Supreme Dumplings

Supreme Dumplings has a location in Honolulu at Ala Moana Center on level 2 by Longs Drugs. They are known for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings) but they also have a variety of Taiwanese dishes. My favorites were the supreme pork xiao long bao, pan fried pork dumplings, fried pork chop, and string beans with garlic. For the xiao long bao, their wrappers are thick so you'll want to eat them shortly after the steamer arrives on your table or they get firm. The pan fried dumpling are a must, those have a crispy outer and it's very juicy on the inside. Before we placed our order, the waiter told us what was "sold out" or "not available" and it was because the kitchen is still in training. The service was good and the food came out in a timely matter. Our waiter was friendly and checked on us to see if we wanted to order more food, desserts, or additional drinks. 

The interior of the restaurant is spacious, well lit, and the design is modern. It's best to go with 2 - 4 people. They can accommodate 5 or more if they move tables together. I made my reservation one month in advance to eat there on the weekend. They are busy. They do accept walk ins but your wait time will be over 1 hour. 

For more information about Supreme Dumplings, visit supreme-dumplings.com.

1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Level 2
Honolulu, HI 96814
(877) 230-6165

Supreme Pork Xiao Long Bao

Black Truffle & Chicken Xiao Long Bao

Crab & Pork Xiao Long Bao

Stir-Fry String Beans w/ Garlic

Mini Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings

Supreme Tan Tan Noodles w/ Peanuts

Pork Wonton Noodle Soup

Fried Pork Chop

Onyx Golden Lava Custard Bun

Black Sesame Mochi Rice Balls w/ Peanuts

 

Egghead Cafe

Egghead Cafe is a brunch spot that offers American and Taiwan fusion. The "Egghead Special" menu is mostly Taiwanese dishes with my favorites being the pork belly bowl and the peanut butter french toast. The pork belly is tender and the sauce drips into the rice giving it so much flavor, then topped with a fried egg where the bottom is slightly crisp. For the peanut butter french toastm it reminds me of the cafes in Hong Kong where PB is between 2 slices of white bread and deep fried. It's rich but it taste delicious and I suggest sharing this.

They don't accept reservations. When you arrive, scan the QR code outside and join the wait list. Their interior space is a reasonable size and since they put a time limit on dining in, they turnover tables quickly. The staff are friendly and the kitchen is efficient. The longest I've waited for a table is 10 minutes on the weekend when I come around 830am. They are located at the Kapalama Shopping Center with ample parking. 

For more information about Egghead Cafe, visit eggheadhonolulu.com. 

Kapalama Shopping Center
1210 Dillingham Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 888-2211

Peanut Butter French Toast

2 Eggs Brekky + Mix Greens

Pork Belly Bowl

Green Onion Pancake

 

 

A-ma's Gua Bao

A-ma's Gua Bao is known for their Taiwanese pork belly buns. They are one of the newer vendors at the Kakaako Farmers Market this month. The bao has other fillings like, beef, minced pork, and tofu. Each bao costs $8. I recommend the pork belly and the beef gua bao. Both of those had a lot of flavor. The minced pork was a bit too spicy for my liking. The tofu is good if you want something with lighter flavor.  

The Kakaako Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 8AM - 12PM. A-ma's Gua Bao is located on the side closer to the ocean. They accept cash and Venmo only. If you plan to try this, I suggest going early in the morning to put in an order first and then coming back to pick up the food in 30-60 minutes. The prep/cook time takes awhile because they steam the buns in small batches. They usually sell out by 11AM.

Kaka'ako Farmers Market
919 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 388-9696

Pork Belly Gua Bao

Beef Shin Gua Bao

Minced Pork Gua Bao

Tofu Gua Bao

 

Tiger Sugar

Tiger Sugar's first Hawaii location is now open in Honolulu. Their signature drink is the black sugar boba and pearl milk with cream mousse. The boba is made in small batches and kept warm so it stays soft and chewy. The black sugar is what sweetens the drink and there is no customizing of the sweetness level like at the other shops. All the ingredients are imported from Taiwan except for the milk. My favorite was the black sugar boba and pudding milk with cream mousse. The pudding is also made fresh and they were generous with the portion. The black sugar milk drinks come in 1 size and it's $6.

