Service- 4 stars Food- 5 stars…read more I ordered a small pan of Gandule rice and 5 pastries from Shantell's last week Monday for my dad's birthday get together. First, you need to know that this business does not have a brick and mortar location. You are able to purchase items from their menu at craft fairs and farmer's market . However, they do offer catering. The contact number can be found on her business IG which is shantells_cocina. Shantell was extremely communicative via text. She informed me that my order would be $95 before tax because she sells 5 pasteles for $35 and a small pan of gandule rice for $60. We agreed on a location that was convenient for me. She. met meet at a public place with freshly made gandule rice and pasteles. My family and I loved every bit of her food and everything was mopped in 2 days. Thank you Shantell for doing business with me at the last minute. Highly recommend Shantell's Cocina for your catering needs!

This whole plate beyond satisfied my cravings! The service was friendly, welcoming, and incredibly…read morefast. The empanadillas were amazing! I'm already looking forward to my next visit!

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken is a local favorite that has a pretty intense following. Many people…read morecome here to enjoy the chicken. It is literally cooked outside on a nice fire. Waited in line for a little bit and maybe about 30 minutes our chicken was done. Ordered just a whole chicken to try and this was my first time having it. The seasoning is light and the chicken is juicy. I would say this actually tasted pretty alright. But I think I like mine slightly saltier or seasoned more. But overall if you ever see this off the road you should stop by and try it out.

Tried Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken for lunch and ordered the lunch special, which came with a half…read morechicken, rice, and pineapple slaw. The wait was a little longer than expected, a bit over 30 minutes. The food itself was okay overall. The chicken was decent, and the pineapple slaw leaned more on the sweeter side than I personally prefer. Nothing was necessarily bad, but nothing really stood out either. The girl who took my order was very nice and friendly, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, the person packing the order didn't seem very welcoming and gave off the impression that they didn't want to be there, which affected the overall experience a bit. Overall, it was just an okay experience for me and probably not somewhere I'd personally return to.

Wow I normally am not a fan of pot stickers but theirs are really good! I love the shrimp and egg…read moreone! I never thought of adding egg in potstickers. Glad I tried some of what my friend got! I also tried the cabbage and pork and that's also excellent! I wish there's more filling because there's quite a bit of empty space inside the dumpling. The skin had the right consistency, not too thin or thick. The shoyu and chili sauce that came with the potstickers also complimented the potstickers very well. I'm following them on social media now to find out their whereabouts!

You get 6 potstickers per order & they let me order 1/2 curry chicken and 1/2 egg with shrimp. (3…read moreof each) I also got lemon chicken (only option was noodles but that was what I was going to order anyway if given the choice) and a ginger lemon tea. I think the noodles were so-so when I first had it but when I reheated it the next day they were even better! It was spicy lemony--where was that flavor the day before?! I wanted to try another drink but they were out of it so I settled for the ginger lemon drink. I saw one review saying it wasn't sweet enough and I can see why. It's like that citron tea you get at the Korean markets you have to mix with liquid -- it needs to be mixed more so it stays at the bottom of the cup. I can just do this at home... Overall, the potstickers were the best thing I ordered but I'm not sure if 6 pieces for $10 is worth it.

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.

the best chicken I have ever had and amazing customer service and fire personality and great banana…read morebread

I wouldn't say it's hidden but it's kinda hidden since it's a little bit away from all the food…read moretrucks. It's on the way to the small museum that is in the area with the car that's painted. Very nice people & it smells and tastes amazing. Only downside is my plate had a lot of bones, which i would've preferred the bones to be meat instead. Chicken plate 4/5 wish there was less bones more meat Spam Musubi 3/5 nothing unique about it, just a simple spam Musubi, the rice to spam ratio could be worked on though.

Same great garlic sauce on the shrimp but shrimp were smaller and not as succulent. Still good but…read morenot as good as before Still sweet garlicky buttery flavor. They give the same amount of rice. This time around, went on a Sunday in July; took over 45 min from ordering to getting the food. Difficult to get a seat. There's a sign that they didn't have the spice version available because they were short staff. However, they gave chili sauce. Finding a parking spot in the shared lot was quick; they still charge $2 to park.

