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April 2024 by F I
Vacationing from California. This is where the locals go for breakfast lunch. DELICIOUS (chicken katsu plate) and pick up some homemade traditional candy. Not an eat-in place
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April 2024 by Chad Nakashima
Since kawate closed, this is my new go to when I visit. They also have bento.
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April 2024 by Aaron Tipoti
Perfect spot for breakfast or lunch ???? great food and svc is always top notch??
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March 2024 by Jim Manion
Nice friendly service. Clean staff was helpful. Take out food with a Chinese/ Hamburger menu. We had the honey chicken with rice and macaroni salad and it was well prepared. ?. Unusual restaurant / Candy Store with a frozen food section and refrigerated drinks. Recommend going here for a unique take out experience. Also recommend that the restaurant get outside sit down table and chairs to eat on the premises.
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March 2024 by JoanneLeilani Carpenter
Seed store just like I grew up in China town on Oahu near Hotel St. It's on the big island in Hilo. Run in for some yummy Ono take out delicious fresh cooked food!
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January 2024 by Yumi Ukawa
Kalbi plate? It was for my lunch but I couldn’t finished the plate so will eat the rest for my dinner☺️ I also bought their Kimchi. So delicious!!
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January 2024 by Dave Oltman
Didn't try the food, but a fun shop to pick up treats and spices.
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December 2023 by Deanna T.
I'm slowly attempting to clear a few drafts here on Yelp, and as it happens this review is exactly 22 months delayed. 5-Spice is a small mom and pop shop that dually functions as a retailer of Asian snacks/spices/seeds and roadhouse for island comfort food to-go. They offer plate lunches for individuals as well as large platters for parties. Prices were very reasonable as of February 2022. Lunch was made to order. It looked like we had arrived past the prime lunch hour too as there were only one or two others. We chose three plate lunches and a soup: Furikake Chicken, Meat Jun, Furikake Fish and Chicken Long Rice Soup. Each plate lunch came with two scoops of white rice and a choice of macaroni salad, sweet potato salad or a toss salad. We were so lucky to even score the last scoop of purple sweet potato salad - super thankful as it was very good! Both the Furikake Chicken and Fish were fried perfectly and tasted fantastic with or without the accompanying sauce. Barely any oil drippings. The Meat Jun was absolutely mouthwatering and the Chicken Long Rice Soup was to die for (it was way too hot to drink especially with a small plastic spoon, but I had never heard of this soup and of course had to try it). It's essentially Hawaii's chicken noodle soup. So simple, yet so flavorful. Each plate was $13.99 with the soup being only $6.25. The main entrée for each plate lunch was quite generous, particularly the meat jun portion. Service was standard, but I'm giving 4.5 stars because even though they had a few foldable chairs inside (looks like they're for customers waiting on their orders), they don't have any outdoor seating, so as visitors we just literally squat out in front to eat our lunch. When it got too hot and our legs started cramping, we shuffled into the car with the AC running to finish our lunch. I don't know how to describe it, but it's just not easy drinking hot soup in a car. Maybe 5-Spice should really re-consider including an outdoor area for guests to dine before departing.
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December 2023 by Gregory Arianoff
Great place to get lunch bentos, burgers and large platters for parties!
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December 2023 by Lehua K.
I thought I'd see what all the rave reviews were about, and stopped in for some treats and a plate around 11 am. I was so disappointed; all the bentos looked like they had been sitting out forever, cold and soft/mushed. So I ordered a spicy pork plate; the sauce was nice and flavorful, but the meat was too tough as to be inedible. Seriously. They used a tough cut of meat and it was in chunks, I couldn't get through it. Everything is expensive these days. I understand shop owners have to make a living, and I will pay it if it's worth it, but I expect more from a $19 plate lunch than meat that I can't chew through. I washed the pork chunks, minced them, and fed them to my pets, so as not to waste the money. But I won't return.
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November 2023 by Carrie B.
By far some of the best food we had on the island! A must stop! We had the meat Jun and the Korean chicken! So delicious, and tons of treats to purchase as well!
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November 2023 by Solo T.
I like the Korean grocery store they have here in the same room as the cafe. No seating.
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November 2023 by Tiger F.
Just good local grinds. Shop is super clean, portions huge. This is a take out spot behind KTA Hilo.
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November 2023 by Aron N.
Ahhh 5-Spice! When Aunty was running the shop there were incredibly delectable bentos. The kind that you immediately knew took tons of time and care to create. When you gave them away, people always remarked at how beautiful and tasty they were. Well the next gen has taken over and they have a beautiful new building and it really looks great. They are efficient and the store is run smoothly. Breakfast can be ordered as you like and there are plenty of bentos available on the counter. The bentos are stuffed with rice and protein and they look like bentos that most other places also have. The breakfast I got was not much to look at but tasted good and the eggs were cooked as I like them. Delicious seed and snacks all around. Decent parking. Everything's there except Aunty with the beautiful bentos that took so much time and care to create.
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October 2023 by Sandra P.
We're visiting family and our cousins brought us here, everything is we ordered was delicious! Great home cooked island food. Service was fast and they have a variety of candy/snacks to shop for while you wait for your food to be ready. The store is clean and organized.
