Twirly Fries

The first time I tried it, I loved it. It’s different and unique, still very good. The taste is awesome. Will definetly come back and try more. Great job Don!

I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU GUYS CLOSED DOWN!
I was just there this week to get some Twirly Fries and my friends and I were planning to get some yesterday. We were really excited and you guys closed down! Last day was 3 days ago? I’m super disappointed.
The first time I tried Twirly Fries was last month and since then I’ve kept getting more. I usually get #3 «extra crispy» since I saw some reviews say it’s «soggy». It was perfect. :) I also tried #1 and that was amazing, too. I hope you guys relocate and maybe to somewhere closer to home, maybe Pearlridge?
Twirly Fries is the perfect snack. Please come back! D:

Saw Twirly Fries via Unilocal about two months ago and made a note to try them the next time I was in Waikele.
The next time I was in the area a friend and I passed the kiosk and simultaneously shrieked, «TWIRLY FRIES!». Obnoxious, YUP, but as any girl will tell you, all good experiences with friends are preceded by synchronized girly screeching of the business name/​action/​title. True story.
Anyhoo, they do a deal where it’s $ 4 for one, $ 7 for two, so we got two — she got the parmesean and I got the Hapa (furikake and mayo). There was about a 5 min wait to get our sticks, but once we did, we were happy.
The fries can be a little difficult to eat, but we had fun figuring it out. She opted to chomp through the middle, I slide off the coils and ate them chip style. A little messy, but fun.
The Hapa flavor was pretty darn alright. Nothing to go screaming from the rooftops about, but it was tasty! Parmesean was the same. At times we’d hit pockets of salt on our respective fries, but after the first time you learn to dust off any seasoning overload before taking a bite.
Based solely on flavor, Twirly Fries is a bit pricey, but it is worth while if you have a friend or two to share the experience with.

Severely overrated!
I was looking forward to this Korean street novelty for a while after spotting someone munching on it on Korea-​moku and decided to just check out the outlets as an excuse to try Twirly Fries.
Although the Hapa seasoning, which consisted of furikake and mayo which should have been a tasty combo, the potato was undercooked, the seasonings were a salt lick, and the service was below 0 stars (this place proved that this negative star rating is real, at least in my mind). When we ordered our fries it wasn’t until about 7 minutes later did they start cooking it. The guy who took our order forgot what we ordered and had to ask us later on what we ordered even though there were only about 4 patrons who ordered before/​after us. If he wasn’t putting his attention in replacing the napkins in the holder while we ordered, then maybe he would have had the chance to write it down. They even gave fulfilled the order of someone else who ordered AFTER us. It wasn’t like we were ordering more than one set of fries too and the only difference between our orders is that that person ordered it with salt and ketchup and we ordered it with mayo and furikake.
The fries were soggy and undercooked. My girlfriend likened it to McDonalds fries that had been sitting for 15 minutes, drizzled some mayo drizzled on it and the saltiest furikake topped on the fries («oh wait, even that would taste better than Twirly Fries!). Perhaps you could try that at home and save yourself four dollars… and perhaps give me a «useful» (girlfriend said that I should say something «useful» in my reviews since I don’t say anything useful in my reviews as seen in my lack of «useful» ratings in my reviews.ouch.)

These twirly fries are so unique and interesting. I like the flavors they got going, we tried the Garlic Parmesan and Furikake Mayo. They were both pretty good. Eating them is kind of a hassle though because you have to maneuver your face at weird angles so that you can get a bite out of it without all the toppings smearing all over you. But that’s just me, I don’t making a mess when I eat so I think these are a great idea for kids or just for fun.
I liked them but I haven’t been back so I don’t think I REALLY liked them enough to make a special trip. I do want to give it another try though if I’m in the area and I hope they come out with more flavors next time I go!

The bf and I were going out to Waikele so I asked him if we could stop by Twirly Fries. He said yeah where is it? I found out it was at Waikele. SWEET!
In reading review I heard they could have a line so our first stop was to this place. It’s 1 for $ 4 or 2 for $ 7. We got the 2 for $ 7 so we could try two different kinds. Plus I checked in on Unilocal to get a free drink. We tried the cheddar and parmesan and garlic. I probably should have asked because I thought maybe the cheddar would be a cheese rather than a powder. The parmesan and garlic was good but salty. Glad I got my water. I didn’t want to get the Ketchup because I thought it was too plain but now I’m thinking I should have gotten the ketchup.
The texture was soft. Next time I want to try to ask for extra crispy.
Not bad. If I’m in the area I would probably stop by but I wouldn’t drive out there to eat the «fries».
Tip: check in on Unilocal for your free drink!

