Palace Saimin: Honolulu, Oahu, HI, USA
I came here on the recommendation of a friend in my quest for “Foods from Hawaii”, one of them being saimin. Saimin is really wonton mein. It consists of wontons in a soup broth with egg noodles, maybe some charsiu pork if desired depending on where you order it. Palace Saimin is definitely one to go back in time. For the atmosphere, it felt like I was almost living in Hawaii decades ago. For the food, perhaps Hong Kong might be a better bet. Things we tried included:
Wonton Saimin: with charsiu pork
PROS:
– not overly rich, broth was slightly on the saltier end but still good
– wontons had a good amount of filling
CONS:
– not much to it, very simple
– not shareable, definitely one per person
– wonton skins were slightly on the thicker end for some of them
Skewer (Pork): very much just like a nice homemade charsiu pork skewer
PROS:
– thick cut of meat
– well seasoned, not overly seasoned
CONS:
– hard to eat without rice due to all the flavor, goes well with Saimin if you have extra noodles or extra wontons.
Parking is definitely a challenge here but we came at an off-time and was able to find street parking pretty easily. Seating is also fairly limited but again, given the time of day, we lucked out. There are so many other eating options here on Oahu that I don’t know if this is worth a repeat. It’s worth trying one because well..it’s saimin…and it’s Hawaii culture and history. They are open late at night though so that’s a plus! In summary:
- large wonton saimin: ***.5 (3.5 stars)
- pork skewer: ***.5 (3.5 stars)
You can find them here:
1256 N King StHonolulu, HI 96817
Kalihi
If anything, go for the experience!
R/g
