Friday, June 24, 2011

Asahi Grill

Asahi Grill, on Ward Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, mainly serves Japanese food, along with other various menu items. You won't see sushi at this place, though.








My parents and grandmother wanted to take me out to dinner one more time before I returned to Oregon. While Asahi Grill's signature item may be their Oxtail Soup or their Fried Rice (both from Kapiolani Coffee Shop), we all passed on that to try some other dishes. We split three dishes: the spicy ahi don, the char siu ramen, and the miso ramen.

Complementary miso soup
Spicy ahi don
Char siu ramen (shoyu broth)
Miso ramen
I thought the miso soup was pretty tasty, but nothing special. I liked the noodles in the miso soup...that set it apart from other miso soups I've had elsewhere. Other places only have tofu and seaweed in the soup.

I loved the presentation of the spicy ahi don. It reminded me of a deconstructed spicy tuna roll -- with avocado added to the mix. The spicy sauce was not spicy to me, but then again, it does take a bit of effort to make me taste the heat. A bit too much rice for my liking here. I would have preferred more fish and less rice in the meal. I would have also taken brown rice, but my mother and grandmother are not big fans of that stuff. The spicy ahi don cost over $11, which isn't too bad as a dinner menu item. A very nice house specialty here.

Both ramens were flavorful, and the noodles were cooked just right. I did not like the char siu pork only because all the pieces had a bunch of fat on them. Whatever happened to using lean cuts of pork? I really don't prefer one broth over the other here. I saw that they have tan tan mein (a spicier ramen), so maybe I should go with that if I ever went back. Or perhaps give their oxtail soup a whirl.

The service was very good. I also liked the bright lighting and decor here...it wasn't formal stuff, but it at least had that contemporary feel to it. In the end, my family and I had an above-average experience. Four people went out to eat, spent a combined $26, and got stuffed. Not too shabby. 7/10

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