Manapua & More!

Came here for the Hee Hing, it’s like a mini manapua, but with a crust like shell with a meat filling.
Bought a couple of dozen to bring back to the office, also bought rice cakes, which was excellent. The Hee Hing sort of reminds of me of eating a minced meat pie? I heard differently, that it taste just like a manapua, but I didn’t think so? I don’t particularly care for minced meat pie either.
But they do have a wide variety of other products. I will surely stop by again and give this place another try.

Well I felt like an idiot lol. I tried to pick some Manapua up from Char Hung Sut this past Sunday and they were closed :(So I Unilocaled places that were close and this business popped up. Back tracked to Nimitz and walked up to the door. No sign besides the Hours Of Operation that said 7:30– 2 or whatever (it was 8am). Called the company, phones out of order. Did the walk of shame back to my car and drove to Royal Kitchen.

Was really stoked to stop in here — their manapuas are the closest thing to the Cantonese style baked baozis I’ve found outside of China — with a little twist. Their dough is slightly thicker and more yeasty which I really enjoyed. They also made some kind of flaky waterchestnut pastry that was off the chain. Good vibes in the little shop — everything 30% after 2pm.

Easy parking, bright & clean shop, friendly staff, $ 1.59 manapua, am & pm deals. No complaints on the establishment or process. But, opinions differ on the taste. I enjoyed the baked Char Siu and steamed Kalua Pork & Cabbage. My kids however hated everything — didn’t even finish the custard cream or any of the baked or steamed choices. Good luck.

Ham and cheese Manapua is excellent for breakfast. Made with real eggs and only $ 1.69.

Breakfast sandwich (ham and egg) for under $ 2! Better price than McDonald’s egg sandwiches.

The lady behind the front desk was very nice and friendly. She gave me a sample of the almond cookie that they sell which was very good, I’ll most def buy one next time I go in. Even though I was in there before two, she still gave me the 30% off discount they offer from 2:00 — 2:30 which I thought was very kind of her. I got the pork hash (which is called by what I’m assuming is it’s real name of Pork Siu Mai). I thought was good and would get again.
I also ordered three different steamed manapuas, the chicken, Kailua Pork, and the Char Siu Pork. I wasn’t really impressed with the chicken and kailua pork and wouldn’t order those again but the Char Siu Pork was Ono!
I’ll come back to the place but only to get the Char Sui Pork manapua and pork hash (oh! and one of those almond cookies).

When I learned that Hee Hing opened a manapua shop it only took me two days to get over there. I parked right out front, walked in and ordered 2 veggie steamed manapua and a white rice cake. The veggie manapua were hefty and dense filled with bok choi, mushrooms, and cabbage. I actually prefer a softer, sweeter, puffier bun but this one was pretty good. The rice cake had good size and decent texture, but lacked flavor — I like a sweeter yeastier taste.

I can’t agree with the negative reviews. I loved the pork manapuas. On top of that, they give a free manapua per half dozen you buy during their early bird hrs. YUMZ!

You probably have past by Manapua & More without even knowing it. You’ve probably been to the new Liliha Bakery on Nimitz and cursed at the fact that the only empty stalls in its parking lot are blocked off for a bar that isn’t yet open for the day and Manapua and More.
After you have finished cursing, you would be pleasantly surprised to find that their manapua is pretty darn good. Offering both steamed and baked manapua, the bun to meat ratio is pretty good and the mix was well chopped and very balanced in flavor. While I’m normally a baked kind of guy (not that kind of baked!), their steamed manapua won me over. They also have other flavors available like chicken curry, vegetable, and kalua pig if the mood should strike you.
Service was decent but nothing to note and its prices are pretty reasonable once you get over the sticker shock that manapua costs more than $ 1.50 these days.

Some friends brought over a few boxes of goods from Manapua and More today and I had the opportunity to try many of the items on their menu. Most of it was simply not very good. We were especially disappointed with the half moons and most of the dessert items which just had far too much wrapper/​breading around it and either not enough, or not very good filling.
However, I did like their regular baked char siu manapua filling and thought it had a nice balance of sweet sauce and chunks of pork. I would rate that particular filling as a little above average compared to the local competition. The kalua pork and curry chicken manapuas were lackluster and none of us finished any of these.
Overall, I didn’t think much of this place and will likely get my manapua elsewhere in the future because without a doubt, «I’ve experienced better».

A bit disappointed with their manapua. The kalua pig and cabbage manapua was about 75% cabbage, 25% kalua pig. Their chicken curry and regular char siu bao was ok, not anything special. We’ll definitely stick with going to Libby’s in the future.
Parking lot is really small and congested as they share the lot with the new Liliha Bakery (old Sam Choy’s).
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Unilocal 100 Review Challenge 2014

Good flavored Char Siu but small sized manapua. Chow Mein was very tasty. Kalua Pig Manapua was not bad. Half moon was hot and fresh but a little bland. Rice cake was good and fresh, very sponge-​like and not too dry or sticky wet, not super sweet either just right.
Lunch special a dozen manapua, get a free lunch bowl.
$ 2 for a bottled soda? Even vending machines are cheaper at $ 1.75!

