This has been around forever but still one of our go-to spots for family gatherings because the food is very good, reasonably priced, BYOB, the service is so friendly, and they have a HUGE vegetarian menu! Everyone's favorite was the house special fried rice with egg (from the vegetarian menu)! Even the meat eaters at the table loved it! We were all surprised at just how good it was: umami, clearly had that smoky flavor from being cooked on a wok with a big fire. So good we even ordered a 2nd order of the same rice! Highly recommend trying it! My other favorite is always their steamed fish fillet, so soft, melts in your mouth, buttery, flaky, and the sauce always goes SO good on rice. Highly recommend! We all also loved the sweet and sour spare rib from the vegetarian menu, tastes just like sweet and sour pork! A little tangy, got a good chew to it, glazed perfectly, goes so good with the fried rice! The cold ginger scallion chicken was just a half chicken per order but was a HUGE portion which we loved! Very generous with the ginger scallion topping, which is a must for this dish. The chicken itself was fine, maybe a little dry, but not bad. The string beans with tofu chuck from the vegetarian menu was also great, freshly made, cooked to perfection, flavorful! The beef brisket and tendon with bean curd was good as well, good portion size, lots of sauce but also lots of meat and tendon, goes great on rice. The only thing we didn't care for was the clams in black bean sauce. The sauce when it gets cold kind of tastes like muck, and the flavor was just a bit too like if you just poured a jar of ready made black bean sauce on clams. Maybe they should think about serving this one on a sizzling plate or over a flame to keep it hot at the table? For 6 people on a Sunday night, it came out to around $200 before tax and tip, and that's with having to take some leftovers home to eat the next day! Very easy to call and make reservations, but they were empty on a Sunday night :( They tend to fill up more around the holidays, but hoping more people will help keep their business open! Food is good! Place is a little old on the inside, but clean enough. The spinning dolly in the middle of the table didn't spin very well, but again this restaurant has been around for a long time. They have lots of free parking right next to the restaurant, which can get full easily when the restaurant next door (Tane Vegan Izakaya) gets a lot of business. But otherwise ample free street parking across the road in the neighborhood! Will definitely be coming again! We had a great time! read more

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They have the best ginger chicken :) always a favorite, go get yours and get a happy tummy too! read more

Mini Garden Orient Cuisine - cold ginger chicken - Cantonese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Have not been here in a few years and was happy to return. Overall, it was a good experience, except for the clams in black bean sauce, which was a major disappointment. This is one of my favorite dishes, and I've tried it at many restaurants over the years. Unfortunately, this version fell well below par--we only managed to eat a few bites before giving up. It may be a long time before I order this dish again after such an unpleasant experience. With that said, it was difficult to give this restaurant more than three stars, despite its many positives, including easy parking and the friendly, courteous owner/waitress, and of course, friendly prices. read more

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I ate here before when there wasn't Yelp. I moved out of the neighborhood and found the Mini Garden Express at the old 99 Ranch. Then they moved out and now near the airport on Nimiz highway. Thought I would try something different. Ordered the stewed beef with tendon over noodles. I should have ordered my usual. Can't put my finger on it but it was lacking something, but it was cooked perfectly. . Nice presentation, great service and the place is clean, including the restroom. Pros: Nice portions, clean, great service food was cooked perfectly. Cons: It's missing something in the flavor. It wasn't too sweet. It wasn't too salty. Can't figure it out. Would I go back? You know me. I believe in second chances. Hope to get you and update review soon. read more

Mini Garden Orient Cuisine - Stewed beef with tendon over noodles - Cantonese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Today my sister and brother in law decided to try Mini Garden Orient Cuisine . Located on Beretania next door to Illi I'll pizza. Small parking lot next door also limited street parking right in front of restaurant. I always passed by Mini Garden and I always thought they only open for dinner because during the day it looks closed. Although they open for lunch at 11am it was great my hairdresser actually recommended this restaurant because her co- worker is part owner and she said it was good . Do I had to try it overall it was ok service was great and friendly I mentioned I know her co- worker and the owner actually made us a complimentary bowl of soup . She mentioned it was a seafood, tofu soup it was quite delicious. I also ordered Peking duck and buns, shrimp canton, string beans w/minced pork, and beef chow fun. I would say the Peking duck was different most places they put the skin only with hoisin and green onions over here they put the duck inside the buns. My favorite was their string beans and pork it had a little kick to it . Their beef chow fun was ok along with their shrimp canton . If I'm in the area I would probably support them again . This time I would try other dishes . Looks like they specialize in vegetarians dishes as well looks yummy. Support local read more

