Choi’s Kitchen

I loved their shrimp fried noodle. sea food Udon, kimchi fried rice etc… They were my kitchen for more than 10 years. Does anybody know where they went?

Everyone once in a great while, I actually stumble on something truly unique and spectacular without even looking for something unique spectacular. Choi’s kitchen is one of those discoveries. I really wanted to eat here every single day of my 7-​day vacation. It is in the middle of a very unsuspecting tourist trap/​food court/​souvenir bazaar. However, I was hungry one morning and noticed that a lot of lovely things were coming out of this little joint. I walked up like an unsuspecting tourist, asked a lot of dumb questions — and in return I got a killer breakfast of tender perfectly seasoned beef spareribs, kale, two eggs sunny-​side-​up, fresh kimchi, three other delicious Korean salads, a side of white rice — all on a styrofoam plate — all of $ 7. As many good places I tried in Hawaii, Choi’s Kitchen is one that I am always craving.
I really wish them the best of luck with their future business and continue to share their gifts with everyone.

Last day of business: 05/​17/​2013.
I will miss yet another lunch option in Waikiki. Always prompt and courteous…

Food courts have never impressed me, but this place is an exception!
Passing through the International Market, there are so many food options to choose from, but the bright signs and crystal clear pictures from Choi’s Kitchen attracted my attention.
Line was about 10 minutes, I’m assuming if there’s a line at this food spot, and no lines at the other food options must mean this place is good right. I choose combo C which came with a mix of pork, spicy beef and chicken and some pot stickers, you also get to choose 4 side dishes and it comes with rice. Not knowing what it would taste like or if I was going to like it or not, I ordered one dish to share with my wife. When we got back to the hotel, we chowed down like there’s no tomorrow and man was it awesomely good. The side dishes, rice, meats were seasoned well, and the texture wasn’t too rough or chewy.
Both our stomachs were happy and I was even more surprised it was enough to feed the both of us for dinner. Before we left Hawaii to the airport, we made sure to order it before we left and took it with us to chow down at the airport.

Korean food is King.
Located in the International Market Place.
Great deal on amazing food.
Quick and cheap so you can maximize your time and get back to the beach!
CASH ONLY

Can’t beat this place with the price and the taste: I ordered the kimchee fried rice (which is a staple here in Hawaii) with Korean bulgogi and spicy pork with choice of 2 sides. I went with cucumber kimchee and bean sprouts. This was quick but very satisfying meal. Since it is part of the food court in the market place, the seating is not the best but it would do. Yeah definitely not for a romantic date.
I kind of miss it. Maybe I should make some right now. running to the kitchen!

My heart YEARNS for Choi’s Kitchen.
Kimchee Fried Rice with Spicy Pork, I MISS YOU!

**SOLID KOREAN FOOD IN A FOOD COURT**
CASH ONLY.
Inside the food court in the International Market.
After dropping a boat-​load full of money at Roy’s for a semi-​satisfying dinner, it was refreshing to eat at a fun, relaxing, and casual *hawker-​style* food court.
Ordered the FRIED RICE WITH BBQ CHICKEN ($ 9.95).
The fried rice was very good, not oily. Loved the crunchy texture. The chicken was not dry and quite flavorful.
Service-​wise, the Korean women were understanding and patient with our orders.
Surprisingly good and affordable eats in the Waikiki area.
Mom loved her kalbi meat and kim chee. I had a bite and yes, they were both solid.
RECOMMEND.

We found this place walking through the flea market type place off the strip.
You really can’t expect good quality food from a food truck type place. We had to go off of the best rated on Unilocal to help us decide which place to get and Unilocal still screwed us.
A spicy pork MINI plate was $ 7.50 with some banchan. It was okay, I don’t think I even finished the plate. I just threw it away because I didn’t want to have to carry it with me along the strip. Customer service was horrible too. I just wanted to add a soda to my meal.
Next time, I’m going to try the eenie meanie minie moe method when I can’t pick a restaurant.

