Noshwellmenu

[rating:4]

Genki Sushi — part of a sushi franchise throughout Japan, Southeast Asia, and now Hawaii — is located in a strip mall complex in Lahaiana next to a grocery market.

(Clockwise: 1. The Infamous Spam Sushi. 2. Deep Fried Gyoza 3. The Spicy Bomb.)

Genki is a casual Sushi restaurant. It’s not fancy — just some large booths and chairs stationed at counter tops. It’s got one of those conveyor belts that streams down the middle with various pieces of sushi and other interesting items waiting to be picked up. In these types of sushi restaurants, you get charged depending on the number and colour of the plates. The staff are extremely friendly, and is often nodding to the tunes of En Vogue and Usher while taking your order.

(Clockwise: 1. Tuna. 2. Tamago. 3. Negitoro.)

The menu is simple but has enough variety to keep things interesting. Although the conveyor belt thing as interesting, we preferred ordering from the kitchen. We got right down to business and sampled a bunch of items: spicy bomb, ahi poke, scallop mayo, tobiko, ahi, yaki salmon, spam, tamago, toro, mackerel, ahi garlic and mayo and bunch of others that I can’t remember.

(Clockwise: 1. Ahi Garlic and Mayo. 2. Tobiko 3. Salmon Toro.)

They don’t call it the “spicy bomb” for nothing. The spicy bomb was outstanding: rough chopped pieces of ahi married with a spicy, creamy mayo stuffed in a sweet tofu pouch with rice, then topped with a sweet sauce. We couldn’t come to Hawaii without trying the famed spam sushi: deep fried, salty pieces of spam topped with a sweet sauce layered over sushi rice. Not the healthiest choice, but ever so good. The ahi poke was tasty and fresh: chopped ahi mixed with white and green onions wrapped in seaweed. The seared garlic ahi was topped with mayo and green onions. It had a subtle, smokey flavor and tasted very buttery. I was starting to feel a bit of mayo overdose, but overall the sushi was fantastic.

(Clockwise: 1. Evidence of damage. 2. Saba. 3. Ahi Poke.)

Our bill including taxes and tips came to just under $28. Which we thought was pretty good considering all we ordered. This wasn’t our first time at Genki’s, so it was great to see that it hadn’t changed much. If you like your sushi no frills with a bit of local flare, Genki Sushi is a must to try.

Perfect for: sushi with a slight Hawaiian twist.

The Details

435 Keawe Street, C-101/102, Lahaina
808.661.0333
genkisushiusa.com

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