Pearl Kai Shopping Center

Needs security. Kids loitering in the overflow parking lot threw aluminum cans on my car. Luckily no damage done, but something needs to be done before worse happens.

I went to buy a drink for my friends child and it was over priced and expired #gettingmymoneyback

I’ve been coming to Pearl Kai Shopping Center as far as I can remember, when Tower Records, Jelly’s and 24 Hour Fitness used to be here. Those places are long gone, but now I like to come here for all the good food. It’s an eclectic mix of restaurants and dessert spots… Tadashi, Off the Wall, Cuu Long, Kuru Kuru Sushi, Osaka Ramen, Yakiniku Jang Su, Champa Thai, Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, Ricardo’s, Blazin’ Steaks, Mamaya, Coffee or Tea?, Sugarlina Bakeshop, and Baskin Robbins. You can pretty much find something to quench your hunger here.
Yes, I know there are so many bad reviews regarding the parking situation at Pearl Kai Shopping Center… It has always been an issue here, and I completely agree with everyone… PARKING HERE SUCKS! But is it a valid reason to rate this place much lower than it deserves??? Does the parking situation trump the number of good restaurants located here that you have to give it only a 1 or 2 star rating??? Can you blame them for the parking lot being full all the time??? Can you blame people for always coming here??? It’s a sign that business is doing well. Look at it this way… Would you rather them have a lot of shitty restaurants and have a bunch of empty parking stalls??? Yeah, part of the problem is sharing the parking lot with a bunch of fitness freaks trying to get their workout at Powerhouse Gym, but good luck trying to tell them to park else where. Their motivation to workout is as big as your hunger, maybe even bigger! Trust me I know, I’m one of those fitness freaks! LOL
Did you know there was an overflow parking lot right behind Liquid Metal Tattoo & Piercing on Lipoa Place? It’s a little bit of a further walk, but it might be a lot quicker than waiting for a stall to open up, especially when your stomach is demanding to be fed.
Despite the F@$#%D UP parking, I still love coming here to eat. You know what they say… Good things come to those who wait, even if it means having to wait 10 minutes for a parking stall to open up. LOL

I recently rediscovered Pearl Kai shopping center after Coffee or Tea open there. I walked to Mamaya to pick up some bento and the cool breeze reminded me of the old Tower Records days…
Back to reality, I’m glad to see Pearl Kai is crowded either for lunch crowd or business deals. Whatever it is I’m happy.
The only part that I didn’t like was inconsiderate smokers walking in front of the stores or right next to the store. But that’s so called life, right?

I’ve been here numerous times through the years but I’ve seen this place go from great to meh.
The only places that I frequent here are Cuu Long, Curry House and Sugarlina. That’s it.
There are a lot of parking stalls available but when it gets busy people tend to cut in front of you to steal your stall. Be prepared.

7.14.13.
There are a LOT of great places here… the saddest part is that the parking situation is always terrible!
I will rarely come unless I am craving a macaroon/​cupcake (Sugarlina’s), sushi (Kuru Kuru), curry (Curry House), or a really good bento (Mamaya).
I’m so glad that my hair lady moved from Shear Genius to another location because that would always be an ordeal also.
If anything try to come early, or right before 9 pm when most of the places are just about to close if you don’t want to deal with horrible parking.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #195/​365

And yet ANOTHER 2-​star rating. The management of this shopping center should really take a look at what all these fellow Unilocalers are saying and do some serious renovating and rethink the whole parking situation out. In the end all of the businesses end up hurting because of it.
Parking is always a mess and there are many times that my family, friends and I have wanted to eat at Kuru Kuru or Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, but ended up leaving after circling a portion of the parking one or two times. Plus parts of the lot are one-​way and people are always driving at you in a rush for a parking themselves. Many times we would leave and just go down the road to eat at Genki Sushi or Zippy’s. Sometimes paying the higher price for sushi and getting a parking weighs far more than paying cheaper prices and fighting for parking. The stress is not worth it.

I’ve been patronizing Pearl Kai since I was a kid. I remember coming here when the popular tenants were Jelly’s, Carnival Carnival and Tower Records. Now all of those are gone and I find less reasons to keep coming here. There are exactly two reasons why I come to Pearl Kai these days — Tadashi and Kuru Kuru. Both have yummy food, but it also comes with having to deal with the crowded parking lot and the sometimes long lines. Aside from eating at one of these two establishments, there isn’t much reason to stop here any more.

