Fortune Noodle

Trying a new Resturant. Beef is good but everything is too oily and no taste. The noodle and dumpling very blend. Great for people that like spicy food.

Hooray! A Sichuan restaurant in a Cantonese food town. Most locals need to become acquainted with the hot, savory spices of this large land-​locked province in China. But once they do, they will return. We sampled the quartet of veggie appetizers and ate them all. The red chili dumplings are worth a return trip. The General Tsou chicken, Dan dan noodles and more were all uniformly DELICIOUS.
But this place is still getting going. On a return trip for lunch with friends, the manager said it was closed because they had too much to do before opening. Come back for dinner. Not a good sign. Hope they get their logistics and service under control.
The room is very pleasant – clean, modern and well appointed. Hope they keep it up… I am addicted to the chili paste.

I’ve been here twice for takeout and both times, the service was incredible. Very polite and offered me water while I wait. Didn’t take too long either times to get my order ready. Décor is beautiful inside and spotless.
The first time, I was just grabbing a quick lunch on my break. I’ve had this style of chinese food in California, but wasn’t too familiar with it. The waitress recommended the Dan Dan Noodle and Chili Oil Dumplings. So good! I had to force myself to set aside what I hadn’t already scarfed down to control my inner beast. When I took the leftovers home, boyfriend scarfed them down.
On my second visit, boyfriend was curious and craving more Fortune Noodle. I didn’t really feel like eating in, so take out again. Since it was the two of us, we ordered the Dan Dan Noodle again with the Chili Oil Dumplings, in addition to Mama’s Fried Pork and the Fried Dumplings with a side of rice. Prices aren’t bad at all, and honestly I like the portion sizes of the dishes. Not a heaping serving, but enough to order several dishes and get a taste of everything. Oh yeah, the server threw in a free taste of the green beans and potatoes. Super win! I actually wanted to order a side of green beens, but opted out in fear that we had over ordered. Loved every dish. Particularly Mamas Fried Pork. Those Chili Oil Dumplings, however are the star of the show.
On another note, maybe don’t eat here if you deal closely with people. The intricate flavorings of the food can linger.
Really want to come back and try those fried fish balls and the beef soup.
A+ for awesome service and Good Food

We stumbled upon this restaurant because we knew there was this knew building that was up and running near Walmart Keeaumoku. We actually wanted to eat some phở but this place seemed a bit more popular. Was sort of thrown off that this is a Chinese (Sze Chuan to be exact) restaurant. I have to say that I’ve never had it. Maybe when I was in San Francisco when a relative took me and my family to a Chinese restaurant that’s well know for their spiciness. I wouldn’t say spicy is my choice or go-​to cuisine. The waiter was nice to help us and recommend what to order. I had the Tomato Soup Hot Stone Pot. Be careful it really is hot! They even have signs telling you to not touch the bowls. The spiciness didn’t bother me so I kind of liked it. It was weird that the noodles were outside of the bowl.
I think what I look for when I go to a Chinese restaurant is something that reminds me of home and grandmas cooking. This place reminded me a little of it but I still prefer the simple stuff. Like roast duck, roast pork and fried noodles. Not sure if I want to come back but it wasn’t because I had a bad experience. Just not my preference.

