After visiting Singapore many years ago, we enjoyed the flavorfulness and spiciness of the street…read morefood at the hawker stands, which was a mixture of Indonesian, Malay and Singaporean cultures. Occasional eateries have opened in HI offering this cusine, however, many were short-lived.
In 2014, Emily Terukina immigrated to HNL from Singapore with her husband, Gavin. She worked as a host and kitchen helper at the Pig & the Lady. After missing her native home cuisine, she left the Pig & the Lady to open her own restaurant pop-up at the Hapa Market and Grill in Palolo called Shioketh on 9/7/24. Emily uses her traditional recipes to display the authentic flavors while growing up in Singapore, with slight adaptations to the likes of the local residents of HI. Huband Gavin oversees the back end of the restaurant's operations, including graphics and web design.
Emily chose the name "Shioketh," which is a Singaporean/Malaysian slang term meaning:
* "Shiok" = delicious, pleasurable, superb or highly satisfying and frequently used to describe a great meal.
* "Shooketh" = a slang for shaken/surprised.
She hopes to provide fun, casual food options of Singaporean flavors that leave her guests both satisfied and craving for more.
Generallly open on Saturdays only, Shioketh offers a rotating, limited weekly menu that includes:
* Entrees: laksa curry, beef rendang (Indonesian curry), ayam penyet (crispy Malay chicken), nasi lemak (coconut rice with chicken and egg), crispy wonton with noodles.
* Sides: sambal goreng (stir-fried tofu, long beans, tempeh, shallots); blooming eggs.
* Desserts: pandan waffle, Kaya sweet bun.
* Drinks: Pandan iced coffee, bandung/yuzu fuzzy, mango cream soda, lychee/watermelon cucumber spritzer, iced teas.
I had the following:
* Salted egg popcorn chicken plate. Super crispy popcorn chicken tossed in a creamy, spicy salted egg sauce and finished with fried curry leaves, served with jasmine rice. Delicious, flavorful, seasoned sauce that was fiery spicy that complemented the chicken and Jasmine rice topped with garlic chips! Excellent spicy sauce that had me wanting to eat more and more!
* Ginger fried chicken with fragrant chicken rice. Crisp, juicy ginger-marinated chicken fried with garlic, curry leaves, and blended macadamia for subtleness. Paired w/ fragrant chicken rice infused with ginger aromatics and war spices. I expected the chicken or the sauce to be spicy, but both were not; however, I enjoyed the spices that they were cooked in! Yum, very delicious! The juicy chicken is best eaten when freshly fried and dipped into the sauce for the best flavors!
* Pandan coffee. This was a cold brew coffee topped with pandan coconut cold foam and sweetened with gula melaka palm sugar. I enjoyed the rich and creamy coffee with the subtle taste of the pandan foam! Very refreshing!
As the weekly menus change, I plan to check Shioketh's Instagram site to see what food items will be offered on future dates. And if I see a menu item that interests me, I will preorder before the Saturday to guarantee having it.
Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu items. Since I had preordered the food items and coffee, they were ready at the time of pick-up.
There are a few tables for dine-in, and when we arrived at the peak of the lunch hour, all seats were taken. However, I had previously ordered online for takeout to ensure that the food items would not be sold out. Note that even if you dine in or take out, all food items are served in take-out containers and are made to order to ensure freshness and quality.
Shioketh is generally open on Saturdays only from 11a to 3p, unless it is participating in private events; check their Instagram posts a few days prior for their schedule. Free parking in private lot shared with Hapa Market and Grill.
I look forward to trying more of the different dishes offered! Love the delicious Malaysian cuisine with the accompanying spiciness, the authenticity of the menu, and the friendly staff that make this an amazing dining experience! I am glad that Shioketh has garnered a loyal following over the past year and wish them continued success. Support local!