Fatty's Chinese Fast Food (@ = alias)

is an affordable hole in the wall located in the heart of the Ki-s (Wai-ki-ki), with an open kitchen to watch the chefs fire up their woks. Finding affordable food in Waikiki is a task; not because it doesn't exist, but because there are so many restaurants around, it is difficult for a vacationer or a passing local to sieve through the whole slew.

Let's make this clear, I think Fatty's looks cool, but it's definitely not pretty; Fatty's may not be the choice for folk that appreciate a charming dining facility. I don't have the pictures to prove it, but if and when I do champion inertia, I'll update this post.

Anyways, I walked in to check out their grub and was intrigued but not wowed. It looked like standard Chinese fare, wasn't much of presentation, but it did look more appetizing than Panda Express. I ain't hating on Panda Express, it's just the food at Fatty's looked better. Plus, the price... $4.50 for one starch and one entree! DEALZ! I can't help it, I'm Chinese.

The starch I selected was Chow Mein aka Fried Yellow Noodles and my entree was Ko Lo Yuk AKA Swit Sou Pok @ Sweet n' Sour Pork. I may not have been wowed upon entry, but I was overjoyed when I saw the auntie scoop out my portions. I was in store for a major kanak-attak @ food coma.


$4.50? 4.50?? $4.50?!?! I couldn't believe it. I couldn't wait to go back to the store and feast, but I threw in some Sriracha Chili for good measure. If it tasted as good as it looked, spice would make it better and if didn't taste as good as it looked, spice would make it better; I am my Mom's son.

Once I prepped my video stream, I was ready to partake. The KLY was great. The deep fried pork fritters were packed with the right amount of pork fat and were very flavorful. The sauce wasn't too sweet or too tangy either, so it wasn't over powering. I was also savoring what's known to the Cantonese as Wok Hei; the aroma that could only come from baptizing the food through high heat in a well seasoned wok; much like cooking a rib-eye on a good old cast iron pan.

The Chow Mein was so so though... Just plain old fried yellow noodles, nothing special (Sriracha helped) but the Sweet n Sour Pork was delightful. All in all, if you're looking for a cheap feed in Waikiki, I'd recommend Fatty's. You can't top the price and taste of their food. Till the next post.

Exhibit A

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Queen's Surf Cafe & Lanai

is a great place for locals, tourists and myself to grind. It's been open for several months now, and it did take me a while to try it out (not sure why; correction, refer below), and I'm glad I did.

Being a pessimist (probably why it took so long to try it), I took awhile to study their flimsy paper menu. I started to lose interest after my 1st read because I couldn't find anything interesting. There was the standard local fare like Kalua Pig, bla bla bla... Don't get me wrong, I heart local fare but I got the impression it was another Waikiki tourist trap w/ below par grinds.

During my 2nd go-over of the menu I noticed they served fish n' chips; price was $8.99, even more enticing. I ordered 'em with greens, which was $1 more and began waiting for my food. My meal was ready within 7 minutes, and I was pleasantly surprised when I collected it. My food was served on a wood veneer plate (refer to Exhibit A below) and it looked absolutely scrumptious.

Neatly placed on the wood plate were 2 solid fillets with a mountain of fries, greens & a slice of pineapple. I was stoked after my 1st bite; the batter was not too light, not too thick; it was ultra crisp and had good flavor. I think the fish was a locally caught snapper (not sure which type) and was very fresh. However, I wasn't completely sold; I didn't want to rush into love at first bite.

My 2nd chomp of fish was better than my 1st; the fillet was delicate yet firm, and sinfully juicy. I'd also like the folk reading this to note that my fish was not over greasy and did not reek of oil. Additionally, I did not reach a breaking point this fish n' chips sesh (I usually do, no matter how good); my guess is that the meal was portioned well and that's really important to me and others especially with regards to luncheon.

Chips are usually the filler in the dish and aren't all too important, but I'd like to applaud their selection of fries. In my opinion, they had the texture and taste of Burger King fries with the crispness of Mickey D. The greens were just standard lettuce with ranch dressing which isn't impressive, but it strangely complements the fish and the chips.


All in all, I was very satisfied with my feed at Queen's Surf Cafe & Lanai, and have eaten there multiple times since. This is a joint I would definitely recommend to visitors and locals alike. Below the picture is a link to their Facebook page, it's gonna have info you're gonna want. Stay tuned for more pictures from and reports of my return visits. It gets better. Here's one to whet your appetite.

Exhibit A

Queen's Surf Cafe & Lanai Facebook Page

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Ruffage Natural Foods Acai Bowl

Alright I'm going to spit it out. This is my first post in our bid to garner more attention and sucker you in. Don't get me wrong though, I ain't going to put BS here; just some suggestions for people who enjoy eating.

Here goes,

Affordable and tasty food is hard to come by around Waikiki; it is a tourist trap. So I did some research and after hearing and reading some hoo-ha about Ruffage Natural Foods, I decided what the heck... I'll give it a go.

Stepped inside the joint and ordered my staple Acai Bowl. I looked at it and... hmmm... It was kinda small (minus points). After coughing up my hard earned $6.something, I treaded back to the store to "feast".

Opened up the un-natural foam container and I was stoked. There was a good proportion of bananas, berries and granola to acai.. I don't like too much granola, but too little... hmmm...

Anyways, fo Waikiki standards it's good. It's healthy, it's tasty and somewhat reasonable.

Have a look: