, and my friend actually had to go up to the bar to ask someone if we could order dessert.  We were the second table seated for the day, but other tables seated after us had already left. 

Despite that, I wouldn't mind returning to try the dinner izakaya menu, and hopefully the service will be much better!

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Tonkatsu Kuro

Tenderloin Katsu

Tonkatsu is a family favorite so I was happy to check out recently opened Tonkatsu Kuro located in Ward. The space is bright with tables lining the perimeter and a large communal table in the center of the restaurant.

The menu is somewhat limited and divided into katsu, soba, and combo. Since I’m not a big fan of cold soba, I went with the tenderloin tonkatsu, featuring Berkshire Kurobuta pork, a proprietary oil blend, and freshly ground panko. My friend ordered the Lemon Soba & Half Katsu combo that came with chilled buckwheat noodles in a house-made lemon- infused cold tsuyu broth with one piece each tenderloin and shrimp katsu. My set also came with rice, cabbage salad, and miso soup.

Dining Room

Robot server

Lemon Soba

Half Katsu

You enter your order using the touch screen menu at your table and the food arrives via robot, but is set at table by your server. Food was delicious and the service was attentive. People constantly use Tamafuji as a standard of comparison and my verdict is that Kuro is a welcomed alternative and you can easily make a reservation on Open Table. Currently it’s BYOB. I’m looking forward to returning!

Tonkatsu Kuro

1000 Auahi St Ste 134 Honolulu, HI 96814

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Now Open - Kaimuki Shokudo

Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar, a popular destination for casual Japanese food, recently opened a second location in Kaimuki. featuring fresh soba, tempura, donburi and sushi rolls.  

We came on opening day, and were the first customers to walk in the door! I rarely if ever visit a new restaurant on opening day, but since it was a State holiday (Good Friday), I wanted to go somewhere different for lunch, and so I brought the entire family here to Kaimuki Shokudo.

We were each provided with a small serving of gobo and cabbage. 

One of my sons ordered the Kake Soba, which is described on the menu as "simple soba with homemade broth". This was his first time eating soba, but he loved it! He even drank all of the soup after finishing his noodles.

My other son and I both ordered the Zaru Soba (cold). The homemade noodles were plated separately from the broth. It was very refreshing! 

The Assorted Tempura plate included two pieces of shrimp, kabocha, eggplant, Shimeji, and mushroom. The tempura was crunchy and the batter was not too thick. We really liked the tempura. 

The husband decided to try something different from everyone else and ordered the Sukiyaki Beef Donburi. The beef was tender!

I had hoped that they would have their famous Honey Toast on the menu, but they didn't.  I suspect a lot of people are asking for it, because I heard it's in the works!

Kaimuki Shokudo is currently open for lunch service only (11-2). Dinner service is coming soon!

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KAIMUKI SHOKUDO
1127 11th Avenue

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Shingen Now Located in Mo`ili`ili

Shingen, formerly located in Waikiki, is now located on South King Street in Mo`ili`ili.  They are known for house-made soba noodles, made with high quality buckwheat flour imported from Shintoku, Hokkaido.  

We came here one Saturday during the lunch hour, to check out their new location.  The entrance to their restaurant is near Kozo Sushi on the makai/koko head side of the parking lot.  

The Special Lunch Combo is a great deal - your choice of soba or udon (hot or cold) + your choice of mini-donburi (natton don, tem-don, ahi-poke don, curry-don, or gyu-don).

I decided to try the cold soba + tem-don.  

My friend also ordered cold soba + tem-don, but she opted for the "Moringa soba" for an additional $1.  According to the menu, Moringa is the "next generation superfood and is said to be a miracle food with over 90 nutrients." 

We both really enjoyed our soba and tempura.  The rice that comes with the tempura was also really good! I normally don't eat both noodles and rice, but I couldn't help myself this time around because of the high quality rice that they use.

After our meal, we walked a couple doors down to Lunar Tea to take advantage of their BOGO special for their grand opening!

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SHINGEN SOBA IZAKAYA AT HEART MOON 
2334 SOUTH KING STREET

(808) 926-0255

Open Daily for Lunch and Dinner

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