You guys give the owner of this shop too much credit for «creating» this fried potato on a stick. It’s called ‘Hue O Ri Gam Ja’ in Korean and I even saw them being sold in Singapore.
Anyway, I like the local twist of flavors that they do at Twirly Fries. The furikake mayo was nice. Who can say no to deep fried foods on a stick!
Some parts were soggy, so I hope that they focus on getting a consistent oil temperature.
Guaranteed to turn heads, but I don’t think i’ll be trying this again.

I AM COMING BACK AGAIN. THAT IS ALL!
We tried the furikake mayo twirly fries and it was bomb! I couldn’t just stop after one, I had to have two! Whoever knew potatoes on a stick would be so good? What is this black magic powder they sprinkle on this plain potato? lol. Its furikake, and whoever lives in Hawaii will most definitely enjoy this topping.
We bought one at first, then we came back for a second. We told them we regretted not getting the 2 for $ 7 deal so they gave us a discount and I was so pleased! :) I love how the workers make you feel comfortable and that’s a definite two thumbs up!
Overall, if you wanna try typical everyday food with a twist, you should come here.
I drove all the way from town just to get Twirly Fries here and it was definitely worth the drive.

I’ve been wanting to try this place since I saw them on the «hot new businesses» on Unilocal.I wasn’t aware that they were in Waikele because the address says Waipahu… yes I know that Waikele is technically in Waipahu but sometimes… I forget.
So I stumbled upon their kiosk by total accident! I ordered the #3 mayo & furikake dressing on the recommendation of the guy working there. I’m not sure if they twice fry the potatoes but mine was ready in about 3 minutes. After they applied the topping I walked over to a bench to sit down and eat because I wasn’t sure I could manage to walk, eat, and not poke myself in the face with the huge stick the twirly fry comes on.
The fry was nicely cooked, and by the time I took my first bite the oil wasn’t burning hot anymore. The texture is somewhere between a french fry and scalloped potatoes. The mayo & furikake topping was a good choice because it was flavorful and the topping actually held onto the twirly fry instead of like shaking to the ground (like the Parmesan & garlic salt would have)
I tried talking to the guys working the kiosk about going to eat the street because I think they’d be a HIT but they weren’t the owners so I’m not sure if that will happen or not.
But if you’re up in Waikele definitely check this place out if you’re looking for a fun and delicious snack.

I have two kids so anything on a stick makes it more appealing to eat. It’s the novelty of it all. I’m sure if I put salad on a stick they would eat away at it like nothing. OMG! I just had an epiphany while writing my Unilocal review. Lol.
Location
It’s at the top level of Waikele Outlet. A kiosk in the middle of the clothing shops. It’s on the left hand side of the information kiosk (if your getting dropped off by the trolley).
Service
I believe it was Don the owner of this novelty idea, that was helping us. He was very friendly, didn’t mind me taking pictures, and answered the questions that I had.
Product
He used an electrical screw driver and a slicer to cut the potato which created the cool swirl to the potato. Then he threw it into a fryer. Here’s the pic of before and you can see the fryer in the back.
It does take a bit to cook. Luckily, the two times that we went there was only one person ahead of us and it was at night.
I asked Don what was the most popular and he suggest the Hapa Blend which is mayo and furikake. Mind you, I don’t like mayo and I enjoyed it. Since I was afraid that I wouldn’t like the Hapa Blend, I got the Parmesan and garlic salt as well. I like it but I really enjoyed the Hapa Blend. A picture of my two twirly fries.
For my oldest son twirly fry, I asked if he could only put salt on it. Yup, he chomped away so quickly that I had to tell him to slow down or he’ll choke. For my little one, I asked for the miniature size with no flavoring. I broke off the pointy part and he devoured away.
Deals
If you check in with your Unilocal app, you’ll get a free drink for EVERY Twirly Fry you purchase. Only valid on Monday-​Friday. They also have another deal at night where you get 2 twirly fries for $ 6.
I’m sure when we go shopping again my will ask to get this snack again. Of course I’ll use it as a bribing tool for him to chum it up while I go shopping.