I struggled with the rating bc I’d say the service was a five, setting was a four, food was a three. Can the other things ever make a place rise above what it achieved on food alone? Maybe yes but for me only if you allow Ollie the dog to come or if ur food is a four and service and fancy setting bring it up to a five.
Enough of my internal conflict.
Get the veggies sampler. It’s kinda like banchan for me since I’m Korean. The potatoes were yummy and crunchy, green beans flavorful, fungus ok, cukes also crunchy and flavorful. I think it paired well with the Dan Dan noodles which were very spicy but like a slow creeping heat. Maybe could’ve used a dash more soy or salt but then paired w veggies fine. Chili oil dumplings fine — had almost a five spice flavor to it which was good but I don’t love five spice. Got the mama spicy beef noodle soup dish. Also slow creeping heat. Rice noodles get soft pretty quickly. Definitely nose dripping like a faucet and sweating from the pepper heat. Not unbearable but glad I didn’t get the spicier one.
I can see why the dessert jello needs to be cool and refreshing to bring the heat level down in the mouth.
We parked valet and it was free just tip them. Although the sign says only the first hour is free and a few bucks an hour after. The parking is offa Sheridan. I think go just to see that cool car elevator raise me spin ur car around like a vending machine.
Yes server was great. Super clean and modern look.
I liked it. I would go again if someone else going. Maybe wouldn’t go outta my way.

This place still has brand new smell. As soon as you walk in here you will notice it’s very clean! I love their buckwheat tea here too! We ordered the red chili oil dumplings which was very yummy! It was perfect bite sized and the sauce was amazing! Not too spicy but packed with a lot of flavor! We also ordered beef noodle soup which came in clay bowl which kept it nice and warm. The noodles were very good and not to soft not hard. We also ordered a bowl of their Dan Dan noodles which was also not bad! My fave dish so far would be their red chili oil dumplings. Parking is free valet in the back.

Szechuan good at its finest. At first I thought it was a Chinese restaurant but we were in for a surprise. I love hot pot as it is but spicy szechuan style hot pot… even better. Theres 4 hot pot to choose from ranging from not spicy to very spicy. There’s also other noodle dishes like dan dan and beef noodle soup. I can’t wait to try that next time.
I got Mama’s Preserved Chili soup which has a sour effect to it and 2^nd spiciest. It was great. Pieces of beef were mixed in with fish ball, mushrooms, veggies, seaweed, etc. The homemade noodles come on the side and you just add it in as your eating. The noodles were cooked to perfection.
The service was great too. Very helpful and kind. He made us feel welcomed in there and explained the different dishes.
Can’t wait to come back and try more. This place is a gem for authentic szechuan dishes.

Sichuan food is known to be hot. Since most of us can’t tolerate the standard, they have toned it down. If you see two peppers but the menu, it is only slightly spicy. three peppers made me sweat but it was bearable.
Beef noodle soup (I think that’s what it was called). This one had two peppers. The beef chunks were a little salty. Maybe they were compensating for previous reviews that said there was little flavor. It was still pretty good.
Spicy chili beef noodle soup. The rice noodle came in a separate bowl. There was a lot of chili oil so this isn’t the type of soup that is made to drink. There were all sorts of things inside this soup and lots of pepper. The only thing that I thought was unnecessary was the spam strips. I could be wrong but I didn’t think it was authentic. Maybe the locals like it. There’s not that many but I would rather not have it in my meal.
Service was excellent. Our server checked on us a few times and made sure we had water. I am willing to come back and try their other dishes.
The business is in that new building on Sheridan St. It might be called 808 center. The valet parking in the evening is free. They park your car in an Asian style parking garage where these platforms move your car into racks that are stacked on top of each other.

Hawaii’s first «authentic» Sichuan restaurant lives up to its reputation. I ordered a «mild» beef noodle soup that was so spicy that my eyes watered. Thankfully, my dining companion ordered one with «no spice» and we mixed the two for a perfect spiciness level.
When dining here, you must order the red chili oil dumplings, this was by far the tastiest menu item. I could eat 2 orders of that and call it a meal.
The steamed egg had a lot of flavor with the mixed meat on top, but the side dishes of wood eat and green beans were just mediocre. Nothing bad, but nothing stellar like the dumplings.
I’ll be returning to try the boiled beef.

