GOING FAR-EAST AT WAIANAE MALL . . .
Any new eatery opening in Waianae is cause for celebration, but the festivity is muted at Saito & Pho II restaurant, two doors down from Long's Drugs at Waianae Mall. It's not that Saito & Pho II isn't a welcome addition to Waianae's restaurant assortment, in fact Saito's mall location bumps up the eating options significantly, it's just we were left wishing for a little bit more in terms of decor and service. Saito & Pho II is a sister eatery to the original Saito & Pho, located on Fort Weaver Rd. in Ewa Beach. The menu is extensive, with more than 50 items which can be ordered, and the pricing runs from moderate to somewhat expensive, depending upon entree and order size. During a recent lunch-time visit, a companion and I dined for well under $20 ($17.50 to be exact), when we ordered a variety of items al-a-carte. Upon entering, I immediately noticed an absence of ambiance, due to the eatery's distinct lack of decoration. On the plus side, the restaurant was extremely clean (including the restrooms). Upon seating ourselves, we were greeted with two tall glasses of ice water, (but with scarcely a word of acknowledgment from staff members) and would have been offered menus, if we hadn't already grabbed a couple on our way to the table. After an extended perusal of the listed fare we, finally, were able to have a staff member take our order, which seemed to require a bit longer to arrive at our table than at comparable eateries. This may have been because, while the restaurant's dining area was only lightly populated at the time, the eatery does a brisk take-out business. My companion's lunch consisted of a small rice bowl, a cup of miso soup and half of our shared order of eight chicken gyoza (or pot stickers, as they're often called on the mainland).
In addition to my portion of gyoza, I lunched on a second small rice bowl and a Vietnamese-style barbecue chicken sandwich. White rice is white rice, and, I suppose, there's not much to say about dining comparisons. To Saito's credit, however, I will say theirs arrived hot, with minimal starchiness, mixed well with my companion's soup, and provided a tasty side dish for me after being suitably seasoned with ingredients available at the table. The contents of my sandwich were pleasantly, well sandwiched, inside a freshly-baked French roll, with exactly the right crust crispiness and a dough of light, fluffy texture. It's the vegetables of a Vietnamese sandwich that make the meal, and Saito's didn't disappoint. The carrots and daikon (radish) were just lightly pickled, and the greens seemed cool and moist, as though fresh from the garden. I ordered barbecue chicken for the sandwich's protein, which was thin sliced and, again, lightly flavored, without the overwhelming barbecue sauciness so often prevalent in other eateries. The hit of the meal, however, was the gyoza. Typically our experience with pot stickers is they're often a bit underdone or overdone, soggy, or stale from waiting under heat lamps.
But at Saito's, the gyoza were pot-sticker perfect. The wonton wrappers' crispness was exactly right on, with a delightful little crunch right along the “pinch” lines, and lightly, chewy-soft everywhere else.
The appetizer's meat filling came across as having a delicate flavor, not overpowered from the herbs and spices. Finally, the gyozas' dipping condiment wasn't dominated by a salty taste, an all too-common issue we've experienced at other eateries. All-in-all, our lunch-time experience at Saito & Pho II was pleasant enough, we're sure to return.