They are located at the corner of Nuuanu Ave. and Vineyard Blvd. in the same complex as Papa John's. The parking lot is small and vehicles can enter from both sides so you can get stuck. I suggest parking on the street in the metered parking spaces along Nuuanu Ave.

1365 Nuuanu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 376-0648

Black Sugar Boba + Pearl Milk
w/ Cream Mousse

Black Sugar Boba + Pearl Milk +
Chocolate Malt w/ Cream Mousse

DT Steak House - CLOSED

DT Steak House is a Taiwanese style steak house. Your food is served on a sizzling plate with your choice of black pepper sauce or mushroom sauce. All the items on the menu are sold as a set which comes with a small salad, cup of corn soup, and small iced dessert. The prices range from $18 - $30. I recommend the flat iron steak because the meat was tender and juicy.

If you want the full experience, you should dine in because the waiter will remove the lid after setting the plate in front of you. You will get the delicious smell and see the sauce bubbling on the plate. If you're not comfortable with dine in, you can still do takeout but you will miss out on the sizzling sound and bubbling sauce since your food will be in a box. I recommend making reservations if you plan to dine in. The staff was attentive and they checked on us a few times to make sure we were okay. They also let us order drinks from Dragon Tea and bring it in. 

1339 N School St., Ste 102
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 888-2800

Flat Iron Steak w/ Black Pepper Sauce

Combo Deluxe w/ Mushroom Sauce

Fresh Salad

Sweet Corn Soup

Organic Spaghetti w/ Mushroom Sauce

Li Hing Pineapple Jam Ice Dessert

Cloud Nine Cafe

Cloud Nine Cafe is known for their moist and fluffy souffle pancakes. Each order of pancakes is made fresh and it could take between 20 to 30 minutes. While you're waiting for pancakes, you can order a drink or snack on some dumplings. I enjoyed the steamed chicken and cabbage dumplings. The pancakes were soft and easy to cut through with a fork, the mango cream had mango taste and was sweet and light. I highly recommend souffle pancakes.

They have a big space and can seat a lot of people but on weekends, they are busy. This place is self-service and you walk to the back to order. If you're eating there, just find an open table after you've placed an order. The staff will call your receipt number when your order is ready. It's best come when they open at 10am or in the late afternoon when it's less crowded. I saw people ordering take out for the souffle pancakes so that's an option if no tables are available. For parking, it's better to park near Ben Franklin since the stalls in the upper parking lot by Foodland and Walgreens are very small.

For more information about Cloud Nine Cafe, visit cloud9cafehi.com.

Relocated to:
1221 Kapiolani Blvd Suite 111
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 739-9988

Mango Cream w/ Fruit Souffle Pancakes

Chicken Dumplings w/ Cabbage

Jasmine Green Milk Tea

NIO Snow Ice & Tea

NIO Snow Ice & Tea is a tiny shop near Restaurant Row that offers Taiwanese snow ice, milk teas, and fruit teas with boba. The snow ice is priced between $6-$7 and the drinks are between $5-$6. All the drinks are one size; large. Their boba are softer and chewier compared to the other shops in town. I noticed their drinks are more on the sweet size so it might be best to ask for less sugar and add more as needed. There is a self-serve syrup dispenser on the side of the counter. I recommend the tiger latte boba and matcha lovers. The tiger latte boba has no caffeine and is made with milk and caramel. The matcha lovers tasted like a Japanese dessert. It's a green tea latte with sweeten azuki beans and condensed milk walls.

The seating is limited; there are 6 bar stools. The parking is also tough. If you drive into the alley most of the spaces are reserved or coned off for the other businesses. It is best to find street parking or have someone else get the drinks while you wait in the car in front of the shop.

550 Halekauwila St., Ste 101
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 548-2431

Tiger Latte Boba, Matcha Lovers, Tiger Amber Boba

Dragon Tea

Dragon Tea is a Taiwanese tea shop that specializes in bubble tea drinks. Most of their drinks are made with green tea and blended with fruit. There are a few drinks on the menu that don't have tea in them. Their milk tea selection is small but the honey milk tea is really good and it's under $4 (if you don't add toppings). You can customize your drink by telling them how much sugar to add; no sugar, half sweet, regular. If you don't tell them, they just make it regular which ends up being really sweet for some people. You can also add toppings (boba, coffee jelly, pudding, etc...) but this can make your drink expensive. Their boba is soft in the center so it's worth adding. The regular size drinks run from $4 to $5 which is reasonable. I highly recommend the pineapple green tea slush because it reminded me of a plantation ice tea.

