Chun Wah Kam

LOCATION:
on kalihi street. right next to monarch seafood.
SETTING:
this place has NO indoor or outdoor seating. you just order & go! lol its a small fast food type of restaurant. hey, think about this, it moves FAST! haha the food is on the counter right in front of you so all your job is to choose what you want & let the cashier know :)
FOOD:
they have chinese food. all from chow fun (SO GOOD), reg noodles, fried rice, sweet n sour fish (my fave), orange chicken, stir fry, chicken, red meat, etc! oh! and MANAPUAS! they make good food there! i always get their sweet and sour fish & their chow fun! did i mention their plates are soooooo BIG! and they pack your plate to the top! lol so worth it for $ 8 something. you can choose from a mini, 2 choice or 3 choices. you better be hungry because they really give you a good amount of portions :)
SERVICE:
love the service here! usually its busy, esp lunch time but they always greet with a Hello! :) they help you out if you dont know what to get, and if you get close to one of the cashiers, they joke around with you too haha there’s around 4 people working in the front so the lines just keep on moving :)
PRICES:
the prices are $ 8 something for a mini, $ 10 for a 2 choice and $ 10+ for a 3 choice. not bad if you see how much food they pack on your plate!

Wide selection of lunch choices
Both baked and steamed manapuas available
My favorite starch is the Hong Kong noodles

Horrible customer service. Lady on the phone can barely speak English and telling me to «hurry up» cause my phone hurt her ear! I’m the customer don’t be rude and rush me. Their manapua isn’t even that good. I was just doing someone a favor to go and buy their crappy food.

There food is so good and when you eat regular plate is a lot of food. At least u can save your food and eat it the next day. I eaten regular plate and I try to eat it all.

(4.5 stars)
Class is pretty cool (and stressful) in that the students alternate between bringing food and doing other group stuffs two times a week. It was about 5:30 on a Monday morning and I was food duty. I was definitely not crazy enough to cook, get ready and drive to school by 8:30. Ain’t nobody got time for that. But something had to be done! Thankfully, Chun Wah Kam came to the rescue!
We arrived around 7 and to our relief, all the stalls in front of the restaurant were open. We quickly rolled into one of the stalls and walked into the tiny shop, where a number of different, but complementary, scents filled the air, and where beautiful golden manapuas were coming fresh out of the oven. Yummm!!! All the different Chinese dishes were displayed behind the glass, making it incredibly hard to stay focused on the task at hand– order lots and lots manapuas! We were helped quickly and ordered a total of 20 manapuas (ok so that’s not lots and lots haha), all different types, including the traditional char siu and more unique flavors such as pizza, spicy pork, kalua pork, etc. We were in and out in about 5 min. Just in time too, as the restaurant was becoming more and more crowded by the minute!
Although ordering manapua is slightly stressful because of all the different flavors, Chun Wah Kam is a fantastic option for tasty take-​out enjoyed by all (or almost all). Highly recommend! The spicy pork is delicious!!! And the pizza was a favorite among the group. But try to head over either early in the morning or at off times, for parking can really be a headache around there.

Manapua is great! Parking is limited. Service is horribly slow. My grandmother moves faster than they do and she’s dead. Also, English is a second language. First time I have been to this location. Waimalu has better service.

Parking here is terrible! Like only 2 parking stalls, as the other stalls are occupied by the company van. Otherwise, the food here is totally excellent.
This time around, I was looking for some Hee Hing, it’s like a mini manapua, but with a crust like shell with a meat filling.
They don’t sell them here, so I went on to my next Hee Hing hunt.

Food here is really good & well portioned!!! The female that helped me had a sweet voice but her facial reaction was something else. She didn’t smile & had an «I hate my job» kinda expression on her face. I used to come here a lot when there were other young females working & I’ve always tipped them because they were really nice & friendly. This one girl tho, needs some training on customer service.

I was running around like a crazy person Halloween morning, going to Savers and Spirit for accessories. It started raining cats and dogs and thundering and lightening. It was like a higher power was trying to thwart me from buying anymore «stuff,» lol.
Anyway, I wanted to try something different and order from this hole in the wall Chinese place but we couldn’t understand each other. I was running late as it was so just gave up and ended up calling Chun wah, the reliable one. Ordered a pan of chow fun with add on char siu and it was ready in 20 minutes! Staff is young like the Pensacola shop — very energetic and friendly. I was asked by 3 different staff if I needed help :) Chow fun was a hit! Everyone loved it. Will just come here or Pensacola when I need something. Easy parking, friendly staff, lots of choices, reasonable prices, & quick!

