Manoa Review

We were in a group of six and decided to get the combination for four. There are a few different types of combinations available. They give you a ton of food but are a bit pricy. We got to pick an appetizer, four types of curry and it came with a lot of naan and rice. The combo for four was more than enough to feed all six of us and we were all really hungry too.

The rice is saffron rice so it has a different flavor than I was used to but it was really tasty. It is delicious to put your curry on top of the rice and eat them together. Naan is oven-baked flatbread that is popular in Asia. It was definitely my favorite part of the meal. We got a big basket full of naan with our meal and had some left over at the end. It was good by itself, dipped in the two sauces they put on your table or dipped in your curry. It came out very hot which was a bonus.

We got four different types of curry with our combo meal. I don’t remember the names of them all and only tried three but they were all very different. One was sea bass in a tomato sauce. This one was my favorite, the fish was cooked perfectly and the sauce complimented it well. It was really good on the rice. Another curry was listed as a chef specialty on the menu. It is a spinach curry so it is a dark green color and it has pieces of home made cheese in it that were a bit interesting. They didn’t taste bad but it was very different and I couldn’t eat more than one piece. The spinach based curry had a great flavor though and was very good when you dipped the naan in it. The other curry I tried was a coconut chicken curry. This one was a bit spicy but also very good with the naan and rice. I would definitely recommend this one if people like something spicy.

We also tried drink called a lassi. It was a yogurt based, mango flavored drink that tasted a lot like a smoothie. It was very good and refreshing and I would definitely recommend that too.

Overall, my experience at Cafe Maharani has definitely turned me on to Indian food and I look forward to going back to try more.

Curry and naan

 Saffron rice

Cafe Maharani is an Indian restaurant located on King St. just off of University and very close to UH campus. I went here for the first time last week with a group of friends. It was the first time I had experienced authentic Indian food and it was a pretty good experience. 

The negatives of the experience came in the beginning. The restaurant is very small and really hot . They unfortunately don’t take reservations so it is usually crowded. We had to wait almost 45 minutes to be seated and there was only a very small waiting area with two chairs and it was close to the kitchen so it was even hotter back there. Once we were finally seated the waiter took a long time to get us waters and to take our order which we had already decided on while waiting to be seated. Once we finally ordered the food didn’t take too long.

The atmosphere of Cafe Maharani is fun and stylish. The restaurant is decorated in bright colors and even the place settings and utensils are traditional and funky. There also is a TV playing the top music videos of Bollywood music which was fun to watch.

This restaurant is also very popular for take out. The only other downfall was that the prices were a bit high. Around $13 for one type of curry but that did come with rice and naan usually.

This restaurant is BYOB so if you are interested in bringing your own drinks it is perfectly fine to do so.

I would definitely recommend Cafe Maharani for people who love Indian food or want to try it for the first time.

The most popular item at Bubbies is the mochi ice cream. They are small in size and there are many different flavors, allowing you to try a few at a time. They melt fast so I would definitely recommend eating them immediately. A few of the favorite flavors are green tea, lychee, strawberry and chocolate. My personal favorite is guava. It has guava ice cream inside and is wrapped in guava flavored mochi. Another favorite of mine is mango. They are only about $1 each.

Check out their website for the menu and to order a dozen of your favorite flavor of mochi ice cream today!

For a sweet treat near campus, Bubbies is the place to go. Their specialty is mochi ice cream. Flavored ice cream covered in flavored mochi. They have a display board advertising their many flavor combinations available. Some of the most popular are green tea, chocolate and lychee. These treats are homemade and sold by the dozen so you can take some to enjoy all week long. 

Bubbies also has other treats like ice cream, amazing banana splits, and an ice cream cake with a few different flavors and an Oreo crust called the “Multiple Orgasm”.

Bubbies is located on University in walking distance of the UH campus. That is probably why there is usually a line out the door in the evenings. It is well worth the wait if you want to satisfy your taste buds.

There are many food trucks around the UH Manoa campus but Momo Burger is definitely one of the most popular. At lunch time you can find long lines at the truck and delicious smells wafting out.

The burgers come in regular and slider sizes so you can make a selection based on price, hunger or get the slider size to try them all! They are only about $6-8 for a regular and #3.50 -$5 for a slider so the price is very reasonable especially for students.

Jay, a student at UH I caught up with in line at Momo Burger truck said that the sweet potato fries are addicting. The $3 order of fries is the perfect snack for me in between classes and the location in Sinclair Circle is so convenient.”

The BBQ-esque sweet potato fries and delicious grass-fed burgers are what keep people coming back to the amazing smelling food truck.

Bale is probably most well known for their Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches. There is a variety of options including roast beef, turkey and tofu. The sandwiches usually come with daikon and mayonnaise but you can tell them exactly how you would like it made.

I met up with Kacey, a UH Manoa student having lunch at Bale, and she told me what she thinks of Bale.

“I love the French bread the sandwiches are made on,” Kacey said. “It is always fresh and soft. Actually, all of the bread is good.”

Also, at only about $5 for a sandwich, it is one of the cheapest places to eat on campus and that is always good for college students. They also accept UH dining meals and points.

Kacey also said that she likes the atmosphere and seating in Manoa Gardens. “Even during the middle of the day you can have a beer with lunch and watch the game with friends.”

Kacey said that she would recommend the sandwiches as well as the tapioca, a dessert pudding.

Bale and Manoa Gardens are located on campus in between Campus Center and Sinclair Library and is a favorite spot among many students. It is a good place to get a quick bite to eat on your break from class or go grab a beer with friends after a long day of school. Bale is best known for their sandwiches and Manoa Gardens hosts events throughout the year, many of which feature live music in the courtyard. The dining room as well as the courtyard provide nice areas to meet with friends where you can watch the game or just sit under an umbrella. The lines are usually very short during the day to get food but there can be a large crowd and a wait some week nights. 

For my UH Manoa Journalism 401 class, I am putting the “Best Of” UH and Honolulu under review. Student newspaper Ka Leo has polled students to get their opinion of their favorite places to eat, study and even get a haircut. Now I’m going in to these locations to talk to the students who are at these places to get a live story of what people like to get at these restaurants, what is the house special and where you need to go before you graduate.