Ordered for a senior event - total of 98 bentos, combo of butterfish and teriyaki chicken. Ended up ordering in three separate online orders, one large and two add ons. The first large order, I had even made an error and didn't change the date so it was for same day! Panic! Called immediately and the nice lady who answered was right on top of it and very nicely changed the date of the pick up for me - WHEW! Day of the event I went in at 8am (when they open) to pay for all three and they had all three orders printed out and I could pay for all of them at one time. Even better - they already had the stamped coupon cards ready AND because it was Tuesday, senior discount day, we got the discount! Mamaya includes a bottle ID water with each bento, so this ended up being an awesome deal and easy option for our luncheon. Ordering online was easy. Recommend setting up an account so it's a little faster the next time you order. There are options on rice (multigrain or white) that you can choose online. There's even a comment section to make special requests. They don't promise about special requests but say they will do their best to accommodate. (I've requested no green onions on something before and they accommodated that). Forgot to take pics of the two bento options (was in charge of the event so no time) but when you go online to order there are photos so you know what you will be getting. Only note is they may take a little longer past your requested pick up time if it's early in the morning or a large order so just account for that and this is a great option for ordering for your event. Food was delicious, people were happy. Besides entree and rice, the bento included a small portion of nishime (yummy) artfully cut in the traditional beautiful way, pickles. I had ordered a few extra and folks were coming up to me asking if they could buy them so I guess that's proof of the bentos passing the taste test! I'm sure we will be ordering for events from here again. read more

I thought I Reviewed Mamaya before I guess not . I came here before although it's been awhile. Looking for fast grab and go Japanese style bento this is the spot. Service is fast and efficient there was one cashier although she had 2 registered going at once . Plus when a particular item was out they came and restocked the item very quickly . Lots to choose from Salmon , Karaage chicken, hamburger steak , Teri chicken, Teri beef , Oyako Donburi, shrimp tempura and various of Musubi . I'll be back in the near future. Support local read more

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A chain restaurant is not a small business. I pull no punches. Shrinkflation, reduction in quality, and a lack of care how food is cooked; time for this small chain of bento restaurants to close. Disappointing and becoming progressively worse. Examples: -- Salmon dynimite - a tiny, maybe 2oz piece of salmon completely surrounded by surimi mixed with a watered down kewpie mayo and siracha. -- Yakisoba - Starchy noodles seasoned with instant ramen powder topped with slimy, spoiling fishcake, thin slivers of tasteless egg, wet bean sprouts, etc. Extremely salty. Repulsive. -- "Zip Pac" - Oily, previously frozen, processed fish, fried chicken skin, boiled orts of teri beef and a pile of furikake in a corner of the bento. Even the Spam was rubbery. -- Oyako donburi - same price, half the portion (Half the rice, thin egg, three bite sized pieces of extremely overcooked, dry chicken). Still a non believer? Look at pics from a few years ago and now. Hard pass. read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Salmon dynamite bento - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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I continue to purchase food for my mom every 3 weeks, as I rotate between 3 places to give my mom variety in cuisine. It's usually a butterfish or salmon bento and a green tea pudding, or an oyako donburi and tofu-eggplant bowl, or sushi. I usually pick up something for myself, this last time it was a spicy miso chicken bowl. Online ordering makes it a snap and they always have my order ready at the appointed time. The food is reasonably priced and tasty. read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Spicy Miso Chicken Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

This place makes killer bentos. The firecracker salmon is the best, lots of everything on it. The mixed bento is better than a zip pac and cheaper. The mochiko not oily and tasty. Parking is plenty but small stalls. The staff is awesome. Aloha read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Firecracker Salmon, mixed bento, and mochiko chicken. - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

I love this spot! Love their spicy inari bombs, spam musubi and pretty much everything here! This is the go to spot for bentos and grab and go food! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

