This place is one of my go to spots for a quick meal! Staffs are very friendly and accommodating!…read moreI always get their side of Chinese donut, it reminds me of my childhood. I really recommend this place for anyone that's visiting Chinatown!!!

Been wanting to try HK Cafe for the longest time! It didn't disappoint, but it didn't exceed…read moreexpectations. Located along Maunakea St, in the previous Happy Garden dim sum spot. Inside is bright and surprisingly spacious. A big difference from before. Started with the Minced Beef Steamed Flour Roll, which was very good. Soft, tender beef, thin rice roll, and flavorful sauce. You won't find these "messy/not quite neatly rolled" style look funn at many places! I like it! The Preserved Chinese Sausage and Meat Clay Pot Rice was pretty good. Nicely prepared rice that was soft and fluffy that crisped up very nicely from the pot. The Lap cheong and lap yuk were good. Lap yuk was sliced on the thin side to be able to appreciate it. Sausage was the usual brand. The most important ingredient is the sauce, and it was excellent! Good balance of savory with enough sweet to balance out the meat and to flavor the rice. Note: these take 25-35 minutes to make. The Curry Laksa with Beef Tendon and Brisket Noodle Soup was good. Tasty and tender brisket and tendon. The laksa broth was flavorful with nice hints of lemongrass, ginger, and other spices. The coconut milk and the spice didn't quite come through leaving the broth not as creamy or silky, or spicy as I would have liked. Still good overall though. Noodles prepared well and the lemon added a nice acidity that goes well with everything. The Hong Kong Style Milk Tea and Coffee mix was all right. The tea was on the strong side which masked the coffee. Overall, a decent meal at HK Cafe. Food was good. Service was good. Reasonable prices. I'll come back to try more things!

Keeping this review short and sweet because it's simple- we've been here three times, and it's…read morepretty obvious why. Kevin's Kitchen serves authentic, delicious Cantonese cuisine. The prices are also reasonable compared to other Chinese restaurants, and it's well worth it because you can taste the freshness (especially the seafood and fried items), the wok hei, and the well-balanced flavors. They also offer affordable daily lunch specials with generous portions. They've been consistently good every time we've visited, so I highly recommend Kevin's Kitchen for both lunch and dinner if you're craving great and authentic Chinese food!! Pro tip: Call ahead, especially for dinner. They get pretty busy, and it's not a very big space, so you could end up waiting a loooong time for a table. Chinese dinners also tend to take a while, so plan ahead and save you and your party the wait!

As of right now my opinion of this place is OK…read more The chasiu is not really tender or fatty which is how I like it, next time ill ask for my preference I just want to experience what they give to people who dont know how to order. I read a review where someone was crying and complaining that their chasiu was too burnt and fatty so I think thats why they serve the cuts like this by default. If you complain your chasiu is burnt please stick to eating avocado toast or something dawg. Roast pork isn't the fattiest but its somewhat tender. Could use more crisp. What bugs me is that I never got to try their potstickers which I somehow keep missing out on everyday and then finally they decide to discontinue it on my last attempt. Lol. I am sure this place is better once I ask for better preparation of the cut.

If you are looking for authentic Hong Kong food, this is a place you can put it the "to go" list…read more It's conveniently located in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza, so you don't have to worry about parking. This place is very clean, which is a very big plus. Food review: -wonton soup: 5/5 Very homey taste; in fact, this is what an authentic Hong Kong wonton taste like! The favor of the wonton is not salty and they are very generous in the meat portion. The wonton is pretty big compared to other places. This is my always go to dish to get. -beef chow fun: 5/5 I have to say this is one of the best beef chow fun in island. Each of the chow fun is coated evenly with the sauce. I usually don't like to order beef chow fun because it can taste very oily and heavy, but this one not at all. The chow fun is very tasty! Highly recommended! -beef spaghetti w/ tomato sauce: 3.5/5 This is not the usual spaghetti where you get at an Italian restaurant. It's an Asian/hong Kong style spaghetti that have a different flavor compared to the traditional Italian pasta. The portion it's actually pretty big. It's pretty average, nothing special. If you want to try a non-Italian version spaghetti, can give it a try.

