Mini Garden Express

Large portions here. Food is good. We had wonton soup and mapo tofu. It is worth trying if at the food hall and looking for Chinese food.

I used to come to locations years ago. Although nothing special atleast the service was good. Back to present day, I ask for the sauce that every Mini Garden location has (this one too) and the lady working the register tells me they’ve never had it and proceeds to argue with me about it. Very bad customer service arguing with a paying customer especially with a bunch of people waiting in excess of 20 mins for their orders.

This used to be one of my favorite Chinese fast food until today. I ordered two noodle soup. I arrived 10 minutes later to pick up my order. The cashier looked at me as if she didn’t know what I was saying when I asked to pay for my phone order.
It wasn’t busy. I was the only customer at the time when I arrived. She took my cash and gave me my change. I say this part for a reason. A few minutes later she goes to the noodle cooking area and grabs the noodles with her fingers.
I kept thinking that it’s ok that she didn’t wash her hands after handling cash and coins because the noodles were dunked into boiling water. She then proceeded as if it was in slow motion to make the rest of the soup. Then she pulled the tripe beef from a metal container. I had to ask her how long the meat had been left outside and she assured me that the meat has a warmer so it’s ok.
This is the last time that eat here. They need to change their names to «Slow Mini Garden» and at least wash their hands if the cashier is the cook too.

The Chinatown Mini Garden was a staple of my childhood and I have countless memories of eating there.
Delightful memories like watching drugs being handed off against the windows and men and prostitutes screaming at each other.
The memory of my undying curiosity about what wonders could possibly be in that building across the street with the blinking neon signs that said «adult». Why couldn’t I go to the arcade? WHY? I mean, I know now but back then I was just told it was «evil» and offered no further explanation. Hold on, I believe I was also told I would be kidnapped if I went there. That may have been true.
Oh, there was also that time a heavy rain caused a swarm of roaches on the ceiling above our table! Now that was exciting.
And there used to be that homeless man that would suddenly barge in the door and grab leftover noodles off of tables by the handful and the waitresses would come running out to shoo him away. I always wish we had bought him some food but that was back when my family was afraid of the homeless.
At any rate, despite the roaches and drug dealers and prostitutes and homeless (or maybe because of?) I have a soft spot for Mini Garden, which is why I find myself at Mini Garden Express now and then even though I have no business in the area.
I’ve eaten char siu look funn in soup and won ton noodles since I was a little girl and it is exactly as I remember.
I also order the cold ginger chicken and char siu combination rice plate and always ask for extra sauce. Add in a plate of black bean chow fun and I am good for at least two days. This is my comfort food. It makes me very comfortable.
Atmosphere? Please, it’s Ranch 99. I describe the ambience of Ranch 99 as mildly depressing with a touch of desperation.
Service? Just fine for a Chinese Express. One of the ladies even gives lollipops to my children, which earns their undying loyalty.
I like it. It’s quick, cheap, and there are no drug dealers and I can’t see the roaches.
Good times.

Went here straight from getting off the plane. We ordered the duck on fried rice and the mapo tofu on white rice. The food was a representation of the price. Very cheap prices for the amount of food we got but not too impressed on the food. The fried rice was clumpy and the duck was very oily and not crispy like I had hoped it would be. The mapo tofu was okay, but I wish it had more flavor. Maybe it was just a bad day? I’m not sure. It was okay but I probably wouldn’t choose to go here again for good Chinese food.

IMO the Mini Garden Express is better than the restaurant on Beretania street. I always either get one of two things the beef tendon lo-​mein (dry noodles with no soup) or the congee (jook) with the preserved egg and beef. If you can’t decide on anything in the food court come here for some Hong Kong style Chinese food fix.
Parking is ample since the whole parking lot for ranch 99 is still available.

