"You can say I found my niche here," said Walther, while dining on a plate of fresh misoyaki salmon steak with a side of salad ($9.50). "For the price, service and food, you can't beat it. I've been to Michel's, Hy's, La Mer and other fine-dining restaurants, and OnJin's is still one of my favorites."

Since opening her namesake cafe five and half years ago, chef OnJin Kim has gone through menu changes; weathered a faltering economy after 9/11; switched hours of operation — twice; and withstood the noise and dust due to the construction of a new roadway that extended Queen Street between Kamakee and Waimanu streets.

"Even with all this, I still think that whoever said it takes three years for a restaurant to become established was wrong," Kim asserted. "I think it takes at least five years."

Barely over that five-year benchmark, Kim now feels that OnJin's Cafe is where she wants it to be.

Her latest menu changes — which will be introduced this week — reflect this talented chef's constant tweaking in trying to establish a menu that appeals to everyday customers like Walther, while still being attractive to patrons looking to celebrate a special occasion.

"This is always the challenge," Kim said. "I want to be able to provide daily gourmet dishes at affordable prices.

But I also want to be able to offer finer entrees that you would expect to find at a fine-dining-type restaurant."

The new lobster tail ($23.50) is a case in point. Comparable to what one would receive at a four- or five-star seafood restaurant, the meaty tail is pan-seared, deglazed with sherry then enhanced with a citrus-infused lime butter. This is classic Kim cuisine, in which she applies French technique to come up with a dish that's nothing short of wow!

However, she tapped a different ethnic culinary source with her new shrimp-and-sausage fajita appetizer ($10.50).

"Locals love this type of food," said chef Mike Hasegawa, who has been with OnJin's since opening day. "The only difference, though, is that we don't just use ground beef or strips of steak."

Like the traditional Mexican fajita, this one, too, is served with diced tomatoes and slivers of onions, then garnished with cilantro and/or lime.

Each bite reveals plump shrimp mixed in with shreds of slightly spicy Andouille sausage. (This is not the average, run-of-the-mill Taco-Bell-like fajita.)

Another new appetizer features the lobster ravioli blanketed with a vanilla bean sauce ($10.50).

"This is an eater's place," said chef Glenn Fukuda, with a huge smile spanning across his face. "The menu offers a lot of choices and, I hate to sound like a cliche, but it's all good."

Longtime waitress Tess Nakamura provides friendly service at OnJin's.

With our relatively cooler evenings these days, a must-try is the French onion soup ($5), which offers a gooey spoonful of cheese and broth with each bite.

For more substance and equally warming as the soup, Kim's signature bouillabaisse ($21.50) teems with assorted seafood, all drowned in an aromatic saffron-and-herb broth.

Of course, the crispy moi served with ponzu and daikon oroshi ($20.95), the flaky snapper drizzled with a delicate lemon-and-caper beurre blanc sauce ($9.50) and the dijon-and-rosemary-crusted rack of lamb ($21.50) remain popular menu items.

Kim's daily specials also warrant attention, including today's prime rib ($14.50 for a seven-ounce cut and $22 for a 12-ounce slice), tomorrow's roast pork ($9.75), Tuesday's chicken breast parmesan $10.50), Friday's seafood gumbo ($10.95) and Thursday's leg of lamb ($10.95).