Manapua is amazing. It's like a Chinese steam bun but the bread is Hawaiian sweet roll that baked, not steamed. I had the chan sui filling and it was like Chinese pork with sweet and sour filling. At less than $2 each you can try all the fillings! Off the beaten tourist Honolulu path but worth the trip! read more

Looking for some good baked manapua Royal kitchen is the place to be. Go early in the morning before they run out. The best baked manapua ever I highly recommend you stop by and treat yourself. read more

Since childhood time this is one of my favorite place to go for a quick bite. Today was no different. Picked up the usual, 4 pork manapua, 4 half moon and 4 pork hash for $12. On point as usual and as usual the mahoooos by the river was checking me out going back to the car. 5 star all the way. read more

Royal Kitchen - Manapua, pork hash and half moon! Chee! - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Had the baked manapua. The cha siu was sweet pork and the kalua pig was more savory but both were fantastic wrapped in warm Hawaiian sweet bread. read more

Small but GREAT manapua shop a little outside of Chinatown. Located at Cultural Plaza next to the River. They have Great Char siu Manapuas or baked manapuas in general. They also have choice plate lunches with makes it Awesome. Parking is a little hard to get. Street parking or parking in the back. Some shady street people around but they don't bother. So I say give this place a shot. read more

Royal Kitchen located along the canal near Kukui & Maunakea St. has the best baked manapua on the island. The place is super grungy, it's a total hole in the wall, but you know what, those places often have the best food. It's extremely cheap, around $1.50 for manapua (bao) and $0.75 for pork hash (dim sum). It can't be beat. Sometimes I think I like Char Hung Sut's pork hash better, but it's always a toss up. They also have take out plate lunch here, I've never tried it, rather load up on the manapua, but it looks good. Service is actually pretty good, surprisingly. Not that service even matters at these kinds of places. The goal is to get in and get out as fast as you can, (parking is free for 30 mins with validation) and take that manapua home and eat it hot. Winnah Winnah Manapua dinnnnah! read more

I have made the conversion from steamed manapua to baked. I'm a believer! The char siu bao and pork hash are great. I've also tried the chicken manapua (not a fan), rice cake (tasty), and the sesame balls w/ red bean paste (greasy!). If your order is large enough the ladies even give you a couple of free buns to munch on. Awesome! A few things to note: -There is parking in the back area -They accept credit cards -Tuesday and Wednesday are their busiest days so it might be a good idea to call ahead and place your order if it's a large one. read more

The best Baked Manapua ever. Used to frequent as a kid growing up in Hawaii. Now as an adult living on the mainland I can only visit every other year and it still taste the same as I remembered from my childhood. I have had many others cross the country and Royal Kitchen is unique and delicious. read more

I haven't been here since I moved to Hawaii 15 years ago, but my fading memory remembers the tiny storefront and the big racks filled with dozens of different manapua. Since then, work and raising a son by myself made going to Chinatown a little difficult for my schedule. As the years went by, many people told me that Royal Kitchen's manapua were the best, even better than my favorite, Libby's! After hearing this many many times, I decided to drive over there and check it out again. There is a parking garage next to Royal Kitchen with free parking with validation. Due to the lunar New Year, it was very crowded. Bypass the huge crowd and go inside to grab a number. Then go back outside and chat with the friendly people waiting for their orders. Everyone was welcoming and I talked story with a few people. There was a bit of a wait because people were buying 3 or 4 boxes filled with wonderful looking treats. I kept getting more excited as my turn to order came up! I ordered a chashu manapua, curry chicken manapua, and 2 pork hash. We were on our way to the movies and we were smuggling these in. The manapua here is smaller than the usual size, but the filling portions are very generous. My first bite of the curry chicken was heavenly! So tasty, lots of flavor, good filling to bun ratio. I saved the other manapua for later and tried a pork hash. Yikes! Salty. Too salty. All I could taste was salt. Although it looked delicious, the taste sadly fell short. Afterwards, that evening, I shared the chashu manapua with my son. We couldn't finish it. It was so sweet, it tasted like candy. The filling was pulled pork and not fatty, but the over use of sugar ruined the taste completely. I'm giving this place 3 stars for the convenient parking, good service, and friendly customers, but the food is just not up to par. read more

See all

To say that I am pretty disappointed with Royal kitchen is the least after this morning. I placed a phone order around 5:45 AM to pick up my order around 7:00a. I arrived around 7:15a. I didn't have to wait since I placed a phone order but my food was COLD. I ordered 2 dozen manapua and 4 dozen pork hash. That's a little under $100 worth of food. Everything was COLD. I understand it's busy season, but selling COLD food straight from the refrigerator is seriously unacceptable. read more

