plate Lunch = local Hawaiʻi comfort food
Our food is rooted in Hawaiʻi, not the postcard version, but the everyday, local kind.
This food truck was built on the kind of meals you grow up with in Hawaiʻi, simple, filling, and made to be shared. Local food isn’t fancy or over-explained. It’s comfort food, cooked with care, and tied to family, culture, and everyday life.
What we serve is inspired by real plate lunches and home-style cooking, not stereotypes or tourist versions of “Hawaiian food.” Everything we make is rooted in respect for where it comes from.
Meet the Owner
I was raised in Makakilo (before Kapolei and Ko Olina) and spent almost 4 decades living on Oahu, mostly in Ewa Beach. I grew up going to my tutu’s beach house on the North Shore and fell in love with her Shoyu Chicken.
Family and friends were from all cultures, which reflected with the potlucks we had. Entering into the workforce meant meetings were fueled with Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Hawaiian food. Food was always a love language and experience.
After moving to South Carolina in 2019, I realized that plate lunch spots weren’t available. After 3 months of navigating the local BBQ food scene, my stomach started craving the foods from home. This missing part of my daily diet made me go back to the basics and cook the food myself. Seeing the response to Hawai’i’s local dishes in the Upstate made me realize how many people were missing out on the comfort and love of the plate lunch.
Family, Community,
and Aloha
We believe in honoring the culture of the islands without turning it into a stereotype. That means respecting where this food comes from, how it was created, and the people who live it every day.
In Hawaiʻi, food is meant to be shared. You don’t eat alone if you don’t have to—you bring extra, you make sure everyone’s fed, and there’s always room for one more person at the table. Whether it’s a backyard get-together, pau hana, a beach day, or a last-minute stop at someone’s house, food is how people connect.
We are honoring the language, culture, and history of the islands while sharing the food of the blended cultures that make up the islands.
Bold flavors, simple ingredients.
Hawaiʻi local plate lunches are built on simplicity, generosity, and flavor. This is everyday comfort food shaped by many cultures coming together—meals meant to fill you up, fuel your day, and bring people together.
We focus on bold flavors, familiar ingredients, and plates that feel satisfying without being complicated. Nothing fancy. Just really good food, made the way locals expect it.
Meet the Owner
I was raised in Makakilo and spent 38 years living in Hawaiʻi, with much of my adult life in ʻEwa Beach. Food was always more than just a meal. It was how people connected, how family gathered, and how neighbors showed up for one another. It was love, shared without needing many words.
That way of life is what inspired this business.
Family, Community, and Aloha
We believe in honoring the culture of the islands without turning it into a stereotype. That means respecting where this food comes from, how it was created, and the people who live it every day.
In Hawaiʻi, food is meant to be shared. You don’t eat alone if you don’t have to—you bring extra, you make sure everyone’s fed, and there’s always room for one more person at the table. Whether it’s a backyard get-together, pau hana, a beach day, or a last-minute stop at someone’s house, food is how people connect.
We are honoring the language, culture, and history of the islands while sharing the food of the blended cultures that make up the islands.
Bold flavors, simple ingredients.
Hawaiʻi local plate lunches are built on simplicity, generosity, and flavor. This is everyday comfort food shaped by many cultures coming together—meals meant to fill you up, fuel your day, and bring people together.
We focus on bold flavors, familiar ingredients, and plates that feel satisfying without being complicated. Nothing fancy. Just really good food, made the way locals expect it.
Bold flavors, simple ingredients.
Hawaiʻi local plate lunches are built on simplicity, generosity, and flavor. This is everyday comfort food shaped by many cultures coming together—meals meant to fill you up, fuel your day, and bring people together.
We focus on bold flavors, familiar ingredients, and plates that feel satisfying without being complicated. Nothing fancy. Just really good food, made the way locals expect it.