The Yummiest Soup in Honolulu

Siam Garden Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (945) • $$

"Best Thai food on the island!I visited Oahu from Los Angeles and have got to say Siam Garden was some of the best Thai food I've ever had. I had the Pad Thai with chicken and it was absolutely delicious. I also sampled some of my partners soup which was incredibly flavorful and packed a punch! You can taste all the spices! The interior was traditionally decorated with the ambiance of a true Thailand experience. It's located in a strip mall so parking was not difficult, even on a holiday weekend. With that being said, service was a little slow in the beginning, but once our order was placed that was quickly amended. The food was authentic and flavorful and I will definitely return once I'm back in Oahu."

Hot Pot Heaven

★★★★☆ 4.2 (719) • $$

"Amazing food and service! Located in McCully Shopping Center, there was ample parking. I came here with 2 friends and sat down immediately with no reservation.You start by ordering your broth and meats. We got the Thai broth which was delicious! It was acidic and a little sour which made it refreshing and easy to eat. As for meats we tried the ribeye, pork belly, and brisket. Each portion was a decent size.Everything else can be grabbed from the fridges and DIY sauce bar. There was a variety of vegetables and starches with classics like cabbage and unique items like bitter melon. We loved the quail eggs and Korean rice cakes! Such a fun and delicious experience we will definitely be back again!"

Ono Thai

★★★★★ 4.6 (563) • $$

"After a beach day in Ewa, this is a nice place to stop on your way home. The table favorites is the Thai fried chicken appetizer. The sweet chili sauce to dip in hit the spot. The pineapple fried rice with beef was flavorful and had plenty of meat. Panang curry with chicken was ok; don't forget to order rice. Staff were helpful and food came out quick. Plus, parking right in front."

Goma Tei Ramen Pearlridge

★★★★☆ 3.8 (766) • $$

"Gomatei has always bren a solid go-to for good value meal for Hawaii Japanese food.It's like Zippy's but make it Japanese for me, always solid food and at decent price! Their takeout bentos at around $8 is perfect! Me and my girlfriend have always had a great meal. You could go to other places, but gomatei has always been consistent enough for me to keep coming back.Curry loco moco hit better than I thought, hamburger steak was great."

Spoon Bunsik

★★★★☆ 4.3 (498) • $$

"I never thought Spoon's would get better since I already really liked their food before their renovation and revamp of the menu.... until now. I am more in love with the food that they serve now and the way that there's both made-to-order food AND already made food.Since their renovation, I've dined in twice. I received the same great service and delicious food. I like that they have just enough seating and have a system where once you're done with your plates, you can place them in an area for staff to pick it up rather than leaving it at your table. It makes things more efficient and hopefully makes cleanup easier for staff. They also have a free water station! While it might seem small from the outside, they definitely make use of the space well and maximize how many customers can be inside at one time. Side note: I really like the fact that they play k-pop inside!The food:Rosé Tteokbokki ($16.95) - Perfect dish for two people to share. Comes with sliced sausages, bacon, 1 boiled egg, and the tteok (rice cake). If you've had rosé tteokbokki at other places on island, you may have the same thought that I had: it's surprisingly not spicy at all. The spice levels could be kicked up a little if they wanted to increase it but honestly? I'd still love their tteokbokki either way. Curry Cheese Rice Ball ($3.50) - Way better than expected and highly recommend anyone to try it. If you've ever had arancini, it's like a bigger version of it with an Asian twist. I'm not sure what sauce they use on top of it but it brings everything together to have a nice party in my mouth. The outer layer has a thin but crunchy feel to it which meshes well with the soft rice and gooey cheese insides.Strawberry Bingsu ($9.50) - I think this might be the only item I've tried so far that I was just slightly disappointed about. When they had Teaspoon a few years back inside Spoon's where they sold bingsu on the side, I really enjoyed that bingsu. However, this new bingsu could use more ice shavings since a lot of it currently consists of the strawberry liquid/jam(?) but not enough ice shavings to pair with it. But, that might just be my preference. It still tastes really good though!"

Thelma's Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.7 (617) • $$

"I love coming here for breakfast and anytime of day. Food is always on point especially the arrozcaldo. My favorite and the kare kare. My favorite for breakfast is the corn beef omelette. My boyfriend and I usually come here for breakfast early since it isn't busy. Highly recommend if you love Filipino food. Definitely worth the money here. The waitresses are nice too. They refill your coffee right away and your waters."

