Pongo’s Kitchen

I haven’t been that excited about food lately. I haven’t tasted anything new that would even prompt me to write a review… Until now!
Came across this little gem while I was in the area.
I ordered a mini grilled salmon with their spicy butter sauce. Of course I had to try their guava chicken and was thrilled to find out that I could order pieces of it ala carte so I ordered two pieces with my mini plate. You can choose from white or brown rice and toss or Mac salad. I got it with brown rice and mac salad. Yeah yeah, why get all healthy with brown rice when I’m just gonna order Mac salad? Blah blah but I gotta test out the Mac salad if I’m trying the place for the first time and I’m so glad I did! It was yummerz!
Parking sucks but service was friendly and awesome! Oh, you would think its cash only but they accept credit cards!

Nice little mom-​n-​pop place.
I had the sirloin sandwich with garlic drizzle. Be aware, a sirloin here is not a steak (they have this prominently posted). It is a hamburger steak. Mine was served on a toasted French roll and had plenty of garlic flavor. Nice. BF had the guava chicken. He got a mini and still had plenty to eat. It was several pieces of boneless fried chicken, rice and salad. Good flavor, a bit heavy on the breading, but quite good.
The lady behind the counter was friendly, helpful, and the service was good.
They have two (slightly rickety) booths outside, under a nice awning. A comfortable place to sit and eat.
Street parking only — can be tough or easy, depending on day of the week and time.

We got here at 1255 and were told the Ahi and Sesame chicken had been sold out. We ordered steak sandwich which was «Good.» Guava chicken was a bit on the harder side.

Since we were in the Kalihi area, we decided to stop by Pongo’s and try the mini sesame chicken and the mini guava chicken. We went early and luckily found a parking spot in front. It’s more of a takeout place (no dining area inside). Service was so fast! My order was ready before I could even put my wallet back into my purse. The portions are pretty good, as well as the price ($ 5,75 for each of the mini plates we ordered). Of the two chicken plates we ordered, I prefer the guava one since it was more tasty.

Just as good as I remembered it! We got 2 regular orders of guava chicken and 1 regular order of opak and it filled the 4 of us!

Food and service is great been going there for years when I was working at Foremost Dairies, now been stopping there on some Saturday’s. It’s still the same great food and service, guava chicken and ahi belly with garlic oil is my favorites. Your money’s worth.

No update yet.

There were so many things on the menu that I wanted to try. Also, all the sauces and drizzles. I ended up getting a mini grilled tofu plate with the ginger green onion sauce with one piece of guava chicken and one piece of fried chicken with garlic drizzle on the side. Pretty good deal for $ 7. The tofu was just alright and what you would imagine. It reminded me of Chinese food.
The fried chicken with the garlic drizzle was awesome! I think I liked it better than the garlic chicken. :o
Although it was good… like another reviewer… its not even in the same league as mitsuken or sugoi garlic chicken.

Hole in the wall place by Nimitz, nothing fancy. There is 2 tables outside and parking is street parking but who cares, the food is Ono winnahzzzz. Roast chicken and baked ahi so so tender and flavorful. Call in your order cuz it gets packed, it’s in the industrial area so you know all the workers come here. Check out their daily specials, the only thing is they don’t have bread pudding daily.

After reading all the great Unilocal reviews, we had to give Pongo’s a try.
GUAVA CHICKEN
Adequate portion of boneless chunks of battered, deep fried skin-​on chicken meat coated in a sticky, sweet sauce. Apparently, this dish contains chili pepper even though the description does not indicate this. We wouldn’t have ordered it had we known this. In our opinion, the texture of the chicken was a bit overcooked and slightly dry. The batter was fairly crunchy, however it could’ve been crispier.
TOSSED SALAD WITH HOUSE DRESSING
As a special request, we asked for all tossed salad to accompany the guava chicken. The mixed greens came in a very generous portion and was very fresh. However, the house dressing which had been dolloped on top was slightly on the bland side lacking in any distinct flavors other than the product they use to give it that white, creamy consistency. At first, it seemed like there wasn’t enough dressing, but after a little tossing, it worked out fine.
ROAST TURKEY
The actual portion of roast turkey itself was a bit conservative, but with the seasoned stuffing underneath the mixture of white and dark meat, one would think it was a big plate. The turkey wasn’t anything that left us desiring more, so I guess it worked out. Also, there was just enough gravy to coat and moisten the meat which was absent of any seasonings. On the other hand, the mixed bread stuffing was overpowered by the taste of thyme or some other ready-​made poultry seasoning mix sold in stores. This plate was ordered with white rice which was slightly on the dry side, and tossed salad with house dressing.
OPAKAPAKA WITH GARLIC SHOYU SAUCE
Portion was very fair for the price. Sauce was flavorful and delicious. However, the downside is that the grilled opakapaka was dry and overcooked. The plate was ordered with white rice and tossed salad.
SESAME CHICKEN
Generous portion of luke warm, boneless, battered, deep fried, crispy chicken pieces. It’s unfortunate the chicken meat was extremely dry and beyond overcooked to the point of being hard to chew and difficult to swallow. The plate was ordered with all tossed salad.
SERVICE
Among some of the worst customer service ever encountered. After waiting behind a customer who was picking up a large order, you would think the girl behind the counter would then ask the next customer something like, «May I take your order» or something along that line? Nope! Stone Faced Sally just stood there staring at me with a look of disdain. So I asked her whenever she was ready to take my order I was ready to order. She then picked up her pencil and notepad and said, «Go ahead.» By the way, forget about getting a ‘thank you’ from her. On the up side, the order came out in the blink of an eye. Maybe that explains why the chicken wasn’t quite crispy enough?
PARKING
Supposedly, the lot next door will allow for cars to pull in to pick up orders, but I can’t confirm this as I didn’t ask Miss Personality to validate this. However, we did notice cars pulling into the first stall of the lot next door to pick up their takeout orders. It’s probably best to have a driver drop you off as pull-​over spaces can be extremely limited.
BOTTOM LINE
We might give them another try. Maybe next time we’ll order hamburger steak and ribeye teriyaki beef. After which we’ll be able to decide if Pongo’s is a keeper or not.