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Mini Garden Oriental Cuisine took Over the original restaurant which was named Mini Garden. Had lunch with my wife and brother-in-law. Thru the conversation between our server and my brother in law, I learned that our server was part owner of the restaurant and that she is also a friend of my brother-in-law's Hair Stylist. We ordered four dishes. To our surprise she gave use a complimentary bowl of Tofu Soup. The four dishes we shared were, Beef Chow Funn, Minced Pork with beans, Shrimp Canton, and Peking Duck with buns. The soup was the standout dish. Very friendly and good service. The interior of the restaurant is open and inviting. Although the menu differs from the previous Mini Garden. You should give them a try. Enjoy read more

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Mini Garden Orient Cuisine ( a mouthful to say ) is a Cantonese / Mandarin style restaurant and long staple of the McCully neighborhood. But I can't say that I've dined here or had takeout. Ordered via dining site, Grindz to Go...given an estimate of 1130 for later that day...and it was ready. Takeaway of Peking ( is this an antiquated term ) Duck. The half-duck portion comes with buns - bao - and is a good portion. Good and for the price of $30, worth another visit. One the menu this is listed as one of their popular dishes. Extensive menu with a decent vegetarian section. Almost every Chinese restaurant has an extensive menu and that always makes a bit skittish. Service was very cordial. Parking adjacent to the building it shares with Tane Vegan Izakaya and Ho'ili'ili Market, the old ili'ili cash & carry. Signs delineate where one can park. read more

Mini Garden Orient Cuisine - Cantonese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I have good memories of Mini Garden when it was downtown. In the McCulky location it has always been a bit sketch and overpriced for what it is honestly. But it's regrettably now a ghost town. The best thing I can say about it was that the single wait staff was very friendly and helpful, and there were many parking stalls available (since no one is eating here). The dishes were sparse with so many cheap fillers - I've never seen so many onions in a dish that isn't even supposed to have any. There's also zero atmosphere. Wish I didn't have to say this but stay away. There's a reason why other Cantonese places nearby have lines out the door. Sad. read more

Had lunch with my favorite person my brother and of course my husband. Living in town we're always passing by on beretania st to go home and see this Chinese restaurant. Didn't know about the parking on the side of the restaurant and pizza place I thought was only street parking. Well we had lunch over there and was very good. We had string beans and mince pork a little spicy for me had a kick , shrimp canton, beef chow fun, and Peking duck with buns. Since my brother was refer to try this restaurant by he's hair stylist he said lets try them. And we did. We even had complementary soup from the part owner was good. It was tofu seafood soup. We'll try other items in the future. read more

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Some of the best vegetarian food I've ever had, and I've had a lot of vegetarian food. I went vegan for health reasons (I'm basically allergic to everything) and it's been so hard to find good Chinese food, so I'm very happy that the food here is great and the staff is friendly. read more

I love the amount of vegan options! Staff is also super friendly and knowledgeable about vegan items

Discovered this place at a family lunch. Enjoyed all the dishes. Quality food, Great service and free parking. I plan to order takeout next time I want Chinese food read more

First time having dinner here. The owner was super friendly and nice. We really enjoyed the food there. Very tasty and delicious. Will definitely be back read more

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Today I got to try their Sweet & Sour Spare Rib and it was good. I was offered to choose with or without rice, which I chose with rice at the same price. The server was helpful and friendly. read more

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I have been here about 5 times and since I wasn't familiar with the menu options, I would see what others were eating and ask for recommendations. The food is excellent! Very tasty and cooked to perfection. The veggies were crunchy just as I prefer. Serving size was descent for the price. The staff were very helpful and the restaurant was clean. They even give complementary dessert. I always come here when I am in the area. Dine in and take out. I tend to order about 3-4 entrees with lots of leftovers to take home. Support local businesses, folks. Good Chinese cuisine at this establishment. read more

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Impromptu dinner... My indecisiveness makes for it a crazy decision making and what better place than Chinese cuisine as they have incredible menu choices for my belly to inform my thoughts for the night. With a decent size parking lot right beside the building makes it easy especially during the rush hour as street parking isn't allowed also making it safe to access the restaurant. Walking in I was surprised how spacious it was and with the old school style setting a lady came and took my order was nice and polite. What interest me is that they have a Vegetarian menu section for allergies like mine does make it comforting to know though there's no meat whatsoever which doesn't bother me and using mushroom stock actually sounds yummy and with so much to choose from I decided on the "Mushroom Fantasy Chow Fun" which is a dry type of noodle dish it didn't have the "star" notation categorizing it vegetarian she assured me there isn't any seafood in this dish. Food came out nice and fast I was surprised how little mushroom it had, using shiitake is great as it's my favorite type of mushroom it also had sprouts and some broccoli for the $13.95 price it wasn't much of a fantasy or mushrooms but it really was tasty and light not all covered in heavy seasoning which I do really love and would actually like to try other vegetarian dishes as well. Thank you! read more

