I have fond memories of Royal Kitchen, during my childhood days, when my dad sent me to Chinese School. I remembered going to Royal Kitchen when I saved up enough money with the allowance from my dad. This was 20+ years ago, haven't visited since. Until one day in December when a kind and generous parent brought the office staff lunch from Royal Kitchen, The lunch consisted of 2 dozen each of baked char siu manapua, pork hash, half moon, roast pork and char siu. After making a plate and eating it sure brought back memories of my childhood days. I enjoyed the treats, but one thing that I've never tried & fell in love was the roast pork. I had 2 pieces, after biting in to the roast pork, I had to go back to get more. I found my love for roast pork at Royal Kitchen. That same week,( On Saturday) I found myself back at Royal Kitchen just for the roast pork, I purchased one lb @ 11.00 per lb. I bought them home to share with my mom. She agreed that the roast pork was good. What makes the roast pork so good?! the reason why I love it so much, the skin is crispy, meat is tender, and not too salty. The crispy skin, belly fat, to meat ratio was just perfect. Back for more roast pork, I also called to place an order for 2 lbs roast pork for New Year's eve dinner, I am glad they are open until late afternoon, that day. I didn't like the roast pork on this day, they were super busy, the roast pork pieces were cut too big, it was hard to chew, pieces had too much fat, and it was more on the burnt side. Lesson learned- don't order on a busy, despite this, I will still be back for more roast pork. We had leftovers, which my mom used it to cook with vegetables the week after. Royal Kitchen started in 1974 and they are the first shop to offer baked manapua instead of the traditional steamed ones. There are many varieties of manapua: char siu, chicken curry, lup chong, portuguese sausage, hot dog, kalua pork, vegetarian, coconut, black sugar and sweet potato. Since its been a long time since I visited Royal Kitchen, I was surprised to see the price for manapua are 1.70, was way cheaper during my childhood days. Besides manapua & roast pork, Royal Kitchen has prepared foods, roasted meats and dim sum. They do get busy, best to call in your order, don't forget to take a number once you reach Royal Kitchen. They take credit cards. I will be back! #2/2019 read more

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Located in Chinatown, this restaurant has been around for 30+ years. Known for their baked manapuas and other dim sum specials. We got the chicken curry baked manapua, warm from the oven, the bread was pillowy soft, slightly sweet and baked; the chicken curry filling was ok, slight taste if curry, chicken was "thigh" I think, but just ok. The char siu manapua was typical, a bit sweet. Other baked manapua flavors include chicken lup Chong, Portuguese sausage, Kalua pig, veggie, sweet potato or coconut; we should have tried others, but for $2 bucks, what did we expect. They have other dishes from chow mein, chow fun, saimin, won ton mein and plate lunches. read more

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I loved Royal Kitchen and ordered from them multiple times. However, I was disappointed and quite flabbergasted with my experience today. My family placed a potluck order yesterday morning for pickup today, at 630 a.m. When we went to pick it up, they claimed they did not have our order. Minutes later, they found the order, looked at it, and said, "We don't serve roast pork or char siu until 8 a.m." Instead of being apologetic, they proceeded to blame this error on the new worker who took down our order. I truly understand that mistakes happen and am always kind about it. However, people relied on us to bring certain food dishes to a potluck. Even though the worker was new, I was hoping that someone could have reviewed the order the night before and contact us about it. We would have been happy to change it to alternative dishes. Moreso, I am disappointed because the workers were extremely unkind and not remorseful at all. They did not attempt to find a solution (e.g. suggest a different dish, etc.). If the workers were genuinely sorry, I would not be writing this review. We will no longer rely on this establishment for preorders. Furthermore, we will not be returning to this food establishment. read more

Another Chinatown staple. Get your baked manapua here! Located in the Chinese cultural center they validate parking so just park in the lot. Couple pro-tips: - call in advance and place your order as they sell out fast. You can specify if you're taking off island and they will cool yours down. - I've been told that if you phone in you can also skip the line. Sometimes they honor this sometimes they done - honestly feel bad trying to explain myself as I cut in line anyway... - they're pretty much open every day. We got some Christmas manapua this year Char siu and okinawan sweet potato are the ones to get in my opinion. I usually grab a dozen to take back to the mainland. Their pork has is ok - I prefer char hung sut for that (see other review). Staff is 'Chinatown friendly' nice if you're nice to them, a pain if you make things complicated. When I'm with the kids they usually throw in an extra goodie or two. read more

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This place is the best baked and steamed Manapua and pork hash!! Everything so ono!!!

