Maruwu Seicha

Maruwu Seicha opened a second location on Oahu in Mo'ili'ili. Their first location is in Waikiki. Their drinks have a very strong tea taste. I prefer the hojicha over matcha because I like the toasted taste and I don't enjoy the bitter aftertaste from matcha. For some of their drinks, it comes with whole milk and you can't substitute it for a non-dairy option. They also have matcha sodas, soft serve, and cheese tarts. I recommend the Hokkaido cheese tart. It was creamy with a buttery crust and went well with my black sesame hojicha. The drink prices range from $8 - $10.

The Mo'ili'ili location has indoor and outdoor seating but it gets busy. A lot of people are there studying so they stay long. If you can get a table inside, stay and hang out for a bit because the AC is nice and cold. For parking, the Mo'ili'ili location offers free parking in the Hale Mahana structure. For Waikiki, it's metered street parking or parking in a structure that does not offer validation. 

Mo'ili'ili
2615 S King Street
Honolulu, HI 96826

Waikiki
260 Beach Walk
Honolulu, HI 96815

Iced Matcha Latte (iced)

Black Sesame Hojicha Latte (iced)

Hokkaido Cheese Tart

 

Oli's Kitchen - CLOSED

Oli's Kitchen offers local style comfort food for breakfast and lunch daily. They have a loco moco and kalbi plate but their best items are the garlic chicken, salt & pepper chicken and breakfast. They give large portions and the prices are cheap. For breakfast, the bacon waffle with peanut butter maple glaze and the stuffed french toast with peanut butter and banana are a "must try!" My favorite is the garlic chicken because it's sweet and savory with a hint of garlic flavor that's not overpowering. 

They are located at Puck's Alley next to Nijiya Market on University Ave by the bus stop. The staff are friendly they check to make sure you're all good even after you get your food. If the restaurant is half full, the kitchen does take a little longer but because the atmosphere is so chill, just talk story with your friends and enjoy the Hawaiian music over the speakers. I usually come for breakfast around 9am on weekends and do a walk in. If you are coming with 6 or more people, I recommend calling them first to see if they can arrange the tables and chairs to accommodate you. The parking in Puck's Alley is pricey if you go past 1 hour. It will cost you $3.99, pay in the Metropolis app on your phone. If you can leave in under 1 hour, the parking is free. 

For more information about Oli's Kitchen visit oliskitchenhawaii.com.

Puck's Alley
1009 University Ave
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 387-0457

 

Half n Half Chicken Plate
(Salt n Pepper, Garlic)

2 Egg Breakfast w/ 
Portuguese Sausage & Hash

Pancakes (3pc)

Stuffed French Toast w/ 
Peanut Butter Banana (3pc)

Izakaya Tenkichi

Izakaya Tenkichi is a Japanese restaurant that offers a variety of appetizers, tempura, and sushi. The kitchen is in the middle of the restaurant so you can watch the chefs prepare and cook your food. The food portions are small and meant for 1 person. Some of my favorites were pumpkin tempura, sweet potato tempura, and maitake mushroom tempura. I enjoyed the hand rolls more than the rolled sushi because it had more protein in them. The prices ranged from $5 - $12 for the individual portions. They have some larger shareable items like an ikura bowl or uni bowl and those are between $25 - $60.  

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor, you enter from a door on the side of Tori Ton on S. King Street and walk up the stairs. If you sit near a window, you get a view of Old Stadium Park. They have counter seats that surround the kitchen in the middle and booths against the wall which are great for groups. The vibe here is fun with the friendly staff and the dress code is casual; slippers are okay. The noise level gets louder as the night progresses. I recommend making a reservation a few days in advanced because they get busy from 6:30pm onward. For parking, you can park in the lot and pay with the app or do meter street parking on S. King Street or Isenberg Street. The metered parking is free after 6pm.

For more information about Izakaya Tenkichi, visit tenkichihawaii.com.

2334 S King St., 2nd floor
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 367-0012

American Wagyu Beef Nori Rolled Tempura,
Dashi Marinated Avocado Tempura,
Brie Cheese Tempura

Pumpkin Tempura, Sweet Potato Tempura

Maitake Mushroom Tempura,
Brie Cheese Tempura

Eel Avocado Maki, Salmon Avocado Maki

Negitoro Avocado Hand Roll

 

Wu Wei Chong Qing Cuisine

Wu Wei Chong Qing Cuisine is known for their Chinese spicy noodle soup but you can get it non-spicy. There is very little interaction with the staff after being seated at the table. You order by scanning a QR code. The online menu has photos of each item and you can customize it to your liking. For my spice level, I select "clear broth" which is no chili or spicy. The clear broth still has flavor and I think it's made with pork bones. My favorite is the shredded pork pickle noodles because it's savory and has a hint of sour from the pickled cabbage and the beef noodles because the strong beef flavor in the broth. The garlic cucumbers and braised duck were too spicy for me and there's no way to adjust the spice level for those so I suggested getting a drink to help manage the heat. Their prices are reasonable for the pork and beef noodles, it's about $15 - $17 and its portioned for 1 person.

