A night in Kaka'ako is always a fun place to explore, and just be entertained!…read more The Honolulu Night Market at Our Kaka'ako is indeed a fabulous adventure into the biggest street/block party filled to the brim with all things local...food, retail and culture. I've been to so many and each and every one is very unique where you can find either fashion runway stage, live street art, or even a dance night in the barn. I just love the vibe SALT and surrounding Our Kaka'ako brings with the vibrant art we're so blessed to have and this particular night (November 19th) there was actually much more shopping just perfect for the holidays and the party went further down to Ya-ya's. Tonight I was fortunate to have gone after work so I kept it short but found some awesome treats. Some straw toppers to add to my holiday gift giving and some cheesecake cups (OG, Strawberry and Cookie Butter) of course I got one of each to share...ate the Strawberry which of course omg was yummy!! Not too sweet as the Strawberries was just perfect as I tried to get an even scoop of it all in every bite. Walked further down and honestly wasn't in the mood to wait too long for anything found something that would just exactly work for me. Ya-Ya's Chophouse & Seafood and tonight they had two items - Steak Kebabs - Fat Fried Rice with TAB (aka Thick Ass Bacon lol!) I seriously wanted the fried rice but thought that the Steak Kebabs was more sensible for me personally and it came with two kebabs each fully loaded with steak, mushrooms, peppers and onions with a huge scoop of rice! So many options I really was considering including Henna from Henna Happens, Birria Tacos from Dolce Vita, Corn from Corn Onoz Hawaii but though there's always a next time yes!?! I remember pre-pandemic Yelp had a booth here and hoping as things return to normalcy that we'll see it back again one day (hint hint!) Absolutely love this Honolulu Night Market as it offers so many cultural coolness that you can't find anywhere else! Thank you!

There were only about 4-5 food trucks when I visited, and it felt small. Around 6 PM, the area had…read morevery few people. There was some live music, but it seemed more like a quick stop for tourists rather than a real night market. I didn't try any food because the atmosphere wasn't appealing, so I left quickly.

1. Food - I grew up in the Philippines up until I moved here when I was 13-14 years old. Naturally,…read moreI would crave Filipino foods and meals from home. The food is, dare I say, authentic. The options they have, the ingredients they use, the cooking, and the flavor... it's made exactly like how I remember in the Philippines. It kind of does bring me back to my days growing up in the Philippines. We've been ordering platters from 2NO 2NO (pronounced "tono tono" like "pono") for a few years now. I've yet to receive anything that I didn't like. Their platters of food, like pancit and lumpiang shanghai, and their BBQ sticks and Filipino street food offerings are really good. I can eat a whole pan of kwek-kwek all by myself. Not in one sitting though, but spread throughout a few meals and late night "snacks". We've also ordered there big "budol fight" (pronounce "boo-dol" as in "boo" and "toll") meals. It's a traditional Filipino/southeast asian way of sharing a meal with families or large party. I grew up using the term "kamayan". Anyway, it's a feast of your choice of meat, fish, seafood, starch, etc. So far, the two or three times we've done it, it's been real good. 2. Service - Not much. They're not a restaurant. They are essentially a "catering" company. You send your order through text or instagram or some other social media thing, with the date and time of pick up, and pay cash or Venmo or some payment application after you get your order on the day of. I don't know, my wife usually does the ordering. I usually do the pick up. When I do go and pick up our order, most of the time, it's ready or almost ready. They haven't messed up any of my orders yet, which is important because most of the time when we order, it's for events. 3. Ambience - Non. You go to their place and pick your order up. If you want to talk ambience, it's in Kalihi, in one of those tiny streets off of Kalihi St. I do like going there though. The smell of the kitchen reminds me again of home in the Philippines. On a good day, when the sun is out, the skies are blue, and there's no vog covering the island, picking up orders is a pleasant errand. In my book, 2NO 2NO one of the best Filipino food caterers in the island.

The BBQ sticks were so good. Almost melts in your mouth. My favorite was the Lumpia Shanghai. The…read morebest i have every tasted.