They have 3 locations on the island but the best one for locals to go to is Market City because it has parking. The locations inside Waikiki do not offer parking. If you get lucky, you might find a spot on the street. If you find yourself coming here quite often, you should ask them for a stamp card so you can earn a free drink. Sometimes, they post offers on their Facebook page so keep an eye out for the specials.

Market City
2919 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 739-9988

Waikiki
423 Nahua St.
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 921-9988 

2443 Kuhio Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 922-2042

DT Special Milk Tea w/ Boba & Coffee Jelly

Fresh Watermelon Green Tea

Fresh Mango Green Tea Slush

Anytime Cafe - CLOSED

Anytime Cafe is located in the Market City Shopping Center. The menu is mostly Chinese food but there's some Italian; pasta and risotto. They have a happy hour that runs from 2pm to 4pm which offers HK style snacks for under $5. The items are very limited and the portions are small. If you order items from the regular menu, the portions are much better. For a restaurant in this part of town, I consider their appetizers prices to be affordable. As for the other items, the prices are a bit high.

I recommend coming in the afternoon when you've already had lunch but you need a place to hang out. You can order a few appetizers to nibble on while you talk story. The parking lot is usually empty on this side of the shopping center but the stalls are small.

For more information about Anytime Cafe, visit www.anytimecafehawaii.com.

2919 Kapiolani Blvd
Ste 218
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 735-3888

Look Funn Roll

Sweet Potato Fries

Fried Calamari

Baked Garlic Chili Wings

Garlic Bread

Fresh Clam Spaghetti w/ White Wine Sauce

Fish Ball Noodle Soup

Fried Dumpling

Coffee or Tea?

Don't be confused by their name, they offer more than just coffee and tea. They also have Taiwanese shave ice and Chinese style snacks. The staff and the owners here are constantly experimenting so you'll always find something new on the menu.

The drinks here are customizable. You can choose as many topping as you want in your cup. The down side is that the price goes up as you add. You also get less coffee/tea because those toppings are taking up space at the bottom.

If you come here after 9pm on any day, you'll probably see groups of Chinese people hanging out in the front of the shop. They're not going to bite if you don't look Asian, just walk in and get your drink. If you decide you want to sit in, make sure you don't bring any outside food. They're super strict and the staff will yell at you. This place is cash only and the average drink costs around $3.50.

McCully Shopping Center
1960 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 942-4357

Watermelon Milk Tea w/ Boba

Lemon Ice Green Tea

Shave Ice w/ Grass Jelly, Pudding & Boba

Shave Ice w/ Condensed Milk, Pineapple,
Strawberry, Vanilla Ice Cream & Boba

Green Tea Shake

Papaya Milk

Jin Din Rou - CLOSED

Welcome to expensive Chinese dining. The xiao long bao here taste better than the ones I had in Shanghai! The tofu with preserved duck egg was an odd combination but it turned out to be amazingly delicious. The fried rice and fried noodle dishes were okay. There was nothing special about it so you can probably just skip those. For dessert, I thought the matcha (green tea) shave ice was better than the mango shave ice.

A couple of my friends who dined here complained about the service. I didn’t get any bad service from the waiters or waitresses. Our ice water kept on getting refilled, and they came by our table quite often to check on us. My suggestion is to go during the week and get in there before 7pm.

One really random thing. They have Scope mouthwash and Q-tips in their restroom.

For more information about Jin Din Rou, please visit http://www.jin-din-rou.net.

1491 King St. Ste 105
Honolulu, HI 96814

Taiwanese Steamed Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao)

Shrimp Wonton w/ Sweet & Spicy Sauce

Tofu w/ Preserved Duck Egg

Fried Pork and Potato w/ Sweet Sauce

Spicy Deep Fried Crispy Prawn

Ong Choy w/ Garlic

Fried Noodles w/ Vegetables

Matcha Shave Ice w/ Azuki and Mochi