We came here our first time on Oahu and we loved it. I had the spicy chicken plate. It comes with rice, Mac salad, and greens. We had the privilege to return to Oahu and we knew we had to come back. The service is great. The food takes a minute to come out but that's because it's made to order. The ambiance is quiet- they're tucked in a corner of a plaza but being hidden is what makes much more a gem!! Please don't pass on them and give them a much deserved try!! read more

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I went here on a Wednesday to order 35 bento for a meeting on Friday. I went in person so I could see all the options they had, and even though they were busy loading up for all their wholesale customers (Marukai, Don Quijote), they were nice enough to let me get in their way walking around trying to decide what I was going to order. They were able to accommodate my order for 35 bento with the short notice. I think if you order earlier and they have availability they will deliver too. The bento was packed nicely and very nicely put together. Everyone commented on how nice they looked and later told me how good they tasted. I will definitely order from here again. On my way out that morning I got a few bento for breakfast and they were only $5/$6. The bento for my meeting were also very very reasonably priced. Great little shop and customer service was awesome. read more

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Seen these guys on Cheap eats so I had to check them out . Al though be aware not everything is cheap regular plate lunches prices after they sell out of their cheap bentos. My sister just went in the morning around 10:30am and she said they had pre- bentos and good prices around $7 - $12. Different varieties.I got there around 2pm and I guess all the cheap bentos were sold out so I had to order off the menu board and the prices were more but not too bad compared to other places . I ordered their combo @ $15.95 2 piece fried shrimp , 1 potato croquette and 1 thigh of chicken Katsu. I also ordered grilled Salmon @ $13.95 . Service was great fast and friendly I guess the trick you need to come to this place early . Between 8am-11am $5.99 bento and breakfast specials that's what I'm talking about "Cheap Eats". They're located on Kokea St and Dillingham sane parking lot as Yohei Sushi . Support local read more

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My wife and I saw a segment of Guy Hagi's Cheap Eats last night. We looked on Yelp and saw favorable reviews. When we approached the entrance we could see only a few bentos in the window. When we went in we saw more bentos but not a large selection. As we were waiting to pay, more bentos were brought out. Well I got the Salmon bento and my wife had the Shrimp Tempura bento. Overall the bentos were good. Prices were exceptionally good. Will be back soon. Enjoy read more

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Went to U Kitchen and got a Salmon Bento there not bad price total including tax was about $9.50 it was a decent size bento for the price so no complaints there they looked quite busy with outside orders as they were packing up their van with Bentos. Parking is pretty decent there and they were pleasant. I would go back again next time i'm in the area. read more

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Found this place looking for a quick lunch! The parking was pretty full but it was free and close by. It's take out only but there's big menu and even Togo menus available. I did not order ahead but thankfully there was only 1 person ahead of me. I ordered Mixed Fried Combo; chicken katsu, 2 piece shrimp tempura and croquette. It was done in about 8 min. I browsed around and saw they had plenty bentos and plates prepackaged - I'll keep that in mind in case I'm ever in a bind for time, although my meal was done quick! I was surprised how fresh everything tasted, it only took me about 10 min to get back to my work to eat, but the food was still crispy and not too soggy. The rice was perfectly cooked. I'd definitely return and recommend if you're in the area. read more

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We saw this place the TV show cheap eats with Guy Hagi. Hawaii news now report. Located across the City Square market place where you share parking with Yohei Japanese restaurant and use to be subway. After doing business like banking etc. My husband said we go and see what they get. So I saw the shrimp tempura bento and my husband saw the salmon bento. It was good and very cheap. No dine in so only take out. Got there about 10am or so and the bentos where being stack up for the lunch crowd. Lol... was amazed that the prices were good. The taste of the bentos was good too. Will be back. read more

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0 stars, unfortunately that is not an option. Worst customer service, rang bell multiple times even though we could hear various people yelling in the background. Took longer than expected to get our food, while all the people supposedly making our food were eating themselves. Bentos being brought in from unmarked cars makes it seem like it was not cooked here. Not sure what else to say other than it was a huge disappointment and very unprofessional. Will not be returning. read more

Breakfast was delicious. Food was all packed and ready to go. They have a variety of bentos to choose from. Closed on Sunday. Price was reasonable. read more

