K’s Bento-Ya

I honestly hate to do this. I debated between the 1 star of «Eek! Methinks not.» and the 2 star of «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» in the end I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and hope that the owners see enough impassioned reviews of life long fans that they do something to fix the problem. That being said the only problem I had which other Unilocalers have seemed to have too is that the chicken (the main item in the bento) is either too hard or cold or a combination of both which is what I experienced on my last visit here. Everything else was still the same as how I remembered it as a kid. Personally I am going to wait a while and try again maybe in a month hopefully by then the chicken will be as good as I remembered it as a kid.

The best bento deal you’ll get on the west side. The only gripe I have is the garlic chicken is super tough half the time. Sometimes I think they caught the feral chicken and cooked em. Since get so many running around the island nowadays!

$ 6 bento that comes with sooooo much food?! Uhh hell yes? K’s offers one of the best bentos on the island. While it looks small at first glance, it’s a lot of food inside. Typically comes with fried chicken, some musubis, a hot dog, egg, and more. For $ 6, how can you go wrong? This bento really lasts quite a while too so its great to buy in the morning and eat later in the day. I usually make this my last meal in Hawaii before heading to the airport. If you are thinking about getting bentos, be sure to call in an order or get there early because they do sell out quick!

I live within walking distance of the place and whenever I need a quick lunch for something, this is my go to place. The good is affordable and tastes great and the owners of the place are seriously the sweetest.
They close super early so I go in the mornings and even then, they tend to be super busy. I love their bentos. I mean, who doesn’t? (Totally not a real question lol)

Dear K’s Bento:
Thank you for your outstanding customer service. It’s always a pleasure to go to your business and talk story with you.
Why only the three-​stars?
Please improve the quality of your food, especially the chicken. The chicken has been very dry and borderline inedible for the last year that I’ve been buying bentos from your place. I know I should stop buying bentos from your place since chicken is really bad, but I have hope that it’ll improve someday.
K’s Bento is a superb Waipahu establishment so please serve better tasting chicken. I’m not sure if the chicken is old or simply overcooked. It almost qualifies to be called chicken jerky.
I used to buy bentos for co-​workers, but even they mentioned how the quality of the chicken has gone down.
Aloha.

The first time I had K’s Bento was when I was 10 years old, new to Hawaii, but not completely foreign to the bento deal as we had just arrived from living in Japan. It was 5 in the morning when my grandma bought one for us to share and I remember her telling me it was really cheap. I could’ve swore she only handed 3 dollars and some coins – what a deal!
Fast forward. The whole reason for coming to K’s Bento is theee chicken! After the chicken… you come for cheap eats at good quality. I raved about this childhood place to my then bf who had never heard of K’s Bento and he instantly loved it as well! Just something about that darn garlic. chicken! It’s so deelish!
I’m 31 now and no longer live on the islands. I still crave for it because of the delicious garlic chicken that I can’t find here on the mainland at a cheap price. I’d say in the last 5 years of visiting the islands… I’m saddened, not disappointed, but saddened that prices have raised and the quality of the chicken has decreased. EVERY single visit, fresh off a 6am arrival we would head straight to K’s and each time the chicken has been tough. Tough as in completely dry, chewy, stale, whichever applies for that bento. I keep going because it’s this childhood nostalgia. It once was so good that you could pick a bento up and not worry if you are going to get the crappy chicken batch.
However, I still go because even if my chicken is crap, everything on the plate is still delicious. I still go in support of a mom and pop shop that has been around for a very long time. They are still. good enough for me to feel like I did not fulfill my Hawaii visit if I did not make at least ONE stop to K’s.
I say go in and give it a try. I believe there are two different bentos at 2 different prices, that are still reasonable enough. Hopefully, you will enjoy it! They open super early and close as soon as they run out – and believe me… they do sell quick! Best advice… go when they open – at super early o’clock (4am, I believe).

Still love this place. The owner has to be one of the sweetest ladies in the world, she’ll chit chat with you if its not too busy. I’ve tried the small and large bentos and I prefer the smaller one. It’s a lot of food for $ 6. The chicken can be a little chewy, she makes it super early in the morning so chances are it wont have any crunch left by the time you pick it up but somehow she manages to sell out before lunch time. Great old time place. Especially with rail construction and all the traffic, I’m glad this place is open. $ 6 is with tax.