I ordered a mixture of manapua on Saturday from this location, later I found out the Aiea location makes it for all the locations. It was for a flag football potluck for ages 5 through10 year olds. One of the keikis bit into the manapua and there were bugs in it. I felt so bad. The whole batch were infested with bugs. The father of the child was so upset he complained to the restaurant and they apologized but he was told it happened before, this was not the first incident.
The store refunded us for half the order. I just have to put this out there. I will notify the board of health to do their due diligence and follow up, but the public needs to know.

Always heard of a manupuas but never had one. On my last visit to trip Hawaii I finally had the pleasure of trying the infamous manupua. I was brought here by a friend and one bite I knew I had to come back and buy some to bring back home. Chun Wah Kam has an assortment of flavors, with the char siu being the most popular. My first manupua was the spicy pork, and it was awesome. Dough was perfectly light and fluffy but not too thick. It was pretty much a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ ratio of dough to filling, which was extremely flavorful.
So day of my flight, I planned ahead and made trip to Chun Wah Kam before my i left. Walked in, put an order of 2 dozen manupuas. An assortment of char siu, kalua pork, and spicy pork. Chun Wah Kam are total pros, knowing i was traveling with the manupuas they got me in and out within 15 mins with 2 boxes of fresh nicely packed manupuas togo. I gota say, they were all consistently delicious
On a side note, this was a different location from my initial visit to Chun Wah Kam and i seem to notice it they are all operated by older chinese ladies. No wonder they are so good, it taste as if your mom or aunties made it. Comfort food at its best! Defintely a must try when in hawaii.

The last two times i picked up manapua the texture of the bread looked weird and tasted a bit sour so yeah i been meaning to call but im not sure if it was just me because I’m a fan of this place… will update the next visit

I was on a meeting in Honolulu at one point and I wanted to bring back some manapua and pork hash back to the Big Island. My colleague and I stopped at Chun Wah Kam. I really wanted the Lup Chong manapua but they were all sold out.
The girls at the counter were patient with me cause I didn’t really know what else to get. I managed to get pork hash and the kalua manapua. They were pretty alright. Parking is kinda tight though.

Lazy Sunday’s usually lead to a beach day or trying a new restaurant. Today, since it was too cool for a beach excursion, the new eatery experience was the way to go.
Originally we intended to visit their Pensacola location, then noticed that this locate was perfectly inline with or errands route, so off we went.
First, parking like most everywhere on Oahu is quite the challenge, but since it was Sunday there was NO PROBLEM.
EASY to find.
The service was exceptional !!! Super pleasant.
They DO take credit cards (visa, MasterCard) even though there ISN’T a sticker on the front door.
TONS of food options !!! There is NO reason not to find something that appeals.
They offer single serving, pint, quart, plate lunch and family size options. Oh, and they DO cater.
sweet and sour pork, (a little fatty for my taste, but the flavor were great
kung pao chicken honestly probably the best I’ve had.
tofu and eggplant, excellent although I tend to like a wee bit more kick.
minute chicken was a bit dry, yet the taste made up for it.
FANTASTIC chow fun AND chow mien

I’m convinced that my many visits here have paid off. I walked in this morning to purchase a few items to snack on as I drive over the Likelike Hwy. towards Kaneohe.
As I was walking in I noticed I didn’t have my wallet and/​or cash with me. Duh… I forgot it at home this morning. That’s what I get for the 1^st day back to work after a week of vacation. I think I’m still in vacation mode…
Anyways, I carry another wallet in my work van and I know I had a credit card in there. I purchased a few items so I didn’t feel guilty paying with a credit card. I believe my total came out to $ 11 and I handed them my credit card only to find out that the card is no good and the credit card company stopped that account due to inactivity. What? I apologized and handed over the items they packaged for me and told them I can’t pay for it. They told me…“aahhh, that’s all right, just pay the next time you come in.” What? Really? They had me write down my name and cell number and off I went.
Of course I went back this afternoon and paid them off. I stopped at my credit union up the street on my way back to Kalihi and stopped in to buy lunch this time. The girl looked surprised and I thanked them for being trusting on their part. In this day and age that was totally unexpected.
I would love to tell you that my lunch was as good as it always is and you can’t go wrong for a quick meal here at Chun Wah Kam. I like this one the best as the flavors at this location are far better than the others I’ve visited. Thanks again Chun Wah Kam Kalihi… you have a customer for life!

