HANAMAULU — Konohiki Seafoods is open in Hanamaulu offering sashimi, poke, ahi filets, Hawaiian food, plate lunches, bento, sushi, and ice. Kyle Oshima, one of four principles heading the take-out eatery, handles the fish duty, both wholesale and retail. He
HANAMAULU — Konohiki Seafoods is open in Hanamaulu offering sashimi, poke, ahi filets, Hawaiian food, plate lunches, bento, sushi, and ice.
Kyle Oshima, one of four principles heading the take-out eatery, handles the fish duty, both wholesale and retail. He is joined by Warren Racca who takes care of the kitchen, Miles Kawamoto who oversees the sushi, and Jared “Toyo” Moriyama.
All four come with backgrounds in the culinary business, having worked for establishments like Conrads and Wong to the Sheraton Kauai Resort, Oshima said.
Konohiki Seafoods offers “kid-sized” bento at equally valued prices for the elementary school kids heading off to school. In compliance with the state’s Department of Health, the bento changes to more adult-sized offerings as the clock nears the lunch hour.
The flavor of Konohiki Seafoods’ food is steeped in community, and the support it receives from everyone who comes in, alluding to the definition of “konohiki,” which is a headman of a land division or ahupuaa who administered the land ruled by a chief.
“Since we opened on Oct. 31, there have been a lot of people coming to help. Debra, Arlene and Ara of Ara’s, who had this spot before us, come in to help us,” Oshima said. “A lot of the recipes for what we serve are Ara’s — why change a good thing?”
Oshima said the crew of 14, including the principles, are carried over from Ara’s.
“This is not a one-man operation,” Oshima said. “It takes a lot of people to make this work, and we have a lot of good people who help us. When I took over, I got to meet other fishermen because we sell ice. They help us, too.”
Konohiki Seafoods offers more than poke and seafood. Their shelves are filled with local favorites like ginger fried chicken, fried shrimp, crispy wun tun and sushi.
“We keep working on trying to give people the items they ask for,” Oshima said. “We’ve worked on trying to get tastes similar to what people have grown to love. This goes for the chicken, shrimp, and even sweet-sour spareribs. And, we’re working on developing more.”
Konohiki Seafoods continues to offer cold food like the cold ramen, somen salad, and even tofu dishes.
The taste and flavor of the variety of food has been honed and fine-tuned by the many hands that come in — like the guy who just needed a cooler of ice for his daughter’s birthday party, or that lady who dropped in to pick up a custom oama pole from a Kilauea creator.
“It’s hard to explain,” Oshima said. “This is the Hawaii way.”
The store is open 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Sunday, it closes at 2 p.m.