Since our initial blind "meeting", Val Y. has been begging me to meet him for another dining…read moreexperience. (After our last disastrous outing, I can't believe he would want to do this again!) In order to avoid another potentially embarassing situation for him, and to make him look PLAYA COOL, instead of just YELPER COOL, I thought it would be best if I brought along a small posse with me (Traci H., and Theresa S.) to check out the boneless kalbi plate from Grandma G's at the Merchant Street Market. Val must have been nervous because he was sweating when he met the three of us there. So, go read Val Y.'s review of this same experience, and click "COOL" and send him lots of "HOT STUFF" compliments because TODAY is VAL Y's BIRTHDAY (10/26/11!). WHEN/WHERE: 2nd and 4th TUESDAYS 11am-2pm at the corner of Bishop and Merchant Street, in the Davies Pacific courtyard: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/q9KQKUGDr0hyBYNKQQezQA?select=rDAjazQFrThepxLC3hNIng COME EARLY! I got there at 11:10 exactly, and there were no lines. By 11:12 there were 8 people in line at Grandma G's and 6 at Stacey's Lau Lau. (where did they all come from in 2 minutes? We don't know.) DIVIDE AND CONQUER: Similar to Eat the Street, the more the merrier. Traci stood in line at Grandma G's, Theresa stood in line at Stacy's and I walked over to Chef Sean at Soul to get my fried chicken. We were 3 women on a mission. But where did Val go? He bailed on us and was checking out the healthier alternatives at Honolulu Gourmet Foods. Just a tip for you GUYS....when your women are ordering things with names like Kalbi, buttermilk fried chicken, Dynamite chicken and guava chicken, DO NOT ORDER A SALAD! It will make us feel like complete gluttons. BRING $$: Looks like everyone's price point is around $9-$10 so it's not exactly cheap plate lunches, but you get a ton of food! There are more vendors than this, but we ordered: Grandma G's Boneless Kalbi plate $9 (HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! This is absolutely fantastic! And the honey mustard dressing is delicious). You know when you see Justin U. standing in line for this, it's gotta be good: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bk0DlrMggqPZgWQ_sVD2aA?select=BflSgv5hXnaKyzyz9nW_Rw Stacy's Lau Lau Co: Dynamite Chicken/Guava Chicken $9 http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/_jZl9uu6eialCkZ5UBd72w?select=PDYeg_cOeFkKT8ZA5YOWdg Soul: buttermilk fried chicken $3 each (of course, this one ranks up there on my favorite fried chicken list....He even offers a "smothered chicken" but I showed some restraint, and just got it plain, which is anything but): http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/zznyv4BsJ_GKQuNXJznm3A?select=5YQqpKvcQPmGqom9zykTbw Honolulu Gourmet Foods: Grilled steak SALAD w/mini spicy dynamite ahi bowl combo $10.50: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/q9KQKUGDr0hyBYNKQQezQA?select=Qt7H1QQ1k-Lw1LzN7hYVbQ SEATING: Secret rooftop open patio seating at the Davies Pacific Center. Thanks Traci for the tip! Looks like everyone in downtown already knows about this bi-monthly event, but if you are like me and haven't been to it yet, this is a great one-stop place to try a bunch of different local plate lunches.

Sad to say that they discontinued this event that occured every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, so there's now…read moreless eating places in the downtown business area. :( Hopefully they'll bring it back sometime in the near future.

Today at a food truck event at City Hall I ordered 2 Shaggy Jrs. I gotta say it's the pictures of…read moreyour menu board that sold me - they all looked so 'ono. After ordering - 15 seconds later my name was called. Yes, I thought wow that was super quick! I grabbed the 2 containers and headed back to the office. This was going to be our snack on the way home. When I got back to the office this is what I found. The burgers were $15.00 each and both were extremely papaʻa. We took a bite from the first burger (it tasted how it looked) then opened the second box and it looked worse. How shameful to serve this kind of food that should have been thrown out and not sold. You need to do better, aūe! One star was generous because zero stars was not an option.

First time trying their amazing burgers and I will try to return as much as I can! So tasty and…read morefries weee just the way I like them--skinny cut and super crispy! Well done! I'll bring by my fawn Great Dane!

