Yi Xin Cafe
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My friend and I decided to try out a new Chinese restaurant and came across this place. I have anxiously awaited to eat here but was always crowded. Although they prefer reservations, they do take walk ins, if seats available. Food was different than what I'm use to, but delicious. As soon as we ordered food came 10 minutes later. Although it took awhile for waitress to initially take our order. There are many crab dishes, but decided to try Singapore noodles, egg salted fried chicken wings and pork cheeks with a sauce that was the game changer. Eat here if u have time, as the service is slow at the beginning, but I would come back to try the other dishes Ambiance wasn't quiet, but not extremely loud either.
5 stars for the CRAB CURRY!!! It's so creamy & good. The Dungeness crab was meaty and delish. The cute little milk tea was just so-so. I suggest you order the cute little iced bears with iced tea instead. The salted egg chicken is also a must!!! Servers were great! I'll be back.
We dined in for a family dinner. Not sure if it is required but we called to make a reservation in advance. As it turns out, the restaurant was full on a week day for dinner so it was good to have a reservation. We ordered six items and started with the salted egg yolk chicken wings. Incredible flavor, crispy outside and juicy inside. This appetizer was so delicious! Next came the green beans and the sweet sour pork. My goodness, talk about perfect green beans, this was still crisp and not over cooked. Nicely seasoned and not too oily...I could eat that everyday! If you enjoy Honey Walnut Shrimp, they do an excellent job here. I like that it didn't have an abundance of mayonnaise. In fact, our batch had an added bonus for a nice crunch effect....kettle potato chips, whole and not crumbs. Might even have been the Maui Onion flavor, not sure but it was good! Last but not least, our family dinner enjoyed the House rice noodles and steamed fish. The thin rice noodles had generous portion of shrimp, beef, and vegetables. Quite hearty, here's to long life :) Easy to find, lots of free parking, not in Chinatown, and BYOB. What's not to like?
Still one of our favorite restaurants! Located in market city next to Cafe Kaila and Earls Sanwiches. They've gotten busier too so if you want to guarantee a spot call ahead to make reservations! Some of our favorite dishes.. beef chow fun, eggplant long beans, shrimp crackers appetizer, pork cheeks appetizer, sizzling beef black bean platter, all of the curries and rice, shrimp dishes.... So many favorites! We have so many favorites it's hard to try new things here. We recently tried the honey walnut shrimp and it was good big shrimps fried perfectly with honey sauce and it's on top of potato chips so you get a little bonus of honey chips too! That was definitely a nice surprise and something different from any other restaurant. Service here is always great! We ordered and not even 5 minutes later our food was already coming out. They always come by to fill your water and check on you, They have their own men and women's bathroom located in the back which is clean. Their ac is nice and strong so nice on a hot day to enjoy good food and escape from the heat.
What rock have I been living under? My first time here to celebrate my birthday with someone dear friends. Yi Xin Cafe does not disappoint! True Hong Kong style Chinese food! The food took me back to my days of travel to Hong Kong in the 90s. The stand were the salt, egg, fried chicken wings, as well as the curry crab, and the fried green beans with minced meat with sambal! Definitely I must try. Also, the Hong Kong MilkTea was excellent with a cute little frozen tea, teddy bear on it. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves celebrating the service was excellent! Our server made great recommendations. I will definitely be back. Lots of parking available this place can get quite crowded so my recommendation would be to go in between lunch and dinner.
I do a lot of my shopping at Market City and always notice when new signs pop up. This one got great reviews right away, so I was thankful when I received a gift card to come in and try it. It's located in the corner next to Earl Sandwich and where Long's used to be. There's free parking in either lot. It was busy! Lots of happy customers were eating inside with more waiting for takeout. They have a waiting area outside for tables, put your name in inside. They ask people limit their time to 90 min during busy times, we ended up staying until closure. We ordered a nice variety of items: beef spicy fried rice, shrimp wonton soup, broccoli with oyster sauce, and chicken curry. We loved everything, different backgrounds of the dishes led for a fun combination. The big draw seemed to be the various crab dishes, as well as the sizzling steak. I'd definitely like to try those on a return visit. It's BYOB for alcohol. We tired a lemon iced tea, and a lemon fruit drink and enjoyed both with the spicy and salty foods. Our servers were so friendly and fast to attend. Prices are reasonable for large portions and great quality. I'll definitely be back!
