Kalbi is Korean-style grilled short ribs. Katsu is the Japanese word for “cutlets” — breaded and deep-fried slices of meat. The most popular katsu is made with pork, but the Japanese are more than willing to bread and fry very nearly anything edible that can be sliced. (this includes, for example, baloney.) In this case, my lunch at the Yum Yum Teriyaki and BBQ was the two-meat combo of kalbi with chicken katsu. You get to choose four side dishes with that. I chose shredded daikon (a giant mild radish) salad, kim chi (Korean spiced pickled cabbage), cucumbers with hot pepper, and macaroni salad. it is always served with rice; no need to specify that.

The kalbi and the chicken katsu were well prepared. The kalbi was tender and flavorful, and the chicken juicy with a crispy crust.

So where do you think this lunch was served up? The tip-off is the combination of macaroni salad with steamed rice, standard parts of a Hawaiian “plate lunch.” We were at the Parker Ranch Center, a shopping center in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii. We were, in particular, at the Fireside Food Court, which defies the mall stereotype of a food court both in style and menu.

It is unquestionably the place to go for inexpensive Japanese-Korean-Hawaiian ranch-style fusion cuisine.