Editor’s Note: After Tuesday’s thunderous downpours and nail-biter elections, we could all use some soul-soothing. That’s what you’ll find in these five bowls—readers’ top picks from our January 2022 poll asking for their favorite version of a local classic.

Oxtail soup, not surprisingly, is subjective. Do you like a clean, classic broth or a deeper one rich with spices and mushrooms? Leafy greens twined through the oxtails or no veggies at all? Don’t even get us started on peanuts. Or are you forever smitten with the version you grew up with?

With several restaurants around the island laying claim to the tastiest oxtail soup, we put the vote to you, our readers. More than 1,200 of you weighed in, many writing in your favorites. Props to all who voted for your own recipe or your dad’s or brother-in-law’s and to those eateries that led the write-in voting: Guieb Cafe, Rokaru Shabu Shabu, Tanaka Saimin and MW Restaurant.

Among the top vote-getters, voting was very close among Nos. 2 to 5, but you left absolutely no doubt about your No. 1 choice. Here are O‘ahu’s favorite oxtail soups.

No. 5: Espresso Bar at Neiman Marcus

Photo: Sean Morris

This may seem like a surprise pick, with 5.8% of votes cast, but the oxtail soup at Neiman Marcus Ala Moana’s Espresso Bar has had a following for years. The off-menu item is a Thursday special at this lunch café and often sells out by noon, so best to get there early. Remember, Thursdays only!

1450 Ala Moana Blvd., (808) 951-3445, stores.neimanmarcus.com

No. 4: Zippy’s

Photo: Mari Taketa

Because sometimes you need oxtail soup at midnight. Because you need it everywhere. Because the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, and because there’s peanuts. The oxtail soup at this favorite local chain got 6.8% of reader votes.

Multiple locations, zippys.com, @zippys

No. 3: Asahi Grill Ward

Photo: Mari Taketa

Another famous old-school classic, this purist version with clear, collagen-rich, sticky-lip broth and nothing else in the bowl save big, tender oxtails with cilantro and green onion got 8.2% of the vote. Not to be confused with Asahi Grill Ke‘eaumoku, now known as Asahi Grill Kaimukī after its move to Wai‘alae Avenue.

515 Ward Ave., (808) 593-2800

No. 2: Kapi‘olani Coffee Shop

Photo: Lee Tonouchi

It’s in Waimalu now, but Kapi‘olani Coffee Shop traces its roots back to the old Aloha Motors site, aka where the Hawai‘i Convention Center is now on Kapi‘olani Boulevard, in the 1960s. With a classic broth, this bowl from the self-proclaimed “Home of the Famous Oxtail Soup” drew 8.4% of reader votes.

98-020 Kamehameha Hwy, (808) 488-7708

SEE ALSO: Battle of Two Legendary Oxtail Soups

No. 1: The Alley at ‘Aiea Bowl

Photo: Martha Cheng

OMG, O‘ahu! Seriously, 32% of all votes cast? We knew the oxtail soup at this bowling alley restaurant had buzz, but the Alley’s bowl dominated this poll. New-school touches include house-made ponzu sauce for dipping. Next time you go for the tasty chicken and a slice of lemon, pumpkin or strawberry crunch, don’t sleep on the oxtail soup.

99-115 Aiea Heights Dr., (808) 488-6854, aieabowl.com/restaurant, @aieabowl

SEE ALSO:

• You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Ramen Shops on O‘ahu
• You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Saimin Spots on O‘ahu
• You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Okazuya on O’ahu
• You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Classic Loco Mocos
• You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Poke Shops

Editor’s Note: We published these reader poll results in June 2023 in the heat of summer after our own ranking of shave ice was decidedly different from our readers’ picks. Well, it might be after the autumn equinox, but it still feels like summer heat has a grip on us. Now’s a good time to remind you to find solace in as many icy treats possible. 

When it comes to shave ice, it’s a difficult task for anyone to name one shop the best over another. With so many factors to consider, from the texture of the snow to the intensity of the syrups and the quality of the toppings, one list isn’t going to truly show the depth and breadth of our love for this icy treat. So we put the question to our readers, asking them to vote for their favorites.

We learned that although many of Honolulu’s new-age shave ice shops have passionate followings, the classics we grew up with have staying power. Thanks to this list, it looks like we have a lot more ground to cover and we’re not mad about it: Our reader poll last Friday listed 26 shave ice shops across O‘ahu; readers wrote in more than two dozen others. The No. 1 shave ice purveyor isn’t even a shop, but it commanded nearly a third of the total vote. The rest of the race was much closer, with some shops separated by a mere few votes.

