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  • Mana Bu's

    for those who like japanese musubi's (they sell other stuff too), you should check this place out.

    1618 King St
    Honolulu, HI 96813
    945-2323

    it's in that little cluster of shops near the corner of punahou and king (about two doors away from baskin robbins).

    someone else wrote a little review of it here:

    http://www.yelp.com/biz/mana-bus-honolulu

    personally, i like the simple musubi with ume and their coffee jello...
    525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

  • #2
    Re: Mana Bu's

    I just heard about this place from a friend and am eager to check it out. I love all kinds of cool things people do to riceballs.
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

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    • #3
      Re: Mana Bu's

      They make riceballs? I thought that was supposed to be reserved for funerals?

      Cool name though. Sounds like some "moke" name. "Wassup Mana Bu!" lol

      I'm a musubi fan, so this is someplace I must check out. Thanks for the info!
      sigpic The Tasty Island

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      • #4
        Re: Mana Bu's

        Originally posted by Pomai View Post
        They make riceballs? I thought that was supposed to be reserved for funerals?
        I think a lot of people use the term musubi and riceball interchangeably, even though it’s not ball-shaped at all (those are reserved for funerals--though to tell the truth, I don’t ever recall seeing round riceballs at funerals). Actually, in Japan today, riceball is mostly called onigiri (and only sometimes called musubi, or to be more precise, omusubi).

        I think this is another instance of local preservation of a term when it was first introduced at the turn of the century during the time of immigration. Now days, especially after the creation/invention of Spam musubi (probably in the 1980s), the term musubi is used almost exclusively for riceballs in Hawaii.

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        • #5
          Re: Mana Bu's

          Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
          I think a lot of people use the term musubi and riceball interchangeably, even though it’s not ball-shaped at all (those are reserved for funerals--though to tell the truth, I don’t ever recall seeing round riceballs at funerals). Actually, in Japan today, riceball is mostly called onigiri (and only sometimes called musubi, or to be more precise, omusubi).
          That's what I figured, but just thought I'd bring the subject up. What's funny is, my grandmother (who isn't Japanese of course) used to make us rice balls exclusively, most likely not knowing what it symbolized at the time. Mainly because it was easy for her to shape vs. trying to hand-shape into triangular form. She'd also salt her wet hands when making it, which really added flavor. Then she'd wrap the rice balls in several layers of nori. I mean, CHOKE nori. lol But was ono!

          <ot>Speaking of Japanese etiquette, I was reminded by a reader of my blog that sticking chopsticks in rice is a no-no, as that represents death. Gosh, I felt like a DOOF, as I had been photographing a number of dishes I made over the course of blogging, doing that just because I thought it looked good in the shot. Ack! Never again. It's also a no-no to pierce food using chopsticks or to criss-cross them for the same reason. Gotta' respect the culture.</ot>

          Shoots, I wanted to check out Mana Bu's today, but they're closed. That yelp reviewer made it sound really good!
          sigpic The Tasty Island

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Mana Bu's

            howzit pomai! yeah, you'll like it. their hours are weird; something like 11 am ~ 3 pm! to be on the safe side, call before you go and let us know what you think afterwards.

            btw, the couple who run the place is from japan and their portions are typically japanese (on the small side): taste over quantity.

            if it's not crowded, have a chat with them cuz they're super nice and love to talk about their products (they hand make everything in that shop!).
            525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Mana Bu's

              Please. A triangle-shaped musubi is not a riceball? Sure it is. A ball doesn't have to be spherical to be a ball. What shape is a puck or a football?

              As for omusubi and onigiri, the terms are practically interchangeable. My mom (who is from Japan) has always called them onigiri, but she has never corrected me when I've called them musubi. The "o" in front of a Japanese word usually indicates a level of formality; as far as definitions go, "omusubi" and "musubi" mean the same thing, as do "obenjo" and "benjo," "otearai" and "tearai," and "otanjoubi" and "tanjoubi." I have been corrected by other HTers on matters of Japanese linguistics before and welcome them again, but this is what I understand.

              I'm destitute until Thursday, but I think Thursday is an excellent day for me to check this place out. I'm super super super super curious.
              But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
              GrouchyTeacher.com

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Mana Bu's

                found two articles about Mana Bu's!

                * from My Aloha Vibe:
                http://myalohavibe.com/mana-bus/


                * from pacific business news:
                http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacif...0/story11.html

                shocking revelation from PBN: "The menu is the brainchild of Fumiyo Asaoka, a licensed nutritionist and graduate of Japan Women's University. Her husband, Manabu Asaoka, has a marketing degree from Hawaii Pacific University and Tokyo University Foreign Language School."

                Wow!

                Days and Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-2pm & 4pm-5:30pm Sat 11am-2pm Sun Closed
                Attached Files
                Last edited by shaveice; July 27, 2008, 11:33 PM.
                525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Mana Bu's

                  Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
                  I think a lot of people use the term musubi and riceball interchangeably, even though it’s not ball-shaped at all (those are reserved for funerals--though to tell the truth, I don’t ever recall seeing round riceballs at funerals). Actually, in Japan today, riceball is mostly called onigiri (and only sometimes called musubi, or to be more precise, omusubi).

