Category Archives: Casual

Wabisabi Paia Soba and Sushi

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I’ve only been to Wabi Sabi twice now, but I’m really liking this place. And I think the name is pretty accurate too. It’s an unusual outdoor space between two buildings, but worked out with intention and thought and made very comfortable. I love just being in there. Even the bathroom is pretty wonderful in a cute way.

Primarily Wabi Sabi is known for their soba noodles. I’m known to really really like soba noodles. That’s what first drew me in. And the soba was really pretty good. But could it be a bit thicker? I mean, they’re the soba experts. But, I mean, just a little bigger? I’m not saying these should be udon noods, and I’m not like the Soba King here at all. I just like soba. So, like, maybe offer two sizes? I’d really dig them more if they were just a little tiny bit thicker. OK. But that’s me. Maybe not you. But if I could choose, I’d say thicker. Just sayin.

Cold Soba

Come for the soba for sure – it’s got a nice kinda rough texture and some definite bite and the few versions I’ve tried have either a light cold broth or a dark hot meat broth – both really tasty. I prefer the cold, especially on a hot Pa’ia day. And my pro tip here – even though I’m not a soba pro! – is to pour just enough soba sauce into your bowl so that you don’t have too much at the end. Then, you can drink up the last part after you’ve chopsticked all of your noodles out. You’ll find some strands of nori, maybe a few sprouts, some tempura crumbs, and, if you ordered well, a wisp or two of that silky bright orange yolk from the onsen egg that was sitting on top. That last slurp, lip to bowl, really seals the deal.

Beyond the soba, there’s really a decently large menu. There’s sushi and sashimi – all very fresh and tasty, Like any restaurant serving fish on Maui, I with they’d call out which is local. Do we really need to be flying in fish to Maui? Anyway, the cooked mackerel is fantastic!

Mackerel

And the veggie winner is for sure the tofu salad (apparently the tofu is from Japan, which maybe be why it’s so light and fluffy, but that seems a long way for refrigerated food).

Tofu Salad

I wasn’t really as enamored of the nasu (eggplant) miso as I was hoping – the version over at Nuka pretty much blows this one out of the water.

Nasu Miso

The vibe is a really relaxing mix of well-executed Japanese restaurant on a backdrop of chill Pa’ia. I think they kinda nailed it, frankly. I know this is a relative newcomer on a street of bars and pizza and ice cream, but in a lot of ways it just feels most right here.

Wabisabi Pa’ia

Website: https://wabisabihawaii.com/php/restaurant.php

Address:

161 Hana Hwy

Paia, HI 96779

+1 808 318-3342

Paia Fish Market – Paia and Kihei

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Paia Fish Market has occupied a prominent corner in Paia for as long as I can remember, and always pumped out dependable food. Sometime in the last decade, they multiplied out their simple formula and opened additional locations – and they work just as well.

The deal here is pretty simple: Choose a type of fish and a preparation, and then sides. I recommend always checking to see what’s local and fresh – it’ll taste better, support local Maui fishermen, and probably be healthier fish.

If you don’t want a piece of fish with slaw and sides, you’ve got a few other options like burgers and fish or chicken tacos. Again, all dependably good if not earth-shattering or unusual.

The best burger is the off-menu Obama burger – I think it’s blackened ono with butter. He knew what he was doing here.

I don’t consider this place gourmet, but it’s not too expensive and it’s also great for take-out. It’s also much better than the a lot of the restaurants along Kihei Road, so if you’re in Kihei looking for a casual, reasonably priced, dependable meal, you could do a lot worse than Paia Fish Market.

Here’s the Paia location:

100 Hana Highway, Paia HI 96779

And here’s the Kihei location:

1913 South Kihei Road, Kihei HI 96753

Nuka – Excellent Japanese Izakaya in Haiku

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Nuka is very, very easy to love because it’s simply put, great. It really only has one problem: the wait. So I’ll tell you up-front: no reservations and waits can be long. They open for dinner at 4:30 PM and I’ve never had a problem getting a table right away if I show up at 4:15. But starting at maybe 5:30, especially on weekends, you could be facing a 90 minute wait. Of course, in the evening on the North Shore, the weather is likely to be heavenly, so 90 minutes of enjoying that isn’t the worst thing.