Normally long waits if you don't book a reservation so make sure you book in advance. There a smaller restaurant and kind of tight in space. We were lucky to get in on a Wednesday evening. I hope they expand soon! We ordered so much food they had to move us to a bigger table. We tried the Curry Crab (of course), Thai style pork jowl, beef fried rice, salted egg chicken wings, and their milk tea and lemon iced tea with the cute bear ice. This place is so good, a little expensive, but worth every penny. My favorite was the curry crab and the salted egg chicken wings! I love their curry sauce and the naan bread. I typically dislike chicken wings at Asian restaurants like this but they really did their thing with the batter and sauce. The fried rice was a little plain but overall a nice balance to every meal. The sauce with their pork jowl was too good! I need the recipe.
Would come back over and over again! 4 stars for some dishes being a bit expensive for what it is, and don't expect the cuisine to be authentic in any way, it's a fuse between Chinese/HK/Thai/Hawaii. However, every dish I've had was always delicious. + Food: Crab Curry is their most popular. Love their curry sauce (tastes similar to Thai yellow curry), but the crab doesn't have a lot of meat for a $80 dish. They didn't have a shell cracker so eating was tricky. Sambal veggies, Salt pepper fish, fried rice, curry fries were all delicious and well-flavored. + Ambience: Medium sized restaurant with good amount of tables. Usually no wait but can't say for peak dinner time. Good service + Location: in the Foodland plaza with plenty of parking spots
Yi xin is known for their crab, but really, everything here was excellent. The restaurant is small and in the space that used to be Anytime Cafe - I'd recommend making reservations because a lot of people were waiting outside when we left. We ordered 8 dishes for 6 people which was the perfect amount. Our standouts were the garlic onion crab, capital pork chops (so so tender!), salted fish chicken eggplant pot, and salted egg stir fried chicken wings. The salted fish fried rice was just okay, but other than that, everything was excellent. Great new addition to market city. We will absolutely be back!
OMG... the coconut milk curry sauce is sooooo yummy. ate it with crab... ate it with naan... ate it with rice... ate it with ong choy... i was tempted to dunk my shirt and suck it dry. i may order another dish to soak up every drop. the curry flavor shines without spicy heat. my wife usually likes spicy heat, but said she liked it as it was... a rare hit that pleased both of our palettes. the live dungeness crab are fresh in a tank near the back of the smallish dining area of 10 tables. i thank ours for his sacrifice. He never complained. I don't like the thought of any creature suffering, but did i mention the curry sauce? It helped him reach self-actualization. Back to sacrifice... my wife graciously unshelled the crab... it's a lot of work. don't expect a quick meal if you get the crab. i didn't know that the restaurant was rated the #1 seafood restaurant in Hawaii until i saw the award on the wall... the crab has a sea of supporters. it's shwell! another treat was the frozen tea bear hovering a pool of milk tea... i would have preferred more sweetness, nevertheless the novelty created joy for the table. the garlic ong choy was bland... definitely improved when i added salt. i've heard this place has a chicken wing following... may try it someday and beg for more curry sauce... lol. one final thought... the young man at the front register had an amazing positivity that was infectious without being overbearing... we really appreciated him walking us through the menu. i'm rarely this enthusiastic about a meal, but did i mention the curry sauce?
09.04.2026 @4:52pm Came for take out. A lots of options with Honk Kong, Singaporean and Malaysian style foods in one place. Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings: good & crispy. Ong Choy w/Sambal Shrimp Paste: not flavorful and more stems over leaves. (I like leave with this type of vegetable). Spicy Eggplant: not spicy at all and overly salty. Black Bean Sauce Clams: it ws huge and fresh. Baked Meat Sauce w/ Spaghetti: ordinary HK style.
