I pen this column having just returned from our annual sojourn during the Memorial Day weekend taking Mom to various cemeteries to place flowers at the resting places of dear relatives. Our trip always follows the same pattern starting at Honolulu Memorial Park moving on to Nu’uanu Memorial Park then the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl and ending with immediate family members at Hawaiian Memorial Park. Though Mom isn’t as mobile as she used to be, she still wants to make the trip even if she often simply waits in the car watching me place the flower arrangements in the urn. On-giri, honoring and remembering the ancestors.
But during this O-bon season, I also remember restaurants and meals in the past, especially those which can never be repeated as those establishments have long since shuttered their doors. And with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the permanent closing of dining establishments is a true reality even for those restaurants that would have continued if not for the crisis.
Jon’s Coffee Shop
Located on the lower level of the central, Mauka (mountain side) area in Ala Moana Shopping Center, Jon’s Coffee Shop was usually the final stop for the Tatsumoto’s visit to the shopping center which occurred only about once every 3 to 4 months. Because we resided in Windward Oahu, my parents didn’t like making frequent trips over the Koolau mountains but since Ala Moana Shopping Center was a one-stop destination with Long’s Drug Store, Liberty House, Kramer’s, McInerny’s, Shirokiya and even Radja’s Piroschki, they knew that they had to make that trip every couple of months. And once the shopping was done, we had lunch at Jon’s Coffee Shop. It was a hole-in-the-wall eatery with a small dining area though we usually sampled lunch just outside adjacent to a children’s play area with several stone and concrete sculptures that children could climb. However, we never were allowed in the sand as Mom always said that felines do their nasty business in sand and Mom T was a major disinfection queen well before the COVID crisis. Of course, since I was the warubozu child, after finishing my lunch, I would touch the sand while Mom and Dad weren’t looking almost as my personal victory… “ha ha, I touched the sand and you didn’t see…” But as I grew older and well after Jon’s shuttered their doors, I remembered the burgers we always sampled for lunch. Thin patties like those from the Golden Arches but a lot paler in color so I suspect there was either some pork (or all pork) with the distinct flavor of black pepper and a touch of curry powder. Nothing else was served on the burger other than a leaf of iceberg lettuce and yellow relish that is often served on hotdogs. I’ve tried recreating those patties in my own kitchen though my versions still aren’t close to the original. I’m sure part of the original experience captured the essence of “small kid time” which can never be replicated. But if anyone out there knows the recipe, drop me a line!
King’s Bakery
What is now known as King’s Hawaiian in Torrance, CA since 1977 used to be King’s Bakery in the 50th. The original Oahu bakery (the Taira family started the business in Hilo or on the Big Island) was located just off of King Street and while they sold usually bakery goods, they also had a pastry that had the pronounced flavor of almonds. They were dense pastries that were the size of your average croissant but because of the richness, I could never finish a whole pastry at one sitting. And because I sampled these as a child, I never knew the actual name of the pastry. In my college years, a classmate worked at a local pastry shop and he thinks they were either called Princess Rolls or Marzipan Rolls. Marzipan rolls would make sense as marzipan is simply ground almonds and sugar. It also would explain why I couldn’t finish a simple pastry as almonds or almond flour is a lot richer than wheat flour. I even wrote to a local newspaper food columnist (who is older than I am) but she didn’t remember any almond flavored pastry and gave me a recipe for almond rolls which were more like simple dinner rolls with flaked almonds. But if anyone out there knows the recipe, drop me a line!
Masu’s Massive Plate Lunch
Starting originally as Livingston Food Services in 1974
primarily as a catering business with a small plate lunch business by the
mother and son team of Yoshiko and Paul Masuoka, the plate lunch business
proved to be more profitable so they renamed the business Masu’s Plate Lunch
and after moving to their final location in the 90’s, Paul offered local celebrity named plate lunch specials
which included steak and even lobster tails (not just one tail). During my
college days, we frequented Masu’s Massive Plate Lunch (the “massive” was added
to the name once the specials were created) on a regular basis and even after I
returned home from the Bay Area after completing graduate school, I continued
regular trips to boost my cholesterol levels. I’ll fess up, because of my
nutrition training, knew that digested nutrients hit the blood stream about 2
hours after a meal. If I consumed a lobster special, I would go to the blood
bank for a donation about 2 hours after lunch. At my next donation, the nurse
at the blood bank would always state that my previous blood sample was lipemic
(higher levels of fat) and asked me if my primary care doctor was aware of my
lipemic blood. The way I saw it, some patient who received my transfused blood
probably told their nurse, “I don’t why but I suddenly taste lobster… and teriyaki
chicken” … And massive wasn’t just an advertising slogan, I remember their teriyaki
chicken plate had 6 or 7 chicken thighs and that sauce ladled over the rice…
sheer heaven!
But after Mom Masuoka retired then passed in 2004, the strain of working long hours finally took its toll and when the new building owners decided not to renew the lease, Paul Masuoka decided to retire 2 years early and Masu’s closed their doors for good in 2007. However, he did give the recipe for his teriyaki chicken to that same newspaper food columnist and I saved the recipe but be forewarned. Part of that exquisite flavor comes from searing sauced dipped chicken in a cast iron frying pan that is so hot, if you’re doing right, it’ll set off the smoke detector. And Masuoka also stated that the flavor isn’t the same with small batches of chicken - the recipe I downloaded was for 5 lbs. of chicken thighs, Masuoka’s original recipe is for 150 lbs. of chicken thighs. But if you want the recipe, drop me a line!
Closer to Your Home
I previously lamented about Bay Area restaurants like Patisserie Delanghe, P.J.’s Oyster Bed and Pacific Heights Bar & Grill that are no more. Because of the current pandemic, we fear that another of our Bay Area faves may also shutter, The Grove on Fillmore. We usually have our first meal at The Grove and often our last breakfast before heading back to the 50th. So, patronize your favorite establishment even if it’s just take-out before they also become distant food memories.
For Dad T
And as a closing to this O-bon column, I would
like to dedicate this column to my father-in-law, Toshisada Tamura. He was
always a man of few words with me. We always celebrated his birthday at his
favorite restaurant… well, there actually were several. Apparently, while he
was still working, he frequented the Columbia Inn for breakfast. My wife
decided to join him one morning and when the server asked him if he’d have the
usual, my wife gave him those “big eyes” … “how often do you come here Dad”? My
in-laws were also regulars at the old Wisteria, but they closed and after my
mother-in-law passed, his last favorite restaurant was the buffet at the Pagoda
Floating Restaurant. And again, a man of few words. “How’s the sashimi”?
“good”. “How’s the tempura”? “good”. And though he just passed late last year,
I know my wife is reassured that he’s no longer in chronic pain from multiple
fractures and is now back with my mother-in-law.
Comments