Classic garlic shrimp truck but was better before…read more Food - 4/5 We got the classic shrimp scampi. It was good and flavorful, but to us it felt very one-note after a while. Service - 5/5 Friendly service! Ambiance - 4/5 Can get busy but we were able to snag a table on the side.

Literally the best shrimp I ever had. Absolutely delicious!!…read more I don't say that lightly either. It was otherworldly!! The staff was great too!!!! I'll be back!

Giovanni's is one of those places where memory does a remarkable amount of the seasoning. I've been…read moreeating here across decades. Enough visits that this is no longer about catching them on a bad afternoon, ordering the wrong thing or failing to understand what the place is supposed to be. I've tried the different shrimp, stood in the lines, eaten at the tables, navigated the parking, brought people here and returned because, for a very long time, Giovanni's was simply one of those places you went when you were on this side of the island. At some point, repetition becomes evidence. The truck itself has become an artifact. Covered in signatures, battered by time, photographed millions of times. There was probably a period when all of that felt charming. Now it mostly feels tired. There is a difference between patina and neglect and the surrounding experience has increasingly crossed that line for me. Flies, crowded tables, overflowing activity, rough parking, heat, trash nearby. You can romanticize rustic only so far before rustic starts asking for a pressure washer. Then there is the service, which has consistently been the hardest part for me to understand. I don't need anyone performing hospitality like they're auditioning for a resort commercial, but basic warmth costs nothing. Too often the interaction here feels impatient and transactional, as though the customer is somehow inconveniencing the operation by showing up to buy the food. After enough visits, you stop calling that an off day. And then there is the plate. The shrimp itself is actually the least offensive part. It is generally cooked reasonably well. Tender enough, rarely destroyed and when you get a good batch you can understand why this formula became so popular. Everything around it drags it down. The rice has repeatedly been soft, clumped and bordering on mushy. I am annoyingly particular about rice, but rice is not some decorative substance placed beneath the main event. It matters. When half the plate is rice, screwing it up is not a minor detail. The garlic is abundant, certainly, but abundance and care are different things. It often arrives more like a wet mass of processed garlic than the fragrance and texture you get from properly chopped fresh cloves. Add the butter and oil and you certainly get intensity, but after several bites the whole thing becomes heavy rather than interesting. The little salad on the side generally feels like an afterthought that has been waiting for someone to remember it. And that is ultimately my problem with Giovanni's. The entire experience feels as though its reputation arrived at the destination years before the restaurant did and everyone decided there was no longer much reason to keep improving. People will continue coming. Of course they will. The name is famous, the truck is recognizable, the photographs are practically mandatory and nostalgia is one hell of a business model. I understand it because it worked on me for years. But strip away the mythology and ask a brutally simple question: If this exact plate came from an unknown truck with no history, no signatures and no reputation, would you still wait in line for it? I wouldn't. Two stars. The shrimp can still be decent and I have too many memories here to pretend the place means nothing to me. But nostalgia should bring you back to a restaurant. It shouldn't be responsible for making the food taste better. I kept returning because tradition can turn habit into taste. I'm done confusing the two.

Drinks, snacks, hot foods AND ICE-CREAM?! Chee-hoo!…read more Located on the bottom floor of Kapolei Hale you'll find the snack shop. Having worked in Honolulu Hale/near FMB in town, I love the Kapolei Hale snack shop! The staff are so nice and the assortment of snacks is winnaz, especially when your girl doesn't feel like eating cup-a-noodle! Things in the snack shop: - Obviously soda/water/juices -Hot foods (meat loaf, pasta, omelet) -Cup-a-noodles - ICE-CREAM (Melona bars, drumsticks, ice cream sandwiches) Like I mention, the staff are always super nice. The food is also really good too. Not to mention their food is such dealz! My meatloaf plate came with a drink and under $10! It's hard to find a filling meal these days without spending an arm and a leg. If you're in the building for an appointment, consider supporting the small shop. #supportlocal