The restaurant is small and the wait time for a table during dinner could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. This isn't a place where people would hang out, you eat and you leave so the wait time is reasonable. They don't have space to accommodate groups of 5 or more because all the tables are set for 2 or 4. For parking, it's metered street parking on S. King Street.

For more information about Wu Wei Chong Qing Cuisine and to browse their menu, visit www.fetail.com/storev2/shop?store_id=212.

1738 S King St #101
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 741-2297

Shredded Pork Pickle Noodles

Beef Noodles

Twice Cooked Pork Dry Noodles

Garlic Cucumbers

5 Spiced Braised Duck

 

AnyPlace Cocktail Lounge

AnyPlace Cocktail Lounge is a homey bar that serves delicious food with reasonable prices. Their menu includes local favorites like lechon, fried pork chop, fried noodles and fried rice. My favorites were the lechon, obachan's fried chicken, and kalibi.

This place is perfect for large groups because they have a big space. If you plan to go with 10 or more people, I recommend calling them before you head over so they can set up the tables and chairs. The dress code here is casual, you can walk in with shorts and a t-shirt and it's fine. If you're wearing a collar shirt, you're overdressed. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is laid back. For parking, they have a few stalls in front but it fills up fast. You can do street parking on Young Street or park in the CPB parking lot across the street after 5pm for $7 which covers you for 24 hours.

For more information about AnyPlace Cocktail Lounge, visit anyplacehawaii.com.

1018 McCully St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 947-8977

Lechon

Traditional Combo
(Hamburger and Spam & Egg Sandwich)

Obachan's Fried Chicken

French Fries

Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

Fried Pork Chops

Fried Noodles

Fried Rice

Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera

Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Once you're seated, you order from the tablet in front of you. Each person has their own tablet if you sit at the counter. If you sit in a booth, you have a shared tablet. The sushi is sold by the piece and are priced between $5 to $30. You can choose your amount of rice for the sushi or no rice at all which makes it sashimi. The quality of the food is excellent and everything was delicious but my favorites were the snow crab & ikura chawanmushi, seared scallop with salt, otoro, and the castella-style tamago. For the chawanmushi, they were generous with the seafood since I had some in every bite with the egg. If you enjoy sushi and raw fish, expect to spend $80 - $140 per person. If you like toro, uni, and caviar then you might be spending over $200 per person. There is very little contact with the wait staff but they will come by to collect your dirty plates. You can also wave them down to refill water; they're very attentive. For things like hot tea, wasabi, and ginger, you order it from the tablet. There's no contact with the sushi chefs and cooks but you can see them working in the kitchen.

The dining area is modern and well light but the counter seats felt tight especially when all 4 of my plates came within a minute of each other and I had a stack of dirty plates next to the tablet. I think this might be why you are limited to ordering 4 items at a time. I came on a weekday for an early dinner. I walked in around 530pm and the restaurant was 50% full. I was seated immediately. If you go with 4 or more people, I recommend making a reservation at least 2 days in advance. They'll seat you in a booth. If you decide to eat here last minute don't be afraid to walk in because you might get lucky with the counter seating. For parking, there is a parking lot but it fills up fast and it's shared with other restaurants. For alternate parking option, you can do metered street parking which is free after 6pm or paid parking at Puck's Alley. 

For more information about Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera, visit sushionodera.com/kaiten-sushi-hawaii.

2700 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 691-9020

Snow Crab & Ikura Chawanmushi

Chutoro

Seared Scallop w/ Salt

Salmon Dynamite

Chicken Karaage

Negitoro

Ama Ebi

Torotaku

Otoro

Castella-Style Tamago

Strawberry Mousse

Tanto Gyoza and Ramen Bar

Tanto Gyoza and Ramen Bar has the best gyoza. Their gyoza are small but it's crispy on the outside and filled with pork and vegetables. They also have a special dipping sauces that go with it. For their ramen, I enjoyed the Tanto shoyu ramen since the broth had bolder flavor compared to the Tanto goma ramen. Their space is small but they have seating inside and outdoors. The staff is attentive and the food comes out quick. Their ramen is priced between $13 - $18. If you're not interested in ramen, they have rice bowls and a large selection of appetizers. 

