Ichiriki - Restaurants On Oahu Aiea, Hawaii

Ichiriki is one of my favorite restaurants. The food is fresh and the quality is consistent. Every time I eat there, I always leave full and happy. The service is great too.

I prefer Shabu shabu to nabe because I get more meat with Shabu shabu and I don't like meatballs that comes with nabe. Meatballs make the soup too greasy for me.

Shabu shabu comes with very thinly sliced beef and vegetables. You cook them in boiling water and dip in two dipping sauces, ponzu (citrus soy sauce) or goma (sesame seed sauce) before eating. The name Shabu shabu comes from the sound the food makes when you swish the ingredients to cook them quickly in the boiling water. It's a fun and delicious way to eat a meal because you cook it just the way you like it.

I get the basic beef, 6oz USDA Choice Beef Ribeye. I tried the Kobe Beef but it was too fatty and I didn't like it as much as the Ribeye. I normally get udon instead of ramen noodles at the end. Udon takes longer to cook but I like it better than ramen. When you add the broth to the udon, it's like eating another meal. I like my soup broth with more flavor so I upgrade the soup broth to ginger nabe broth for a couple of dollars. After the meat and vegetables have been cooked in the broth, the broth has a wonderful flavor and it tastes really yummy with noodles.

For dessert I ordered green tea ice cream with azuki beans and mochi balls. It came with two scoops of Lappert's ice cream and generous servings of azuki beans and 5 mochi balls. I couldn't finish it after eating a big meal but it was very good.

It was a very satisfying dinner and I can't wait to go back. I would give it 5 stars but because of the cramped seating and the shortage of parking so I'm giving it 4.5 stars.