Get your spoons ready—these are your picks for the top 5 shave ice on O‘ahu.

Photo: Melissa Chang

No. 5: Shimazu Store

Pass by this iconic shop on School Street on a hot day, and you’ll see a crowd outside enjoying enormous ice cones. A second location inside Hawai‘i’s Favorite Kitchens in Kapahulu is also a must-stop for locals and visitors. With 6.3% of the total vote in our reader poll, Shimazu Store proves that when you stick to the classics, folks from all generations will gladly return for a taste of small-kid time in the form of huge shave ice cones.

Multiple locations, @shimazustoreliliha, @shimazu_shave_ice

SEE ALSO: Shades of Shave Ice: Kapahulu Is Home to Two Old-School Shave Ice Institutions

Photo: Courtesy of Kaulana Shave Ice Creations

No. 4: Kaulana Shave Ice Creations

Another standout on this list, Kaulana Shave Ice Creations isn’t even searchable on Google Maps. But with 6.4% of the vote, passionate fans put it on the map. To get your hands on these icy bowls, you either have to be invited to a party that’s serving them up or attend one of the street festivals where Kaulana pops up.

@kaulana.shaveicecreations

Photo: Courtesy of 6Sixty Apparel

No. 3: Jax Snax (Fomerly 6Sixty Apparel)

Is it strange that a clothing store in Wahiawā would wind up among the Top 5 shave ice on O‘ahu? Not when you realize that they can pump out serious bowls topped with everything from gummy bears to Fruity Pebbles and li hing mui powder. With just five more votes than Kaulana Shave Ice Creations, 6Sixty Apparel lands in the Top 3 shave ice shops on O‘ahu.

670 California Ave., (808) 200-2418, @jaxsnaxhawaii 

SEE ALSO: Best Shave Ice on O‘ahu

Photo: Thomas Obungen

No. 2: Waiola Shave Ice

One of our team’s favorites is also one of your favorites. Despite the somewhat strict ordering criteria and some difficult parking at peak times, Waiola is always worth a visit on a hot summer day. Whether you like to hike it over to the Kapahulu location or chill on a side street in McCully, this is a destination for shave ice connoisseurs. Waiola comes in at second place on our list with 7.7% of the vote.

Multiple locations, (808) 949-2269, @waiolashaveice

Photo: Courtesy of Magic Mountain Shave Ice

No. 1: Mountain Magic Shave Ice

With a whopping 29% of the entire vote, this food trailer in a shopping center parking lot is your pick for the best shave ice on O‘ahu. Either we’re missing out or shopping for deals in Waikele makes everyone crave a sugarloaf mountain of ice dressed with syrups, mochi, ube caps and li hing powder. Once a cart near Lowe’s, Mountain Magic Shave Ice has since migrated to the fence near Dick’s Lechon and Leonard Jr’s Hot Malasadas. Given how warm it gets in West O‘ahu, shave ice is the perfect thirst-quenching treat.

Multiple locations, (808) 681-9582, @mountainmagicshaveice

With such close results, failing to mention the remaining shops in the Top 10 would be like forgetting to mention our best friends from hanabata time. They are:

No. 6: Ululani’s Shave Ice – 6.2% of the vote

No. 7: MM Island Shave Ice – 5.7%

No. 8: Chillest Shave Ice – 4.5%

No. 9: Matsumoto Shave Ice – 4.4%

No. 10: Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha – 3.1%

Among write-in votes, the top four were Fine Time Shave Ice and Puchie’s Shave Ice, which both do events and catering, and ‘Ewa Seed Co. of ‘Ewa Beach and Aunty Kalei’s Shave Ice in Pacific Palisades.

Editor’s Note: Not much changes in the world of saimin, which is one of the reasons why Hawai‘i loves this nostalgic comfort bowl. This poll, originally published in September 2021, proves just that.

Photo: Mari Taketa

Last week, we asked you to name your favorite saimin spots on O‘ahu, and now, the results are in. Two places emerged as destination favorites, but judging from the geographic spread of Your Top 5 spots, we can safely say this: The entire island loves saimin!