The good: Awesome places to eat!
The bad: The parking & the smell…
The fiancée and I go to Pearl Kai Shopping Center somewhat often, mainly to eat at Cuu Long or to pickup cupcakes at Sugarlina. We also visit Ricardo’s and Off the Wall once in a while. As you can see, the main attraction for us are the food places! And that’s pretty much the only reason why you’d come here. There are many options with a good variety of food types, but there isn’t much else here. If you do decide visit Pearl Kai, GOOD LUCK. Parking is always BAD, but is at its worst during lunch and from dinner on through closing. The parking lot is horrific… the layout is bad and there just aren’t enough stalls! Also be aware of a rank, raw swage type smell that seems to waft up out of nowhere from time to time.

I like the places that’re located in this shopping center but I absolutely hate the parking.
There’s really not much else I have to say about it? lol

While parking here is very difficult, there are a number of businesses I frequent here — Blazing Steaks, Jiffy Lube, etc. There are LOTs of stores and restaurants here. Stop by and check them out.

This shopping center allows puppy mill owners a.k.a. Animal abusers in! Not once but twice. Spread the word to stay clear of all businesses in this center!

This shopping center hosts the Aloha Pet Shop. The store owner is from the same family forced to hand over hundreds of dogs living in horrid conditions. Please let the property owners know that you do not support pet stores selling animals. No reputable breeder would ever sell to a pet store. Our Hawaii businesses could be the model for the pet community and only offer shelter adoptions. I just left the Aloha Pet Shop and was shocked at how many puppies were sold there. If the family ran the Waimanalo Puppy Mill, I can bet any place they run is also getting their puppies from squalid conditions.

As a growing up youth, I remember cruising here right after cruising Pearls. This place used to be da bomb back when they used to have Carnival Carnival, Jelly’s, 24 Hr. Fitness, the legendary Tower Records, Diamond Head Video, L&L, etc. I’ve seen many businesses and shops come and go over the good years. Cruising around all those old shops were hecka good youthful memories. Nowadays it’s just aight. I remember they had a T-​mobile store here and it’s where I/​my family started our very first cellphone contract. Tower Records used to be the place for music and video even Daimond Head Video. There was even a Party City type of place here and that place was da shizz! All the shopping center got now is some old school auto place, Kuru Kuru, and the Vitamin Shoppe which are pretty much the places I only care for haha. The shopping plaza is located right across the mall, makai side, thus calling the place Pearl Kai. The parking can sometimes be nutz especially when it’s congested and busy with people cruising around the shopping area.
Unilocal 365 Challenge #136/​365

Not my favorite shopping area. It’s not the stores, it’s the layout and the parking stalls. Ugh. Parking is such a hassle. Afternoons and nights are really crowded, it’s not my cup of tea. Weekend nights get nuts because people go out for dinner I guess.
I do like Shear Genius. Just got my hair cut there the other day, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
I also like that there’s a lot of eating places to choose from.
There’s also a little side area that’s one way. But people don’t seem to understand that. GEEZ! ONE WAY. I get so upset when I’m going the correct way and someone else is going the wrong way, and they have the nerve to get mad at me.

I used to frequent this shopping center in the past as I used to be a customer of the now defunct Tower Records (which incidentally still has the sign up on their former location), and most recently a member of 24 hour fitness. During the time 24 hr was a tenant in this shopping center, I loathed the parking situation as there just wasn’t enough parking at all.
Parking was just terrible.
Last week, I visited this shopping center for the first time since 24 hr fitness moved to a new location at Pearl Highlands in ’09. I went for dinner at Tadashi Restaurant with reservations at 6pm. I was actually quite surprised that there was parking available around that time, as I was accustomed to having to circle the parking lot for an eternity before finally finding a space. I was even more shocked when we left the restaurant 1 hour later only to find there were actually more spaces available than when we arrived! That was certainly unexpected.
Leaving the shopping center, we drove past the former 24 hr location currently occupied by Powerhouse Gym. I guess no one likes to visit Powerhouse on a Saturday night because it looked completely empty… at least in the cardio area.
Bottom Line: Although this shopping center could use a major renovation and facelift, it seems that the departure of 24 hour fitness as a main tenant has freed up parking, somewhat, for other patrons of this shopping complex.

Nothing against the stores in the shopping center, but this place should be torn down and re-​built. It consists of old wooden buildings that were built on steel stilts over the riverbed below, and the place is about to fall into the river.

This shopping center has lots of great dining places.
The reason it gets 3 stars is, there is not a lot of parking and the parking lot has a lot of potholes. I suggest not eating at peak times.
Kuru Kuru, Cuu Long and Champa Thai are some great places to start! ^_^*~

Parking here is crazy!!! But it has a variety of food places to eat at, Blazin’ steaks, Kuru Kuru, Off the Wall, Cuu Long, Tadashi, Ricado’s, and a few others. Vitamin Shoppe is also in this shopping complex.