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The owner was so friendly when we approached the business as she loaded the delivery van. Salmon Dynamite was sure held up to its name. This was so delicious. It was served to order and piping hot. Oh my gosh! I shared with my daughter and it was perfect for the two of us at 830 in the morning. We stopped by this after grabbing a snack at another business in the adjacent parking lot. The price and quality were outstanding. Check out that breakfast price, I didn't get a picture of my husband's Noribento which was only $5.99. You can't beat that anywhere for the price and amount of food. read more

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There has been a buzz in the Yelp community for YEARS about U Kitchen (UK), a Japanese restaurant that serves bentos, plate lunches, sandwiches and sandwiches. UK, located in Kokea Center, with popular neighbors of Yohei Sushi and Subway, UK is known for their balanced and healthy lunch options. They opened their doors for business in Aug 2021 offering economical and balanced Japanese lunch boxes. Many Yeeps rave over their Nori Bento, which has deep fried fish filet, fried curried chikuwa, potato croquette, mochiko chicken, house green salad, macaroni salad, Japanese seaweed, Japanese pickles and rice. All of this food for &5.99. Here's the catch: this special is only offered between 8am to 11am. Lucky me for having a sister who works graveyard shifts and picked me up the Nori Bento one day and dropped it off at my office for me. I was impressed with the presentation and volume of food for that price. After taking a photo, it was time to dig in. As recommended in Jo Y.'s review, I reheated the deep fried items in the toaster oven to liven up my bento. Indeed deep fried foods taste better when eaten hot and the exterior texture crisped up. I also reheated the rice after removing the greens and macaroni salad and indeed, it was a good meal with a generous portion as I couldn't finish it in one sitting. So why only 4 stars? Most of the bento components were commercialized, premade items and deep fried. Would have been nice with components of braised, stewed, pickled and/or steamed (i.e. nikujaga, nishime, namasu). The bottom line: you cannot go wrong with the Nori Bento for $5.99. Great volume and decent food. read more

U Kitchen - Nori Bento - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I am always looking out for cheap lunches because, as a senior citizen, I am not comfortable at paying $20 plus for lunches. Maybe I should start getting used to the idea because the economy looks real gloomy for the future. I caught Cheap Eats on the news one night and they were featuring U Kitchen, so I am always game for some cheap lunches and made a point to go there. It was about 11:00 on a Friday and they were busy packing deliveries. The shelves were less than half full of bentos. I ordered off the menu instead of choosing a ready made bento. I ordered a hamburger steak plate for just $12.95. I took it home for lunch. You get two medium sized beef patties, a smidgen of Mac salad and a little bit of tossed salad, The hamburger steak was actually pretty good, nice texture to it and moist. There was no gravy but more of a tomato Demi-glace sauce that was actually pretty good. There were tons of rice which I ate less than half of. The Mac salad was just OK but they give you so little of it. I would have preferred some canned vegetables to go along with the hamburger steak instead of the tossed salad but that is just me. Overall, I liked U Kitchen and I know I will return for some other menu items. read more

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Great food with great prices. Thought the low prices would equate to small portions but the price neither reflects the quality nor the portion sizes. read more

Food is ok - service was alright. I'm not sure what they use their refrigerator for but I wasn't allowed to purchase whatever was in there. The cashier wasn't too friendly and walked away from us. But may be we took too long. Oh also, they don't sell soda. Finally there's nowhere to sit. May be they cater. ? read more

A little hard getting here with all of the work being done on Dillingham. Was able to find parking easily so that's a plus. Had to wait around 15 minutes for my sukiyaki bento while waiting outside the store. Bento itself was very good. Wish they had an option of paying more to get the broth as well. I was missing the sukiyaki from shirokiya village and this was enough to satisfy the craving. read more

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One of my top favorite cheap eateries! Their breakfast selection is limited with two options but both are fulfilling and honestly cannot complain for a $5.99 deal, aside from their breakfast option they have various Japanese meals you can choose from, I'm not sure if their traditional but definitely worth the price of checking out as their meals vary from $10-$20. The service is always good for the most part for a quick encounter. There isnt much to the ambiance as it seems the specialized in bentos so you will always see a good mountain in the front for easy grab and go! read more