Only five votes separated the top 2, which are in Kalihi and Wahiawā. These two saimin specialists accounted for 51% of the nearly 1,000 votes cast, and like the other faves, have their roots deep in Hawai‘i’s saimin past. Let’s duly note that O‘ahu loves all kinds of noodle bowls since many write-in votes were actually for ramen and even lo mein and won ton mein. And a final note before we get to the results: This post is even more meaningful because since we published our own ranking in March 2019, two of those five spots have closed.

So here it is, O‘ahu: Your Top 5 spots for steaming-hot, old-school bowls around the island.

SEE ALSO: Best Saimin: Our Top 5

No. 5: Sekiya’s Restaurant & Deli

Photo: Mari Taketa

With thick, firm noodles in a broth redolent of shrimp stock, this old-school favorite across Kaimukī High School is one for the ages with 6% of votes. The original deli dates back to 1935, it’s still owned and run by the same family and the saimin can be had with other faves from the restaurant and okazuya counter.

2746 Kaimukī Ave., (808) 732-1656, sekiyasrestaurant.com, @sekiyarestaurant

No. 4: Tanaka Saimin

The newbie of this Top 5, at only 10 years old, garnered 7.3% of the O‘ahu saimin vote. Here, you can get oyako (simmered chicken and egg) saimin, oxtail saimin and even moyashi (beansprout) saimin. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Tanaka is run by members of the family of now-shuttered Dillingham Saimin and before that, Boulevard Saimin.

888 N. Nimitz Hwy., (808) 524-2020, tanakasaimin.com, @tanakasaimin

No. 3: Shiro’s Saimin Haven

Photo: Lee Tonouchi

The light-tasting original broth has some clam and some bonito flakes, and Shiro’s makes its own noodles daily, but its biggest claim to fame is that you can get your saimin nearly 60 different ways, including with fried shrimp, pork adobo, Portuguese sausage or lumpia. The gigantic Dodonpa bowl piles on all of 10 different garnishes. This shop, which dates to 1969, got 17.1% of votes.

Multiple locations, shiros-saimin.com, @shirossaimin

No. 2: Palace Saimin

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

75-year-old Palace does everything the old-school way, including making original-recipe pork and dried shrimp broth and hand-wrapping its won tons. The only changes are a switch to Sun Noodles in recent years, and you no longer fill your own water cup from a water fountain (it’s served to your table now). Oh, and the barbecue sticks use fresh tri-tip grilled to order on the original grill. With 25.1% of the total vote, just five shy of No. 1, it’s clearly a destination for O‘ahu saimin lovers.

1256 N. King Street; (808) 841-9983

No. 1: Shige’s Saimin Stand

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

It’s official: Wahiawā’s favorite saimin house is also O‘ahu’s favorite. But since it got just five votes more than Palace Saimin, and the lead swung back and forth nearly every day, it’s probably safer to say the island has two clear favorites. The fact that townies drive out for Shige’s bowls and its plates of fried saimin, the noodles for which are made in-house, kind of made that a foregone conclusion already. Shige’s is pure old-school saimin in an old-school town, like many of our saimin shops, and we mean it when we say we love them all for that.

70 Kukui St., Suite 108, (808) 621-3621, @shigessaiminstand

Editor’s Note: National Chicken Wing Day is upon us again, and while we don’t normally celebrate food days because there are so clucking many, we can’t resist another look at this finger-lickin’ roundup. Originally published July 27, 2023, this was freelancer Mahina Chong’s first post for Frolic.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably like me. You love celebrating national food holidays but honestly, do you want to eat that one designated thing? No, you want options. Monday is National Chicken Wing Day. This island is capital-O Obsessed with Korean Fried Chicken (KFC), so I want to take you beyond the craze. Your girl craves diversity, so I rounded up my favorite fried chicken wings that aren’t KFC—seven spots that just so happen to offer a little sumthin’ extra.

In no particular order, these are my favorite fried chicken wings on O‘ahu.

J. Dolan’s

Photo: Mahina Chong

The wings at J. Dolan’s are the starter hype man everyone needs in their corner before the main pizza event. These wings are a must every time I visit, and once they hit the table, they’re gone. Friends have mentioned they have a subtle spicy kick, but to be fair, my spice taste buds are damaged beyond repair so I don’t even notice. Either way, these classic wings will always be the way to go before pizza.