This is a cute little restaurant with a cute interior, which we heard about b/​c my husband’s patient raved about this Szechuan noodle place. In all honesty I’ve never had Szechuan noodles before, but I was really interested in trying it. My husband has had plenty of it as he has been to China numerous times.
Anyway, I ordered the hot chili rice noodles with beef, and the hubby ordered mama’s preserved chili rice noodles. My husband and I both enjoyed our food but it was seriously so piping hot and spicy that my poor esophagus was burning up the entire meal. I do have a history of acid reflux so I try not to eat TOO spicy, even though I love to eat spicy food. According to the server, this was supposed to be the mildest and standard version of it, as the server stated that next time if we want it to be spicier we can request it. I was like, ummm, no, this is wayyy more spicy than I need it to be! Additionally, the noodles were served with spam, which didn’t seem very authentic to me, haha. I guess that was their way of putting a local twist into it.
We also ordered the hot chili oil dumplings which I actually really liked. It was mildly spicy but not overkill like the hot chili noodles. Lastly, we ordered the dessert, which is supposed to be some type of jello with brown sugar, and pineapple and strawberry purée on top. It definitely did not look like what the picture looked like… it’s basically a bowl of solid jello and then they throw the purée on top of it. And then you take a spoon and break it up into pieces and mix it together. The dessert was actually tasty as it cooled down my mouth after the spicy noodles. But I would probably never order it again.
I won’t discuss the details of the aftermath of this experience. But my husband did spend some extra time suffering on the toilet the next day. =X

I wanted to see what this place was like since it supposedly the first truly schezuan place in Hawaii.
Atmosphere: In a plaza, parking can be a bit difficult. Very new and clean inside.
Service: excellent service. The waiters and waitresses are highly attentive and considerate. accepts all credit cards.
Food: So disappointing. The hot pot stone noodles were lacking flavor and filled with spam and other overly processed meats. The only thing we ordered that was tasty was the chili dumplings. The sweet and sour short ribs were too sweet!
Intangibles: Do not try this place. I will not be returning.

I came in with mixed feelings after reading the reviews but I really enjoyed it. I believe everyone’s palettes are different and this style of Chinese cooking is not what we are used to in Hawaii so onwards with the review!
My two other friends and myself arrived about 30 minutes before closing so we had a rushed meal but no problem. We ordered the Original Soup Noodle, Dan Dan Noodles and the Chili Dumplings.
Many reviews mentioned that the original soup noodles were too bland and I thought so too at first. But the flavors were there if you give it a second taste. I could taste the subtle ginger and other earthy herbs which was nostalgic of home style Chinese cooking for me. I liked it but next time I’m gonna try the spicy one.
The Dan Dan was liked amongst the three of us. It is served as a bowl of dense noodles with the spicy sesame meat sauce on the bottom. Mix that bad boy well or else it will be a flavor slap to the face when you get to the bottom. It had just the right amount of spice and I enjoyed the chewiness of the thick noodles.
The dumplings was our ultimate favorite. There were 9 pieces! It was just as good as all the pictures made it to be. I can see it being the quintessential thing to order at Fortune Noodle.
Because we were passive aggressively rushed, the workers gave us the Ice Jello Noodle with Brown Sugar for free. The jelly itself has no flavor but the syrup was good with hints of strawberry. I didn’t taste the brown sugar but it was fine, I liked it a lot. Imagine a mix of soft tofu and jello. Yeah, kinda like that.
Service was great! The gentleman who offered us the free dessert was very hospitable so I’m assuming he’s the manager or franchise owner or something. They were also good with water refills.