Guava Chicken. OMGEEEE. If you want it though, you need to get there earlier in the day. I have been later in the lunch hour and they have been sold out. Don’t expect to have parking near by. I like to take someone with me to go get the food while I circle the block. Super cheap — I can never finish the mini size.

I gotta say, one of the nice things about using Unilocal — is finding some good GRINDZ places from my fellow Unilocal friends…
I was in the mood to try a new place today, so I went over to the Unilocal site, & lurked over my Unilocal buddy — bruddah Darrel P.‘s page.
I like looking a bruddah Darrel’s page, cuz I get da same kine taste as him as far as da GRINDZ go… upon scanning his page, low & behold I found da spot today — PONGO“S Kitchen, here I come!
I whipped out the phone, turned on the GPS, and off I went to the industrial area of Kalihi. I gotta say… it’s a nightmare to try and find parking here (we actually couldn’t find any parking today), so may I suggest the best way to get around this, is to have your friend drive you, then your friend can keep the car running while you run inside to order the food. Upon picking up da Grindz, then you can make your «quick get away!»
By the way, the little shop is basically a pick up & go kinda place… there is absolutely no seating inside. One small note — there are two small covered tables outside, if you are lucky enough to get it… but I think I’ll pass on eating on a covered table by the sidewalk.
Onto the GRINDZ… upon looking at the pics from here, it appears that they are known for their Guava Chicken, as well as Sesame Chicken, & Fried Chicken.
Upon scanning the menu, I decided on a combo plate of Beef Stew, & Guava Chicken. My co-​worker just wanted the Guava Chicken.
With my combo, I took the brown rice & a toss salad. My co-​worker opted for the mac salad & brown rice. I also got two bottled waters, and the total damage was just under $ 19.00. Not bad, because the amount to food they served to you was very generous!
****Please note, when I had ordered the Guava Chicken, the friendly girl at the counter told me there would be a 15 minute wait*****
But in actuality, I probably waited no more than 5 to 10 minutes for my food. May I suggest if you don’t want to wait, you should call and place a phone order before heading down to Pongo’s, so that way you won’t have to deal with the wait. In my case… I was okay with it.
What can I say about the grub? Well, I gotta tell you the Guava Chicken was as advertised! It was really ono! The chicken was really meaty & juicy. The guava sauce was not overpowering, with a slight hint of Guava, with a tangy spiciness to it. NOMS!!!
As for my beef stew… that was just okay for me, nothing special about it.
It kinda reminded me of a Hawaiian Stew, as the sauce was more on the runny side, verses on the thicker side.
I’ve been on a quest to look for the perfect Beef Stew ever since my favorite beloved H.K. Restaurant closed down back in 2012. If anyone of da bruddah’s out there know where I can get a good beef stew — similar like H.K. Restaurant… let a bruddah know! Okay?
Overall, a great little shop that serves onolishes GRINDZ!
Although there was no parking, the place was still very busy, as they get a lot of foot traffic from the workers in the industrial area. Check ‘em out gang! No can go wrong!

Their steak is on point, the roasted chicken is awesome, the grilled salmon… to die for!!! Their seasoned butter sauces are so ono for the steak, the salmon, the chicken, I can eat here like everyday! Reason to come here for lunch, cuz its worth it!!!

I’m kicking myself for not coming here sooner! I love plate lunches especially when it’s not the normal fare you’ll find at L&L’s (no diss to Eddie). It’s located right next to my old elementary school. It’s a small hole-​in-​the-​wall shop but just look for the long line of folks outside during lunchtime. Parking sucks so you may have to make a few rounds, but let me tell ya, it’s worth the trouble. I tried the #1 combo plate with the guava chicken and baked stuffed ahi. So ono and all for under $ 9. That kinda awesomeness is tough to beat. Came back a second time to get the warmed spinach salad with salmon and tofu. Also a great tasting, healthier option. So if you’re ever in the Kalihi area anytime from 10 – 2 Mon-​Sat, come check them out. It might be easier to go with someone who can hop out and pick up the orders for you though. Just saying.