Multiple locations, jdolans.com, @jdolanshnl

Sam’s Delicatessen

Photo: Mahina Chong

Hidden next to a laundromat on Nu‘uanu Avenue, this small local Korean barbecue serves one of the best examples of fried chicken wings. And while they may be Korean, I wouldn’t consider these wings KFC. Sam’s Deli is one of the nostalgia-filled places I turn to because it never lets me down. It’s the consistency. Far from dry, these juicy and plump wings are a hit at every party, and I never worry about them going soggy. Sam’s chicken wings with beer are the perfect pairing you didn’t know you needed.

1627 Nu‘uanu Ave., (808) 524-7777

SEE ALSO: Our Go-To: Fried Chicken in Honolulu

Aloha Vietnamese Foods

Photo: Mahina Chong

Onion pepper chicken wings, say less! Located among the many eateries at Old Stadium Square, this small Vietnamese takeout gem serves a wide range of dishes (remember, we like options!). The juicy onion pepper chicken wings are packed with savory salt-and-pepper flavor, and I love that they’re served with sautéed onions. Additional salt and pepper seasoning is included on the side. A squeeze of lemon juice over your wings only makes them better.

2320 S. King St., (808) 941-1170, @aloha_vietnamese_foods

The Pig & the Lady

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

My list wouldn’t be complete without these iconic wings whose popularity is well known and with good reason. The Le Fried Chicken (LFC) Wings carry a spectrum of robust flavors, from savory to sweet. Then they slap you with a sneak attack of pickled veggies and hints of fish sauce with every bite. I appreciate the double fry for that extra crisp bite and that they’re never dry.

83 N. King St., (808) 585-8255, thepigandthelady.com, @pigandthelady

Foodland

Photo: Katie Kenny

Feeling a bit snack-ish, but craving something more? Foodland’s salt and vinegar chicken wings are the happy medium. They’re easy to grab and go and taste like one of my favorite chip flavors, but better, because protein! The salt and vinegar coating isn’t strong enough to pucker your lips, but the addictive flavor sends jabs to your taste buds that will keep you reaching for another wing.

 Multiple locations, foodland.com, @foodlandhi

Yi Xin Café

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Calling all harm ha food lovers: These wings are for us. In a corner of Market City, this cute Hong Kong-style café marries two of my favorite things in one dish: Cantonese-style shrimp paste and chicken wings. That’s right, if a chicken and a shrimp had a family, these bad boys would be their legacy. The hint of shrimp after my first bite made me double take to make sure it was chicken. According to Mama Chong (my mom), these wings were popular at a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown years ago; she says these are nostalgic for her. If that’s not a rare seal of approval from a Chinese mom, I don’t know what is.

2919 Kapi‘olani Blvd., (808) 738-0818, @yi_xin_cafe_808

SEE ALSO: Yi Xin Brings Bold Flavors of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

HK Café

Photo: Thomas Obungen

HK Café takes the simple route with a brine, dry and deep-fry method that locks the savory soy sauce flavor in the wing. Despite not having a crust, it delivers a thin crispiness on the outside that fascinates me to no end. These classic house special wings are the underrated sleeper you must try.

Multiple locations, @hkcafehawaii

SEE ALSO: Chinatown’s New HK Café Has Retro Vibes and Legit Noodles

Photo: Courtesy of Mahina Chong

Born and raised in Honolulu, Mahina is an avid local and national sports fanatic—so it’s fitting that her first post for Frolic celebrates National Chicken Wing Day. Mahina loves planning her travel adventures around food and is a self-proclaimed unofficial Disney Mouseketeer.

Kyle Tatsumoto’s Reader Top 5: Best Meaty Fried Rices on O‘ahu last month drew immediate responses—including 58 on our Instagram post, mostly from readers shouting out their own favorite meaty fried rices. Choices covered nearly the entire island, from Mililani Restaurant to Elena’s Restaurant in Waipahu to Bogart’s Café and Café Morey’s on Monsarrat and were pretty much all one-offs.

Except for one: Times Coffee Shop in Kailua. Amazingly, six readers shouted out the meaty fried rice at this 65-year-old institution on Hāmākua Drive:

Times Coffee Shop fried rice. Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

@k00kykat8o8 U guys missing DA BEST breakfast fried rice @timescoffeeshopkailua ❤️❤️❤️ #handsdowndabest

@wutangcomedy yup. Any best fried rice list without Times even ranking is suspect!

