We were so lucky to find this spot during our trip around the island! The taco plate was delicious…read moreand filling. Drinks were spectacular too! The limeade was refreshing and the chai is a custom blend by the owners. The owner was friendly and we had a lovely time chatting. There is some outdoor seating available if needed! This food truck is tucked away a little bit, but just follow the signs and park on the street nearby. Casual, make sure to dress for the weather.

If you have ever heard the term "hidden gem", that perfectly describes Saucy Mama's food truck. The…read morefood truck is located about 17 miles south of Hilo airport in Mountain View on the Big Island in Hawaii. Use your GPS map and you will find the hidden gem. The truck is located off the street in a stationary position behind a chain-linked fence. "It doesn't move except during an earthquake", according to Rachel, the friendly, smiling, lovely woman who owns the business. Rachel makes all her food from scratch and her food menu changes each day, except for two main items that you can see in the images: Kalua Pork Taco Plate and African Peanut soup. My tacos were piled high with meat and the raspberry chipotle sauce on the Kalua Pork taco gave it a delicious tropical island twist. My plate consisted of one Kalua pork taco and one chicken taco that was covered in a pineapple chutney that I loved. The Hapa rice (a mixture of white and brown rice) was provided with Rachel's "Awesome Sauce". I mixed the Awesome Sauce into the rice and loved every bite. I also bought the African Peanut soup and let my brother-in-law taste it before me. He took his first spoonful, looked at me and said, "wow!". He took four more spoonfuls and followed each one with another "wow!". I brought a second portion home and everyone who tried it, including me, had the same "wow" reaction. Without hesitation, I suggest you try the taco plate and peanut soup (unless you have a peanut allergy). If you are not a fan of cilantro, let Rachel know since some items have cilantro on (or in) them. Since this is a food truck, and the 4 to 6 food item menu changes daily, you never know what items will be on the menu when you visit. I think you will find something delicious no matter when you visit. My brother-in-law had the spaghetti bowl and raved about how great the sauce tasted. It was a very large portion so his wife got to taste it at home and she also said it tasted great! I also bought 3 of the four 16 ounce soups being served that day: a Thai dish called Jok with shrimp, a meatless taco soup, and a creamy chicken and mushroom soup. All were yummy as stated by all the relatives with whom I shared the soups. Lastly, I bought two limeades, one of which included a blended cucumber, adding an extra layer of flavor to the already delicious, refreshing drink. There is so much to try at Saucy Mama's that I may need to return before I head back home to the mainland. The truck is open for business only Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, so be sure to visit only on one of those three days. Did I mention that on the Yelp Top 100 Food Trucks list updated in July, 2025, Saucy Mama's was ranked 38. There are thousands of food trucks all over the United States so to be ranked 38 is quite a distinguished honor! Congratulations, Rachel!!

Big island Wake and Bake is awesome. The owners are so friendly and make you feel like family. This…read moreOhana food truck is an awesome Ohana business. This is my go to for Hawaiian food and especially the poi!!! Yummy

From the owner: We offer fresh Waipionpoi and laulau.read more

Philly Cheesesteak is absolutely delicious. The pastrami fries are equally as yummy. Staff are…read morevery nice and patient. Don't expect fast food just because it isn't a sit down restaurant. Yumminess takes time. They have chairs to sit on in the shade while you wait.

I ordered the vegan gyro because of a good review on HappyCow. When I called, they said that the…read moresauce is not vegan so vegan ones are served without the sauce. They still ended up giving me the sauce, though? And the food was fine, nothing special or filling. Not worth the price. The fries aren't vegan because of duck fat.

Ou is the island master of the green papaya salad. BEST on the Big Island. Perfectly spiced…read more Crispest/freshest home grown papayas. So remarkable a wrote a song about it: https://suno.com/s/gQXDePxqSCdaoBFr

Been coming here to Hilo farmers market for 15 years and never missed the papaya salad from Ou's…read more Once ordered, she made to order and service was lees than 5 mins. She grow her own papaya and mixed 80% green and 20% half-ripped for the best salad I ever tasted. We sat down at the picnic tables to enjoy the live music ambiance.

Not mind-blowing Thai food or anything, but for the limited selection around Volcano and Volcano…read moreNP, we are satisfied with what we got. Food truck is parked at a community center with lots of parking and some picnic tables to eat at. We got the chicken pad see ew to share (huge portion) and two Thai iced teas. The pad see ew was pretty different than ones in the mainland - not very dark / soy sauce forward, and just seems like regular wide noodles with some egg and veggies. Other than that, it did taste good. Thai teas were delicious and definitely hit the spot. We got our food fast, within a few mins after ordering. Good spot for a quick meal.