Parking in the lot in the back is free with validation! Always pretty busy cuz their manapua is so ono! Bread is soft and kind of sweet. $1.70 a bun with the classic char siu kine plus other varieties like Kalua pig, ChickenC Portuguese Sausage, etc. grab a number and wait your turn. Their Chinese chicken salad is WINNAH cuz their dressing is super ono! And don't forget da pork hash! The Chinese Po Pos (grandmothers) that work there are so sweet and friendly! Love this place! read more

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I go here regularly. You can park for up to 1/2 for free in the covered garage right behind the building. Think it's a dollar after that. Recently had their roast pork and char siu pork combo plate. Delicious and fresh for $18. Also got a plate for my uncle and he loved it. I was hoping to get a roast duck and char siu pork plate but they didn't offer that combo. I regularly get their baked Manapua usually char siu or chicken, pork hash, half moon and rice cake. Ive ordered their meats by the pound and also their ginger chicken. I've never had their plate lunch but it's on my to try list. Prefer being helped by the women who work there. The guy overcharged me once. The line can get long on the weekend but it moves fast. read more

This is my office's go to when we are picking up food for breakfast. I'm always the one to pick it up since it's sort of on my way to work. Ordering a day ahead and picking it up is always the easiest since we order a lot of stuff. My favorite is the pork hash, half moon and their char siu manapua. The works are really friendly and they always give me something small to munch on. For the longest time I didn't know they had a parking lot but after going a bunch of times, I figured it out. Don't forget to validate your parking. read more

I had tasted Royal Kitchen's Chinese Chicken Salad at a catered potluck a few months ago and was impressed. I was near Chinatown and decided to pick an order up for myself. Parking was easy as there is a parking lot near the establishment. What a disappointment to be in line and be told there was no Chinese Chicken salad available that day! What to do? I decided to get 6 Baked Char Sui Buns to take to a friend. I also got a Char Sui and Lup Cheong Baked Bun, 2 half moon and a small order of Chow Fun for myself. As I waiting for my order to be filled, I was looking at the prepared dishes in the steam trays. I decided to get a small order of the Mushroom Chicken with Bean Curd. My order got filled and I was about to use my credit card to pay but was informed there was a charge to use a credit card. Cash or Debit card, no charge! The cashier then said discount with cash. So Cash it was! Not sure if there really was a discount. Service was good and pleasant. I was very disappointed with the Baked Char Sui Bun, the Lup Cheong Bun and the Half Moon Manapua. It was average at best! The Baked Char Sui Bun's filling was way to sweet, too sweet for me. This is probably a matter of taste. Yelp reviewers either rave about the Baked Char Sui Buns here and others have mentioned how sweet the filling is. The Chow Fun was OK, had vegetables in it and a little bit of Char Sui. What really stood out was the Mushroom Chicken with Bean Curd. It was delicious and a nice surprise! I really enjoyed it. I would definitely go back and get a larger order of that and hopefully the Chinese Chicken Salad! That would be a good meal! read more

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Place your manapua order the day before to avoid the line, and the sweet ladies will pack them ready for you when you arrive!

Dim sum great tasting and pricing. Quick service. A hole in the wall that hopefully never changes. Our go-to for dim sum

