First and foremost, I want to apologize for the repeat on the sushi places. If you can’t tell already, I love sushi, especially spicy ahi.
Downtown is filled with little eateries for the business person or student on the go. I just so happened to be in downtown and decided to pick some lunch up. I was in a hurry, because parking in Downtown can be pricey.
Fort Street Mall is a city block long street filled with restaurants ranging from Japanese to Greek food. It’s great because it’s nearby the Hawaii Pacific University, so the prices are usually low and the portions big. On this day, I decided to check out Ninja Sushi.
It’s a cute small two story restaurant, where you can order inside or use their outside take out window. I was greeted by a very cute and nice Korean woman. It’s common in Hawai’i to have Korean owned sushi companies. They have the usual sushis like another other Japanese restaurant, but they have a few unique Korean style sushis.
Sorry, I didn't get a picture upstairs.
The menu was simple enough, most of them had pictures. I noticed they had a special on Gyoza and handrolls. They even give discounts to HPU student, but no luck for the UH student like me.
In the end, I went with my old standby, Spicy Ahi Bowl. I always judge a new sushi place by how they make their bowl. If the bowl is good, then I’ll come back and try something new. I’m weird like that.
Usually with a Korean style spicy ahi, the sauce is made with kimchi sauce instead of the usual wasabi. I was shocked to see that they made their with wasabi. The ahi was chopped up like negitoro (chopped up finely) style, instead of poke (cubed) style. Personally, I don’t care, but I kinda lean towards negitoro style. It makes the Ahi taste like butter, melts in your mouth. I like that Ninja Sushi served it with pickled cucumbers instead of ginger. It wasn’t the most spiciest ahi bowl I’ve had, but it was pretty up there. The price ($7) was a bit steep for the size and portion of the bowl, but the quality wasn’t that bad either.
In a nutshell:
- Great location IF you work or go to school in Downtown
- Poor location IF you live or work anywhere else
- Korean and Japanese style sushis
- 10% HPU student discount
- No free parking
- A bit pricey for a take out stand, but probably the cheapest in the Downtown area
- Quick
- Friendly
- Clean (from what I could tell in the kitchen)
- Open kitchen area (sorta)
- Negitoro style spicy ahi
Honestly, I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back to this place, but if I was in the area and wanted some sushi, I would go.
Must try:
Ninja Sushi had their own brand of teas, which I thought was cool.
- Ninja Teas
- (of course) Spicy Ahi Bowl
Foodie Eats: Pa’ina Cafe
Bring on the sushi reviews. I can never get enough. My fav is salmon and white tuna. I drool….Great review!!!! Spanish ppl roll most sushi up here
Oh, what’s a Spanish roll? We don’t have that in O’ahu. I want to try it right now.
No, I meant Spanish PEOPLE roll our sushi, not Koreans. LOL!
OOOOH, LOL. I still want to try it. Different cultures making sushi, I dig it.
I love sushi too. SalmOn, white belly tuna sashimi…mmmm! Delicious!
Yum, salmon is my favorite too! OH and I can’t forget white belly tuna, the fatter the better. LOL
I am not much of a sushi fan, but I love Hawaii (as much as one can love someplace they have spent only one week in… haha). I was there for my wedding and didn’t want to come home. Love the photos…
It’s time for you and your wife to come back! 2nd honeymoon? Maybe you guys can do the warrior dash over here? How exciting would that be?!? I’ve always wanted to do the Honolulu Marathon, but I can barely run two miles straight. Any tips on running?
Saving for the 10 year anniversary (in a couple of years). I am voting Hawaii, but she wants to see Italy. (To be honest, I want to see Italy, also, but not on the ten year anniversary, haha!!) I can help you with tips on P90X, but running is not my forte. I am new to it myself…
HAHA, well, Italy would be a nice vacation. I maybe bias, but Hawai’i would be a better 10 year anniversary vacation. Then again, “happy wife, happy life” has always been my philosophy.
Yes, I would love your help with P90X. I’ve never tried it before, because I’m scared. I can be honest, right? LOL Not only am I scared, but I can’t put up a pull up bar in my house. Do I really need the pull up bar? What other equipment do I need?
