Hanaki Restaurant: Hot and Healthy for the Holidays

Looking for a hot, delicious and healthy dinner to warm you up on a cool December evening? Hanaki Restaurant, located in Manoa Marketplace, provides the perfect solution for you with its shabu shabu dining options.

“Shabu shabu is a great wintertime meal that’s healthy but tastes good,” says manager Mark Mitsuyoshi. “The soups are nice, hot and healthy for you.”

Although Hanaki Restaurant first opened in 1996 and was famous for its buffet menu, the eatery has since changed to shabu shabu dining last May. Although the majority of customers choose the shabu shabu dining option, Hanaki still provides an a la carte menu, featuring popular items from its buffet menu, such as shrimp tempura, chicken kara age and misoyaki butterfish.

The goal behind Hanaki’s change to shabu shabu was to provide family-friendly, healthy dining for customers.

“We wanted to have a family restaurant and to have good-tasting food that’s affordable (at Hanaki),” says Mitsuyoshi. “Hanaki provides a great environment for both a family dinner and for a fast lunch too, as shabu shabu dining does not take very long. Our shabu shabu has a great variety of different, fresh, locally grown vegetables, sliced meats and seafood.”

The shabu shabu dining option is perfect for families with children, as Mitsuyoshi states that the restaurant provides a family-friendly dining atmosphere, and shabu shabu itself provides children with nutritious meals.

“Your family can receive all the vegetable servings they need and the average price (per customer) is $12 to $13,” Mitsuyoshi says. “Each stove can do one soup or two at the same time. If you can’t decide which one (soup base) to choose, you can get two. Hanaki provides a complete shabu shabu experience,” he adds. “We have many types of soup bases, starches, meats, vegetables and even desserts to choose from. There’s always something for everyone.”

An additional bonus: Shabu shabu dining does not result in the bloated feeling one usually experiences after overeating at Christmas buffets.

“It’s (shabu shabu) a healthy, balanced meal,” Mitsuyoshi explains. “You won’t have to worry about holiday overeating (because shabu shabu is nutritious).”

Upon choosing the shabu shabu option, customers must first select the soup base of their choice ($5). Soup flavors range from Miso (medium, traditional, Japanese soybean paste) and the Konbu (a light, seaweed-based udon soup) to the Sukiyaki, a heavier soup with sugar and shoyu.

Customers can choose a variety of ingredients to add to their soup once they select the base. Each of these ingredients — a variety of vegetables, meats and seafood — are located in plates or bowls color-coded by price.

“We list our prices by container because it’s easy to understand; we have such a large variety of items,” says Mitsuyoshi. “Our green bowls are $2.50, our red bowls are $3.50 and plates are $4.50.”

Among the most popular vegetable choices are baby bak choy and Chinese cabbage. Clams, baby octopus and lobster balls are popular seafood choices among customers, and prime rib tends to be frequently chosen among the different meat dishes.

“We have more than 40 different kinds of vegetables and more than 35 types of meat and seafood to choose from,” Mitsuyoshi says.

Dining shabu shabu-style at Hanaki Restaurant is perfect for the holiday season. Family members and friends can enjoy one another’s company over a steaming soup pot, and the restaurant provides ample seating. If you’re still searching for the perfect Christmas gift, Hanaki gift certificates are available to purchase for holiday gifts in any denomination.

Hanaki Restaurant