Aloha Plate

All I can say is the huli huli chicken tacos are THE BOMB. They are deceptively spicey, though! The owner is super nice and friendly as are his employees. Find this truck wherever they are around Honolulu and GET SOME!

I tried the braised pork belly tonight at Eat The Streets.
The flavors were AMAZING. Rice cooked perfectly.
The best dish I’ve had in forever!

I hate to write bad reviews but I had to being that I was warned several times by some friends that told me the place sucked. I’d like to consider myself an adobo connoisseur (especially pork) and I would like to think I’ve had enough adobo to consider myself an expert in my life. Being born and raised in the Philippines, it is my favorite dish. Went to Lanai’s Lunchwagon this past Friday and tried the «Pork Belly Adobo Moco.» The egg was done perfectly but when I looked at the meat I saw that most of it was made from pork shoulder. If you like leaner adobo this is good. But when you say pork belly and don’t even see hardly any fat then your lying (the secret to good pork adobo is the fat in the pork belly). That wasn’t the bad part. The bad part was that it tasted so strongly of vinegar (more than I prefer) that it almost rendered the dish inedible due to the high acidic content. The spaghetti Mac was mixed with hard boiled egg but it was ruined by the flavor of white wine. I mean your making local dishes. Make it simple! Don’t try and put ingredients in there that don’t make sense. I don’t know how they won the Great Food Truck Race, but I definitely won’t be coming back.

After trying the pork belly adobo moco, I now understand why Aloha Plate won the Great Food Truck Race.
We got food from several trucks at Makers & Tasters, and while they were all good, Aloha Plate was far and away the best. AND the cheapest!

Expected some good food. ended up being way overpriced and not tasteful AT ALL. I ordered the Loco Moco because that was all that was left at 730pm. It tasted spoiled. Now I didn’t take it back because I wasn’t sure if that was just they way they make it with a tangy taste or if I was going to get the runs later. needless to say Aloha Plate was Nothing what I expected from what I seen on social media.

These guys came by my work place today, I got the opah tacos and thought that it was very good and flavorful, and the girl who took our order was very courteous and friendly. The reason for the four stars instead of five is that we waited an hour for our food! I don’t expect to wait that long at a food truck, especially when I technically have only 45 minutes for lunch.

In looking at the other reviews, I’m amazed folks had problems finding this place. It’s right over there. (Just kidding) First of all, I’m a big fan of Chef Adam and Aloha Plate from the Amazing Food Truck Race. I’m so use to seeing everyone but someone from Hawaii do well I really didn’t think they had a chance even though they had the best food. Much to my delight they won! Then several months later I got to meet Chef Adam and his brother Lanai at Costco, autographing Lanai’s «Cooking Hawaiian Style: Ohana Recipes from Lanai and Friends» (which is a great cookbook). I was impressed by Chef Adam’s accounts of his dishes and could see the passion he has for cooking. Well a few months ago, I heard someone bought a new spot in our warehouse and much to my delight, it was Aloha Plate! And they were right over there! My jaw dropped and I couldn’t wait for them to open up. Much to my surprise, I ran into Chef Adam and told him how much my wife liked Lanai’s cookbook and he said there’s a new cookbook coming out next year. But I finally got to try his huli huli chicken tacos and they were excellent! Home made salsa, not too hot and not too mild, on crispy chopped lettuce with generous chunks of huli-​huli chicken on top, all on a corn tortilla. I tend to eat alot but the 3 tacos definitely filled me up. Their pineapple parfait is an excellent combination of fruits. They do have daily specials like Venison Chili. I asked about making it a regular item but they don’t always get venison. It’s too bad. The sample was very tasty with the venison providing a nice flavor to counter the chili spices. I understand why some of the other Unilocalers like it so much. Chef Adam said they’ll be open Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays, 10:30 — 1:30 PM. I’ve seen folks complain about the wait but the food isn’t made till you order and their food is worth the wait. So if you’re in the area or curious to check them out, they’re at 99 – 1135 Iwaena St, Bay 11 in Aiea in Halawa Valley. C’mon down! Parking is a bit tight in the lot so streetside parking may be best.