@scottshiira Times Coffee Shop in Kailua is ono too

@hopenapokipala Mitsuba and Times Coffee Shop need to be in the conversation

@mclovinit73 Times coffee shop in Kailua is the best!

@jaahdan Times coffee shop

SEE ALSO: Old-School Diners We Love: Times Coffee Shop in Kailua

Naturally, we reached out to Kyle to ask if he’d tried Times’ famous fried rice. By this point, he was up to 93 meaty fried rice breakfasts around O‘ahu. He told us that while he’d had Times’ version, that was many years ago, and he would happily head over the Pali to try it again.

Last week, Kyle texted us:

Photo (and sign): Darrell Lee

“Today, we traveled to Kailua, to Times Coffee Shop, for my 100th fried rice. The fried rice was OK with lots of Portuguese sausage and bacon, but it didn’t have much seasoning. The Times Coffee Shop fried rice may have had too many round onions in it, causing the somewhat sweet taste. But the couple sitting across the aisle from us, tourists from California, paid for our breakfasts.”

So there you have it. To each his own—much of Hawai‘i does love a salty-sweet combo, but not Kyle. Then he added this bombshell:

“Café Kalawe ranks #5, knocking Jack’s [Restaurant] out of the Top 5.”

Whoa.

Café Kalawe. Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

“Café Kalawe’s lup cheong fried rice has a lot of big chunks of lup cheong in addition to the Portuguese sausage and bacon,” he explained. “It had a lot of seasoning, maybe from the bacon grease.”

At this point, we had nothing but questions for Mr. 100 Meaty Fried Rices. Here’s a quick Q&A:

Frolic: What is it about meaty fried rice? What makes you seek it out above other dishes?

KT: I started ordering different things for breakfast. It’s impossible to eat pancakes or rice/eggs/sausage every week, but it is possible to eat fried rice. I think meat just balances the fried rice by adding flavor. It also adds chewy texture.

Frolic: Did you grow up eating and craving meaty fried rice?

KT: I grew up eating fried rice, but my mom usually made it healthier with a lot of vegetables. And it constantly changed, depending on what was leftover.

Frolic: What do your friends and family think about your quest?

KT: My mom and wife think my fried rice quest is crazy. Everyone else thinks it’s cool.

Frolic: Now that you’ve tried 100, what’s next for Kyle the eater?

KT: I originally thought I would quit at 100, but now people are suggesting new places to try, so will probably go to 105 or 110. Might try cake noodle or saimin after.

Congratulations, Kyle, and many mahalos! What will you discover on your cake noodle and saimin quests? Keep us posted!

SEE ALSO: 

Reader Top 5: Best Mac Salad on O‘ahu
Best Mac Salad on O‘ahu: Our Readers Weighed In

Editor’s Note: We posed the question to readers shortly after Chinatown’s longtime Nam Fong closed last fall: Who makes the island’s best roast pork? Now that summer picnic season is upon us, we’re reposting the tasty results.

I remember going with my dad to get $10 haircuts at Supercuts in Mililani Marketplace. Zero guard, taper the sides and back and a little off the top. Afterward, we’d stop next door at Po Sing Kitchen for Pepsi Icees and a pound each of roast pork and “sweet meat” char siu, as Dad would call it. I’d always marvel at how crispy and salty the roast pork was, often still warm, too.

Growing up in suburbia, I didn’t realize how good I had it. Especially with my neighborhood Chinese barbecue shop. It’s amazing that Po Sing is still around. In the same spot with the same red tile storefront with the same smudgy glass window framing slabs of roasted pork belly. As this reader poll proves, it deserves to stick around for a while.

SEE ALSO: You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Roast Duck Shops on O‘ahu

Our initial list of choices on the poll covered 21 spots that offer siu yuk. Readers wrote in a few others, including Nice Day, various Times Supermarket stores, Sing Hing and the now closed Nam Fong. We know it’s difficult to let go, but we hope these results will help you find a new roast pork shop to love.

Here are Your Top 5 Chinese roast pork shops on O‘ahu:

No. 5: Asian Mix

Is it even a viable list if Asian Mix isn’t mentioned? We know readers ponder this question and so do we. With 6.3% of the vote, the fifth spot goes to this popular shop that’s not even a roast meat specialist. But folks still flock here for the roast duck and roast pork, two top sellers. You’ll want to go early as both tend to sell out.

