Victor M.
Yelp
Kapiolani Seafood Restaurant, right on Kapiolani Street, is now our go-to for dim sum -- a surprising shift after years of defaulting to Fook Lam. The prices here are higher, yes, but the portions justify it. Shu mai the size of golf balls, chive dumplings that feel engineered more than folded -- big, in the best way
Everything we ordered was a notch above in terms of both texture and flavor. The chicken feet were gelatinous but not soggy, the chive dumplings had a clean bite without that weird gummy drag some places can't avoid, and the shu mai actually tasted like pork, not just filler. The standout, oddly, was the ong choy -- it arrived first, stir-fried with garlic and perfectly crisp
And then we waited. Twenty-five minutes before anything else came out. It was clear something was missed, especially when we overheard staff asking the kitchen to "push" our order. The rest trickled in slowly, each with another 10-minute gap. The rice roll with braised beef was the only miss -- bland, thin sauce, no depth. And no chili oil, which I know is a small thing, but garlic chili paste is not a substitute
Still, the space is clean, the food (mostly) great, and we'll definitely be back -- perhaps for dinner next