Finding that perfect spot for a family-style feast in Honolulu? Yi Xin Cafe in Market City is an absolute must-visit. Their fusion approach to Cantonese, Malaysian, and Singaporean flavors is honestly next level. You cannot leave without trying the Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings-the crunch and flavor are unreal. Other standouts that hit the spot for me are the Thai Style Pork Cheeks and the Beef Omelette on Rice. Refresh your palate with the Instagram-able HK ice lemon tea with an iced teddy bear. Staff was attentive. Vibes gave me a Chinese resturant feel. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZOBd1dyCJH/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Quick service, yummy food (pork cheeks and long beans) the ambience was fun. Our server was quick to answer any questions and made sure our food came out fast
This place is located in market city in the former space known as Any Time Cafe. We came here on a whim as it was a rather chilly night and all the Ramen places had lines. I've seen this place a few times and have always been intimidated going in mainly because the menu with items that are foreign to me. We chanced it and boy was I glad. We came on a Sunday evening around 7:30 PM. That's actually kind of late for me to eat dinner and this place was packed. We actually didn't have to wait which was great considering every table was filled. And almost every table had the curry crab. That must be a specialty. We opted out of that but our food selection was outstanding. We have the honey walnut shrimp which was perfect. I chose the stirfry eggplant with long beans. It did not come with long beans which was a slight disappointment, nonetheless, it was still good and tasty. The Mr. had a sizzling beef plate and boy was it sizzling. He said the meat was tender. there was a mix of people in the restaurant and everyone appeared to be enjoying their meal. Many had the drinks that had the bear on top. I would definitely come again and try one of the bear drinks just for fun. I am curious about the crab but it is a hefty price tag for it. read more
Tucked in the corner of Market City. Pretty busy but able to get seated right away for lunch. Delicious Chinese food at reasonable prices and easy to share family style. Servers were prompt, gave good recommendations, and were attentive. I really enjoyed the salted egg yolk chicken wings, very flavorful and crispy. The sizzling beef was also yummy and came out hot and fresh! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture. I recommend at least 4 plates to share among 4 people. The drinks were very cute and Instagram worthy of course. Nothing spectacular for the taste, but still refreshing. Would come again! read more
This place has been on my list to try out for such a long time, and I am SO HAPPY that we finally got to go! On a weekend lunch time, we were able to walk in and get sat right away. The host was prompt and friendly and the restaurant was clean and organized. Our server was also prompt and friendly, and she was very patient and helpful with us :) My wonton soup with egg noodles was 10/10. It was a comforting familiar taste and I enjoyed the broth very much. The beef noodle soup was also great, but I definitely recommend the wonton soup over the beef noodle soup. Of course we had to get the frozen teddy bear iced tea -- SO CUTE! I thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant and I'm so excited to go back to try out other menus! read more
Be prepared to wait! But worth it. We got the green beans, sweet and sour pork, wonton soup, chicken wings & the Singaporean crab. The crab was the star of the show! So so good!!! The restaurant is family owned and the servers were always checking in on us & grateful for us being there. Can't wait to come back read more
Yi xin cafe has a lot of foods that hong kongers will recognize as local specialties that are hard to find in Hawaii. I had the gratin. It's gratin for sure but it's not really well done. The shrimp are likely cooked separately and cooked well but the other mixins like vegetables don't seem to be cooked so they're kind of hard. I'm sure it saves time vs baking them all together but you can tell the difference. Others with me liked the tomato pork chop. read more
