GoShiGo

Udon is one of my favorite types of noodles. I’m a huge noodles person. I just love broth and the slurry noodle texture!
I’m not a huge pasta, rice or burgers person… just noodles. I’d have to say that the udon and udon soup here is very good! Prices are also very reasonable, much cheaper than some other udon places. This makes this place very attractive to come for a simple and cheap dinner with friends.
The downside to this place is the location. Located in a hole-​in-​the-​wall building and in a very hard to find spot on Keeamoku Street, which is one of the most popular food restaurant streets in Honolulu, is a big negative. They also have very limited operating hours. Parking is hidden, located in the back of the restaurant.
Just come for the delicious udon, when they are open… Everything else really needs improvement.

goshigo is goshiGONE! :(
I’ve been going there since pretty much the beginning… I went there on 10/29…and my Unilocal quick tip was «I think they closed down, and their phone number is disconnected! :(«
double checked today… and found this blog… so sad
I gave it 5-​stars as one last good bye-bye…I loved their natto udon!

Wow. Homemade does not equal handmade. This guy from Japan HAND MAKES the udon noodles daily. They are the most unique, and best udon noodles I have ever tasted. I love the chew, and these thinner than regular udon noodles have as much chew as I can ask for, and you can almost never get enough.
My family was visiting my uncle in the summer, and we always love to look for good noodles because there are a lot of good japanese noodle shops compared to the amount of good ones on the mainland. We stumbled upon this place the first night by recommendation, and ended up back there within the 5 days that we stayed in Honolulu
The cold udon on a hot day is amazing (or any day really). I get the stamina udon which has a delicious half cooked egg where you can pop the yolk all over the noodles. Mmmm. The kakiage (tempura fry of onions and cut up veggies) was delish. And some thinly sliced beef? i think. Such a clean and simple taste to it. The noodles to me always make or break a bowl in general, and these noodles plus all the side stuff come together to make a bowl of cold udon that i have yet to taste anything comparable. I’m usually a fan of ramen, but this opened my mind up to a new love for Goshigo’s cold udon. Another thing, the yamaimo is definitely something that I didn’t grow up eating so it’s hard to get used to the texture… ate it the first time to be polite, but couldn’t do it 2 days later on round 2. BYOB is cool too.

Last week, I came to GoShiGo for lunch with a few of my co workers. I’ve heard a lot about it and was very excited to come here. When we first got there it was crowded! Luckily, we found a table for 5 of us (probably the max you could fit in this place). It’s amazing to think that the guy, whom we will call Mr. Udon, runs the front by himself. Despite having only himself, he hustles A LOT!
Since it was a scorching day and I wanted to try the fresh udon, I ordered the Tsuke Udon (cold). Similar to soba, the noodles come on a woven plate with the soup base on the side. In addition, I upgraded my bowl of rice to a curry rice bowl. The udon alone earns all 4 stars. I love Japanese food especially UBER FRESH japanese food. With that said, the udon is SPECTACULAR! The soup base is not too overpowering in taste, which allows you to taste the freshness in the noodles even more. The curry bowl was good, but nothing really special.
I also was able to try one of my co-​workers hot udon. You can’t really appreciate the freshness of the hot udon, as much as the cold. The noodles themselves in the hot udon was nothing special, but the soup base and the other ingredients (vegetable tempura) added a lot to the udon.
I am an instant fan of there udon. Mr. Udon works really hard being the only one there, but service is still good. Protip: If the air conditioner isn’t on, just ask. I will definitely recommend the cold udon and I will definitely be back in the future.

HOMEMADE UDON!!! Awesomely good stuff for a very reasonable price (much of the menu is $ 10 and under). I wasn’t impressed with the non-​udon items I had, so make sure part of your order includes those yummy noodles. You won’t be disappointed.
And by the way, GoShiGo is BYOB!

REALLY GOOD homemade udon. Skinnier than most, but better.
The place is a little small but reminiscent of Japan :)
I had the hot udon topped with vegetable tempura. It was awesome.
The only problem was that they ran out of their crepes. I guess I’ll just have to go back again!

Finally remembered to try this place after a movie. When we sat at our table, I noticed a faint odor of urine! Go Shi Go smelled like somebody go shi shi. Anyway, we were there and hubby said get over it, so we ordered our food.
I had the natto udon, which was a bowl of cold udon noodles with grated yama imo, a dollop of natto, and a soft boiled egg accompanied with green onion, shredded nori, and bonito shavings.
The first thing I noticed was that the udon was cooked al-​dente, alot firmer than at other places, and you could see that it was made fresh and hand-​cut. The broth was perfectly flavored and accentuated each ingredient nicely.
My bowl of slimy, chewy goodness was so delish that I forget what my hubby ordered. For fresh-​tasting handmade udon, this place is da winnahz!