Ok, let's be honest, for guys like me that are not fortunate enough to live in HI but spent a lot of child hood time there because of family, my daily priorities when I come to visit are Food, Beach, and Food not necessarily in that order. The whole idea of a Hawaiian vacation to me is to become a beached whale. Because my visits are plagued by a +5 hour jet lag, I am always up early. So, there is no better way for me to start the early day than seeking out the first meal of the day. One of my favorite early morning things to do is to seek out fresh manapua and pork hash dim sum usually from Char Hung Sut. But on Tuesdays, they are closed which leads to the activation of an emergency local food strategy that must be put into play. My Tuesday morning strategy is Royal Kitchen (which is closed on Wednesdays!) It is a little tough to find since the address lists it on Beretania and your GPS will take you to the front of a building that has no indicators that you are in the correct area. However, be diligent and drive around to the back on Kukui St. and pull into the parking lot where the old aunty will allow you to park in the covered parking area free for 30 min if you have RK validate your ticket. Follow your nose and the small signs to the RK entrance and you will now be in the club. I am used to steamy, pillowy white manapua buns filled with either sweet black bean paste or classic char siu. Here they are known for their baked (not steamed) manapua that gives the appearance of a golden firm outer bun. It really is a different taste and texture but is absolutely just as good as the steamed version. What I really like about RK though is that they have several fillings (including sweet black bean and char siu) that you can't get most other places. I was impressed to see Portuguese Sausage, Lup Cheong, Hot Dogs, and Kalua Pork among them along with a vegetarian version and a Haupia one. Seriously, if you can't find a manapua to like here you probably should check for a pulse. The other thing that was a nice departure from the spare, manapua/dim sum only setting of Char Hung Sut was that they have several other things you can order such as Saimin, BBQ/Roasted meats, and a steam table of house made items. All of it comes neatly packaged for take away. On the day I went, there were Hawaii style sweet and sour spare ribs among other things. Eating Island style sweet and sour with a manapua and a fresh pork hash dumpling for breakfast ranks right up there with dorm-style morning after cold pizza. It is a classic for the setting. The best part of all is that it is pretty much all take-away since there are no tables to eat at and you have to hele up and get the hell out of the parking space in under 30 min. This always results in me driving it back to the hotel and walking through the lobby with the obvious treasures in the visible dim sum box. Even at 6am the valet and front desk staff know exactly what the hell you have been up to and what is in the box. They give you the knowing wink when they see what you are bringing back to enjoy at first light before the beach. It is probably the best walk of shame ever! This place is a good find if you can find 'em. They take credit cards which is helpful and don't forget to have them validate your parking card. read more

I really don't want to write this review but I have to. I lived on Oahu for almost 40 years now (last 10 years) on Hawai'i Island. I enjoyed RK baked manapua all these years and put it at the top of my list over steamed. We stopped in today on the way back home to BI. First time I was able to go there in a couple of years. I was so surprised to find a completely undesirable new flavor and consistency of the filling. The bun was pretty much the same. I don't think it's just my taste since my wife also said it was not the same. WTF!! I am so disappointed this was my favorite. Please bring back the original... read more

My favorite for half moon and pork hash. Loved the chow fun with char Siu on top. Loved that a young man served me. Excellent job. read more

Royal Kitchen - Short line at royal kitchen at 6:35 am - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Another must stop on your Hawaiian journey. Several different types to choose from from Lup Chong (the best) to Kapua Pig, char siu and others. Yummy! Best to call in your order as lines get long quickly. read more

Royal Kitchen - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Get Jai today! So much I want. Gotta catch em all! Okay, Jai, stuffed bitter melon, pigs feet, kau yuk... And the mandatory steamed rice. Too much. But plenty left for lunch. Gotta eat em all before going home. Otherwise... Gotta answer to the wife read more

We came here because there was a line around the corner on a Saturday morning so we figured it must be good. The maunapua are out of this world. Especially the xia chiu pork. We were lucky enough to get one that was so freshly baked that it was hot when we ate it. Yum! I wish we had ordered 6 of these for lunch! We did also sample the roast pork and chow fun. The chow fun was good and had some cabbage and shredded carrots and even pork on top. More veggies than most chow fun which made the mom in me happy. The roast pork was crispy and deee licous! The older woman who took our order was wonderful. I haven't had such good customer service in a long time. She even gave my (impatient) 1 and 3 year old a rice cake to tide them over. So sweet of her to notice. Next time we come back, I think I'm going to order at least half a dozen of those pork maunapuas. I've never had one so soft before! read more

So delicious. Tiny shop in a shopping center. Lots of manapua options and fresh meals for takeout. I absolutely love Chinese bbq pork so I got a few Char Siu Manapua along with Kalua Pork Manapua, Sweet Potato Manapua and a side of Chow Mein. Planned on taking them to the beach but ended up eating most on the way there! read more

Royal Kitchen - Baked Cha Siu Bun Baked Kalua Pork Bun Baked Okinawan Sweet Potato Bun - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Got the dim sum box and paid $12. Shouldve just bought everything separately and wouldve been able to get more noodles for the same price. Food was just ok. read more

