The Famous Hiroshi Mayaki

Umami and Elle were walking along Kapahalu Avenue, looking for a place to eat lunch.  Rainbow Drive-In was, not surprisingly, prohibitively crowded, so they moved on.  Passing Hee Hing Plaza, they looked up and saw a noren proclaiming "Healthy Japanese Food" and, under that "Hiroshi Mayaki" and, under that "Shochan."  Who was this Hiroshi Mayaki?  What was his healthy Japanese food like?  Intrigued, they went upstairs to check it out.

The place looked like it had just opened.  A hand-lettered sign said that more menu items and liquor were on the way, but, for now, they were serving okonomiyaki.  "What's that?" asked Elle, she was ready to pass on it.  "Like a frittata" said Umami.  Not quite correct, but close.  And Elle, who loves her breakfast food, was sold.

Okonomiyaki

The food is cooked to order, so, while they were waiting, Umami googled "Hiroshi Mayaki" and discovered, to his amusement, that they had been reading the sign wrong.  Because "Hiroshi" was on one panel of the noren and "Mayaki" was on the another, they had assumed it was two words:  "Hiroshi Mayaki."

So wrong!

It's one word:  "Hiroshimayaki," a particular style of okonomiyaki, in which the ingredients are layered, rather than mixed together.   Another blogger had made the same mistake.   http://nakama-m-photos.blogspot.com/2009/05/shochan-hiroshimayaki-restaurant.html.

The restaurant is actually called Shochan Hiroshimayaki and it used to be in Puck's Alley on University. And the food . . . ?

Oh, Hiroshimayaki!

Very, very good!   Their standard okonomiyaki has a bottom layer of cabbage, topped successively by a little pork, bacon, yakisoba, and, finally, a crepe-style omelette.  It's covered with mitsuwa sauce and served on a sizzling cast iron platter.  Mayonnaise and extra sauce can be added and it makes a perfect late breakfast.  Total tab for two - $20 with the tax and tip.  Not bad at all.

Umami and Elle will definitely be back.  But they'll probably always call it "Hiroshi Mayaki."

Shochan Hiroshimayaki
Hee Hing Plaza (3rd Floor, next to Tokkuri Tei)
449 Kapahulu Ave.
Honolulu, Hawaii  96815