Mai Lan Vietnamese Fine Cuisine

CRAB WOW — every time it is just plain amazing

Excellent quality, well presented and flavorful Vietnamese food. From the bun to the phở and desserts, we have really liked everything we tried. We’ve been enjoying Viet food all over Honolulu, and this had been our best experience yet. Restaurant seems to be reaching out to a more upscale market, so expect free parking, covered chairs, glossy menus, and a pretty broad selection of alcohol.

I only made a Unilocal account specifically to tell you guys to NEVER eat here. Ordered lunch for a coworker and I one day, NEVER again! First of all, the lady on the phone barely spoke English and I had to ask her 3 times how much an order of fried rice was before she understood. Then when I completed my order I asked her another 3 times to repeat my order back to me to make sure it was correct… instead she asked «how long till here» and I told her 10mins to which she said thank you and hung up –_​_​_​– The worst part was our order was $ 30 but the lady charged me $ 40??? Tax is not that much. The food wasn’t great and I have no desire to leave work and walk down there just to try and explain to them that they overcharged me. Not worth it.

We ordered spring rolls, phở and rice noodle dish. The food was bland, and the tables and the menus were dirty. Service was slow. I can see why it was empty…

I haven’t been here in a while and we decided to go get phở. The food was great. However, it is hard to overlook how filthy the walls and chairs are, visible to the naked eye. Lots of food splattered on the walls and the red chair covers are BLACK with grim. This is what the customers see so I hate to think what goes on in the kitchen. While we were eating, the manager came by and swept up the floor with a big nasty dust pan. 5 stars for food, 1 star for hygiene. 3 total. BTW-​we suffered no ill effects from our lunch and I obviously am not a germ phobe, so we will go back but please. clean up!!!

Never had such amazing fried rice in my life before, and I mean it. It was very delicious with lots of flavor, and the manager was very kind to customers.

Typical tourist trap.
The owner pushes for the higher priced dishes, especially the Crab Curry. The curry is ok, but expensive. The menu says «$ 34 and above» and of course it was above ($ 44) but no where is the market price advertised. They also charge $ 5 for extra baguette – a bit pricey for a half burnt half-​baguette.
The whole scam is geared towards Japanese tourists. The owner speaks Japanese and there are a bunch of photos of Japanese celebrities who have visited the place.
You can smell the sliminess of the owner from a mile away. When we complained about the price gouging he all of a sudden forgot how to speak English and Japanese and just ignored us…
Take a good look at the kitchen before you order (you have to walk past them to get to the restrooms). I am sure there are endless health code violations…

Good customer service food was good I’ve had better but overall good experience. The crab curry was so good. Delicious

Do not come here. It’s horrible. I don’t understand how people can digest the food here unless they haven’t a tongue. I mean who uses spaghetti noodles and pineapple in phở??? That’s like pure Japanese tourist food or something? Stay away. Stay really far away. We didn’t eat our food and the waitress came over and didn’t even bother to ask what was wrong. Then we paid $ 70 for two soups and rolls. Yuck.

Ohhhh my gosh!!! Everything is great! Family oriented atmosphere … The owner is awesome — at the end of our meal he serve us a complimentary desert. Must try the crab curry!!!

