Hawaii~Off the Wall

While Mike and I were in Hawaii, we met up with a friend of Mike's at Off the Wall in Pearl Kai shopping center, which is an Okinawan/Asian fusion type place.  For some reason, I thought that this restaurant was supposed to be like a plate lunch/okazuya type place, but it's actually has a hip restaurant/bar feel. 

Oh this appetizer was soooo good. It was my favorite dish of the night. It's a crispy andagi filled with a shoyu pork, and topped with a shoyu sauce and pickled ginger. I normally do not like eating pickled ginger, but Mike's friend said that you the had to eat the ginger with the dish. He was right, and the ginger adds to the delicious combination of flavors.  I figured it out that when I want to replicate a dish at home, that means that I really enjoyed a dish. 

"Okonomiyaki Gyoza" This is a fusion of Japanese Okonomiyaki sauce over gyoza.

We ordered "Mochiko Style Fish Bites" and I thought the menu said Ahi bites, but when we received the order, we were pleasantly surprised that the fish was soft and buttery and definitely not ahi. If I had to take a stab at what fish this was, I'd have to guess that it was butterfish, but I have never had butterfish prepared like this before. I described the fish to my mom and she thought that it was monchong, but when we ate monchong at Roy's we realized that this was ont monchong.

Bubu Arare Chicken Karaage. You could pass on ordering this dish. It needed a little bit more flavor. 

Okinawan Shoyu Pork Soba Pasta-Our server told us this was the most popular dish at the restaurant. I'd say that the Shoyu Pork Andagi is the one dish you must try at Off the Wall.

Miso Eggplant and Tofu-I was expecting this dish to have more miso, eggplant, and tofu. I think the combination of the three ingredients sounds delicious, but this dish was more like a stir-fry.  

Overall, Mike was not impressed with Off the Wall, but I'd go back. We both agreed that the anadagi was the best dish, and I'd be interested in trying out the other creative dishes like the nagaimo tofu natto.

Off the Wall

Pearl Kai Shopping Center

98-199 Kamehameha Hwy, B-10
Aiea, Hawaii 96701