I really really wanted to like this place. I mean, I like potatoes in practically every shape and form. Potato salad, potato chips, baked potato, mashed potato… the list goes on and on. But I was very disappointed when trying my twirly fries. Perhaps I just hyped it up too much in my head?
I went in the middle of a weekday so there was no line. I got the garlic and parmesan one because ketchup sounded too boring and I wanted to furikake one but I’m not a huge fan of mayo. I was chit-​chatting with the guy working and he said that there will be more flavors soon and I was excited to come back and try them.
I walked away holding onto my twirly fries with a big smile on my face and I was eager to try its garlicky goodness. I slowly peeled a layer off the stick and thought that it was a bit soft. After taking my first bite, the potato was just soggy from the oil and a bit bland. I wanted to eat the whole thing but I just couldn’t and even my boyfriend didn’t want to help me out so I wound up throwing about half of it away because it was all I could eat.
I’m not sure if the texture is suppose to be soft but since I was expecting a nice crisp potato twirly I was very disappointed. I think the next time I go I’m going to ask him to cook it longer for me.

This place has been on my radar since they first opened up. I finally got to try it saturday evening. I opted for the large with the mayo furikake number 3. There was no wait. The only wait i had to do was for them to cook mines. Mines was fresh out of the deep fryer.
Great concept for sure, but nothing special for me. the Mayo Furikake was really really salty. I choked on it a few times because of how salty it is.
I wont be going out of my way to try it, but if i’m shopping at Waikele, i wouldn’t hesitate to try it again and try another flavor.

This place was neither bad nor overwhelmingly good, it’s actually in that awkward state of limbo that has a great concept but some serious drawbacks. I will admit, that this place deserves at least one try on their novelty alone! But once that novelty wears off you might experience a downward spiral of buyer’s remorse and uncertainty of whether or not you’ll return.
Although the economy may be picking back up, I just don’t have the funds to visit this place regularly, nor can I justify spending $ 4+ on a stick with a 25 cent potato that was deep fried and plastered with condiments. Of course, if they’re aimed at tourist sales, which I imagine they are considering their location — Waikele Premium Outlets — then I guess they’ll have a shot at being semi successful but just a passing memory to the local demographic, much like the rest of the food vendor stalls in that area.
Although I really liked the taste and enjoyed peeling away at the twirly fries off the stick, I didn’t like the glaring obvious flaws of their business model. If Twirly Fries were to drop their price point (say $ 2-​$ 3), offer a larger variety, increase the amount of fryers they have on hand, and market themselves as a fun, affordable snack then I can see myself returning regularly as I live just down the street from Waikele. Until then, I’ll stick to the run of the mill, fast-​food fries…

I decided to stop by because of the Unilocal reviews and it’s withing walking distance of my house. I checked in to Unilocal so I can get my free juice with purchase. I want to get the buy 2 for $ 7.00 special but was told that the free drink was only available for the buy 1 for 4.00. At first I was like what?!? Until he said that I will charge you for 1 stick and give you the other stick for free but the potato is smaller. Can’t go wrong with that. So that is what we did. He ended up give me 2 small ones for free, paid for the one with the big potato and a free drink for $ 4 and looses change. We got the Parmesan garlic and the ketchup with salt and pepper. I will have to say that both of them was tasty but I LOVE the garlic Parmesan.
I would recommend that they sell the smaller potato ones for like 2.00 or something. Not that I’m complaining because I did get it for free, but I would buy the smaller version because it’s a perfect snack size. The only thing that I would do next time is ask to cook the regular size one a little longer just is its a little crispier in the middle. Other than that, I have no complaints and I will definetly be back and can’t wait for their future flavors. :)

