I decided to try Tia's Taste of Samoa. It is situated on North King Street near the Zippy's…read more These hidden local gems can really provide interesting eats. I've never tried Samoan cuisine ( does Palm Corned Beef count? Jk ) and it is similar to Hawaiian. I requested the Regular Plate from the nice employee, a man of few words. I asked a couple of questions...he pointed...it worked. Got the Luau Mamoe as the single entree choice. You then have the option of mac salad or Sapa Sui ( not exactly a traditional dish, I am guessing ). Lastly, there is a choice from banana, rice, or taro. Sapa Sui is simiar to Korean japchae, with cubed pork and frozen mixed vegetables - peas, carrots, and corn. Quite good with a strong soy sauce flavor. Luau Mamoe is like Hawaiian beef/squid luau. Stewed in coconut milk, taro leaves are mixed with New Zealand lamb. Negative: too many bones. Positive: luau leaves are always good. Taro...if I was hungry...could've finished both chunks of steamed taro. It was a lot. Poly Plate offers two entree choices. Street metered parking. Closed on Tuesdays but open the other weekdays from 900a till 600p. Weekend hours are from 900a to 400p.

Ron and Tia are the faces that greet you when you enter this restaurant. It has been described on…read moreYelp as a hole-in-the-wall, and it is in a very good way. There are only two tables here, so dining-in is an option, but we often see people ordering for to-go. We were a hungry party of four, directed here by curiosity and prior eating experience by one of us (shout out to Jaeyeong). Their food offerings are unique and distinctly Samoan! I don't think I had had Samoan food before, and now I am thankful that I have. I got the Poly plate because I can eat-- two entrees, and a choice of rice, taro, and faʻi. I couldn't decide between the three carb options, so Ron gave me a little bit of each which together combined into a proper portion! I got the kale mamoe (lamb curry) and the mulpipi (turkey tails). I love lamb, and I had never seen turkey tails offered anywhere before, so I had to try it. I also got Tia's signature pie (a pineapple peach pie) which was very good, and very sweet! The meat half moon pie is also so good. Honestly, you can't go wrong with the food here. Everything was delicious.

Going around looking for fasi povi since I've been craving. Was excited that they put it in…read moreindividual containers and the prices are clearly marked. The old female worker got mad at me when I told her she rung me up wrong. I told her no, the chop suey is $5.99 not the $6.99 she put it as. All she said was oh, there was no apology. And you know she was giving attitude for having to use calculator. Make sure you know the prices and check receipts so you no get ripped off.

Just stopped by today with my friend who needed some ingredients for his Samoan foods and what a…read moretreat it was. They had wide varieties of prepared hot foods along with ingredients to make Polynesian foods. I recognized taros, yams, coconut cream desserts and even some Korean side dishes. The owner was a sweet Korean lady who was very friendly and helpful. The place was clean and well organized. First thing I noticed when I stepped into the store was the scent of fresh baked bread. I got the fresh white bread and it was nice and dense. I also got the pineapple turnover or half moon and it was very tasty. What a great find..

I love this place. Every time you visit, if you don't want to cook but have a fat wallet, you know…read morewhere to go even early as 8am you get nice hot Poly food fresh and very delicious! Whoever the Chef is, you're doing a great job. So get ready to go and enjoy this Yummylicious hot Polynesian food! MAHALO

The staff here were welcoming and kind to my son and me, who came here looking to experience Samoan…read morecuisine. We left with a locally made coconut drink and a coconut-sauce bread desert. The bread desert was not too expensive either. Alofa!

Musubi Cafe is such a fun, local gem, but be ready for a wait. We went early, midday timing, and…read morethe line was already about 15 people with roughly a 30 minute wait. It moves steadily though, and it is worth it. Inside is tiny, just one small table, so this is really an order and go kind of place rather than somewhere to sit and eat. They have every musubi combination you could think of, unagi, avocado, cucumber, egg, bacon, ume, tofu skin, shrimp, you name it. I got the tuna mayo onigiri and wished they had packed in a little more tuna filling, but it was still tasty. I also tried the cucumber spam musubi, which was really good too. We came as a group of seven and everyone ordered something different, and everyone loved every bite. My tip: get at least two musubis per person. A few people in our group got four each and had zero regrets. One thing to know ahead of time is parking. It is street parking only and pretty limited, so plan for that if you are driving. Overall such an easy, yummy stop and a great local experience in Waikiki.

We came here because it was highly rated and my sister saw it in a viral Instagram video. The first…read moretime, we ordered the tuna musubi, but it had so much rice and barely any tuna. We decided to come back the next day and order the "Double Tuna," thinking it would actually have double the tuna. Instead, it seemed like the same small amount of tuna with double the rice! We ordered around eight of them, so it was especially disappointing to find that they were mostly rice. The portions just don't feel balanced. If someone pays extra for "Double Tuna," they're expecting more tuna, NOT extra rice. Unfortunately, it felt like they were really skimping on the filling, and the quality didn't live up to the hype for us.

