We were excited to try some of the hawaiian inspired flavors at Kanin, as we love visiting the islands every few years. Be mindful of peak hours because the line gets long and street parking can be a nightmare; we were fortunate to come right before the lunch rush. The venue is quite small with a few tables, however it sounds like they will be expanding in the near future. We ordered a variety of musubis and got the loco moco bowl, it took about 20 minutes to come out but was piping hot and fresh. The flavors of the musubi were okay, nothing to rave about and plenty of other places in the chicagoland area that taste similar or better. The loco moco was pretty good, something we'd order again in the future. Overall a positive experience, but wouldn't be worth the wait if we had to stand in line on top of the food prep times. Best, Charlie read more

To give this place less than 5 stars is criminal. Everything I ate had superb flavors and made with great quality. The Ube Banana Pudding is TO DIE FOR! Also, the Longanisa & Egg Musubi was absolute fire! 6 out of 5 stars if anything. Some jerk gave this 2 stars and compared the food to junk food in a Hawaiian gas station and he clearly has no idea what he is talking about. Sure, I guess it costs more than average, but you are paying for quality and the love these people put into their product. I just finished eating and I CAN NOT WAIT to go back! - Not to mention the shop is soooo cute! read more

Such a fun spot to pick up some grab and go goodies before heading to Montrose Beach!! Bonus points for having free street parking surrounding the neighborhood!! The owner was welcoming people into the store - it was so cool and vibey! This small store (reminds me of a bodega) is owned by a Filipino guy that was raised in Hawaii, so the food is Filipino-Hawaii fusion. You truly get the best of both worlds here!! We tried the longanisa and egg musubi, which I surprisingly did not love which was sooo awesome!! Just so fatty and delicious!! Also tried the tomato jam and egg musubi, which has incredibly subtle flavors of garlic and furikake, a small dollop of tomato jam spread, and the tamago. I really enjoyed this subtle bite and thought the rice to ingredient ratio was perfect!! Finally, I've been so jealous of the influencers filming themselves eating at the beach!! Anyways, got a 2 scoop poke bowl with spicy ahi and shoyu ahi. Both my friend and I thought the spicy ahi with the spicy mayo and sesame oil hit harder!! Poke was super fresh, and while the bowl itself is small, the actual poke portion is incredibly generous. I found myself not having enough rice for the amount of poke!! read more

Kanin - Loganisa and egg masubi, Tomato Jam and Egg Musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Looking like a corner bodega, Kanin offers tasty Hawaiian food in Lincoln Square. You can grab something quick like their musubi or salads or wait a few minutes and get their bento boxes. Loved the roast pork bento over rice. The musubi's are hefty and really enjoyed the breakfast one with bacon jam and a hash brown. Limited seating inside, but it's right by Winnemac Parm so you can grab & find a place to sit outside on a nice day too. read more

Kanin - Kalua Pork - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Kanin is the perfect pit stop if you want a lighter lunch and a fun hand held snack to eat outside. My friend and I each ordered the tomato jam and egg musubi as well as the sinigang shrimp musubi. My personal favorite was the tomato jam and egg musubi- the tomato jam is savory and flavorful and you can't go wrong with tamago. The shrimp musubi was good just not as flavorful. Would recommend sitting on the bench outside and eating your food while people watching. read more

Kanin - Tomato Jam and Egg Musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I love, love, love this place. Let's start with the masubis-- you can't just have one. Buy at least 3 for yourself. Save room for the ube banana pudding though. That dessert is perfection in a small white container. Don't worry avoid trying to finish it. Save some for later like a snack in a hamster's cheek. Finally, don't sleep on the poke. As a frequent Hawaiian visitor, this bowl takes me back to the local spots on the North Shore soaking in the sun and inhaling the eats. read more

Kanin - Triple Scoop - Poke Bowl - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is a small bodega/restaurant. There's 3 tables inside for 2 people each. There's 2 benches outside. They sell some snacks, drinks and merch. They have rice bowl, poke bowls, musubis and 2 desserts. The ube banana pudding is out of this world. As is there pork belly!! So tender and moist. Can't wait to keep coming back for lunch! read more