Guava Chicken is one of the best things I’ve had since moving here. I make it a point to come by here at least every other week. The tropical sweet and slightly spicy flavor is on point. I get the mini, because regular would have me miserably full. Even the mini fills me up pretty good. Parking is definitely the part that sucks about coming here, but then again, it sucks throughout most of Honolulu area, so I couldn’t dock them points for that.

Finally came here & found parking. Street parking. Right in the front!!! It helped that we came on the weekend right after opening. I’ve passed by here during the week & I could never find parking. It’s in a predominately business/​warehouse area. So that cuts down on parking spots & they get a lot of customers from the area so you the weekend worked out well.
On to the food. Wanted to try the guava chicken but was told it was a 15 minute wait. Oh well. Had the sesame chicken & baked ahi combo instead. The chicken was tasty & good but the baked ahi made me wish I had only ordered that. It was moist & delicious. Broke da mout! Lol
Next time hopefully I’ll be able to try the guava chicken.

My boyfriend stumbled into this place by accident and told me that their food is great! Of course, I had to try this place out myself!
This place is definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall. There’s only two picnic tables outside and it was hard to find parking.
The lady working was very friendly and took our order in a jiffy. But that’s not a bad thing coz I had a limited time considering that I was on my lunch break from work.
I opted for the grilled ahi with ginger green onion sauce. I tell ya, it was delish! It was a total orgasm in my mouth! Every bite will make you say «mmmm» :) Within a week, I went back to try out their baked ahi and guava chicken because my friend suggested I order that on my next visit. That, too, was awesome! It’s like mitsuken and Sugoi’s chicken but it has its own flavor. Their baked ahi was good too but I loved the guava chicken better! It had a little spice to it and it was flavorful!
This spot? My new favorite hole-​in-​the-​wall place! :))

**Local Grindz** HAWAII ~!!
Shortest review EVER!
Not much to say about here except it’s a hell of a hole-​in-​da-​wall place to grab a plate lunch to go. Not a place to eat here. They do have a couple of small benches outside to eat if you want to eat here. But it’s located in a working industrial area where all the customers usually come here to grab their lunch. The food is ONO to da MAX. Lunches average $ 7 – 8. The owners are sisters who can cook some bomb ass food. NO JOKE.
If you’re in the area, just stop by. Check it out. I only came here because my auntie just picked me up from the airport and she had to stop at cooking supply shop down the road, Y Hata Co. So she asked me if I’m hungry because she was starving and recommended to come here. I don’t usually eat meat anymore but OMG I seen hamburger curry on the menu and could NOT resist. I uploaded a photo and that’s just the mini version. It was more than enough for me. I chose toss salad but I think they have the usual famous macaroni salad. You can’t sell Hawaiian plate lunches and not have macaroni salad. But I’m on a special diet lol. My auntie said she did not care about any diet hahahaha.
There is no parking lot here but we had no problems with street parking at all. It was a Friday early afternoon. Seriously, if you’re in the area or even close by, give it a try. If you buy a plate, and you aren’t satisfied, I’ll give you your money back. Not joking! I’m also confident that the owners would give it back or at least replace your meal if you weren’t happy with your meal. Trust me. They are THAT cool!
Happy eating! :)
~*kenzie*~
Oh the reason why it’s 4 stars and not 5 is because it’s not a sit in restaurant. Other wise it be 5 stars. Food is ONO 5 stars.

You should be eating takeout from Pongo’s Kitchen. Yes, there is no parking, go with a friend to circle with the car. Yes, there are only two outdoor tables, so really no place to sit, don’t worry, I said takeout. Yes, they are only open for lunch from 10 am — 2 pm, leave school/​work and Figure. It. Out.
There’s a lotta good happening on Pongo’s Menu. If you like seafood dynamite, go for the Baked Ahi which has imitation crab-​mayo goodness. The fried chickens – Guava, Sesame, Wasabi or Garlic drizzled are popular and have a dark tempura-​like batter that stays nice and cruncy. The Ribeye Teri Beef sets a new standard for teri beef and they always have fish – Salmon, Opakapaka, sometimes Ahi Belly or Onaga, so look for the specials.
Prices are reasonable for both mini and regular plates, and you can make combos for a nominal charge. Plates come with a choice of white or brown rice and either toss salad, mac salad or corn – I even really like the buttermilk dressing on the toss salad, damn.
Really good lunch option when you’re in Kalihi. The food comes out quickly, but you can also call in your order and it’ll be ready when you get there. Don’t forget to bring me back a plate when you go.

I found this place because they were featured on the news… I can’t remember which channel but they mentioned the sticky guava chicken. Eh! the bugga is delicious! I’ve ordered here a few times and have not been disappointed yet. I usually order their boneless sticky guava chicken or their opakapaka. yum!!!
A lot of construction workers and laborers frequent this place… I would suggest going a little early for lunch to beat the crowd and to avoid getting a sold out item… yes, they do sell out of some things.