Truly love Mamaya Pearl Kai!!! We had to place a HUGE order for lunch and when I picked it up they were already packed well PLUS each came with bottle water PLUS they helped me load it all up PLUS they were kind and courteous AND I earned 4 more dinners with their stamp card rewards. Mamaya has very good bentos ranging from Ono pork belly bowls, mochiko chicken, a variety of salads, a mix plate bento that has beef, chicken and fish (cheaper than the other "Z" place), and you name it! I love that the ambiance is pick up and go and well organized and so economical in their pricing. It's the perfect place for picking for lunch and dinner and even snacking on some poke inari, variety of musubi and endless sushi. It's definitely a locals spot if you are Ono for some local Japanese food and more! I'll be back! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - A medley of yummy bentos - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

We popped in at lunch and amazed to see hot bentos arrived and served fresh. There are no tables and chairs for patrons. Select, pay and go! Get your stamp card. Certain entrees comes with a free water bottle. Cashier didn't offer hashi or utensils. We overlooked it. Thank goodness we had extra hashi in the car. Everything in Salmon Dynamite Bento tasted yummy! Seasonings for salmon tasted a little spicy. Loved how the mochiko chicken, veggies, tamago, rice with furikake, and pickled ginger balanced the spiciness of salmon. Diverse meal. Great option for travel, beach, outings. read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Salmon Dynamite Bento - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

I like stopping by here at lunch to get a quick takeout bento. My favorites are the mini miso butterfish bento, Oyako Donburi and garlic chicken bento. They also have food to easily take on the airplane like musubis, spam musubis, small snack packs with fried chicken, spam musubi hot dog. They also have salmon, shoyu pork, loco moco, fried saimin, manapua, pork hash. Parking is easy at the Pearl Kai shopping center! read more

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Good food for an affordable price. Thank you for offering a senior discount. Workers are friendly.

Mamaya now has a food truck in Waipahu, next to their distribution center Warabeya where they make their bentos. It's walking distance from where I live so it's really convenient to get lunch when we don't want fast food. We ordered the spicy ahi. They used sushi rice and the taste of the spicy ahi was good but they used the sinewy junk part of the ahi and it was difficult to chew. If they used a better cut of the ahi, I would definitely get it again but I'll stick to my salmon or butterfish bentos. read more

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One of my favorite go-to for bentos is Mamaya! If you want to save time, you can order online through their website and pick up! I love that I can order the day/night before and pick up the next morning!! The salmon bento is my favorite. My mom loves the salmon dynamite and mochiko chicken. They also have onigiris, side dishes, donburi bowls and more! All bento purchases come with a free bottled water. Don't forget to get a stamp card from them! When you fill all 10 spots, you receive a free bento! read more

We grabbed a Salmon Dymamite Bento, two Nori Miso Bentos, one Salmon Bento, one squid karage, two Spicy Ahi Inari, and eggplants. Every thing was delicious and made our tummies happy! I especially liked that we received 4 bottles of water and a 10% discount! We will surely return again soon. read more

Way faster than standing in line at an Okazuya as the items are ready for pick up and pay. Hubs likes to get poke bento and although they don't have the cafeteria style line I choose their calamari, gobo, cone sushi. If I really want nishime Ilook for a bento that includes it The potato salad is no longer available and that was good. My must have is their triangle shaped konbu musubi. ***However I think they changed the recipe cuz today's one had something like kidney beans in it and less konbu. Hope that was a fluke cuz it surely was not as tasty as before. Hubs always picks up regular sushi too. read more

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This "grab and go" that sells bentos and rice bowls is one of my favorite lunch spots during the workday! Great choice for Pearl Harbor employees who don't want the usual base chain restaurants, but would still like something quick and inexpensive! Mamaya is great spot for anyone who works around the Pearlridge area. I have a confession...I would choose Mamaya over Fooki for a quick lunch! The food is more affordable and requires less time to order and pay...and Mamaya to me is as tasty as Fooki, if not tastier haha! I've stopped by Mamaya for lunch countless times and I'm sure I have several incomplete stamp cards laying around. Yes, you can pick up a stamp card, and one ~$10 purchase of a bento or rice bowl = one stamp! I really don't have a favorite...I like all of Mamaya's offerings! What I end up picking up depends on my mood...it can be ahi poke, braised pork, broiled salmon, Japanese curry, or oyako don. They sell some chilled desserts too! A meal purchase not only include one stamp on the stamp card, but also a free bottle of water! As Mamaya is a "grab and go" spot, they have no seating. Mamaya is next to so many other great restaurants, but this one wins in price and speed mixed with quality. Food is a solid, reliable four stars, but the prices, food selection, location, and consistently friendly customer service earn a 5th star! read more

