I was the oddball. On a recent state holiday I met up with my foodie friends where we usually get together on holidays for breakfast or lunch. It was determined we go to Lobster King (LK), a Chinese and Korean-Chinese restaurant, that has been in operation since 2010. I've heard and read mixed reviews of this place where it wasn't a priority to try here. But as we sat down at our round table and reviewed the menu, it was revealed that I was the only one who hasn't eaten at LK. Upon arrival shortly before noon, it was impressive that the parking lot from the Keeaumoku St entrance was full so I parked on the other side. As I walked to the entrance, I noticed a group of Korean tourists exit a taxi and came here for lunch. Upon entry, the restaurant was quite full with mixed conversations going on in English, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese. I pretty much knew what I was ordering for lunch as I've witnessed many, many postings by Judy C., with her raving overthe XO Sauce Prawns with Look Funn. When I realized LK also has Korean-Chinese offerings, I also thought about switching to Jyajeongmen or Jjamppong. But no deviation on this visit as I just had to investigate Judy's go to dish here. It was quite amusing and coincidental that all 7 of us ordered different items, most from their lunch menu specials. The restaurant was quite busy and we utilized our wait time catching up with new businesses in town and recent Yelp events. It was impressive that our food was delivered to our table pretty much at the same time. Although we were not dining family style, we placed our food on the lazy susan and snapped away with our cell phones. After taking the pictures, it was finally time to eat.THE VERDICT:The XO look funn was visually an impressive bowl of noodles with a generous portion. There were about 10 decent sized shrimp cooked perfectly with bright green Chinese peas and carrots. I first tried the broth which was flavorful but lacked heat so I asked for "chili oil." But when the staff repeatedly my request with "chili sauce", I then repeated chili oil in Cantonese "辣椒油". She immediately brought me a serving of chili oil where after adding some of it into my bowl of noodles, I was now a happy camper. Personally, my noodles were just okay and nothing spectacular. I'm glad I finally tried it and will order something else next time. When speaking with my dining mates, the consensus was the food was either just okay or underwhelming. Visually, the char siu pork and roast duck both didn't look appetizing at all. Lacked freshness? The oyster sauce chicken cake noodle special was impressive in volume but the noodles look questionable. Another friend commented the mushy won ton skins and hard char siu, again food quality subpar. On a brighter note, several commented on generous portions but food quality and taste were second tier. Service was above average with multiple staff on the floor who are bilingual. They refilled our water glasses and tea pots multiple occasions, checked up on us and brought containers for those with leftovers to take home. LK ambiance and interior exceeded my expectations as I had low standards after reading some reviews. We did witness and heard the electric fly traps go off. LK acknowledges a fly issue and has taken action on addressing that. It was startling at first when some of us heard that first "zap" go off. In my mind, electrical wiring issue crossed my head until I saw fly traps on the wall. Overall, I'm glad that I finally tried LK and game for a return visit. Witnessing multiple Korean speaking patrons has me wanting to try Korean-Chinese cuisine, as well as trying fresh seafood (crab and lobsters). I wasn't impressed with the food quality but fortunate to have spent a great time with friends who elevated this dining experience. NOTE: While dining at LK, a former colleague stopped by our table as he as leaving the restaurant. We worked together over 30 years ago and recall him having a refined palate. LK seems promising and perhaps we just ordered the wrong dishes as the food didn't impress us.
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"Delicious Sunday Breakfast! Posting a little late as I went a couple of weeks ago...but this is a great spot in Chinatown, Honolulu. Great for big families, it was us and our friends with their kids, who had called a head to reserve a table. Dim sum is fresh and delicious, very flavorful. Lots of options to chose from. Everything comes out fast since they are so busy they anticipate such a huge rush and come out with food to choose from. Really friendly service too!!"
"I would frequent this restaurant a lot for take out in previous years as a student going to school and loved their food from the beginning. I had once again returned at the start of the Chinese New year & parade and we were definitely here for it! Always a local favorite of mine when it comes to Dim sum, I knew that this was the perfect simple date night to bring my husband to try and knowing that it would be busy for the holiday weekend I made sure to make advance reservations. The Dim sum did not disappoint and as I'm writing this now I can still taste the half moons, shrimp look fun and pork hash that we tried as well as the shrimp dumplings just to name a few. I love the jian dui or sesame ball for dessert and the egg drop soup was a nice accompaniment before attending a show at the Hawaii Theater for the evening. The ambiance is very casual and the service is always friendly quick and efficient! Be prepared to pay for parking too right across the street"