1234 S. Beretania St., (808) 521-1688, hiasianmix.com

No. 4: Fong’s Meat Market

Photo: Melissa Chang

Once again, this humble stall on the King Street side of O‘ahu Market gets a nod, this time for its crispy roast pork. Fong’s took 7.1% of the vote in a narrow race with Asian Mix—and is now the roast pork king of Chinatown.

145 N. King St., (808) 536-6307

No. 3: Po Sing Kitchen

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Here’s where the gaps between shops begin to widen. Unlike the results of our roast duck poll, with 10.1% of the vote going to this Mililani gem, folks in Central O‘ahu are not losing out this time. Po Sing’s ideal meat-to-fat ratio and crispy, almost cracker-thin skin join forces to create a perfect porky bite. It might be worth a special journey if you’re in search of top-tier roast pork.

Mililani Marketplace, 94-780 Meheula Parkway E, (808) 623-9878

No. 2: Alicia’s Market

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Alicia’s Market might be smaller than it used to be, but it still manages to put out some killer roast meat and poke. We can never resist adding some of Alicia’s crispy roast pork to balance out our poke bowls, and obviously, neither can you. With 18.6% of the poll, Alicia’s takes second place as our readers’ favorite roast pork.

267 Mokauea St., (808) 841-1921, aliciasmarket.com, @aliciasmarket

No. 1: Roast Duck Kitchen

Photo: Mari Taketa

Was there ever any question? With more than a quarter of the total vote, Roast Duck Kitchen, ‘Aiea’s Chinese roast meat specialist, is now officially O‘ahu’s as well. The roast pork here is so famous that many people hear about it before they hear about Roast Duck Kitchen’s roast duck. I haven’t been able to obtain a photo of the famous roast pork because it’s always sold out by the time I show up. Best to call ahead or go early to secure the goods.

‘Aiea Shopping Center, 99-115 ‘Aiea Heights Dr., (808) 486-0005

Chart: Thomas Obungen

I grew up in Kāne‘ohe but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked as a banker for 36 years. In 2019, I retired and came home to Hawai‘i. For more than two years now, my friend Darryl Lee and I have been going to the pool for exercise on Wednesdays, and on Mondays, we go to breakfast.

So I’ve now sampled 93 breakfast fried rices in Honolulu. Friends sometimes ask me to rank them; now Frolic has asked. First off, it is very subjective, based on my personal tastes. In general, I prefer fried rice that is dry, with a lot of meat. That means, as a rule, Chinese restaurant fried rice doesn’t score very high: Although generally dry, it usually doesn’t have a lot of meat in it. Secondly, there is no such thing as a “bad” fried rice (at least based on my experience). On a scale of 1 to 10, the worst fried rice I’ve run across is a 5.

Finally, the best fried rice, hands down, is at Side Street Inn, but they only open for lunch on weekends and never for breakfast. See? I told you this ranking was subjective. Here are my Top 5 Best Meaty Fried Rices.

No. 5: Jack’s Restaurant

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

Jack’s Restaurant in the ‘Āina Haina Shopping Center is a pretty divey place that you would definitely not take a date to. But you should order the standard bacon and Portuguese sausage fried rice, and it gets extra points for the killer warm biscuits Jack’s serves with every breakfast.

820 W. Hind Dr., (808) 373-4034, jacksrestauranthonolulu.com

No. 4: Rainbow Drive-In

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

Skip the Loco Moco and Mix Plate and get the fried rice, but it’s best to get there by mid-morning, before the hordes of tourists and birds arrive and before they run out of fried rice. This one is not overly meaty, but the seasoning is perfect. And it’s Rainbow Drive-In.

Multiple locations, rainbowdrivein.com, @rainbowdrivein

No. 3: Asahi Grill Kaimukī

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

This Lup Cheong Fried Rice is at the Asahi Grill Kaimukī on Wai‘alae Avenue, which is not to be confused with the Asahi Grill on Ward Avenue. The two are not related—the Ward eatery was sold by the owner, who opened the second Asahi Grill, and both kept the original name. It’s the Kaimukī Asahi Grill that has lots of lup cheong, and larger pieces of it, in its fried rice.

3008 Wai‘alae Ave., (808) 744-9067, asahigrill.net, @asahi_grill_kaimuki

No. 2: Kapi‘olani Coffee Shop

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

The original Kapi‘olani Coffee Shop was opened in 1949 where the Hawai‘i Convention Center is located. It moved to the Kam Bowl bowling alley, then to the Waimalu Shopping Center, keeping the Kapi‘olani name with each move. The Lup Cheong Fried Rice has a sufficient amount of lup cheong and very good seasoning.