Thursday September 3, 2026 I haven't been here in a very…read morelong time. As I have been trying all the different food places around the island throughout the years. I remember going here when she first started at this location on Halawa Valley Road on the RIGHT side by the Animal Quarantine. Service is good. Food is good. I noticed authentic Pastele stew has a little more oil in it like this one. For me, looking at it the meat it had big pieces and soft too. A slight taste to it and it was good. Ambiance is like any food truck, wait in the sun and get your Vitamin D(sun) at the same time. It's really good to see that she is still doing it as others sadly disappear. Like 8 years??!! For me, I work out from the Diagnostic Laboratory Services Halawa Valley location. It's close to where I work. It's just down the street and around the bend to this lunch wagon. I will be back again. Support local businesses.

Legit, home style, local plate lunches. Choke food. Fair price…read more Breaking it down: -- Fried noodles - actually fried saimin, not Chinese egg noodles. Minimal and well seasoned. Solid. --Anything "hamburger" - old school perfect. Thick, hand formed patties, just the right amount of fillers to keep it soft and moist. Solid in a plate or as a loco moco. Even butter in a soft, cheap, generic bun with a little ketchup as its only condiment. Get it with a slice of Kraft American cheese if you're feeling fancy. Basic and that's what makes it good. -- Roast pork (special) - Chunks of well braised pork butt with untrimmed fat swimming in a scratch made onion / mushroom gravy. Yup! Short and simple menu. Most items $14. Burgers $6. Cash / Venmo only. Located at the entrance to the Halawa animal quarantine. Super friendly owners. Amanda and Felix, you got this one right.

As I browsed to see which trucks I haven't tried at Taco'ako Tuesday, I came across Kai's Pastele…read moreShop which I haven't seen before. I guess I'm the first to review this truck because I couldn't find any other posting on Yelp: Pastele stew - 4 stars - For $7.50 plus 20 cents tax (yes, this truck is one of the few that the tax is not included in their price) it pretty much tasted like the stew I make, but they had more ingredients in it. I like how they blended in cabbage, olives,. chunks of tomatoes and some other spices other than your basic carrot, potato, onion and celery in it. They gave a pretty big serving with two scoops of rice and watercress salad. Pastele - 3 stars - For $4 you can order the pastele ala carte. It's something I haven't eaten before, so I can't say if it's better or worse than other places, but it was something different to try - if you like spicy, it has a spicy after-bite to it. Goes well with the stew. My friend ordered the taco, and he said it was ok. However, I can't rate it since I didn't try it. Service - 5 stars - the man and woman were very friendly and answered my questions on what a pastele is, but more so because I didn't know what a pastele was or tasted like, he gave me a free sample to try, which is something not many lunch trucks would do. They also sell tacos and burritos, but I have to go back to try those too before being a fan of the truck.

I'm gonna be honest and say that this is the best Pastele place I've been to on the island…read more I can't say that i can compare it to an actual sit down puerto rican restaurant, since I'm not familiar with many around the island, but in comparison to all the Pastele trucks and stops Ive been to around the island, this one takes the cake! I've been to stops along the windward side, while heading down toward Koolau. There used to be (not sure if its still there) Pastele stops along the road. One of the guys that used to serve Pastele along with poke had decent Pastele, but his business was way sketchy. The dude would always "accidentally" miscount the money. He also inaccurately counted up the total of your order in his head. Not to mention his erasable white board was unreadable which made the prices even harder to determine. So don't go to that guy! Instead go to Kai's. Great prices (you don't have to worry about getting ripped off) and their Pastele ingredients are unique in texture. I'm really not even sure if they were made out of the traditional banana base. But i don't really care because they were just so awesome! They offer a a few different types Pastele with different types of meat all at different spice levels. Also several other peurto rican dishes which i still have yet to try are available. Next time I'm getting the seafood Pastele. I'm so bummed because they sold out the last time. I'm a huge fan of seafood and Pastele so when i saw it on the menu i just thought it was the coolest mix. (if you've never had poke with your Pastele you should def. give it a try)

