Nam Fong Restaurant

Best roast duck!!! Actually everything is good here. Parents love the chicken feet… char sui and roast pork and don’t forget spare ribs!

The roast pork here is ohhh sooo good, but I feel so guilty eating it lol! I can literally gobble up half a pound of this stuff within minutes! The crispy skin, perfectly rendered fat, and juicy meat is just undeniable.
Cash only, and don’t look around the place too much cause it is a reaaaaaalllly old building… don’t say I didn’t warn ya! ;)

Really like their Cha Sui, packed with flavors not too over whelming by any of them though.

Roast pork was not good at all. Skin was very hard and dry, to the point where I thought I would crack my teeth chewing it. Flavor was OK and meat was not overly fatty but Roast pork is all about the skin isn’t it? Alicia’s, Fong’s and Royal Kitchen are all better. Shoyu chicken was good.

You snooze, you lose. Exactly what happened to us recently. So why the 5 star rating? Read on!
ATMOSPHERE:
The tiny take out only place is in Chinatown, on the east side of Maunakea Street between King & Hotel Streets. Parking is usually a problem, but we walked over from the Chinese Cultural Plaza’s parking garage which is a short 2 blocks away.
Normally when you enter, the smell of chicken and pork runs up your nostrils and rattles your brain. Duck and chickens hang in the display case, and their tree stump chopping block is in use with juice, meat, and fat flying everywhere. But this time we went in, everything was quiet and clean. Dammit.
FOOD:
Shoyu Chicken — We’ve been buying this for years. Its marinated then roasted, and sold by the pound at around $ 5 and change. We always buy the whole bird that gets expertly chopped and packed for takeout. The chicken is juicy and nicely flavored. However, on this particular Monday at 2pm, they were all sold out! Tears, I tell you. We were forced to buy the version at Royal Kitchen which didn’t measure up.
Roast Duck — This was plan B, and our only option at this point. The whole duck rang up at $ 23. The flavor is spot on, the meat tender, and the skin delicious. It came with two ramekins of tasty sauce for dipping.
SERVICE:
If there’s no line, you can be in and out with food in hand, in about 5 minutes or less. The staff are friendly.
OVERALL:
Excellent chicken & duck. Buy your birds early!

Whatever phobia you have of Chinatown needs to be addressed very quickly. Saying you’ll never eat anywhere in Chinatown because you’re afraid of the dark wonders it holds in the back of each restaurants kitchen is all in your head. I was one of these people. If you’re in love with food and meat then you won’t regret visiting this small restaurant.
It’s cheap AF. $ 6 for a mini plate of mounted rice and a delicious sweet handful of char siu. This will last you through breakfast and lunch (for me it did anyway). I’ve seen photos of the roast pork and holy moly if I could just stop getting char siu for a change I’d indulge in in them. Chinese people aren’t just great business people they’re great cooks. My Friend Elaine is a great person.
Yes it’s in Chinatown but right across from Nam Fong is a municipal parking lot that, in my opinion, with experience of parking in Chinatown and exploring different lots, this one MAY be the cheapest with I believe .75 for every 30 min for the first two hours (May need to double check). But if you’re quick about what you need in Chinatown, I’m sure you got spare change from going through all those drive-​thrus.
Explore Chinatown!

I agree with other reviewers who said the quality as well as the value of the once-​delicious roast pork here has seriously deteriorated. Of the last three times I’ve bought roast pork here, it was dry and hard twice, and today the meat was okay but super fatty (more than half fat), which would have been forgiveable if the skin hadn’t been so rubbery that we couldn’t even chew it! The crispy skin on good roast pork is 99% of the reason you eat it! Sorry, three strikes and you’re out, at least with the roast pork.

Come here for the best roast pork, ribs and chicken in Honolulu. Their prices range from $ 12/​per pound and higher for the roast duck. The service is quick and you just order from the guy pulling the meats and they will chop and wrap up your order to go.

I always come here for roast pork. Its unreal! I highly recommend this place. The chicken is good. roast duck is so good and tripe is good.

Nam Fong came highly recommended to us by friends for roast duck and roast pork. Although both selections are good, we found the roast duck to be overly salty and not as meaty as we prefer. The roast pork was delicious as well, but once again, too salty for our taste.
On a positive note, while most other places sell out of prepared meats early in the day, Nam Fong usually keeps an ample supply on hand.

Cheaters! I had a gift (red ticket) for a pound of roast pork (Siu yuk). This is what I got…13 oz of scrap ends. Most places chop off a hunk larger than you ask for, because at ~$ 10 per pound, they want to sell you more. But when I handed over my pre-​paid ticket, I was robbed of a couple bucks. This place used to have a good reputation. Shameful.

