Sorry for the week long unannounceed break folks. I’m at the tail-end of a crazy crazy semester at work and I’m just spent. I still feel spent by the way. Oh and remember how awful it was for us to go through termite tenting? We found frass again but then I started reading more, I get that there could be leftover frass in furniture that could appear later. My family of course freaks out, we are covered for five years and a technician was sent out. Then my family freaks out that furniture is not covered. I don’t know what to say folks, I’ve learned way too much about termites in the past few months and I really don’t understand why the process has to be this difficult. I’ll have to continue to monitor and call again in 2 weeks if we see new activity I guess. Ugh.

Sorry for the rant! I haven’t been to Tonkatsu Tamafuji in YEARS. And when I say years, maybe even over a decade. You can make reservations on their website but the reservations are like booked out for nearly a year out. My god, people must love tonkatsu. We came on a Thursday AFTERNOON for a 4PM dinner. Yeah, I actually beat my record for senior citizen eating time. And wouldn’t you know? The place was packed with us reservation holders and then a whole line of people lining up for the walk-in line. WILD. I couldn’t believe it!

Sesame Seeds

Were they the first restaurant to do this in Hawaii? You grind your own sesame seeds to add your tonkatsu sauce in. Mmmm, freshly ground sesame seeds smell so good!

Pickled Vegetables

Complimentary! I heard they change these up every time. Ehh, they were okay. Sorry if I’m being a hater. I don’t like cabbage tsukemono when it still has the raw taste you know? I was excited for the choy sum (?) tsukemono on the right but that was also just okay. Just a bit bland. And don’t hurt me, I don’t like umeboshi so I can’t judge that for you folks.

Jyukusei (Aged) Pork Loin Katsu Teishoku (240g) | $27.50

I went for the medium set, 180g sounds so manini. So when I was looking at the menu, I was asking Chan which pork is better cause get Pork Loin Katsu and Pork Tender Loin Katsu. From the name alone, you would think the tender loin would be the best? Nope, it’s this one, the Ro-su. Super good and moist because there’s some fat in it.

Yummy, perfectly fried. It was delicious. The teishoku also comes with unlimited rice (oh my god the rice!) and unlimited shredded cabbage. They serve the cabbage with a goma dressing and a ponzu dressing. You can choose the white rice, seasoned mixed rice or 5 grain rice. We all went for the white rice and that was a great choice. You don’t want your rice competing with all the flavors! You also get a choice of red or white miso soup with either clams and green onions or tofu and seafood.

All in all, a good dining experience! Kind of pricey but I guess you are paying for the quality and service. And if I could eat more, I would definitely be asking for more rice and cabbage. We dined here in mid-April and our friends were looking up the next available reservation and it was in January 2025. CRAZY STUFF. I think it’s also because you don’t need to put a credit card to hold your reservation, and I think the wait-list line all got seated so maybe it just all works out.

Ringer Hut has reopened at Ala Moana! They are on street level on the post office side. We were excited for them to open and got in before they got super busy! It’s a very nice new space, clean and bright. It was a great meal ruined by the group who came in after us. They were acting very snobbish and just being so rude and sassy. At one point, they asked for hot tea and was informed that they did not serve hot tea – the male diner asked, what kind of restaurant is this? Then when the wait staff asked if they could take the menu back since they already ordered, he said, I guess you can take it if you have to. Get a life. Take a hike! Blah! It’s free to be nice, everyone.

Nagasaki Champon (Regular Size) with Deep Fried Gyoza (6p) | $22.00

Chan got the noodles and we shared the gyoza. The noodles have a nice broth! The gyoza is good but I’m not usually a fan of deep fried gyoza, I prefer them steamed/pan fried.

Nagasaki Saraudon (Regular Size) with Yakimeshi | $23.50

Oh yum! My dish! Saraudon – didn’t know this existed! You can’t tell from the pic but it’s like fried egg noodles underneath all this nice gravy and toppings. I love noodles made like this – it was delicious! And yes, I had to order the side fried rice. I always want to try different types of chahan – was too full to eat it but it tasted great as leftovers! Nice umami flavor. I would definitely get this again!

Karaage (5) | $8.00

We got a side order of karaage to share. Was good! Hard to complain about fried chicken.

The wait staff were very nice, it was within the first few days of opening so I think they are still getting into the groove of things. It didn’t matter for us, the service was great and the food came out quick! I would definitely come back!