I’m not sure if I went on an off night, but I wasn’t feeling fortunate that I tried Fortune Noodle. This new establishment on 808 Sheridan has a great contemporary and clean feel, but I found several of the dishes just didn’t ring my bell.
Several friends ordered the Original Rice Noodle with Beef, so I sampled a bit of their broths. It was quite bland and flat. I also tried the Spicy Rice Noodle which was not anymore flavorful, just way spicier. I ordered the Tomato Soup Hot Stone Pot Noodle which had a bit more flavor, but still wasn’t anything special.
To their credit, the Red Chili Oil Dumplings were excellent and very flavorful. A friend even ordered an extra set to take home. The service was also excellent and they made a great effort to explain the menu choices to us and for that I’ll give them an extra star.
For dessert, we tried the Iced Jello Noodle with Brown Sugar. For our party of six, we all agreed it also was bland and the texture was a bit too funky for us.
Last year I spent some time in Beijing and sampled cuisine from many regions in China, so I was quite disappointed with the Szechuan flavors of Fortune Noodle.
I am curious to try their Dan Dan Noodles and Spicy Pork, so I plan on giving them another try in the near future.

«What is that smell?», I asked myself while I stood in the middle of the elevator filled with people bound to their own destinations for lunch. After sitting most of the day during work, my plan was to spread my toes, stretch every single muscle on my legs while I walk to Ala Moana Center for lunch and get my reading on at Barnes & Nobles. The aroma from one of the new places behind HMSA sparked my curiosity and thanks to Daniel C for all your posts!
This is a cozy Sichuan cuisine establishment and here I am thinking it might be a bit too fancy for lunch. I looked at their simple menu as my stomach continued to scream at me to stay. Jaime, sat me along the comfy solo bar since I was having lunch on my own. There was not a single corner or space I didn’t like about my surrounding. The lighting and window drapes complimented a lot of the colors to match the chairs, walls and wooden chairs. There are ample tables for groups dining in fours, and adjustable tables for parties of 10 or more. The use of space is pretty efficient without making the areas look crowded.
Jaime took the time to explain everything and recommended I get the Dan Dan Noodle since I wanted something simple for my first time here. I didn’t want anything too fancy but a simple noodle and side order of appetizer. Gyoza’s it is for me. The Dan Dan noodles worked perfectly for my craving. For this particular dish, Jaime recommended to mix it well since the sauce is at the bottom of the bowl. The dish is made with ground meat, freshly toasted sesame, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn and a handful of chewy noodles to toss it all together. Wow! This dish is spicy! This is supposedly mild! Thankfully, Jaime insisted on me trying the buckwheat tea during my meal. I loved the hot tea!
Customer service was excellent. At this time, I came during their soft opening (¹⁰⁄₁₉). Jaime had mentioned the menu is still in the works and they’re still waiting for their new menu’s to come out for their grand opening. I am looking forward to trying more items outside of the soft opening menu.
Parking is limited or street. Located next to Infinitea.

This place is supposedly part of a chain in mainland China and the mainland. We went with a large group which is good because all the food is family-​style based.
We sampled the original noodle hot pot and the hot chili oil hot pot. The original had much more flavor than the hot chili oil hot pot. But get the dan dan noodles and the shrimp skewers.
If you like hot chili oil this is defn the place for you. If that’s not really your thing then it’s. ok. Not terrible. Not spectacular. Just meh.

I have heard about this place for a while, and finally made it over here this Monday night after my Sam’s Club run. We were too lazy to try to find parking so we walked from Sam’s Club parking lot, only took about 5min.
I like the embiance as well as the friendly and very polite waiter. We ordered the tomato based beef rice noodle in the stone pot, the sweet sour ribs and stir fried green beans.
The sweet and sour ribs are different from the typical ones you have on the island, those sugar coated ones. This one is a cold dish. The meat had been marinated in their special sauce but not deep fried — i think they taste wonderful!
The stir fried green beans are actually stir fried with mince pork. Also taste really good — I almost finished a whole plate by myself.
The beef noodle is definitely worth trying as well. Tomato broth was seasoned perfectly. My bf said «it tastes clean, unlike most chinese restaurants in Hawaii» (no offense to other chinese restaurants). We have plenty of leftover broth to take home to add in more noodles and whatever we want to make a second meal!
I’m from China and this is one of a very few restaurants in Hawaii, for me at least, that really «taste like China». (Not saying the other restaurants are bad. Just those restaurants serve mostly Cantonese style food, but Canton is a very small part of China. The majority of Chinese people grow up eating other types of Chinese food, Sichuan food being one of them.)
Anyway, I can’t wait to come back here again and try more good stuff!