98-020 Kamehameha Hwy, (808) 488-7708, @kcswaimalu

No. 1: Shiro’s Saimin Haven

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

The Original Shiro’s Fried Rice, with a combination of char siu, luncheon meat, pork adobo and spices, is unrivaled among meaty fried rices. The old-school vibe, with Shiro’s original “Dear Hearts” poems on the walls, doesn’t hurt either. And in keeping with the name Saimin Haven, Shiro’s offers more than 60 different versions of saimin and even allows you to create your own. It’s touches like this that make my favorite fried rice on O‘ahu even better.

Multiple locations, shiros-saimin.com, @shirossaimin

Honorable mention goes to the following restaurants:

• Asahi Grill Ward
• Big City Diner
• Forty Niner Restaurant
• Giovanni Pastrami
• Grace’s Inn
• Guava Smoked
• Harry’s Cafe
• Highway Inn Kaka‘ako
• Jet’s Local Fast Food
• Joe’s Grill Express
• Kahai Street Kitchen
• Nico’s Pier 38
• Oh My Grill ‘Aiea
• Sunny’s Local Grind

SEE ALSO: 
Reader Top 5: Best Mac Salad on O‘ahu
Reader Top 5: Best Hot Pots on O‘ahu

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2021.

Bring a pan of crispy gau gee to a potluck, and it’s a guaranteed hit. It’s one of those Hawai‘i-only Chinese restaurant staples that you’re unlikely to find outside of the 50th state. The wrapper has an irresistible crunch with a savory, meaty filling that is more substantial than a won ton. Crispy gau gee has earned its place in the pantheon of classic local pūpū, right up there with lumpia, poke, smoke meat and boiled peanuts.

The aunties at Duk Kee fill the gau gee by hand. Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

Studies show that our strongest food connections are usually established during our first encounter. In turn, those first impressions become the benchmark for foods we eat later in life. For many of us in Hawai‘i, our benchmark for crispy gau gee is often tied to our neighborhood Chinese restaurant. While some have faded into the pages of history, many are still going strong.

What meets our criteria for great gau gee?

• The wrapper must have a great crunch through and through.
• The filling should be meaty, flavorful, well-seasoned and balanced with some fat. It should also have a consistent texture that doesn’t flake apart nor is too fine.
• Finally, the gau gee should be plump and proportionately filled. Too much filling and you lose the crunch; too little filling and you feel cheated.

Side-by-side tasting. Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

Thank you to our readers who responded to our poll with your top 5 gau gee. After checking out nearly all of your recommendations, as well as a few others, we found our top 5 gau gee picks. After trying them side by side, the differences between them became clear. A few of our initial personal favorites did not make the final cut; however, we discovered and rediscovered places that are now destinations for us when we have a party to please.

SEE ALSO: Poll Results: Here’s Your Top 5 Crispy Gau Gee

No. 5. New Mui Kwai

Photo: Courtesy of New Mui Kwai Chop Suey

Our lone pick outside of town, New Mui Kwai is part of a well-established trio of Chinese restaurants in Kāne‘ohe. Their gau gee yields a distinctive sesame oil flavor and has a roughly chopped pork filling that is similar to what you would find in a good pork hash. The crunch is good and satisfies.

45-1052 Kamehameha Highway, Kāne‘ohe, newmuikwai.com

No. 4. 8 Fat Fat 8

Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

While not a Chinese restaurant, this 8 Fat Fat 8 has many loyal customers that come for the laidback atmosphere and stay for the killer Chinese food. By far the most flavor-packed filling, 8 Fat Fat 8’s gau gee surprised us with how mouthwatering it was. The only shortcomings were that it was fried a bit too long for our liking and that you only get five pieces per $8 order, making it the most expensive candidate on this list. While it makes a great pairing with a cold beer, we wanted more for our money.

1327 S. Beretania St., Makiki, 8fatfat8hawaii.com, @eightfat

No. 3. Golden Duck

Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

Located in the former Bakery Kapi‘olani in Makiki on King and Pi‘ikoi streets, Golden Duck has been dishing out solid Cantonese fare for decades. Though ownership changed a while back, it seems that nothing else has. It’s very similar to our top pick for gau gee in flavor and crunch.