Came in today because Libbys has no baked manapua apparently :(
I also decided to give this place another shot. A few days ago I came in and received sucky customer service. But the food is what really makes up for it.
When we first went to Libbys, and my bf took a bite into the manapua, there no meat. all bun. The second bit was no meat… All bun. Finally the third bite and there was some meat.
If I were to choose where to come for MANAPUA’s it would be here, at Chun Wah Kam.

Needed to be in downtown, but was 45 minutes too early, so my Mom & I decided to buy «lunch» in Kalihi at 7am. We both ordered a mini plate.
A mini plate anywhere else will definitely not take me 3 sittings to finish, but then again, their mini is pretty much a one choice option in regular size (if that makes any sense). We ordered two minis: both with half chow fun, half shoyu udon and one with sweet & sour spareribs & the other with sweet & sour fish. Soooo yum! Everything was! The noodles were tasty & cooked very nicely. I liked the taste of the sweet & sour spareribs, but I felt like the meat was tougher than I’m used to. The sweet & sour fish was yummay.
Other than the dishes we bought, there are a plethora of entrees & manapuas… Something to satisfy anyone’s tastebuds.
Parking is minimal, but the food is worth it. Oh, & it would be nice if they sold an actual mini plate cause I’m not trying to gain any more weight: P

CHUN WAH OR LIBBY’S?
Ok, ok you read the same question in my previous Libby Manapua Shop review…
BUT, here’s an instant replay just for you…
CHUN WAH KAM OR LIBBY’S?
First, a brief history on CHUN WAH aka CHUN WAH KAM NOODLE FACTORY (yes, it’s a long name)!
CHUN WAH KAM was established in 1942, during the World War II era and about two years after the founder, Wah Kam Chun, immigrated to Hawaii from Zhong-​Shan, China.
Mr. Chun worked in a number of different jobs and learned the trade of making anything delicious for locals, After trial and error, and finally perfecting his craft, he decided it was time to give it a try on his own!
The factory was first located on Kukui St. in Chinatown and then near Dillingham Plaza. Today, the factory is located in Kalihi, Waimalu, and near Ala Moana! 72-​years later CHUN WAH KAM is as popular as ever!
BEST MANAPUA?
That’s the question of the new millennium for locals looking for the BEST, most ONO MANAPUA!
Not the Chinese «Cha Siu Bao» found in Chinatown or Corner Stores, those are yummy too, BUT BIG SOFT BUNS FILLED W/​SHREDDED SUCCULENT PORK IS WHAT THE BRUDDAH WANTS!
For me, my all time local-​style MANAPUA is at Pinky’s, a tiny convenience store, in Papaikou near Hilo, Hawaii! Mmmmmmm!
BUT…
BEST MANAPUA ON OAHU?
Like most Locals it comes down to
LIBBY’S VS. CHUN WAH KAM!
Sometimes Char Hung Sut and other names pop into the equation, BUT since this is my review and you want my IMHO… It comes down to
LIBBY’S VS. CHUN WAH KAM!
So, what’s the verdict? *ding ding*
WOW! Well, both places you really can’t go wrong!
In this corner, we have CHUN WAH KAM, a local-​Chinese Cafeteria style restaurant chain with roots from Chinatown & Waimalu. CHUN WAH KAM has incredible MANAPUA, both baked and steamed and stuffed… I mean STUFFED with a generous heaping of succulent pork! The baked one is my favorite here, unusual for me, since I normally opt for the steamed, but the baked MANAPUA is like eating Hawaiian Sweetbread stuffed with a ton of yummy PORK MEAT! I mean is it Sweet-​Bread? Sure as heck taste like it! So ONO!!!
CHUN WAH KAM also offers entrée foods. Point-​pick cafeteria method… I love the Sweet ‘n Sour Pork, Orange Chicken, Layered Rice Cake & all sorts of noodles. Lots and lots of choices!
MY GOLDEN RULE: always pick the freshest available and go from there!
VERSUS…
In this corner, we have LIBBY’S, a Kalihi landmark, that’s been here FOREVER — it’s been renovated several times, and oldsters in the area will tell you how LIBBY’S once was a cottage on stilts… Some plantation homes in the area will give you an idea how Kalihi once looked like! Pretty awesome for those that appreciate old Hawai’i!