They are located at Puck Alleys on the ground level inside the parking lot. It's across from the back entrance from Nijiya Market. They get busy during the peak dinner hour; 6pm - 7pm, so I recommend making reservations at least 1 day in advanced. The parking is Pucks Alley is free for the 1st hour, no validation is needed. 

For more information about Tanto Gyoza and Ramen Bar, visit tanto-hawaii.com. 

1035 University Ave., Ste 105
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 942-1000

Tanto Gyoza

Salmon Yuzu Carpaccio

Tanto Goma Ramen

Tanto Shoyu Ramen

Niu Soft Serve

Niu Soft Serve is a dairy-free ice cream shop located in Mo'ili'ili across from Old Stadium Park. They offer 4 different flavors of soft serve and 2 of the flavors change weekly. The coconut and ube are always available. Some of their weekly flavors consisted of pineapple, orange, strawberry, and chocolate malt. My favorite flavor so far has been the pineapple because it tastes like Dole Whip. Yes, there is a bit of a coconut after taste to all their flavors but it still really good. The soft serve is priced between $6.50 - $7.50 and topping are extra charge. If you're visiting for the first time, I recommend the hot kulolo sundae. If soft serve is not your thing, they also sell shakes, cookies, and pie slices. 

They have tables and chairs inside so you can stay there to enjoy your soft serve. For parking, you can park in front of the store. The parking lot is shared with all the businesses inside Old Stadium Square. 

For more information about Niu Soft Serve, visit niusoftserve.com or follow them on instagram, @niusoftserve. 

Old Stadium Square
2320 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 436-3739

Pineapple

Orange with strawberry li-hing sauce &
mochi balls

Strawberry & Chocolate Malt

Mr Ojisan

Mr Ojisan which was formerly in Kapahulu is now in Moiliili. They have simple one-page menu but there's a little bit of everything on it like sushi rolls, nigiri sushi, sashimi, donburi, udon, grilled foods and deep-fried foods. It's best to do family style dining and order items to share. If you prefer to have your own meal you can order the teishoku set which comes with soup and rice. Their prices are reasonable for the amount of food you get. I enjoyed the wafu steak, it came to the table on a sizzling platter.

They are open for lunch and dinner. For dinner, I recommend making reservations because it gets busy. The interior of the restaurant spacious and well-lit but it can get loud when the restaurant fills up with diners. They have a parking lot in the back of the building. If the parking is full, then there's street parking on S. King Street or in the residential area.

For more information about Mr Ojisan Neo Bar & Sushi, visit mrojisan.net. 

1785 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 735-4455

Sashimi Platter

Waikiki Roll

Wafu Steak

Agedashi Tofu

Chicken Karaage

Ichifuji - CLOSED

Ichifuji is a Japanese Nabe restaurant that is known for their oxtail broth. They have 3 different set menus to choose from or you can order ala carte. I recommend the tasting menu because it has a little bit of everything and it's reasonable priced. My photos below show the 11-course meal for one person. The pot is shared between 2 people. The vegetables & mushrooms and barley rice porridge are also shared between 2 people. Before you cook the raw items, the staff will let you know how long it needs to cook and which signature salt (konbu salt, garlic salt, lemon salt) or sauce (sesame sauce, ponzu sauce) to pair it with. If you plan to eat here, give your group at least 2 hours to enjoy the meal because the pot cooks at a lower temperature and slowly comes to a boil. The courses are spaced out, so you eat a few bites, have a drink, talk story and then cook your next item. If you like to drink, get their yuzu beer. 

They are located across from Old Stadium Park above Tori Ton. You will see a door on the side of the building with a flight of stairs; go up to the top and the hostess will greet you. They only open for dinner and reservations are recommended. Their space is small, but they can move tables around to accommodate a group of 6 or you can have everyone sit around the counter in a U-shape. Parking is available and it's a shared lot. If the parking lot is full, there is metered street parking on S. King Street which is free after 6pm. 

For more information about Ichifuji, visit ichifujihawaii.com.

2334 S King St., Ste. C, 2nd floor
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 367-0012

Ahi Tataki, Oxtail Nokigori, Dynamite Mussel

Chawanmushi

Seared US Wagyu Sushi

Hamachi Loin

Nabe Dashi

US Wagyu Beef Tongue

Vegetables & Mushrooms

US Wagyu Roll

Seared Wagyu Beef Tsukune

Kurobuta Rolls

Barley Rice Porridge

Cherry Upside Down Cake,
Vanilla Ice Cream & Pomegranate Granita