1221 S. King St., Makiki 

No. 2. Duk Kee

Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

This Kaimukī staple has been around long before Kaimukī became a hotbed for hip new restaurants, and they’ve been famous for their crispy gau gee for just as long. On any given day, you will likely see a mountain of pork filling sitting near the kitchen with stacks of wrappers waiting to be filled. What kept Duk Kee from the top spot is their inconsistency of the wrappings, which have the tendency to open during the cooking process, resulting in unevenness in the overall experience.

1146 12th Ave., Kaimukī

SEE ALSO: What’s Up, Duk Kee? New Owners Take Over the Chinese Restaurant

No. 1. Golden Eagle

Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

Tucked away on South King Street in Mō‘ili‘ili near Sweet Home Café, Golden Eagle recently changed hands (again), but their crispy gau gee game remains on point. This is a no-frills, pork-forward filling that has that rougher grind of meat and seasoning that is jusssst right. Perfectly crunchy all the way through and perfectly balanced meat-to-wrapper ratio. It was hard to stop eating these.

2334 S. King St., Mō‘ili‘ili, @goldeneaglehonolulu

The cross-section of each offering revealed a lot about each filling and the cook on the wrapper. Photo: Jason Chin and Gregg Hoshida

With the holidays upon us, you’re sure to wow the crowd at your next party with a pan of gau gee from any of these spots.

Wondering about where we visited to do our side-by-side comparisons? Here’s the list:

• Asian Mix
• Chun Wah Kam (Ala Moana)
• Duck Lee
• Duk Kee
• Golden Duck
• Golden Eagle
• Happy Day
• Honolulu Kitchen
• Kin Wah Chop Suey
• Kunia Chinese Restaurant
• Moon Garden
• New Mui Kwai Chop Suey (Kāne‘ohe)
• Nice Day
• Papa Chan’s
• Pauoa Chop Suey
• Roast Duck Kitchen
• Royal Kitchen
• Waimalu Chop Suey

Photo: Lee Tonouchi

The reaction after we posted Gary Hashimoto’s Reader Top 5: Best Mac Salad on O‘ahu a couple of weeks ago left us with two takeaways:

1. People are really passionate about mac salad. I mean, wow.
2. Hardly anyone agrees on this hot-button topic.

When we posted Gary’s Top 5 on Instagram, so many readers weighed in with their own favorites that they basically created an impromptu second poll. A few others even emailed me. And even though nearly 20 of the 26 places readers named basically got one vote each, there were a handful that got two or three mentions.

But the most surprising thing? Two places named by readers were, relatively speaking, far ahead of the pack. For the sake of openness and to give a nod to our different tastes, here are the results:

• KJ’s Local Grindz—7 votes
• Zippy’s (No. 4 on Gary’s Top 5)—6
• Rainbow Drive In—4
• Fukuya Deli—3
• Alicia’s Market—2
• Bada’s BBQ—2
• Da Bald Guy—2
• Mililani Restaurant (No. 5 on Gary’s Top 5)—2
• Toshi’s Delicatessen & Restaurant—2

And with one vote each from an ardent reader (not counting those who named non-O‘ahu restaurants, variations like potato-mac or potato-spaghetti salad, or even the three who mournfully named the former Heights Drive In in ‘Aiea):

The Alley at ‘Aiea Bowl, Fort Street Café, Grace’s Inn, Jane’s Fountain, Kau Kau Grill, L&L in general, L&L ‘Aiea, Liliha Bakery, Liliha Drive Inn, Lunch Box Kitchen of Hawai‘i, Oh My Grill, Okata Bento, Pioneer Saloon, Ray’s Café, Ruger Market, St. Louis Okazuya, Upscale Hawai‘i.

Most helpful were those who suggested pairings with their favorite mac salad:

@rranger808: “You should try @badas_bbq as they’ve got a real good Mac salad that also pairs well with their Brisket Chili & BBQ plate lunches.”

@yobomania44: “Liliha bakery I think has good mac salad I like dipping it with there teriyaki sauce.”

and @paulfoodsnobc: “@rayscafehonolulu. The mac salad pairs well with Chef Felix’s fried chicken.”

So that was unexpected, this spontaneous poll. We absolutely love it. Stay tuned for our next Reader Top 5!

SEE ALSO: Best Loco Mocos in Hawaiʻi: Our Top 5