Way overhyped and way overpriced. I was so excited to try Aloha Plate after following them on social media for a long time. I had the huli huli chicken tacos– 1) there was nothing huli huli about it and 2) it was a bland excuse for a taco. I expected so much more. Big disappointment.

Great great great food truck! Finally able to check them out at The Greenroom Festival and we ordered 3 dishes that were all excellent! The Huli Huli chicken tacos were absolutely amazing, so much flavor and perfect. We had the Opah dish too which was equally amazing and very surprising to get a meal like this opah from a truck. Great job guys! Keep it up!

It’s funny how in the world we live in now, everyone wants things NOW, at the drop of a dime. I’m happy to see that these amazing group of people, Aloha Plate, actually take time to make & prepare food as it should be.
Perfect. I don’t mind waiting, when I know I’m getting quality food, and knowing where my food is coming from, how awesome is that?! Chef Adam genuinely sees the potential in our local farmers here in our community. Buying local, supporting local. When you put all these elements together, it really doesn’t matter that I have to wait a while longer to get the freshest food our island has to offer. Aloha Plate, you guys are doing a helluva good job. Your efforts to support our community really comes through in the food you put out! A job well done! My favorites: HULI HULI Chicken Tacos, Venison Chili Moco, and the fish with shellfish butter. BROKE DA MOUF! Desserts are EXCELLENT TOO! Cheeee!

The food’s pretty good here, but I just wasn’t won over. To me, the creative and complex flavors were interesting, but just didn’t blend well, which stood out to me in every bite. The staff supporting the food truck is friendly, and they’ve developed a _​somewhat_​efficient ordering system for crowded events. .. although the system only works until it doesn’t and customers who’ve ordered earlier get forgotten and have _​long_​waits while watching others who ordered the same item later get their food first. Also, the food’s not necessarily quick; however, this is because they take their time to do things right that shouldn’t be rushed (like risotto, for which the texture was excellent).

These guys are amazing! Food was delicious and customer service was on-​point! Thank you for the aloha u put in to your food and hearts!

It’s funny how the Food Channel can influence our lives. Guy Fieri’s DDD show sparked lines at a number of local spots and, unlike his mostly just okay mainland picks, most are pretty solid here.
About a year ago, Tyler Florence hosted a food truck competition that featured this group who won that event. One common denominator in their travels to a number of cities is that Hawaii transplants supported. Ohana on the road indeed! This event was their one of their first openings since coming home after WINNING their truck.
With a line about fifteen deep, I waited to place my order at their tables setup in front of the truck. When I reached the table, the noodles with the prawns was already sold out, leaving this as the best remaining choice. Co-​owner Lanai took my order and said that this fish would cost me $ 25.00 in a restaurant… you raised the bar a bit, bro.
«Hook ‘n Line Special» — Seared marinated «Uka», Asian veggies, spiced soy butter, Firecracker Aioli, $ 15.00 (
) — Fish was nicely pan fried with deep marinade flavors and the veggies were nice and crunchy the way I like them. Not sure whether it was a mixup, but had some chashu pieces underneath (not listed in above description)… or perhaps they ran out of fish?! The fish did not disappoint, but wish there was a little more of it.
I enjoyed my meal and learned that the slow moving line was because each order is actually cooked to order. It makes a difference as many other vendors were merely constructing plates from a hot plate. Not wanting to hold up my patient friends, I took my plate back to the hotel and happily found that it was still warm.
4 solid stars as I reserve the 5^th star for the next time when I hopefully try that prawn noodle dish! Way to represent, guys!