I’m reviewing my morning meal of their $ 6.50 breakfast of rice, 2 pieces of Spam, Portuguese Sausage (3 pieces) and 2 eggs over easy… :)
Went out for a morning walk and really wanted to go to St. Germain’s to pick up some morning pastries but by the time I got there, nothing looked appetizing to me. Not saying they weren’t good… just at the time, I didn’t feel like wasting my appetite on sugary pastries.
So I cut through the alley and went to the International Marketplace hoping that the phở place was open… alas, it wasn’t so I saw that Choi’s had breakfast grub (as well as everything else on their menu). I chose the meal mentioned above and it was out within 5 minutes. Everything was hot and perfect. 10x better than Zippy’s or McDonald’s!!!
They had chap chae ready and it looked so good so I ordered a small order of chap chae ($ 3.00 for a small plate). A weird combination for breakfast, but hey, when you’re in Hawaii and can get it, do it… right!!! Don’t know anywhere in Vegas where you can get a side order of chap chae.
I spied some others who ordered food from them and every dish looked very appetizing and if I were here longer and craving Korean food, I’d definitely be back!
Prices are comparable to fast food Korean places, but their food definitely doesn’t taste fast foodish!

Yum, Yum…
This place is super good. Great prices and a huge selection of items to try. My husband was like a kid in a candy store. Kim Chi Fried Rice is awesome, so is the BBQ Chicken. Did not try a ton of different myself. Definitely will go back again!

Very Happy with their fried rice! Not so happy with the meat as the texture was not edible! Meat was too fatty and gristly for me. Marinade flavors were there, though. Chap Chae and Bean Sprout sides were okay~ I’d eat here again and definitely check out some of the other eateries all around this location! I’m in food bliss with all the popular local favorites.

I know, I know… Choi’s Kitchen is just a food court eatery. But after waking up at 6:30 in the morning, getting out to the airport, flying out to Hawaii, napping, and doing a tux fitting, all with only a sandwich on the plane to cover me for those ten hours, I was too hungry to care how I would spend my first meal in Hawaii. In the end though, it didn’t end up being too bad!
Since I was staying at the Waikiki Wave next door, I swung by the International Market to grab something quick. Lucky for me, Choi’s just happened to be the first one I saw when I got there. I had been craving Korean food too! Then again, when do I not? I ordered the Kimchee Fried Rice plate with mixed BBQ (chicken, pork, and beef), and it turned out to be quite a hefty box of food. I was so hungry though, it was no problem polishing it off. Of the three meats, I thought the chicken tasted the best, though I wish it had a little more char on it. Still, it was quite tasty and relatively moist. Both the pork and beef were a little disappointing since I had something different in mind, but they were still good. Nothing wrong with them, just not like what you would get at real Korean restaurants.
So what made them standout though? The kimchee fried rice! Even though it came from a random hole in the wall eatery, it managed to surpass some of the ones I’ve tried before at restaurants. Good flavor, but it’s a shame there wasn’t a fried egg and a load of spam in there. If there had… oh baby, I would have gone back for more! Definitely not a bad place to check out regardless, especially if you’re looking for a relatively cheap meal. Not sure what the other eateries in the market are like, but Choi’s is pretty solid. Quick, convenient, and a decent value… what’s not to like?

Kim Chi Fried Rice… As GOOD as it gets!!!
Yummy Korean BBQ use to be my favorite place to eat cheap Korean BBQ in Waikiki.
Choi’s has taken over in that regards.
I love love the Kim Chi Fried Rice with Galbi. It was perfectly flavored. Nice balance of spiciness, sour (from Kim Chi), and seasoned. I can eat this every day. It is a bit oily.
When I was stranded in Kauai, I was mostly upset because I couldn’t make it back to Oahu for my last meal. It closes at 9 pm! I will have to go back next time or find a comparable place here in California!
This was my favorite meal in Waikiki!

I wasn’t too impressed. I’ll admit the food wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t all that great either.
For the price of food in a food court I expected it to be a little bit better. Maybe with the popularity of it having been on TV, I felt like my meat was a bit dry and fried rice was just okay and the portion was a bit small. I’ve been to Oahu over a handfull of times now and have eaten at the International Market on every trip and usually am not disappointed. My husband got a plate at the Filipino place 2 doors down and we ate more of his food than mine. Maybe this place is just overhyped.
I wouldn’t dismiss the place, but I would definitely consider the other choices in the International market that are selling similar items for several bucks cheaper. They might be cheaper, faster and better.

There’s nothing better than a big slab of galbi on your plate…
There was a big line as usual compared to the other take out restaurants next door… I was shivering from hunger already that I couldn’t wait for my plate, even a small cup of macaroni salad is good while waiting the huge line that piled up the food court… I finally reached the register (YESS). I ordered the mix plate and the wifey ordered the kimchi fried rice.
We waited another 20 more minutes and I was getting anxy… Finally my number was called. I rushed over there, grabbed my food, and quickly sat at our table… The aroma made my hands shiver while holding a fork… The first bite makes a difference to me because my taste buds never let me down…
OMG… My mixed plate $ 9.95 have spicy bbq pork, bbq chicken, glass noodles, green salad, sweet corn, macaroni salad, and white rice hit the spot in my stomach
The wifey had the kimchi fried rice, stuffed with green onions and spicy bbq pork $ 10.95
. I guess they were still mixing the kimchi with rice because it took awhile longer than my mixed plate but it was worth the wait… I’m not fond of kimchi by itself but this plate was really good.
Eventhough it took long ass time to get our order, the food made up for it.
Thanks Choi’s Kitchen. I give 2 stars for the wait, but 5 stars for the yummy food.
I love Korean food.