O'ahu Grill

★★★★☆ 4.4 (436) • $$

"Oahu GrillDon't let the outside fool you, it is authentic! We were greeted by a very nice young lady from the Hanauma bay area. She quickly learned we were not locals and brought us several items of the Hawaiian variety to try. She explained each food item (Poi, Lomi Salmon, Squid Luau, Chicken Long Rice, and Kalua pig), provided the history and how it is typically eaten in Hawaii. They were all delicious. The Poi is more bland, but is a good balance with the Kalua Pig. Chicken Long a rice is the comparable to Chicken Noodle Soup, but with clear noodles and a little less salt. Squid Luau is very similar to Laing from the Philippines, made with coconut milk, Taro Leaves, and Octopus. Lomi Salmon is like having a fresh salsa with Salmon. For the main dishes we had pork belly and rice. The pork belly had more fat than what we usually eat at restaurants and was salty. The rice, well that's difficult to mess up. Most of the dishes had more salt than we would normally eat, but I think the food was authentic to Hawaii. The dessert was coconut flavored and delicious. The restaurant itself was pretty standard with regular tables and four chairs. It is located on the bottom floor with some window seats that looked out to the street. The building is an older building, but don't let that scare you if you're looking for good service. The best part of this experience was the server, she made us feel welcomed. To sum it up, I have mixed feelings only because of the salt level. If you are not watching your salt or like salty food, this place will be perfect. Gave four stars due to the service!"

Pho H&H Vietnamese & Japanese Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.2 (426) • $$

"Beware, this place gets super crowded at lunch and dinner time, so if you're going with a big party I'd come a little before or after the peak times. The food is really good here, and the ladies that work here are always so nice to us.This time I got the lemongrass chicken on vermicelli with spring rolls. I usually get the bahn mi, which is just as good but opted for the noodles this time around. There was more noodles that I cared to eat, but if you like a lot of noodles you'll appreciate this big bowl. My uncle got the pho, and he said it was just what he needed after getting over a cold. He liked the broth and that it came with so much vegetables. I'll get this next time I'm feeling under the weather or on a rainy day. We ordered my kids the chicken fried rice, and it was kind of bland but tasted good with their house chili sauce and a little shoyu. My kids didn't care for it since it had all those vegetables in it but I liked the addition of the corn in it...something I use at home too."

Golden Eagle Chinese Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.8 (501) • $$

"Amazing authentic Chinese cuisine. Please support this beautiful restaurant. Customer service is A1."

King of Thai Boat Noodles

★★★★☆ 4.2 (265) • $$

"Our second time here while visiting Hawaii. Amazing food and excellent service! Authentic Thai food, the larb was delicious and the curries as well!"

Pho Waipahu

★★★★☆ 4.4 (236) • $$

"I left the restaurant sad...Because my favorite brisket pho is going to be 5,000+ miles away from home! My (picky) kids and I came here on a whim after being unable to decide what to eat for dinner. Figured there was enough of a variety that everyone could get what they wanted and be satisfied. We don't necessarily like eating out at dine-in restaurants but it was only a "fifteen minute" wait, so why not. *FIVE minutes later*... we were seated I did not expect to LOVE this place. By far my favorite pho (with brisket) I've ever had. And I've had PLENTY. We also ordered vegetarian spring rolls, summer rolls with bbq chicken, chicken pho, and lemongrass beef with rice. I must say the dressing for the salad and summer rolls, and the pickled radish and carrots were also delicious. I also noticed that they work hard, fast, and provide a quick turnaround in between clients. They provided ice water as soon as we were seated and the food came out quickly and piping hot. This restaurant is a must!"

Shaka Ramen

★★★★★ 4.5 (216) • $$

"Great service. Open space, nice place. I had The Special (Shio Ramen w/ Bok Choy & Char Siu (perfect size for me, I ate it all), with 2 sides Gyoza & Fried Rice)Oxtail Ramen (added chili powder & chili oil)Fried OysterEverything was delicious. We will totally come back."

Chopstick and Rice

★★★★☆ 4.2 (230) • $$

"Whenever we are in Hawaii Kai for a Costco run, we try to eat here! Love their pho here. Lots of meat! Don't want to complain about anything, but dang, lots of meat! Haha! Broth is super good as well. I really do like the beef stew pho. It's just so much good flavor and something different. There's usually always space to sit, which I love because I'm so impatient when I'm hungry. Staff here are always friendly and we just love this place! They have "sister" restaurants in town, but I like this place the best!"

Mikawon & Vons Chicken

★★★★☆ 3.5 (296) • $$

"Came here for dinner because the line at Marugame was too long haha. Inside is pretty rundown, but they have lots of cute drawings on the wall (some of which kinda look like they came from the same person which is fine but feels a bit fake...). Service was fast but not super attentive. We ordered the garlic chicken wings, mul naengmyeon, tteokguk, kimchi pajeon, and fried mandoo. Wings were nice and crispy, probably the best thing along with the tteokguk which was also quite good! The naengmyeon tasted like it was from a pack, and fried mandoo seemed to be frozen. The pajeon was fine. Overall food is really meh here, but I guess it's nice to have a Korean option in Waikiki."

Wong Kung Chinese Restaurant

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (162) • $

"There mini azuki manapua is so awesome and wish they make it daily and I would be happy"

Rock N Rolls

★★★★☆ 4.1 (90) • $$

"Surprisingly delicious food and very healthy. The portion sizes are a bit small for the price though, but I guess it's the cost of doing business. I got the chicken pho and it came in a paper bowl which was weird to me since we were dining in. The waitress said I could ask for it to come in a glass bowl next time. So, that's exactly what I did. It tasted so much better in a regular bowl. My bf liked his spinach wrap and he added extra chicken but it still came out tiny. Overall, a healthy place to dine in when you're in the area and craving Vietnamese food."