I got there shortly after 8 am when they opened. They were busy preparing lunch bentos to distribute. The saba and salmon looked really yummy and I wish I was eating lunch not breakfast. Breakfast was rice scrambled eggs, Portuguese sausage and 2 slices of spam. One piece mochiko chicken. Mac salad and tiny tossed salad. The scrambled eggs were overcooked and the meats were slather led in Teri sauce and mochiko chicken was soggy. I may have come at a bad time while they were getting the bentos ready. I would go back to try the lunch. There is no sitting area. Take out only. read more

U kitchen is in a little strip mall across LCC. They have many bentos and plate lunches for a reasonable price that's stacked high with flavor. My go tos: Grilled salmon Breakfast bento ($5 can't go wrong) Their salmon katsu, chicken katsu with curry, Menchi (beef) katsu with curry are my other favorites. My hubby and sister loves their garlic chicken. All their plate lunches comes with rice (2 scoops), Mac salad, and toss salad. Reasonable prices, great service, delicious food. Take out only. Enjoy and happy yelping! read more

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Food was really great and the lady who helped us was so nice! Prices were definitely unexpectedly low. I'm going back soon.

Hidden gem - Hard to get to while rail construction going on, but worth making trip. Food always good, and done fast. Recommend calling ahead to pickup. Not set up for dining in. read more

No matter which bento we buy, we are NEVER disappointed! Our top two are the sukiyaki and the very reasonable nori bento. They also make the best mac salad. It has pieces of ham in it and it tastes soooo good. I ordered 20 nori bento and asked the salads not be on the plate (so I could refrigerate the salad). I brought a container for my salads, and they were so nice to accommodate me! As I waited for my order, I watched them working. They work so hard packing up bentos for deliveries. I was tired just watching them!!!! U Kitchen is our "go to" for bentos! read more

Authentic Japanese bentos and many to choose from. The Breakfast is well worth the price! I heard the Mushroom Chicken is delicious, which I will try next time. Very friendly service with everyone that works there. read more

Awesome place, many selections, breakfast deluxe is da bomb, $5.99, can't go wrong with portions very generous too.

Good selection of Bentos. Great for if you're traveling and need something to eat on the plane. We chose shrimp small bento and a verity bento. A little of everything. Parking available in the front of the store. This is a grab and go place. read more

Good food reasonably priced. Ordered 5 of their breakfast bentos at $5.99 each - spam, Portuguese sausage, garlic chicken, scrambled eggs, mac salad, toss salad, and rice! What a deal! Been here several times before for lunch and it's always been good. This is one of those businesses impacted by the rail construction on Dillingham so I try to support them whenever I can and you should too! read more

Been to this establishment quite a few times since I work nearby. It's just been a little annoying to get there because of the rail construction on Dillingham Blvd. I don't mind walking there since it's the best way for me to get there, but man oh man, it does get hot when you're walking around lunch time. The food in my opinion is worth it though. My top faves is their grilled salmon with a choice of white or brown rice and their mushroom chicken . I try to order brown rice whenever it's offered. The plate comes with spring salad and macaroni salad. Good size portion that you eat half of and save the rest if you can. Everything I've ordered so far has been really tasty. No dine in here. There are grab to go bentos if you're in a hurry but if you call it i your order it's just as quick. A nice variety of food to choose from and they serve breakfast too. They do catering too, so they can be busy putting orders together. The staff there is super nice and friendly. It's worth a trip there if you're in the area. Best to check their menu and food pics from Yelp and call it in. read more

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I saw a friend posting about this place. I wanted to try it because you also get something fun after purchase. Located in this Dillingham Plaza and ample parking. No dining area. Only takeout. There was variety of bentos and sides available. I came a little after they opened so their onigiri/musubi wasn't ready. Very sad. I wanted to try it. I like the option of brown or white rice. Also had mac salad and tossed salad. Ordered the: *Pork katsu curry - Japanese curry over pork katsu. Really good. Freshly made. Macaroni salad they made was very good. It was lite. *Special: Garlic steak $20- meat was flavorful and tender. Garlicy steak. *Chicken mushroom $13 - My favorite plate! The thick white gravy was just enough for the chicken. It wasn't too salty. The chicken was baked. It was sooo delicious! I would come back for this. *Inari $4 - Just inari but fresh. After purchase you get a token to get a twist on their ball machine. Each ball gets you a prize (drink or food). I got a free musubi but it wasn't ready so they told me to get either a bag of chip or drink. I would prefer the musubi. Hopefully next time I get to try their onigiris. I would like to try their other lunch plate too. Decent price for the portion. read more

