One of the great aspects of our office moving to Wailuku has been trying out a bunch of new lunch spots. For the first few months, we would put the paper on hold while we assembled during our lunch hour to chow at one of the local nearby hotspots. Then as the months went by, the dine-out lunch group began to dwindle as people cultivated their favorites or went back to their old habits of just packing a lunch.
One place we still visit on a weekly basis is Mike’s Restaurant, located on Main in Wailuku just around the corner from our office. Mike’s offers a full variety of fresh and delicious Chinese food all day and the option to dine-in or carry-out. Mike’s popularity in our office is also due, at least in part, to their reasonable prices and generous portions.
While Mike’s has a pleasant dine-in area, the fastest and cheapest way to get your food is to hang a left a soon as you walk in and head towards the counter. When you arrive at the counter you’ll see a variety of hot prepared dishes such as Kung Pao chicken, orange chicken, sesame chicken, broccoli beef, stirfried vegetables and sweet and sour pork.
If you’re in a hurry or just can’t resist the smell of the food in front of you, one of the servers will prepare a hot plate for you on the spot. For just a few bucks you can feast on a heaping portion of lo mein, and/or fried rice and choice of main dish. If you have trouble deciding between the many options, spend an extra couple of dollars for a second or third item.
If none of the prepared items suits your fancy, try ordering something off the menu like the fresh lobster or crab or fresh island catch (market price). Last time I ate at Mike’s, I ordered the Wor Wonton Mein. It takes a few more minutes to prepare than the plate lunch but it’s worth the wait. The steaming bowl of broth is swimming with hearty ramen noodles, wontons, shrimp, chicken, char sui and assorted vegetables. Don’t be surprised if you see one of the owners carefully stuffing and folding soup wontons at a nearby table.
On that day Anthony, who joined me for lunch, ordered the two-item combo. Always indecisive about whether to get fried rice or chow mein, he opted for half and half. The rice was fluffy with plenty of vegetables. The chow mein uses wider, almost fettuccini noodles than the traditional skinny noodles, but is still tasty.
A fan of all the usual suspects, he went with the broccoli beef and the kung pao chicken. He commented that the beef strips were small but flavorful. The broccoli was large and more tender than he tasted in fancier restaurants. He thought the Kung Pao chicken was good, but not so spicy. But a good dowsing of sriracha will fix that up nicely. Overall Mike’s is a quite tasty meal. MTW
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