Do-ne Japanese Food

The "seafood set" is more than just a poke bowl
and includes salad, miso soup, and 3 small dishes

Honolulu is no paradise with its traffic congestion, high cost of living, homelessness, and crime. Every time I return the problems seem worse. In the Bay Area, however, living conditions are getting worse faster, so if one grades on a curve Hawaii scores well.

Related note: when dining out in the Islands I've found that, from fast food to fine dining, one obtains the same degree of quality but at a lower price than back on the Peninsula.

The seafood set ($15.95) is about the
same price as a bento box in SF

Relatives insisted that I join them for dinner at Do-ne Japanese Food, a mile and a half from the center of Waikiki. Do-ne has only six tables; if one fails to get a seat when the restaurant opens at 5:30 p.m., then the wait can be an hour. Arriving at 5, I put our name on the sign-up sheet, and we were the first party seated.

I ordered the pork belly set ($15.95), but the kitchen had run out of the ingredients during lunch. No worries, the seafood set was excellent. The fish was very fresh, and we took our time savoring and sharing our dishes. The waitress--who is also one of the owners--never rushed us despite the line building outside. I told my hosts that I'll stop by on my next trip, if for no other reason than to sample the pork belly.

Do-ne was a pleasant experience; the downside is that a poke bowl in California will never taste as good again.

The salmon surf bowl ($13.95) at Shiki, Foster City