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Chose to come here after passing it for so many years. Was looking for a quick bite and I was in the area. This was the place for me at the moment. Decided on beef chow fun, crispy chicken and salt and pepper fried tofu. The ambiance was ready to get busy for there were reservations for the UH graduation and I was glad I came early! There are many tables so that wasn't a problem. Food didn't take too long and the dishes came out one by one. The chow fun was good and tasty. The tofu was so so and needed more flavor (in MY opinion) and the chicken I expected extremely crunchy skin and juicy chicken but the skin wasn't very well seen and the chicken was rather on the dry side. I could have ordered the wrong things and I know they were busy so maybe the kitchen wasn't up to par that day. It's ok, I'll return and try other items. Everyone was cheerful and kind so I didn't mind my lunch. The price wasn't too harsh but I will have to return. read more

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Most amaaaazing extensive vegetarian menu!!! Hidden gem!!!!! Wowowowoow this food us seriously incredible. You have to tell everyone and go. Sweetest owner so kind and fast service. We love love love this place!!!!! read more

Food is so delicious!!! Best vegetarian menu EVER!!!! And the customer service is so awesome with a super friendly environment

Great food with wide variety of vegetarian dishes as well as meat favorites. Family owned and operated, a gem in a market of mediocrity.

I came here a weekend ago w a large group of about 7 tables w 9-10 people per table. I think we took up almost the entire restaurant. The food was great, we all had Bittermelon Fu Yung, Oysters with ginger and green onion, Scallop with Tofu and black bean sauce, Chinese broccoli (gai lan) with lup cheong, Deep fried whole flounder, Beef with sour cabbage, Crispy seafood noodles, Almond Pudding with Strawberry sauce. Everyone enjoyed the food. Sadly they only had one waitress for the entire restaurant! But wow she did a great job at serving all 7 of our tables of almost 70 people. There is a small parking lot shared w a few other eating places so come early for a parking. read more

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Super nice staff. They accommodated our group really well. Food was delicious! Good parking. Went on a week night. read more

I have not been here for a long time and was very pleasantly surprised on my last visit. I attended a Chinese society luncheon and we took up almost the entire restaurant with 7 ( 10 top tables) there were still other tables available for people to eat at. There is street parking along Beretania street and they have their own parking lot right after the restaurant. The reason for 4 stars is that I think they may have either gotten a new chef or proactively stepped up their menu and food. Honestly everything that we had was delicious and my picky mom and grandmother agreed which is amazing in itself if you know old Chinese ladies and how picky they are, usually they complaining about too salty, not enough salt, too little/ too much of something etc..lol. Fried flounder was tasty and delicious a different dish we dont normally get. Cold ginger chicken was tasty even though it wasn't as "green" as we are used to but still tasty. The stand out dishes was the garlic shrimp look fun, braised beef and the shrimp tofu with ong choy beautifully presented. We had a few more dishes but I couldn't get a pic before my family dug in. Food was good not too oily and some of the new dishes were terrific! read more

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WHAT I ORDERED WAS JUST OK. NOTHING SPECIAL EXCEPT THE MAPO TOFU WAS PRETTY GOOD. The minute chicken with cake noodle had only white meat which I'm not a fan of but the taste was ok and the noodles were good. The crispy gau chee was not that good ... I like Golden Eagle's and House of Wong much more. Theirs are not as flavorful and they were a little skinny. The stewed noodles with tendon was decent except there was a hint of ammonia in one bite. The tendon with egg noodles in soup was so-so. Soup was bland but I'm glad they didn't put in a lot of msg. I ordered takeout via online and the order was ready when I got there. read more

This is an okay restaurant that's good for family style and large parties. The food price and portions are okay, the food taste is kind of okay, and I'd say is below average.I think there's better places, but for the fast service, logistics and practical nature, it does the job. It's not destination dining per se and I doubt if I would ever crave any specific entree. There is definite room for improvement. read more

Food is simple which is great. Nothing fancy. Service was great. Very friendly. Could use a little more work on the ambiance, but same like their food just simple read more

Sooo good! They have so many food options and they are all soo delicious!! Service was also amazing!!