Kanin - Classic Musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Kanin was such a great find. The Filipino-Hawaiian flavors were unique, comforting, and full of character. I really enjoyed the casual neighborhood feel and the grab-and-go style menu with musubi, bento boxes, sides, and desserts. The food was flavorful, satisfying, and different in the best way. Definitely a spot worth checking out, especially if you want something quick, creative, and delicious in Chicago. read more

Kanin - Ate the Musubis but here are the bento boxes. - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Yall do I have a lot of regret for not grabbing an extra ube banana pudding. It's light, fluffy, not sweet, and quite like biting into a cloud (or what I would imagine a cloud could be if it wasn't truly what it's actually made out of..). I also regret not grabbing the Milo Coconut pudding too. The cookies were nice a soft and the banana slices were a nice touch The place was packed on a Sunday 11am, but that'd to be expected! The line moved pretty quickly. I got a longanisa egg musubi and so sorry, I inhaled it before I grabbed a pic. read more

Kanin - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Obsessed with the bruleed brown butter mochi, perfectly chewy and crispy. Yummy grilled chicken bento box. Not a ton of non-pork options, just to keep in mind. Not a ton of seating either but good for takeout and Side Practice Coffee next door. Very vibey inside and homey. read more

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We love supporting family owned businesses and this is one of our favorites. We got the garlic Shrimp over rice. The workers are very friendly and always so willing to give suggestions. It's a small shop and only a handful of seats and a bench outside giving it and island feel. Not only do they have ready to-go foods but also made to order plates. If you've never been to this spot I highly recommend it. read more

Kanin - Kauai Garlic Shrimp - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It may be cold in Chicago (at the time of this review), but inside Kanin is like a warm hug and being in Hawaii. After hearing the buzz about this place I had to check it out. Went on a weekday and so there was no lines or not much of a wait. Super friendly staff and the food is made to order. As for the food it's made to order. I had the chicken which is super tender and juicy as well as the pork belly dish that has a special sauce original to Kanin. Also picked up a bunch of Musubis. They have quite the variety! So far my favorite is the classic (spam!) and the one with Longanisa. Ube banana pudding is a must. I wanted to try the mochi but they didn't have it available the day I was there. Sad. But I'll be back!!! MAHALO!!! read more

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My husband always gets like 10 or 12 musubis here whenever he is in Chicago and has the chance to visit the neighborhood haha. They are fresh and delicious without being not much or too heavy. read more

Kanin - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

LOVED THIS PLACE. I wish it was closer to me!!! Ever since my recent trip to Hawaii, I've been looking for a musubi spot because I got my husband obsessed with them. This spot is right next to Side Practice Coffee! Both spots have similar vibes inside. I also know they collaborate with each other alot. They have lots of different musubis to choose from! I ended up trying the sinigang shrimp, tomato jam & egg, and the longanisa and egg. All fire! Can't wait to go back and try more. The star of the show for me was the strawberry matcha pudding. I could eat pounds of it. It's literally amazing. read more

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$6 for a tiny spam musubi is just ridiculous. This is gas station food in Hawaii (where they are also much larger). I wouldn't waste your time going to Kanin if this what you want. Just make it at home. read more

Kanin - Exterior - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I'd had Kanin on my list since seeing a post about them on Instagram, so Nate and I walked there after grabbing some pastries at Del Sur (it's only about a half a mile up the street). I thought they opened at 8 am, but when we arrived at 8:45 am we quickly realized that they weren't open until 9. Luckily a kind employee saw us waiting outside and let us in a little early. They are known for their Filipino inspired musubi, so we got the longanisa and egg musubi and the Sinigang shrimp musubi. They also have a few shelves of packaged snacks and a cooler with drinks and banana pudding tubs. I did see a sign that said they have bentos starting at 11 am, so I'm curious about that. There is a bit of space to sit down and dine in, so we dug into the musubi right away. The employee recommended the sinigang shrimp and it was my favorite. The shrimp was tempura battered and fried and still crispy, and the flavor was bright and a bit acidic. It was unique and so tasty! The longanisa and egg was also good, although the egg was a bit sweeter than I prefer (but I LOVE savory things). I'm really glad we got to check out Kanin and would come back. The owners also have a coffee shop around the corner that I'd love to visit. read more

