What is saimin? Saimin is a close cousin, or even brother, of ramen. It is hard to tell what the exact relationship is, but they are definitely related.

What makes saimin saimin? It is the ingredients in the bowl. Social historians can theorize that saimin reflects the history of Hawaii in a bowl. The Japanese brought the noodles, the Chinese brought dumplings, the Filipinos brought the chives, the Hawaiians brought the chicken broth, and the mainlanders brought the ham.

You really ought not go to Hawaii and miss out on saimin. So go ahead and try out Hamura's - a place that serves 1000 bowls of Saimin a day!

Note that this is a no frills place. There is no a/c (and no ocean breezes). Most people sit at the counter, but there are a few linoleum type tables available. No worries, the atmosphere is not what you come here for anyway. It's the saimin!

Get the oxymoronically named "Special Regular". Extra Large, since you're on vacation. See photo. It contains noodles, pork tenderloin, fish cakes, dumplings, ham (or is that SPAM?) and other good stuff. Go ahead and order a couple of sticks of teriyaki chicken.

When you're done, don't miss the Lilikoi Pie.

Cost per person would be about $7 - definitely a good value in Kauai.

Awesome! The best place to eat on the island, it's a must. Go for the extra large special and add the chili pepper water. You'll leave with a sweat.

We're always up for local cuisine when we travel, and we saw several recommendations for this place; all of which noted this is a "diner," and perhaps too "lowly" of a setting for many (no problem for us). We set out to find it.

Finding it IS tough because it's not on a main street. Take Rice Street, and look for Kress to the right. Turn down Kress, and look for the cars. You'll see the restaurant on the left. Parking is an issue; drive around a couple of times, we all do.

Inside you'll see a couple of counters with short barstools. See empty ones? They're fair game, have a seat. If not, wait. I'll shorten your ordering problems. You want a "regular special" and a BBQ chicken strip or two. This will give you a rather large serving of Saimin—what's that? You don't know what Saimin is? Neither do most tourists who come, including us prior to our first visit.

Saimin is an Asian soup. The special is filled with noodles, pork, fish cake, hard boiled egg, and a few other ingredients. It's simply scrumptious to say the least, even pleased my youngest, pickiest eater. It is, however, high in sodium. Mix some hot mustard with the black sauce and you have an excellent dip for your BBQ chicken and the pork from the Saimin. Be adventurous, and use chop sticks to eat.

People come from all over to eat here, and with the close quarters you can often talk with natives or other tourists while you're waiting/eating. We enjoyed visiting with folks. By our second visit, other tourists thought WE were locals (I wish!). For dessert, try their Lilikoi pie. We bought whole ones and took them back to the condo for dessert and breakfast the next day. Their shaved ice is good too.

To try more places, we seldom eat at the same place more than once, but we ate here three times including our "last meal" on Kauai. We said our sad good-bye's to the staff when we had to leave. If I could afford it, I'd head back to Kauai just to eat here again. Well, I'd do more while there, but I'd certainly eat here. I feel for those who miss out on some of the best local food because the conditions (seating, etc.) are too "lowly" for them!

Hamura's Saimin Stand
2956 Kress Street
808/245-3271

The origin of the term saimin was not made clear to us, because every time we asked the Chinese, they told us that it was from Japan. When we would ask the Japanese, they told us the Chinese came up with it. Saimin is essentially ramen, a hot noodle soup with scallions, fishcake, scrambled eggs and ham. If you know anything about Filipino food, I would say that this is more the invention of a hungry Filipino like me.

Hamura's Saimin Stand looked like an old-school diner with its Formica U-shaped counters. The sign urging customers not to stick gum underneath was put up by the Filipino women who run the place. For an hour in Kauai, I was home, talking to them in my language about our lives.

We ordered two saimin bowls with our chicken and beef barbeque skewers (definitely a Filipino addition, because they were sweeter than your usual teriyaki) . We also tried the lilikoi, or passion fruit, cake for dessert.

This is a terrific local lunch counter. You'll probably have to wait a few minutes to sit down, but it's worth it. Saimin is their specialty (noodles cooked in chicken, fish, or pork broth. I know, I know. My wife also had her doubts - but she loved it too!). Order the special, otherwise you'll be envious of everyone else's bowls! They also serve shave ice here - be brave and get the sweet red beans on the bottom of your cup.