A bit overhyped
Yes, this is the truck that won the food network challenge. Although I think it’s great that they represent Hawaii and won the challenge, I also feel that they are a bit overrated. Perhaps it was a bad day?
I opted for the Seafood Chowder with Opah belly BLT slider and a firecracker Aioli sauce among the choices that they had for the Jan 31 2015 eat the street event. For $ 14.00 I got a little less than half Chinese carton full of Seafood chowder and a small fish slider. Price to food ratio was rather high. The chowder itself was extremely hot and was pretty good although it could have used just a tad more salt to enhance the flavors. Not bad overall although the texture was much too thin for a chowder for my taste. Almost like a very thin gravy. The flavor was good overall however and there was plenty of substance in it like whole calms, potatoes etc.
The slider on the other hand was a pretty big disappointment. Their piece of fish was a rather ugly shaped piece and made it awkward to eat the slider. Think very thick on one side and very thin on the other. No problem, I can take it apart and eat it piece by piece. Unfortunately, the fish itself had very little flavor and seasoning. It was overcooked and rather dry which didn’t help either. The other disappointment was the aioli sauce, or in this case mayonnaise. That’s what it tasted like… mayo. No «firecracker aioli sauce» flavor at all. There was also I believe cabbage in it which I liked and thought was a little unusual, but it was basically cabbage and mayo.
Overall, it was «ok». By itself I’d throw a good 3.5 stars for the chowder and maybe 2 for the slider. But factor in the price of $ 14.00 and it becomes rather unappealing. Also, another factor is the wait time. From the time of order to the time of receiving the food was a good 25 — 30 minutes. Part of a food truck experience is the wait time. You expect in and out service. They did emphasize that everything was ‘made fresh” but the wait time here for nearly a half hour was far too long considering that other trucks made things fresh as well and had a significantly shorter turnover rate. With about 4 – 5 people in the truck and 4 – 5 outside, you’d think they’d be speedy. Perhaps they had a bad day or something, but overall when you add up the price, the disappointing slider, the small portions and long wait time, you don’t get very much.
I’m inclined to try them again, but for now, lack of taste, high prices and long wait times… I’d have to throw a rather low rating at them.
2 stars!

Started with the venison chili with fried garlic and farm fresh egg. So much flavor. I wish I had this for my super bowl party.
Followed with the healthy Hawaiian Uku fish plate. The salad paired with the fish was something I have never had before. The Chef called it a Ho’io salad. UNREAL. Like an okra but fresh with a mountain green crisp. Fish was cooked nicely but the veggies blew me away.
Happy to see these guys on the island after winning The Food Network show. I’ll be back and keep on truckn guys.
*advice get there early, some plates sell out.

I’ve been a fan of the Amazing Food Truck Race since the beginning. I’ve been bias cheering for asian teams that appear and don’t win. It was shameful when one asian team was disqualified for cheating. Now, the fourth season, there’s an asian team and they’re are from Hawaii. Aloha Plate won that season well representing the islands. I was so proud. More so, I wanted to eat their food.
That day finally came this past Friday at Eat The Streets China. We came early right at the 4:00pm opening parking right in the lot. We like to walk around to see who is new. It had been a few months since last we came and were looking forward to some good eats. As we come almost full circle I recognize Aloha Plate. My mind is made up where to eat.
Looking over the menu and there are many delicious entrees but I settle on Seafood Chowder with Opah belly BLT slider and a firecracker Aioli pepper.
The taste was out of this world with several layers of flavor but not overpowering. The chowder was really hot. Could not eat it alone unless you bit the sandwich first.
I wanted to try other selections but I had plans for dinner later and did not want to spoil my appetite. This was just an appetizer and a good one at that.
There are two things that stop me from giving it the 5^th star. One, wish there was more of the Aioli peppers. I ate that one up in one bite that left nothing for the rest of the meal. Two, I did feel it a little bit over price. Now, ETS is pricey to begin with but I felt this was over that. I’m willing to put out the extra bucks for special events like ETS but I don’t want to go over that.
Round Two coming up.