Royal Kitchen - Dim sum box. $12. Probably cheaper to buy everything separately. - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Something changed. Pork hash had no taste. Half moon also had no taste. Char Siu manapua filling was not as sweet as it used to be. I never got my mai tai soo event though I told the stupid lady 4 times because she kept looking away when I was giving her my order. I'm never going back. read more

Known mostly for their Baked Manapua (bun/bao). Lots of options from classic char siu to lup Chong to local portuguese sausage and dont forget the sweets like sweet potato black sugar and coconut. They also have a vegetarian option chinese style with mushrooms etc. Chinese plate lunches and ala carte as well typical fried rice chow fun chow mein and chinese entrees front sweet sour pork, bittermelon to beef broccoli. Also by the pound are fresh hanging roast pork char siu and duck. Dont forget the small dim sum options too like everyone's favorite rice cake to half moon and pork shu mai read more

Royal Kitchen - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Still the best baked manapua in Hawaii. It's a little different now where you don't need to pull the number for service. Everyone has to wait in line to be served even if you phone ordered. read more

Royal Kitchen - Line to order - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I've always been curious about this place because there's always a long line. Yesterday, I discovered that this eatery is the famous Royal Kitchen. I drove to Chinatown to satisfy my dim sum craving and to pick up as much goodies as I can in one visit. I purchased dim sum from Fook Lam, manupuas and shumai from Royal Kitchen, and cake noodles from Lee Ho Fook. I got there around 10:30 a.m. and the line moved glacially slow. They were inundated with orders from people in line as well as phone orders. You would think that they would help the people in line first, but that wasn't the case. When I got to the front of the line, I had to wait over 15 minutes to be helped because the cashier stopped taking in-person order to answer the phone, then they had to catch up on back orders from the people who came before me. Plus, a Door Dash delivery person came and they prioritized him because he was complaining about having to wait in line. After I placed my order I had to wait another 15 minutes before I received my food. Overall, I must have spent almost 45 minutes just waiting. Luckily, I was chitchatting with some nice people in line so it helped the time pass by faster. The food: I ordered 6 pieces of the shumai, 3 charsu manapua and 1 kalua pork manapua. I really liked the shumai. I thought it tasted better than the one I bought from Fook Lam. The charsu manapua was a little too sweet for me and didn't have as much filling as I would have wanted. I didn't get to taste the kalua pork because my husband ate it. Now that Char Hung Sut is no longer in business, I am desperately trying to find a replacement. Hit me up, if you have any recommendations. Overall, I thought the food was good but too much of a hassle. I'll come back if I'm in the area, but won't necessarily make a special trip for it. read more

Royal Kitchen - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Best baked char siu manapua on the island. I don't make the rules. View their menu online and call to place in an order before early in the morning before they run out! If you're ordering some to take back to a neighbor island, tell them and they will pack it extra secure. read more

June 1, 2021 So we were in Chinatown and near Royal Kitchen. I dont know why I can never find this place! once upon a time they used to make sone really good baked char siu Manapua and I'm still on a hunt for a good Manapua since Char Hung Sut Closed down. Luckily, we were able to secure street parking. The line wasn't long. Baked manapuas are going for 1.95. Pork has and half moon is .95 cents, rice cake is 1.20 ~ no layer, just the white sponge one. This is all I bought minus the half moon. The baked char siu Manapua was a little disappointing, the filling was just too sweet for me. the pork hash was one of the better ones I've had by far. Not gonna lie. And the rice cake was good! The workers seems nice, they do offer other variety of food too, I'm not sure if it's best to do a phone order. But always good to support small local business! read more

We went early on Saturday morning since we were flying to Kauai. The women are soooo nice. They are so helpful, asking if we are traveling. They pack it differently if you are traveling. We also bought an insulated bag from them to hand carry our purchases. So glad we did. It fits perfectly and kept it warm. The thing that stood out to us besides the ono manapua is that the people working here are so so nice. They are like your old time neighbors in Hawaii. Love this place!!! read more

When I was Coming up in my career, every time we changed baseyards or got promoted this was the spot to grab pupu to celebrate. Well since I was heading to main office to see my bosses, decided to stop here to grab some pupus since I haven't been here in years. Baked char Siu Manapua is hands down one of the BEST, as well as pork hash. Half moon is just as good but didn't get this time around. Employees are always helpful and friendly. read more

Royal Kitchen - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Great, fast service! Love getting the dozen manapua. Some of my favorite manapuas on island.

