Sugoi

I'm usually not one who likes quoting local catch phrases but I feel that the only appropriate statement that I can make about Sugoi's garlic chicken is BROKE DA MOUT. For those of you that are not familiar with Pidgen English "broke da mout" translates to delicious or as I like to call it "serious eats". But I won't go into details about the garlic chicken just yet -- as always I like to start from the beginning.

"Disappointingly good" was my initial reaction when I took my first bite of Sugoi's garlic chicken. Why disappointing? Because it's located by the Dillingham DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) in Kalihi which (for me) is too far for a normal lunch break and the food at Sugoi's is... well, dare I say... "off the hook" (awesome). But at the moment I didn't care. I had garlic chicken.

Sugoi's garlic chicken is incredible. Most will agree that to make a good local fried chicken the batter must be light and airy yet flavorful, the chicken must be moist and not over cooked, and most importantly they skin should never be discarded! Sugoi's garlic chicken has this kind of amazing texture and flavor and to top it off, it's boneless! But what makes Sugoi's garlic chicken so special is the garlic sauce that they pour over the chicken (available at the counter in bottled form as well). I must warn you though, if you plan on going to an interview, giving a presentation -- any public speaking for that matter, talking to that girl you've been admiring from across the room, hanging out with friends, going on a date, taking your wife out, going shopping, karaoke, ANYTHING other than going straight home, I advise you bring some breath mints (strong ones at that) because after eating Sugoi's garlic chicken you will be reeking of garlic for the rest of the day. But trust me, it's definitely worth it.

Once your garlic chicken craze has settled down, you will realize that there is a lot more to the menu at Sugoi than you first noticed. Sugoi's tonkatsu (pork cutlet) as well as their chicken katsu is worth mentioning. Again, they score an "A+" on their sauce as well as a solid "A" on their breading proceedure. Sugoi also features a breakfast menu as well as a bento option (includes rice, teri beef, hot dog, egg, ume, and your main entree) in case you don't feel like a plate lunch.

Probably one of the first things that I noticed once I opened my plate lunch is that Sugoi's does not skimp on their portion size. For $9.25 I ordered their mixed plate (I chose garlic chicken and tonkatsu) and found to my surprise that I couldn't finish the whole thing. Their regular plate lunch costs ~$8.25 so I was pleased to find that for a dollar more I received a full serving of tonkatsu as well (they put my garlic chicken in a separate container because there was so much food and so that the garlic sauce wouldn't spill all over my tonkatsu. How thoughtful!). In fact, there was so much food to be eaten than it took me two full meals to consume the whole plate.

Overall, Sugoi is a force to reckon with. On an island filled with hole in the wall eateries catering local style plate lunches, Sugoi has them bested. Good food at a great price what more could you ask for? Well... maybe some breath mints!

Sugoi Bento and Catering
Rating System: 1-2.5-5 (poor-average-excellent)

Service: 4 (Note: Food came out quickly)
Food Quality: 4
Monetary Value: 5
Quality vs Quantity: Quantity
Overall: 4.3

1286 Kalani St #B-106
Honolulu, HI 96817
808-841-7984

Hours
Monday-Thursday: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday-Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday: Closed (Catering Only)

Website: http://www.sugoihawaii.com/
Menu: http://www.sugoihawaii.com/menu_current.pdf

(Note: Orders for catering may be placed online with at least 2 days notice)