I never did go to or heard of Nam Fong before. Only until my friends and I started talking about food which lead to roast pork. I was asked, «where’s the best Chinese roast pork you ever had?» I couldn’t really say because I’ve had many and they’re pretty much the same. Crispy skin and moist meat with the gelatin-​like fat in between. He swears by this place has the best roast pork.
I finally got to taste their roast pork and he was RIGHT! Their roast pork is beyond any traditional roast pork. The skin is extra crispy, meat is still moist, and the fat melts in your mouth. On top of that, their sauce makes it super GOOD! I would wanna try out their other dishes, but I know for sure roast pork will be in the orders I make

So I was kinda unhappy with lunch from a downtown spot and still hungry. And super bummed I spent $ 20 on a mediocre lunch. I wanted something with meat. Or just meat. As I walked to my car I was thinking why is there no place with char siu… and before I could finish my thought Nam Fong stuck out from the corner of my eye. Hanging duck? Check. IM THERE! I bough some char siu to snack on during my drive and I was super happy! SUPER HAPPY! The char siu was good but the only thing stopping it from earing 5 stars was that some of the parts from the middle of the char siu was not as flavorful as the ends. Yes the burnt ends is the crack but I’ve had lots of char siu and I expect sweetness throughout the entire portion of meat. BUT I LOVED IT SO I’M COMING BACK AGAIN! Next time I come here first and just order desert elsewhere.

First of all, this is not a restaurant. There’s no sitting area what so ever. It’s a takeout place.
This is my favorite Chinese meat place. I can’t believe I never wrote a review. Their duck, Shoyu chicken, ginger chicken, roast pork & char siu are to die for. If you like your roast pork fatty or lean, you can ask for your preference. I know I like mine fatty.
If you do come on a holiday or a special day, there will be a line out the door. I usually come on a Sunday and it’s pretty mellow.

After reading & hearing some rave reviews about this place, I finally decided to try their ‘famous’ Roast Pork… to try, I bought just a little over ½ of a lb. I believe that you only need 1 – 2 good bites of the food to know how good or bad it taste.
IT WAS SO BAD THAT I FINALLY SIGNED UP TO BE AN OFFICIAL UnilocalER!
If you like 80% FAT, 20% EDIBLE MEAT, then this is the best roast pork for you. My ½ lb had 4 pieces of rubbery pork skin.
THE TASTE. Personally, I don’t like salty food, but this roasted pork is so bland.
No doubt that this place perhaps sold great tasting roast pork in it’s many years in Chinatown. BUT they definitely are NOT doing it now.
Nam FONG’s Roast Pork is a THUMBS DOWN.

Pretentious? No. Not even close, they are whatever the opposite is.
Sanitary? Questionable, well at least by US standards.
Delicious? Yes, 100% 5 stars for taste.
Is it for you?
Yes, if you’ve traveled to 3^rd world countries and eat whatever anyone will give you or you are a low maintenance, easy going type of person.
No, if you wear fancy pants and dine at only the classiest of establishments and drive a pretentious vehicle.

Nam Fong is one of the popular restaurants located in Downtown Chinatown. You can get all kinds of roasted items — roasted pork, char siu, roast duck, roast chicken, shoyu intestines from the cow, pig, chicken, and ducks.
The restaur is a bit seedy and appears unkept. But the food is turned over quite frequently and teh food is delicious. Prices are a bit on the high side, so be ready to pay a nice price for your items.
Food Grade: B–
Service Grade: B–
Worth the Money Grade: C+
Overall Impression Grade: C+

Ah, Nam Fong… you’re my Pork Heaven! As often that we’ve ventured into Chinatown, we’re always drawn to you like moths to a light. Whether or not we end up purchasing the roast pork, char siu, soy sauce (shoyu) chicken or roasted duck, we just have to stop and peer into the window.
We recently purchased a pound of roast pork from a piece that just came out from the oven, its skin was crispy and the meat to fat ratio was perfect! As we bit into the pieces (we opened the box before we even got back to our car), our teeth snapped through the crispy skin and then we hit the «meat butter» fatty layer down to the juicy seasoned meat. Whoa! We had to stop munching because I already had plans to use the roast pork in a dish for dinner!
Even though we know that there are other Chinese roasters out there, our families have been coming here for years. It’ll to be difficult to change our habits or minds.

Our ohana has been coming here for sometime now… I was told that my grandfather, & my dad, just loves roast duck! And you know what??? I guess I have the duck eating gene too, cuz I’m a crazy duck eating chinaman too! Lol!!!
What can I say about the duck… meaty, seasoned to perfection, and all you gotta do is pop open that styrofoam box & pick away!
They also serve other things here like Char Sui, & Shoyu Chicken. I am also a big fan of their Char Sui, but I’ve never been a big fan of the Chinese Style Shoyu Chicken.
I guess through the years, I’ve eaten too many «local style» shoyu chicken plate lunches, and when I think of «shoyu chicken», I think of the local style plate lunch shoyu chicken, Oh, well, two out to three items are good for me… and that’s all I can say.
One more thing, don’t forget… if you do buy the char sui, you can ask for a sauce… not sure what it is, but it’s made for the char sui. It does compliment the char sui real well! I like to put it in on my char sui fried rice too!
There is no parking for this place, so you gotta roll the dice and do the street parking thing, or do the pay parking lot thing. Still worth the trip to chinatown if you got da bug for some roast duck! :)

As other reviews have mentioned, many nam fong customers no longer come here. Especially the chinese families. With HK raised chinese parents myself, back in the 90s/​early 2000s we always used to go to Nam Fong for our char siu, siu yuk (roast pork), fun tai (cold pig feet), and shoyu chicken. Not anymore.
Even being cantonese myself, I find the workers can be very rude, the prices very steep, and the quality not as good. They charge you for each sauce you get for christ sake! Should be free with your purchase.
Everytime I pass by, its only locals who are here in line, not chinese families. I think that speaks volumes about the quality of the place. While I still think this place is alright, I cannot justify spending the money here for something sub-​par.