The Weekly Eater
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Whenever people start asking about restaurants, I throw one question at them: "Where do you like to eat?" The answers tell me where diners' hearts and minds are in case I get carried away writing about too many uppity places serving ingredients that are still a mystery to the general populace. I was shocked when I overhead a woman asking a supermarket clerk recently, "What's basil?" Intimate Yama Chan offers
simple, ono, affordable fareFood writers in general tend to be a curious lot and will ingest just about anything, if not for pleasure, then at least for a few laughs. Most people aren't as fond of allowing their stomachs to become test labs. Therefore, they generally seek simple -- must be ono -- fare at affordable prices.
Names that come up often include Ronnie's in Aiea, Paesano's in Manoa, Buca di Beppo in the Ward Entertainment Center, Pinky's in Kailua and, increasingly, Yama Chan on King Street. The latter is the smallest and subtlest of all, and has one quality that is particularly endearing to people. They all think they discovered it.
Not only that, the staff -- all family -- seem genuinely interested and curious about guests, which gives the place a cozy, homey feel. The warmth factor was especially notable after having gone recently to a Korean fast-food restaurant in Manoa where the staff was yawning and talking loudly about wanting to go home. How inviting is that? At Yama Chan, it's guests who are more likely to feel they're imposing by staying late at night, but no, 10 p.m. is closing time, and they assure it's no trouble at all if you wish to linger over a warm cup of tea.
No doubt the reasonable prices also win fans. Teishoku dinners range from $7.95 to $8.75 for single entrees including broiled salmon ($8.25), chicken or pork cutlet ($7.95/$8.25) or ahi teriyaki ($8.50). For the price you get the usual lettuce salad, gobo, pickles, rice and miso soup. (For lunch prices, subtract $2.)
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Entrees are small, at about 3-ounce servings, which is about the same as at many Japanese restaurants. If you're not accustomed to the kind of true portion that is used as the basis for nutritional analyses, you might want to "supersize" your meal by going for the combination teishoku, at $9.25 for two entree choices or $12.25 for three choices. I can never pass up the broiled butterfish. You're better off getting the New York steak elsewhere. I don't know, maybe because beef is so expensive in Japan, few learn how to deal with it. Here, it was looking rather drab and unloved, served with a pool of Worcestershire sauce for drowning.LUCKILY, THAT'S ABOUT the lowest you can go here. There's an ample selection of sushi, and chef Kazuo Yamamoto is generous with the ahi in your basic tekka maki, later turning up the heat with a spicy tuna roll ($4.25) that, compared with other sushi bars, is unexpectedly hot, Hot, HOT!
Five pieces of nigiri sushi (usually maguro, salmon, shrimp, snapper and tamago) are part of the sushi teishoku, which gives you a second choice of tempura ($15.95), tempura udon ($15.95), beef or chicken teriyaki ($15.95) and sashimi ($17.95).
Yama Chan excels at deep-fried foods such as the tempura and an appetizer of soft-shell crab ($6.75). Get the best of both worlds by ordering the spider roll ($6.50), which has the crispy soft-shell crab rolled into sushi with slivers of cucumber, tobiko and radish sprouts.
Other a la carte specialties include a sedate dish of clams ($5.95), steamed in a delicate blend of dashi, sake, shoyu and mirin instead of the more typical butter, garlic and wine combination served elsewhere. A better choice for fans of richer flavors are the broiled scallops, served with a sauce of mayonnaise thinned with a bit of vinegar, Worcestershire and other "secret" ingredients that's tamer than it sounds.
They even offer miso or shoyu ramen ($7.25) and other noodle dishes and donburi ($7 to $9.50) that I'll have to try some other time.
Dessert is a refreshing helping of fresh-cut oranges.
1145-B S. King St. / 596-YAMA (9262) Yama Chan
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday
Food 1/2
Service Ambience Value Cost: About $25 for two for dinner
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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.
