Restaurant Kenichi — Restaurant in Hawaii

After a few days of researching, my stomach was set on this place to satisfy my ramen craving. Hilo has quite a few places that serve ramen, but these folks had the tastiest-looking pics.

ATMOSPHERE: It's an older space but kept very clean. Windows abound let it lots of natural light. Seatings are booth and low tops. Their sizzling platters can make you coming out smelling like a cook.

MENU: Local style plate lunches, fried rice, gyoza, salads, ramen, desserts.

FOOD: Gyoza (7 pcs.) I've never had homemade gyoza before. The filling had cilantro-like notes but were a bit bland. The tangy shoyu dipping sauce helped out a bit. The bottoms could've been seared a bit more.

Shoyu Ramen Easy choice as I am a shoyu ramen fanatic! The noodles were thin, straight and chewy. The transparent broth needed a swish of shoyu to bring up the flavor. I expected the half egg to be hard boiled but was surprised at its medium gooeyness; great job by the way. The toppings of bean sprouts, green onions, seaweed flakes and fish cake tied in perfect. For the meat topping I got yakibuta which were thinly sliced pork belly. While the dish came out hot, it wasn't searing so it got cold fast. I have a good appetite but I'm glad I chose the regular size which was perfect rather than opting for the "Kenichi Size" which is double of everything.

Spicy Miso Ramen My spouse's dish. The spoonful of broth I tasted was good and not overly sweet like other versions I've tried.

DESSERT: Brookie I'm not a dessert fan but my spouse is. This is a layered square served warm, with a chewy cookie bottom, pressed and chewy Oreo in the middle, and a brownie at the top. For the ice cream we chose Tahitian vanilla. Tasty and popular dish.

SERVICE: We walked in on a Saturday morning and got seated immediately. The place filled up a bit.

Our female server was friendly and checked on us, along with another female associate who may have been a manager that came around to all the tables.

OVERALL: Very good ramen and service. Who'd...

Have always heard good things about Restaurant Kenichi. First time visiting we came in and the staff were incredibly friendly and kind.

I could see that they were very busy. Almost all the tables and booths were filled. We arrived just before 1pm.

We ordered appetizers - The Cold Tofu ~ Hiyyayakku It was delightful. For me, it was a little heavy on the Katsuo and not enough green onions. But the Tofu was lovely, soft and silky with just the right amount of grated ginger!

While we waited for our main courses, they brought us a plate of their house Soy beans. It was great!

Mike ordered the ~ 7pc Gyoza. It arrived perfectly sizzling. The taste was perfect for its little bites of goodness.

My lunch was ~ the Pork Chop and Kalbi Combo Plate. It was truly amazing! The cook on both the pork chop & the Kalbi were perfect!

It was not overcooked, as you might find at other restaurants here in Hilo.

The pork chop blew me away. It was simple yet divine. Not overly seasoned, just right, just what I was hoping for.

The Kalbi was soft yet firm, if you know what I mean. It wasn't hard or crispy. But tender enough to bite and enjoy, so good.

The best part of my dish, though, was their Mac Salad! It was creamy and delightfully tasty. I loved it so much that we ordered a pound to take home.

Mike ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger. He will be reviewing it on his account.

The service was incredible! They looked after us and were always checking to see if we needed anything at all. I found it absolutely refreshing!

Overall, it was a beautiful lunch, delicious food, and exceptional service!

Service ~ 10 out of 10 Food ~...

This place is AWESOME. We were craving some good Japanese/Korean food after a Mauna Kea hike, and we were lucky to find this place on our route back. It was bustling at 8:00pm on a Thursday, which you know is a good sign! Regardless, we were seated right away and had our food within 20 minutes. My partner ordered their spicy miso ramen, which he graciously let me sample (and eat his fish cakes out of 💕). The ramen was flavorful, complex and was an incredible steal at just over $10 for a “regular” (it was HUGE) bowl. I ordered the catch of the day, which was grilled Mahi. It was easily some of the best Mahi I’ve had on the island, if not ever. I ordered it with rice and salad, which paired perfectly. Our waitress (Donna) was even nice enough to bring me a requested side order of kimchi, even if I didn’t initially pick it as a side. The kimchi tasted like someone’s grandma made it, and it also came in a sizable portion. Needless to say, I ate all of it and probably got a week’s worth of probiotics in one go. We split their Japanese cheesecake for dessert, which was also delightful. We decided to take one of their brookies home and enjoyed it as our dessert the next day. I don’t know who in this establishment bakes all these desserts, but they do a fantastic job. In sum, this place seems like it’s a well-oiled machine and I hope they continue to crank out their excellent food and service. We will certainly be back next time...