Ohana is the Hawaiian word for family with a meaning that is both simple and complex. Ohana includes the people to whom you're related, as well as the larger group of folks outside your bloodline who support and sustain you, to whom you feel indebted and responsible.
For the second time recently, we have visited a restaurant where the name is very meaningful. Our last outing was to Adda, an exquisite Indian restaurant, whose name is based on a similarly evocative meaning in its native language.
Why it took the Dining Dudes & Divas so long to get to Ohana, I’m not sure. It’s been at 620 Stadium for 3 years, a place that has housed Arth Drugs, Snow Bear, and Yummy Time, among others. It’s a small and welcoming space and Tetia noted that “the décor is playful. They went all in on the mochi donut theme and it still makes me smile thinking about it.” Judging by the crowd at lunch time, others haven’t been so slow to discover Ohana.
You order at the counter, where you can see the bins of fresh food they use to make their signature bowls and that you can choose from to create your own bowl. They also have a selection of hibachi bowls, some appetizers, Korean hot dogs, and Mochi, the fun Japanese donuts. Most of their meals are served in compostable dishes that just need a lid popped on if you have leftovers of their very generous portions.
Jo created her own bowl comprised of spicy crab salad, non-spicy crab salad, assorted greens, avocado, edamame, pineapple, and other vegetables. She had a variety of sauces—Yum yum and Japanese citrus and another that made a tasty dressing for her bowl and she was very happy.
Ken had the Tuna Lover Bowl, chockful of Ahi tuna, spicy tuna, crab salad, peppered tuna, mango, cucumber, green onion, spicy ponzu, avocado, onion crisps, and shredded nori. Ken’s review: “Marvelous!” And so much, he took half home.
No one was surprised when Linda ordered the Shrimp Teriyaki Bowl. It included small shrimp in Teriyaki sauce, broccoli, tufa skin, egg, and sweet corn. It normally comes with white rice, but she substituted fried rice. She finished off her bowl with gusto.
Tetia tried out the Volcano Bowl: salmon, spicy crab, peppered tuna, jalapeño, cucumber, cherry tomato jalapeño sauce, sriracha, spicy Mayo, furikake, onion crisps, and tempura flakes. She declared the Volcano had a perfect balance of spices and a nice contrast of textures. She too was impressed with the portion size and took some home for a snack later.
Always a sucker for a good hot dog, Kay got a Hot Cheetos Korean Hot Dog half & half with mozzarella with sriracha and spicy mayo for dipping. There are several coatings you can pick, including potato, panko, crispy ramen, and crunch cereal, but Kay loved the hot Cheetos. As we understand it, the difference between a Korean hot dog and an American corn dog is that the batter is usually made with rice or flour rather than cornmeal. Whatever, the half and half dogs are half cheese and half dog, very good, but Kay recommends paying the extra few cents to get the dog coated in the cheese instead of half and half.
Jerry had the Beef Fried Rice. It was quite hearty, and he appreciated all the sauces that helped to spice it up more to his liking. Margy had the Veggie Bowl, adding sriracha sauce to spice it up a bit.
Our hosts gave us a sampler box of their Japanese donuts, Mochi-do, which are a fusion of American donuts and Japanese mochi (a rice cake sweetened and flavored traditional on New Year’s). There were 6 flavors—peach, strawberry, lemon, golden marshmallow, vanilla, and churro—segmented for easy sampling. They were light and crunchy, and the group consensus was that lemon and churro were the favorite flavors.
The Dining Divas and Dudes were thrilled to find a place to get a quick, fresh, hearty meal, off the menu or made to order, in a friendly welcoming atmosphere.
