An Oishii New Bento Shop Just Opened Downtown
Waikīkī’s former Okonomiyaki Chibo reincarnates as Oide Kitchen in the Arcade Building on Merchant Street.
Photo: Thomas Obungen
I’m craving rice the minute I land in Honolulu after 10 days in Europe. You can take the boy out of Hawai‘i, but you can’t take the local out of the boy. On my first lunch break back in the office, I round up my coworkers to check out Oide Kitchen, a new bento shop that just opened in the Arcade Building facing Merchant Street.
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The Arcade Building is home to a slew of eateries, but this particular unit has had many lives since I began working in Downtown in 2008. My favorite was when it was home to Silk Road Café, which offered us a rare taste of Uzbek food and other flavors from the ancient Silk Road. Today, Oide Kitchen hits closer to home with familiar grab-and-go bento, salads and side dishes along with made-to-order donburi bowls.
Photo: Thomas Obungen
The team picks up nearly every option on the shelf: Chicken namban ($15), garlic chicken ($14), salmon ($15), garlic shrimp ($14), tofu vegetable ($13.75) and an Oide salad ($12). Someone orders the loco moco don ($16), a (thick) cooked-to-order hamburger patty and egg with a demi-glace gravy over rice. Bento include a healthy portion of rice, two vegetable sides and pickles in addition to the main entrée. For the price, they are all fair complete meals.
Photo: Thomas Obungen
I also pick up sides of potato salad ($5) and dashimaki tamago rolled omelet ($7) to supplement my garlic chicken bento, which turns out to be a substantial amount of food. The owners tell us they ran Okonomiyaki Chibo for three decades in Waikiki, but closed it last August due to rising rent. They admit a bento shop is a big shift, but are eager to make a go with the Downtown lunch crowd. The name and logo come from a play on an owner’s last name and the word “oide,” an informal word for come, which Japanese people accompany with the beckoning motion of a maneki neko’s paw.
Photo: Thomas Obungen
Back at the office, we tuck into our choices. My garlic chicken is grilled rather than fried and comes with a super garlicky shoyu sauce that makes rice disappear faster than the speed of light. The lack of complaints and surplus of silence as we eat are green flags. My coworkers’ happy faces and Oide Kitchen’s wonderfully cooked rice, which hits the spot after baguettes and cheese, compel me to give this place a chance in the spotlight. I’m adding Oide Kitchen to my regular Downtown lunch rotation.
Open Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 212 Merchant St., @o.i.de_kitchen
