Aiko Hamura, who 'perfected' saimin, dead at 91

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Aiko Hamura used to sell her saimin noodles and produce from the back of her old black Ford sedan, working the plantation residential camps.

She took the back seat out of the car to make room for the goods.

"She sold the noodles in balls. People would buy one or two or three — however much they wanted," said her daughter Hazel Hiraoka.

When Hamura died Jan. 21 at age 91, she left a business that had grown into a saimin restaurant known to noodle connoisseurs across the state: Hamura Saimin.

She and her husband, the late Charles Hamura, who died in 1980, started their little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in 1952. It's on Kress Street, named after the long-closed Kress Store, a block and a half off Rice Street.

"In those days, lucky if they sold five bowls a night," Hiraoka said. "This place is on a back street. Hard to find."

But the amazing saimin drew more and more customers, and fame spread. Hamura had learned to make saimin from a friend in Lihu'e and had tinkered with the recipe until she was satisfied.

"My mother perfected it to her liking," she said.

It is a full-bodied, flavorful treat, dense noodles in a steaming broth, sprinkled with onions and other goodies.

Thirty years ago, the restaurant often stayed open until 4 or 5 a.m., catering to the late-working crowd and drinkers.

"People would call my dad and say, 'Don't close. We're bringing a gang,' " and he would keep the place going until they left.

Now, the restaurant is open from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, and midnight weekends.

It's a place where construction workers sit shoulder-to-shoulder with politicians and bankers, where the elderly chat with teenagers in neon hair, and where the occasional tourist finds the place and stares with amazement at this local wonder.

Over the years, the menu has changed little. Aside from the classic saimin special, there's won ton mein, bbq stick, and the tall lilikoi chiffon pies made by Hiraoka's daughter, Wendy.

Patrons come and sit on low stools at low counters, in full view of the kitchen. There have been two major renovations, but Hiraoka says it's still a modest place.

Hiraoka's brother Herbert and his wife make the noodles according to his mother's old recipe, six days a week. The restaurant is open seven days a week.

Hiraoka herself is getting ready to pass it on. At 74, she still works four hours a day.

"Wendy is going to take over," she said, but doesn't say when.

The family closed the restaurant Saturday out of respect for the co-founder, but then spent most of the day answering calls from concerned customers who were surprised to find the doors locked.

Hamura was born in Pu'unene, Maui. Survived by sons, Charles and Herbert; daughters, Hazel Hiraoka and Doris Hironaka; eight grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; brother, Hiromu Ikeda; sister, Yoneko Yamamoto; caregiver, Whitey Kurasaki. Private service was held at Lihue Hongwanji Mission. Arrangements by Garden Island Mortuary.