Hawaiianology

“There was nothing better than a box of Kabuki, this place was all about local families” Kabuki Restaurant was located at 98-020 Kamehameha Hwy on the line of Aiea and Waimalu. The competition was steep with the main discussion being Gyotaku or Kabuki at Waimalu Shopping Center for eating-in and various other Japanese Restaurants either Local or Authentic. Overtime Kabuki would be survive with their food dishes that were really local with the interior reflecting the times of the plantation where there was a lot of the look and feel as it was when it opened. When people went to the airport a common thing to bring was a bento or okazu filled box they had got from outside or if a student had a kabuki bento for lunch the other students would be envious. Family gatherings were all the rage when eating at the restaurant side with the wooden containers that held the dishes in made it feel old-school fancy with the large chunked sashimi that felt like how fishermen ate it back in the day. It w...

“Taking home boxes full of food was boxes full of love, this place represented family” Aiea Chop Suey was located 99-115 Aiea Heights Dr # 101, there was a time in Aiea where there were factories, sugar cane on the hills angled from the wind and at the bottom of the hill there would be a small town feeling shopping center where people would come to visit and spend their time. Students would be walking from Aiea Intermediate seeing the sugar mill on the side and passing by the houses and then to the shopping center where it was a thing to look forward to and see something other than a classroom. The working adults would have the experience of driving past the shopping center on their way back from a drive and see a restaurant or two they would want to go to and take their families to the eateries there. In the 1960’s, Aiea Chop Suey began, The Lum Family came from China and to Hawaii where they would live in Aiea and send their kids to the elementary school in the area and lived a littl...

“Origins of the onolicious regional Aiea Plate Lunch” Heights Drive Inn is a fast-food restaurant founded in 1977 by the Heights Ohana with Emi Ogawa (treasurer), Evelyn Kuriyama (vice director), and Enid Okubo (president), in Aiea, Hawaii, United States. They had served Plate Lunches for hungry people who had a taste for the grill and starches with their fried saimin, macaroni salad, and white rice packing all sides with an almost overflowing appearance. Humble in nature and avoiding all publicity with open arms Enid in particular was known to have an attitude to Aloha one another and make them happy, serve up a taste of Aiea, and a regional flavor that would define plate lunches on Oahu, so much so it was even recognized by the City Council of Hawaii. They were an incredibly vital Aiea Landmark that would be the face of plate lunch in the area. Word of Mouth, the popular Heights Drive Inn was always hush hush and secret to those from outside of Aiea as it was hidden at the bottom of ...

“More Great Food than you can Shake a Chopstick at!” Patti’s Chinese Kitchen (1967-2008), was located in Ala Moana and known for being one of the local cornerstones of the brand-new concept of fast-casual Local Hawaii-Chinese Cuisine (Local-Cantonese) that featured plate lunch, platter selections, and had its original location at Ala Moana makai side near EKI Cyclery back then and it was near the parking lot where people could smell the roasts outside the doors and there was always a line. This would before it moved to the food court and its subsidiaries popped up: Ala Moana “Makai Market”, Kahala Mall, Pearl Ridge Phase 1, and Windward Mall Kaneohe (Lau Ohana). People would ditch school, come on the bus lines, and staff from nearby businesses would flock for the great value of food quantities and the price. The Local Hawaii-Chinese flavors defined Hawaii’s Chinese food from other places around the world like Hong Kong and California (United States).  Chun Ohana, Calvin Chew Sun Ch...

" A place where great food, great drinks, and great memories are created." Ryan’s Grill (1983-2018) was located at Ward Centre 1200 Ala Moana Blvd, it was the social-place to be and a mainstay of meeting up with colleagues, friends, and family as a social spot of the 1980’s. It was one of many businesses with Restaurants Unlimited with Kincaids, Horatios, and others. People would also be going to Ward Centre and have Ryan's Grill as the main reason to be at the place itself for the heartwarming staff and the wonderful sense of aloha throughout the room of mostly locals. It was definitely everyone's must go spot for socializing after work and was a huge local favorite with retirement parties, meetings, and people in government all having a cocktail or two with heavy pupus. It was a place that would target those who would be going to the bar at nights and was known as a place people hooked up in the evenings with dates or at the bar. The menu would have a variety of fri...