Rate-A-Restaurant, #28 in a series
Restaurant: King's Hawaiian Bakery & Restaurant
Location: 2808 W. Sepulveda Blvd.(between Crenshaw & Hawthorne Blvds.), Torrance
Type of restaurant: Hawaiian/ Pacific Rim
They stipulated: You drive all the way down to Torrance. (It's the Sepulveda exit on the 101, then drive west.) We happened to be in the neighborhood, at the International Printing Museum in Carson (post to come) and hadn't visited King's in a while. And yes, these are the same people who produce the sweet King's Hawaiian bread you see in the grocery store.
What we ordered: Mike: Shoyu Chicken and Kalua Pork plate. (Also comes with Lomi-Lomi Salmon). I replaced the stir-fried veggies with macaroni salad. Maria: Spicy Chicken Bowl.
High point: Cheapest way to visit the Islands without actually leaving California. The music's authentic, the staff and clientel are either ex-pat people from Hawaii or the children of former Hawaii residents.
Low point: To be honest, the food is just so-so for the price. A visit to L&L is much cheaper. For example, Spam Musubi costs a whopping $4.50 at King's, while it's just $1.99 at L&L.
Overall impression: But again, you don't just come to King's for the food. It's the whole environment -- it's a sit-down restaurant and much more upscale (of course, by upscale, I mean in the vein of a nice Norm's or Mel's Drive Inn) that L&L or any other plate lunch place. It's even nicer than the original King's diner in Honolulu, which I was able to eat at before it shut down in 1991. And they do the Shoyu chicken right, not to mention loco moco and Huli-Huli chicken; plus, the bakery really is pretty damn good. Get the Guava Chiffon cake. (We brought home an apple coffee cake and some bread.)
Chance we will go back: Hana Hou!
No comments:
Post a Comment