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Ambience - casual, small, convenience store vibes, offers bento boxes, musubi, snacks Service - staff/cashier was super nice Food - musubis were kept nice and warm, loveeeeeeee the longanisa & egg Can't wait to be back to try other food items! read more

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So happy I got to stop by this place! It's a small spot and I wanted to get there before the rush so I got there a little after they opened. The parking situation is 0 out of 10! There's street parking but it's not easy to find. I came in and thought the decor and vibe was very cute and inviting. It feel like I was at a small shop in Hawaii. The service was good and the man in front took my order right away. I ordered 5 misubis, a Classic Spam, a Spam and Egg, a Tomato and Egg, Longonisa and Egg and a Sinigang Shrimp. The Classic Spam misubi was good, very traditional with nice and subtle but good flavors. The Spam and Egg misubi was also very good with the egg being very stable but also fluffy at the same time! The Longonisa and Egg misubi was so good! Perfect taste in every bite and not to sweet and a little charred, it was so well balanced! And the Sinigang Shrimp misubi was perfectly balanced with a touch of sour that makes you come running back for more! In addition I got a cucumber salad from the fridge whoch was very fresh ans a little sweet. And I also got the Ube Banana Pudding and OH MY GOODNESS! I dont evwn like banana pudding but this one! This Ube Banana Pudding was absolutely heavenly! Overall, 10 out of 10, I would recommend this place every time and cant wait to come back! read more

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First time trying Kanin was for the breakfast sandwich collab with Holey Dough - the longanisa and tamago were great. Also picked up the ube banana pudding which was delicious. Would love to come back for the musubi and bentos! read more

Kanin - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The inside of Kanin Bakery is cute and cozy - I enjoyed the art on the walls. I'd had this place on my radar in this Filipino American food business corridor in Ravenswood, but finally went when my friend had a friend in town and we all went together. My friend's been before and she likes it. We only tried the sinigang shrimp musubi, but that was five stars - the flavor is a bit more tamarind than sinigang-specific, but it is super yummy and I would get it again as a fun snack when I'm in the area. read more

Kanin - Sinigang shrimp musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Been on my want to try list for a while. A bit of a belated post but really wanted to give a shoutout to support API/ANNHPI community . This new Filipino Hawaiian eatery and market , Kanin, serves up the best of crossover connection in bite size love letter combinations like Longanisa Musubi . Musubi is pretty tasty and filling. Also has chicken tocino over rice . Absolutely delish. Save room for their Ube dessert pudding . I took out my food and brought home. They do have some seating in there as well as a little grocery store . Cool vibe and great service . #filipino #hawaiian #musubi #smallbites read more

Kanin - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here after stopped by side practice next door. The sushi-like misubis are yummy! They are basically different seasoned spam on rice. I got the longanisa and egg and got the tocino for my husband who is gluten free. Both were good. Was so happy to see gluten free options for him! I thought the banana ube pudding was overrated but OMG the vanilla flan was amazing (and gluten free)! And they had other flavors as well but they were out. Best flan I've ever had (yes including Mexico). read more

Really cute small spot with good food selection! Their musubi is really where it's at. Their bento boxes or whatever, we ordered the shrimp and it was so underwhelming like nothing about it screamed Hawaiian I could have made it myself. Their ube banana pudding was good but too many mushy bananas lol. Other than that, I would keep going to this place !! read more

Finally able to try Kanin. We had the Spam Musubi and it was delicious. We also tried the Ube Banana Pudding and it was also amazing. We bought a few snacks there as well and those have been good. Service was fast. We ate our items outside on the bench in front of the restaurant. The interior was welcoming and simple read more