Great food, service and accommodation of vegan and vegetarian- best in volcano! Menu is very…read morediverse and uniquely good!

Absolutely loved this place. It's a cute food truck next to the golf course, so the whole area…read morelooks scenic. Food was incredible. The avacado fresh rolls were amazing. Loved the pad see ew and pad kee mao as well. Folks there are super nice, and we ended up going multiple times. Also ten minutes from volcanoes national park which is super convenient!

Beware, the curry by the gallon…read more Because they were out rice and noodles, they offered a free "extra" food option instead of the usual carby accoutrement. My family of four could've easily sipped a single order of hot, steaming curry. We bought two plus two other entrees. Fortunately, the massamam curry and the green curry were very tasty. Spring rolls were delicious and the stir fry was well done. Arrive early. They sell out quick.

TLDR - the staff are very nice and this place is very convenient when visiting the area, but I know…read moreI'll never come back. The food was tasteless and I don't appreciate when places try to get a double tip. Food options around the area are very limited, but I encourage tourists to take a chance and explore further. This place is a great convenience for people visiting Hawaii's Volcano National Parks and are starving after a long day of sightseeing. Unfortunately, I was very let down considering the great reviews it has online. This is a food truck, so as expected, the parking is extremely limited and there are only two picnic tables available if you choose to sit down and eat. The area is nice if you don't mind eating outdoors. When I went, there were only 2 people working in the truck. They were extremely nice and did warn us about waiting times. There was a long line of people so we had to wait about 25mins for our food. Honestly, this is not inherently a problem, but be ready to wait if it's busy. Now for the food and the reason I'm giving this place a low rating. I was allowed to mix the carnitas tacos and the chicken taco plate given that they're all the same price. The chicken had a nice spice to it, but every item on the dish was very bland. The rice felt dry, the refried beans felt like they were straight out of a can, and it could have all used some salt. But the big nono was that it appears they included a tip in their total before handing the machine over to you to add a tip and pay. Unless you tell me Hawaii's tax is close to 20% (which I know it's not), I find it very disrespectful when businesses do this to their customers.

Food takes a while, as they're just two people running the cart! I liked the birria tacos the most…read more The couple was so kind.

Flew Hilo from Kauai to see fam. Our flight suuuuper delayed so missed connecting and then new…read moreflight suuuuuper delayed and then our bags didn't even make it til 2 hours later. So we wanted some comfort food. Hubs said he would pick up food fast kine right before they closed and then run over to get our luggage. They were slammed and little bit unorganized so didn't get food til about 30 min after they closed...barely made it to grab bags. Hubs got the mustard cabbage soup...that was souper tasty! Came with whole container of rice... I got the pork belly saimin...ate some, then we all ate it for breakfast and still had some pork left for the next day breakfast. Buggah fatty but soft. Soup was a little salty for me, so I watered down for me and baby. $50-ish but choke food. Probs a new go to spot. Hopefully next time it won't be a day of delays...

I made it just in time to order before they closed and I'm so glad we made it…read more I ordered the mustard cabbage soup and it was so good!! The meat was so tasty, soft and fell off the bone. It was a rainy day so the soup hit the spot! Will definitely be back!

Great food!! Mexican music played while eating outdoors. Their birrias are the BEST!!!…read more My go to for traditional Mexican grinds.

Highly impromptu stop at the food truck but overall, with one exception, completely worth it…read more While you could call in your order, as I mentioned, this was very off the cuff as we were getting finished with visiting multiple waterfalls and the non-stop rain had finally stopped, so why not? Walk up to the truck - place your order - they'll call it out when ready. Enchiladas Plate & some type of Birria taco situation that is not listed on their website. tacosjalis.co/menu.html With this stuff, it's all fantastic. Everything including the accompanying rice and refried beans were excellent. Great flavor, moist and fresh. Why the star loss? Dessert. Over $8 for dry and bland pieces of carrot cake. Simply put...no. There are tables under a tent where you could sit and eat and a few feral cats hanging around looking for scraps who are cute or of course you can take it to a park/your hotel/Airbnb, etc. For anything other than dessert, no problem returning or recommending. All good.