Best bento spot for a quick lunch or a picnic at the beach. This place is located in the Pearl Kai shopping center. Parking is located right in front, but can be difficult to find, especially during lunch time. This place is open early but also closes early. You are able to call orders in. They have a variety of bentos and poke bowls that can be had with regular or multi grain rice, staff is friendly and helpful. The place is clean and inviting. You need to check this place out for a quick bite to eat. They currently do a stamp card and give a free water with every bento! read more

My mom likes this place for simple okazuya items. The price is more affordable considering the menu they have. Butterfish plate for $16.00 and it is well worth it. It also has some other items worth talking about like their roast pork ,eggplant , and a few other dim sum items that were delicious. They have this stamp card program that keeps my mom hooked on this place coming back for more. Good alternative place to go when mom doesn't want to cook read more

I stopped by here for a quick bento for lunch and it was an extremely quick in and out trip! Walk in and you choose what you want on the right then go to the cashier and they ring up your order. The cashier was so fast - she started ringing up bentos before I even got to the counter because she could see which bento I had. The bentos were super fresh and hot. They were constantly restocking the shelves and bringing out more bentos. I had the mochiko chicken bento and the chicken had a good flavor. I enjoyed the nishime on the side. They give a lot of rice with a lot of furikake on it, which I enjoyed. The bentos are reasonably priced and they give a good amount of good. They also give you a bottle of water with each bento! Definitely worth it for a take out meal! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Mochiko chicken bento - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

If you want something filling, inexpensive and easy meal. I would recommend Mamaya. I didn't know about this place until early this year. One of my responsibilities at work is to find food places to order lunch when we have seminars. My supervisor recommended me to try this place since she likes their multigrain rice. So one day, I was like sure lets give this place a try! They have a lot of different bento option, bowls, onigiri's, handrolls. Lots of option! You can walk in and grab the bento plates, bowls OR you can always order online to make sure they secure what you want before it's gone. Another thing I love about their online process is that you pay in person. I tried their salmon dynamite, which had imitation salad on top of the salmon, yum! A lot of people at my workplace enjoys the eggplant tofu. Portion size is perfect. We all felt full from our meal and was ready to take a nap! I would recommend people to try this! They do have stamp cards and one you fill one up, you get $10 off (almost free!!) for the next time. read more

It's not in full service like before covid, but they still serve already prepacked katsudon, oyakudon, curry bowls, poke bowls, bentos and assorted sushi. They don't have the poke plates or eat in yet. It's still a great place to take out for lunch because prices are reasonable. Service is ok and professional, and they offer a bottled water with your bento. No miso soup like before yet. Lots of parking since it is at Pearl Kai, across kam highway, makai of lower pearlridge. read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Salmon bento with multi grain rice - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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The food is fresh and still warm when we arrived at 1pm. Many bentos selection. Price is decent. We had the chicken Katsu don, it's awesome. 4 stars because the green tea pudding was just average and abit overpriced. read more

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Best bentos ever -- especially at that price point! My grandparents and I love coming here. The staff is incredibly nice and friendly. Since they offer a huge variety, from spicy ahi cone sushi to miso butterfish to Kalbi, it was helpful to hear their recommendations. My favorite is the mochiko chicken, but you can't go wrong with anything. Definitely recommend for large parties / catering since everyone will find something they'll like! Usually when I go in the afternoon, they're almost sold out. So, go early for the best selection. Parking: lots of parking directly in front Seating: no tables, just grab & go Setup: few tables with pre-made bentos on display If I lived closer, I'd be going there everyday for lunch! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Bentos - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

