A new restaurant called Huli-Huli Hawaiian Grill had been in construction for the last few months in the place that was the former Skipper's, known for their fish & chips. Skipper's went bankrupt and the building had been vacant for a year or so. When I noticed the Huli-Huli Hawaiian Grill sign ("coming soon"), I had to do my research. I discovered that they are a California-based restaurant.
We Hawaiians love good food, and we can be skeptical. Is it "true" Hawaiian food, is it plate lunches, similar to L&L? I was driving my mom around when I saw the "Grand Opening" banner. She then tells me "go back, turn around". I had to turn down another street, around the block, and back to the resturant. Since it was close to dinner, I wanted to get something quick. Spam Musubi was simple, so that was ordered. The cook there wasn't sure how to cook it, so my mom says "it's simple". We got a menu, and everything on there looked good. A call to my sister meant that it would be a "family" dinner.
We get there and there were maybe eight people waiting for their food. I decided to go for their Loco Moco, because in the past I could eat that easily. It's a meal (generally two or three scoops of rice, topped with two hamburger patties, topped with two fried eggs, topped with gravy) that is popular at beaches, since after a long day out in the waves, there's nothing like carbing up. I, on the other hand, don't need carbing up, but if it's an excuse to eat some "local kine grinds", I was ready.
As we were waiting, it seemed that the cashiers and cooks had no sense of direction. It was a grand opening, mind you, but I guess there wasn't a three-day session on food prep. There was an older man, perhaps the boss, who was yelling at the cooks, telling them "that's fish for this, and only one piece, not two. You put chicken, what the hell are you doing?" Granted, where I live does not have a strong Hawaiian community, so "mahimahi" may be a new term. But beef is beef, chicken is chicken, pork is pork. Mahimahi could be a random word. Regardless of what the cooks were trying to do, the older man was not satisfied and he was getting louder every minute. Is that true "Hawaiian spirit", of course not. I don't care what kind of restaurant it is, you don't act like that, especially not on your grand opening day. I caught a glance of one of the cashiers, and she truly looked as if she wanted to break down and cry, or just hide and say "anywhere but here". However, I have a funny feeling that the cooks will have things down within a few days, and perhaps tell the old man a thing or two.
After about 10 or 15 minutes, dinner was ready. Loco Moco looked good, but did it taste good? I tried it with a bit of ketchup, and it was good. Then I had a side of katsu sauce. The sauce itself was a bit watery, more than I expected, but it had a good flavor and it was better on the Loco Moco. I'm a rice eater, but the amount of rice I had could have fed an entire family. It was much more than two or three scoops, trust me.
As for atmosphere, it had a tropical feel but there was a display that had the Hawaiian indigenous animal known as the walrus. It was nice and cozy, looks like a fast food place (it was a Skipper's after all) but as of now they're taking a long time to figure out the meals, something that I feel will be remedied very soon. The older man, however, may scare away customers, which is not good considering the restaurant is in a town that doesn't know a lot about the concept of a Hawaiian-style plate lunch. That will change too. Next time, I want to try their kalua pig & cabbage.
VERDICT:
Food was quite good, I plan on exploring more
Service: nice, but nervous
Ambience: Crabby old man was a nuisance
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