My favorite sit down Filipino restaurant on the island!
Thelma's is probably the most authentic, most mainstream Filipino cuisine on Oahu. Oahu's Filipino food scene on the island might be a bit of a shock to Filipinos who didn't grow up on the island (e.g. grew up in different parts of the Philippines or in the mainland). I had cousins who lived here for a few years under military orders, and they all left the island thinking Oahu's Filipino food doesn't compare to what they're used to. I wish we knew about Thelma's before they left!
What drew me to this spot was that our part-Filipino hanai family would ALWAYS bring up Thelma's as their favorite Filipino restaurant. Of course, Thelma's still offers local style Filipino dishes (adobo fried rice omelette, sari sari, and pork guisantes are more Hawaii-style) and the very popular pinakbet. What I love is that Thelma's has a pretty wide menu, not just local style Filipino food. They offer various "sabaw" (soup) dishes, veggie dishes, pancit dishes, breakfast platters, and they are the inventors of local style lechon kawali, AKA Thelma's Special!
I first had Thelma's Special when another hanai aunty ordered it as takeout, and I loved it! Thelma has perfected the way they pack their lechon kawali for takeout orders, separating the saucy condiments from the crispy roasted pork! Another time, I ordered Thelma's Special while dining in, and it was very "masarap" as always.
I enjoy their arroz caldo too, where they add the right amount of garlic and ginger flavor and the right arroz caldo consistency. Many other places have arroz caldo that's light on the garlic or colorless. Of course, nothing beats my mom's arroz caldo, but Thelma's has pretty good arroz caldo for a restaurant!
Thelma's pancit palabok is probably the closest thing to homemade palabok, imo. Still doesn't compare to my mom's secret palabok recipe, but it's way better than Jollibee's palabok. The ground pork and shrimp sauce is flavorful without being too greasy. Thelma's uses the thicker luglug noodles. If I don't want to spend all day cooking palabok, I'll ask Thelma to cook for me!
Even Thelma's desserts aren't bad. Skip Teapresso down the hall and stay put to order Thelma's halo halo special (with ube ice cream) or banana lumpia special (with ube ice cream!).
Thelma's comes in clutch. When I was feeling under the weather and didn't have energy to cook, I thought of Thelma's for arroz caldo. When I have townie friends visiting, Thelma's is one of the first spots I'd recommend to them. Even my uncle who was visiting from the mainland enjoyed Thelma's pinakbet when I brought him here to try to curb his Filipino food craving.
Thelma's is usually busy with both diners and takeout orders, yet the workers are always nice and helpful! They can crack jokes too :)
I think Thelma's overall Yelp rating is misleading unless I'm missing something. I think they should hold at least four stars! read more