It’s not like I didn’t want to give these guys a break and five stars to go with it, but this business is fatally flawed and will be gone quickly if they don’t get their act together.
Firstly, the positive. Great concept! Anything you can put on a stick is a winna, whether you consider this fries or chips. Either way, I’ve never seen fries or chips on a stick before, so ‘A’ for effort. Also, their local canned drinks and bottled water are only $ 1.00 — now that’s actually a bargain.
Secondly, the negative. The $ 4.19 price point for what amounts to a bag of chips (in my opinion, but hey, that’s why I’m on Unilocal folks… to shamelessly give my opinion). It’s essentially an average sized Idaho potatoe that’s been spiral cut, kinda like today’s Easter ham, and deep fried. Once out and still hot from the oil, they put the toppings of your choice on so it ‘sticks’ to the potatoe. Three choices: parmesean with garlic, ketchup with salt and pepper, or mayo with furikake. I should have went with choice #3, but the kids were with me and they out-​voted me. Darn kids chose the parmesean with garlic. They loved it, I liked it, but of course, I paid for it.
If the price doesn’t bother you, then perhaps the 12-​minute wait will. Yep, I said it…12-minutes. That’s simply way too long to wait for a bag of chips, uh, I mean twirly fries. Again, they were working hard, they had a backlog, and they were gracious, but they have a way too little deep fryer on a table where they cook two at a time… that’s it… just two at a time. Each cooking takes a few minutes, so it’s impossible to keep up with a long line. If the price point doesn’t kill this business, the operational design of the backcounter will. People just don’t want to wait that long for a bag of chips… uh, I mean twirly fries.
Here’s what I hope happens. Firstly, they realize they’ve got too high a price point and bring it back down to $ 2.00 or $ 2.50. Secondly, and more importantly, I hope they have some business partners who can engineer a better, more efficient and faster way of delivering the goods. If folks do shell out $ 4.19, they’re going to expect more.
Good luck owners of Twirly Fries. I sincerely wish you will! With Ketchup, salt and pepper on top!

We were curious and gave this place a try. The gentleman who owns the business is from Canada. He was very nice. They had a deal for 2 twirly fries for $ 6. We tried the Parmesan and garlic salt & Furikake and mayo. The potatoes are small and he showed me the machine work behind making it look neat. It was fairly quick to cook and serve. It was something different and we felt we were eating a fry or a potato chip. If you want it cooked longer for a more crispy texture then just let them know :) The concept is unique for the island. But, it was not my most favorite experience.

Seeing this new place on Unilocal,I was curious to give it a try.
Likes: Convenient location. Good concept.
Dislikes: The flavor was there, but the texture and temperature were off. It seems like the potato was par fried. It was cooked, but it was not hot enough and dry (possibly overcooked). It was almost like eating potato chips on a stick.
I was disappointed because I expected the texture of french fries (the place is called Twirly Fries after all), but I got potato chips. Since it’s close by, I’ll probably give it a try again once they get more practice under their belt.

Twirly Fries is located in the Waikele Premium Outlets. They appear to have just opened, and are planning on opening other locations around the island. I originally thought the idea of having a twirled potato on a stick to be fascinating, which is why I purchased one. Right now, they have three different flavor combinations, parmesan & garlic, mayo & furikake, and one which includes ketchup. Their pricing is $ 4 for one and $ 7 for two. Their staff is very friendly, and help you with your order and even crack a few jokes.
At $ 4.19 for one including, I thought it was a little expensive for the product I received. First off, the I got it with parmesan and garlic salt seasoning. The flavoring was great, but the potato I received was a little cold, and not at all crispy. The end of the potato was even a bit raw, which was very disappointing. I know that Twirly Fries is just starting up, and they have great promise. I will definitely try them when they open locations closer to me. However, right now overall, I believe they need to get their product down first.

Tried the parmesan and garlic and the mayo and furikake. Of the two, my daughter and I preferred the parmesan and garlic. The potato coated in parmesan and garlic was perfectly cooked and crispy. It was a bit disappointing that the mayo and furikake potato was still a bit soft and I think that made a big difference between the two. Next time I’ll try the salt, pepper, and ketchup flavored one.
They’ve only been open for two weeks and it already looks like it’s popular with the crowds as there was a line during our visit.
Go visit this brilliant, young, local entrepreneur. Twirly fries is the first of it’s kind… at least in Hawaii (seen it in Canada before).

Just tried this today since I saw someone holding one and it looked so good!
Well let me tell you that it is good! Got the parmesan cheese potato! It’s a great snack while you’re shopping.
Decent price.
1 for 4 dollars, 2 for 7 dollars. Can’t wait to go back for more!
Workers were friendly, and they just opened too.