The Weekly Eater Nadine Kam

Kuru Kuru Sushi satisfies
cravings with hearty portions

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Life before the sushi conveyor belt was a static one for the sushi fan, a never-ending cycle of $80-plus outings. If you were alive in the 1980s, you probably also remember the days when sushi was made before you, singular works of art to be revered and appreciated in their ephemeral glory before being downed in a few bites.

Then a certain company came along with its tech approach to the traditional art form, and suddenly sushi went mobile. It was never as bad as H-1 eastbound in the morning, but traffic backed up as those hungry for budget sushi piled up to give the fast-moving sushi a try.

It was just as well that this new sushi sped along, adored for its color and quantity as it rounded the curves of the conveyor belt. If the plates stopped moving, people might notice how thin the slivers of fish were, almost transparent, and how meager they seemed compared with the blocks of rice meant to do the actual work of sating appetites. If you could taste anything at all, it was probably the wasabi. But for the most part it was grab and grind, a rather instinctive and primitive approach to dining. Snobs scoffed, as they are wont to do, and continued to pay full price at sushi bars.

But democratization of sushi was a good thing for all. It was just a matter of time before quality improved, because the star-making power of restaurant writers fueled culinary passions, fueled cooking shows, fueled the rush to kitchens, fueled more sophisticated consumers who demanded more. Where sushi-making was once the province of experts trained in Japan, there is now nothing to stop those educated consumers from making their own nigiri sushi at home.

I have to admit it's not that much fun to spend time handling and slicing pieces of fish and shaping rice fingerlings, only to see your hard work disappear in seconds. Simple economics sometimes dictate staying at home and cooking rice, but when sudden cravings hit, $10 per person is doable for a sushi run.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Richard Shoda grabs a plate of sushi off the conveyor belt of Kuru Kuru Sushi at Pearl Kai Center as his wife, Karen, decides what she wants to try.

On the Leeward side, such cravings can be satisfied at Kuru Kuru Sushi, where I was impressed by the rich quality of the hamachi, maguro, salmon and unagi ($2.20) served. You can kiss those days of the transparent, flavorless fish goodbye. The hamachi served here rivals that of the finest sushi bars and goes one step better by blanketing the rice. It's like a kid curled up in bed after watching a horror movie -- every inch more than covered.

What you don't get in these fast-stop sushi bars is the time-consuming sculptural sushi -- your spider rolls and "caterpillars" layered with thin slices of avocado, for instance -- but apparently it's possible to serve better grades of fish as long as they can also move such loss leaders as nori-belted Spam sushi ($1.20) and various canned tuna and mayonnaise creations. Just don't bother with the bay shrimp and mayonnaise.

This brings me to my next point: Don't be too quick to judge the offerings when only a few customers are in the house. That's when the plainest fare is offered; I mean, no sense in putting out the hamachi when it might go to waste, riding the merry-go-round without ever fulfilling its destiny.

This means if you're in a rush and just want a taste of sushi, you don't have to worry too much about counting up plates or risk going broke.

It's the $1.20 and $1.70 plates that show up most. The $4 plates, with the salmon roe and uni, rarely show up. You'll have to ask the staff to place a special order for you. If the staff is doing its job right, someone will ask you if you want anything beyond what is coming out of the kitchen. If not, go ahead and place your order for items absent from the conveyor.

In addition to seafood, you'll find hot foods as well, such as belted kalbi ($1.20) that's a bit chewy and therefore demands more work than the typical nigiri. You'll also find bowls of chicken karaage ($2.20), as well as crab, curry and vegetarian croquettes full of mashed potato, sweet onions and bits of minced carrots and peas ($2.20). (You're going to have to ask the staff to point out the different croquettes; the crusty little cakes look the same on the outside.)

Another vegetarian offering well worth trying is the broiled eggplant drizzled with teriyaki sauce.

For dessert there's coffee jelly and fruit jelly ($1.20), or papaya ($1.70), also off the conveyor.

And part of the fun is in seeing how your plates stack up next to the other customers'. Two people will typically polish off nine to 11 plates, and it's nice eating until you're full without worrying about whether you can really afford that sixth or seventh dish.

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Kuru Kuru Sushi Pearl Kai Shopping Center, 98-199 Kamehameha Highway / 484-4596 Food Service 1/2 Ambience Value Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (3 to 5 p.m. takeout only) Mondays to Fridays; 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m . Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays Cost: About $15 to $20 for two

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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:

	excellent;
	very good, exceeds expectations;
	average;
	below average.

To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com