Dem Matas

Love supporting small local business. Heard about them through a good childhood friend of mine so decided to come out to Manoa to check them out. They not always at Manoa so gotta go to social media to see where they'll be.Very small and simple menu. Basically hawaiian plate, loco moco or burgers on the menu.I want to call them the smoke meat truck lol. Burger patties are smoke meat infused that's why.So this go around had the hawaiian plate, came with smoke meat and laulau. Smoke meat was good with onions. Not too smokey not too sweet or dripping with sauce (how I like mine).Laulau was perfect small portion size for lunch. Good amount of meat to luau leaf portion. No forget to ask for the chili peppa water, if not get shoyu and Tabasco packets.Will come by again for some burgers next!

I almost let the simplistic menu discourage my curiosity...sigh!Found Dem Mata's truck at the Kaiser PTSA Farmers Market which I haven't been to for a few weeks so I went to my usual favorite places when I noticed this newbie that I've only known to frequent other places. Serving up some local favorites this trucks brings carnivore dream into reality with their homemade Hawaiian style smoked pork and not only the usual done sautéed with onions they do utilize it in a few other creative way.- Pastele Combo (Pastele, smokemeat & onions, rice and Mac salad)- Sunrise Plate (smoke meat, garlic friend rice, egg and Mac salad)- Smokey Plate (classically sautéed with onions, rice and Mac salad)- Palolo Loco (smokemeat infused hamburger patty on rice topped with brown gravy and fried egg- Valley Burger w/chips (smokemeat infused hamburger patty, American cheese, onion, teriyaki sauce & garlic aioli all on a burger bun)- River Burger w/chips (smokemeat infused hamburger, American cheese, onion, brown gravy on a burger bun)I got the Smokey Plate for $13 and upgraded to fried rice for +$2 and ohh they're not shy with the smokemeat and if you bring your own bag it will be filled with that wonderful smoke scent that will having to test your willpower to not pick for samples.Meat is very tender and that smokey flavor woohoo!! With a touch of sweetness this was simply something you'd certainly would be a perfect dish with a drink (wink wink) the fried rice wasn't garlicky but filled with meat...not exactly sure what to be honest. Not in a bad way but on the drier side not all coated in sauce which was nice having it seasoned lightly considering paring it with smoke meat it kept my taste buds in check.No smoke signals here just some fantastic homemade smoke meat done right and I love that it's made in different ways...supah Ono guys!!Thank you!

Fast run to Longs Manoa to get goodies for the grandkids' Easter egg hunt. As I backed into the parking stall I could see the top of a shiny black food truck! With lots of take-out leftovers at home waiting to be consumed my curiosity got the better of me and I convinced myself that I would just go "window shopping" and check out their menu for future reference. Several heartbeats later I'm ordering the Valley Burger for my sweetheart and the loco moco for myself. I was intrigued by their burger patty infused with bits of their smoked meat. We quickly rushed home and unwrapped our food. The burger patty which played a major role in both the Valley Burger and my loco moco was very firm as if no additional binders were mixed in. The burger patties had a decent amount of small diced smoke meat mixed in, enough to know that their patty was no ordinary beef patty. Serving size was good but my only gripe was the patty lacked seasoning including salt. The plus side is that without the seasoning we both could taste the beefiness and the bits of smoke meat. Very friendly workers chatting with customers and between themselves as they assembled our food. I'll give them some time and definitely try their fare again and look forward to seeing what family recipes turn up on their menu.

First time eating their food at the Radford Food Fest. I had their smoke meat w/onion. So good. Nice smoky flavor. Would like it a bit more smoky. Wife had the laulau w/smoke meat. Laulau was nice and juicy. My child had the loco moco and left nothing on the plate. That should tell you something because she is a picky eater. Will eat their food again for sure. If you know any other smoky meat place. Drop me a line.

We hit their truck at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, grabbing a Valley Burger and Palolo Loco plate. Very glad we did. Super fast, friendly service and great food.

The food They got to ask the customer how do they want they foodLove the Italian soda drink my favorite one is theMelona drink with whipped cream

Has the smoke meat plate much. It was so ono. The cheeseburger was also delicious. I would highly recommend.