The BEST manapuas!! I like the steamed ones as well but the baked ones are so soft and delicious. Be sure to try the other delicacies like the half moon, pork hash, char siu anything, chow fun...etc. Cannot go wrong with Royal Kitchen!!! Aloha read more

I've been coming here since I was a child. This stop is a must whenever we visit Oahu. Their Portuguese Sausage Manapua and Pork Hash are the BEST!!! read more

Manapuas! Our family of three are foodies from Tennessee. We took the "Hole in the Wall" tour and this was the first stop. Even though we had many more great stops this was a favorite for our family. The soft sweet bread rolls baked with various fillings were amazing. We had both types of pork and the Portuguese sausage. I can't imagine anything not being good. We are going back before we leave for more! Authentic food! read more

Yummm...manapua and shumai was delicious!!! My boyfriend's family - who are locals - brought me here during my visit and it was so good! Fresh manapus is so to die for. My boyfriend even bough a dozen to bring home to San Jose, CA. Will definitely come back when we return in May :) read more

BBQ pork buns and Kalua pork buns are incredible. Worth a trip every time your in town. Cheap, really good food.

We were introduced to this gem via the Hole in the Wall Food Tour. The Baked Manapua was so good, we stopped on our way to the airport to pick some up for a last bite of authentic Hawaiian fare. I recommend you call ahead to make sure your favorite flavor is waiting and ready when you arrive. My favorite was the chicken curry. My daughter loved the Char Siu. Yum! read more

One of my first introductions to Manapua and bau. It's my go to spot for goodies when I'm visiting. Love to get a box of scrumptiousness and head down to the beach for the day. Doesn't get any better than this place. read more

we ate again yesterday.. still good.. no rats oh ya the kalua pork manapua is really good!!!! read more

Best manapua in Honolulu! You can get several flavors, like char siu, curry, and vegetable. The original char siu is the best. It gets busy during prime eating time, so it's usually best to go in the late morning before lunch or late afternoon. read more

My old working place used to always buy food from here. It was yummy. I finally went to the actual place and bought some pork hash, half moon and baked char Siu. To me for some reason, it was just okay. Also I got turned off by how it looked. Looked so dirty and unappealing. I've been to better places that sell the same. read more

I hate regular steamed Manapua. Something about steamed dough doesn't appeal to me. Then about 6 years ago I tried Royal Kitchen because their Manapua is baked and I fell in love! My go-to Manapua from here is the chicken. I've tried the char siu Manapua, but to me it tastes sweet and I don't really like it. I haven't tried any of their other Manapua options so I can't give my opinion. But you definitely can't go wrong with chicken. Their pork hash is on point as well. The shop is located along Kukui st. read more

first time over... if you know this place around, please park in the parking area. ( they have pay parking ,but if you buy food you get stamp- Validated, don't need to pay for parking ) I read the review so I check in this place, want to try something different. I want to say I love it. but this place is small ,is more like take out. Also there is not too many choose the day I went in. ( I think because someone place order for party,so I only got 4 BBQ bao,half moon,half moon... I was looking for more different style Dim Sum... overall, food are good. Just my luck ! :) read more

Food authentic and amazing. So friendly and informative. They gave me and my wife extra so we can sample each others food. Best stuffed bunns I've ever had read more

This place serves the best baked manapuas on the island. The ladies are super nice and always so happy to see you!

As a frequent traveler between the islands, I've noticed that 9 out of 10 passengers with omiyage boxes take Royal Kitchen manapua to their special people. The standard is the char siu bao; no can beat. But don't forget the huge white rice cake and roast pork. Their boxes are not fancy with just their stamp on it. That's why they can charge about a buck25 for their manapua and 85cents for the pork hash. Their service is great; just like a New York deli where you better know what you want, and you get it fast! Before I forget, try their bitter melon with pork hash stuffed in it! So ono...bitter and flavorful. BTW, plenty validated parking in the back. Cannot eat manapua any place else. read more

One of the best baked bau breads - soft, just a bit chewy, and yummy. I wish the cha siu was shredded and not pulverized, but it still tastes good. Also tried the look fun, which wasn't particularly good. I'll be sticking to the tried and true manapua! read more

