A new food hall has opened! Hubby and I attended the grand opening on 1/17/26 of Midtown Ears at the Park on Keeaumoku, consisting of 972 residential units + 2 44-story towers. The food hall of locally-owned restaurants is on the ground floor of the Liona Tower. The grand opening was held from 10a to 12m. We started from the Liona St side of the hall and strolled through the vendors until we reached the Keeaumoku St side. They included: * Mangiamo Gelato - authentic, freshly made Italian gelato and dairy-free sorbetto crafted with fresh ingredients. * Middle Eats - authentic Middle Eastern dishes such as hummus, falafel and kebabs. Free sample of beef brisket, tomato, spices with a spicy sauce on a cracker. * Sakurajima - taste of Japan. No purchases available today, as free sampling provided all day! We tried: 1) tonkotsu ramen, a clean delish pork-bone broth with rich umami with fish cake, menma, corn; 2) zenzai, a tasty, perfectly sweet bean paste dessert topped with mochi, fresh strawberry, matcha, whipped cream; and 3) chicken katsu curry, a flavorful crispy breaded chicken cutlet served with rich Japanese curry over premium rice from Hokkaido. All 3 samples hit the spot and were delish! * Serg's Mexican Kitchen - authentic, scratch-made Mexican food with flavors from Mexico City and home of the famous flautas. Lots of menu choices. If we weren't so full from sampling we would have ordered from here. * King Thai Cuisine - spicy Thai street vibes. We ordered its grand opening promotion of its refreshing Thai iced tea for $3. Popular dishes include kao soi (creamy northern Thai curry noodles), crab ragoon, pad thai, fried chicken, and pad kra pow. * FEAST by Jon Matsubara. Known for popular upscale local comfort food. They were promoting their poke bowl, lobster roll, Wagyu burger, and fresh catch of the day. * Soul Chicken - premium Korean fried chicken made with fresh ingredients, balanced flavors, and homemade sauces. Today menu included 3 pc, 6pc, or 12 pc chicken of fried, shoyu, honey garlic, wasabi mayo, yang nyeom, and Hell's Gate. * Ninja Sushi - fresh sushi and seafood, masterfully prepared with premium ingredients and signature sauces. We ordered the spicy pork belly on sushi rice donburi, which was a generous portion and so very delish! We were also given samples of their fried ika rings, which were piping hot and so tender! Free iced tea was available. * Aloha Sugarcane Juice - fresh fruit juices with sugar cane as the sweetener. We tried free samples of the mango, pineapple, and calamansi slushes. I enjoyed the citrusy calamansi flavor! * Sadie's BBQ Honolulu - authentic Korean and Korean-fusion food. Plate lunches and choose your own entrees/sides were available for purchase. * Boba-Bing! - popular boba drinks and desserts. * Ms Nguyen Banh Mi & Rolls - Vietnamese sandwiches, chicken pho, and rolls. * Bar - a comfortable-looking bar with tv was situated at one end of the food hall, with alcohol permitted only in the area.s * Bonbori - coming soon. * Dragon Burger - coming soon. We arrived when the food hall opened and enjoyed our time visiting each vendor, as it was not crowded, as we heard that it does get crowded during the lunch and dinner hours. We loved the samples given by the vendors and had a difficult time choosing what to order due to the variety of foods offered. All purchases are cashless and no surcharge for credit cards. Purchases can be made at various machines in the food hall or directly with the vendor. At the grand opening, face painting, balloon twisting, temporary tattoos, and coloring were available for the keiki. Music of Anthony Man provided from 6p to 8:30p. The food hall is architecturally modern, clean, and spacious. There are many indoor and outdoor tables/chairs. It was easy to navigate through the area. Regular hours are from Sun to Thurs 10a to 10p and Fri/Sat 10a to 12m. Enter the garage from the Liona St entrance and park on floors 1 to 2.5; handicapped spaces available on 1st floor. There are no signs for the exit, so exit the same way that you came in. Free validated parking for 2 hours. A very nice concept for dining, and we can't wait to return to try the many dishes offered by these excellent food eateries! We saw many pretty congratulatory arrangements for these vendors and wish them much success in this new venture! read more