3.5 stars Came here to try the Chili crab which I've never had. We got the Singapore style chili crab, Hong Kong style garlic prawns, Singapore rice noodles, Malaysian beef fried rice, and garlic green beans. The crab was good but not as spicy as I had imagined. The flavor was good it had a nice garlic flavor. I'd order this more spicy if I could next time. The HK style garlic prawns were cooked perfectly. They were tender yet had a nice crisp texture outside. The shrimps were shell on but deveined. The fried garlic was crispy and delicious, the shells on the shrimp added to it. The garlic green beens were nicely cooked, they were tender but not mushy and had good flavor. The Malaysian beef fried rice was just ok. My friend who ordered it said it was much better before. The Singapore noodles were good and had a nice curry flavor to them. Overall a good experience the chili crab was a bit pricy, but I don't know of another place to try it so it was a good choice. Service was quick and prompt. We noticed another table order things that we did not see on the menu. Was asked the waitress about it, she said it was one of the specials of the day. So be sure to ask there are any specials. They are located in Market City Shopping center, the same strip mall with Foodland, Gina's BBQ, and Kamitoku ramen so there's lots of parking. read more
I really like this place. Their Singapore noodles are my go-to every time I visit. Their curries are also good. I tend to go for the beef stew since the meat is soft and tender with just the right amount of fat/tendon. Their salted egg wings were good. I love salted egg flavors. read more
2 months ago
1 year ago
Update on 9-27-25. Had dinner with friends and they just loved this place. The food is tasty and was good. We had salted egg yolk chicken wings, fried green beans with minced pork, deep fried garlic shrimp, bittermelon with blk bean sauce, fried pork cheeks, sizzling Mongolian beef with vegetables. Everything was good. Glad my friends enjoyed it read more
10 months ago
Boo Boo Bear: "Hey Yogi! I've been hearing more and more people talking about a bear at Yi Xin Café in Market City." Yogi Bear: "Probably just another bear in passing like the Care Bears." Andy Panda: "Yi Xin sounds Chinese. All I can say is in China, a panda bear is number one." Winnie the Pooh: "I'm curious! What kind of Chinese dishes does Yi Xin make with honey! Honey is yummy for my tummy!" Gummy Bear: "Let's go make friends with their Ice Bear. Hmmm! A Cantonese crispy gau gee gummy bear sounds Soo Yum Mi!" Icee Bear: "Did you say Ice Bear! I gotta go check that c-o-o-o-o-l bear out! Smokey the Bear: "All I can say is that "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!!!" Yogi Bear: "Yes! Let invite Val and go down to Yi Xin and check to see what's in their Chinese Pic-a-nic basket!" Val: "I'm in, but who's paying?" The next day.... Val: "Wow! This place looks new and clean. Table for eight please! Make that a table for two and we'll beary carefully squeeze together.... but I don't want to sit next to Smokey. He stinks!!" Smokey the Bear: "You would smell too if you had to put out a forest fire. This is a cool looking smoke free place. No smoke; means no fire!" Winnie the Pooh: "Wow! A lot of items on the menu but I think I want the Honey Walnut Shrimp! Honey is yummy for my tummy!" Andy Panda: "I don't see anything with bamboo shoots so I'll just sip some tea. I'm just glad I can finally talk, one bear to another in Cantonese! I'm hoping he's free to play mah jong with me this weekend." Icee Bear: "Order the HK Style Milk Tea with Frozen Bear! I want to see this beary c-o-o-o-l bear!" Val: "OK! And one order of the Pork Cheeks and Baked Meat Sauce with Spaghetti for all of us to share." Our order came pretty quickly and thirty minutes later ..... Val: "The Pork Cheeks was beary good; the Baked Meat Sauce with Spaghetti was beary interestingly Italiano and the HK Style Milk Tea with frozen bear was beary, beary c-o-o-o-l." Icee Bear: "He's c-o-o-o-l but at $6.95 a jar it will be just like what happened to him lounging in the milk tea.... with time, like the Care Bears, will just melt and fade away." Yogi Bear: "The food is better then what you find in an average Chinese Pic-a-nic basket." Andy Panda: "Pretty good Chinese food for sure but in China, panda bears are still number one!" Fred Flintstone: "Yabba Dabba DOOOOO!!!" Yogi Bear: "WHO INVITED YOU???" read more
Garlic shrimp came out hot and tasty. Moist and and a succulent taste to it with the shell and tail on. Service excellent filled water and napkins when needed. Amount given was huge but finished it. Parking in mkt city center can be busy.. read more
5 months ago
Ok, I wasn't too sure at first about this restaurant but I loved it! We ordered a lot of different dishes and I enjoyed almost all of it. This is fusion cuisine for sure and I love the flavors! I love their pork cheek with the sauce. I enjoyed their noodle soup.. my son devoured his curry beef over rice. I love the HK milk tea because it's not too sweet. Their salt and pepper fish was fantastic. Mapo tofu definitely has a curry taste to it so it's not your typical mapo tofu since it is a fusion. Their HK fried rice was great but the star of the show for me was their superrr flavorful green bean eggplant! Omg! Amazing!!!! I could eat how many of those dishes. Sooo Flippin good! Oh and their salted egg wings are yummy too! Either way def a must try! The place is clean and has a few tables inside but it's definitely not a huge spot. The staff is friendly and the waiter was the one who put us on the green beans and eggplant so he gets a 5 star from me haha read more