The format and menu offerings are well organized and keeps things simple and easy to order. The service is here is also very good which makes me think will bring me back again.
I had the hot chili noodle and let me tell you folks. If you like spicy than you’ll like this one. For me, I’m a fan of spicy but when I can’t taste anything but spice in a soup broth that has no depth in the flavor? Not for me. The original noodle was okay but I really think there should be one that’s between the hot chili and the original noodle. Then the broth would be mellower with some kick but still allowing for some flavor beneath the spice.
The tasty dumplings in chili oil were my favorite next to the gyoza I had which was also pretty good. I also managed to try the dessert there which was a unusual gelatinous mixture brown sugar and agar. But it really kinda tasted like some kind of fruity jam served cold. Not sure if I’d do that one again.
Next time I head back I’ll want to get the dan dan noodles and the tomato noodle which my friend said probably was the best broth we had that night. I’ll agree with him there.
Parking is either street, in the building (but limited) or go buy something at Walmart and walk over from there.

After hearing and reading mixed reviews, we’ve finally decided to give Fortune Noodle a try. The place itself was very modern styled and clean. The right side of the restaurant had counter seating, and the left side had regular table seating. Service was excellent. The staff was really attentive. They kept refilling our tea and water cups, and checked up on us several times during our dining experience. However, the food was just mediocre.
Let’s start off with the three rice noodles that we ordered. These are supposedly their specialties. All of the rice noodle items seem to come with black fungus, beef, beef & fish balls, enoki mushrooms, and green onion. The soup base of the original rice noodle lacked flavor. The chili rice noodle one had a good kick in it, but at the same time, overwhelmed the natural flavors of the dish. The tomato soup rice noodle would be my favorite out of the three that we ordered, but that doesn’t mean a lot since I really didn’t care for any of their rice noodle items. These dishes looked much more well presented in the photos of their menu, so I was a little disappointed when they served it to us.
We also ordered three sides: Mama’s Marinated Fried Pork, Red Chili Oil Dumplings, and Special Minced Meat Steamed Egg. The fried pork looked nothing like the one on the menu! On the menu, it looked like strips of fried meat. In actuality, it was slices of shriveled up fried pork belly. The taste and texture was okay — lightly seasoned and fried to a crisp. The red chili oil dumplings were acceptable also. They were slightly spicy and wrapped in a thick skin. My only complain about this dish was that some of the dumplings had their skin stuck on one another. The steamed egg was somewhat acceptable. I just wish they put more minced meat on it, since it seemed like the egg had no flavor to it. All the flavor came from the minced meat alone.
Overall, my wife was the only one out of family that really appreciated most of the food. I personally thought certain dishes were mediocre and certain ones I would not order again. I don’t think I’ll ever crave to go back, but I wouldn’t mind tagging along if my family or friends wanted to go.