Sandy's Cafe in Chinese Cultural Plaza is the epitome of HK lunch cafes, with mouth watering,…read moretender char siu, and iconic crispy roast duck. Their roast duck is one of the best available in Oahu. I knocked off a star though because 2 years ago, I felt that the recipe was less oily and was much better, rivaling some places in Richmond/ Vancouver BC, Canada which is also known to have solid HK cafes outside of the home country. I miss how they've made it in the past, and wish they would revert back to how it was before... but regardless, a solid pick and a place I will probably still continue to frequent in the future.

Homey, comforting, delicious Chinese food. On a Saturday night there was ample parking at the front…read moreof the eatery. This place would be classified as a hole in wall with good fresh foods. There are so many offerings from bubble tea, egg tart, dumplings and noodles. We were seated quickly and noted most patrons did take out. Once seated there is a server that takes your order. We ordered beef chow fun, green onion pancake, fried rice, salad, green beans and dumplings. Everything came out so fast! The food was fresh with that familiar wok essence from the noodles and rice. Yummy!!! Favorite was the dumplings with the chives and meats. So good!!! Will return to eat and eat again!

I never dined in here, but I did order delivery twice in less than a week through doordash. Both…read moretimes the food came nicely packed, well organized, and hot. The first time I've ordered almost a week ago was the pork hash, garlic green beans, mabo tofu with noodles, rice noodle and dumplings, and a pork belly dish with rice (can't remember the name). My favorite has to be the rice noodle cake with dumplings. It had peanut sauce and even reheating it on the stove made it satisfying to eat as leftovers. Each dish had between 6-8 pork and shrimp dumplings. The portions are generous which is enough for two meals. The pork hash came in 3s with the hot mustard and shoyu. Again these were good as well and not as oily and greasy. The pork belly was stringy and the rice was meh. It tries way too hard to copy Tom Khem which is a Laos dish. My mom had the tofu dish and after a while she did mention that the noodles got mushy and had no flavor. Then again she had to take a blood test so she had to watch her salt intake. I also tried the tofu and it was soft and not overly salty. The second time I ordered which was today, I replaced the rice dish with the char siu noodle soup and it was so good. It was the right portion size and the hot broth that's separate from the contents help soften the noodles. I also ordered coconut pudding and even though I have yet to try it, my mom said it was really good so I'm looking forward to it. Edit: I have now tried the coconut pudding and it was a generous portion. A nice refreshing and cold treat especially since we are now in the summer season. There is just a hint of coconut flavor though and shredded coconut flakes don't exist but it's still worth eating as a dessert or a snack. On both orders, I've ordered garlic green beans and it was the best tasting garlicky green beans I have ever tried. Overall, this place does serve good food but I'll probably skip the rice dishes and focus more on the noodle dishes and their sides.

I walked past this hole-in-the-wall corner spot near Chinatown for literal decades and never…read morethought much of it. It's wedged between the always-busy Royal Kitchen (known for their manapuas) and faces Izumo Taishakyo and Lum Sai Ho Tong, with a few yards of sidewalk in between that's usually occupied by crackheads nodding off or lighting up crystal methamphetamine. Honestly, that probably kept me from ever walking in over the years. Then Kukui Cafe popped up on my Yelp feed. I didn't even register the name -- I just saw the food photos. Beef brisket and wontons? Get in my mouth. I stopped by over the weekend to find out if it lived up to the pictures. The place is small and surprisingly clean, and the staff greeted me right away. I'd read other reviews mentioning the noise, and yeah -- it's loud. Cantonese and Taishanese conversations hit serious decibels, with a couple of guys in the back corner adding some colorful profanity for good measure. Everyone seemed to know each other; it had that unmistakable "regulars" energy that told me this place was legit. I figured out pretty quickly that the noise wasn't really about volume of people -- it's the concrete walls and tight square footage bouncing every sound around the room. Didn't bother me. It's part of the charm. Two massive split AC units kept the whole place ice cold despite the chaos. Service was fast -- drinks came out within minutes of ordering. While we waited for food, a homeless man walked in holding a huge scooping net, the kind you'd see someone hauling a giant salmon out of an Alaskan river with. He said something to the owner, who looked confused, so he repeated himself. I eavesdropped and burst out laughing once I understood: he'd caught a freshwater red-eared slider turtle -- about the length of an iPad -- out of Nu'uanu Stream, which runs right alongside the restaurant, and was trying to sell it to them. The owners just shook their heads, and the man left with his net and his turtle in under a minute. You can't make this stuff up. Shortly after, the food arrived. Heads up: paper plates only. But the food itself was excellent and well-seasoned -- the standout was the ten wonton and brisket dish without noodles for $20. Genuinely delicious. There's a parking lot in the rear with what I believe is one free hour. Look for the Sun Yat-Sen Cultural Center at 135 N. Kukui St -- the driveway entrance is just to the left of it. Customers were walking through the kitchen and into the main dining area so there must be an entrance from the garage. Cash only. Would I go back? Absolutely, without a doubt.