9 months ago
Been wanting to try this place for a while, so we went at opening on a Sunday. We were seated and served promptly. I ordered the house noodles, honey walnut shrimp, and the teddy bear milk tea. My husband got the baked pork chop with tomato sauce and cheese on rice -- it's something from his childhood that he has been chasing for a while now. He has had it one other place on this island (in Chinatown) and enjoyed this one A LOT more! I enjoyed the house noodles. I thought it was flavorful and had a good amount of shrimp and beef. The honey walnut shrimp was also good. Nicely toasted walnuts and good crisp on the shrimp ~ came out fresh. Teddy bear milk tea was cute! Had fun sending my friend its drowning progression lol! The restaurant felt nice and clean. I would definitely come back again. read more
9 months ago
We went here for lunch, it was a full house but service was relatively quick. Food is great and my most favorite is still the Thai Style Pork Cheeks. Though other dishes were tasty too. We will come back to try their famous curry crabs read more
We came here for a family dinner and I highly recommend making a reservation as the restaurant can get really busy. Luckily we came in before the dinner rush. The menu was so big and everything looked so delicious that it was hard to decide. We ended up getting a couple entrees and sharing. I was very excited for the cute bear milk tea but sadly it was very sour. I think they forgot I had ordered a milk tea because there was a lemon in the drink. The drink was cute and all but I don't think I'd get it again. I would definitely go back for the food. Everything was so flavorful and the portions were perfect to share! I need to go back to try their other options! read more
I finally got to come here... mainly for their salted egg yolk chicken wings and the instagrammable lemon tea with the teddy bear! Everything we ordered was so delicious - salted egg yolk chicken wings, fried green beans with minced meat and sambal shrimp paste, salt and pepper fish fillet, singapore rice noodles, and the iced lemon tea with teddy bear. Definitely want to go back to try the beef chow funn! read more
23 days ago
holy best place in oahu ever. it deserves a infinity/10. honey walnut shrimp, salt pepper fish, etc etc everything is so good ive never eaten better chinese/hk food as a chinese person goddamn. came here twice in 3 days, i WILL be back everytime i come to oahu (service and workers r so so so nice as well, place decorated very nostalgically, reminds me of home) I LOVE THIS PLACE read more
5 months ago
Brought my mom there for Mother's Day brunch and it was more than I expected. The food was awesome and the service was great! The Curry Crab is a must try, so flavorful and they pre crack the shells so it's easier to get to the meat. Definitely recommend if you're in the area or even if you're not lol. read more
2 years ago
There's a lot of good food on the island but not a lot of options when it comes to Chinese restaurants. This little gem is tucked in the corner of a shopping strip in Market City. It's not located in the nicest area but the inside is clean and welcoming. We came during lunch on a weekday and it wasn't busy. We got seated right away and the food came out quickly after we ordered. We shared the Beef Chow Fun ($15.95), Hong Kong Style Garlic Stir-Fried Prawns ($22.95), Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings ($14.95) and Salt & Pepper Fried Fish Fillet ($18.95). The salted egg yolk wings were my favorite. They were very crispy and flavorful. But everything was good! The chow fun was average but the portion is smaller than most places. To wash it all down you have to get their Hong Kong Milk Tea or Lemon Tea with the adorable ice cube bear ($6.95). Not only are the drinks cute, but they have a good, strong tea flavor and aren't too sweet. If you're looking for good Chinese food on Oahu, this is the place to go. read more
Yi Xing is one of my favorite restaurants. They're located in Market City, so there is ample parking. Be warned that the stalls here are super tight though. A group of five of us came here on a Sunday night for dinner. We didn't think we had to make reservations, but we had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. They squeezed us onto a table, which I didn't mind. For five people, we ordered four dishes - green beans, salted egg chicken wings, beef chow fun, and beef fried rice. This was just the right amount of food, and a good amount of variety. I really liked the chicken wings, and I've never had anything like it before. The chicken was moist, but the outside was the perfect amount of crispiness. They were also offering 10% off when we went for back to school. I only paid around $15 for my portion after tax and tip! I would definitely recommend here if you're craving Hong Kong/Singaporean food. read more
