My family and I moved to Lynchburg from Maui two years ago, and the thing we all miss most about Hawaii is the food. So when we saw there was a Hawaiian food truck in town, we were stoked! I was especially excited about getting saimin, one Hawaii-style dish I have been unable to recreate at home. I drove out to the truck today, and ordered two saimins, three musubis for my kids, and two other plate lunches-- kalua pork and chow mein. When I got home, so excited for my saimin, my heart sank when I opened the container to see skinny, curly, instant ramen noodles, rather than thick and chewy saimin noodles. Apart from the fact that there was fishcake and spam (although the menu touted char siu), it was just packaged ramen. Saimin noodles are wheat and egg based, and thick, which is one of the things that sets it apart from ramen. The broth was also definitely not saimin broth-- tasted basically like chicken broth. The plate lunches were okay, but nothing particularly Hawaiian about the chow mein (I ordered it with char siu-- it had chicken), and the kalua pig was dry and bland, with not quite the right flavor. Both plate lunches came with mac salad, which was okay in that it was certainly what we call "local style", but lacked flavor. Finally, the spam musubis were devoured by my kids, but they fell apart as soon as they were unwrapped, because they were made with either jasmine or basmati rice, rather than medium-grain or even sushi rice. The same rice was also in the plate lunches. My kids also reported that the spam wasn't quite right (maybe it wasn't marinated and browned). Everything was okay, but really, this is an approximation of Hawaiian-style food. If you're looking for some real Hawaiian food, make the drive to Charlottesville and try Mochiko!
Priscilla N.
We were so excited to see there's Hawaiian food in Lynchburg. We got the kole kole beef and the bento plate and it was delicious! Really authentic flavors, great portions, and Julie was so kind! She took the time to bring the food out and chat. Love the experience would definitely eat here again.
Ashlyn Turner
The chicken teriyaki was so delicious and the portion sizes were generous.
My family and I moved to Lynchburg from Maui two years ago, and the thing we all miss most about Hawaii is the food. So when we saw there was a Hawaiian food truck in town, we were stoked! I was especially excited about getting saimin, one Hawaii-style dish I have been unable to recreate at home. I drove out to the truck today, and ordered two saimins, three musubis for my kids, and two other plate lunches-- kalua pork and chow mein. When I got home, so excited for my saimin, my heart sank when I opened the container to see skinny, curly, instant ramen noodles, rather than thick and chewy saimin noodles. Apart from the fact that there was fishcake and spam (although the menu touted char siu), it was just packaged ramen. Saimin noodles are wheat and egg based, and thick, which is one of the things that sets it apart from ramen. The broth was also definitely not saimin broth-- tasted basically like chicken broth. The plate lunches were okay, but nothing particularly Hawaiian about the chow mein (I ordered it with char siu-- it had chicken), and the kalua pig was dry and bland, with not quite the right flavor. Both plate lunches came with mac salad, which was okay in that it was certainly what we call "local style", but lacked flavor. Finally, the spam musubis were devoured by my kids, but they fell apart as soon as they were unwrapped, because they were made with either jasmine or basmati rice, rather than medium-grain or even sushi rice. The same rice was also in the plate lunches. My kids also reported that the spam wasn't quite right (maybe it wasn't marinated and browned). Everything was okay, but really, this is an approximation of Hawaiian-style food. If you're looking for some real Hawaiian food, make the drive to Charlottesville and try Mochiko!
We were so excited to see there's Hawaiian food in Lynchburg. We got the kole kole beef and the bento plate and it was delicious! Really authentic flavors, great portions, and Julie was so kind! She took the time to bring the food out and chat. Love the experience would definitely eat here again.
The chicken teriyaki was so delicious and the portion sizes were generous.
I had the Kole Kole Beef plate and it was great!
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