Lehua Cafe:
Opening possibly the first week in December at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center will be Lehua Cafe. Owners Brandon Lee and chef Keoni Regidor, an HCC culinary program graduate, have been best friends since they were 14 years old growing up in Honokaa, and they have continued their relationship through many ventures together.
Brandon and Keoni started their love of the restaurant business working at Bubba Gump’s, and afterward opening Pakini Grill in Waimea. They now operate Napua at the Mauna Lani, with plans to open Lehua Cafe soon.
Brandon also owns Kaunamano Farms and raises Berkshire pigs, a breed of British pigs from the English county of Berkshire. They are black and called “kurobuta” in Japan. These specially cared-for pigs are fed roasted macadamia nuts. Berkshires are compared to Wagyu beef as a pound would cost over $15.
Lehua Cafe will start by opening for dinner from 5 p.m. till closing, with two seatings, seven days a week. Eventually, they will open for lunch from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m.
Aloha is important to Lehua Cafe as they will support local farmers, fishermen and other purveyors. Aloha will be carried forth with their employees as well as their customers.
Lehua Cafe cannot be labeled as a fusion or traditional restaurant as they will cure their own corned beef and coppa, and make ribs with a combination of Korean, Japanese and Chinese ingredients. Brandon showed me an “experiment” of an appetizer: a large ravioli stuffed with pork, then drizzled with house-made crispy chili oil. That certainly is a combination of Italian and Chinese. As Brandon stated, “In the pantry of most families there will be shoyu, gochujang sauce, black beans and crispy chili sauce.”
Non-Food Bites:
‘Imiloa Astronomy Center is part of the University of Hawaii at Hilo and opened its doors on Feb. 20, 2006. A $28 million, 40,000 square-foot exhibition and planetarium complex on nine acres in the University of Hawaii’s Science and Technology Park, it is easy to spot with its unique design.
Tenkatori Hilo and Kona:
Misae Moro grew up with the rigid customs of Osaka and dreamed of one day being able to eat a hot dog while walking. I remember one of the first times I went to Japan with my son Reid, and being told it was impolite to walk around and eat. Well, Misae fulfilled her dream by moving to California to study abroad. She got her wish and got to eat a hot dog while walking around! She spent 15 years in Castro Valley, Calif., teaching at a Japanese language school.
But as fate would have it, Misae, her husband and three children came to Hilo on a vacation. There was something very special about the people living in Hilo that she met. They were nissei or sensei Japanese, and she was amazed at how they kept alive so many Japanese traditions that even those living in Japan did not observe. Bon dances are an important tradition here but do not have as much importance in Japan. The mochi pounding at New Year’s among families here impressed Misae, as well as the politeness and bowing when greeting someone. She and her husband felt so comfortable here that when they returned from their vacation, her husband started to look into real estate for an eventual move.
So the opportunity came up for a franchise on opening Tenkatori Hilo store #7 and Misae was excited to open a Japanese restaurant in a town where the Japanese traditions are still much a part of the families.
Seventy years ago in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, Masao Fukuda started selling his version of fried chicken out of his restaurant, Kuraiken. He shared his fried chicken technique with the proprietor of a neighboring izakaya and introduced chicken karaage. Today, Oita is known for its onsens and fried chicken.
Fukuda’s son started his own restaurant, Rairaiken, then created Tenkatori, which translated, is a double entendre and means, “peerless (the best) chicken,” or “obtaining peerlessness (the best).”
The Tenkatori in Kona is located at the Kona International Market at 74-5533 Luhia Street, next to HPM in Kailua-Kona.
The Tenkatori Hilo is located in the former Affordable Catering at 811 Laukapu Street.
The franchise requires fresh chicken, which on the Big Island is quite a challenge. According to Misae, the chicken is flown from Honolulu via Hawaiian Airlines. The marinade is a secret and comes from their facilities in Oita City.
Misae apologized for her higher prices but stated that the higher costs for fresh chicken, the extra cost of air freight, the use of only Japanese-grown rice, and the requirement of changing the cooking oil daily all make for a superior end product at a higher price.
There seems to be some flexibility on the dipping sauces as Tenkatori Hilo has a local touch with lilikoi honey and kara miso. The franchisees also have flexibility on the side dishes and the bento selections. Tenkatori Kona has tater tots, potato croquettes and oyako don, while Tenkatori Hilo has vegetable curry rice, gyu-don, yakitori and unagi don bentos.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.