Kuni Restaurant & Catering

Food and service were great. My kids loved the waiter who played tricks on them with the andagi. Will be back again.

KUNIA CHINESE RESTAURANT is as close a "throwback" to the old traditional Chinese cuisines that arrived almost a century ago on sailing ships from China bringing hundreds of migrant field hands to these islands - Men were only allowed during these very early arrivals so the cooking expertise and recipes became their signature staple that established Chinese food into the local Hawaiian culture. Unfortunately the grandfather of all the iconic CHINESE restaurants was "CHAR HUNG SUT" that "closed permanently" in 2020 due the COVID pandemic. Downtown Honolulu on OAHU is still the epicenter of the original flavors that I grew up eating even before the local population had refrigerators or access to "supermarkets" here in Hawaii which meant a daily trip into Chinatown for fresh produce if you wanted to eat. KUNIA CHINESE RESTAURANT only opened after the C&C of OAHU plan development of the WESTSIDE for subdivisions and shopping centers and malls - Hungry for just good, simple down home flavor of simple Chinese cuisine I searched for a decent Chinese restaurant and decided to try KUNIA CHINESE RESTAURANT and have never looked back. "WOR WON TON MEIN" is my "go-to" comfort dish that was my "TEST" for an acceptable meal that would make me to want to drive all the way from EWA Beach to eat - It's iconic and very consistent, there's always "2" pieces of chunky pieces of CHAR SUI, a ton of Won Bak cut into squares and "5" plump Won Tons (large enough to be considered as "Gau Gee") - The "broth" is perfectly savory and very satisfying as one slurps it up in combination with a bite of Char Sui and Won Bak Cabbage all in one spoonful - BUT the absolute "must have" is the iconic Chinese Yellow Mustard mixed thoroughly into the Shoyu Sauce as a added condiment - Combined the flavors meld and immediately transports me back to my "HANA-BUTTER-DAYS" walking the concrete sidewalk in downtown CHINATOWN in old Honolulu. There is absolutely no comparison to this younger generation's craving for Japanese ramen and gyoza which is their attempt to emulate the original style of "soup, dumplings and noodles" as the original oriental comfort food. I've been to this restaurant so many times that when the owner/waitress sees me walking through the front door it's a familiar nod and my "WOR WON TON MEIN" is promptly ordered from the back kitchen - AND in about a few minutes after sitting down and mixing a serving dish of Chinese Yellow Mustard with Soy sauce a steaming hot bowl of savory dumplings, vegetables and saimin noodles is delivered directly to my table just waiting for me to burn my impatient lips and tongue just to get that first spoonful of wonderfulness into my anxious stomach !

Made reservations for my son's birthday, very easy to do. You have to secure the spot with your credit/debit card. There were only a few people there when we were seated but by the time we left, they place was pretty fully 1830 reservation for today, 20 February 2025. When we entered, we were greeted by a very nice young Filipino man. We were seated and immediately a nice older Filipino lady who gave us a carafe of ice cold water to fill our cute black cups. It took a bit, but not too long for someone to take our order. Also, if you let them know it's someone's birthday, they will take a picture of their ID and it depends on what the birthday person orders (my son ordered the beef Teri ribeye), they will receive a discount. There were 3 people in our party and this is what we ordered: My son-beef Teri ribeye (sizzling) & tonkatsu Me-teishoku: shrimp tempura & teri ribeye and a large Asahi My EX-teishoku:teri ribeye & grilled salmon The food came out really fast and the food was so tasty!!! This is the first time we all have been here and we heard so much great things about this place and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Thank you Kuni staff for such an amazing first experience!!

I ate at Kuni one night after a school event. My coworker and I chose this place because it was convenient and the reviews were good. I made a reservation through open table and was surprised that Kuni offers 1000 point reservations. Anyway, we were seated quickly at one of their newly renovated booths. The place was packed, we ordered and I noticed that if you're going to order a 2 option combo with sashimi as one of your options, it's actually cheaper by $1 to get a one option teiahoku and order the sashimi on the side. That doesn't make sense to me and even the waiter was confused when I tried to explain it to him. Anyway.... The food is good, but pricey. $30 for dinner without drinks? Yikes! Service was attentive and the interior is nice. I like teiahoku but maybe not enough to come back often.

We catered from here on our son's 1st bday back in 2021 and again this year for his 4th bday. Their food is delicious AND they offer DELIVERY (as they are in waipahu and we live in town), more on that later. This year's order: Shrimp tempura, chicken katsu, and shoyu pork. The tempura and katsu was still crunchy, moist inside and come with their own great sauces. Shoyu pork in one of my favorites. Soft, savory, sweet, scrumptious, and some FAT (my fav pieces, haha) Back to delivery, it was $60, but well worth it, as it makes it simple and convenient. So we can spend more time with our son for his party ;-) vs slaving away on the stove and grill haha. They always come with a a warmer box and we live in a condo and on both occasions transported all the food up to our party area in the warmer box. The staff on both occasions were friendly and helpful. We'll definitely come back for more and if ever wonder n that part of waipahu stop in for a great meal.