I go to this location about once a month. I order the same thing every single time. Shrimp balls with stewed noodles and Choy sum. The tall skinny lady at the counter is always distracted and never looks at me when I place my order and this time she gets the order wrong. Then they try to blame me for the order being wrong by saying since I look haole and ordered it by speaking Chinese that she thought I meant Gon Lo Mein. Nope, wrong! Ok so explain to my why she always gets the order right in the past??? The owner proceeds to tell me not to order again in Chinese because it’s too confusing for them because I look haole and am ordering in Chinese. UM HELLO LADY I AM HAPA, HALF CHINESE HALF ENGLISH!!! I was raised in a Chinese house by my Popo and. Gung Gung and my mom. How dare she tell me that!!! The food here is good but they gotta change their attitude and how they treat their customers. If the tall skinny lady bothered to look at me instead of being too busy cutting little square pieces of paper she would have gotten the order right. She can’t walk and crew gum at the same time! Still irritated and this happened 3 weeks ago. Next time I’m there she better look me in the eye when I order!

This is usually my go to place at 99 Moanalua. The food is very good and the prices are reasonable. The crispy gau gee plate is HUGE even without the gau gee. My other favs are the minute chix with soft noodles and the braised beef soup with noodles.

All the soup dishes are excellent. Don’t mind the not so nice lady behind the counter. she means well! She’s Chinese and that’s just how she sounds… rude. Just a sip of the broth and everything will be all better.

Frequent lunchtime pondering: Wonder what I’m gonna have for lunch…
Frequent response: Ummmm… Mini Garden?
This little hole in the wall, middle of a warehouse foodcourt place is my favorite go to spot for weekday lunches with the ladies in the office. Let’s face it, I’m a creature of habit and when I find something that works, I stick to it! Minute Chicken Crispy Noodle or Mapo Tofu with Fried Rice is my ish. I always get it and I always enjoy it.
On a few occasions, I brought my favorite foodie friend and I think I might have gotten him hooked! Seafood Crispy Noodles are always consistently ON POINT! The flavors are always so well balanced. Really! It’s probably better than most other Chinese restaurants we’ve dined at locally… reminds us more of NYC Chinese take out.
Quick. Consistent. Accepts Credit Cards. Open on the weekends.
Awesome!!!

Date of visit: 8÷9÷2015
My aunt recommended we go to Monalua 99 for lunch since it’s close to the airport and has a lot of different options. The parking lot was a bit tight, but I noticed that there were other spots in the back. When you walk in, the store area is to the right, while all of the restaurants are to the left.
I was in the mood for some Chinese, so we decided to get in line. Mini Garden Express takes credit card, which was really convenient as we were running low on cash. We weren’t really sure what to order, but decided on crispy noodles from a suggestion from my aunt and the mapo tofu from a suggestion from someone in line.
Oyster Chicken with Crispy Noodles (#2). This dish was pretty good. I didn’t really like all of the bones, but the sauce was definitely more flavorful than Anthony’s dish (duck with crispy noodles). I liked the vegetables that were included with this dish. The noodles were just okay — a bit thin for me.
Mapo Tofu with Rice (#27). I really liked this dish — it was a different take than I’ve had before. The rice was covered in the gravy, which made it a little too salty for me. However, the mapo tofu itself was really good. Instead of ground pork, there were slivers of pork, which reduced the overwhelming pork taste you can sometimes get with this dish.
Overall, this was a good choice for lunch before going to the airport. Toni came after we had ordered and got the Minute Chicken with Crispy Noodles, which was excellent. If I ever come here again, I’ll definitely be getting the Minute Chicken. It was much better than the other two dishes that Cam and I got.

I work close by and wanted to try this place.
When I first ordered the two ladies in the front didn’t even look at me when I ordered they just kept talking to each other not even a smile.
When I picked up my order they just was like here you go not even ask if it was takeout or not. I had to ask and all she said was yup and dropped my food on the table. Very rude.
I ordered the mapo tofu over rice. Sauce was good but rice had a weird texture undercooked maybe. Well I think I rather give my money to sumo ramen next door.

Got the beef black bean chow fun. Chow fun was drowning in so much sauce sauce it was really hard to eat it. Also tastes a little burnt.

