Seoul Tofu House

Seoul Tofu House is located on the ground level of The Laylow in Waikiki. Their specialty is soondubu and they have about 10 different varieties of it. What's great about this place is that your food is served as a set so everyone gets their own side dishes, bowl of rice, and packet of seaweed. Beside soondubu, they also have items like kalbi, spicy chicken, cold noodles, Korean pancakes, and meat jeon. I enjoyed the seafood soondubu and beef jeon. The soondubu broth had lots of flavor and it was addicting. My mouth was burning from the regular spice level but it was good. The beef jeon tasted sweet but the meat was tender and each piece is dipped in egg before pan frying. The soondubu sets are $13.99 but if you're kamaaina, show your ID and get a discount.

You don't need a reservation; walk in is okay because they have a lot of seating. There is interior and exterior seating but exterior can be loud because of all noise coming from the street. The entrance is on Kuhio Ave. after The Laylow's escalators if you're coming from International Marketplace. I don't think the restaurant offers parking so park at International Marketplace or Hyatt Centric and go shopping after to get your validation.

2299 Kuhio Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 376-0018

Beef Jeon

Plain Soondubu

Seafood Soondubu

Asato Family Shop

Asato Family Shop is best known for their sherbet. They are only open on Wednesdays and Sundays for a few hours. If you walk are drive by in the morning, you will always see a line in front of the shop. The pints are $6.99 each and there is no limit on the 3 classic and 3 specialty flavors. Sometimes they will have a 7th flavor and for that, you are only allowed to buy 1 pint. So far, my favorite is the pickled mango juice sherbet. If you grew up drinking green river, that flavor of sherbet taste really good too. I'm hoping to see pickled mango juice back on the menu soon especially because July is mango month. I recommend following them on instagram, @asatofamily, for the latest updates on flavors, inventory, and the line.

If you want to skip the line, you can purchase a subscription from their website. The subscription will get you 3 pints of the classic flavors and 3 pints of the special flavors. On your day of pick up, you can walk to the front of the line and pick up your 6 pints. If you want to buy more pints, you will have to stand in the long line.

For more information about Asato Family Shop, visit asatofamilyshop.com.

1306 Pali Hwy
Honolulu, HI 96813

Li Hing Calamansi, Strawberry

Pickled Mango Juice

Asato Bar w/ Strawberry Jam, Lychee Rose

Waioli Grill & Cafe - CLOSED

Waioli Grill & Cafe is a Japanese izakaya. This place is great for groups because it's spacious and table set up is for 4 or more. The interior is still the same as the restaurant that was previously here. I recommend getting the beef katsu, chicken namban and grilled moi. Their food taste good and the prices are reasonable.

They only open for dinner and they're closed on Mondays. You can find them in the Kapahulu area in the same complex as Papa John's and next to the laundromat. There is a private parking lot for the complex that you can park in. I went on a weeknight and for small groups, walk ins are okay. If you have 4 or more people, making a reservation in advance is better.

For more information about Waioli Grill & Cafe, visit waioligrillandcafe.com.

611 Kapahulu Ave
Ste 102
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 762-1916

Beef Katsu

Pork Kakuni

Chicken Namban

Grilled Moi

TBD Hawaii - CLOSED

TBD Hawaii is a pop-up restaurant located inside the Lotus Honolulu on the 2nd floor. They offer an interesting mix of flavors on their menu which makes them unique. It's best to come with a group of people so you can do family style dining and try multiple dishes. The portions are small and it's on the pricey side. My favorites were the falafel (part of the tbd bento) ribeye, tandoori fried chicken, croque en bouche, and mango kulfi.

The service is excellent and the staff are friendly. The GM and sommelier both came over to the table for an intro before we started our dinner. The interior of the restaurant is modern and spacious. They have a lounge area by the entrance if you just want drinks and small bites. The tables against the wall have comfy couches but if you have a table in the middle of the dining room, you'll get a view of Kapiolani Park. They have complimentary valet parking with validation. I recommend making reservations because they are busy. Their closing date is June 2021.

For more information about Tbd, visit tbdhawaii.com.

2885 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 791-5164

TBD...Bento

Jamon Iberico

Kafta "Meat Balls"

Roasted Cauliflower

Prime Ribeye

"TFC" Tandoori Fried Chicken

Croque-en-bouche

Mango Kulfi