I am a big udon fan and heard that these guys make theirs on fresh, so I decided to check it out. The first thing you notice is in the window you can see the chefs actually hand cutting the dough to make the udon.
Inside the restaurant is cozy, and it felt like a restaurant in a trendy area of tokyo. I really like the interior and ambiance in general. The first time I was there they had underground rap playing and the next time they had J-​pop (music was just for background and not deafening). Very cool space.
I’ve had the steak donburi/​udon combo and it was a winner. The portions aren’t huge, but the quality was really good. The steak was tender and flavorful. The cold Udon was excellent, the udon had enough bite and wasn’t overcooked. I wish I could describe everything in the bowl, but I inhaled its contents too fast. My gf got the shrimp tempura/​hot udon combo. The shrimp was what you’d expect, but the fried chicken in the combo was the star, it was delicious. I wish they would just offer a bucket of it. Compared to the cold udon, the hot udon, for some reason tasted «just» average, so I would recommend trying the cold udon first.
Great ambiance and food, best udon I’ve had here, so I’ll be coming back.

If you are in the mood for Udon, Go Shi Go should be on your list. This place is known for its handmade udon, and they do a good job of it. The rest of the menu is not very extensive, but there are a variety of other Japanese food options.
When you order Udon, make sure you order the cold version. I am a soup monster, but with the cold version, the flavor and texture of the Udon noodles are better than the hot, where the hot broth almost masks the flavor of the noodles. The udon is pretty pricey though from $ 7 — $ 12 for a bowl. They usually have specials going on, such as for lunch you get a free bowl of rice with beef, curry or a salad with an Udon order. I would advise not getting the free bowl of bacon and edamame though, it was like ½ strip of bacon and 8 edamame on a bowl of rice.
Go Shi Go ambiance is like a Japanese suburb restaurant, that caters to the 20 – 40 year old crowd. Trendy with traditional colors and furniture. There is even a huge TV facing the bar patrons where they always show different Japanese dramas and movies.
Free parking off Liona Street entrance. The restaurant is rather new, it opened in 2009.

3.5 stars: Review was written after going to Jimbo…
While getting lost trying to find Jimbo, a nice hotel concierge (just 5 blocks from our hotel) recommended Go Shi Go instead. The noodles are made on site! When we approached the shop (near Walmart/​McDonalds), we noticed that it was the same place we had passed about 30 minutes ago… how silly.
There was only one server and what seemed to be only one cook that night. Service was good and definitely at island speed. We had ordered the Cold Kimchee Udon and the Hot Curry Natto Udon. No skinny noodles for those who are a fan. And if you have leftovers, be prepared for a saran wrap «lid» for your Styrofoam bowl.
Cold: The noodles were a bit harder than expected but the tart broth was delicious and very memorable. I ate the rest for breakfast and the soak overnight made the noodles just right!
Hot: The hot noodles were perfectly al dente. The curry broth with natto also was very distinct!
Both flavors were good but a bit salty for us city gals (AT and me). Support the newbies and give this place a try!

So, after further review (read, an invitation to lunch there by Crissy K. and a mutual friend)…maybe I was in a bad mood a month ago. This time around we were greeted promptly and got menus and water in a reasonable time, so there was an improvement this time around. We had come in at just about the beginning of the lunch rush as several other parties had come in right after us.
We all ordered shrimp tempura cold udon. Good lightness and crunch on the tempura batter. Same excellent sauce, but the noodles came out a tad bit tougher this time around.
In all, though, I think the service has improved enough for me to put back one of the stars I docked, but there’s still room for improvement.

4.5 stars
Rats. After having handmade udon, I don’t know if I can eat the regular kind anymore. There is just no comparing the chewy springy-​ness that is Go Shi Go udon to the sometimes gummy udon from a package.
Definitely get one of the cold versions so you can enjoy the texture of the udon. The standard, hot udon soups are well prepared, but the heat from the soup makes the noodles get soft after a while. Still good, but towards the end it’d just be a good bowl of udon.
Soup stock appears to also be homemade, with a richness that you don’t get from an instant dashi no moto package, and is thankfully not super salty.
Too bad the tempura for the kakiage udon was pretty greasy. The tempura came separately from the soup so it would stay crispy, but they should work on their frying technique.
It seems like they make far fewer servings for lunch than they do for dinner, and they close for lunch if/​once they run out. Probably should call ahead if you’re going for lunch to make sure they’re still open.