They would get a 3.5 stars to me. I mean they're better than 7-11 but not as good as an eatin restaurant that would serve the same dishes. I really liked their shoyu pork and their ahi bowls was only ok. They make a lot of other dishes also but haven't tried them all yet. Every bowl or plate you order comes with a chilled bottled water from Costco. read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Spicy ahi and shoyu ahi rice bowl. It was ok. - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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I haven't been here in years! I was on my way to my daughter's to check on things, as she and her family are away for the day. I had just had my haircut in Pearl City and my first choice to pick up lunch was closed. On my way, it was an easy turn into the parking lot right in front of Mamaya. I love Miso Butterfish and remembered their's being very good! I was not disappointed. I was impressed, the Butterfish was perfect and the sides dishes exceptional. It was delicious and I ate every bite. At $15.80 with a bottle of water, more than reasonable! I will be stopping by again, when I'm in the Aiea area. Highly recommend! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Lunch today! - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

In all honesty, I thought this place was going to be good. It was just okay. They sell premade bentos in advance. I think way too advance because the food didn't taste fresh. I had the karaage with a spam musubi. The spam musubi was pretty good, but the chicken karaage wasn't. It wasn't crunchy but rather soggy. They also sell canned drinks. They only had Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, bottle waters and tea. Not bad choices. They also sold other items like jello and random food. I was a little disappointed and probably won't come back here. There was plenty of parking directly up front so that was a plus. They take card or cash. Line goes quickly.. read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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Fish fish fish So the last Mamaya I've visited was the one in Kapolei (I know you read that review) and the food there was really good. This place is no exception. Same lay out, where the bentos are already pre made. Don't but let that fool you, they're still hot and ooh so Ono. The hard part is deciding what to get. Grilled Miso butterfish, baked salmon, seafood dynamite on top of salmon. And all the sides are different. And they now have fried manapuas. I missed out because it was Ash Wednesday. I'm not sure if they sell chicken katsu or pork belly like the one in Kapolei but if they do come early cause you know they go fast. Overall five stars, plenty of parking and friendly staff willing to help you bring your large order to your car. I saw this first hand. That lady with 20 bentos must love this place. Now excuse me, lunch time is over. M read more

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Great bento spot for quality and price. Now living in the Mainland, the nori bento butterfish with mixed grain rice is something I always get but their other options are solid as well. Mochiko chicken is good. Salmon options are good. But butterfish is always my go to Super easy to order online or just show up and pick something off the self Each bento comes with a free bottle of water and they still do the stamp cards so 10 bentos and you get one free. It's hard to get a meal under $10 these days but here is one spot you can read more

I've been coming to Mamaya pretty much since they opened and still patronize this restaurant because you get the food fast, it's pretty delicious and the price is right. I liked them when they offered the serve yourself food bar but the haven't brought that back since the start of the pandemic. They offer ready made meals such as bentos, donburis, poke bowls and various musubis. Or, you can order from the menu and have it made fresh. It's the perfect place to pick up a bunch of meals for the office because they have a good selection of take out meals. It's not the best Japanese food but it's still pretty good. read more

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Bentos from Pearl Kai, Oahu, Hawaii... I saw Allen N. check into this business and I wondered what it was. I read reviews by Fran, Roz, Angel, Traci, Jarod, Kathy, Rod, and Emi which motivated me to drive over and get some lunch for my family! Mamaya is shop at the Pearl Kai Shopping Center. It specializes in takeout boxed lunches (bentos), featuring Japanese cuisine. They also had some musubis made with konbu (seaweed), salmon, and - of course - spam. The good thing about Pearl Kai is the free parking. The not so good thing is that there are many businesses here and the parking lot gets full. I guess I came at peak lunch time because I had to wait for parking and wait in line to pay for my meals. Maybe I was extra hungry and grouchy because I noticed that the air conditioning could be better. There was only one gal at the counter. She was ringing up customers, packaging food in plastic bags, adding utensil/napkin sets in the packages, and asking each customer if they wanted bottled water or miso soup with their bentos. The line was growing and my food was getting heavier... lol... I have to give that gal credit because working with these conditions could be stressful... She was efficient, polite, and stayed calm! Good job! The traffic pattern in the shop was a bit confusing. There were markings on the floor and I figured that it was like a figure eight pattern. Make one loop around the food offerings and pick them up like cafeteria style (without a tray), then make another loop towards the cashier, and then head out the door. Whew! The bentos were solid! Presentation was beautiful! Taste was normal. For example, grilled salmon was alright; spam musubi was okay, and chicken was good! Multigrain rice was appreciated. Curry was a bit spicy for me. Butterfish was on the small side and kind of fishy in flavor... lol! I liked the salmon musubi the best! Maybe it was an off day for me? Maybe I expected more because of my friends' reviews? Maybe I should have ordered different things? It was just okay for me. Mamaya has other locations in downtown, Waipahu (inside Don Quixote), and Kapolei. If you're looking for a convenient, comfort food type of lunch, Mamaya is a reliable source! Tip: get the stamp card! I'll be back because of this Customer Loyalty Program! read more