I’ve been here a few times over the years as one of my ex-​coworker really loved this place. Recently my pops has been on a phở kick, and has been jonesing for phở… so I figured I’d take him to various Vietnam restaurants to try the phở. On New Years day, we decided to venture into Mai Lan.
If you don’t know where this place is… Mai Lan is located just off of the corner of Keeaumoku Street & Beretania Street, it’s just next door to the Chevron gas station on Beretania Street.
If you’re wondering about parking for Mai Lan… believe it or not, there are 6 parking stalls, as well as 1 handicap stall… all of this is located in the Chevron gas station property.
If you drive your car to the back of the parking lot towards the back of the a pink colored building, you will see a few «Blue» signs that will say parking is for Mai Lan. I guess Mai Lan must be renting some parking spaces from Chevron?
As we walked into the restaurant that early evening… I could see two other parties eating inside of the restaurant. As we asked for a table, the host told us they did not have tables, as all the tables were reserved for a party. I was thinking… wtf? There’s no one here yet… finally after talking to her for a bit, she relented and said we could sit at this particular table, and we told her we would eat fast & get out of there before the large party came in (which gave us about 30 minutes).
We then ordered (2) — Special Combination Phở. We got our phở pretty fast… it was quite tasty, and there was a lot of meat. They did not provide to much veggies like Tri Phở, but upon putting our veggies into our phở… when I got to the bottom of the plate, I saw this (see photo). All I can say is «Ewwwww!»
I was wondering if the plate was clean or what??? Oh well, we already got our food… and did not want to make a scene, so we just ate it.
Phở was tasty, and it came out hot! I did not have any problems after eating it, so I guess it was okay… but if you asked me if I would go back here? Well, I’m kinda questioning the cleanliness of this place… and I know of other places that would be a better pick.
It was not cheap either, so I rather stick to my regular hole in the wall place — Phở Nina.
I did noticed a few Japanese nationals coming here… and since the owner could speak Japanese… I guess they must have some kind of following with the Japanese tourist.

Way too pushy and super moody… food is good but slow… gives you attitude if you don’t order what they want you to order.

I finally came here to try their famous crab curry. I must say, I enjoyed it despite the fact that I don’t like coconut or anything that contains coconut. The owner took a liking to my bf, and was very friendly and accommodating. He even shared a little bit of his/​restaurant life story, what kind of crab they use, pretty much up-​selling us in a way when he didn’t even need to. Nonetheless, we had really great service and was totally impressed how he spoke English, Vietnamese, and Japanese fluently to all patrons that were dining there.
Okay, so cut to the food. We ordered ban xeo, which is a Vietnamese crêpe, because I needed a fix and not many other Vietnamese restaurants have it on their menu. I’m so glad they make it crispy! It wasn’t soft and eggy-​looking like Phở Viet 9 in Aiea, another place I had ban xeo.
So, the crab curry was yummy as expected. We got down and dirty, but the legs were pre-​cracked and easy to get to the meat. The crab guts were good, too, and didn’t have that gross ocean-​y taste how some crab guts can taste. We still had leftover curry and couple partial legs which I look forward to eating later. Don’t worry, they do give you a bowl of lemon water to clean your hands after.
All in all, I’m glad to say I’ll be back to try other dishes. Some old reviews said this place was filthy, but it was not at all. Thankfully, they «PASSED» Hawaii’s restaurant health codes, and I didn’t see any meat laying on the floor in the kitchen. =)

It’s been a while since I brandished my Unilocal pen, so I’ll make this good.
Wife heard about this place from her Laotian coworker who gushed about the Crab Curry.
I asked my wife what the coworker specifically said about the curry.
Wife said all the coworker could say was «It’s so good, It’s so good…»
We Unilocaled a few pictures and were instantly sold.
We came here on a Tuesday night, parked by across the street by Itchy Butt, and the place was dead. We were the only customers.
Sam, or «Uncle Sam» the owner jumped right out and greeted us warmly.
After taking a courtesy glance at the menu we pointed at what we came for… the Crab Curry with two French bread baguettes. We also got the spring rolls.
I’ve never had hand rolled spring rolls before. All the other places just give you the spring rolls with a whole side of lettuce, mint, and cold vermicelli noodles that you have to assemble yourself. Here they roll it for you. And it takes so much better when someone else rolls your spring rolls.
Then came the piece of resistance.
Sam’s crew plucked a live crab out to the tank and whisked it to the back.
Out came a crab smothered in curry sauce. The poor crab’s untimely demise was our gain. The curry sauce was delicious. We morbidly mused if the crab was boiled alive in the sauce, or if it went straight into water, then the sauce. And then even more morbidly decided that being boiled alive in this sauce wouldn’t be such a bad way to go.
Sam pointed out that the curry was not oily and that he is the only one making crab curry. He was right on both points. The nice thing about this curry is that it is mild and not so rich that it bonks you in the gut. It is elegant.
As mentioned in a million reviews, the French baguette is a brilliant accompaniment for this dish. Being haole from the mainland, I can appreciate a nice bread supplanting rice or noodles every now and then for a change.
We got a free dessert of mango pudding.
Sam said he has been in business here for 27 years. I have lived here since ’97.
What the hell was I doing all those years passing by here?