I think I have convinced to to go to Maui instead of Oahu so it is like a new place. haha. Italy will still be fun when we are older… I dont want to break a hip trying to learn to surf.
There is a pull up bar that I used slips over the door facing and does not have to be screwed in. I dont know about in Hawaii, but I got mine from Walgreens. (I eventually bought one that screwed in, but the other worked)
Beachbody also sells an attachment that fits over the door, so you can use bands, but I havent tried it. I wrote a blog post on using the bands. (I just threw my bands over my pullup bar). I really think they helped me be able to do any pullups, but you have to get heavy ones for the pullups. You will also need either dumbbells or bands. I used both. Those are the only requirements. You can get a Yoga block and mat, but those arent necessary. The good thing about p90x is that you can modify and go at your own pace… One of the slogans is “Do your best, and forget the rest.”
I love P90X and love talking about it, so if you have any other questions, let me know.
That’s awesome, thank you so much for sharing. I know what you are talking about regarding the screw in pull up bar. I wonder if my local Walgreen’s have it. If all else fails, I’ll ebay/craiglist/amazon it.
OH, you two will LOVE Maui. To me, it’s the island that perfect for a couples getaway, very romantic. I hear ya on the surfing. Have you tried SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board)? I think it’s safer than surfer, because you are paddling on flat ocean. With SUPing, you work your core and up body a lot. It’s fun. In Kaua’i, there are SUP tours, it’s actually really cool. Maybe you two can do the circle islands tour, it’s a cruise line that goes to each island. I heard it’s a lot of fun and worth it. Something to think about.
If I have any other questions about P90X, I’ll let you know. OH, what’s your thoughts on Insanity? Have you tried it?
Oh Insanity… I started it, quit, and have started it again. Much harder cardio than P90X which made it more difficult for me. Cardio is my weakness. I just wrote a post a couple of days ago on one of the Insanity workouts (Plyo Cardio) if you want an idea of what you would be in for…
I will have to check on SUP… sounds fun! last time we went scuba diving for the first time and tried to swim with sharks (but the water was too choppy) and snorkeling. The cruise line sounds fun too.
Cardio is my weakness too. Ugh. I’m going to read your post. I think I might do Insanity first, but I really want to do P90X as well. I just gotta find my equipment first.
I really like them both, I am just better at P90X… I think that is probably why I liked it better.
HAHA. Gotch’ya.
Hey, you’re making me want to move!!!! Sounds super tasty!
Come and move! LOL Well, how about a visit? We can go on a foodie adventure. They sell that tour for like $50, not including the cost of the food. Girl, I’ll give you the tour for free, as long as we blog about it. Deals?
oh yeah!
How’s Ahi & Vegetable? I think they’re on Fort St. Mall? I used to like their spicy ahi and natto bowl when I worked in downtown.
I’ve been dying to try that place! I was trying to find it on my iPhone, but the pressure of hurrying up before the meter runs out totally stressed me out. I gave up trying to find that place. Where is it exactly? Is it by Longs? Or did I walk too far?
I think it’s on Fort St. Mall a little past McDonalds. Next to Subway? It’s been awhile.
OOOH, okay. Ya, I didn’t go that far. I kinda went a little passed Leo’s Tavern, then turned back. I’m going to go there next time. I’ve heard such great things about that place. I’m going to try your suggestion (the natto bowl).
Thanks for all your help.
I love sushi! There is a severe shortage of it here. I only know of a couple of places that sell it anywhere near me. I haven’t gotten to try them either. I guess that means I miss it and must now live vicariously through you and your eating experiences. Go Jen! Go! hehehe
Or you could come visit Hawai’i and eat all you can! LOL Okay, okay, live through me. LOL Any request?
Sushi is the bestest! And now that fish/seafood is the only meat I’m eating, I get sushi all the freaking time lol! I’ve never been to this place, but I’m pretty sure there’s a sushi place by the airport that’s Ninja Sushi, too. I used to go there more often when I was working for Hawaiian. Did you try any of the teas? Lychee Acai sounds bomb!
No, I didn’t try the teas
I found out as I was walking out and since the meter was running, I decided that when I go back, I’ll try it. We are so lucky to live in a place where there are more sushi places than Starbucks. I’m so proud of you that the only meat you are eating is fish. I wish I could be more like you.