Jun Bo Chinese Restaurant

For what it is they run a great little restaurant here right off Merchant in an alleyway. My fave is the black bean chicken on chow fun. They have ready to go choices you can have them make into a to go plate or you can order off the menu and wait a few minutes, an even better option for me (hotter/​fresher).
If you sit down and have tea with your meal then it can be a pleasant getaway from the office midday. They have tons of specials, some regular ones each day of the week.
If you happen to be downtown or work downtown then this place is a solid choice. For some reason I forget to go here when I otherwise would more often. Parking could be tough unless you plan ahead.

Dependable taste! Dangerous to know it’s so close to work. Satisfying Chinese — not too greasy or salty! I’m glad they are open late till 6. I usually call ahead to pick up food before dinner potluck. You get a lot for what you pay for! Cash only. If you go for lunch recommended to go early if dining in. Décor — nothing fancy but clean.

have been coming here before Gordon and Tammy took over, for lunch and dinner.
i always special order what i like that is not on the menu. Like Beef Bitter Melon or Ong Choi with Hom Ha on soft noodles. their food is priced right, clean and tasty.

Been a long time since I’ve eaten at Jun Bo. It seems to be runned down from what I remember, but the tables are clean and organized. Carpet looks like circa 1980s and the teapot looked pretty sketchy. Service was typical of a Chinese restaurant. Take our order before we even open the menu and then walk away and come back way later. Food came fast. I ordered the cold ginger chicken with rice. I must say that L&L’s CGC is better and cost less and comes with Mac salad. The rice was cold, the chicken was at room temperature and I had to beg for water. My buddy ordered a noodle dish that was swimming in a watery sauce. I didn’t taste it, but it hardly had any protein. The prices seem reasonable about $ 8 per dish. Perhaps I ordered the wrong thing, but CGC is an easy dish to prepare. I’ll give it another try in a few years, but until then I’ll continue to go to Mandalay and Little Village.

cannot beat the lunch specials! i’m so spoiled by this place, it’s hard to eat chinese food anywhere else. it always costs more and isn’t as good.
generous portions! i prefer to eat there rather than take out. waitresses are always friendly even when they are packed.
jun bo noodle is a weekly occurrence for me!

Been back several times and have not had a bad experience. 4 stars for that. I’m back to being a regular!!!

Call your order in and it’s normally ready within 5 mins. Beats waiting for 10 – 15 mins when ordering there. The won ton min is good.

Jun Bo doesn’t have to look pretty. Frankly, it doesn’t even try. Tattered oily carpet, worn chairs, no ambience, endless chatter from guests, some practically sitting next to you at a different table. But the downtown business crowd at lunch tells a different story, and underscores what’s really important. Fast service, large portion, decent taste, and reasonable price. For a little more than a Venti Starbucks s’mores frappuccino, you can get a lunch plate to feed you twice, or you and your guest once, without leftovers. My favorite is the beef with green beans, tender and tasty beef in black bean sauce on a bed of cake noodle. I also like coming for a later lunch, like at 2:00 p.m. I get the place to myself. Wash it all down with hot jasmine tea. A great Chinese meal without having to venture to Chinatown.

You can easily miss this retaurant located in the middle of an alleyway. Should you find it, this place is easy on wallet chinese food. The crispy gau gee with cake noodle is pretty good too. They also have 2 daily specials, if the lunch choices are not floating your boat.

The chow mein noodles are undercooked and boring, fried rice dry. Not really that good but kinda cheap. Big portions.

Went for lunch to meet the hub and friends for weekday lunch. Parking situation no good, parked in pacific guardian (?) bldg for $ 4 per half hour. Walked through clean but still sketchy alley to find surprisingly large restaurant. Right next to a shoe repair shop closer to merchant than queen actually. Hub had ordered the same thing for me everyone else was eating — roast chicken and duck over cabbage and rice. Was actually pretty yummy and a large amount of food. With a little hot sauce it was perfect and only $ 9 including tax and tip. Servers are quite attentive and of course my water cup never empty as is the case for all Chinese restaurants I’ve ever been in. Would definitely go again for same but gotta figure out a better parking solution.

Almost no words can accurately describe just how terrible the meal I had was. The food was very low quality, the rice was dry and not cooked properly, and the overall experience was very poor. Additionally, they are cash only so be sure to bring cash.

Stopped in for lunch, it was packed. The line moved at a reasonable speed, it is cash only, which speeds things up I think. The food is alright. Nothing really good, and nothing I stopped and said «damn, I need more of that».
Its the closest chinese place to my office, so I may go again, but its not a MUST TRY.