I’ve always bought the $ 6 bento ever since back in high school! It’s a good place to get bento in Waipahu and the old lady whose always there (I think she’s the owner?) is very nice :] love it

Don’t know what’s the hype is about these bentos. Honestly, tumuras makes better bentos. Chicken I had today was hard. Tasted cold and old like from early morning and not fresh. Every since I remember when my previous co workers would make a run for kays bento it has been «okay». Honestly, mitsu kens and queens café has way better garlic chicken and it ain’t «hard». Made my jaw exercise seriously

This place ROCKS!!! food is great & the sushi rolls and cone sushi is priced right, much Mahalo Auntie K.

Listen, the chicken is a little tough, but they are still getting 5-​stars because the food is great and the prices are even better. How can you beat a fully-​loaded bento that could last two meals for $ 7? Plus I love the simple operation. Drive up, grab your prepared bento, pay for it, and your out the door in about 5 minutes. Love their early hours as well. Only bad thing is that they are closed on Monday, but at least they are open on Saturday.

My Mom had gotten me K’s bento over the years when I was growing up and now I try to pick it up for my kids too!
DEAL ALERT! You really can’t beat K’s. Only $ 6 for the small bento, which includes a lot of food for the price (3 pieces chicken, piece of hot dog, egg, maki sushi, musubi and a plain sushi with shrimp flakes on top). They give you a chopstick but you really don’t need one as everything can be finger foods — perfect!
Cash only and very few stalls in front for parking but it’s grab and go (bentos are ready for purchase — well, they were when I stopped by on a Thursday around 8:30am) so most leave pretty quickly.

I’ve grown up with this place. I have been eating these bentos for as long as I can remember, probably since I could eat for the first time. Their bento is my all time favorite. Whether you get there in time to get the big one or have to settle for the small one, I’m never disappointed.

I can say ONLY 1 good thing about the rail on Oahu, it forced me to make a right turn. A right turn into K’s Bento-Ya’s parking :) You can find yummy bento boxes @ K’s Bento-​Ya !!!

I LOVE K’S BENTO! I would seriously go there before lunch or noon because by that time, most of the bentos are gone!
I gave this place 4 stars because there’s no HASH!!! The hash was one of my favorites of the whole bento because it was so moist and soooo goood!
But either way, K’s bento never gets old and I’ll always come here!

One of Waipahu’s gems for sure… It will be hard for you to find someone who will argue otherwise. I’ve been coming here for years. This is where my parents bought my home lunch whenever I had a field trip, LOL. Now that I’ve got no field trips to go to, I still come here to buy my breakfast before work.
The chicken, oh man the chicken… you can’t find chicken anywhere else on the island that even comes close to theirs. I love how its boneless. I like chicken, but I’m picky to where I don’t eat meat near the bone (I have this thing about the veins). So yes, I’ll eat the top layer of meat that has no veins then give it away to my brother, dad, or friend that’ll eat it. Not only is it boneless, but the veins are very minimal to none on the chicken.
Definitely one of the few places where you’ll get more than your money’s worth. There’s two different sizes of bentos, but even the smaller one is more than enough for me. With the smaller bento, that’s enough for my breakfast and lunch for the day. Everything in the bento is good, from the chicken to the half hotdog.
Bentos do run out fast. They don’t really have a set open and close time. The earliest I’ve seen them open was 3 am and the latest I saw them close was 1 pm. It just really depends. Also, try to get the chicken fresh. It does make a world of a difference when the chicken is freshly cooked compared to chicken that’s been sitting on the shelf for a while. Sometimes, heating it up won’t do the trick.

