Cooking
Ok it's time I reveal a secret. In addition to reading blogs and putting out requests for advice on Twitter, there are a couple of other ways I find good restaurants in Honolulu. One is on Yelp. You have to carefully evaluate each user submitted review, but if you can read between the lines, you can find some real gems. The other great source is the best restaurant listings from the local newspaper, the Honolulu Advertiser. Not once have I been steered astray with their top picks.
A little hole-in-the-wall I was curious to try because of numerous reviews in newspapers, blogs and on Yelp, was Dew Drop Inn. You may think the Dew Drop Inn is the classic Mobile, Alabama roadhouse that inspired the Jimmy Buffet song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" but that's not the only Dew Drop Inn.
Dew Drop Inn is located downtown just a block from the Honolulu Art Academy. It's such a great Chinese restaurant it made me even sadder than I already was to leave Honolulu, because I only got to try it on my last night in town. The menu is easy to navigate because there are pictures of every single dish. The owner and chef is Taiwanese but his family was originally from Shanghai and there are lots of Northern style recipes. We ordered wheat based dishes that were steamed, boiled, pan fried and baked and not one of them disappointed.
We tried two different kinds of dumplings, a fairly standard boiled dumpling which was very well executed, with a bit of a smoky flavor.
We also ordered pan fried dumplings which had a combination of a pork sausage and preserved turnip greens in it. These were very tender but crisp on the top. The order and the dumplings themselves were very large and even cold the next day they were delicious.
A most unusual dish was the thin and crunchy baked "sesame pockets" filled with a combination of shredded pork, pressed smoky tofu and vegetables. I loved this dish! It was a bit like a sandwich but with a most savory filling, even better than Mu Shu Pork.
Finally we ordered a special, the beef and green onions with steamed buns. Juicy and sweet onions were paired with tender and garlic flavored beef. I have never had a stir fry dish such as that with steamed buns, but it was great.
My advice? Dine with a group, order a lot of wheat based items, and go early in your trip, because after one meal, you will want to return!
Dew Drop Inn
1088 S Beretania St
Honolulu
808.526.9522
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- Chinese Food In Hawaii
I guess it's the same everywhere. If you're not celebrating Christmas or going to a New Year's Eve party, one of your best bets for finding an open restaurant is Chinese food. In Hawaii I had two memorable Chinese meals this time around. One...
Cooking
Dew Drop Inn: Restaurant Review
Ok it's time I reveal a secret. In addition to reading blogs and putting out requests for advice on Twitter, there are a couple of other ways I find good restaurants in Honolulu. One is on Yelp. You have to carefully evaluate each user submitted review, but if you can read between the lines, you can find some real gems. The other great source is the best restaurant listings from the local newspaper, the Honolulu Advertiser. Not once have I been steered astray with their top picks.
A little hole-in-the-wall I was curious to try because of numerous reviews in newspapers, blogs and on Yelp, was Dew Drop Inn. You may think the Dew Drop Inn is the classic Mobile, Alabama roadhouse that inspired the Jimmy Buffet song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" but that's not the only Dew Drop Inn.
Dew Drop Inn is located downtown just a block from the Honolulu Art Academy. It's such a great Chinese restaurant it made me even sadder than I already was to leave Honolulu, because I only got to try it on my last night in town. The menu is easy to navigate because there are pictures of every single dish. The owner and chef is Taiwanese but his family was originally from Shanghai and there are lots of Northern style recipes. We ordered wheat based dishes that were steamed, boiled, pan fried and baked and not one of them disappointed.
We tried two different kinds of dumplings, a fairly standard boiled dumpling which was very well executed, with a bit of a smoky flavor.
We also ordered pan fried dumplings which had a combination of a pork sausage and preserved turnip greens in it. These were very tender but crisp on the top. The order and the dumplings themselves were very large and even cold the next day they were delicious.
A most unusual dish was the thin and crunchy baked "sesame pockets" filled with a combination of shredded pork, pressed smoky tofu and vegetables. I loved this dish! It was a bit like a sandwich but with a most savory filling, even better than Mu Shu Pork.
Finally we ordered a special, the beef and green onions with steamed buns. Juicy and sweet onions were paired with tender and garlic flavored beef. I have never had a stir fry dish such as that with steamed buns, but it was great.
My advice? Dine with a group, order a lot of wheat based items, and go early in your trip, because after one meal, you will want to return!
Dew Drop Inn
1088 S Beretania St
Honolulu
808.526.9522
- Hakka Cuisine
If you want to try Hakka cuisine, head to Hakka Restaurant in San Francisco, or read Linda Lau Anusasananan's book, The Hakka Cookbook. I received a review copy of the book in the Fall, and was lucky enough to dine with the author at Hakka...
- Cheap Eats In Waikiki
There are lots of wonderful places to eat on Oahu but finding reasonably priced places right in the tourist zone of Waikiki is a challenge. In fact, finding a really tasty meal for under $10 is almost impossible. Here are a few of spots that not only...
- Helena's Hawaiian Food: Restaurant Review
If you want to experience authentic native Hawaiian food, as opposed to the fusion of Hawaiian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese that is common today, you must eat at Helena's Hawaiian Food. I've been going to Helena's since 1977 and while...
- Town And Downtown@the Hisam: Restaurant Reviews
I've had a lot of great meals in Honolulu, but if I had to pick my favorite dinner so far, it would be the one I had at Town. Town is in Kaimuki, a funky neighborhood packed with good restaurants. The bistro menu features mostly local and organic...
- Chinese Food In Hawaii
I guess it's the same everywhere. If you're not celebrating Christmas or going to a New Year's Eve party, one of your best bets for finding an open restaurant is Chinese food. In Hawaii I had two memorable Chinese meals this time around. One...