Lotus Market - Honolulu

The food at Rinka was tasty and I would recommend dining there. My girlfriend and I both had the unagi (grilled eel) lunch set. The set includes the unagi, chawanmushi (steamed custard), miso soup, pickled vegetables and 2 small sides. The unagi can be ordered in a bowl (2 pieces for $25.75) or the deluxe (3 pieces for $39.75). The unagi was very tasty and the miso soup was very good. For the side dishes, we had the hijiki, kinpira, and tempura. I didn’t care for the tempura. It was too soft and not crispy. The sides were very small, but that’s typical for Japanese restaurants. The best part of the meal was the dessert yuzu cheesecake. It was a small piece, but a perfect complement to the meal. It wasn’t heavy like a lot of other cheesecakes. The only hiccup was that the server forgot to ask us if we wanted dessert before presenting us with the check. Otherwise, service was very good. Our server was very pleasant. The restaurant was clean, modern and bright. Parking was free and plentiful in the Whole Foods parking garage.

Delightful evening at Rinka with friends. The black sesame tofu was superb, smooth, and made in-house. Sashimi was excellent, firm and fresh. Croquettes were cloud-like. Salmon-skin salad had a lovely range of textures and an original and tasty mustard dressing. An inventive, light desserts, kinako chiffon cake with cream and some fresh fruits, ended the meal in a elegant fashion. Service is quick, polite and professional.

Due to covid, haven't gone to the restaurant but once in early 2020. Good thing now is they take reservations. The tempura, karaage and sukiyaki were still delicious! We'll be going back again soon.

Found this restaurant hidden back behind Whole Foods. Pretty good menu. Whenever I try a Japanese Restaurant I usually always have to try their Nabeyaki Udon. I like the twist they put on theirs with a couple of clams. We also ordered their sukiyaki came with a raw egg which you don’t normally see. Also ordered the tempura which was also good. Highly recommended and would go again.

Operated by folks who live across the street in Harbor Square, Lotus Market is the vegetarian grocery store you likely didn't know about but passed by all of the time. It originally featured produce fruits and vegetables, but expanded to include vegetarian spam musubi looked realistic...but I just couldn't pull myself to do anything that didn't have mystery meat in it ...and bubble tea drinks. They advertise the use of fresh fruits, and do they ever! What's neat is that they will draw out samples for you to sip to test the drink they make for you, to make sure it matches the sweetness level you want. Jelly like lychee jelly is free. They only have a couple of ladies running the place and because they tailor the service to each patron specifically, it may take a little longer to get your drink order, but they're worth the wait! On this day, I got the Lychee Tea $2.99 with free jelly and it's definitely worth it on a hot day : Service is great and it can be done in English and Cantonese here 4 stars!