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Roll the dice at Shokudo

FOR AS long as there has been explorers, invaders and travelers crossing country borders, there has been intermingling of cultures and cuisines resulting in what we might describe by using the name of a single region, whether Basque, Hawaiian Regional or Laotian.

You'd think that with all this intermingling going on, that in another century or two there will be one global cuisine served from Mililani to Mozambique, but I doubt it. The proof is in all the contemporary Japanese restaurants in town serving us their interpretations of Korean, Chinese, Italian and good old American fare. Bringing their unique sensibilities to the plates, the results differ from our own chop suey collages of flavors and textures.

The Japan way doesn't always work for us, just as no artistic creation speaks to everyone, but bless 'em for opening our minds to alternatives. We could all use a dose of humility.

Even if such creations are puzzling, there will always be folks who get it, and there seems to be quite a few of them at the newly open Shokudo, where the restaurant name literally means "dining room." That concept didn't exist before the introduction of Western culture to Japan, so be prepared for a fusion experience.

YOU CAN COUNT on the new Japanese restaurants for great style, and Shokudo delivers. A sculptural form looms over the dining room like a giant lantern or a vortex with an alien egg at its base. Cool! It has the vibe of Italy's Memphis Design movement of the 1980s -- a mix of cartoon, color and kitsch -- that feels very modern today. One side of the room has stadium-style riser seating. A first for a Honolulu restaurant.

Japanese entrepreneurs just may understand better than their American counterparts that their business is not always about the seriousness of food, but about novelty and entertainment, which might explain why it's packed when the food is only so-so. For younger clientele, this is affordable, practical fun with play food, with most of the izakaya-style plates running $6.75 to $8.75. (Night owl hours help.)

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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM A waiter stirs a bowl of ishiyaki for diners at Shokudo, next door to Pietro's on Kapiolani Boulevard.

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While I didn't care for many of the dishes -- you can get better sushi, for instance, at a quickie sushi bar -- I find myself wanting to return for a handful of simple dishes, like the rice, sashimi and tofu. Ishiyaki dishes of rice served in a hot stone bowl are a specialty. Most popular is the unagi rice ($7.75) with plenty of the teriyaki eel on top. It's mostly rice, but I still enjoyed the bibimbap ($6.75), with its blend of kim chee, bean sprouts, green onion, slivered nori and egg.

The server carting the box containing the bowl will mix it at your table. Don't eat it all at once, because the longer it stays pressed to the bowl, the crisper the rice gets.

You'll be tempted to order everything you want at once, but don't do it. In a place this big, they can't time the arrival of your dishes and the smallness of the tables means that no more than three dishes will fit on the table at once. If you've got an ishiyaki box at your table, it might have to be taken away before you get a chance to try the crisp rice.

Also served with a hot stone plate is garlic ahi sashimi ($7.75). You could eat it raw or place it on the plate to sear it or cook it through. Served on a plate of pureed onion, it tastes more like the onion than garlic.

A dish of grilled yuzu pepper chicken ($7.75) is sort of the equivalent of the typical Western meal. You've got your main entree chicken with a mix of lotus root and carrots subbing for the succotash. The chicken dries out on its hot plate, but the thin coating of citrusy yuzu is wonderful and addictive.

A fruit parfait makes a tempting dessert, but it's served in a too-tall glass that makes you work for each bite, and a layer of cornflakes adds little to its appeal. But that's the nature of this place. Half the time you're going to lose, but half the time you're going to win, and Hawaii people love rolling the dice.

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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Marcia Takahashi, left, holds a dish of fried chicken with tartar sauce, and Yayoi Nishitani holds the pressed unagi sushi.

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Shokudo Ala Moana Pacific Center, 1585 Kapiolani Boulevard, ground floor. Parking entrance is on Kona Street. Look for the small sign that indicates parking for Pietro's and Shokudo. / 941-3701 Food Service Ambience Value Hours: 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily Cost: About $25 to $30 for two without drinks