Tasty, fast, unique! The menu at Yi Xin has changed a little since my first visit. It's expanded, which is great to see! The place is long and narrow-er for a typical restaurant, but plenty spacious and clean. The staff are really friendly and served us quickly with water and menus when we got seated. We ordered the beef chow fun and salt pepper pork chop rice plate for 2 people and it was just right. The pork chops were really tender, I wish there was a little more of the garlic/chili topping left on the pork - the flavor was there, but I love those little bits and pieces of garlic. The chow fun was really tasty and hit the spot. For those 2 dishes, lunch was pretty reasonable. But Yi Xin serves a lot more than that. In fact, it seems they specialize in crab dishes. Also tons of Malaysian, Singaporean, Cantonese, and even Thai inspired dishes here. Something for everyone for sure. read more
I was walking by and saw the 10% off special excluding crab. I did a takeout of the chef special beef broccoli over crispy noodle; and chicken wings with salted yolk. Both were tasty. They separated the noodles and gravy for takeout which is great. No soggy noodles. The wings were moist and still good. Service is good. People were enjoying their meals. I came after 12:30 pm and was surprised it wasn't too crowded. read more
1 year ago
Delicious food, cute decor and friendly staff. We enjoyed this delicious Hong Kong style eatery with well-balanced and interesting Cantonese and Malaysian flavors. Our favorites were salted egg chicken wings, black bean crab, salt and pepper shrimp, custard dessert, bear ice cube drink with lemon iced tea, calamansi juice and even the simple garlic ong choy was tasty without the sambal or shrimp paste. The curry crab was quite creamy and mild. We also loved the decor from photos of Hong Kong to the cute collection of lucky cats, double decker buses and condensed milk tea set...all very specific references to HK. The price point was also very reasonable for such fresh and yummy food. Parking is free and convenient at Market city on weekdays but can get crowded on weekends. We will be adding this eatery to our family dinner rotation! read more
My boyfriend and I love coming here every time we are in Hawaii. The owner and her workers are always so friendly and make the experience that much more enjoyable. My favorite items here are the egg yolk chicken wings and Thai style pork cheek. The egg yolk wings are perfectly fried yet still moist on the inside. The batter is light and airy and the egg yolk really shines through in this dish. The Thai style pork cheek is decadent and tastes delicious even without the Thai style sauce. The beef chow fun, in contrast, was unfortunately too salty for my boyfriend and I's taste buds during our dinner outing. Overall great experience and I will definitely be back for my favorite egg yolk wings and Thai pork cheek! read more
7 months ago
First time here. I wanted to try something different. I got the Singapore chow fun and it was really good but a bit oily for me. The flavor was good, forgot to let them know no onion so I had to pick it out and had 4 1/2 shrimp on my plate. Hubby got the shrimp curry and said it was good. He had 7 shrimp on his plate. Next time I think I will try something else with rice. Service was good. The waiter put in the wrong order for me so he made the correction right away. Plenty of tables for dine in. Recommend to make reservation when coming here. It gets pretty busy during dinner time and very loud. read more
25 days ago
3 months ago
my most favorite Chinese place on Oahu. make sure to make reservation and get the curry crab ! read more
2nd time here but this time did take out. 1st time food was tasty but portion size was small. Yet people kept telling me was good so thought I'd give it another try. Ordering was easy but then it was all downhill. I was told it would be 10-15 minutes to get my 3 item order. Ordered: - Salted egg yolk chicken wings $14.95 -- wings cooked well but the Salted egg yolk was like a crumble covering. It didn't add the saltiness that I was expecting. More like a powder texture. - JJ lemongrass chicken $28 -- tasty but terrible dish because the chicken was chopped horribly. If you bite a piece of chicken normally, you'll chip a tooth! Every piece has a chicken bone-and not a normal bone, but fractured pieces! They took the chicken and just chopped it into tiny pieces. I don't know why they didn't use normal chicken thighs or breast meat. And all the pieces are brown so you can't see the bones. - fish filet with mix veges $22.95 -- disappointed at portion size for this price and lack of flavor We waited right outside the doors for 15 minutes as more people came in for lunch. They have tables all the way up to the front door so it gets very crowded if you wait in the front of the restaurant, even though they have a few seats. Then at 15 minutes, I went inside and sat. There was originally only 1 waitress for the whole restaurant. Then when the whole place filled up, plus a few take out orders, another waitress came out to help. The dine in customers were greeted but take out were always left at the counter for at least 5 minutes. I kept waiting for my take out order but did not see any food come out to the front, only some dishes to the tables. Finally at 30 minutes wait, the 2nd waitress came to help me, as she noticed I was not happy. I asked about my order - It was sitting on the counter the whole time! Food was already cold. read more