Damn hella good for food court food!
Located conveniently in the International Food Market food court, I started my first meal at Hawaii with BBQ chicken and spicy pork that included 4 sides of choice for about $ 10.
Once I got my food, I viciously devoured it before my dad could stealthily pinch the pieces of my meal (He got the crap Vietnamese food across from Choi’s.what a mistake!).
The meat was flavorful and delicious. Portions were large enough to share. I’m salivating right now as I think of it… definitely will be back for a quick bite next time I’m in Waikiki.

Kimchee Fried Rice is amazing! Portions were big enough to share… so thats always good when food is more expensive in Hawaii.
Will definitely be back for more the next time I am in Waikiki!

Kim Chee Fried Rice!
Ok, I have to say this is probably the best kim chee fried rice I’ve had yet… but I feel like I have to try Angry Korean Lady’s before I could truly give it 5 stars in any case.
Considering it’s in the middle of Waikiki, I wasn’t sure what we were doing driving into tourist central to get the kim chee fried rice I was craving, but alas, we followed the Unilocal reviews.
Ordered the kim chee fried rice with chicken.
It took a while so either they were cooking it up fresh or they just made me wait so that I’d think it was fresh. It’s the best flavor I’ve had yet. It was spicy but yet not too spicy. The flavor base was just spot on. The chicken was also tasty. But the dish needs the chicken on top because the rice doesn’t have much to it – I kind of expected the more filled fried rice: with veggies or spam or portuguese sausage or something but there’s none of that in it. But it was delicious.
It was 9.95, including tax. They also do the kim chee fried rice with kalbi, spicy pork and all sorts. Also regular fried rice. I’d be a little wary of the regular fried rice because unless it’s different, it sounds like it’d be pretty plain.
And for those who want to do a quick take out you can drive up Duke’s Lane and hopefully idle on the side: you can see Choi’s Kitchen from Duke’s Lane. So rather than hassle with parking just try to come with 2 people and do take out from Duke’s lane – there’s hardly any traffic on that road and it’s a heck of a lot nicer than getting honked at for idling on Kalakaua or Kuhio…

Oh heavens. I got back from Hawaii 2 days ago and I am already missing Choi’s like crazy. Hell, I started missing it when I walked away from that dinky food court tucked between the International Marketplace and Duke’s Marketplace (where I negotiated a damn good deal for a necklace and earrings, by the way).
APPEARANCE: ⁴⁄₅. I mean, it’s in a food court, so I can’t really hold it to a high standard… A nice woman works at the stand and takes your order. Lots of pictures to help you decide. There’s actually a big picture menu up top (see my pictures), a text menu near the cashier, and some other specials scribbled around the stand. I’d advise you to look around the entirety of the stand before ordering. The food court isn’t too clean (I’ve attached a picture of some pigeons) but hey… whatev.
SERVICE: ⁵⁄₅. Pretty fast. The woman there is nice if a bit stiff… probably just because she’s very efficient and has been there a long time. We chatted with her and said how much people love them on Unilocal,and she said they’ve been there for about 20 years! The other places are newer… can’t stand the test of time the way Choi’s does! By the way, after our little conversation (this was on our second visit), she gave us some free samples :)
FOOD: 10 ⁰⁰⁰⁄₅. Can I do that? Yes I can, this is the Internet. My boyfriend and I first had some BBQ beef, spicy pork, BBQ chicken, and fried rice. ALL DELICIOUS. Seriously the best Korean barbecue I’ve had. I personally preferred the beef. Fried rice was also delicious, and I fell in love with the long rice. About $ 7 – 9 for a combo plate with the meats and rice; you even get to choose 4 veggie sides with certain combos. What a bargain! (I recommend the long rice and the shoyu potatoes.)
I could rave FOREVER about this food… When can I go back to Honolulu? Not soon enough… I’m a medical student and have no life for the next several years. I guess the good news is that I will eventually have enough money to return to Honolulu and EAT MORE CHOI’S!