Ok, so I need to give it 2 star because the food I had was just awful. I decided to be adventurous and try the exotic looking things on the menu instead of sticking to the regular bowl of udon.
So I ordered the «karikari udon» $ 4.25 which was more like an «otsumami» for beer instead of an actual food-​food. And I got the «udon crêpe» $ 5.95, which had no taste what-​so-​ever.
Ok, so it might be my fault for not getting a regular bowl of udon, but if you’re going to offer other things, it better taste just as good as your udon.
My friend who did have the udon said that the udon itself tastes good, but they didn’t know how to make the broth and flavor correctly. He said they should just make udon noodles and sell that instead of opening up a restaurant.
All in all, stick to the regular bowl of udon, but don’t expect much for taste. Just enjoy the homemade udon noodles.
FYI
BYOB til 9pm
Last call at 9:30pm

I have died and gone to cold noodle heaven.
Disclaimer: Go Shi Go as a whole is NOT perfect. As Emi H. mentioned earlier, the fried fish (or «frid fish,» as my dad’s menu proclaimed — which Dad got a huge kick out of) in the GSG combo is just fish sticks, not a saba filet. But other than that, everything else in the combo is great.
Except the udon.
The udon is PERFECT. I had heard from friends that I needed to go with the cold noodles — but really, cold udon? Who does that? Cold soba I’ve heard of, but cold udon?
Go Shi Go makes their own udon noodles (thus, the quantity they have every day is actually limited, though I have never heard anybody complain about them running out), and you can absolutely tell the difference. The cold udon noodles are cooked almost al dente, not in a way Japanese noodles are typically served. The chewy quality somehow contributes to the flavor, and it’s just. .. perfect. Nothing else to say about it. The broth is fabulous — tasty, but not overly salty — and is nicely complemented by generous portions of tanuki chips, wakame and green onion. SO delicious. I could eat it all day.
I will admit, the service here isn’t exactly prompt, but that’s mainly owing to the fact that, even at peak lunch hour on Saturday, ONE guy is in charge of bussing the entire restaurant, from the counter to the tables. Keeps overhead low, I suppose — and at least that cost savings is passed down to the customer, as entrees are very reasonably priced ($ 14.95 for the combo).
I will definitely be back!

I’ve read a lot of comparisons of Go Shi Go’s udon to Jimbo’s and I have to say that I would agree with most of them. It’s just different. Neither is better than the other. I think you need to try both and make a judgement for yourself. Both are delicious.
I ended up having the Kakiage, Hot Udon + Vegetable Tempura, and it was excellent. For only having plain udon, soup, and tempura, it was amazing. I normally get noodles mixed with curry or a type of meat, but I decided to try something different. The saltiness of the tempura matched perfectly with the udon and the soup.
I can’t wait to come back and try something new.

I’m rating my last experience at Go Shi Go, which was last night. If I had written this review earlier, they would probably have gotten 4 stars, but in the six or seven times I’ve been there, their service and food has been so inconsistent. The only consistent thing about this restaurant is that every time we go there, they are playing the same DVD of a sinking ferry boat. It’s pretty amusing. They make a big drama out of the sinking boat, which is moored right in the harbor! Instead of everyone jumping off and swimming a few hundred feet to land, they are all in there crying and arguing about how they are going to die! Maybe there’s more to it, but with the sound off, it’s pretty hard to tell. But I digress.
I could hardly eat my udon last night because it was so salty. I ordered my usual #3, cold hiyashi tanuki udon topped with wakame, 2 slices of imitation crab, julienned cucumbers, and tempura flakes. Instead of serving the tsuyu (dipping sauce) on the side, it’s already in the bowl with the noodles. The tsuyu was so salty, I almost couldn’t eat anything because everything was soaked in it. The udon was oddly hard, not chewy. Usually, I love the udon because it is perfectly al dente and chewy. It was as if the udon was overly kneaded last night; it was so hard. The tanuki flakes were also hard this time, not fresh and light as usual. I think they were made earlier in the afternoon and left to sit out. The cook was very stingy with the green onions this time; I only got two small bits.
The previous times I had eaten there, the udon was nice and chewy. Once, it was a little too soft, but still good. The broths and dipping sauces are often on the salty side, but not usually this bad. Other places in town make more flavorful, better balanced and more consistent dashi and tsuyu: Aki No No, Inaba, even Jimbo’s.
The prices at Go Shi Go are much lower than at Jimbo’s. My #3 only cost $ 7.15 as opposed to $ 12 or $ 13 at Jimbo’s. But the portions at Go Shi Go are so tiny. Jimbo’s fills me up, but I need to eat two portions at Go Shi Go to fill up.
I also noticed last night that the menu is much smaller at Go Shi Go. It was missing 2 pages. They don’t offer anything other than cold or hot udon now, except for 3 combo specials. No appetizers.
The other thing that annoyed me last night was the service. I had the ditzy older server with no personality. She couldn’t figure out how to play a DVD. She spent 10 minutes playing with the remote control instead of taking my order. The screen clearly said in Japanese that it was missing a connection and it took her 10 minutes to figure out that the DVD player was not connected, then after she plugged it in, it took her another five minutes to figure out how to play it.
She also had her annoying friend sitting at the bar. In the beginning, she was nice and quiet, braiding a friendship bracelet in the corner. But when my server started showing her some CDs and other toys she had, the woman started yelling, «Hoshii! Hoshii!» (I want! I want!) and «Kashite! Kashite!» (I wanna borrow!) over and over again while loudly thumping on the counter with her hand for emphasis. Young Japanese people nowadays. .. I swear. .. I wanted to yell at her, «Shut up so I can eat my hard salty noodles in peace and quiet!»