Located in the Market city center near the Kaimuki sudd of the parking lot in the corner. Parking is shared with other tenants like Gina's BBQ, Donut King, Foodland Supper Market, and many other businesses. We had the Beef chow fun which was okay, noodles were smaller than the normal chow fun and it wasn't as flavorful. The sizzling beef & black bean sauce with vegetables was very good and tasty! The long beans and minced pork was okay not that tasty and flavorful more on the spicy side than taste. The Mapo tofu with rice was okay also nothing that really stood out. The Hong Kong ice tea was very good if you want the frozen bear it is an additional $1.50. No restroom, there is a public restroom towards the middle of the building near Gina's BBQ. read more
2 years ago
Really enjoyed my meal at Yi Xin Cafe. They offered a variety of options on their menu and everything g we ordered was very tasty. Ordered: Egg yolk chicken wings: this was my favorite. The wings were meaty, the fried batter was light, and the taste of the egg yolk was on point! Highly recommend. Baked Pork chop with tomato sauce, cheese, and rice was my second favorite. Such a great combination of flavors. Baked chicken in meat sauce with cheese over rice, nice hardy dish. Beef chow fun, this was good and with delicious wok heat! If you know, you know! Ong choy was cooked perfectly, it was just a little salty, I still would order it next time. Shrimp curry, good flavors of spices. Sauce was good consistency. Teddy bear iced milk tea. Was super cute to order for the first time. Had to get a to go cup because the bear lasts a long time before it melts. Next time, I'll probably get the tea without the bear . Staff were really nice and everyone we spoke to spoke Cantonese as well. The restaurant was clean. Parking lot is right out front. This place is located at Market city on top level. We went on a Sunday for a party of 5, no wait and no reservations needed for us. read more
1 year ago
Yi Xin Café totally surprised me! I came for the adorable teddy bear iced tea--and ended up staying for the amazing food and friendly vibe. The **teddy bear iced tea** is a whole experience: a frozen bear made from sweetened tea floats on top of your drink and slowly melts in, adding just the right amount of sweetness. I got the lemon black tea version and it was super refreshing--not too sweet, not too tart. And yes, I definitely took a hundred photos before even taking a sip. Food-wise, I tried the salted egg yolk chicken wings (so crispy and flavorful!) and beef chow fun--both were packed with flavor and perfect for sharing. Everything came out hot and fresh, and the portions were generous. The place has a casual, modern vibe, great for catching up with friends or just treating yourself. Parking was easy since it's in the Market City Shopping Center, but it does get busy--so go early if you don't want to wait. read more
1 year ago
We just moved our business to the Kapahulu area and are excited to Yelp our way around! The night before, we noticed the amount of people going in and out of the doors of Yi Xin Cafe and decided to give it a try. The great Yelp reviews were an extra bonus for us. We went for a late dinner on a weekday and were greeted very pleasantly and seated right away. This was a cute restaurant that was much bigger than we thought. They had so many options on their menu that we definitely had to take a moment to look it over. We were both extremely hungry, and everything looked really good. We eventually settled for the beef omelette and salt and pepper chicken bites with rice. I really enjoyed the salt and pepper chicken bites; they were perfectly crispy and super flavorful. I will definitely be back for more of them! My other half preferred the beef omelette. It was also flavorful and saucy, just how he enjoys his food. He topped his meal off with a milk tea. While that was our first time there, we are already excited to go back and try out more of their extensive menu. read more
