Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Island Manapua Factory

    3.9 (171 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Open 5:30 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Island Manapua Factory Photos

    Business Info

    ISLAND MANAPUA FACTORY ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

    You might also consider

    More like Island Manapua Factory

    Recommended Reviews - Island Manapua Factory

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Diana S.

    I stopped by on Thursday, 1/8/26 at around noon with a friend, and as a repeat customer, Island Manapua Factory continues to be my go-to spot for dim sum. I've been coming here for the past 7 years, and the quality and service has always been consistent. Aunty Elaine at the front of the counter is so inviting. She's always smiling, welcoming, and provides great service. She's remembered me throughout the years and greets me warmly every time, which makes the experience even better. The food is always excellent. I always order the steamed manapua, and it never disappoints. The buns are soft and pillowy, and the char siu filling is sweet, savory, and generously portioned. The baked manapua is also a must-try that I always get--soft buns with flavorful char siu and bits of chopped onion inside, which gives it a unique touch. The pork hash, half moon, and shrimp dumplings are steamed to perfection and packed with flavor. These are my regular go-to items. On this visit, I added the sweet and sour spare ribs, and they were fantastic--perfectly balanced in flavor, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth soft. Their duck is also very flavorful, though I didn't order it this time; it's another favorite of mine when I visit. My friend ordered the pork hash, half moon, and shrimp dumplings and really enjoyed everything. She also appreciated Aunty Elaine's hospitality and said she'll definitely be coming back. She was happy that I introduced her to Island Manapua today. Island Manapua Factory remains a place I'll continue to visit regularly. It's perfect for picking up great food on the go, and I always pick up their dim sum for family and visiting friends. I will always recommend Island Manapua to anyone on Oahu looking for tasty dim sum.

    Elizabeth D.

    Been seeing this plate lunch of ginger fried chicken. Whoah and whoa!! Worth the drive to gulick! The fried rice was so good and complemented the ginger fried chicken well. Been around, and this really woke up my taste buds! Small little shop in Kalihi. Nothing fancy, simple with good food. Private parking small. Manapua, gauged pork hash, rice cake, catering anyone? Man simple and old school good. Just thinking about the food is making me salivate. Another place for catering. A hidden gem tha you need to check out. I ask for extra ginger sauce. Was winnnahhzzzz! Elaine was super nice and welcoming, gave us taste testing too. See you all there peeps!

    We love this place!!! The gaugee is always crispy the pork hash is original. I grew up with this preparation and I'm sharing it with my next generation. Favorite place to cater!!!

    Outside
    Irene M.

    Not just manapua... I had friends who lives just a few doors down and have been here on a regular basis in the past and it's been just way too long since my last visit here and Island Manapua Factory is located right on Gulick just a few doors down from Kalihi Medical Building which is the bright blue/greenish color and since I fast from my lab test what better time to visit than today. They do have a few dedicated parking stalls which is very convenient for this area as they do have the local beloved grab and go dim sum favorites they also do plate lunches as I picked up a chow funn which is made to order so it did take about five minutes to make and is a generous portion easily enough to feed 3-4 is topped with lots of char siu wasn't something that I expected. The staff there is very persistence and witnessed it over several guests trying her best to sell more than they realized (myself guilty) as it's all delicious but does add up to more than I need as pleasant as she is it's quite pushy as during majority of my wait time she still tried to sell me their sweet & sour ribs going to as for to giving me a sample which was very delicious but wasn't necessary as the vibe was quite intense but did leave with more than enough. Thank you!

    Menus
    Alice N.

    Amazing dim sum to go! Aunty Elaine is the best. Super friendly yay. Since it was my first time inside I wasn't sure what to get since my friend Diana brought me to this small simple place with lots of nostalgia. Lots of selections of delectable goodies. I saw pork hash, half moon, hargau (shrimp dumplings) white and brown rice cakes, look fun, rice noodle rolls, Jonzi (mochi rice wraps) and many more. They even offer bunch of plate lunches: ginger chicken must be good since that was sold out for the day. So much to choose from! Hurry up and go get something to eat now... hungry again lol Must go back to try more soon.

    Look for this street sign
    Nadine C.