My office pals and I just love their manapua, pork hash, mochi ball, jin dui, roast duck, char siu, chow mein and especially their chicken salad! The only criticism that I would have is that their pi wrap over their half moon is a little too thick for my taste. Everything else is great. The women who work the counters are great too...very quick and very nice too! More often than not, they will always give me an extra piece of something to try. read more

Over 6 years ago I worked with Liana she always made the BEST and I mean the BEST food ever. I then learned that her family owns this restaurant. A few times we had food ordered from here and it was always good. She then retired a few years later and now she only works for the restaurant. Sometimes my working place gets manapua's from here and omg do I get excited because I know that they are really good. I hardly ever get to eat manapua's from here but when I am able to I run to where it is LOL read more

Best baked bao in my opinion, selection is vast, I prefer their pork hash to Libby's. Try the portugese sausage bao.

I never miss a trip to Royal Kitchen for their famous baked bao when I return to the Islands. I've been a loyal fan and patron since I was a kid learning Cantonese at Jung Shan. The Cantonese didn't stick, but my love for Royal Kitchen's bao sure did. In recent years I've noticed several other places serving a variety of baked buns, but Royal Kitchen was the first to get creative. Standards like char siu and black sugar can be had but why not try the curry chicken, lup cheong, portueguese sausage, kalua pig, vegetarian or hot dog? I've not eaten their other food offerings because I'm so jazzed about the baked buns, but I often see other people ordering the manapua and look fun. It would be worth a visit to try it all if I could resist the call of the bao. read more

Talk about just like home. Their bows and dim sum are excellent. If you are into bitter melon - they had a stuffed bitter melon that had a delicious pork filling that any Chinese person who knows their pork filling would love. If you didn't see this place, you would pass it up - don't pass it up because you will be missing some delicious food with very friendly women behind the counter who give you kindly customer service with a smile. read more

Must have the Kalua pork, okinawan sweet potato, and coconut buns. Super sweet staff, told them we were first timers and from the mainland and the lady gave me any extra bun! I'd be like 350 large if I lived on HNL because I'd be eating here like weekly. read more

It's about time I wrote about Royal Kitchen. I am a regular here but never thought to write. What a GREAT place for manapua stuff and ono roast pork, char siu, roast duck, and the BIGGEST jin duis on this island. I love the convenient validated parking in the back--never a problem. I love ordering plate lunches with delicious bitter melon, kau yuk, pig feet, sweet sour spareribs...the list goes on. And they even pack the food for airline travel too. Always a cultural and fun experience--just don't push anybody down as you reach for the "your next" ticket number--but you won't wait too long. This place is face paced and as good as it gets. read more

Roast poooooooork! Best manapua on Oahu based on taste and selection. Parking sucks - deal with it...

Delicious Manapua. Kau yuk and chow fun not as tasty as it was in 2010.

I came here on the hawaii food tour and i never knew manapua could be baked instead of steamed like at 7-11. I always loved 7-11 curry manapuas so i tried the curry chicken manapua here at royal kitchen. it was so much better! There were onions and mushrooms and other things along with the curry chicken and the bread was warm and soft and sweet. mmmm perfect. read more

Very rude woman was taking my order. Bad experience with their customer service turned me off from the get-go. The other workers were nice and helpful. Advice for customers, please call in your order in advance if you will be traveling with manapua. Once manapua was received they were "ok". I prefer royal kitchen over chun wa kam but I like char hung sut the best (my personal preference). I brought some pork hash for my mother and she did not care for them. In their defense, pork hash were decent-sized as compared to some other manapua shops. I'm also wondering how come they dont do steamed manapua? I understand that is their business decision and I cant dock them points for that, just curious for reasoning. But otherwise, that is all I can review. Manapua and pork hash were average but i took away 2 stars due to attitude I was given while ordering. This ruined my experience. read more

One of the few places where the food is above average but the customer service sucks! Made a phone order today and was not able to finish my sentence before I was rudley told to hold on. Than after that hearing her and her coworkers laughing about cuting me of in the background...absolutely no class! My family and I have been customers for years but will no longer go there. Customer service goes along way and here in Hawaii food is made with Love not arrogance! Pilau! read more

The manapuas here are great. Every time I go back home I always buy a dozen to bring back home with me. However, there's always less than half left by the time I get back home. Ha ha. read more

I've eaten here before but I never wrote a review. Manapuas are really really good with the sweet bread, pork hash not so great like there's no taste, noodles & chow fun no taste too the same. But what I can tell you is that their roast pork is the bomb.com. it's tasty with the fat omg! I'm drooling already lol read more