Char’s Chopsticks: Sam Sato’s, Inc.

The dry noodles at Sam Sato’s, Inc. are what you could call Maui’s version of Kauai’s Hamura’s Saimin—except these noodles aren’t in a broth.

People on Maui swear by them.  A friend of mine told me, “You’re going to Maui, you must eat the dry noodles there.”

I was skeptical. To me, “dry noodles” didn’t sound good.

Ironically, Sam Sato’s dry noodles aren’t dry. In fact, they are actually fried saimin noodles. They’re known as dry noodles because the noodles aren’t sitting in a bowl of soup.

Sam Sato’s signature dry noodles come both large and small. You might pick the small bowl. I ordered large and was taken aback by its size.

Char-siu and green onions were piled on top. On the side, a small bowl of hot dashi broth. I tried eating the noodles by themselves and also with the broth. To my surprise, I ended up eating every noodle in my bowl.