Restaurant Chatter: Restaurant Osaka

Restaurant Osaka, 762 Kanoelehua Avenue, (808)961-6699

If you ask the Ds where they'd like to go out to dinner, 9 out of 10 times, they will answer emphatically, "Restaurant Osaka!"  Restaurant Osaka opened in the mid 80s and originally served Japanese and local food.  I vividly remember when it opened because the owner was the brother of my then-boyfriend.  I missed the grand opening because I was away at college, but as soon as I came home for the summer, my ex-boyfriend's family hosted a dinner there.

katsudon

The katsudon (tonkatsu or chicken katsu donburi) has been on the menu since the restaurant opened.  When I cannot decide what to order, I usually fall back on the katsudon. 

I cannot explain why the Ds cannot get enough of Restaurant Osaka.  We go there mutliple times a month, and I'm sure they Ds also go there with Mr. Dependable.  The nice ladies stopped giving the Ds menus years ago because they always order the same thing:  tempura udon with the tempura on the side (D1) and plain udon (D2).  I thought Betty was going to faint once when D1 ordered something else!

tempura on the side

tonk combo

Sometime around a decade ago, Restaurant Osaka changed ownership.  The new owner's wife, who is Korean, added Korean food to the menu.

The "tonk combo" is a popular selection.  It comes with teriyaki chicken, tonkatsu (or chicken katsu), fried mandoo, macaroni-potato salad, and rice.  I'm happy to report that there is not a speck of mustard in the salad.  They do give you a small dish of hot mustard (guessing its for the mandoo), but it is easily moved off the plate and across the table.

stir fried spicy ika (squid/calamari)

bi bim bap

I think Restaurant Osaka makes best bi bim bap in Hilo.  They also serve it in the heated ceramic bowl for a few dollars more.

Although I often cringe when the Ds suggest Restaurant Osaka for dinner, I will be the first to admit that Restaurant Osaka does an excellent job of frying their katsu.  It bothers me when I go out to eat and find that restaurants don't fry their katsu well.  Frying is something that many people do, but many people do not do it well.  Confounding!

Here are some tips for katsu making:

• One mistake many people make from the get-go is not preparing the meat properly.  In order for katsu to fry evenly, the meat needs to be a uniform thickness, and it cannot be too thick.  A meat mallet is essential for making katsu.  Pound pork or chicken between pieces of saran wrap to make the job neater.  
• Place flour, eggs, and panko in wide, shallow dishes to make the breading process easier.  Some people talk about using 1 had to work with wet ingredients and the other hand to work with wet ingredients.  I've had some success in doing this, but after a while, things get yucky anyway.

breading set up

• Bread everything first, then fry. 
• Its not necessary to deep fry katsu.  Oil at a depth of 1/2" in a wide skillet is ample for frying katsu.  
• Use kitchen shears to cut katsu into strips.  A dull knife tends to remove the breading.
• Buy good sauce:  Bulldog and Ikari are good brands.  If it looks like ketchup, it probably tastes like ketchup too.
• The same breading technique can be used for shrimp, calamari, mushrooms, etc.  If using shrimp or calamari, blot excess moisture with a paper towel before flouring.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Katsu (Tonkatsu or Chicken Katsu)

     pork cutlets or chicken breast, pounded to 1/4" thickness

     salt & pepper

     flour

     eggs, beaten

     panko

     oil for frying

Sprinkle pork or chicken with salt and pepper.  Dust with flour, shaking off excess flour.  Dip both sides of floured meat in beaten eggs.  Immediately coat with panko.  Heat 1/2" oil in a skillet.  Fry katsu until golden brown on one side.  Turn over and fry other side.  Drain on paper towels.  Slice into strips and serve on a bed of shredded cabbage with tonkatsu sauce on the side.

Restaurant Chatter: Cham Cham is Back

Today is the first day of Fall Intersession, and unlike this time last year, I am going to try and be a couch potato instead of iron chef.  I've purchased all but season 5 of Criminal Minds (I have a bid on the season 5 dvd set) and my goal is to watch as many episodes of Criminal Minds as possible.  Cooking will likely interfere with my plans so I'll be doing a lot of takeout meals.

I'm really glad that my favorite Korean restaurant in Hilo is open again.  The Cham Cham Restaurant (421 Kalanikoa Street, Suite 102) serves the best Korean food in Hilo.  Some of you might be familiar with it as the old Snappy's Pizza location.  I like that the facilities are clean, there is ample parking for dinner, and the main waiter speaks English.  The little dishes of pickled vegetables are nice too.  But what I love most is the taste of the food.  Everything I have ever eaten at Cham Cham has been delicious.

Hilo almost lost Cham Cham.  In early June, I went to the Cham Cham for dinner and was shocked to see the place dark and a note on the door explaining that they were closed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.  I thought perhaps someone was ill (turns out nobody was ill), so I went back the following week.  Same sign, same dark restaurant.  I was devastated.  It was back to XX for my bi bim bap fix.  Don't get me wrong. XX makes a decent bi bim bap, but unlike Cham Cham, XX is not the "total package".

A few weeks ago, I heard a rumor that Cham Cham was going to reopen.  I went to see for myself yesterday, and sure enough, it was open!  I had dinner there Friday night and Saturday night (yes, its THAT good. . . I couldn't stay away).  In case you're wondering, I didn't have dinner there last night; the Cham Cham is closed on Sundays.

I love the assortment of little dishes.

garlic shoots

 My all-time favorite dish there is the bi bim bap.  It comes in a classy brass bowl, and you can select either bbq beef or bbq chicken as a topping.

The Korean chicken is another favorite.  This is NOT the same kind of Korean chicken your mom made (if your mom made Korean chicken).  Homestyle, Hawaii-style Korean chicken is usually some wing part which has been fried then dipped into a slightly-sweet soy, green onion & sesame oil sauce.  I enjoy Mom's Korean chicken, but Cham Cham Korean chicken is an entirely different dish altogether.  Instead of a teriyaki-like sauce, the sauce is clear with a definite vinegar taste.  It is neither overpowering nor cloying, but it takes the crispy chicken to a new level.

 If spice is your passion, try the Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup.  Laden with calamari pieces, shrimp, and a mussel, the hearty broth will definitely warm you to the bone on a cold, wet Hilo night.

This is a dish which competes with bi bim bap as my all-time favorite.  Its a seafood pancake that is as large as the size of a dinner plate.  Its served with a sesame dipping sauce.  Ask for the pancake to be cooked extra crispy.

 

If you don't mind the heat and are looking for a very filling meal, consider the kim chee fried rice.  You get a choice of meat (bbq chicken or some other kind of bbq meat), and it comes with a nicely fried egg sitting on top.

Cham Cham also does takeout plates and bentos (currently $6 for a combination bento).  Call (808-961-4741) at least 15 minutes in advance.  I took out a kal bi & mean juhn combination.  It came with 2 mandoo, a generous bed of rice and 4 different sides:  taegu, daikon kim chee, won bok kim chee, and namul.

chicken katsu & spicy pork bento

Kal bi & meat juhn combination plate (take out)