Yong's Kitchen

Food was delicious, very authentic. Everything was flavorful, they didn't have salt and pepper chicken but we had asked if they could and the chef was able to whip it up for us. It was a tad bit warm in there which is why it's a 4 star but besides that, it's worth trying and that it's open till 6, since a lot of places close early in Chinatown.

Though small with only eight tables, Yong’s Kitchen, a decent family business, offers delicious cuisines in Chinatown, Honolulu. Their house special chicken with ginger and onion sauce is the most popular dish which keeps us returning - chicken, free ranch, is tender and chewy; the ginger onion sauce is aromatic and flavourful, adding an irresistible taste to the chicken.

Good food- I ordered the sauteed seafood with veggies ( the only veggies were carrots and celery but still tasty) and some delicious char sui fried rice (I also ordered Chinese chicken salad but they were out.) BUT (and this is a big but) if you decide to come here I recommend that you only order takeout, don't eat in. The place is run by an elderly couple, the man is the only cook and does a great job managing that, but the woman dealing with customers ( I assume his wife) is really overwhelmed. They could use another person. This was my first time here so maybe they normally do and somebody called in sick. I had to wait forever for my check and on top of it I was overcharged a couple bucks. However I was so desperate to get out after the long wait I just paid it and left. (But the food was good...(

Eating in China is a highly important feature in Chinese culture. After all, Chinese people love to eat and view food as the common bond for socializing whether over home cooked meal, street food snack or at restaurants. Also, the typical loud talking, laughing and crowd size in restaurants indicates how good and tasty the restaurant's dishes are. That being said, we were excited to kick off our Independence Day at this New and Hot Chinese restaurant with 5 other friends. Yong's Kitchen is located on Maunakea Street near the cross street of North Pauahi or for local directions, it's directly across from the Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Que Huong and Lam's Kitchen. Yes, it's the former Sunflower Café and its interior is vaguely familiar as this new restaurant still uses the same Chinese wood dining furniture but has repainted the walls and added some Good Fortune decorations. I had seen and read some other Yelp reviews for Yong's Kitchen so my taste buds were tantalized when we received this luncheon invitation and was told that fellow Elite, Paul C, had pre-ordered 2 dishes (Taro Duck and Chinese Bar-B-Que or Charsiu Pork Ribs). The two dishes are considered Signature Dishes from this Chef who was formerly with our go-to restaurant, Moon Garden. Knowing that 2 entrées had been pre-ordered, we perused the menu to supplement our meal. Chinese people like to order foods that incorporate hot and cold dishes or different cooking methods and different proteins and vegetables dependent upon availability. FOOD: -Poached chicken with ginger & scallion sauce aka Cold Ginger Chicken: the chicken was tender and its meat was smooth which indicates the proper poaching and broth temperature. Half chicken: $13.95 -Stir-fried -Beef chow funn: this is one of the dishes that I judge a Chinese restaurant by. I look for the slightly crisped yet tender chewy texture of the dry fried rice noodle and the strands should not be broken or shredded. There should be a slight smoky flavor from the well-seasoned wok and flame (wok hei). This dish isn't nor should it be over seasoned or over salted. The balanced use of ginger, scallions and soy sauce was just right. $10.95 -Salt and pepper pork chops: one of our favorite dishes...the pork chop was tender, had a light deep fried breading. There was a nice sauté of green onions, garlic, jalapeños and salt and pepper used to garnish the pork chop. $11.95 -Taro duck: if you like those taro puffs served at dim sum, you'd probably like this dish. The taro topping was crisp fried like the taro puff with a dense mashed potato-like consistency. Slight flavor of 5-spice powder or more predominately star anise. It's not off-putting but, I am sensitive to licorice or anise flavors so I picked up on that spice. Supporting the taro was a whole boneless duck that was seasoned and cooked through to a somewhat crispy texture. It was delicious but I felt it was too rich and heavy. You can only eat one piece. This item is available only through ADVANCE ORDER. $39.95 -Honey Bar-B-Que spare ribs or Charsiu ribs: Its flavors and tenderness were stunning but the turnoff was the sharp bone shards found when biting into these unctuous ribs. The pork was almost falling off the bones with each bite. The flavor and tenderness was very reminiscent of Moon Garden. ADVANCE ORDER is recommended. $24.00 Service was good for a Chinese restaurant.. our teapots and our water glasses were consistently refilled. So, why only 4 stars? Although we were the first group to arrive and stayed for over 2 hours, their air conditioning wasn't working. As more people came in to dine, the latent heat started to build and several of us women started to fell like we were experiencing hot flashes even though we've passed that age range. Tsk! PARKING: We parked at the Smith & Beretania Municipal Parking Lot but you can also choose from other nearby municipal parking lots available or metered street parking stalls.

First time here! My nephew told us the cook from Moon Garden moved to Yongs Kitchen, so rounded up the gang and came here! Food was good! Honey spare ribs was the bomb!! Oh also the fried oysters was different & ono!