Back to basics.
Okay. We’re approaching a stop. Brake gradually to slow to a stop before the stop line/​sign. Signal your left turn. Check left. Check front. Check right. Check left again. All clear? Okay. Execute your turn. Straighten out. Accelerate gradually, and smoothly.
I keep telling myself «keep it simple.» Use single-​word terms rather than phrases and sentences to direct actions. And use terms consistently. Slowww. Stop. Signal. Check. Turn. Return. Acceleraaate.
We’re in the neighborhood so my daughter and I drop by K’s in the morning before we re-​commence her driver education. K’s makes a basic, simple bento. We pick up a couple to break fast and fortify both tutor and tutee for the day’s session ahead.
For $ 6 you get 3 pieces of flavorful fried chicken, a musubi, maki sushi (shoyu-​mirin tuna + egg + red and green shrimp powder), oshi sushi, hot dog, and yaki tofu.
Nothing fancy. Just basic, simple food… that is tasty, filling, and satisfying. And for a very fair price.
Now then. [from the «Hawaii Driver’s Manual”] «When you drive into the street from any driveway you:
1. Must drive slowly so approaching vehicles and pedestrians can get out of your way.
2. Must honk the horn so approaching vehicles and pedestrians can allow you room.
3. Must stop and proceed only when there are no pedestrians or vehicles approaching.»
…
Hmmm…
What’s a «PE — DES — TRI — AN»?

I just love hole in the wall places. This place is tucked in very well. It’s in a small corner lot next to Valerios. Go as early as possible because their Bentos go fast and bring cash! They’re perfect for any meal of the day. I try to grab one before my hikes.
As you walk in the Bentos are packed and ready for you to grab from the shelf. It’s a very simple looking place that can be overlooked. But everyone in Waipahu knows about it as it is reminiscent of those field trip days we’d take when our parents would have us take a bento for lunch.

The very 1^st time my friend turned me on to this place was back in 2001. Didn’t even know about this place, but my friend use to work in the Waipahu area, so he knew all the good & cheap grind places!
The first time I ever came here was back in 2001… this place use to sell their bento’s really dirt cheap… I wanna say somewhere around $ 3.95 for so. But times have changed… it is 12 years later, but you know what??? This place still sells their bento’s dirt cheap!!!
For today, I was working in the Waipahu area this morning, so I made a bee-​line stop at K’s Bento-​Ya to pick me up a «DELUXE» K’s Bento! Only $ 7.00 for all of this (see pic!)
To get a bento, you gotta get there early, as they usually run out of bento’s by
11:00 AM… sometimes even by 10:30 AM… no more! You snooze, you lose!!!
What’s in the Deluxe Bento… well, there’s 4 types of sushi, one shrimp, luncheon mean slice, shoyu hotdog, tofu patty, & 4 pieces of Mochiko Chicken!
Now don’t get me wrong, I eaten K’s bento a ton of times… and it’s a hit or miss kind of thing for me with the Mochiko Chicken…
In the past, sometimes I’ve purchased their bento and the Mochiko Chicken was dried out or hard…
But for today, my Mochiko Chicken was just made right! It was meaty, & the texture was just right! A light crunchiness to the chicken on the outside, with a meaty soft inside, and a slight sweetness of the mochiko sauce.
There is very limited parking (I wanna say about 6 to 8 stalls which they have to share with other businesses)…sometimes I just drive by & double park. I run in & pick up my bento, then run back to the car and dig out.
Once they run out of bento’s, they close… so make sure you get there early otherwise you will be out of luck!

I finally made it here since my friend has been buggin me to try her favorite bento place in the world. I drove to probably one of uglier parts of the island and found the hole in the wall of a shack in a run down minimall.
I walk in hoping to find a table and chairs to have a small meal with my daughter. Nope… none…i had to eat in the car. There was one choice. not a bad one. but just one at the time. I did get there about 11:30.so maybe it’s my bad. Anyway, the fried chicken was pretty tasty… slightly sweet and salty. There was a piece of sausage and some rice accompanying it. I paid 6 bucks… not bad I guess. However, for 6 bucks I’d rather buy a hot dish. not a cold box of food that’s been sitting out there for what I’m guessing is hours cuz it was cold to the touch. They also sell fried chicken by itself when it’s available. That’s probably worth it if it’s hot. Who wants to eat cold fried chicken anyway???
There’s also a larger bento box available for 7 bucks but comparatively to the smaller bento box… it’s relatively the same… maybe one extra piece of chicken?
I know bentos aren’t supposed to be hot… it would be nice to have some hot ones available for purchase. Just sayin…