Bustling, cash-only neighborhood institution serving homestyle Asian eats in a low-key space. Based on 299 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.7 stars. Price $
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ No delivery
Address:
232 Kalihi St, Honolulu, HI 96819
Phone: (808) 847-6467
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Saturday | 8 AM–2 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed |
| Tuesday | 8 AM–2 PM |
| Wednesday | 8 AM–2 PM |
| Thursday | 8 AM–2 PM |
| Friday | 8 AM–2 PM |
Menu
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Menu Photos
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Reviews
Jeff
Take out only as of May 2023. Pro tip – phone your order in about 15-30 min before you want to pick it up. Awesome flavors.
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Anna Baatz
Take-out only and sooooo worth every morsel. All four dishes we tried were very tasty, even the deep fried turkey tail which was very rich, and was totally wiped clean. Particularly loved the bitter melon pork and egg stir fry which is such a nostalgic comfort food for me, and the Ahi Tataki sashimi plate which was super fresh! Always appreciate an ample amount of greens and every sauce they provided was very well paired for the dish, whether gingery sweet citrus or garlicky soy sauce. The miso was also very flavorful 🙂 definitely want to come back and try more!
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Ruth Zyry
Wow, wow, wow- Ethel’s punches way above her weight class! This small storefront knows how to bring flavor. Come hungry and prepare for some shock and awe!
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Pras M
Slightly off the beaten track, but my god is the food here worth the while. The portion sizes are large but more importantly the food is tasty. The tataki platter and the mochiko chicken are the standout dishes and must haves whilst the loco moco is also good. Great service too but unfortunately no dining in at the minute. Come here for some good local authentic food and you won’t be disappointed.
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Keisha Ding
Holy smokes! This place is SO good! Lightly battered chicken with great flavors & so juicy. Salad & dressing were fresh & delicious. Rice was great texture too! Just dah-uhm! Such a great takeout place! MUST GO!! we got the chicken furikake
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Robert James (SLASH_wisdom)
Definitely the best food while I was in Hawaii. The loco moco was absolutely incredible. The chef was super friendly and cooked with love! I can’t wait to come back.
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Lori Gutierrez
At this time, my review is for “take-out” only. I was referred here and was really hoping for something more. I ordered the Mochiko Chicken and the Japanese Hamburger Steak. I would say the Mochiko Chicken was really good, large portions, really good flavor – (I would order again and if I had only ordered that I my review would have been 5 stars) and I would pass on the Japanese Hamburger Steak ( I thought the meat was dry, a bit tough. And didn’t care for it. If I had only ordered this I would have give this review a 2 or a 3). Again, this review was during a period of time that this restaurant is only serving take out. I will go back a try again with some of the other entrees.
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Krystal Scott-Rhodes
Hands down, excellent food! The food was cooked to order and brought out to us hot. Everything we ordered was quiality and tasty food. I will add that the sauces we had were amazing as well. Seeing this was my first visit, I did not know what to expect. However, the woman helped me decide and she made sure my husband was aware that what he ordered was bitter because it had bittermelon in it (so there would be no surprises). The service is very helpful! I will be coming back!
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Jonalyn “JoniGirl” Kaufmann
What I ordered wasn’t good at all. I ordered the Mochico Chicken with no sauce and rice and some kind of Japanese noodle salad. I was disappointed because they’re kinda expensive and it’s a very old place. It seems like others like it because sometimes people are waiting but only a few seats inside. Or maybe I just picked the wrong item to eat.
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J Risherdsan
This was my first visit here, waited about 20 minutes for a table up open up before I was seated. I ordered loco Moco. The hamburger was salty for my taste and my over easy eggs was actually over hard and the told was not runny at all. I think if I visit this shop again I will try the Saimin.
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