LIBBY’S has AMAZING MANAPUA that just satisfies every tastebud in your mouth! The steamed & baked are equally yummy! LIBBY’S offers other finger foods like Pork Hash, Half Moon, Rice Cake (plain & layered), Chow Fun (Dad said it’s not as good as before). No entrée offers like CHUN WAH KAM, but…
WHO WON THE FIGHT???
THE MANAPUA WINNER IS…
LIBBY’S, but barely… By a nibble!
Heck, I would be happy-​as-​a-​clam with either!
CHUN WAH KAM is by no means a loser… I LOVE their Sweet ‘n Sour Pork, Orange Chicken, I find the Rice Cake on par with Libby’s (the layered one is kinda nasty), and of course I won’t complain if you tossed one of those yummy Sweet-​Bread Manapua’s my way! Just avoid the layered rice cake– it’s like HARD JELLO— eww!
CHUN WAH KAM NOTES:
Open 7-​days a week and longer hours versus Libby’s!
Three locations available: In Kalihi on Kalihi St. (to-​go only), near Ala Moana on Pensacola St. (to-​go or dine-​in), and in Waimalu on Kamehameha Hwy. (to-​go or dine-​in).
FACT:
«MANAPUA» is Hawaiian slang for the Chinese food «Cha Siu Bao» (pork-​filled bun). The word literally means «chewed-​up» (mana) «pork» (pua) in the Hawaiian language. The Chinese brought this dim sum knowledge from China with them when they were brought over as Hawai’i plantation workers! During the many decades the Hawaiian MANAPUA has evolved into a more «meaty» bun and larger too! Some foodie experts will still claim it’s the same, BUT if you were born and raised in the islands… You know better!
OVERALL GRADE: 3.8-STARS (sometimes that occasional fly will sneak in to these cafeteria style setups, if so… I’ll walk out and head straight to Libby’s!)
LIVE ALOHA…
Unilocal REVIEW #275

First of all, I DO NOT like giving 1-​star reviews but this one sure made the list.
I had such a bad experience today that I walked out not a happy camper.
I arrived here shortly after 11am to pick-​up a plate to surprise my sister for her birthday lunch. She enjoys the food at Chun Wah Kam and I don’t have to cook so this was a no-​brainer to come here.
However, when I walked up to the counter the eldery Asian woman with a thick Chinese/​Vietnamese accent held an empty Styrofoam container asking what I wanted. The next thing I know a man comes and stands behind me. When this woman recognized him, she directly turned me down and said «I’m gonna help him so she (her co-​worker) will help you.» I was like «Okay…»
The man tells the elderly woman «2 orders and I’ll be back.» And then before the younger girl can come and help me, the elderly woman comes back to me and asks me «What do you want?»
I don’t care if you have good food but if your customer service is bad, you don’t feel like going there anymore. I am a paying consumer and not expecting VIP service but don’t treat me like MINCE MEAT where you can choose who you want to help and when you want to. Since when you can pick and choose your customers? Is this a practice approved my the management at Chun Wah Kam???
By this time I was very unhappy so I voiced my opinion and told the elderly woman how rude she was to me. In her defense, she kept on smiling and started to mutter an excuse which I wasn’t keen on listening to. By this time a much younger local male with long hair came out and pulled her to the back by instructing her «Just apologize and shut up.» But she kept on muttering an excuse which by now I zeroed her out.
So sad when people forget where their paycheck comes from. I mean, without customers, how can you expect to receive a paycheck?

The three choice meal is frickin huge. More than enough for two people or results in a paralysis for one person. Its worth the price for the amount you get. This is a great place to get your chinese food fix.
The one thing that’s sucks here is the parking. Other than that, good food.