Chinese Restaurants

Please click on the links to explore the various Chinese Restaurants available on the island of Oahu, Hawaii:

Page 1: Fook Yuen, Happy Day, Panda, Harbor Village, Legend, Royal Garden, Hong Kong Harbor View, Pah Ke's, Mandalay, Kirin, P.F. Chang's.

Page 2: Maple Garden, On On, Kin Wah, Chin's.

I am still awed by the “imperial” Mandarin dinner I was so lucky to experience in Beijing. One of the courses began by a chef strolling out with a cart full of several whole ducks with skins baked to a crispy, bright red and arrayed in grand form. Each duck was carved up using a specific number of cuts, the number symbolic of good fortune. They say the entire duck would be thrown out if he did not make the required amount of cuts, but then again, how would anyone else know? Another course saw yet another chef come in and take a thin slice from a beautiful silky-smooth block of tofu. I thought he would cut the rest, also, but instead took the small slice and hacked away at it for a good minute or so, leaving us baffled as to what was going on. He then finished chopping and proceeded to take the new creation of tofu and place it in bowls of soup. Still, we sat, puzzled. When we received our bowls, we were surprised to find that the tofu had spread perfectly throughout the surface of the soup, seemingly cut in total conformity and precision, each thinner than a strand of hair! It was quite amazing.

I’m not sure we can get that same kind of performance in the islands, but I know we can still get a pretty darn great Chinese meal. No worries, brah!

Chinese foods vary greatly depending on geographical origins. Some of the more popular types are the spicy Szechuan-style of the south, the elegant Mandarin dishes centered around Beijing like Peking duck, the dim sum and emphasis on freshness of Cantonese cuisine, and the hot pots of Mongolia. Let’s not differentiate too much between the many sub-cuisines, though, because the majority of Chinese restaurants here will not stick exclusively to one region and offer several different cooking styles all on the same menu.

An interesting thing to note when ordering noodles here in Hawaii is that you may be asked if you want them cake-noodle-style. Though not a traditional Chinese creation but rather a local thing, most Chinese restaurants here will offer them. The noodles start with thin chow mein that is pressed, re-heated by frying, and cut into “cake-like” slices, producing a crispy outer crust. Gravy-laden mixes like oyster chicken, beef w/choy sum, pork w/unchoi, and the well-known beef w/broccoli are then poured over the noodles.

Oh, and one more thing before we list the restaurants – don’t expect the best customer service and hospitality, not even in the finer Chinese restaurants – it’s all about the food! Some say the decibel level is also rather amusingly tied in to the quality of cuisine. We, in Hawaii know that if you want good Chinese, sit in the restaurant where everyone is seemingly yelling at each other, only they are actually not – at least in their minds. You’ll know then that the restaurant is good because it is full of ethnic Chinese patrons!

Da Big Boy’z: Harbor Village is my favorite for made-to-order dim sum, Happy Day and Fook Yuen are a great balance of economy and quality; Royal Garden and Panda are great for dim sum. However, don't count any of them out - the tiniest sliver separates them and any of the restaurants, especially on the first page, could be counted as anyone's favorite without me being surprised in the least.

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