OK: about Nuka. Nuka is an izakaya, which, for those who don’t know, is a lot like a Japanese gastropub. They serve alcohol, but also a lot of great casual dishes that really work well with sake and beer. For an izakaya, Nuka actually has a pretty wide range of food styles including sushi and sashimi, some udon soups, a couple of rice bowls, some salads, and a whole array of small plates that are usually vegetable-heavy, and while all of these options are very tasty here, I think the small plates and the salads are where Nuka really shines.

The nasu miso (eggplant) and karaage (fried chicken) are probably my two top small plates here – essentially perfect every time. I also like the agedashi tofu (very umami broth), the crispy calamari (which you can also get on a salad), the miso butterfish (I know, it’s everywhere these days, but for a reason!), and, how can you not get ahi tataki here since you know they’ll prepare it well and the ahi couldn’t be fresher!

I put this place on my You Can’t Go Wrong list – I’d be really really surprised if you ever found a bad item on this menu!

Just a few more notes: the sushi and sashimi are great. The udon? Fine, but I’m just not often in the mood for udon unless it’s an unusually cold day. Always get something pickled – I think they do their pickling in-house. And make sure to get the black sesame ice cream for dessert! They do make this in-house and it’s really, really stunningly good.

Nutcharee Thai

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I found out about this place pretty recently and I’m really sorry I didn’t know about this before.

Maui has a few Thai restaurants and several Thai food trucks. Of all of these, I think Nutcharee is easily the best. Not that the others are bad at all – in fact I really like the Thai food truck at South Maui Gardens in Kihei.

The menu here is decently extensive, but I do feel that it lack enough good vegetarian options.

My highlights are: the Ahi Laab (basicaly a laab or larb salad made out of raw ahi – really an excellent adaption of a classic dish to local ingredients), the E-san sausage (which I think they even make in-house – it has a tiny bit of funk which I love about it, but if you’re looking for regular sweet Italian sausage, this is definitely not it), and the Panang curry. I’d say we get those three dishes almost every time we eat here, and then we add a few other things depending on the size of our party.

They do have some beer, but not a full liquor license. But no matter – this isn’t really a place to sit and relax for a long meal. Nutcharee’s is a full table-service restaurant but the ambiance isn’t really amazing. Remember how I said they adapter their larb to use local ingredients? Well, they haven’t adapted the dining room to embrace outdoor seating, which I consider a negative.

I personally haven’t tried take-out from Nutcharee, but I’m willing to bet it’s pretty great, especially if you avoid the fried items.

Website: Nutcharee Thai

Address: 1280 S Kihei Rd #124, Kihei HI 96753

Tasaka Gudi Gudi

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Here’s a quick little spot for a snack that actually has a small place in Hawaii history. It’s been around for over 100 years (clearly not in this mall anchored by Whole Foods) and they keep their recipe secret.

Cash only. VERY inexpensive. Basically two items.

And I’ll go even further to whittle that down and say I’m not a big fan of one of them.

But what they serve is a frozen treat that is something like ice cream or sorbet, but it’s definitely a bit different. It’s small and refreshing and worth a try.

They serve two flavors: pineapple and strawberry. I really think the pineapple is something – it just tastes like sweet pure pineapple frozen and whipped – but it’s clearly not. Somehow they amplify the pineapple to be even more pineapply than it is naturally – maybe they’re reducing down a syrup?

The other option is strawberry, and this one just doesn’t hit me the right way. I feel like it doesn’t taste like strawberry so much as it tastes like strawberry flavoring – like a strawberry Jolly Rancher does. You know how a watermelon Jolly Rancher has a unique flavor that basically isn’t watermelon? Same thing here.

Anyway, if you’re in Kahului looking for a very quick, very casual, very refreshing bite, this is the place.