Sunday, May 15, 2011

Noho's Hawaiian Cafe

Noho's Hawaiian Cafe serves "local kine grindz," attempting to bring the 808 flare to Oregon. The customer has various plate lunches to choose from, and each comes in three sizes: Menehune (small), Regular, and Blalah (large).

(Source: Go here)
Noho's has three locations: two in Portland and one in Medford. I went to the Portland (Fremont Street) location for my food. I ordered two Menehune plate lunches: Phil's Ono Chicken Spicy Hot and Noho's Teriyaki Chicken Special (spicy hot). The rice was very good; not mushy, not undercooked. It did remind me of a plate lunch from home.

I read reviews before going to Noho's, and people agreed Phil's Ono Chicken is really the signature item on the menu. I agree wholeheartedly. It was basically pulled chicken, combined with the shoyu/ginger sauce, was moist, flavorful, and left me wanting more. I could taste a hint of spice, but it was by no means spicy hot for my palette.

The spicy hot teriyaki chicken, while again mild for my palette, was also very moist and very delicious. The teriyaki sauce gave the chicken the right amount of flavor. I still knew I was eating chicken...a good thing here.

Instead of macaroni salad, I opted for green salads so I could sample two of their three sauces. Noho's has ranch, tropical, and sesame ginger dressing. Since I am not a fan of ranch (and know what it tastes like), I chose the tropical and sesame ginger dressings on the side. Both of my choices were great. The tropical has a bit of sweetness to it, but is not too sweet to make it unappealing for a salad dressing. The sesame ginger dressing was my favorite of the two. Just clean, Asian flavor there. I would order either salad dressing with my greens again. And the fact that you could get green salad instead of macaroni salad...a huge positive. It will cater to the health-conscious people who may want to stay away from more white rice or a fatty macaroni side dish.

Overall, a great experience at Noho's Hawaiian Cafe. I would bring my family from Hawaii to this great establishment. Noho's is just another reason why I don't get homesick. I can get nice, local food 50 minutes away. 7.25/10

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