The Good:
Pork Katsu plate has HUGE portions
Roast Pork is one of the best I have had: fork tender and juicy!
The Bad:
Poke was OK for a place that calls itself "Kahuku Poke"
Lomi Salmon is OK but needs to be "lomied" and aged a day or two
Kim Chee needs to be fermented: as it is, it is like eating salted cabbage with some pepper kick.
The Ugly:
Pricing is high
Update 2-19-16
This place still remains a hit or miss proposition since my last review: I have sampled more selections.
Bento: how anyone could screw up a classic is beyond me: in my experience Bentos have always had a portion of beef, pork, chicken and fish on a bead of rice. The rice would be sprinkled with furikaki and a side of tsukimono on top. Sometimes a side of mac salad was offered.
Chicken in the Bento from Kahuku Poke was deep fried battered balls with a heavy garlic and spice flavor: not traditional or my cup of tea. Hot dogs sat in for the traditional Spam for the pork portion: that was OK but a larger portion is required for the price. No furikaki: Now that is blasphemy. It was nice to see takuan on the side: but again this was "manini" sized: too small of a portion for this Hawaiian.
Listen up Kahuku Poke: us Hawaiians don't mind paying a higher price for larger portions but this Bento was too stingy for the price: a resounding fail on this item.
Saimin was added and this was a HUGE hit for me: nothing especially outstanding, just basic goodness served up in a Hawaiian style portion.
Kahuku has seen it fit to add too much pepper in their brown gravy: this takes their EXCELENT Pork Katsu dish down a notch: stop with the spice overload: let me add that if I want to. THANK GOODNESS Kahuku Poke has kept the salt levels low: this is one of the redeeming features of this establishment.
The Hits:
Pork Katsu (BUT WATCH THAT PEPPER, KAHUKU)
Roast Pork
Saimin
The Misses:
Bento Box
Kim Chee (seriously? Store bought would be an improvement)
Lomi Salmon (I never thought I would say this: but less Salmon and more "lomi" get that salmon squished up then let it age overnight to let the flavors meld)
Poke Rice bowl (I don't care WHAT ANYONE SAYS: the poke is OK but not good enough to be sitting on rice)
The misses are getting greater than the hits: Kahuku is risking a star at this point: trying the chicken next.
Up Date 5-10-17
The Barbeque Chicken is good: not great, not bad: just good and good enough to keep them at 4 stars. I also had the combo plate with chicken and pork Katsu and THAT was HUGE! Well worth the price if you are hungry (that alone might have got us to 5 stars but they remain at 4 stars [see below]).
Glad to announce that there is NO pepper in the brown gravy (as it should be)... but, on occasion there DO put some in: I give them a pass because they are new (the kitchen staff is in transition) and might not have the consistency of a more established restaurant.
They have added desserts and I ordered a slice of "Chantilly" cake. There are others like guava and they are all pre-sliced and ready to go: the cashier assured me that the Chantilly cake was their best! For me, the cake was dry but the frosting was good: I give it only two stars. The cake might have gotten stale in the refrigerator and when a cake is pre-sliced, it loses moisture: I don't know what the issue was but I probably won't be ordering cake any time soon. They also have cream puffs which I might look at in the future.
I had a craving for some Katsu recently and they were closed: they are now closed on Mondays: bummer.
Kahuku Poke retains their 4 stars.