Making it your own…read more.. That's what I do love about this discovery at Makana Mkt at Ka Makana Ali'i where they have it twice a week and this Sunday from 11a-3p I found this cute little card and it was Aloha Poke Bar which is obvious is a mobile cart which is absolutely cute and does exactly that where the menu describes the offerings for the day which was Classic, Tornado and what I got is Volcano their version of the spicy ahi. Bowls come in two sizes and though my thoughts was large though I got the small which is just $13 and all bowls comes with white rice topped with the poke of your choice and it doesn't end there you get unlimited toppings and I believe there was six types to which I got the pickled red onions and crispy onions (I later realized they were both onions lol!) there was also ocean salad, pickled cucumbers, furikake. The gentleman asked if I wanted inamona and spicy sauce...uuuhh yes! Poke is obviously premade and the list of the ingredients are all in as well as my Volcano which I though for me personally wasn't spicy enough was made with mayo, sriracha chili sauce, sesame oil, and green onions and thankfully it didn't have much green onions which I don't like but hey it adds the flavor. Rice cooked just right and the toppings complimented it all to my happy belly and was a pleasant find on this gloomy rainy day as the service was nice and friendly which brought the vibe to another level at this cute little cart. Thank you!

Locally owned and operated! Newest craze - fresh catering…read morefor all your event needs! Weddings, concerts, parties, and more!Best poke bowls handmade in front of your guests. Minimum ordering needed. Bowls priced as low as $10 each. Havn't seen their food truck at any local events but I have seen them at weddings. Staff and vibes spread that aloha vibe - book them for your next pā'ina.

One Of The Best Food In Hawaii. I Come Back Every Year I Had The Pastele Stew And Gandule Rice With…read moreMac Salad And Pastele. Amazing And Fast Service Food Is Fresh, the Owners are Super Friendly.Would Definitely Come Back Again. Thank You Guys So Much.

First of all they are so kind and make sure you have your food your way! They go the extra mile for…read moreeach customer and are so patient and kind. The little tuck is cute, and simple but the food that comes out of it is anything but simple!! So full of flavor, of the depth of flavors was out of this world. We loved it all, the pork strew they use for the nachos, tacos and the nightly special made my tummy so happy. If you this this truck around stop and try their amazing food

Stopped on our way back from the North Shore and got a whole chicken, cut into 6 pieces. Small wait…read morebut soo worth it. Chicken was moist, flavorful and sauce was the finishing touch that made it even better!

Stopped in the area where all the food trucks are and hubby opted for chicken and this place had…read morechicken on the BBQ and it smelled amazing. We checked in on Yelp and even got a free soda! Hubby got the dinner plate and I tried some too, the chicken was juicy and finger licking good! Flavor was bold and the chicken melted in your mouth. They have 1/2 chicken and whole chicken plates and there is enough to share even with the 1/2 plate. The lady that served us was super friendly and I would highly recommend this place. Don't forget to check in for your free soda Yelpers!

GET THE CORN BREAD!…read more Okay, now that the most important information is there...we loved this spot! The brisket plate was perfect for two meals. It falls apart as you're eating it in all the best ways. I regret not ordering it by the pound. The potato salad was a bit too mustardy for me but the cream corn was 10/10 I should've asked for it in a cup. My favorite part was the corn bread. I'm used to corn bread being dry and not my choice of a bbq side but I took a chance thanks to the employee hyping up all my food choices and tried it. The texture was more of a bread budding and was unbelievably delicious. I regret only getting one piece and not another one for the following day. I guess what I'm trying to say is, swing on by, order a little bit of everything and you'll leave a few pounds heavier and very happy.

The absolute best Texas BBQ in Hawaii. Great, consistent taste. Reasonable prices for their great…read morelineup of smoked meats and sides. It helps when the owner does the slicing and offers the choice between lean, fatty or some of both when selection brisket and burnt ends. All served with patience and a smile. Hard to believe owner moved from Texas as he and his staff serve aloha every day consistently. So tempting to over order as the smoke permeates the air and I do. Their meats have converted my wife into a carnivore and it's not hard to see why she crossed over into the smoky side. I still have bits of the brisket in between my teeth as I write this review while waiting for my dental visit.