There’s been a lot of talk about Oki Diner lately. I think it started with someone saying it was the only place in Lihu‘e to get a fresh, hot meal after midnight (that wasn’t saimin) on a weekday. Someone else
There’s been a lot of talk about Oki Diner lately. I think it started with someone saying it was the only place in Lihu‘e to get a fresh, hot meal after midnight (that wasn’t saimin) on a weekday.
Someone else said the pancakes were “light and fluffy” and you could get them any time of day. I just had to stop in and find out for myself.
Oki Diner is the restaurant’s second incarnation — it’s first was The Saimin Stand in Kekaha, opened by Richie Ogata, then 21, in 1993. The young restaurateur found out the trials and tribulations of owning a business.
An elementary school teacher for 25 years, a clothier and boutique owner (Barbie & Ken’s, Barbie’s Boutique, and uniform designer for the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas), Barbara Oki and husband Ken Oki, the five-time Hawai‘i state heavyweight boxing champ, opened the Lihu‘e location in 1996.
Located the next driveway over from Mc- Donald’s, Oki Diner is on the same street as a dozen other eateries. Its placement on the well-traveled Kuhio Highway makes it a popular destination for visitors and locals alike. Its weekend closing time of 3:30 a.m. (weekdays till 1 a.m.) makes it a safe bet for those yearning for a hot plate of food after a long night.
Upon entering Oki Diner a non-operating buffet table is covered with sacks of freshly-made cookies — your choice of five varieties.
A jukebox will likely be playing blues, rock and jazz tunes. It’s basically “seat yourself” unless it’s crazy-busy; menus (with color photos of each dish) are already set on tables to speed up the ordering process.
A look around proves that Oki Diner is not just frequented by night owls and visitors in a rush for a non-McD’s meal … in eight years, this place already has some history. Photos with Barbara Oki posing with Hawai‘i and international celebrities create a wall-sized scrapbook — musician Willie K, Wayne from NuffSedd, comedian Augie T, pro football player Junior Seau, personality Carole Kai, New Zealand actors Cliff Curtis and Temuera Morrison (from Once Were Warriors), and more.
The sign outside Oki Diner boasts its “Famous Pancakes” are made like nowhere else in the world.” Big Al, a Kaua‘i radio personality, often comes in to eat his favorite: banana pancakes with coconut syrup, Barbara Oki said. “It was him and his wife that gave me my (motto),” she added.
I had to try these pancakes, to see if they really were out of this world. The short stack comes with two pancakes, the regular with three, and your choice of vanilla bean, strawberry and coconut syrups, all homemade by “Auntie Barbie” herself.
They were light and fluffy, almost heavenly!.
“I love the Lord …” Oki said. “I asked him ‘I need a specialty,’ and I was led to Borders (Books & Music), where there were so many books … one talked about a restaurant in Europe with a special pancake that they could only create one batch at a time.
“Only, I was able to stretch my recipe to one ‘bucket’ at a time.” The cooks at Oki Diner go through hundreds of pancakes daily, she said.
San Francisco visitors Denise Lee and Alex Hoag agreed the stop was well worth it, as they sampled saimin and pancakes. Hoag said he enjoyed strawberry and coconut syrups mixed together over his pancakes. Lee twirled the fresh noodles with her chopsticks as she sipped up the broth.
We also tried the chicken cutlet, served with green salad and Thousand Island dressing; two scoops of rice, and a hearty brown gravy.
The chicken wasn’t “all breading,” unlike many other establishments. And the gravy wasn’t salty and overpowering.However, the green salad that came with a lemon wedge consisted of just lettuce — the lettuce was refreshingly crisp and fresh, which is rare.
Oki Diner offers at least three dozen dishes, many available all day. One of the specialties is Neal’s Chicken, created by Kauai Community Correctional Center warden Neal Wagatsuma.
“He asked me if I would help him mainstream some of his people, he would give me the recipe for his chicken,” Oki said.
Many days, 94- year-old Sachiko Yoshimoto and niece Sheri Tazaki of Lihu‘e frequent Oki Diner, so Sachiko can enjoy her saimin and Sheri can get a bite of Neal’s Special Chicken.
A Hawaiian Plate includes lau lau, kalua and teriyaki beef — Oki Diner once offered the special with jerk meat, but substituted teriyaki meat after she found out it didn’t suit visitors’ tastes, she said.
A new dish on the menu is pho, a Vietnamese beef broth soup with noodles, thin slices of beef, mint, basil and other aromatic spices.
Nightly from 5 to 9 p.m., a $6.99 dinner special includes a main entree, servings of chips and salsa, cornbread, macaroni or green salad, and a choice of Dutch apple or custard pie.
“Visitors from all over, even Mexican chefs, say our chips and salsa are the best they’ve ever had. Same with the cornbread,” Oki said. “We are so blessed,” Oki said. “I asked the Lord, and it comes from above.”
