Lam's Kitchen

A favorite among locals and increasingly popular among visitor’s is the small hole-in-the-wall that is Lam’s Kitchen. Located on Maunakea Street in Honolulu’s Chinatown, Lam’s Kitchen is a no-frills Chinese restaurant that does a few simple dishes very well. Despite the lack of fanciful food or decor, the restaurant is almost always packed during peak times, especially on the weekends.

Lam’s Kitchen is best known for its noodle dishes. The noodles are made fresh in house and served in a variety of preparations from noodle soups to stir fried. There is something so satisfying about these noodles. They have a delicately soft texture and are cut a little wider, which allows them to carry more sauce or broth to your palate with each slurp.

The dry won tons at Lam’s Kitchen are golden nuggets of flavor. Their fillings are seasoned well and cooked to a tender texture. There is a bit of a shoyu sauce (mostly for the vegetables I think) but really these won tons don’t need any extra help in terms of flavor. These are definitely a recommended appetizer to share!

One of the most common photos you’ll see from Lam’s Kitchen are these plain white noodles. It’s a bit of a mystery for first timers why plain noodles are so popular. Well, for one, the noodles are great on their own. Two, you can dress them up with provided hoisin and peanut sauce which gives the noodles a tasty sweet and savory flavor combination.

One of the most “expensive” item on Lam’s Kitchen’s menu is arguably the restaurant’s most popular dish. This bowl of noodle soup has so much flavor packed into the broth, brisket, and tendon it’s an amazing deal at just $8.99. The noodles are a perfect match to the savoriness of the rest of the bowl. I could eat two of these in one sitting and still want a little more.

If you haven’t been to Lam’s Kitchen before you should make it one of your next stops. The food is delicious, cheap, and filling. You’re not going to get amazing service, but the food will be served quickly and pipping hot. I’d recommend going mid morning before the lunch rush, but even if you walk into Lam’s Kitchen to find a bit of a line it should move fairly quickly.

Lam’s Kitchen
1152 Maunakea Street #A
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: 808-536-6222
Hours: Sunday to Saturday 8am-4pm
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