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Love the aesthetics of this place! Came back for my second visit last Friday to try more of the menu. The first time (during their grand opening), we had the tamarind shrimp musubi--it was sweet and surprisingly tasty. Tried it again this time and found it a bit too salty. The longanisa egg musubi was the standout--so good and super popular! Definitely a must-try. And you can't leave without getting the ube banana pudding--it's delicious. Staff were really friendly and welcoming. Also, note that the bentos are available starting 11am. Will definitely be back! read more

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This place was disgusting and the lady at the counter working lollapalooza had a terrible attitude. I would never come back here nor will I support their business!! read more

Very cute and convenient grab and go spot! They were playing JBoogs/hawaiian music, the TV was playing anime on mute, the windows and walls were lined with plants, and they had Filipino art as well = very good vibes. As far as food, we tried: - Classic spam musubi ($3.50) - Longanisa musubi ($6) - Tamarind shrimp musubi ($5) - Tocino chicken BBQ skewer ($5) - Mac salad ($4) - Ube banana pudding ($8.75) - Sylvanas cookies ($23) We also bought a few of their market items: they have a great selection. We liked everything! My favorite was actually the longanisa musubi. I loved that their musubis weren't too rice heavy, perfect balance. Would come again to try their new items. Glad they are Filipino spots rising in Chicago! Always happy to support :) read more

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We couldn't resist trying Kanin because of the strawberry matcha and ube banana pudding and of course the musubis! It's a bit north but since we were in the area, we decided to get it for lunch. Such a cute quaint store! Keep in mind, it's pretty much grab and go type of place so no seating. There are a variety of different musubis but we went with the standard so we did 3 of those and 2 of musubis with egg, mac salad, and of course the banana puddings. Musubis were your standard musubis but I enjoyed that the spam wasn't too salty and the sauce was really fragrant. I feel like the main comment about musubis is usually the rice to spam proportion and I didn't think it was too far off. Only thing I didn't like was the rice. It was very grainy and separated. The mac salad was delicious.. just the right amount of creamy to get you hooked but not sickened. Now to the main event!! The banana pudding was so addicting. I was going into thinking I'd like the strawberry matcha one more but the ube one had the best flavor. It was giving fresh coconut and ube! And I'm not the biggest fan of banana pudding but the Asian flavor combo got me. Definitely a great place for a quick on the go meal and it is very much reasonable and affordable pricing for what you get! Especially in the city where that is harder to find. read more

Been meaning to try Kanin for the longest and finally got to try their pork rice bowl, musubis, and puddings. The pork rice bowl was flavorful and packed with pork, veggies, and rice. The spam, loganisa, and egg musubis were warm and flavorful! It's a nice snack on the go and fills you up. The ube banana pudding was to die for! I love the chunks of banana in it, and it's such a nice sweet treat. The service was great; they were very friendly there and gave me my order relatively quick. The ambiance is very decorative, and I love how they have merch to sell as well. They really hold their pride in being a Filipino owned establishment, and I fully support that! read more

Love Kanin! Our team likes to walk over and get some musubi or banana pudding. We got the poke and meat bowls (new items on the menu) and they were a little pricey for the small portion. Limited seating but a good treat if you can swing by! read more

So glad I finally got to try this spot. Went around 11am on a weekday and there were tables available to eat the musabi right away. I got the longanisa and egg and the shrimp and both were delicious - the longanisa slightly sweet and the shrimp slightly sour. And the ube banana pudding was as great as everyone says, I would come back just for that. Staff super friendly as well. read more

Kanin - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Love the ube banana pudding here and the blazin Asian musubi. The kalua pork bento box is really flavorful and delicious - although the second time I got it, the rice was made with too much water and it was on the mushy side. read more

What an amazing gem! Finally, a little place that takes me back to my Kauai roots with a Filipino flair. The line goes down the street before noon. My advice is to go as early as you can to get all the choices:) The standard old school Spam musubi is legit and transports me back to my highschool days. If you want to get to the next level, you need to bite into the longanisa and egg musubi. There's more to say and experience for sure. Come down and taste for yourself. The staff is family friendly, organized, and helpful. Say hi to Katie:) read more

