Michael Mohica firmly believes that Hawaiian food goes beyond an eclectic mash up of culinary cultures. It’s a genre. “I’m drawing on a tradition of what we call ‘plate lunches’ in Hawaii – a mix of different ethnic foods that includes Asian, Spanish, Filipino, Japanese, and Korean, as well as Polynesian.”
While you might expect most chefs to tell you that they were born to cook, Michael Mohica, the owner of Ono Hawaiian Café, is the few I’ve met who has actually said just that. “I was raised in a kitchen cooking with my grandmother in Hawaii, and she taught me everything I know about cooking.” And what he learned, he brings to Ono. “It’s the things I remember seeing, the flavors I remember, the things I grew up with. It’s in my heart, in everything I do.”
Michael firmly believes that Hawaiian food goes beyond an eclectic mash up of culinary cultures. It’s a genre. “I’m drawing on a tradition of what we call ‘plate lunches’ in Hawaii – a mix of different ethnic foods that includes Asian, Spanish, Filipino, Japanese, and Korean, as well as Polynesian.” That mix shows up in a number of Ono’s signature dishes.
Let’s start with Michael’s teriyaki steak (courtesy of our very own Snake River Farms), sliced thin and marinated in teriyaki (duh!), quickly grilled and served with coconut infused rice and macaroni salad (a traditional side dish in Hawaii). Or how about Ono’s chicken katsu, a Hawaiian fusion take on a traditional Japanese dish of breaded chicken breast, deep fried and served with a fruit-based tonkatsu sauce. And then there’s the kimchee shrimp: Hawaiian shrimp sautéed in Korean pickled cabbage. Some like it hot.
And all this doesn’t even get into the presentation factor around Michael Mohica’s dishes. Those aren’t tears of joy, brah. That’s your eyeballs salivating!
If you really want to pick up on what Ono’s is putting down island style, you need to show up on a Friday for a buffet lunch or dinner. It’s the closest you’ll get to a luau, short of Michael’s backyard. No surprise here, but the centerpiece is Ono’s kalua pig. Close your eyes and listen to the gentle sounds of the surf in the background as Michael whispers in your ear, “it’s just as you would find it in someone’s backyard, cooked for 12 to18 hours, seasoned only with salt and pepper. It’s the smokiness and steam that keeps it moist and flavorful; it falls off the bone.” Michael, you had me at “slow cooked”.
Along with the star of the show is a supporting cast of other traditional luau favorites: homemade sweet rolls, Filipino lumpia, kalbi (a sweet, spicy Korean fried chicken), seafood dishes with bold Korean sauces, beefsteak steamed in taro leaf, a house salad and tropical fruit salad. Did I mention dessert? There’s halpia, a Hawaiian coconut pudding, and pineapple upside down cake, to mention just two (check out the display case at the counter as you walk into the restaurant).
On Friday nights, throw in Hawaiian dancing and the incomparable ukulele stylings of “Uncle Herbs”, and you get a bit of the island ambiance that Michael wants to deliver along with the food. “I want to create a destination for people who have been to Hawaii and remember how great the flavors are,” says Michael.
In the Hollywood version of the Ono’s Hawaiian Cafe story, Michael Mohica brings his grandmother to Boise to join him once again in the kitchen. His kitchen. Reality, however, is less sentimental. Michael’s grandmother passed away in 2008 – but not before she’d seen photographs of her grandson’s dream come true. I know she must have been proud.
Click here to read the longer story that this profile is based on.