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10/20/22 This was only the 2nd time I've been here. My hubby likes somen salad & since Zippys no longer has it on their menu, I remembered Mamaya did. Best time to go is early- they open at 8AM, it's not crowded, easy to find parking, & food is all freshly made. When you enter, first thing you notice is how clean everything looks. Even though I got there shortly after they opened, it was clean the first time I went & it was close to lunchtime then. Hand sanitizer upon entry, staff practices safe, healthy measures. Napkins & chopsticks readily available. You get a free bottle of water for every bento purchased. Be sure to get the frequent buyer card - for every $10 spent, you get a stamp & after 10 stamps, you get a free bento. You can also order online for pick-up. Their food is reasonably priced & affordable. All are well-packaged & priced accordingly. My hubby liked the somen salad as it had just the right amount of sliced veggies/fishcake. It comes with a pretty good-sized pkt of somen sauce. My hubby liked it but in his words, it's still not like Zippys - but somehow he managed to eat the whole thing I had the chicken salad which came with an oriental dressing. Even though it looked like a small salad, it was pretty filling - crisp lettuce, chicken was not dry & was lightly seasoned. The price was right! The spicy inari bombs were great! You can tell it's freshly made & not something that's been sitting there for days- rice not hard, not too spicy on the ahi but just enough to blend the flavors of the rest of the sushi. The Okinawan bowl, which I had for dinner later, was ok. Flavor of the pork was more sweet & thick than what I expected. The pork itself was not tender. In fact it was kinda hard & chewy but with the flavor of the sauce, it made the bowl edible. I've made this dish at home on several occasions & my pork always came out tender so I'm thinking they just may have overcooked the pork. I probably won't eat this dish again from Mamaya but it won't stop me from trying their numerous other yummy foods. If you want to pick up a quick meal, I highly recommend Mamaya - decent & reasonably priced food, clean environment, great customer service, easy to find, lots of free parking read more

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I'm so glad they're open for this lock down period. Of course it's still take-out only. They take precautionary safety measures with customers standing 6' apart with mandatory face mask upon entering. We haven't gone out awhile but we still like to support our local restaurants. Misoyaki Butterfish $12.99 is still my fav and it comes with a choice of bottle water or miso soup. I really enjoyed the butterfish it's always firm yet soft and flavorful. Always consistent. The staff is always pleasant and accommodating. Thanks Mamaya! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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COVID 19 : STILL OPEN FOR TAKEOUT We stopped by right at 8 am when they opened and they were just putting out the hot bentos. To the right of the entrance is hand sanitizer for customer use. Each bento is packed individually and there's a variety to chose from : salmon, miso butter fish etc. There's also a side dish fridge section and different onigiri to choose from (my favorite is Konbu). Pick your take out bento & pay up front, pls practice social distancing. The utensils are also up by the register and they also offer hot miso soup. Service is quick and friendly, a great place to pop in for a quick to-go meal. read more

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Five stars. Decided to stop by Mamaya Pearl Kai to grab some bentos to avoid staying out too long waiting for food, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the parking stalls are quite small and tight at Pearl Kai Shopping Center, Mamaya is great for stopping in and grabbing a bento or two to go. Mamaya does have the social distancing with tape in the floor to mark the appropriate distances to wait in line. They also have a alcohol dispenser right at the entrance to clean your hands with. Arrived past 12:30pm & the selections were sparse due to the lateness of my arrival, but there were some good selections left. I grabbed a chicken and Kalbi bento with white rice. The chicken and Kalbi were tasty, as the rice was great too. I did grab a pack of fried noodles, which were really good. If you really want to grab a quick bento or two, go to Mamaya. Good bentos to go! read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Bento inside - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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Great bentos! I especially LOVE the miso butterfish one! and they make really yummy green tea custard!