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We finally made it over to Kanin today! At noon, the line was not to bad but there were only original and longanisa + egg musubis left. We got both musubis along with the skewers they had available, a Hawaiian Sun Lilikoi Lychee, Arizona Green Tea and finally a box of sylbies. Everything was great. We hope to return soon to support this small Filipino business! Bonus: free street parking and a park nearby to enjoy your food if the seating in the restaurant is full. read more

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I have had Kanin bookmarked ever since it opened but wanted to wait until the hype died down to avoid long lines. We came on a weekday late morning and there was still plenty available. There are only a few small tables inside which were all taken. We were told to go to their sister coffee shop next door for seating but there were no seats available there either. We literally sat outside of Kanin on a bench until we saw a table free up. I had the tocino chicken bento and shared the ube banana pudding with hubby and little one. Hubby had the classic bento, sinigang shrimp musubi, and loganisa with egg musubi. The classic bento seemed like it was pretty saucy. The tocino chicken bento hit the spot and my daughter loved all the pokemon stuff inside and especially liked that it was playing on the TV. The ube banana pudding was so good and wasn't overly sweet. The owners/workers were really nice and gave us stickers too! read more

Had to see what the hype was all about after my instagram was flooded with videos of them. I was able to stop by after around 10am on a Tuesday morning. They still had a good amount of all of the musubis, I got all of them besides the egg & jam. The tamarind shrimp musubi I felt like was lacking a little flavor, the tamarind didn't really hit me as much as I was hoping for. But still good. The traditional spam musubi was good. However the longonisa & egg was my favorite and tasted so good! I say the best part was the Ube Banana pudding! I would have never thought to put Ube & banana together, and they did that really well. Staff was friendly as they were getting the musubis I wanted and ringing me up. They had a bunch of Asian/filipino snacks to choose from. read more

Kanin - Ube banana pudding - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Absolutely loved my visit to Kanin! Stopped by on a Sunday morning and was excited to give their musubis a try. They offer a few renditions of the classic spam musubi, but then they also have more unique options like the Longganisa & Egg and their Sinigang Shrimp musubi. Everything was delicious but my favorite was the Sinigang Shrimp. The tanginess of the Sinigang flavoring was perfect with the shrimp and rice. We also got to try their banana puddings and they were SO good! Very flavorful and rich. To top if all off - the service here is some of the best I've experienced! Super friendly & welcoming. Come here for the delicious food but stay for the people!!! read more

quite literally one of the best restaurants i've ever been to in chicago. you HAVE to come here and try the musubi, but especially the ube banana pudding. seriously come try it right now. i need to go back and get it because i can't stop thinking about it, and my first bite of it was genuinely a spiritual experience. i am not exaggerating, it's one of the best desserts ive ever had. i love the decor and vibes in here and even though it's small they make great use of the space. they also have a variety of drinks & candies/snacks including MILO (a chocolate malt drink)!!! i always always get Milo when visiting my family in sri lanka and have never seen it in the US, so that was a nice surprise(: also our cashier, Isa, was wonderful and sweet!!! read more

Kanin - ube banana pudding (you have to try this) - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I LOVE Filipino businesses thriving in Chicago!! As a Filipino-American, it's been hard finding Filipino food that's both affordable and tasty- Kanin is both!! We visited during their opening day and it was so busy for good reason! Also everyone working there was so nice- I appreciate your patience and kindness especially with such a long line. We ordered almost everything off of the menu (minus the cucumbers). Our favorites include the tocino skewer, longanisa and egg musubi, and the inari bombs! Can't forget about the dessert the UBP ube banana pudding!! everything was so so delicious and decently priced! I will definitely be back read more

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Visited this spot for the first time over the weekend while in Chicago. I went two days in a row because I couldn't get enough. I tried to talk the owner into opening a second location where I live. He was almost convinced, I'll keep working on him haha. Each item I tried was flavorful, texturally diverse, fresh, and comforting. I've not been to Hawaii but if this is what I've been missing I need to book a trip, stat! The shop isn't large but the vibe was chill and everyone I talked to was super welcoming and helpful. The Ube banana pudding is killer I'll be back for sure. read more

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