                  I think this is another instance of local preservation of a term when it was first introduced at the turn of the century during the time of immigration. Now days, especially after the creation/invention of Spam musubi (probably in the 1980s), the term musubi is used almost exclusively for riceballs in Hawaii.
                  I thought a riceball would be in a bento(I can't remember the old school word for lunchbag) when you go hana hana in the field. The riceball would be so big with the umi center because it's hard work and you have an apetite of a sumo wrestler.
                  You call it riceballs now to kids. They'll start giggling.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Mana Bu's

                    "Speaking of Japanese etiquette, I was reminded by a reader of my blog that sticking chopsticks in rice is a no-no, as that represents death."

                    I believe that the chopsticks in the rice bowl being a no-no is because the chopsticks look like the insense (sp?) that you put on an alter for the dead.
                    GO RAIL GO!!!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Mana Bu's

                      Originally posted by scrivener View Post
                      I'm destitute until Thursday, but I think Thursday is an excellent day for me to check this place out. I'm super super super super curious.
                      Well I am destitute no longer (well, until a few days from now, probably) and wasted no time in checking it out.



                      This photo’s not great because I had my white-balance set to tungsten instead of sunlight and had to adjust the colors in Photoshop, which I suck at. However, I think it’s clear that these are some nicely made musubis. At the top is the ten-grain hijiki musubi, which was very flavorful with a nice, nutty texture. The salty flavor of the hijiki really added to this; it was my favorite of the lot. To the right of the hijiki is the curried musubi (ordered by a friend). Nice flavor here, but I think it needed some kind of meat, like a little bit of chopped chicken or something. Next to that is the baked salmon brown-rice musubi, ordered by Reid. You gotta love all that nori, but my friend's first words were “not being able to see the salmon is a bad sign.”

                      Perhaps. But when you eat an ume musubi, you don’t expect the ume to be in every bite (although that would be great, come to think of it). This was actually quite good, and if I liked salmon a little bit more I’d think it was great. Next is something I used to experiment with in college: misoyaki musubi with brown rice. My friends responded quite positively to this; I thought it was good, but I wanted more miso flavor. The fact that the musubi is (I’m guessing) pan-fried makes this really nice; I like the crusty exterior a LOT, but that did take some of the miso flavor out.

                      At the bottom is the ume edamame musubi, the only white-rice musubi I ordered. For white rice, Mana Bu uses Tamanishiki, which is one of those two-bucks-per-pound premium rices they sell in mylar bags. I think the simplicity of this musubi really made the quality of the rice stand out; always a good thing, in my book. This had bits of ume mixed in with the rice, which I loved.

                      In the upper left is some kind of chocolate muffin another friend ordered and I didn’t try. Next to that is a teri grilled corn, ordered by a friend. Flavorful and nice, but at two bucks probably overpriced.

                      The musubis we purchased ranged from $1.25 to $1.50 each, which when you consider the price of a spam musubi at 7-Eleven is quite a deal. It should be evident from the photo that this is a lovingly, carefully made product. Someone cares about quality work here, and that goes a long way with me. I am definitely headed back sometime before the end of my summer break. This is a great lunch.
                      But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                      GrouchyTeacher.com

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Mana Bu's

                        Scriv, great write-up! Do you have macro pics of each Musubi, unwrapped? That would be great.

                        I think the 10-grain Hijiki would be my fav' as well.

                        You mentioned "ume in every bite". Well, there is a product that could satisfy that request! At Marukai, they sell a flavored nori that has little bits of real, dried Ume speckled into each sheets. It's kinda' expensive though... like $5 for a just 9 half-sheets. Still, Ume is getting pricey nowadays as well, so that could be a bargain if it really does have the flavor profile.

                        Grilled Teriyaki-glazed corn is indeed oishii, and at $2 each, it's not THAT bad in price. I've seen worse. That's probably the perfect accompaniment with those "Haute" Musubi offerings. One of that and a couple of Musubi and I'd be good for lunch.
                        Last edited by Pomai; August 1, 2008, 06:27 PM. Reason: Didn't scroll up before posting. Ack!
                        sigpic The Tasty Island

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                        • #13
                          Re: Mana Bu's

                          My favorite meat ingredient in a sushi is an eel.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Mana Bu's

                            they've been so successful that there's usually a line of people waiting to get in when they open. great for the business but lousy for customers cuz they're often sold out by noon! and who wants to wait in a long line with very limited parking?

                            oh well...

                            in today's advertiser...

                            http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...uNmWmkrg+OA%3D
                            525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Mana Bu's

                              I made it here the other day - thanks for the post, I really enjoyed the food. I wish they were closer to Ewa.
                              May I always be found beneath your contempt.

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