Hawaii Pot – Aikahi Park Shopping Center

Like most people, when the weather is gloomy, I want soup. With so many options out there, it’s always difficult to choose. Pho, ramen, tom yum, sinigang–the list goes on and on. Indecision and being in Kailua brought me to Hawaii Pot at Aikahi Park Shopping Center.

Hawaii Pot is known for their personal pots and different broth options. For example, they have a spicy tomato soup, tom yum, marinara, and mushroom. I’ve seen tom yum and mushroom broths at other places before, but I can definitely tell you I’ve never seen marinara or tomato soup. I wish I could tell you I tried something new, but I love familiarity, so I went for the tom yum and the mushroom broths. The tom yum broth is super tangy and sour while the mushroom broth is simple, light, and earthy.

One of the things I love about Hawaii Pot is that they have a good variety. For example, not a lot of places have fish roe dumplings or kelp noodles. Another good thing to point out is that everything is portioned out into tiny plates so you can try something new and not have to commit to a big plate of it. Also, for all you AYCE lovers, Hawaii Pot has AYCE all day. At this location, you order meats from the server but get everything else from their fridges.

Here’s a picture of the initial spread before we dug in:

Because it’s AYCE, I went home full and happy. It’s always hard for me to compare hot pot places because every culture is different, but I would say that Hawaii Pot is a great middle ground. I suppose if you think of Hawaii’s melting pot of cultures, Hawaii Pot is for the locals.