I am new to the island, so I wanted to try poke. After looking at a few reviews, I decided to try Mamaya. Immediately when walking in there's a sign that says take out only which I wasn't expecting. No big deal, I can eat in my car. I went up to the cash register to order; however, I quickly realized that there is an assortment of premade food in containers. I didn't see any poke or ahi bowls--the woman said they had sold out. Ok, well, I'm still hungry so I grabbed a pork bowl. To be fair, the pork bowl was super flavorful. I didn't eat much of the pork because there was a lot of unrendered fat (I don't eat a lot of pork belly so maybe that's how it comes?). The actual protein part was good. I mostly just enjoyed the rice, the seaweed, and the sweet marinade that came with the pork. All in all, it was just ok. I think perhaps it would have been better had I not been in the mood for something specific and then had to settle. But for $10, you can't really complain. Definitely want to come back to update the review after I try the poke. read more

*** 4.5 "Keep calm & make bento." I mean, who don't like bento? (Insert smirk face). When my bandit, together with some yeep friends decided to have a beach gateaway for a day we decided to grab some kines here. What a deal! Less hassle & easy in-&-out business. Food. Miso Butterfish Bento $13.79 - was so frickin' good. The butterfish meat ain't dry at all. They lightly seasoned it which is better for me. No overpowering of taste at all. It comes with mochiko chicken, small side dish & of course rice topped with furikake. Belly approved! Chicken Salad $5.29 - was good according to my bandit. He enjoyed it most especially the dressing. Though the chicken looks dry to me I'm pretty sure this chicken salad got a pretty healthy nutrition on it. Also, it comes with half of the boiled egg on top. Salmon Musubi $1.99 - I personally love it. Seasoned well & I love the fact that I can taste the salmon in every bite. Did a pretty good job mixing it. Crunchy Ume Musubi $1.99 - just okay. My least favorite of the musubis that we got. Salmon Wakame Musubi $1.99 - too salty for me. For sure I wouldn't grab this next time. My not favorite musubi today! Mamaya Okazu Pack $5.69 - is one of my fave dish starting today. Basically it's an eggplant with some good sauce (they call it miso eggplant). It is love at first taste feeling. It totally hit the spot on my tastebud! This is a decent bento place to grab. Quick and easy! I love it. Customer service is not that bad. I wonder how's it if we come here again without some friends whom they know. The place is not that small for some bento shopping around. I was so excited for the miso soup that comes with it but it's unavailable at the time we came in (insert sad face). Since it was situated in an area where they shared parking with other businesses, prepare for some challenging parking spot for your wheels. Will surely come back here if we're on the area. Mahalo for reading and happy juandering fellow yeeps! read more

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All I can say is wow.... If you're looking for a bento box, this is definitely the place to come. Lots of people come here so food turns over quickly. Just when we thought they were out of something, they would come with a stack of more food. The butterfish and salmon were exceptional. But everything that we got was really good. Great value, yummy food and very quick in and out. And free water! read more

Simple place with tasty bento boxes ready to pick and take away. Many options to choose from. Really a simple take out place with ready to eat meals, not to sit and order on demand or eat inside. Hot plates are kept hot, cold are kept cold, and those that are best at room temp are kept there as well. A bento meal also includes a bottle of water. Tried the spicy ahi inari (5/5, wonderfully balanced flavor, good amount of poke), salmon musubi (4/5, tasted great and fresh but would have liked more salmon), and the miso butterfish bento (4/5, flavor was there!! Fish cooked perfectly however lots of long sharp bones in the cut of fish I picked; comes with generous rice, karaage piece, small tamago, and pickled veggies). read more

Mamaya Pearl Kai - Salmon musubi, miso butterfish bento, spicy ahi inari - Japanese Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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LOVE their karikari ume musubi...none on hand when I arrived so I ordered 6 to go. They made them in a couple of minutes and I was on my way! And my friends LOVED the musubi! read more