Jun Bo is a little hole in the wall restaurant in downtown Honolulu. You seriously have to be paying close attention or you will totally miss the tiny alley in which can find the front door. Inside, the restaurant is not fancy and a bit dated but its the food you are here for, not the décor. You can either sit down at the tables to be waited on, or you can order take out (okazu style).
The food is always good and tasty. Recently, we had won ton soup which had a generous amount of vegetables. The broth was flavorful and not too salty. The won tons were perfect — not too small, a perfect biteful size. We also shared their special which was chicken with black bean sauce over chow fun noodles. The chicken was tender and the savory black bean sauce was a flavorful compliment to the chow fun noodles.
I have been coming here off and on for several years and I have not been disappointed. Don’t expect the royal treatment, but I do notice that the owner recognizes repeat customers and takes time to talk story with them. Its a nice touch to this little hole in the wall restaurant you would not expect to find in a Honolulu alley.

Come here for the good food that comes out fast.
Don’t expect attentive service. Roast pork, duck, soy sauce chicken are all well prepared. Tender meat that’s incredibly flavorful and seasoned nicely. They offer plenty of dishes over rice which are very reasonably priced. Congee and soup dishes are warm and comforting.
Restrooms available. Seating is usually available since customers eat fast. Complimentary tea is offered.
No frills, affordable and quick.

I don’t dine on Chinese food very often because with the exception of Dim Sum, it can be very oily and easily upsets my stomach. I also find when Chinese food isn’t properly cooked on a hot Wok properly, you’re left with something that’s overcooked on the inside and undercooked on the outside.
That’s where Jun Bo comes in. Almost as old as Black Belt Theater reruns from the Hanabata days this place has been around for ages. I just started working in downtown again after being out for about 12 years and even then Jun Bo was still around.
I like them for 3 simple reasons:
Affordable — cheap. You can get a beef been & rice plate for $ 6.25. Or chicken with oyster sauce cake noodle for the same $ 6.25. I had a gau gee look fun soup for $ 6!
Quality — The food is very tasty… whether it’s for «secret sauce» reasons or not, the veggies seemed fresh and the meat didn’t seem like it was sitting around under a hot lamp like you get at Pandas.
Generous — portions are huge, I walked around with a food baby after lunch.
The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars was because the service seems very robotic and they are always busy so it wasn’t that local friendliness you’re normally use to at a long time old local restaurant.
Anyway if you’re not working in downtown they are open on Saturday’s so you have a chance to try it!

If you are looking for a cheap, quick, and decent place with good portions for local Chinese food in downtown, this is it! The food isn’t great but not bad either, you can’t go wrong. Expect to pay about $ 7 to $ 10 per person including tax and tip. It’s located down the alley on Queen St near Reyn’s so it’s somewhat hidden. On the last visit, we had:
Seafood chow mein: not really chow mein noodles, more like fried saimin noodles but who is complaining? Big portion, generous pieces of squid, shrimp, and fish and assorted veggies. Not bad and considering that this is seafood, a very good deal.
Stuffed eggplant with rice: eggplant is fried with pork in middle, and seasoned with black bean sauce. What I like but this dish is that the eggplant is not soggy. Another must order.
Recommended for a quick lunch in downtown.

If you are looking for «schlock» Chinese this is the place. Prices are cheap. You can order ala carte, or from the buffet (pick 1, 2, or 3 entrees, served with rice and/​or noodles). All for $ 6 — $ 8. Cheap. Filling. Pretty good number of choices.
What can I say? It’s a meal. Not supposed to be memorable, so I won’t rate it lower because it isn’t.
Finding the place is tricky, its down an alley that runs between Merchant and Queen, one block west of Bishop.
Oct 31 Unilocal Challenge: #12/​31

Jun Bo, located in the middle of a narrow passageway is hole in the wall hard to find, but it’s the only decent chinese restaurant in the downtown business district. They have lunch specials that are $ 6, but I always like to order my favorite:
Soft Gau Gee mein — 4 stars — for $ 6.40 they give the same different vegetables and gau gee as other chinese restaurants. A good size portion for a reasonable price.
Service — 4 stars — for those who have a limited time for lunch, staff was friendly, food arrived quickly and they have chili sauce like most chinese restaurants. They also have an express counter of pre-​made food to chose from order take out, but higher in quality than your oily panda or express places.

When my co-​workers first took me here, I thought this place was sketchy. The restaurant is like a hole in the wall! It’s in an alley next to Reyn’s Rack.
They are very generous with the food portions and the prices are reasonable. They offer dine in and take out. My favorite items are the crispy gau gee and cold ginger chicken with rice. I think they make the best cold ginger chicken in downtown! The cold ginger chicken is their Wednesday special so if you buy this on Wednesday, you save $ 0.50 (regular price is $ 6.50).
I prefer to do take out because my lunch breaks are short. There was one time where I did dine in and I thought the service was good. My food came out fast. They blast their AC so if you’re going to dine in, I recommend bringing a jacket.