Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens

A mix of local goodness may be found here at Hawaii's Favorite Kitchen. Are you ono for shaved ice, poke, snacks and more? You can stop by here and pick up a mixed plate of local goodies!Rainbow Drive In sells the plate lunches here as well. What is different here is the Kitchen offers fresh made limu ahi, pickled ogo , garlic edamame, tofu poke, garlic shrimp and more. Shimazu Shave Ice makes so many varieties that you can stare at the options for so long. Pick up li hing mui gummies and prune mui to go. The small shave ice is huge and a great value!The Holly snacks are a favorite of mine. Melting moments and garlic pretzels to go!There's a nice clean seating area that closed at 6:50 pm. The service here was fast and friendly.

Located in Kapahulu, next to Rainbow Drive in on Castle St. It has its own small parking lot separate from Rainbow's. If you're craving waffle dogs, Shimazu shave ice, poke, plate lunch and want a one stop place to get everything, this is the place to come. You can get plate lunches with teri beef, chicken, chili and other favorites, poke bowls- pretty much a scaled down menu of Rainbow drive Inns menu without the long lines. There's ice cream floats made with real ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry! Alas I didn't see the famous KC Drive inn Ono Ono Shake on the menu. Staff is pretty friendly, especially the lady making the waffle dogs in the back. Speaking of waffle dogs, you can get it smothered in Rainbow drive inn chili- yum! There's a small dine-in area inside so you can eat your meal in AC comfort.

We were looking for authentic Hawaiian food and this spot was absolutely perfect! You can order food from a few different Hawaiian spots in this one location, which is perfect because it allows you to try a few different things on one plate. My spouse got the beef plate and I tried the HWK plate so we were able to try a few different things, including plate lunch with Mac salad (some of the best I've ever had), poke, and roasted chicken. The service is quick and kind - there was no line when we came here around 1:00pm. We had the entire place to ourselves! There is also a shave ice place in here but we didn't have enough room to try the shave ice after our lunch plates. Highly recommend if you're looking for an affordable and authentic meal!

Roast chicken plate lunch for $11 , yes please ! But my go to here is waffle hot dogs ! 2 waffle hot dogs freshly made to order ...$11 , yes please !! Still a very good value place but at times parking really sucks !

My daughter had a dentist appointment and we decided to go to Waikiki after. We decided to check out Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens. I always see it when we get food from Rainbows next door. The parking lot is small but we were lucky and got a good spot. There's two counters when you enter. One is for Shimazu shave ice and one is for the other food items. I ordered a waffle dog for my daughter and two rotisserie chicken plates for me and my husband. I got him the one with no rice which cost me an extra 70 cents, which really isn't too bad.At Shimazu's I got my daughter a rainbow shave ice that came with banana, strawberry, and vanilla. My first question was if they have a take out container. And they do! If they said no, my daughter wouldn't have gotten one. I can just picture that shave ice spilling all over my car. It's pretty much one price for the take out but I didn't mind, because it all worked out. The food came out pretty quick and we were excited to take it home. The shave ice looked good. I gave my daughter a taste before we set off for home. It was good. Told her she couldn't have it until we got back. She said okay. We made it home and the chicken plates were huge. I really liked that it came with vegetables. Most plate lunches don't come with vegetables at all. It wasn't fresh vegetables but it was still nice to have it on your plate. My husband and I both enjoyed our lunch. My daughter ate her waffle dog on the way back. We didn't even get a bite of that so I guess you can conclude that it was delicious. What surprised me most was the shave ice. My daughter wanted to hold it the whole ride even though she couldn't eat it. She kept giving me ride checks saying "it's still good mommy, it's not melting." True test of patience. I think I would have devoured that thing... We had the shave ice when we got home. She loved it. It was huge but she tried to eat as much as she could. Check out this place if you're in the area. They have a variety of different options and the prices aren't too bad.

This hidden store sits in the shadows of an iconic drive in right behind it. There are six or seven parking spaces here though I usually park at Rainbow and walk around here for dessert.I must admit that I've only patronized one business here, namely Shimazu Store for their soothing and delicious shave ice, no; I didn't misspell it as there is no 'd', as all locals know. I remember one of my first visits here was to share a shave ice with a couple of friends after a filling meal next door. Three dudes with hefty appetites struggled to finish that cooling dessert. I still have yet to try the other offerings like the huli huli chicken though I don't believe Mike's is behind that now, or maybe I'm wrong. It'll soon be two years since my last visit. And trust me I have been tempted to make a trip but it doesn't quite feel like the right time yet.

Lookin' fo' a spot to grind and Rainbow's is waaaay to crowded? Go next door to Hawaii's Favorite Kitchen on Castle St. They have a smaller parking lot and some indoor seating, but due to COVID restrictions, they are only doing take out orders. They close earlier than Rainbow Drive Inn (7pm vs 9pm) but serve almost the same menu as Rainbow's and they have brown rice and steamed veggies. They use to have a business that sold fresh poke, but going to blame COVID on their departure. Shimazu's Shave Ice is STILL located inside this joint and you can still get your frozen treat hea if you need relief from the weather. The KC Drive Inn Waffle Dog is also sold hea and dat tastes pretty much the same as when KC's was still open... you don't know KC Drive Inn? Neither do I ;D.My go to dishes are are the Boneless Chicken with Brown Gravy & All Brown Rice... a classic from next door or the Curry Chicken Bowl...The Boneless Chicken plate I usually get hea, if I'm around wen dey open. Lately, haven't been able to get hea til after they close so settling with Rainbow's version is no lost to meh. Still ono, just no brown rice. The Curry Chicken Bowl with Brown Rice and Steam Vegetables is a wee-nah! This bowl is only found hea and is pretty cheap too. Don't want to post the cost, for not sure if COVID has raised this price too, but is a good deal hea & ONO! They seem to use rotisserie chicken, de-boned, then drop in their version of Japanese curry and then stewed. Very comfort-like food fo' my palate and tummy.Have gotten shaved ice hea a few times, and Shimazu's doesn't disappoint with flavor and toppin' choices... as long as I get condensed milk on top of mines, no matter da flavor to me ;)So, if you're in the Kapahulu area and need something to snack on, go to Hawaii's Favorite Kitchen... til my next snackin' visit, Grind On, Pau!

Came here for the shaved ice & to avoid the rainbows line... turns out they have rainbows inside along with other grill plates! We got the beef grill plate with steamed veggies because we were tired of mac salad haha it was a good quick eats place after we played a few hours of pickle ball at diamond head tennis center.We got a small shaved ice and it was huge. We also had 6 ppl to share with and small was enough. Glad we didn't get the large for $9 because that would of been too much! We added azuki beans and Mochi to bottom and choose flavors Ube cream, coconut cream and royal milk tea. It was quickly starting to melt in the sun so it ended up one huge purple puddle in the end. Luckily the cup / tray holder was very handy.No places to eat inside. Need to eat outside or take to nearby park. Very messy but worth it, lots of flavors to choose from. Like Li hing mango, lychee and even durian! Appealed to the real Asian in me haha it's cash only so make sure you bring cash and tip!

Bought 2 waffle dogs. Checked if they sold beef stew, since they also sell rainbow menu items. No such luck, they had chicken stew, but my parents wanted beef. Asked if I can park in their lot to go rainbows next door, they were ok with it. Also came back after rainbows and bought ogo ¼ lb and spicy ahi ¼ lbs.

We had KC waffle dogs and the garlic shrimp plate. Both were delicious. Service at the counter was okay, food was ready quickly.