NattoKun : I <3 Food

Shokudo Japanese

For a while now I have been waiting patiently for Shokudo to open its doors. What got my curiosity piqued about the place was initially its logo. There’s something about a well designed logo that shows that they care about details. Judging from outside and inside they paid attention to the atmosphere of the place very well. We'll have to see about the food.




I went on a Friday night with about 7 friends and considering that it just opened and it was fairly crowded we only had to wait for about 10 minutes before we got seated.

We started our night with an order of the Dekitate Tofu (できたて豆腐; Freshly Made Tofu). This was good. It was very soft and creamy. It was served with a memmi (soy-bonito-mirin based) style sauce, nori (海苔; Dried seaweed), negi (葱; Green onion) and shio (塩; Salt).



And some chilled Hakkaizan Sake (八海山の酒).



Then we had the Mochi Cheese Gratin. Cheese and mochi…what a great combo. The chewy mochi goes great with the melted gooey cheese.



Tori Tsukune (鶏つくね; Baked Minced Chicken) was our next dish. This was probably a serving for about 4 people but we somehow stretched it between the 8 of us. It was very tasty.



Next up was Kushi Katsu (串かつ; Skewered Pork Cutlet). They offer this with Miso or Tonkatsu sauce, but I asked for both on the side and they happily obliged. I love katsu stuff and I enjoyed this dish with the two sauces. The batter was light and crisp and not too oily. The pork, cooked just right, was juicy and tender.



Tori no Karaage Shichimi Tartar Sauce (鶏の唐揚げ七味タルタルソース; Deep Fried Chicken with Spicy Tartar Sauce) was a must order according to my friend. My friend said this was good and this was good. It is really hard to mess up fried foods. Fried chicken plus the mayo based tartar sauce equals a very tasty treat.



We then ordered the Seafood Dynamite. This was your typical scallops, shrimp and other assorted seafood in a mayo based sauce then baked till the top is caramelized. I was never a big fan of this type of dish. This dish was ok.



My friend ordered the Ishiyaki Kajiki Maguro Ninniku Fuumi (石焼かじきマグロにんにく風味; Garlic Marlin Seared on Hot Plate). I was never a big fan of Marlin. But this dish wasn’t bad. The key was not to cook the fish too long since they sliced it pretty thin.



The same friend that recommended the karaage said to order the Ebi-Mayo Roll (エビマヨロール; Deep Fried Shrimp Sushi Roll). Ok those that know me know that I am a big sushi snob. I am very against non traditional sushi. So of course eating this I was going to be biased against it. It wasn’t bad. Your typical “whatever roll” sushi if you are a fan of that stuff.



Next came the Daikon to Tamago to Butakakuni (大根と玉子と豚角煮; Stewed Pork, White Radish and Egg). Now this was the one I was excited about. To me this seems like what Rafute would be like but I have never had it. I was going to try it at Hatsune-ya but being that it closed down I don’t know where else I can try it in Hawaii. This was very tasty. The fatty pork and the refreshing daikon went excellent together. Too bad I had to share it with my friends!



Followed by the Teppan Saikoro Steak (鉄板サイコロステーキ; Diced Beef Steak on Hot Plate). The steak was ok. The few pieces I had were tough. I don’t think I would order this again.



And lastly was the Teppan Gyoza (鉄板餃子; Gyoza on Hot Plate). This was ok also. I have had better gyoza, such as Taishoken’s. Unless you are a gyoza lover I would recommend ordering something else from the menu.



We had Honey Toast for dessert. I first saw this style of “toast” on Kit-N-Kitchen’s menu. Theirs, if I remember correctly, is prepared as garlic butter toast rather than a dessert. It looked good although I have yet to go and eat at Kit-N-Kitchen. Then when I went to Japan this year I had it in Odaiba. This one was even better than the one I had in Japan since it had the ice cream on it. This was a very good way to end the meal.



The overall night was great. Friends, good food, and drinks in a nice spot… you can’t go wrong. Pricing wasn’t bad either. It came out to about $35 per with tips and drinks. Although the food didn't overly excite me I wouldn't mind going back to Shokudo. There are many things on the menu that we didn't get to try and the place is very nice. Anyone want to go?

posted by jupiter @ 3:32 AM