The food was absolutely delicious and the service was outstanding. Everyone who works here is so friendly and accommodating. The vegetarian menu is especially good. I would recommend this place to anyone! Love this place! read more

Everything was so delicious amazing!! Service was so good and fast and people are so sweet.

It's busy Lunar New Year!!! But I remember this place had really good quality food so had to order here since I'm in town! It's 4:50pm...I called and they didn't answer twice but on the 3rd call... Yeeeaaahh!!! Placed my 6 item order and could hear their 2nd line ringing in the background... super busy! The girl said it'll be ready in 30 mins! OK! Got to the parking lot and luckily one lady was leaving!!! Last open stall!!! Score!!! Walked in and there's about 8 people waiting for their take out along with a few parties dining in. WOW!! So I see the one girl scrambling to get orders out and take-out bags are waiting on the tables.... Is it mine? Nope! So many people waiting too.... lol The other ladies are working hard in the back. I ask the girl if my order is ready and she says it's still being made... ok... Well at least I got good parking! More people walk-in behind me so I sit on a chair by the door. Talked story with a nice guy about his UberEats order. We both ordered 30 mins ago and was supposed to be ready! He ordered 6 items too. lol I ordered Chicken Cream Corn Soup, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Chicken Black Bean with Cake Noodle, Beef Choy Sum Chow Funn, Lup Chong Fried Rice, and Steamed Fish Fillet with Green Onion. More take-outs are being placed on the table and numbers are being called out! Lucky number! Lucky number! Nope! lol I hear some people were waiting for an hour.... Dayyyuuummm.... I should've known. Finally after 30 mins the girl says my order is almost done! I pay at the register and then go to my car for a drink. Aloe juice is good. lol I walk back and sit down for a few mins and then girl says, "Oh your food is here!" Got my bags and she kindly agrees to carry them to my car! As I walk out, I tell the guy "Take Care!" And he says "Congratulations!" You next braddah!!! :) Got home and the food was excellent!!!Next time I'll request No MSG since I forgot. But overall was all great! Mahalo Mini Garden! And Kung Hei Fat Choi!!! read more

Mini Garden Orient Cuisine - Busy Lunar New Year 2022!!! - Cantonese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Updated review. Take out lunch on a Thursday at opening time 11am. Called in order 20 minutes ahead. Parking lot was full, since there was a filming crew setting up. Had to wait for stall. Ordered: Stewed noodles with won ton, about 6-7 pieces Includes side soup, good portion Stewed noodles with 2 choices, roast duck and ginger chicken. Includes side soup. Ginger chicken and roast duck, small portions Asked for ginger onion sauce, separate container. Also, requested hot mustard and chili sauce. Prices are reasonable. Located next to Illi illi cash and carry. read more

Mini Garden Orient Cuisine - Stewed noodles with shrimp won ton. Includes side soup. - Cantonese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I got the minute chicken and the crispy noodles. The flavor was really good. But while eating the noodles I noticed that one of the noodles was really hard. Thinking it was really strange for it to be that hard I spit it out. Finding out it was a metal piece. I am thinking it came from the brush with the metal bristles used to clean the wok. So overall even though I enjoyed the food and they were able to give me a refund I am still very cautious to order for there again after this incident. read more

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Terrible! What happened to this place? Did they change ownership? It used to be really good but i was so disappointed with my order. The crispy noodles in the crispy gau gee mein was stale, the sweet and sour pork literally came with like 12 pieces of tiny pork in a weird runny sauce (def different from before), and the fried rice was literally rice with soy sauce mixed in it. I cannot believe how terrible everything was :( read more