TL;DR: Tasty Malaysian-style dishes with bold flavors, good portions, and refreshing drinks. A bit pricey for a casual cafe, but solid for sharing plates with friends or family. We stopped by Yi Xin Cafe for dinner and tried a variety of dishes. The drinks were a nice start: the yuzu & honey ginger ($4.50) was light and soothing, while the calamansi lemon ($5.95) had that perfect tart-sweet balance and was really refreshing. I preferred my drink more, of course! For food, the standout was the Malaysian beef fried rice ($16.95) - smoky, flavorful, and packed with beef. It was a bit rich though. The sizzling beef with black bean sauce ($19.95) came out hot and fragrant, with tender slices of beef coated in savory sauce. This was my favorite. The ong choy with garlic ($14.95) was simple but well done, fresh greens with a strong garlic punch. A bit "wet", and maybe could've been a tad fresher. All together, the bill came out to about $70, which is on the higher end for a casual cafe, but the portions were decent and worked well for sharing. The atmosphere is straightforward and no-frills, more focused on the food than the vibe. Service was friendly and efficient, and dishes came out quickly. I was pleased with the attentiveness and warm vibe. Overall: A solid spot for flavorful Hk/Malaysian-style comfort food in Honolulu. Great for groups who want to share plates. I'd definitely come back for the fried rice and sizzling beef. read more
Extremely happy I tried this place if I could I would return at least once a week lol. The food is amazing. We ordered the egg yolk, salted chicken wings, I ordered the curry crab, which was 10 out of 10 and the chow fun as well as the green beans... everything tasted amazing. However, the chicken wings in my opinion are not what I'm used to. Not much flavor for my liking. But it was good. Next time I could go without those but definitely the green beans were a hit and that crab. Oh my goodness! The curry was so flavorful one of the best curries I've ever tasted. The service was great. Our waitress had a beautiful smile on her face and gave me her opinion when I asked for it. It was very busy and the only table they had for us was the one right by the front door, which was kind of annoying when people were walking in and out, but hey, that didn't bother me. None! We also ordered the Kalamansi drink and the lemon tea both flavorful and I rate them a 10 out of 10 the interior had decor on the wall walls and it was overall a great restaurant! Looking forward to coming back soon to try the Singaporean crab. I believe it's called because I like spicy.... read more
2 years ago
I've been wanting to try this spot and finally took the chance. Maybe Instagram and other social media hyped it a little too much or maybe tonight was just an off night. It started out great and we were able to be seated fairly quickly but then things took a bad turn. While the server brought us water right away it took a good 15 minutes after, maybe even more, before I had to flag down a server to place our order. Mind you the server was about to take someone else's order who was sat after us, even though we were waiting....and waiting. I was trying very hard to be patient because it was fairly busy but to feel like everything else and everyone else was a priority was quite annoying. The space is small and fairly crammed. My chair was bumping into the party behind me. So fair warning, you'll have to suck it in to sit down. The food was okay. Again, maybe I just set my expectations high because of social media but it's nothing I'd crave to try again. Could be a combination of the bad service as well. All in all, I may try to return on a different day to give them another chance but I won't be rushing to go back. Sure, if you're looking for okay service and okay food give them a shot. Otherwise don't waste a trip out there. read more
Went for early dinner on a Wednesday. Seated right away. Apps came out quick. Food was amazing. Pork slices app is a must. The salted egg wings were very crispy and perfectly cooked. The beef chowfunn was missing flavor and the shrimp curry was very good. Shrimp was soft and not overcooked. Would definitely eat there again. read more
More info about Yi Xin Cafe
2919 Kapiolani Blvd
Unit 218
Honolulu, HI 96826
Directions
(808) 738-0818
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Visit Website
https://marketcityhawaii.com/yi-xin-cafe/
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Ask the Community - Yi Xin Cafe
Do they allow 'free' BYOB as of today (August 30,2025)?
There is no corkage fee as this restaurant does not serve alcoholic beverages.
Do we get to keep the cup with the teddy bear ice tea?
Hello Lee I m so sorry the cup is use at the restaurant only But for left over milk tea or iced tea…
Any crab or lobster dishes?
They have live crabs in tanks, so I assume you can get something with crab in it
Is MSG added to dishes?
From what the kitchen says, most dishes do have MSG added.
Do they have liquor license & serve beer & wine?
No, no beer or wine served. You can bring your own!
Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
20 reviews that are not currently recommended
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