I wanted manapua from Libby’s but they are closed on Mondays so I thought I would give this place a try and I was not impressed. The manapua bun was dry and the char siu was really chunky, fatty, and had a bad taste. I guess I am spoiled with Libby’s.
I also had the pork hash and that was just alright. I definitely will not go back.

Their location is really convenient for those working in the Iwilei area. Parking is located in the same parking lot as Liliha Bakery but they have their reserved stalls on the left.
They serve a variety of lunch bowls and manapuas. I had their braised beef short ribs and tofu kale broccoli stir fry. I’ll definitely be back to try everything else on the menu!

Just opened up. Great Manapua (char siu bao) and other Chinese food. Their broccoli beef practically melts in your mouth. Found this by accident when the wait at Liliha Bakery was gonna be 45 mins and we were too hungry to wait. Definitely worth it!

A quaint little shop to stop in and grab some fresh manapua. Their lunch options look tasty too, mental note to return for lunch sometime soon. No complaints about customer service. Two ladies were working the shop and one greeted me out front, even helped me maneuver my large truck out of the spot as I left. I appreciate the kindness.
Menu:
Nice selection. I took advantage of the buy 4 get 1 free Daily Special to sample their different flavors. I love a good steamed pork bun and theirs is so fluffy, the char siu was moist and good sized chunks, not too fatty like others I’ve had.
Their baked buns have a delicious glazed crust, I was really impressed with the flavor of these, though they are smaller than the steamed bun, the flavor is all there.
Parking:
The only downside, which I completely expected and was prepared for, was the parking lot. It is very tight and with the line up of cars circling Liliha next door it can be like waiting in line at Disneyland to catch a glimpse of the Frozen chicks. Yikes! Thankfully M&M has designated about a dozen spots specifically for their own customers along the left side of the building –Score! I am already planning to find parking elsewhere… possibly in the Kmart or Dole Cannery lots. The walk would be equal to navigating the parking lot so choose your lesser evil.

Today’s special was buy 12 Manapua and get a free lunch plate. So I got the special. It costed a little less than 20 bucks and got baked char siu Manapua and a sweet and sour spare rib plate. The lunch plate comes with a main dish and either white or brown rice. You can get a combo that includes a Manapua and a drink for 10 bucks.
The sweet and sour spare ribs deserve a 5 star alone. It was hands down the best sweet and sour spare ribs I’ve ever had. There were BIG chunks of ribs that weren’t covered in a ridiculous amount of fat or oil and just the right amount of sweet and sour sauce. I most highly recommend trying it!
I haven’t tried the Manapua yet, but will be sure to do so and update my review soon. I also want to try their fried mochi (black sugar and coconut).

Manapua & More opened this past Saturday, July 12, 2014, next door to the also new Liliha Bakery.
If the dim sum at Manapua & More looks familiar, it’s because this new business is run by the owners of the popular Hee Hing Chinese Restaurant on Kapahulu Avenue, which is currently temporarily closed for renovations.
This is an initial surrogate review c/​o my coworker who tried Manapua & More yesterday for lunch. He ordered one Baked Charsiu Manapua @ $ 1.50, one Pork Siu Mai (Pork Hash) @ 89¢ and one Half Moon @ 89¢.
Baked Charsiu Pork Manapua (cocktail size) — Excellent baked bun flavor and texture, with a generous amount of onolicous chunky, meaty charsiu filling. Only problem is it’s SMALL (cocktail size?). Way too small (about the size of your fist, clenched tightly) to be charged $ 1.50 each. They should be more like $ 1 each, hence the 3 star rating.
Pork Siu Mai (Pork Hash) — Tasty, but dry (also hence the 3 star rating)
Half Moon — Decent size. Flavor and texture was your typical Half Moon like Libby’s, Char Hung Sut and Chun Wah Kam. Overall good.
Manapua & More currently has a special: Buy 4 Manapua, get 1 free. That should help offset the $ 1.50 price of the baked manapua’s smaller cocktail sized version.
Steamed Manapua flavors (all $ 1.59 each):
Roast Char Siu Pork
Kalua Pork Cabbage
Vegetable & Tofu
Chicken
Seasonal specials
Baked Manapua (cocktail size):
Roast Pork — $ 1.59 each
Chicken Curry — $ 1.59 each
Custard Cream — $ 1.49 each
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Note, nextdoor neighbor Hoku Brewing Company & Gastropub announced on a sign there that they’ll open next Tuesday, July 22, 2014. More than ever, be prepared to NOT find parking!

Grand opening I guess you could call it. Parking was crazy busy with Liliha Bakery next door. I figured I try it because I like to support local businesses and I was hungry.
I ordered the Combo, Shoyu Chicken on rice, a steamed Char Su Manapua and a bottle drink. All for $ 10.42
Had to be driest and tasteless Shoyu Chicken I ever had and the Manapua was below average too.
I wont go back but you should try it and hopefully you get a better experience.