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Hatsune-ya still in business?

VivreManger

By VivreManger
in Hawaii: Dining

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VivreManger

VivreManger

Posted
Posted

The Okinawan restaurant Hatsune-ya (fmr Kariyushi) 1436 Young St. Suite 103

Honolulu, HI 96814 808 942-1137 seems not to be in business??

I called the number and a recording claims it has been disconnected. The superpages don't list it, but only the former restaurant, Kariyushi, with that same number.

Similarly Google lists Hatsune-ya at that very address with the same phone number. So the information is consistent, within limits. I have been able to find no other phone number.

Has anybody been there recently?

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PakePorkChop

PakePorkChop

Posted
Posted

I drove by and peeked in today. Hatsuneya has all the appearances of a business that has closed down.

My conjecture (as a senior citizen I assume that I am permitted such liberties) is that this demise has much to do with factors that I have previously discussed. Sensei Yamada is not Okinawa-born; he was raised in Taiwan and trained in Japan and New York. He came upon his interest in Okinawan cooking in a very clinical way and focused on some of the higher cuisine presented in the Okinawan Royal Court and similar dishes.

In contrast, the vast majority of Okinawan cooks and restaurants in Hawaii followed a difficult road, mostly imbued with peasant origins and traditions and dependent on home cooking traditions.

More or less, there was Sensei Yamada and there was everyone else.

When Yamada came to Hawaii, he was divorced. He married a local Okinawan girl, and together they built the restaurant Karayushi. Although there was still an underlying schism between his cooking and most other local Okinawan cooks, it could be overlooked to some extent because of his local marital connection.

All of this changed when he somehow reconciled with his first wife and renewed his marital relationship with her.

I can hardly describe how outraged the local Okinawan community was about the train of events, and as a classmate of Sensei Yamada's local wife, I question his emotion and judgement in this unfortunate episode.

As a result, I can well appreciate his decision to move from an Okinawan restaurant to a more generic izakaya. His place in the local Okinawan restaurant community was doomed.

As a generic izakaya with Okinawan dishes in a post 9/11 situation, it was only a matter of time before the numbers would catch up with him.

Among all of the lessons here: Honolulu until 1969 was a very small town and in the ensuing thirty-five years may have grown to be America's eleventh largest municipality, but just beneath the surface it is a very small town.

If you are new to Hawaii, it is a fact well worth remembering.

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oneidaone

oneidaone

Posted
Posted

Aloha! Thanks for your insight and history! We all know however that not only Honlulu but

Hawaii in general is still a very small town! Anyone here has great examples of that I am

most certain! a hui ho

"You can't miss with a ham 'n' egger......"

Ervin D. Williams 9/1/1921 - 6/8/2004

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skchai

skchai

Posted
Posted

You really have the inside information PPC!

Whatever convolutions might exist in his personal life, Yamada was probably the foremost person in the state promoting Okinawan cuisine as something to be taken seriously. For whatever reasons, while locals of Okinawan descent dominated the Honolulu restauant industry for much of the 20th century, there really hasn't been a concerted effort to promote Okinawan food, other than in a few dishes that appear on otherwise local-Japanese menus. Even if he was not Okinawan-born, Yamada really raised its visibility, and Kariyushi / Hatsuneya will be missed.

Sun-Ki Chai
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~sunki/

Former Hawaii Forum Host

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PakePorkChop

PakePorkChop

Posted
Posted
You really have the inside information PPC!

Whatever convolutions might exist in his personal life, Yamada was probably the foremost person in the state promoting Okinawan cuisine as something to be taken seriously.  For whatever reasons, while locals of Okinawan descent dominated the Honolulu restauant industry for much of the 20th century, there really hasn't been a concerted effort to promote Okinawan food, other than in a few dishes that appear on otherwise local-Japanese menus.  Even if he was not Okinawan-born, Yamada really raised its visibility, and Kariyushi / Hatsuneya will be missed.

Kariyushi/Hatsuneya will be replaced by Hakkei (Honolulu).

Hakkei is an onsen ryokan (hotspring inn) located in the town of Yubaru, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The inn is famous for a menu that features 50 regional vegetables from nearby farms. National Japanese newspapers and travel agencies have scored the food a perfect five stars.

Hakkei's Executive Chef, Seiya Masahara, challenged Iron Chef Morimoto on the popular television show and won by a score of four to zero.

His apprentice, Kouji Kuwa, will be opening the Honolulu branch of Hakkei offering Japanese comfort food. The featured dish will be Oden, a dish with turnips, pumpkin,

radish, tofu, eggs, aburage, mochi, and fish cake simmered in a flavorful broth..

Manager Masao Kawamura estimates that Hakkei (Honolulu) will be opening by the end of August 2005.

As usual, we're depending on you, SK, for the ultimate taste report!

(btw, SK, I'll be joining you on-campus, teaching ES 331, "Chinese in Hawaii")

http://www.hakkei-honolulu.com/html/eng_hospitality.html

http://www.hakkei-honolulu.com/

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reid

reid

Posted
Posted

When I spoke to the owner back in August, he told me there was a delay had to do with the state and with processing their food and beverage license. He anticipated opening in late-November, early-December. Since I live near by, I've been driving by at least once a week to see what's going on, but no news just yet. :sad:

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SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
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GOOD NEWS! 

According to Hakkei's website, they will open for dinner on January 8 at 6:00pm.  Lunch service will start the following day.

Hakkei Webpage

OOOOOOOOOH!!!!! Thanks, Reid!

Sounds like we'll have to make a pilgrimage. Last time I had oden in a restaurant was more than 20 years ago. (I often make it at home.)

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

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PakePorkChop

PakePorkChop

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They made their opening date! Hakkei is now open. I've got a full slate of places to get to so please somebody go try it and report back!

I went by on Tuesday but Hakkei is closed on Tuesday, so it would be wise to call beforehand (808) 944-6688 and make sure that it is open.

It's web page indicates that it is open for lunch from 11:30 am - 2 pm, and for dinner 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm (but orders are stopped 1/2 hour and 1 hour before closing, respectively, so don't depend on late seating).

http://www.hakkei-honolulu.com/index.html

The theme is Japanese comfort food: rice cooked in a ceramic kamado, yielding a crispy layer called okoge; homemade tsukemono, miso soup with ingredients changing daily, nimono, and oden. The rice is ready for service at lunch at noon and 1 pm (all these different time slots!).

Lunch sets are $15.20 and $18. Dinner sets are $35, $40, $50, and $60. You may also order ala carte. I can't tell you much more because the menu that I was given is written in the Japanese language! How much more authentic can you be?

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reid

reid

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you dine in, the menu is written in English. There are 14 individual oden selections that are charged by the piece -- each item is either $2.20 (konnyaku, tofu, atsuage, chikuwa, egg, daikon or potato) or $3.20 (hirousu, toridango, ebidango, ikadango, goboten, nankin chiizu rooru kyabetsu,or gyuusuji) -- there is also a take out lunch oden set for $8.45.

The food and the service here were great and you must make reservations if you are going there for dinner.

I have some photos up on my blog.

Edited by reid (log)
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