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Food was very good . If you're looking for a quick lunch and are in this area , U Kitchen is the spot to come. Service is very fast too , just too bad they don't have table to sit inside. read more

U Kitchen - Garlic chicken - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I came here for lunch based on all the great Yelp reviews. Didn't realize it was a take-out only place, but that was fine with me. They're located in a small strip mall (next to Subway) with limited parking. I got there around 10am and they were still putting their lunch bentos together, but they have excellent breakfast specials for just $5.99! I ended up ordering their hamburger steak with egg for $13.95. The hamburger steak tasted more like meatloaf. It was thick and very tender. The gravy was amazing! Dark and very flavorful, just how I like it. The plate came with mac salad which was ono! I also got an ume onigiri and that was my favorite! They are very generous with the ume. I could eat 10 of those! This is an authentic Japanese-owned eatery with friendly staff. After I placed my order, they gave me a token to put into a machine. Once the plastic egg pops out, it shows what you won. I happened to win a free bottle of water! So fun and so generous. I will definitely return but next time I want to try their breakfast! read more

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First time trying. Went on a Saturday lunchtime. Didn't call in order, since wasn't sure what to order. Was at Nishoodo getting chichi dango and other filled mochi. Since U- Kitchen was around the corner, wanted to try. Was past 11am, so couldn't order the nori bento, next time. For each order, one token to see what bonus you could get. I won a free musubi. Ordered for 3: Grilled Saba, $11.50 Pork kakuni, 2 orders, $14.75 Choice of white or brown rice Includes toss salad and macaroni salad Everything tasted good Pork kakuni, very soft, not greasy. Located next to subway, on Kokea St. Across from Chinatown market place. Note: breakfast, nori bento (8am-11am) Highly recommend, prices and portions are good. read more

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Was craving for something Japanese and yet not over priced. Searched Yelp and came across U-Kitchen. Read the reviews and looked at pictures. A lot of good reviews so gave it a try. It's located next to Yohei Sushi on Dillingham. Right now, because of the rail construction, it's a bit pain in the @$$ to get there but it's worth it. It's take out only. So you order and you wait outside. I saw many do phone orders. The staff are very friendly and the shop is clean. We ordered Mechi Katsu, Menchi Katsu Curry, Mushroom Chicken, and Hamburg Steak with Egg. All plates came with some mixed greens and macaroni salad. The macaroni salad was not too much mayo so it was good. The Menchi Katsu was a good size patty and very good. Although, we didn't care for the sauce on the menchi katsu. It was a bit sweet for our taste. Hopefully, next time we can omit it? and just have the regular tonkatsu sauce instead. The curry was okay, just a little on the sweet side for our liking. The hamburg steak was a good size patty with lots of demi sauce. I knew I'm not a fan of demi sauce but wanted to try it anyways. They cover the patty with lots of it. A pretty thick demi sauce. The best plate was the mushroom chicken. the chicken was tender and the gravy was good, not salty at all. I'd come back for the menchi and the mushroom chicken. read more

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Takeout Lunch in Honolulu, Hawaii... The Dillingham area is filled with many good foodie places such as Yohei Sushi and Hana Tea. Right next to Subway is U Kitchen. I've never noticed it before, but my friend, Donna O., pointed it out to me. It's a winner! PARKING: the shared free parking lot was packed, so, I parked on the street in a metered stall. SERVICE: Polite and efficient ENVIRONMENT: cozy. It's takeout only, so, customers waited outside and their orders were brought to them. I stayed inside for the air conditioning FOOD: there's a refrigerated section with drinks, sandwiches, etc. for grab and go convenience. They also had some containers of inari sushi, shrimp tempura bowls, and noodles to go. I ordered the Special of the Day - Double Garlic - which is a combination of Garlic Chicken and Garlic Shrimp. Yummy! I also got the Grilled Salmon plate and the Chicken Curry Katsu - gravy in a separate container was classy! All three plates had beautiful presentation and came with rice (I chose brown rice), macaroni salad (al dente), and a green salad. Delicious! I really enjoyed my lunch/dinner and want to return for the Breakfast Bento (before 11am). The bonus was a fun thing: the cashier gave me a token for the prize machine. I turned the knob and a plastic container dropped out. Inside, there was a paper fortune that said that I won a free bottle of water... Yay! Thank you! read more

