Spam musubi, garlic shrimp, loco moco and scoops of creamy macaroni salad are on the menu in the Detroit area with a flurry of Hawaiian restaurant openings.
Cuisine from the country’s 50th state wasn’t always readily available around town, save for Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in Ann Arbor and the dozens of places that serve poke bowls. Last year, Troy was gifted with Aloha Cookin’, which serves plates of huli huli chicken, kalbi short ribs, and even a vegan version of chicken katsu.
Now, the newest Hawaiian barbecue restaurant to enter the market is Okika Hawaiian BBQ. The first opened in Flat Rock in May, followed by a Warren location earlier this month. Both have huge menus featuring what Hawaiians call “plate lunch,” a platter of protein, two scoops of white rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.
This meal has powered hard-working Hawaiians for ages, with its calorie-rich and multi-textured mix of seasoned meats, fluffy white rice and creamy macaroni. The proteins used at Okika highlight cuisine from not only Hawaii, but Japan, China and Korea.
After a few visits to the Warren location, I think my favorite is the chicken katsu. It’s a huge portion of chicken pounded flat, breaded and fried to a golden crisp that stays crunchy even when reheating. It’s $12.99 for a container that is easily enough for two meals. Okika packs this up with two sauces, a soy-teriyaki and a thicker barbecue-style sauce that’s sweet and a little smoky.
The Hawaiian beef is more seasoned as it’s been marinated in their barbecue sauce. It’s served as a minced mound of thinly sliced and grilled beef with a bit of broccoli and — of course — two scoops of rice and the macaroni salad. There’s a combo platter where you can get both the katsu and the barbecue beef for $15.59.
For seafood, Okika has fried shrimp and fried white fish. While the fish was super crispy, there isn’t much meat. I’d go with the fried shrimp instead.
For something truly Hawaiian, get the kalua pork, a platter of slow-roasted, shredded pork with a hint of smoky flavor, or the fried eggs with grilled Spam. Along with fried dumplings and crab rangoon, Spam is on the appetizer list as well in the form of musubi. It’s a block of rice with a slice of grilled Spam and some teriyaki sauce, all fastened together by a strip of nori. It’s a filling snack.
Okika also serves “mini meals,” smaller portions for a lower price point, and they do catering for large parties. Both restaurants also serve popular boba tea, milk tea and Thai tea.
Find Okika Hawaiian BBQ at 25381 Schoenherr in Warren, okikabbq.com, and 27026 Telegraph in Flat Rock, okikabbqflatrock.com. Both are open daily at 11 a.m., except Flat Rock, which is closed Mondays.
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Hawaiian cuisine options grow in Metro Detroit
Reporting by Melody Baetens, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Melody Baetens, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
