Chicken Katsu Memories

Hawaiian chicken katsu, Brian was thinking, as he stood with anticipation in the food truck line at the Pure Aloha Festival in Las Vegas. This particular food truck was boldly named “No Ka ‘Oi” or “The Best” in Hawaiian.

Brian traveled from Hawaii to attend this festival in search of the perfect Hawaiian chicken katsu. He was particular with his chicken katsu and wanted to see if the chicken katsu from this truck was really “No Ka ‘Oi” or just meh. He has traveled to California, Oregon, Washington state, Utah, Arizona, and now Las Vegas to eat, photograph, and compare Hawaiian chicken katsu dishes.

Brian was able to spend his time looking for the perfect Hawaiian chicken katsu because he won the Megabucks jackpot in Vegas a year and a half ago. After taxes, he netted around $13 million. It was a frivolous affair; he could be back in school finishing another degree or traveling the world, or anything else other than searching for the best katsu plate. Money will do that to you.

Prior to winning, he was laid off from this job as a store manager at Kalani’s Electronics, a small mom and pop electronics shop in Honolulu on King St. He knew Kalani’s days were numbered when Best Buy set up shop in Hawaii. They had a wider variety of electronics, their prices were cheaper than Kalani’s, and they had a large marketing budget. He does, however, wear a Best Buy swag shirt he got from some electronics trade show; it’s a comfortable Pima cotton spandex blend that he uses as his sleep shirt. Brian still resents Best Buy, but he had a long life ahead of him, he was only 31.

After he was laid off, he impulsively spent his last paycheck and some savings to go to Vegas to party and play on the Megabucks machine. He wasn’t so concerned about his financial security at the time but rather his need to decompress and let out some stress. It was a big risk that actually paid off.

Still waiting in line, Brian counted the people ahead of him and counted 22. Good thing this was late September, he thought. The Vegas weather was cooling off and tolerable so the wait in line was comfortable.

Brian’s very first Hawaiian Plate Lunch was a Teriyaki Chicken Plate from Byron’s Drive-In on Nimitz highway next to the Ramada Hotel at the entrance to the Honolulu International Airport. He was around six years old at the time. His dad was in the Navy and was transferred to Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii from Naval Air Station Agana, Guam. Back then, passengers dressed up when they travelled by plane. His dad was in his Summer White U.S. Navy uniform. His mother was in a semi-formal, maroon-red dress and Brian and his brother were in matching blue suits with clip-on ties.

The Pan-Am 747 landed at night, they checked in at the Ramada hotel for the night. Brian’s dad asked the concierge if there was anything to eat close by since room service was expensive for a family of four. The concierge referred Brian’s dad to check out Byron’s. Byron’s was just outside of the hotel. You cross a small side street, and you are there.

Opening in 1965, Byron’s was a small round drive-in style building with multiple windows for ordering and pick-up. It had rectangular red tile below the order counters. The windows were festooned with makeshift photos of their dishes, menus, and local fliers. It was open 24/7 and had a red roof and outside seating tables made of plastic with a faux wood overlay.

The rectangular yellow sign was lit with the letters “Byron’s” in red followed by “Drive-In” in black served as a landmark that stood out amongst the urban sprawl in the area littered with the H-1 freeway above, Nimitz Highway to the north, and the Honolulu International Airport to the south of it. To the west was Pearl Harbor Naval Base and Hickam Air Force Base. The east of Byron's was various industrial and other mixed-use buildings.

The warm Styrofoam container was filled with the light brown sweet and salty teriyaki sauce that covered the barbequed chicken, and spilled over to the two scoops of white rice. a scoop of Hawaiian style macaroni salad finished off the plate lunch. Brian sat at the table and opened the container. A sweet savory smell permeated out and some condensation from the fresh hot food rolled off the Styrofoam cover as Brian lifted it open.

The teriyaki chicken thighs were tender, the sticky semi-thick brown sauce tasted sweet and salty, the Hawaiian mac salad was tangy and fatty tasting, with just a hint of onion and MSG. The two scoops of rice provided enough filler and carbohydrates to give young Brian a “kanak attack” or the sleepiness you encounter after eating a heavy meal.

That was Brian’s only experience with a Hawaiian Plate Lunch for a long time. Because he lived on the naval base, there weren’t any local Hawaiian food restaurants nearby. They hardly went out to eat. Brian’s parents would bring home fast food that was close to home and near the base, or it was Filipino food his mom cooked or food at family and friend’s potluck parties.

The line in front of him at the food truck increased slightly because some of the people in line were holding places for their friends. The line went from 22 to 27. They were too far ahead in line for Brian to say anything to them.

