The fallout from COVID-19 may lead smaller food operations to rethink the strategy of entering a food hall. These gathering places, bringing several food vendors together under one roof, were still trending when the pandemic hit, but it’s now unseemly to invite people to gather, and habits have changed enough in a year for people to adopt self-imposed retreats from places that once appealed to masses.
I see an aversion to human contact wherever I go, with people giving each other wide berth whenever strolling a mall or sidewalk, much less an enclosed room.
Food halls shut down quickly at the start of the pandemic, and along with them the many small vendors that filled them. One was Onoya Ramen, which had the misfortune of being in two food halls, Waikiki Yokocho, which closed permanently in September, and Shirokiya Japan Village Walk, which may reopen at the end of the month, a year after the first business shutdown.
Wiser for the lesson of tying one’s fortune to another entity, Onoya Ramen now has a standalone shop in a small strip mall in Kapahulu near Zippy’s, a spot that had been in danger of becoming another revolving door for doomed restaurants.
After Restaurant Wada left, Waioli Grill & Cafe tried to make it there, followed by Chef’s Poke & Sushi Roll, which opened in June 2020, only to close soon afterward. Onoya, I think, has staying power as a casual neighborhood ramen spot with enough of a cool factor to lure others outside the community to seek it out, despite the area’s notorious lack of parking. Onoya does share a lot with other tenants, but it tends to fill up quickly.
The restaurant has a fair number of appetizers for those times when friends want ramen but you prefer the variety of an izakaya.
To start, the menu offers chicken karaage ($8), takoyaki ($7), sweet steamed clams bathed in sake ($9.50), and a generous portion of pork katsu ($10). The katsu exterior is not as crisp as at a specialty shop, but the tenderloin is juicy and delicious, and hits the spot if pork is what you’re craving.
A few of my favorite appetizers are the flavorful pan-fried gyoza ($6.50), filled with pork and vegetables, which can also be ordered deep-fried or boiled; delicate blocks of agedashi tofu in shoyu dashi ($6); and fried calamari ($8), accompanied by a bright dipping sauce of yuzu mayo. I usually don’t need more than a small taste of each dish, but I needed a second order of the calamari.
Although this is a sister restaurant to Sanoya Ramen in Moiliili, it has its own character, shaped in part by Yasuyoshi Sato, the former owner/chef of Kiwami Ramen on Keeaumoku Street. Forgetting that it’s not his restaurant, diners who recognize him request the return of the tsukemen he served at Kiwami. Perhaps that will come later, but for now there are 16 bowls of ramen to choose from, as well as a build-your-own option.
The signature dishes are pork bone broth-based tonkotsu bowls: tan tan flavored with sesame and chile oils ($15), spicy ($14.50) and black garlic ($15). All come with tender chashu, spicy menma, green onions and a half egg. The spicy and black garlic bowls also are accented with deep-fried garlic chips.
Those who prefer a light broth might try the citrusy yuzu ramen with a base of chicken broth ($14), or a taste of Chinatown via shrimp wonton ramen ($15), also with a chicken broth base and shoyu or salt flavor options.
Five vegan bowls take varying tastes into account, from the Vegan Classic, with organic soy milk ($14), to Vegan Fire ($14.50), with a housemade spicy sauce that challenges any presumption that vegans are lightweights when it comes to chile eating.
The heaviest of the entire menu is the cheese curry ramen ($14.50) that is less like a soup and more like a thick curry stew. It’s so rich I think a lot of people would end up taking some home.
Or skip the ramen and get the curry on rice ($11), with chicken katsu ($13.50), pork katsu ($15) or gyoza ($13.50). Or double up with a combo set of shoyu ramen with small curry plate ($17) or chicken katsu curry ($19.50).
Other combos pair the shoyu ramen with rice bowls topped with chashu ($19), spicy ahi ($18.50), shredded beef ($18) and chicken karaage ($18.50). Ramen substitutions are allowed at an additional charge depending on your selection.
In neighborly style, there’s also a kids menu that pairs shoyu ramen or curry rice with a Capri Sun drink and gyoza ($8) or chicken karaage ($8.50).
ONOYA RAMEN
611 Kapahulu Ave.
Food: ****
Service: ***
Ambiance: ***1/2
Value: ****
>> Call: 425-4415
>> Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
>> Prices: About $40 to $50 for two without alcohol
Ratings compare similar restaurants:
**** – excellent
*** – very good
** – average
* – below average
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