Mini Garden Orient Cuisine - what happened to their sweet and sour pork? it used to be amazing now it's in a weird soupy sauce with barely any meat. - Cantonese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Oh boy, why have I neglected Mini Garden for so many years? Over 7 years at least. I probably would have typed a review for this place because I remembered it was good. The rice soup was my mom's favorite, and I'd pick up an order for her before I headed home often. Needless to say, Mini Garden is still good! Mini Garden is located along Beretania St, right before McCully St., on the left hand side. It's right between Tane Vegan Izakaya and Ili'ili Cash and Carry in the same building. There's a parking lot with a decent amount of stalls right past it. Inside is spacious, clean, and organized. What makes Mini Garden unique over all the other Chinese restaurants is it's extensive Vegetarian Menu as well as indicating you can request no MSG. You can even order "meat" vegetarian dishes such as Spicy Szechuan Shrimp, Honey Garlic Chicken, or Peking Duck. I'm very curious what those look like. I didn't see any photos! Next time! This time I ordered the Chicken with Bittermelon. This was a nice, solid dish. The chicken was cooked well to a nice tenderness. The Bittermelon was thick cut and wasn't too bitter. The black bean sauce was very tame, but the flavors were there, and it was still a tasty dish. Next was Ong Choy with Fermented Bean Curd. The flavors were excellent. You could definitely taste the bean curd, but it wasn't too strong. The ong choy was too old and was a little off on the preparation. If the ong Choy stays green and doesn't turn brown, it's good. When it's already ready or turns brown during the meal, then it's not good. So the ong choy was a little toothsome. Not a big deal though as many restaurants are the same. Lastly was the Garlic Dried Scallop Fried Rice. This was good fried rice. It was a smidge oily, but still well prepared with all the rice grains separated. I believe choy sum stalks were used for a nice veggie crunch. The flavors were simple and straightforward (salt). Could've used a bit more dried scallop, but not a big issue. Overall, this meal was good. All the dishes were prepared and seasoned well. The flavors were more so subtle, but the natural flavors were enhanced. The service was great. Our server was very friendly and attentive. She thought I was insane getting scoops of their "spicy" chili fermented bean sauce into the takeout container. It wasn't spicy at all, but super tasty and delicious!! Just get the bottom stuff and avoid as much oil as you can. I'm definitely putting Mini Garden into the rotation of Chinese restaurants to dine in. Can't wait to try the Vegetarian faux Peking Duck! read more

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Just returned and unfortunately I was disappointed in the food this time around. Got the usuals, minute ckn chow mein, honey walnut shrimp, gaugee, beef brocolli and snow peas with black mushrooms. The taste just wasnt enjoyable. Maybe it caters better to the vegetarians because the vegetables wete enjoyable but the noodles although more crispy tasted a little stale? The waitress was very kind and very enjoyable. I hope it was just an off night with the chef. read more

Food was trash. Service horrible. Cleanliness was bad. Tried to charge for stuff we didnt order. We heard rats running around in the ceiling as well as roaches in the back and dining area. Table and all the plates and utensils were filthy. They wipe the tables with the same rag they use to wipe everything else. Discusting food establishment with even worse owners. Owners daughter is extremely rude, intitled and demanding. Like a spoiled kid. Makes sense why this buisness is so bad. Someone should call the health department and have this establishment shut down. Never go to this pathetic chinese resturant. read more

Chronic over-orderer...so for 4 adults we had a lot. Got it to go and now 2 of us will be eating leftovers for a while... HONEY WALNUT SHRIMP - Walnuts were burnt. Shrimps were good but not much. S&P PORK CHOP - I thought this was better than the typical. Little different with a nice kick. S&P SQUID - Think they forgot the S, but it was cooked well. GARLIC EGGPLANT - Suuuuuper sweet and cornstarchy. Not my fave. BITTERMELON EGG FOO YOUNG - Never had it with Bitter Melon. Theirs not too bitter but still good. I'd get this again. SINGAPORE RICE NOODLES - Okay. Not much of the curry taste, so pretty bland. CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS - No taste at all. MINUTE CHICKEN NOODLE - Didn't use the sauce since we liked the crispy noodle. Thought would be cake noodle style, but was just a ball of messiness. Tasty, but harder to eat. Chicken salty but yummy. DRIED SCALLOP MUSHROOM SOUP - Didn't get to it...but couple of them said was tasty. Seemed super cornstarchy also. Overall, okay. Some good, some okay, and some tasteless. read more

05/03/20 During this shelter in place period, it's hard to grab my favorite food. Just call in your order and pick up. Yummy dinner tonight. Chicken black bean chow funn, beef stew noodle and soup, crispy gau gee. Nice people, good food... they have vegetarian options too! Please patronize. 03/11/20 Always a pleasure eating here. I tend to get the same or similar dishes. Convenient parking and the owner, Kana is always so nice. Besides lunch, I brought home chicken with black bean sauce for my husband's dinner. He's always happy with read more

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An okay place for Chinese food in McCully. Our favorites were the pork chop, the steamed fish, and egg flower soup. My cousin is vegan and really enjoyed their vegetable dishes. But the beef broccoli was chewy and the gravy was bland, and the Chinese chicken salad hardly had any chicken, and thus hardly any flavor. Service was friendly enough. read more

The quality of their food has hit rock bottom! Their juicy roast duck used to be the star attraction but there is no excuse for what looked like the reheated leftover dry duck that was pieced together to make it look whole. All the entrees were too salty, poorly executed, and practically inedible. So disappointed ... what happened to their cook??? The empty restaurant and parking lot should have been a red flag. Not going back anytime soon! read more

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