He started to reminisce about his first Hawaiian chicken katsu plate. He was attending the University of Hawaii. It was Michelle who bought Brian his first plate of Hawaiian chicken katsu. Brian doesn’t recall the name of the place. Although he does remember it was in Puck’s Alley near Moose Mcgillicuddy’s bar. It had a pool hall above where shady looking customers frequented, especially at night.

It was a hole in the wall establishment with an order and pick-up window just like Byron’s with handwritten menus with Polaroid pictures of their food displayed on their window. It looked like it would’ve gotten a C- Health Department grade but all their lunch plates were delicious. It was ironic, you didn’t know the name of the place, but it was well known in the university community.

Back then, Brian was a broke college student, but Michelle would always hook him up with a chicken katsu plate from that place every Friday. In the beginning, it kept them hanging out with each other. It was a Friday treat that was mutually beneficial to Brian and Michelle. Brian loved his chicken katsu. 

He was reminiscing about the chicken katsu plate from that place in Puck’s Alley as he continued to wait. The chicken thighs were juicy, and the panko breading was crispy golden brown and had just enough of an audible crunch when you bit it that it was satisfying. You could also taste a hint of salt and pepper, and garlic powder in the panko, never overwhelming. The katsu sauce complemented the chicken like Romeo and Juliet; it wouldn’t be complete without each other. When you dip a golden-brown piece of chicken in the katsu sauce and take a bite, the flavors excite your tongue with a mix of ketchup, shoyu (soy sauce), mirin, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, and minced garlic all dancing on your taste buds.

Michelle and Brian met at a Voodoo Glow Skulls concert at Moose Mcgillicuddy’s. They were both skanking to the music and the dance floor was crowded. Abruptly, the crowd pushed them together. She crashed into Brian's shoulder. Brian thought that Michelle got a black eye because he saw her rubbing her left eye.

“Are you alright?” Brian yelled over the music with a look of concern as he put his hand on her shoulder.

“Yes, but it hurts a bit” she responded.

“Here” As he motioned toward the exit “Let’s go outside so you can get some air and we’ll take a look at it.”

Brian put his arm behind her shoulders, and they started to walk side by side to the exit. Brian quickly realized this wasn’t working as the crowd didn’t move out of the way for them. They were all enjoying the music. Since they were side by side, they took up a lot of the already cramped space. So, Brian gently held Michelle’s hand as he led the way through the crowd. Michelle, following behind, still had her hand covering her left eye and had a difficult time seeing in the dark bar as they were exiting. Brian slowed down and looked back occasionally, checking on her and asking if she was alright.

They finally made it outside. It was around 11:00 pm and it seemed quiet, their ears were ringing from the show. It was humid and the cool Manoa breeze of 63 degrees hit their sweaty skin sending slight shivers throughout their bodies. The Honolulu city lights toward makai side (toward the ocean) of University Avenue was a beautiful calming backdrop and recalibrated their senses from the dark, loud, and crowded concert inside.

Brian led Michelle toward a streetlight a few feet away.

“Can you tilt your head up slightly toward the light?” Brian asked. Brian looked at her face for any bruising or abrasions like a shade tree paramedic. Michelle was pretty, and even the harsh street lighting couldn’t spoil her striking good looks.

“I don’t see any bruises or scratches.” “How are you feeling?” Brian asked, still concerned.

“Better, I think I’ll be fine. Thank you.” Michelle assured him.

They both looked around their surroundings awkwardly as if this was the conclusion of their encounter and it was time to part ways. Michelle felt extemporaneous and decided to seize the moment.

“Do you want to hangout? Uh, go for a walk or something?” She said nervously.

Brian was a little taken aback but relieved that she broke the awkward moment.

“Okay, let’s go.” He tried to answer coolly.

They both continued to head mauka (toward the mountains) up University Avenue they turned right on to Dole St. and headed toward the Richardson Law School and took the walkway that led to the top of the parking structure where you get a good view of lower campus, Diamond Head crater, the student apartments, and the beautiful city of Honolulu. You can also see the planes flying lazily in the distance through the peaceful night sky.

Brian and Michelle talked for hours, before they knew it, it was 3:00 am. He wanted to stay and hang out, but he was respectful of her time and space. He offered to walk her back to her dorm. He found out that she lived in Frear Hall, just a few dorms down from where he lived at Hale Noelani.

“Well, here we are.” As they stopped at the entrance of her dorm. “How is your eye feeling?”

“It’s much better, thank you.” That awkward silence crept up again and they both wondered if this was just a moment, and they would only greet each other in passing when they saw each other again, or could this be something more? It seemed like their anxieties were in sync. 

“Can I come by later on so we can hang out?” Brian anxiously asked. "It's Friday and I don't have any class." Michelle’s face lit up with glee “Yes! I don't have class either. We can also go out to lunch, do you like chicken katsu?”

