Cinnamon's

Cinnamon's, in Kailua, Hawaii, is a restaurant specializing in breakfast and lunch.

It's a bit past 7:30 in the morning, and there is a line out the door

My family and I went to Cinnamon's for breakfast. We arrived a bit past 7:30 in the morning on June 11 (Kamehameha Day, a state holiday), and there were a bunch of people in line. Despite all this, we were seated fairly quickly, only maybe a 10-minute wait.

Cinnamon's offers an impressive breakfast menu:

Some of the more popular items are highlighted in pink, I reckon

We split a Chinese omelet ($11.25) and a short stack of their signature guava-chiffon pancakes (two pancakes; $6.25). The Chinese omelet is a three-egg omelet with shredded chicken, shredded char siu pork, fresh fu yung vegetables (stuff like bean sprouts and cabbage), and oyster sauce. The omelet is made "local style," which means the egg and all the fillings are scrambled together. We decided on home fries to accompany the omelet.

Chinese omelet w/home fries

Guava chiffon pancakes

The pancakes were light and fluffy pancakes, cooked to perfection. The guava glaze was also very good. I could taste the guava, and the glaze itself was not overly sweet. I personally thought the whip cream was more for presentation, as it did not add anything else to the dish, in my book. My parents and I agreed that there was too much guava glaze over the pancakes.

The omelet was a good choice. I thought it was the proper ratio of meat, eggs, and vegetables. The char siu pork was delicious and added a nice color contrast to the dish. I personally thought the bean sprouts were the best part of the omelet. The sprouts were spot-on, cooked but still crunchy for a lovely texture contrast.

The overall winner was the home fries (my mother is not much of a pancakes person and my father is indifferent to pancakes). The potatoes were cut to a proper size and cooked till soft in the middle. The seasoning was nice, with a good amount of garlic.

The decor in Cinnamon's is wonderful. The place packed more often than not, and people are seated very quickly. You may also dine indoors or outdoors. I like that Cinnamon's takes advantage of where they are located. It's Hawaii! Having that outdoor option is something a tourist probably won't pass up -- unless it's raining hard.

This is the best place I've gone to so far on my Summer 2011 Hawaii adventure. Hoping for more great experiences in the next few days. If you haven't checked Cinnamon's out for breakfast, do it! 8.75/10