Tasty bentos in Aiea where you can just pick up and go? We like Mamaya in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center! It's not too often that we are in Aiea, as we live in East HNL, but on occasion we find ourselves in Aiea, looking for some good food to take home. Mamaya Pearl Kai it is! Opened on 12/5/12 in Shirokiya in the Ala Moana Shopping Center and subsequently moving to Aiea, "Mama" means mother, and "ya" means home in Japanese. Its owners wanted to have their customers have the taste of mom's cooking of comfort Japanese foods at reasonable prices. And they sure deliver! They offer a variety of bentos, donburis, poke bowls, side dishes, and musubis that you will have a hard time deciding which one to get. They have butterfish; salmon; mochiko, teri, and garlic chicken; shoyu pork; chicken katsu; squid karaaage; potato salad; namasu; gobo; and miso soup. We've had the following: · Misoyaki butterfish bento. As I love butterfish, Mamaya makes it perfectly here! The misoyaki sauce is not overly strong, and its subtle taste gives the soft and tender butterfish just the right amount of flavor! There's a mini version and a full bento version, with differing amounts of fluffy sweet white rice or healthy multi-grain rice and sides of large chunks of gobo with carrots, green beans, and takuan (pickled radish). · Poke bowl. With white or multi-grain rice, the shoyu ahi poke or a combination of spicy ahi and shoyu ahi poke, also comes with ocean salad and pickled sliced ginger. The ahi is firm, not stringy, and tasty! · Crunchy ume musubi. So freshly made, the crunchy multi-grain rice and ume make this musubi so flavorful. · Musubi combo. Two tasty white rice musubis with furikake, delicious mochiko chicken, a chunk of hot dog, and a croquette make this a great bento of a variety of goodies! · Chicken katsudon. While I love katsu donburi, it is difficult to fine a crispy katsu in a bowl of hot steamed rice topped with egg and a savory sauce. While the taste is there, the katsu is soggy; however, it is only in Japan that I've found crispy katsu in a donburi. At Mamaya, this dish and rice curries sit on a hot plate to keep them warm. Their bentos and musubis are very delicious, and I love that you have a choice between white rice or multi-grain rice. If you don't see any of these on the counters, you can request it to be made fresh, which will take about 10 - 15 minutes. The bentos are replenished in batches throughout the day. Each bento comes with a choice of a free bottled water or miso soup with wakame (seaweed). The miso soup is somewhat diluted, so if I'm taking it home, I'll doctor it up with adding more hondashi and miso. Before COVID, Mamaya used to have a hot and cold self-serve buffet okazu counter that you could pick and choose and pay by its weight. There were choices of nishime, tofu, teri chicken, eggplant, tempura, and veggie sides. This has been discontinued due to COVID, and we really miss it! The lone cashier was super efficient in processing our bill, which can be either cash or credit card. While there is a line to pay, the cashier ensured that her time was spent on each customer like clockwork. She was friendly and personable. While my credit card was in the machine, I had noticed a small sign noting a 10% senior discount on purchases made Mon. to Wed. I asked her about it whether it was too late to get that discount, and she replied that she had already given it to me, even without asking! Amazing! Be sure to ask for a frequent purchase punch card that gives you a free bento after 10 stamps. After you get your receipt, you go to self-serve utensil counter to get whatever you need of shoyu, chopsticks, spoons, forks, etc. COVID requirements are strictly enforced. There's sanitizer at the front entrance, masks are required, and social distancing enforced with markings on the floor when lining up to pay. Only take-out is available, and no more buffet for the time being. Located next to Curry House and KuraKura Sushi in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center, free parking is available in the private lot. Parking might be tight during peak lunch hour, as the lot is shared among other businesses. Open daily from 8a to 2p (COVID hours). Don't forget their other locations in downtown on Bishop St., food court in the Waipahu Don Quijote, and in Kapolei. Mamaya is a great place to walk around in as you browse through the many delicious bentos, rice bowls, and musubis! Hard to narrow down the one that you want, so get one for lunch, and another one for dinner! I'm sure we'll be back again when we need a quick bento on the run! read more

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