    Takeout lunch from Kalihi, Honolulu, Hawaii... I was aware of the Island Manapua Factory in Manoa, but I didn't realize that there was one in Kalihi! It's on the same street as Nanding's Bakery! This is a very basic, straightforward place. The menus are all posted. What you see is what you get. Note: I didn't feel any air-conditioning. PARKING: there were several free stalls right in the front! Service by the female worker was very efficient and accommodating. Example: the male worker said I couldn't have one of each bao bun. The female said she would make them for me. She also said, "I give you extra dressing" (for the duck salad), and she showed me a container. She was trying hard to get me to return... LOL! She said they were here for a long time - when I told her that this was my first visit. I got a lot of variety. I thought they only had manapua, but no... there's more selection! Manapua - I got steamed and baked. The baked one looked like chicken, but i was too full to try it. I had the cha siu steamed manapua which was better than I expected. My mom liked it, too! There was a lot of tasty filling! Rice cakes - brown and white. The white seemed a bit crumbly and not as sticky as some other places. I liked the brown one better. Duck Salad - yummy! Both dressings were good! The light orange one had a slight kick. Bao Buns - they seemd to all have hoi sin dressing on them. The cha siu and duck were quite good. The chicken was my least favorite. The roast pork had crispy skin! Cha siu look funn rolls - okay. I had better. My sister liked them! Ma tai su - it had a pickled filling that was odd to me. I'll pass next time. The crust wasn't as flakey as other places. Shrimp dumpling, pork hash, and half moon were average. I guess I'm used to other restaurants. This version was just different... I'm glad I tried a bunch of items. I know what to get next time! It was pretty convenient and quick! Maybe I'll try noodles next time... like an order of look funn... and some roast pork... ideas for potlucks...

    Jessica R.

    So, stumbled upon here, to find them open before 6AM, thought we try somewhere new, plus was open early, and we were in kalihi, so was convenient for us. Aunty was super nice. I needed food for potluck, so came here to try their Porkhash, for the first time. Ordered 2 dozen half for the office, wife took the other six for 3 dozen total. I ordered 1 steam charsiu, wife ordered 2 plus an order of 4 pcs Peking duck bao bun. Total for everything, came out to $102. Location is in kalihi, on Gulick, by nandings. Aunty is a really good salesperson too lol she's persuasive lol. Unfortunately, the taste of the food to us, wasn't good. I'm so sorry Island Manapua Factory, but the pork hash, to me left like a weird taste in my mouth, and the texture was weird too, like the pork part. Like was kind of chunky, like the meat wasn't mixed good or something. The Peking duck, was a little too sweet. The wife pulled something out of her mouth, a small piece of something, like a feather, and got turned off, and the meat in the manapua, I didn't like it. So sorry island manapua factory. I mean, she was nice, and they do have a variety of dim sum kine stuff and plate lunches, Chinese food. I hope the office likes the pork hash :/ Would we go back here again, unfortunately not, sorry :( Everybody has different opinions though. So, Should you try, Hope you like it.

    Chow Fun with Orange Chicken
    Reuben K.

    Went slightly after the lunch rush and it's been awhile since I've been here. I ordered orange chicken with Chow fun. It took a quick bit but one big thing I noticed was they made it to order and it wasn't pre made. My food came out steaming hot and it was great! Highly recommend checking them out!

    Cross section, baked manapua and pork hash
    Kristin C.

    The manapua filling was delicious, as for the bun, I've tasted better. Did not like the pork hash, it was a large piece, but the inside didn't have much flavor and the packed pork hash was dense. Although I did eat a couple really hoping to like it.

    Russ L.

    Char Siu Manapua, Pork Hash, Half Moon and Crispy Gau Gee brings back memories of childhood growing up in Kalihi. Auntie is always smiling and delivers service with Aloha!

    Came to pick up some Manapua...Yum, can't wait to eat!
    Art K.

    Aloha my friends! Island Manapua Factory is one of my favorite places for Manapua. The Manapua or "bao" is fresh, hot and delicious when you pick it up. We purchased the baked and steamed pork buns and it was SO delicious. If you're in Kalihi, Google the shop and drop in for a real island style treat.

    Don G.

    CASH ONLY! This long-time Manapua Mecca is known for their delicious baked Manapua filled with that perfect balanced Char Siu Pork that makes each bite a delight! The soft bun explodes with each bite of that slightly sweet Char Siu filling, that makes this local epic Asian infused creation a favorite among me and my co-workers! They open early at 0530 too! Great pork Hash too! I forgot to ask for the hot mustard that is the perfect condiment for dipping! Oh well! Going to enjoy my early morning grinds! Mahalo to the friendly gentleman that spoke very little English, but made my day with a dozen of Manapua & Pork Hash to go! Yummy!