I love kukui cafe! It's a small hole in the wall and perfect for a quick lunch!…read more Very lively with many of the Chinese community coming in to eat and chat. Food tasted like my childhood and memorable. The host is nice and friendly and easy to chat with!

This was a great meal and I can't wait to go back! The location is not in the best part of…read moreChinatown so there were some crazies walking in. The staff does well to deal with it but we preferred to do take out. Going home I was still happy with everything. We got won ton min, cake noodle, green sides, and some fried shrimp and crispy gau gee. Everything was delicious but I think the cake noodle was my favorite.

A co-worker and I headed up to Maunakea Marketplace to pick up lunch from Mei Mei but it was…read moreunusually crowded so we ended up at Papa's on the outside of the Marketplace, on Hotel Street. It's a small space with four or five tables. We ordered Minute Chicken Cake Noodles and Seafood with Crispy Noodles. The restaurant was empty, so service was fast. My seafood plate contained a lot of seafood in a tasty sauce ... too much sauce, as it drowned the noodles and softened them. However, it was very good and powered through and finished off my plate. My friend couldn't finish his Minute Chicken ... It was too much food for him. We miss Canton House, just down the street, as it was our "go to" place for Chinese food. However, Papa's is an adequate substitute ... The menu is vast for such a tiny place, and we've always been able to find something to please our palate. The prices are reasonable and thus we can continue to give it a thumbs up recommendation.

This place is the absolute GOAT for late-night eats. Open til 4am, this is always where I want to…read morego to finish off a late night out! My go-tos are the pepper salt prawns and beef tendon noodles. But all their food is top-notch. And it's not only good because it's available late or because I'm drunk, because I've been for lunch and it was just as good in the middle of the day! The waitresses and bartenders are always friendly. The atmosphere is always lively. Public karaoke available in the bar/main seating area as well as private rooms in the back. Love it.

Red Cafe is my go-to late-night food spot. I always order the black bean clams, intestine bao, and…read morespicy tendon my usual and it never disappoints. Whether I'm out with a group drinking at the bar or just stopping by solo, it's always a good time with great food and good company. I've been coming here for years and it's consistently solid. Shoutout to the bartenders love Shirley, Vincent, and one of the owner Jeff!

I ate here before when there wasn't Yelp. I moved out of the neighborhood and found the Mini Garden…read moreExpress at the old 99 Ranch. Then they moved out and now near the airport on Nimiz highway. Thought I would try something different. Ordered the stewed beef with tendon over noodles. I should have ordered my usual. Can't put my finger on it but it was lacking something, but it was cooked perfectly. . Nice presentation, great service and the place is clean, including the restroom. Pros: Nice portions, clean, great service food was cooked perfectly. Cons: It's missing something in the flavor. It wasn't too sweet. It wasn't too salty. Can't figure it out. Would I go back? You know me. I believe in second chances. Hope to get you and update review soon.

Today my sister and brother in law decided to try Mini Garden Orient Cuisine . Located on Beretania…read morenext door to Illi I'll pizza. Small parking lot next door also limited street parking right in front of restaurant. I always passed by Mini Garden and I always thought they only open for dinner because during the day it looks closed. Although they open for lunch at 11am it was great my hairdresser actually recommended this restaurant because her co- worker is part owner and she said it was good . Do I had to try it overall it was ok service was great and friendly I mentioned I know her co- worker and the owner actually made us a complimentary bowl of soup . She mentioned it was a seafood, tofu soup it was quite delicious. I also ordered Peking duck and buns, shrimp canton, string beans w/minced pork, and beef chow fun. I would say the Peking duck was different most places they put the skin only with hoisin and green onions over here they put the duck inside the buns. My favorite was their string beans and pork it had a little kick to it . Their beef chow fun was ok along with their shrimp canton . If I'm in the area I would probably support them again . This time I would try other dishes . Looks like they specialize in vegetarians dishes as well looks yummy. Support local