By Nadine Kam
Star-Bulletin
Thursday, September 26, 1996
"That is so me!" you cry, awed by marketers' uncanny ability to capture the real you.
On a more basic level, closer to Fido's to be exact, sometimes all it takes is a word like "poke" or "Valrhona" to set your mouth watering. That happens to me a lot. Today's word is "sushi."
When I mentioned a craving for sushi, a friend insisted, "Sushi is dead."
It's true that there haven't been many new sushi offerings in the past two or three years. The most excitement came with the opening of the Texas Rock 'N Roll Sushi Bar at the Hyatt Regency. But beyond their Tex-Mex formulations, there's not much that could be done to improve on the basic recipe of a pinch of rice topped by a succulent sliver of fish in the raw.
Ah, but there is something new at Sushi Sasabune. The difference takes a little adjustment on the diner's part. Instead of cool, lightly vinegared rice, sushi here is made of unadulterated warm rice. The difference became clear as soon as I tried to pick up a piece topped with lovely, buttery hamachi ($4.50; all prices for two pieces), only to see the piece fall apart between my chopsticks.
"It's different yeah?" said our wide-eyed and friendly server. "The rice is warm; that's our style."
Most of their fish comes from Santa Barbara, but is as fresh as anything out of our waters. There is tai, or red snapper ($4.20), translucent and light in flavor. Saba, or mackerel ($4.20), is even creamier than the hamachi. And just to compare, there is Spanish mackerel ($4.20), this time served with soy-flavored rice and topped with ginger and green onions.
Even though the company came from the land of the California roll, they make none of the conical, avocado-enhanced rolls. Instead, their rolls are simple nori-wrapped cylinders filled with such ingredients as crab ($5), meltingly smooth scallops ($5), crisp broiled salmon skin with salmon meat ($5) and broiled eels ($5), for once with more eel than broil. These speciments were thick and juicy.
Here, too, you will find whole abalone ($10) from Santa Barbara, sashimied and served with a bit of lemon. This abalone may be a bit tougher than those raised in Kona, but groups of California sea otters can't be wrong. Clever souls; they've been known to crack abalone shells open with rocks to get at the delicacy.
No dessert is offered. With everything on the menu a delicacy, the staff sees no need.
Choose one or all of the likes of Chocolate Mousse Squares, Milk Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake or go native with a Hana Bay Rum flavored Macadamia Nut Chocolate Mousse Cake.
The bar is open from 6 to 10 p.m. daily and the cost is $7.50 , or just $5.50 with purchase of an entree. Call 879-1922 on Maui.
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com- excellent;