    Todd M.

    Great manapua spot! Pork hash is good, half moons are better. The chow mein is tasty. I do however have to say it is pretty pricey. But then again what isn't these days?

    Both in same box. Wrinkly one's filling is sour. Kalihi 6am.

    See all

    22 days ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    15 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 3
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    7 days ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 14
    Thanks 3
    Love this 11
    Oh no 1

    6 months ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 33
    Thanks 13
    Love this 31
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    1 month ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 8
    Thanks 4
    Love this 5
    Oh no 4
    Photo of Guy H.
    96
    39
    5

    18 days ago

    Duck is very tender and juicy. Manapua are ok, stick with char siu baked ones. Rice cakes are good.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 2
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Art K.
    120
    298
    1579

    8 months ago

    Helpful 11
    Thanks 8
    Love this 18
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 8
    Thanks 3
    Love this 6
    Oh no 1

    1 month ago

    Aunty is Very Friendly good customer service and good service, good food as well , I will surely coming back again .

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 1

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 3
    Photo of Maile Q.
    211
    84
    15

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Food was amazing! The chowfun and Duck Bao!!! Loved it!!! N aunty working was really sweet

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tele A.
    85
    69
    145

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 1

    1 year ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 2
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Local favorites manapua and dim sum options all yummy! This is where we come, always get when visiting family. Service is fast and friendly.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    The Steam Manapua Is Okay, They Don't Have Smaller Portions Of Chow Fun , Their Pork Hash Is Kinda To Hard And Not Moist Enough !!!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kyle G.
    41
    37
    36

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of S M.
    5
    319
    3358

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Stacy S.
    1601
    1124
    6706

    3 years ago

    Helpful 13
    Thanks 1
    Love this 10
    Oh no 1

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 5

    Ask the Community - Island Manapua Factory

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Chinese 33,682 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Yi Xin Cafe

    Yi Xin Cafe

    4.4
    (453 reviews)
    5.2 mi
    $$
    Takes reservations
    Catering service

    Normally long waits if you don't book a reservation so make sure you book in advance. There a…read moresmaller restaurant and kind of tight in space. We were lucky to get in on a Wednesday evening. I hope they expand soon! We ordered so much food they had to move us to a bigger table. We tried the Curry Crab (of course), Thai style pork jowl, beef fried rice, salted egg chicken wings, and their milk tea and lemon iced tea with the cute bear ice. This place is so good, a little expensive, but worth every penny. My favorite was the curry crab and the salted egg chicken wings! I love their curry sauce and the naan bread. I typically dislike chicken wings at Asian restaurants like this but they really did their thing with the batter and sauce. The fried rice was a little plain but overall a nice balance to every meal. The sauce with their pork jowl was too good! I need the recipe.

    You can't eat here and not get any crab I just love the curry crab I tried chili crab even in…read moreSingapore but but when I tried the curry crab here I never order anything else ; I just love this curry crab dish omg it is lick your fingers delicious! You wear plastic gloves when you eat this and I still lick my fingers Lol I know the crab seems expensive but you really cannot not order it when you come! The curry crab comes with 4 pieces of naan bread sometimes we order extra naan but we do eat it with rice The salted egg chicken wings is another item we get here I love bringing friends from out of town here; we come as often as we can even though we live on the west side Heart emoji! :o)

    Photos
    Yi Xin Cafe
    Szechun spicy JJ chicken pot
    Szechun spicy JJ chicken pot
    Impressive presentation that served with sizzling sound, but the beef was too well done & on the tough side.

    See all

    Impressive presentation that served with sizzling sound, but the beef was too well done & on the tough side.
    Wuwei Chong Qing Cuisine

    Wuwei Chong Qing Cuisine

    4.3
    (211 reviews)
    3.9 mi
    $$

    Authentic Chong Qing style noodles - really worth to give it a try. Some hopefully helpful tips:…read more1. The noodles only have one size but it's pretty large. Depending on your appetite, two ladies could possibly share. We ordered 2 and it was enough for 3 people to share. 2. Since we do not eat anything spicy, we asked for non-spicy from the get-go at ordering. The owner was able to accommodate. 3. Parking is street parking only but readily available fronting the restaurant. 4. The restaurant space is rather small, so it gets busy during meal time. We often take out by ordering ahead of time.