First time eating here! Had the crab curry. Faka was mean! Service was good! Owner said we’re #1 customer. Definitely coming back for off menu specials the owner suggested.

One word: NASTY!
If it there was a no-​star option that is what I’d give to this place. I read all the reviews on here. I have no doubt those who actually sat at the table and ordered and ate noted their honest opinions. For me, i didn’t have the desire to order once i saw meat on the concrete floor in the kitchen. If you go looking for the restroom to wash your hands before you eat (you will feel the need to when you sit down and touch the table) you might unknowingly walk straight pass the turn to the restroom and find yourself in full view of where these people prep and cook their food. Its pretty much open air in the kitchen area with the side door open wide with flies around. I saw a batch of beef ribs laying on the floor as if they had thawed out for a while. My face twitched just looking at it. And then there was a lady at the corner sitting down on a chair with a bucket of meat on the floor. She looked like she was rolling dim sums. It all looked too nasty i didn’t want to order.
I pass by this place everyday. Although i see open boxes of produce laying on the sidewalk for who knows how long, the delicious smell of the cooking draws you in. But if you saw what i saw — you will not hesitate to leave. Health Inspectors really need to check out this joint if the owner doesn’t do anything about it.

I love their food and their customer service. I don’t have much knowledge of Vietnamese food but I always always order the meatball phở and this sticky rice they make but i forgot what its called and its really good. If you’re lucky to meet the owner which is a Man, he offered us a type of steam fish he personally cooked for us and it was really good! I’d say 1 to 5 it’s 5 stars. I found a link to the menu in case you are ordering to take out:

***EDIT***
I just went and perused the other reviews after I posted. Meth must be running rampant again in Hawaii, because some comments are just plain CRAY. That being said, those of you who had better crab curry please direct message me, cause I want to eat that too.
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How is the average here so low?
Curry Crab is a must here. This place is a family run neighborhood restaurant. I’m talking no frills, staff in tee shirts, with harsh florescent lighting to set the mood.
The food is off the chain. I never have enough people with me to order more food, but everything from the chicken salad, to the grilled meats and their specialty, CURRY CRAB is balls to the wall amazing.
I can’t even imagine how many calories is in this, but I would eat it everyday and just do double WODS to make up for it.

I was introduced here and highly-​recommended by my sister. One day she called me «Let’s go out to dinner. It’s my treat.» I then think «Hmmmm…I don’t have to cook and free food. «I don’t have to think twice on a question like that…
My sister is also a foodie and found out she called the day before to special order the menu. We had their free-​range chicken that comes with rice that was cooked from the chicken juices and drippings. A small bowl of red ginger sauce (non-​spicy) accompanies the dish and it’s absolutely INCREDIBLE.
I am also a fan of their curried crab but I’m Chinese so I didn’t care for the baguette to dip into the curry sauce. Instead, I spooned the sauce over my rice — — YUMMO!!!
Other great dishes here: stir-​fried ONG CHOY, stir-​fried bean sprouts with deep-​fried small whole anchovies and sauteed lemongrass shrimp. Please check out the pics I have posted.
For dessert, they had this red-​bean thingy which was not to my liking.
Overall, excellent food with good service.

I’ve never been and heard of this restaurant before my friend Sheen told me about it. I’m always down to try new food plus I love to eat.
The food here is very flavorful. I wish I knew what was ordered. I didn’t place the order my friend did. I just ate and took pictures of the food LOL.
Parking is located in chevron against the pink wall. It is very limited though.
I want to go back and try the crab curry since I didn’t have a chance to try that.
Chef is amazing and very friendly. He cooks great food. It gets crowed fairly quickly for dinner so hurry in.