Haven't been here in years and will not ever return. The spongy rice cake was decent. Their famous baked Manapua has gone downhill as has the rice cake, siu mai and the half moon. The half moon wrapper was very thick, filling no taste. What am I eating in all of these? Not char siu. The ma tai su has a heavy, gummy, thick batter with questionable, tasteless filling. Not worth my $30. That's it. Won't continue with more negatives. read more

I like RKs baked bao. It's good stuff. The siu mai aren't as tasty as other places but is still good. The chow Mein and chow funn are good too. I appreciate that they open at 5:30, esp during these times. read more

I hadn't been here in years.. I actually got a little lost locating this place. I parked on the opposite end, so, I had to trek a bit. Once I arrived, I noticed a small parking area around the corner where River St and N Kukui meet. Covid times--they politely ask for customers to wear masks and practice 6 feet of distancing. It's tight quarters inside; only 1-2 people can fit, calling an order ahead is best. Doesn't appear to be much, but these hole-in-the-wall type of eateries are the best. Royal Kitchen is a great place to visit when you're in the mood for some pork hash and baked char siu manapua's. A treat for my coworkers, this is a favorite snack for them; I couldn't help myself and ate some, too. So glad I did because it was better then I remembered--a pleasant surprise! I'll be enjoying this local favorite for many years to come. Enjoy! Xoxo read more

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I definitely reviewed Royal Kitchen before. Yelp Ghost is getting on my nerves now. Royal Kitchen is located inside Chinese Cultural Plaza along the river across Shinto Shrine. You can't miss them as they usually have a crowd or line of people outside. You'll grab a number and wait till it's called to place your order. They offer a variety of dimsum pieces, drinks, won ton mein, cha siu, salads, roast pork, roast duck, rice cake, cake noodles gau gee, other miscellaneous Chinese food dishes for their plate lunches and their famous manapua's. There are several options of manapua such as cha siu, chicken curry, chicken, lup chong, Portuguese sausage, Kalua Pig, veggie, black sugar coconut and sweet potato bun. My personal favorites here are the cha siu manapua, pork hash and half moon. I like to order a variety of their manapua's with pork hash and half moon for client gifts when visiting their homes. It's a tasty snack or meal and they are consistent in quality over the years. Customer service has been always friendly and nice. The owner is a pretty cool guy. Solid staple in Chinatown that you should check out if you haven't already done so. read more

When I'm close to china town, I will try to stop by Royal Kitchen. It's one of my favorite places for Manapua. Free parking.

This place is amazing My favorite All the ladies are so nice too The convenience of parking is good too read more

Loved their baked manapuas. There were so many flavors to choose from. We grabbed them on the way to the airport going back home. On the plane we were sorry we didn't try them while we were there since we would have stopped multiple times. On the next trip it's our our list of must eat places. read more

A wide selection of baked Dim Sum, at affordable price, service is good, except it can get busy at certain times depending need the public. Some difference is kalua pork, and the standard pork manapua, gives you the feeling of old Chinatown! read more

Let me first say, for the past 10 years, I enjoy eating the plate lunches here. My favorite? The chicken With FooJook. But yesterday I was totally disappointed. Ordered 2 plate lunches. One with Their everyday on the menu item, Stuffed bitter melon (which is good) and terrible tasting Chicken balls sweet sour. (tasted like the smell of canned dog food) I sorry but that's what it tasted like. On top of that my 2 scoops of white rice was mushy wet and gooey. I called to let them know. I was pissed. My feeling of always a good place for Chinese food has changed. Too bad. I like the workers and the Manapua there. Hopefully they don't let their quality slide anymore. read more

The service is great - they are very organized. Unfortunately, the manapua wasn't as good tasting as I remembered.

Royal Kitchen always fulfills the craving for baked manapua and dim sum! They are quick and food is so delish!!!

This is the best place to order the best baked manapua, ube manapua, and steamed char siu manapua. I love their half moon and their pork hash. Their rice cake is also a must have. Their chow fun is the best and love their stuffed bittermelon, so yummay! I truly recommend this place. read more