[Previous entry: "Gingerbread Houses"] [Next entry: "Shokudo"]

06/09/2007: "Rokkaku Restaurant"

Rokkaku is still considered a pretty new Japanese restaurant in the heart of Ala Moana. If you are planning to go there, you can expect great food, for a great price. But was it worth it?

A shot of the pretty chopsticks for the meal...



Here was our appetizer...beautiful crab!
Clicky clicky for more....



Got rice? Their entrees do not come with rice, so you have to order your own. And well, the rice they have, are all combined with seafood, so it was not cheap! We ordered the crab rice and let me tell you, it was incredible.



Okay here's a shot of the rice with the side dishes they serve. I see takuan, wakame, ume, and some other relish type thing...



Okay another shot of the side dishes, and it looks I got a picture of an entree we ordered. I can't remember exactly what we got, but it was a type of steak. It very delicious and tender. *sorry it's blurry!*



Sukiyaki! Waiting for the pot to boil...



A picture of the meat for the sukiyaki.



This is the dipping sauce for the sukiyaki, and it was the best dipping sauce I have ever tasted. I wish I had the recipe.



The vegetables were arranged very nicely, but I forgot to take a picture! So here is the leftovers. Sorry!



Here is the sukiyaki in action.



And umm...this is how the sukiyaki looks like after it's been boiling for a while...



After shot of the side dishes.



After shot of the rice!

Okay, I'm not sure if you guys are interested in the bathroom, but I know I'm curious about the restroom state of restaurants! Especially in classy ones...=) This one does not disappoint.



Nice toilet from Japan. It's a bidet!



Controls for the toilet, can you believe it?



Beautiful sink right?

So, there is my first and hopefully not last time at Rokkaku. It was definitely very good, and the service was awesome as well. We were lucky enough to walk-in and get service right away, but I know they are always very busy! Reservations are definitely recommended. I highly recommend this place, but only if you feel like a splurge.

Rokkaku
Ala Moana Shopping Center - Mall Level 2
Monday - Sunday:
11:45 am - 11:00 pm
Phone: (808)946-3355

Replies: 2 Comments

on Thursday, June 12th, Gastrophile said

We've been a frequent patron of Rokkaku, visiting probably more than a couple of times a month.The food is GREAT, but as a previous reviewer had stated, the bill will burn a whole in your wallet / purse.It was to our surprise that on our visit tonight, the service was appalling! Beyond words . . . . Here's what happened.We made reservations for 6:00pm for my wife, young daughter and myself.We arrived at approximately 6:05pm and was given their usual drinks menu - which consists mostly of wines and sakes. Wife doesn't drink, and obviously daughter shouldn't be touching that stuff. I can't because I would be driving and with the recent DUI busts, why take the chance. Anyhow, asked for the dinner menu and promptly placed our order - Pork Nabe (for the young one), Foie Gras Sushi, Butterfish and Kurobuto Pork Loin. Requested that the Nabe be served as soon as possible because daughter was hungry.So far, nothing out of the ordinary, right?Time starts ticking away and still no food. 6:30pm came and gone. Waitress comes over and says that the Nabe would be another 5 minutes. No problem . . . we can wait 5 minutes.6:45pm comes and goes and still no food. Finally, at 6:50pm, the butterfish comes out. Asks the waitress why it's taking so long . . . Standard response - "Sorry for taking so long but it should be here shortly." Ask to speak with a manager to see what's going on. Was told that there is no manager. Asked who would be in charge. Was told the Chef is in charge. Asked that we speak with him. Asks how long more for the Nabe. Was told that it would be another 5 minutes. Hmm . . . . 6:50pm, the Pork Loin makes and appearance. 6:55pm, the Foie Gras sushi. Ask waitress again where is the Chef. She said that the Chef has been told. Ask about the Nabe again. Was told that it takes a while to cook but it would be here in 5 minutes.Now, those 5 minutes must be stuck in a time warp or something coz' at this point, it has taken over 45 minutes since we placed the order and still no Nabe.Finally, the Nabe is served at 7:15pm! One whole hour to prepare what essentially is soup! Now throughout this time, we were so annoyed that my wife and I did not touch the food. We had to feed our daughter coz' she was HUNGRY. Ask to speak with the Chef again. At this point, it appears that the Chef doesn't care, couldn't be bothered, or didn't have the guts.Essentially had to tell the waitresses (3 of them were working) that if the Chef wasn't going to come and speak with us in 5 minutes, we're leaving without paying.A two-bit line cook comes out in the Chef's stead. Asked him if he was the Chef, and he said NO but he could answer any of our questions. Asking him where's the Chef. Said that the Chef was too busy to come out. Asked him why does it take that long to get food out, 45 minutes for sushi, 1 hour for Nabe. Response: shorthanded. Told him that it was absurd to take this long. Even top chefs don't make customers wait over an hour for their food. Cook says that we are disrespecting his Chef and gets all testy and raises his voice and becomes aggressive. Keep in mind that I have a young daughter right at the table, within 3 feet of him.Told him that they were disrespecting us as customers by having us wait that long. Gets more aggressive and says "You need to get out." My response "No problem." So at 7:30pm, we were THROWN OUT of the restaurant. Then, as we were waiting at the front of the restaurant, Cook barges out the service entrance, looking like he wants to scrap. Again, my wife was carrying our young daughter. At 7:45pm, my wife took our daughter to McDonalds as daughter still had not eaten much and said that she was really hungry.A word to the wise. If you want to go to Rokkaku, think twice. McDonald's was a much more pleasant experience at a fraction of the price!

on Sunday, June 10th, kristian said

rokkaku was definitely a great experience. and a bathroom review is always nice. if the bathroom is nice and clean, that means the rest of the restaurant is also. the food was great and the service was exceptional. ambiance was pretty good.