My co-worker, Nicole, and I went to the Honolulu Hawaiian BBQ today for lunch. We both had never been there to eat before. You can either choose to have chinese or hawaiian food. We both chose...

My co-worker, Nicole, and I went to the Honolulu Hawaiian BBQ today for lunch. We both had never been there to eat before. You can either choose to have chinese or hawaiian food. We both chose hawaiian food for our meals. I chose the BBQ Chicken (mini), and the chicken was very fresh, moist and hot off the grill. My co-worker, chose the Pineapple Chicken (mini). It was a breaded, boneless chicken with pineapple sauce.

The servings on the mini size was enough for both of us each. Had we chosen to get the regular size, we would have had to share them with a third party. I highly recommend the Honolulu Hawaiian BBQ for a cheap, delicious meal to eat. There were not too many people eating there during the lunch hour and the staff was pleasant. We both liked the reasonable prices of the food. Each of ours was $4.89 each. We would definitely go back.

I was pleasantly suprised with this place! I stopped in one afternoon for lunch and I'm glad I did. The atmosphere reminds me of Kentos. Prices are reasonable. It's probably one of the better...

I was pleasantly suprised with this place! I stopped in one afternoon for lunch and I'm glad I did. The atmosphere reminds me of Kentos. Prices are reasonable. It's probably one of the better Asian-style fast food restaurants I've tried. I would eat here again.

Stopped by this place out of curiosity on a Sunday afternoon. The staff (appeared to be the owners) were very nice and helpful in figuring out what to try. Food was good and really did remind me...

Stopped by this place out of curiosity on a Sunday afternoon. The staff (appeared to be the owners) were very nice and helpful in figuring out what to try. Food was good and really did remind me of the "plate meals" I tried in Hawaii. Good food and a different atmosphere. I'll definitely be back.

This place is the only joint in town where you can get ono local grindz--in non-pidgin, that mean delicious Hawaiian "local" food.

In Hawaii, "local food" doesn't mean fussy upscale...

This place is the only joint in town where you can get ono local grindz--in non-pidgin, that mean delicious Hawaiian "local" food.

In Hawaii, "local food" doesn't mean fussy upscale Asian-fusion or mainland-fantasy-tiki-bar: it's filling, downhome stir-fried, stewed, and grilled meats and fish dishes derived from all the different ethnic groups that worked the old plantations (from Japanese and Korean to Filipino and Portugeuse to Chinese and Native Hawaiian and more), served with two scoops of steamed white rice and a scoop of mayo-rich macaroni salad. As they say in the islands, you don't eat until you're full, you eat until you're tired.

Now Bakersfield has its own taste of "local kine grindz." Ignore the run-of-the-mill Chinese-take-out steam table (probably there only because they weren't sure folks would come just for the Hawaiian food), and go for heaping plates of chicken katsu (breaded fried cutlets), Korean-ish grilled beef and short ribs, and teriyaki chicken.

If you really want to go local, try a spam musubi--think spam sushi--or the heart-attack-on-a-plate called "loco moco"--a hamburger patty and a fried egg on top of rice, all drenched in brown gravy.

To be honest, I've had better, in places with sizable island-transplant communities (LA's South Bay, for example), but this is Bakersfield, and I'm pretty happy with what Honolulu Hawaiian BBQ has to offer (unlike other places that call themselves "Hawaiian" but are merely Panda Express knock-offs doing mall Chinese food).

So take a chance, and go try something different!