The Weekly Eater
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STAR-BULLETIN.COM
Helen Chock, standing, chats with long-time customers Hannah
and Bob Tom. In back, Vanessa, Jahhmai and Leroy Infiel
get ready to order dinner.
LAST day at Helena's, 1364 N. King St., Feb. 2, 2001, we were unstoppable, my friends and I as we plowed through pipikaula shortribs, fried butterfish collars, kalua pig, poke, opihi, luau squid and all the haupia we could eat. New Helena’s
recreates beloved
recipes by heartIt was to be our last supper at the landmark restaurant, after all, and we wanted to remember every savory strand of pork, the fresh-from-the-ocean pungency of opihi and limu, the butterfish so hot and crisp on the outside, fried to a burnished gold and copper shimmer, yet so silky white and smooth on the inside.
Sure, owner Helen Chock (an "a" was added to her restaurant name to make it sound more Hawaiian) promised she would reopen her doors in a new location, soon, but we needed memories of that last meal to tide us over until "soon" became a reality. "Soon" has a funny way of morphing into later, next year, sayonara. The longer the wait, the less urgency, until one wonders why bother at all if the choice is between a golden retirement full of play, or work.
Those of us of the see it-want it-take it all generations would easily have chosen to play, but Helen is of the stoic work-as-meaning-of-life generation, and maybe it is when you're turning out the kind of comfort food that makes so many people so happy.
HELENA'S HAWAIIAN FOODS
Food 
Service Ambience Value Address: 1240 North School St. / 845-8044
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays
Cost: About $6 to $12 per person
After the restaurant closed, I attempted a search for shortribs that might replace Helena's, with its chewy, jerky-like exterior and moist pull-apart interior. To no avail. Other shortribs were hopelessly one-dimensional.
Just when I had given up, Helen did live up to her promise and is open for business at 1240 N. School St., continuing a legacy that began in 1946. Helena's new home is next to Liliha Saimin and blocks before Kam Shopping Center if heading west. The door to the restaurant looks just about the same as the old place, except it's trimmed in red, with a permanent, painted-on maile lei on the outside, auspicious signs in two cultures.
The faces look familiar too as all of Helen's family are back to their old jobs, including daughter Elaine Katsuyoshi, who helps out behind the counter and grandson Craig Katsuyoshi, who's in the kitchen, and former patrons have been filing in, making Helena's even busier than it used to be.And my first meal at the new Helena's was the same as the last at the old Helena's, basically, Menu D, with its kalua pig, lomi salmon, shortribs, luau squid and haupia at $12.45 with a large poi ($12.20 with small poi or $11.35 with two scoops rice). To this we added a la carte extras of the butterfish collars (three for $2.75), a second large order of the shortribs ($5.95), opihi ($2.60) and pork laulau ($2.60). Accompanying the entrees were red alae salt, slices of sweet Maui onions, and of course, all the chili pepper water you cared to shake over your meal.
As usual, the haupia arrived first, and quickly disappeared. I don't usually eat dessert first, but I didn't want to miss out, knowing the rest of the meal might leave me too full to enjoy it later.
I was relieved to find that the flavors were exactly as I remembered, but with Helen's 55 years in the kitchen, I could have bet that she knows those recipes by heart.
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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:
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