Brian nodded enthusiastically at the thought of them spending more time together. He also was looking forward to trying his first chicken katsu plate lunch.

Hanging out eventually turned into a relationship. Michelle eventually brought Brian home with her one weekend to meet her mom. They spent time at her house where Brian was getting to know the faces on the pictures that hung on the wall and old family stories of photos in the albums on the coffee table.

A few months passed and the end of the school year was here. Mike had to move out of the dorm. He had family in town but there was no space in their places for him to stay over the summer. So, he had to go to San Diego where his parents lived and stay there for the summer.

Brian felt confident that he and Michelle could pick up where they left off after the summer. He left some things with Michelle to watch after while he was in San Diego.

At the airport, they both knew that the time would soon come that Brian had to leave. He wished that Michelle could come up with him if only to visit but she had a summer job lined up that would help her get into nursing school. As the boarding call was announced, Brian and Michelle embraced tightly "I'll be here waiting" Michelle declared while holding back her tears.

Over the summer they would call each other frequently then the calls became less and less. The times they did talk, he’d tell her that he missed her, and she would go on about going out with her friends and having a great time, especially with Mark in the group. Mark? Who the eff is Mark? Brian thought. Michelle assured him that they were only friends and they all hung out in a group.

The end of summer was approaching and Brian was scheduled to arrive back in Hawaii on Saturday and move into the campus apartments, Michelle agreed to pick him up at the airport and bring his things she was holding on to. He was excited to finally see her after the long summer break.

When he initially arrived at the gate, she gave him a light hug and quickly pulled away.

Throughout the ride from the airport, it was quiet. As they got off the freeway and onto Dole St., there was some traffic due to others moving into the dorms. Brian glanced to his right and saw the walkway that led to the top of the parking structure where he and Michelle bonded just a few months ago. “Remember there?” Brian asked enthusiastically. “Where, what? Oh, yeah.” Michelle answered dismissively.

They arrived at Brian's dorm and they started to unload his things. Brian tried to engage with Michelle in light banter, but Michelle was not biting. “We have to talk.” Michelle said bluntly. She sat on the chair and started with “I’m seeing Mark.” Brian immediately fell to his knees and began tearing up. He looked at her and saw her mouth moving but only caught pieces of what she was saying:

You chose your friends over me a lot of times when I needed you.

A lot of times I didn’t feel wanted.

You were not present when we were together.

Brian was trying to listen to the voices in his head telling him what to say to try and salvage this relationship while simultaneously listening to the bits he could hear Michelle saying, Brian was sobbing at this point. He buried his face in her lap. Her lap became soaked with his tears. Brian was pleading at this point; it was endearing and pathetic.

Michelle lifted Brian’s head and said assertively, “I have to go”. She gently moved off the chair and Brian grabbed her hand and looked at her pleadingly. “Please,” she said as she moved her hand out of his grip. Brian finally let go, he was so weak he sat there kneeling on the carpet.

Brian wondered if Michelle was just being strong and distant because she felt bad for breaking up with him and wondered if she was also starting to tear up as well. He stared at her as she left his dorm, she never looked back. The door closed with such finality. Brian was there, on the floor, alone, and sobbing.

Brian called home and his dad answered. Brian’s sobbing subsided but he was still breathing irregularly. Brian couldn’t say anything at first. His dad asked, “What’s wrong, son? Is there a problem with your tuition?” Maybe this is why Brian is the way Michelle says he is, His parents’ first concern for their son was anything but his emotional wellbeing. Brian began to explain what happened. His father, perhaps unable to grasp how to handle his son’s hurt said “Oh don’t worry, son. New school year, there will be lots of girls to chase after.” Damn, Brian thought, Michelle did have some valid points. He wondered if his parents worked to make ends meet or if he an his brother were an inconvenience to escape from.

The food truck line now had just one ahead of Brian. He could feel his mouth watering to taste some of this hyped-up Hawaiian chicken katsu. He read that you can get the optional hot katsu sauce, maybe he will go for that. Brian had his phone ready to tap to pay as he was next and said affirmatively “Can I have the chicken katsu plate with the hot katsu sauce?” as he flashed a smile.

The girl in the food truck replied “Oh, sorry we just ran out.” While doing the obligatory sad face pout. Brian was hoping for some chicken katsu to reminisce and appreciate his bittersweet memories of Michelle. He looked at the rest of the menu and saw that they had teriyaki chicken. Brian ordered that plate and was put at ease.

As he was waiting for his food, he started following No Ka 'Oi food truck on Instagram. He checked his feed and saw an advertisement for a new Hawaiian barbeque shop in Austin, TX. He opened the Southwest Airlines app and booked a flight to Austin for Saturday.

"On to the next!" Brian enthusiastically proclaimed.