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U Kitchen is conveniently located off Dillingham Blvd (across HCC). It's easy to get to and easy to find parking. The menu has a good variety of choices in bentos to plate lunches to rice bowls. You will find lots of favorites like mochiko chicken, hamburger steak, and chicken katsu. But also, there is miso butterfish, menchi katsu, and unagi. There are lots of grab and go items too! Check out the bentos, yakisoba, musubi, hand rolls, inari, spaghetti, salads, fresh fruit, and blueberry parfait (IKR?!). Today we got the menchi katsu curry with brown rice. It was delicious. There were two generous ground beef cutlets with curry on the side so the menchi doesn't lose its crunchiness. Nice! All plates have a mixed green tossed salad and macaroni salad with a wonderful garnish of a cherry tomato and lil smokies sausage! The attention to detail you get on this plate lunch is unsurpassed! The curry is a little sweet but it has lots of flavor and a bit of heat. Today, I was disappointed to not see any musubis available. Which are only $1.50! But I wasn't sad for long because the cashier gave me a token to put in the prize/gumball machine. I have never seen this at a takeout place before! It was my lucky day because I got the BIG prize - a free bento! She said prizes could be free drinks, snacks, or sides! I will be back. Hopefully, my luck hasn't run out! read more

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U Kitchen. This hidden gem initially caught me off guard, as I thought it was some casual Chinese, Korean, or American restaurant. Instead, it's a legitimate Japanese-style eatery that serves breakfast and lunch. Its menu offerings are so tasty and delicious that it brought us there two days in a row. U Kitchen was formerly named Usagiya, as one of the vendors in the now-closed Shirokiya Japan Village Walk that offered udon, soba, and bentos. Owned by the Atsushi Fukuda family, they took the first initial of Usagiya ("U") and added "Kitchen" to rename it U Kitchen, as they wanted to be everyone's kitchen, especially yours. U Kitchen opened at the end of July 2021 at the former Arirang Bar-B-Q at Kokea Center in Kalihi-Kapalama (next to Subway and near Yohei Sushi) and will open a second location in Waikiki in April 2022. This small eatery is open for breakfast and lunch and serves various Japanese bentos, donburis, curries, pastas, fresh fruits, sandwiches, sushi, musubis, poke bowls, and snacks. The plate lunches also come with white or brown rice, tossed green salad, mac salad, and a side. Menu items are both pre-made and/or made to order. We found the menu offerings to be very delicious and reasonable in price. We had the following: · Pork Kakuni (shoyu pork) plate lunch ($14.25). We asked the staff as to what their most popular item was, and this was it! And I can see why. The flavorful shoyu pork melts in your mouth and was not overly salty. It came with tossed greens with sesame dressing, a cherry tomato and aribiki on a toothpick, mac salad, and a boiled egg. I loved the sauce, which paired well with the rice. The tasty mac salad was tasty had bits of onions, carrots, ham, and other seasonings. This was made to order and served temperature hot. · Garlic chicken plate lunch ($12.75). This was also recommended by staff as a popular item. Loved their version of garlic chicken, which is different from other local restaurants, as the sauce had a really good flavor and somewhat on the chewy side. It was topped with generous amounts of crispy garlic chips and green onion. It also came with the same salad and mac salad as the shoyu pork. This was made to order and served temperature hot. · Inari sushi ($3.99). This cone sushi has to be the best that I've had thus far! Loved that the sushi was packed with the perfect amount of rice and the perfect amount of flavorful sauce! So juicy and not overly sweet. · Konbu musubi ($1.50). The musubi looks small, but it was thick and packed adequately with fresh rice. There was more konbu outside the musubi than in the middle of the musubi, but it was very tasty. · Ume musubi ($1.50). Very much enjoyed this musubi, as there was ume both outside and inside the musubi. The rice was mixed with finely chopped shisho leaves, which made it even more flavorful. This one is a winner! · Nori bento ($5.00). This bento included fried curry chikuwa, white fish, and a croquette that sat on a sheet of nori over a bed of white rice with ginger, hijiki, and konbu. Very tasty, but because this was pre-made, the fried items had lost its crispiness. I reheated it in the toaster oven to regain its crispiness, which did the trick. Can't complain with the bargain price for this bento. · Strawberry sandwich ($6.90). Who would have thought to put whole strawberries and cream in a white bread sandwich! Figured it wouldn't pair well, but it did! This delicious sandwich was delicious, as the creamy spread (appears to be cream cheese, whipping cream and other ingredients) with the strawberries and fresh white bread made it an amazing sandwich! With any regular plate lunch purchase, you get a free chance to play their gachapon machine to claim a prize in a plastic orange, gold, or black balls. We played it twice and won a bottled water and a sandwich (we chose the strawberry sandwich above). Customer service was superb, as staff was very friendly, gave suggestions, and patiently answered all questions. Ordered items were promptly made and served temperature hot. The small restaurant interior is clean and bright. It is strictly take-out, as there are no dining tables. Hours of operation are Mon to Fri 8a to 4p, Sat 8a to 2p, and Sun closed. Credit cards accepted. Free parking available in the private parking lot shared with other businesses; however, the spaces are tight and fill up quickly at this busy shopping complex. Metered street parking is also available. We look forward to returning to try their other dishes, such as the hamburg steak with egg, and sukiyaki bento (sliced beef, Chinese cabbage, tofu, carrots, shirataki noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and egg). U Kitchen is a great hidden gem of heavenly Japanese foods with a reasonable price value. read more

