Utage

It was my weekly lunch with the boys, and we were all trying to think of a place that would be convenient to eat at in the Kalihi area. Utage was it! They're known for their Okinawan food, but more specifically their Shoyu Pork. Utage (neighboring Young's Fishmarket) is a very casual lunch place with many old-timers or business people meeting for lunch. We were probably the loudest bunch in the restaurant.

What I love about Utage is that all of their lunch sets comes with a drink, soup (miso soup or soup of the day), the entreé and dessert! A really great deal.

Btw, there are lots of great menu items, but don't forget to check out their Specials on the board.

Verdict? When I think of Okinawan, I always think of Sunrise Restaurant in Kapahulu, however I thought that the value at Utage was a huge plus. Sunrise Restaurant's food was tastier and seemed more authentic, though you couldn't beat the price at Utage, especially if I'm in the Kalihi area. Shoyu Pork was nice and salty-sweet. Very pungent flavor. You can also order it with different veggies, though I prefer by itself. The best pieces of shoyu pork? The chunks with some fat on it.....just melts in your mouth!

Ong Choy Rice Soup- essentially ong choy and rice in a miso-soup-based broth. I liked it!

Kyle ordered their Tempura

Allen had an unadventurous bowl of Oyako-don. Come on, you can get this anywhere!

Thank you Brian Terayama for ordering the Oxtail and letting me sample!

Oxtail was decent. Very light broth and meat was soft, but not fall-off-the-bone tender.

Me and Tamas had the Shoyu Pork. A nice hefty bowl of just pork. We definitely had our portion of protein that day, plus a bowl full of rice. Both Tamas and I couldn't finish it all!

Homemade Coffee Gelatin. No sweetener. Just coffee and jello. Not my thing, but it came with the meal, so I can't complain.