My lunch buddy did some research and we agreed to give this new place a chance during its Soft Opening. We both like noodles and we both liked the name of the restaurant. However, we both did not like the soup.
LOCATION
Although the address is Sheridan Street, the front door is actually on Rycroft. This is a new building with other businesses opening soon.
PARKING
Street or valet. We happened to do some business nearby and left the car in a covered lot. We ate quickly to avoid possible towing…
AMBIANCE
NICE! Very clean, bright, and modern! Seating is along the wall in a counter-​type fashion, as well as at tables in a regular formation.
FOOD
Appetizers were great! I liked the Fried Dumplings — moist and tasty! I even liked the Red Chili Oil Dumpling because the wrapper seemed thicker with a better texture and the presentation was striking! The Special Minced Meat Steamed Egg improved after it was mixed together. It could use some soy sauce and/​or sesame seed oil…
The disappointment was the broth of the soup. I had the (non-​spicy) Original Hot Stone Rice Noodle with Beef. I checked my taste buds with those of my lunch buddy and we concurred that flavor was lacking. We both added a scoop of salt to our bowls. The salt container was conveniently placed on our table, suggesting to me that the stock was possibly «healthy» on purpose? (It reminded me of my grandmother’s cooking — on the «natural», «herbal» side for a hypertension diet.) Ingredients included were: Black mushrooms, black fungus, sea weed, tomato, foo jook, and green onion. It had an earthy aroma. I was looking for those Chinese dried red dates, but didn’t see any although I thought I could taste them. The noodles were just okay and the beef in the soup was good and tender with a hint of flavor.
Iced Jello Noodle with Brown Sugar Dessert was delightful! We concluded that the tiny seeds were from real strawberries. It didn’t seem to taste like brown sugar, but more fruity. The gelatin part was clear and flavorless, but cool and refreshing! Just mix and chop up the gel together with the purée sauce for a surprising treat!
SERVICE
EXCELLENT — FIVE STARS! The servers were very patient and knowledgeable. They were very attentive and kept filling our (free) Buckwheat tea (make sure you get this — it’s yummy!) and water glasses. They were friendly in explaining that this restaurant is a chain in China and this location is the first in the USA. We wish them the best of luck on their new venture! We look forward to trying the other menu items that were not available during this Soft Opening.

They are a chain in China and this is the first location for them in HI and the United States. It’s located across Choi’s Garden behind Walmart. The place is illuminated with lots of natural light and has trendy décor. This is their soft opening so not all items were available on the menu such as the BBQ items. It’s ok because my lunch buddy and I ordered a good amount of food.
— Hot Chili Rice Noodle with Beef ($ 12.50): I would say this dish is 2.5 out of 5 because the soup lacked flavor, spice, veggies and meat. The noodles were cooked and all we had to do was dip it in the soup base. Talk about bland! I added salt and more hot sauce but it didn’t do much. This was disappointing since they are a noodle house. Do not touch the stone pot when it comes out because it’s HOT!
— Red Chili Oil Dumpling ($ 6.99): I would give this dish 5 out of 5. The dumplings were cooked to perfection and the sauce was very flavorful. Dumplings held up in the sauce and didn’t break apart. I wish that it was spicier but it was very good. You will need to mix the sauce and dumplings together once you get it as a heads up. This was my favorite dish here.
— Fried Dumpling ($ 4.25): I would give this dish a 4 out of 5. It was good and the same dumplings from the Red Chili Oil Dumpling dish. The sauce that came with this was a soy and vinegar based sauce. I ended up putting the dumplings into the Red Chili Oil Dumpling sauce because I liked it better.
— Special Minced Meat Steamed Egg ($ 4.99): I would give this dish 3.5 out of 5. It was very good on the first few bites but as you got closer to the bottom, it was very bland. Maybe if we mixed everything together in the beginning then the flavors would have been more consistent?
— Iced Jello Noodle with Brown Sugar ($ 2.99): I would give this dish a 4 out of 5. The jello has no flavor but it’s topped with this strawberry and brown sugar purée. You mix up the dish before consuming. It was very light and refreshing which concluded the meal well. The dessert wasn’t too sweet and was just right.
— Sichuan Buckwheat Tea (free): The tea come out hot with this amazing aroma. It was very tasty and complimented the meal by helping cut down on all the chili oil consumed. Make sure to ask to try it since it’s free!
— Service here was very good (5 out of 5). You feel welcomed and everyone is nice. Our server kept coming around to refill tea and water without asking. He also gave us more napkins and told us more about the restaurant. They gave us 20% off our bill which is greatly appreciated.
— Parking is valet in the building or you can look for street parking. We had to go to Walmart so we parked there, did what we needed to in Walmart then walked over for lunch. Park there at your own risk!