Reading some of the reviews… maybe I just catch them on good nights? …
They had a few people in line… they always have a steady flow of customers (good sign). My turn, walked right up and ordered a #13. and #14. Paid cash ($ 17) and asked how long it would take… the cashier was friendly and said about 5 – 10 minutes. No problem, had to get one of my mini’s from gymnastics anyway.
Left the counter, waited for my mini and walked back to Mini Garden. The lady was kind and said, your order is ready and here are two lollipops for your girls. I thought that was really sweet. Anyway… on to the food:
I loooooooove eggplant! So had to try #13 Szechuan eggplant (with chicken, I believe) over rice. I would have preferred it over crispy noodles, but this was the first time I was trying this dish. It was slightly spicy (so I added chili oil and Sriracha). The eggplant was cooked perfectly — not mushy and also not greasy.
My usual — the #14. Minute Chicken over crispy noodle. My family devours this dish. The noodles still held some toothy bite even after soaking in all the sauce (gravy) from the minute chicken. I wish there were more vegetables — there were a few bok choy pieces, but I guess if I wanted veggies, I should have ordered chicken with veggies over crispy noodle.
All in all, another satisfying dining experience. Will be back again for sure.

Very disappointed in my experience. How can you serve gau gee with no sweet sauce for it? Also ordered a seafood crispy noodle entrée. It was filling but I was a bit shocked to see the crab used was totally imitation crab. The flavor was still there and the noodles as crispy as ever. So the entrée came or alright. Service was a bit sassy as well. I will not return.

Pro Tip: When using Unilocal to find a restaurant serving AUTHENTIC Chinese food aim for 3.5 star average rating. The higher you go, the lower the authenticity and appeal to first and second generation Chinese immigrants.
Don’t believe me? Non Chinese yeeps, how would you rate a Chinese restaurant that had no beef broccoli, lemon chicken, pineapple shrimp, General Tso’s Chicken, chicken chow mein, or house special fried rice?
End Tip.
Enter Mini Garden Express. For over 40 years this restaurant, in one form or another, has been serving up some of the best Hong Kong style noodles in Hawaii. Thin, chewy noodles in soup or tossed (served dry drizzled with real oyster sauce and sesame oil with broth on the side); topped with beefy, clean, gelatinous tendons, well braised brisket, firm but sweet shrimp wontons, and some wilted choy sum, WIN!
The heavily extracted beef broth ties the entire dish together gaining more flavor from the «add-​ins» or as noodles are dipped, becoming wonderfully fragrant with the distinct flavor of sesame. MSG charged yes but it’s hard to stop drinking it all.
Prices are low with all menu items sub $ 10.
While this is a one trick pony; the rest of the menu being Americanized, who cares. Keep your eye on the ball and the noodles in your stomach.

Speedy service, Satisfactory pricing, Sassy service, Sweltering broth, Spicy dipping sauce…
Orignal Mini Garden started in the 70’s located where Lucky Belly is today
New Mini Garden (ok, not that new, I’d say about 10 years old) located on Beretania Street
And the Mini Garden Express located in Mapunapuna, at the former 99 Ranch Market has been open for about the same amount of time, I’d guess approximately 10 years, maybe more
Hong Kong style noodles originally now morphed into pseudo Hong Kong style tailored to Hawaii taste and texture.
1990 prices — what more can you wish for?
My usual meal? Stewed noodles (buck wheat noodles) with char siu and choi sum (steamed noodles with sweet roast pork and garden veggies, I think brocolli tops) sauced with a light hoisin (sweet plum) sauce

Roasted duck on chicken fried rice was an okay fix. Been really craving some good roasted duck, but this place just made me miss some good roasted duck more. The duck was on the cold side of luke warm, and the chicken fried rice had no chicken and was poorly fried. To top it off I got it in a «to-​go» plate, not what I was looking for.
I’ve had food from food courts all over Asia, 99 food court need to step up its game.

I skipped breakfast and lunch was shaping up to get skipped as well. I had to come to this area for work relations and I was at the right place at the right time.
I ordered the #16 which is vegan friendly but be sure to mention to take off the gravy… the sauce they make in its place is savory and lighter. I believe the original sauce is meat based. No matter… my meal turned out excellent. I love the crunchy noodles once they soak in the sauce!

Diced chicken with salted fish fried rice FAIL! I bit into 3 shards of BONE in my first 3 bites. I may have cracked a tooth. I want my money back for this tasteless dangerous dish…
I phoned them, apology made and promise of a refund… Next time I’ll go get this dish from Golden Duck!