Went to Go Shi Go for dinner tonight because I wanted to try the freshly made udon. My BF and I got the GSG plate combo for $ 14.95 which was a set of yakaniku beef, fried fish, rice w/​soy beans & bacon, pickles and included a big bowl of hot udon. We also got a bowl of the beef curry for $ 3.75.
While we waited for our food we watched a Japanese movie with english subtitles on the giant TV at the bar. The movie was called «Swing Girls.» It was about a group of Japanese school girls and a single boy who form a jazz band called… wait for it, wait for it… swing girls! I’m sure they were good but as the television was on mute and could only read the subtitles it was really up to our own imaginations.
Sorry back to the food review, we got our food fairly quickly and the udon was indeed yummy and you could tell the difference in the noodles because they had a softness to them that you don’t get in packaged udon. The broth though didn’t really have much flavor so therefor the udon lacked flavor as well. The GSG plate was okay but the portions on the yakaniku beef were small. The fried fish was really just three fish sticks and they may have been frozen fish sticks. The curry didn’t really have much meat in it either but was fairly tasty. It’s pretty hard to mess up curry. It’s one of the few things that I can make so it’s got to be a no brainer. Overall I might come back again just for the udon and maybe a curry bowl but not with my BF because he’d need three GSG plates to get full. Oh and the movie «Swing Girls» was completely ridiculous and cheesy but we really got into it by the end of the meal. We have some serious issues!

Ok, I had to go back five days later. It was that good on the first try. Like hitting a hole in one on your first shot ever. Maybe it’s a fluke? «Lemme see you hit that shot again.» Hole in one again. I had the same thing I did five days ago and it was as good as the first time! The girlfriend went off on her own to try something different, the hot udon noodles this time. She was feeling cold I think and said that you are able to taste the cold udon better than the hot one. Anyway, for me, it’s always a good night when you have to wipe the udon soup from your glasses.
The waitress is a quirky lady. The last time I did neglect to say that we ordered and she brought out a bowl of hot udon (when I ordered a cold one) and I immediately saw the light go on inside her head saying something like, «Oh yeah, he ordered the cold one.» It was funny because she paused then said, «Cold one, yeah?» «Yes.» I responded and it only took less than a minute to rectify the situation. This time she forgot a few small things that are supposed to go with the udon, but brought them when she brought my girlfriend’s order. «I forgot, yeah?» she said. It was funny. To me, no harm no foul if she can rectify the mistake on the spot.
Tonight, there was still no one in the place. So, easy to find a seat. Bonus for us! That’s fine, don’t go. Don’t read my review. Actually this place is junk. (Muhaha more for me!)

Goshigo already started off in the hole because it replaced Taishoken, which used to be my favorite noodle house BY FAR. The tsukemen was so fresh. .. but I digress. It’s apples and oranges since Goshigo is primarily an udon place.
I tried their most popular udon bowl, the Natto Bowl ($ 10) along with today’s lunch special combo addition of a small donburi for $ 1.49. The Natto Bowl came out after about 15 minutes while I sat there at the bar counter. It was a big bowl of tepid soupy goodness — raw egg, green onions, ground beef, seaweed bits, wasabi, white minced radish, broth and of course the cold udon (there is a separate menu section for hot udon).
The udon was handmade and incredibly fresh, and in that way it lives up to Taishoken’s fresh, handmade tsukemen. However, Taishoken gave you about 2.5X the noodles that Goshigo or even Jimbo gives you in udon, for the same price. Basically, I would say they give you enough udon for slightly more than the amount of udon you get in those plastic packages from Times Supermarket. Meaning, you got lots of soup on your hands in about 3 minutes. Because it’s not a hot broth, and you have raw egg still gluing things together, it gets quite nasty once all the udon is gone.
The donburi came out quickly but it was incredibly bland — rice, white radish, and some ground beef bits.
I’m glad I went just to try it but it was a not very fulfilling (or filling) experience. So I went back to the Korean produce deli (Keeaumoku Produce) in the back of the parking lot to go get some panchon for the road (Ima review that separately). Mmm, the fish jun was good. :)

There are authentic handmade udon.
I ate «cold tanuki udon» at first time then I had «tsukemen» next.
The Tsukemen was soooooooooo good.
the taste so yummy and so fresh!
udon and some plate lunch during lunch time.
I’ll try dinner next time.
located on keeaumoku across the McDonald’s