The Weekly Eater
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Chris Kobayashi is all smiles as he digs into
his ahi salad.
Here's a lesson in management I learned only after our company moved to Restaurant Row: Don't let your bosses catch you doing lunch in fancy digs. It doesn't matter if it's only a semiannual occurrence or it's only a salad you're powering through -- in one of those rare instances you find yourself at, say, Ferno, they will track you down and come to the conclusion that 1) you don't have enough work to do, and 2) if you can afford to dine where owner David Black lunches when he's in town, maybe they're paying you too much -- all untrue, of course. Journalists just had to
spread the word about SanseiNo such problem is likely to arise at noon at Sansei, where humble editors, writers, page designers and editorial assistants commiserate over quickie sandwiches, salads and plate lunches, at the moment all under $8.
We might as well add Sansei's phone number to our business cards and call it our satellite office because that's where we've been since Sansei introduced its inaugural lunch menu early this week. I thought we could keep it to ourselves for a while, but no such luck. On Day 2 there was no line, no hassle, no wait.
Then the wireless network went to work. On Day 3 a line snaked out 20 feet from the takeout counter, and at noon the dining room was already packed. It took about 15 minutes to get to the counter, but that's OK. It takes that long to scan the lengthy menu on the wall. Grab a printed copy on your way in if it's too much of a strain to look up.
Lunch at Sansei Seafood
Restaurant Row, 500 Ala Moana Boulevard / 536-6286
Restaurant & Sushi BarFood
Service
Ambience
ValueHours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Fridays
Cost: $5.95 to $6.95 per plateRatings compare similar types of restaurants
For those with money management problems, this is a great place Friday afternoons because unlike other takeout joints, here you can use plastic to pay for that $5 sandwich. Very cool.Once you order and pay, you're given a number so servers can hunt you down at your table and present you with your brown-bag sandwich or Styrofoam-boxed lunch. You won't find any ladies-who-lunch types here, just working stiffs seeking comfort in a blackened ahi sandwich ($5.95) or homey veggie-studded "Monster Meatloaf" ($4.95 sandwich/$5.95 plate), which on a plate comes in three slabs topped with a velvety but light onion and mushroom gravy. The truly local will miss the ketchup tang that usually accompanies meatloaf at home. Not to worry. There's a vat of the stuff, and mustard, at the corner of the sushi bar for those so inclined.
I was the only reviewer in town who was unkind when Sansei opened for dinner, but on a menu like this, there's little room for excess. Chef D.K. Kodama can still hit you with some zingers like the crispy Korean Barbecue Chicken ($5.95), which you'd assume from a quick glance at the menu and most fast-food experiences might be barbecue-related, but noooo. It's drenched in spicy, vinegary ko-chu-jung sauce. The same sauce coats a pupu-style calamari salad in the evening, and while it goes great with a pau hana beer, it's overwhelming at midday. But if you do need an afternoon jolt, this sauce will do it.
Other dishes can be ordered to fit your busy schedule. For instance, if your week is like mine, like a rocket to the moon taking off with a bang on Monday and hurtling up, up and away toward week's end, you won't want to get a burger ($4.95) on a busy Friday, when just half of this colossal grilled sirloin patty with all the fixings nearly had me sleepwalking through a story meeting.Schedule the heavy stuff, like oven-roasted pork shoulder with brown mushroom gravy ($5.95) or a hefty grilled mahi sandwich ($4.95) -- loved that sourdough olive bread -- on Mondays. Mochiko chicken ($5.95) fits in any day and is a crowd pleaser with its sweetly crisp, airy batter, with more chicken than coating. At some other places you can't tell there's chicken in there.
Fridays are for spinach salads ($6.95) layered with delicate bay shrimp, mushrooms and pancetta; or a Caesar salad ($6.95) topped with your choice of grilled miso chicken, grilled garlic- and basil-marinated chicken, bay shrimp, or blackened ahi ($7.95), the latter not quite seared or blackened enough. As sashimi, it just doesn't stand up to the thick, garlicky dressing.
Fridays are also for Sansei's sushi, though the lunch menu is limited to California ($3.75) and spicy tuna rolls ($4.25), a shadow of the extravagant dinner creations. Also surprisingly light was the Cajun-seared mahimahi ($5.95), served moist over crisp sautéed asparagus, green beans, onion, zucchini and summer squash. It was sprinkled with a thin layer of peppery Cajun spices, not rolled and blackened in it.
No desserts. The bambucha portions will leave you rolling out the door without the extra help.
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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