Visit September 2026:…read more What's Pidgin for OMG???? Because O...M...freaking...Geeeeeeeeee. Every trip to Hawai'i I look forward to upsetting my doc back at the mainland by gorging on some ono local grinds. Boy is he going to be angry. Give me a Chee Hoo for some Fried Butterfish Collar! How they are able to fry this fish without drying it out, allowing juices to just ooze out after breaking through the crisp exterior is mind bending. They know it's good bc when I excitedly ordered a second serving the waitress gave me a knowing wink. This is my new "last bite." Kalbi. Juicy. Well seasoned. Some of the best I've had. You know it's a popular dish when bc when I looked inside the kitchen you just see rows upon rows of ribs hanging ready to be pulled down and thrown on the grill. Lau lau-pork and butterfish steamed in ti leaves, a Hawaiian comfort food. The main reason for this trip was to bring my Mom back to her hometown in Ewa. She commented that she has not found a lau lau to her liking in San Diego so when this was brought to her and she went completely silent and smiling eating it up you know it's good lol. I was very happy Helena's take brought her joy. Kalua pork and cabbage. I can't attest to it bc it was being hoarded on the other side of the table and I was just happy with the butterfish and kalbi as is lol. Poke-Bruh, it's Hawai'i. Haupia-oh goodness. This was the perfect way to finish off the meal. The traditional coconut pudding was refreshing without being overbearingly sweet. Looks like Jello blocks but firm enough to pick up by hand. Outstanding. Service was ridiculously friendly and epitomized the Aloha spirit. This place is a foodies dream stop, serving locals and tourists alike since 1946. This place is a freaking institution!

[SERVICE] is much better nowadays. No complaints here. They are very accommodating. Some days I am…read moresuper hungry and a two top doesn't fit all of my food and it's not hard to ask for a 4 top. I already know what I want to the point I don't have to look at the menu and the servers are so fast to take my order. And they never rush me. [FOOD] My favorite is definitely the FRIED BUTTERFISH COLLAR, to the point I am checking online to see if it's available before I go, if you do decide to order this make sure to put it as soon as you get there since it does take a while to make but the wait is definitely worth it. After that I usually get a LAULAU, FISH WITH OPIHI, an order of HAUPIA, and extra RAW ONIONS & HAWAIIAN SALT. When I am in the mood for TRIPE STEW this is one of my go to spots.

The box was open coming from Wong meat market. The box had very mix and match cuts of meat. some…read morethicker than 4 fingers some of the meat cuts were so thin. the quality of the meat was mostly fat with little to no meat on what you see in the picture is the only meaty pieces

I go here to buy cheap beef by the case. They also have prepared food and other items to purchase…read more Parking can be a little rough to find. Employees are friendly and helpful.

Great experience upon entering the store, the cashier was very friendly and helpful when I asked…read morequestions about items I didn't see out anymore, even the guy and lady that was in the back was helpful. I was able to get my corn beef. All The food i got was delicious and tasty and I will definitely come back again.

I haven't been here for over 40 years. The place was clean. We went there for the turkey tails and…read moreit was really good, cooked to perfection, was soft with a good marinade. I also got the shoyu chicken and the fried chicken. They both was good too. I've been looking for a place that sold cooked turkey tails and I'm glad I found this place. They also have other food. The only downfall is the parking. Go and enjoy!

We had a family event in the area and decided to make a quick stop at Waiahole Poi Factory…read moreafterwards to grab a Sweet Lady of Waiahole! The Sweet Lady of Waiahole is definitely a treat! The warm kulolo paired with the haupia ice cream is such a delicious combination. Also you gotta get it with a double scoop of ice cream! I remember when my boyfriend first introduced me to this dessert, and I was instantly hooked! It's such a unique and satisfying local treat. Definitely a must stop if you're in the area!

I heard about this spot from multiple people and was excited to see that it fit our itinerary…read moreperfectly! + my boyfriend really wanted to try Poi while we were visiting the Island. There is a really small parking lot available, but we just found parking on side of the street and walked over. There are tables outside for people to enjoy their foods. It can be filled up quickly since lots of people visit this spot. Many people are willing to share space. Single restroom stall available around the building. Staff is super friendly We ordered a plate with Squid Luau, Laulau, and Poi and a single plate with kalua pig. Both plate comes with some sort of coconut pudding? and a very delicious side of lomi with salmon bits in it. The food was so good! Portion was so good and super filling! One note is that we wish there were more squid bits. Overall, a 10/10 would recommend!

Have you ever tried authentic Hawaiian food? Do you know what they eat in their houses very…read moreconfused? Check out this place homestyle Hawaiian plates with multiple different options and combinations don't judge the food you have to have it. It has subtle flavors deeply, rooted, cultural identity. Simple yet talk talks about history. When you use display, you can see old school Hawaiian folks explaining you what this food means to them and serve you a plate full of their food of different portions. It's plenty of food for one person to eat. They are very welcoming and they will feel proud of serving this to the guest. It's a very old-school vibe since it's Hawaii. It's mostly outdoor seating but this place is always. It's been there around for a while now and I don't think they're ever going downhill one of the best places to try even though they're plenty of other options for you.

A local Hawaiian recommended Rainbow Drive-In to us, and I'm glad we stopped by. The loco moco was…read moreso good! Savory, satisfying, and an easy 5/5 for me. You order outside at the window, and there's plenty of outdoor seating. Our food came out pretty quickly, too. There's a restroom available; you just need to ask for the key. Definitely a delicious stop if you're craving a classic loco moco!

Nice waikiki ambience, beer, food and Aloha to take friends and visitors out! Excellent!read more

Hula pie tastes amazing! Shoutout to Kenny for making the experience 10/10. Definitely recommend!read more