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A hidden gem so to speak... it's right on Kokea near Nisshodo. Japanese bento lunches that taste like they were made for a sit down meal with tablecloth and flowers. That good! We ordered Garlic salmon and Hamburger steak. Each serving was large enough to satisfy anyone. It included rice, tossed salad (with seared hot dog) and a delicious new Mac salad! Prices were reasonable considering portion size. Only thing to request is a larger scoop of macaroni salad. Service was excellent and the place is clean and neat. Open every day for breakfast and lunch. This place is a must and it is worth the drive on Dillingham Blvd too! read more

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This Japanese bento shop in Kalihi is on the small side but they have LOTS of different options. They have everything from plate lunches, to grab & go spaghetti and sushi rolls, to small bentos, onigiri and even some desserts. The plate lunch options all looked really tempting, but since i was on a tight budget when we visited, we got the $5 bento which was honestly such a great deal. It came with half a croquette, hokke and two fried chikuwa, along with rice and nori. read more

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Enjoy trying out new places. Decided to grab some take out. I got the salmon katsu which comes with Mac salad and tossed greens. My coworkers got the hamburger steak and garlic chicken. The salmon katsu was crisp and delicious. It was drizzled with some sauce but I added a bit more of the katsu sauce. It hit the spot. Definitely would check this place out again. Probably would need to go a little earlier because they also sell musubis and bentos. read more

U Kitchen - Salmon Katsu - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

What a nice surprise to see a new shop in this shopping complex. There seems to be a lot of new places popping up around this neighborhood. They're located in the same complex as Yohei/Hana Tea in the far back corner, so unless you go down that way, it'll be easy to miss and not know it even exists there. There's some parking stalls, in the past, it would always be quite crowded, but I think after the pandemic people have been going in and out and not really hanging around the establishments. The parking can be really tight too so be careful. They serve mostly bentos, and there are some cold bento's and sandwiches in their refrigerator. Most of the main entrees are about $14/each. I got to try the pork kakuni & salmon dynamite and out of the two the pork kakuni was the best entree. I definately want to try other items and breakfast in the future as well. Service was really quick and they were kind enough to let my dog inside for a bit. I dont really like leaving him outside because he's so cute and friendly he can be dog-napped :( so extra kudos for that! read more

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I reviewed this earlier and I was flagged by yelp because they stated the pictures I posted was not from u kitchen....hhhmmmmm read more

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Everything looked so delicious! I settled on the Nori bento and it didn't disappoint! The prices of their bento are great-- so affordable! I'm glad I found this place-- it's like finding treasure! read more