4 Kings Kitchen more like 1 Joker
After reading the review, I tried the Mochiko Chicken. Yes the chicken was cooked well, but it was oily and was not mochiko chicken. According to the menu hype it is perfection, so sorry charlie! If that's perfection then I'd hate to check out the regular stuff. Call it ok fried chicken and leave it at that. The good choice of kim chee - omg it was the worst kim chee I have ever tasted. Who told them to make home made! On the positive side, the rice was cooked well. Well I also went for the famous fried rice plate that was a side dish everywhere else but is fit for 4 kings and a main dish here. Wow - it was fit for the rubbish can, it had to be one of the worst fried rice plates I have ever tried. Salty and not tasty, not good in any respect, the portion was small, and to boot the price for this (another hyped) masterpiece $9.00, but guess what with 2 eggs you can run it up to $11.00 wow what a deal! I cannot under any circumstances ever recommend this place to anyone. They should call themselves the 4 jokers!
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KaimukiMan
Mar 1, 2011 10:43 PM
This was my original posting, i think tru2 was responding to. rather than run two threads, made more sense to combine:
______________________________________________________________Saw the hoagie place had closed and a new place opened. Then I remembered someone had asked if anyone had tried it. Well, since I was walking past.....
I guess it could be called upscale plate lunch, but I didn't see mac salad on the menu.... They did have Meatloaf, Mochiko Chicken, Fish Tacos, Braised Pork Chops, etc, and tonight's special was fish and chips. Since I didn't see the special till after I ordered I went for the Mochiko Chicken. Good decision. Unlike most places this came as two good size thighs, battered and fried bone-in. The result was moist, hot, juicy, tender, tasty. I got it with brown rice (they also offer white, or french fries.) And instead of salad I got kim chee, another good choice.
The chef, Kapo Kealoha (recently from Tiki's,) was really happy to talk about his food, his background, and his hopes for this place. Most of their menu is based on fresh island ingredients. I had noticed that this was indicated on the menu for the beef and fish dishes, but not for the chicken. When I asked if the chicken was island raised Chef Kapo explained that for all intents and purposes there is no commercially available island chicken, it all comes from the mainland. The only chickens on oahu are egg layers, but aside from a couple of small growers doing free range birds, none for eating.
But back to what they do have. Good food, good value. The price range is from $9-$11, the portions are good sized, and the service comes with a smile. I'm definitely gonna be back. Oh yeah, this should not be confused with a restaurant in Kaimuki with a similar name.
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i had their "not your typical moco". it had fish burgers instead of beef and a shitake gravy to die for with brown rice. i have yet to try the mochiko chicken but a friend had it and said it is not what we locals would regularly know as mochiko chicken. its doesnt have the slightly sweet marinade and is large thighs instead of the smaller bits we are familiar with. it is a place a have gone back to. i also had the meatloaf...very yummy as well!!!
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re: downtown hound
KaimukiMan
Mar 1, 2011 05:15 PM
In another post i did talk about the mochiko chicken. I was under the impression that even though it was one large piece, that it was marinated. Mine tasted marinated, and it was definitely a mochiko style breading, but no...not cut into pieces (which the chef felt led to dried out pieces). And yes, I also enjoyed the meat loaf.
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re: downtown hound
Debbie M
Mar 1, 2011 06:29 PM
When I was in Honolulu earlier last month, one of the local morning newscasts had a segment with the 4 Kings chef preparing his version of loco moco. I'm not that big a fan of loco moco, but that version looked really good, and it's on my list to try when I go back later this year.
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re: Debbie M
KaimukiMan
Mar 1, 2011 11:21 PM
I was there tonight (yeah, i like the place) and saw one of the 'loco' plates. not quite the same as the video, but it looked real good. If I wasn't so averse to fried eggs I might have been tempted too. The guy eating it sure seemed to be enjoying it.
Instead I had the fish special... tombo ahi. it was cooked thru, but still moist and flavorful, tombo can dry out easily but this didn't. It was in some sort of a sour-shoyu sauce, smothered under julienned carrots and mushrooms and chinese sausage (?) good balance of flavors, didn't overwhelm the fish. I ordered the salad with the tarragon dressing, sort of a 'green godess/ranch', and white rice. All that and a soda for under $15. Very tasty, very good value. And yes, they seem to have figured out who I am. Oh well, they still treat me nice. LOL
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