    stand alone restaurant - with limited seating insides…read more freshmade noodle for sure noted with quality. Do recommended getting chewy noodle vs flat noddle. The texture is more enjoyable when eating. Flat noddle - would have prefer to be more wide in size. Had the beef noodle classic -flavor in broth was decent, but could use with additional pickle vegetables to bring some sour and cut the richness of the broth. beef itself was very tender and came in separate bowl. Breakdown easily. not spicy at all though. next dish tried - was the pickle fish noodle - first time trying to dish anywhere. Surprisingly preferred this over the beef noodle. a little bit of sour, but just the right amount with the creamy broth mix. This with the chewy noodle was bomb. Highly recommended* price - reasonable for quality - but could have more noodle for quantity*

    Photos
    Unique cr code menu
    Unique cr code menu
    泡椒鸭爪米线(Duck Feet Rice Noodle)Added Duck Blood (good!! Nice numbing and spicy)
    泡椒鸭爪米线(Duck Feet Rice Noodle)Added Duck Blood (good!! Nice numbing and spicy)
    Pork with green peppers and fried egg

    See all

    Pork with green peppers and fried egg
    Lam's Kitchen

    Lam's Kitchen

    4.4
    (654 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$

    Amazing Chinese noodles restaurant in Chinatown known for their beef noodles!…read more We had the beef mein, beef chow fun, and side order of look fun. Everything was great but the beef in the soup was the highlight, it was soft but not too soft and full of flavor. It paired perfectly with the noodles and soup. We went on a Sunday for lunch and they were pretty busy but we only had to wait maybe 10 - 15 min. Service was very speedy. Cute Chinatown shop vibes.

    Located in Chinatown, Lam's Kitchen is on a corner on Maunakea Street. The building is brick and…read morethe restaurant has red doors, which we read had been newly renovated. Inside, the space feels busy with tables and people moving around. There are benches inside for those waiting for a table. We had to wait a bit before we were seated but they seemed efficient in ushering people in and out of the restaurant. The middle had smaller tables, which seemed most suitable for two people. The sides had larger tables for larger parties. The tables felt pretty close together but we enjoyed the stool/bench chairs we sat on. They were different than what we are used to in restaurants. Our order was taken quickly. We decided to get the beef chow fun, yang chow fried rice, and cheong fun. The cheong fun was good, especially after adding hoisin sauce. The texture was soft and the portion was quite decent. The chow fun was also yummy. It was tasty without being overbearing. The fried rice was our favorite. It was flavorful and included a variety of ingredients. The prices were not bad either, considering the portion sizes. We hope to be back one day to try more of what they have!

    Photos
    So clean and spacious
    So clean and spacious
    Beef Chow Fun
    Beef Chow Fun
    Lam's Kitchen

    See all

    Kapiolani Seafood Restaurant

    Kapiolani Seafood Restaurant

    4.1
    (530 reviews)
    3.7 mi
    $$

    The dim sum here is very good, and the piece are larger that other places. The service was friendly…read moreand efficient. The food came out quickly and hot. Our favorites are the siu mai and fried shrimp balls, the shrimp balls have these noodles on the outside which make it super crispy and fun to eat. There was plenty of parking in the basement; but the weird thing is the elevator doesn't go back down to the basement, we had to go around the building and walk down the parking ramp!

    They moved across the street from their old location, so we decided to check it out. My mom, hubby,…read moreson and I had breakfast here on a Saturday morning and it was packed. The restaurant wasn't small, but there were just a lot of people. We waited about 20 minutes for a table. What's great about this place is that they have these paper menus. You can check off what you want while you're waiting. As soon as you get seated, you can just hand over the menu to the server and it makes the process a lot faster. It didn't take that long for us to get our food. We ordered a lot of items. We got the shrimp dumplings, black bean spareribs, beef look fun, Shanghai pork dumplings, steamed salted egg custard buns, pan fried turnip cake, seafood bean curd roll, sesame balls with red bean, taro puffs and chicken dumplings. Everything was on point except the sesame balls with red bean. They were small and the breading was thick. Pass on those. My two favorites were the black bean spareribs and the salted egg custard buns. I love salted duck eggs. The prices here are a bit more than the average dim sum spot. Most of the steamed baskets were $7-$8. If you use your American Savings Bank debit card you get a discount: $7 off $50, $15 off $100 or $75 off $500. Free parking in the basement of the building.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Deep fry shrimp
    Deep fry shrimp
    Seafood bean curd roll

    See all

    Seafood bean curd roll

    Island Manapua Factory - chinese - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...