Who Has the Best Cake Noodles? 200 People Weighed in, So We Tried Their Top Picks
It’s a question for the ages—and for Melissa Chang and Gregg Hoshida, reason enough to taste-test. Here are their findings.
Who is serving the best cake noodles now? The question broke my little corner of the internet after Melissa Chang posted it on social media before Christmas. Followers chimed in on where to go for this Hawai‘i potluck staple, and when the dust settled, the post had well over 200 comments on Instagram and 135 on Facebook.
What was notable was that the conversation felt friendly. Unlike manapua or loco moco, where people can get competitive and even combative about their favorites, the cake noodle thread was full of helpful comments. But some places had closed, while other suggestions (like Asian Mix and Liliha Drive Inn) do not have cake noodles. Were people confusing cake noodles with other noodles? The whole collection raised more questions than answers.
For the record, cake noodles are a local staple consisting of boiled noodles that are quickly wok-fried into a flat, cake-shaped disc that’s cut into squares and served with toppings like gau gee, beef broccoli and minute chicken. The cake noodles have a crispy exterior and soft interior. A luscious gravy is key to soften them up while eating.
With New Year’s potlucks right around the corner, Melissa and I decided to investigate. We put together a quick mini-tasting of cake noodles from the places that got the most mentions. Here are the results of our sampling.
SEE ALSO: Potluck Go-Tos: Delicious Last-Minute Takeout Dishes for Parties on O‘ahu
Photo: Melissa Chang
Lee Ho Fook Restaurant
Inside the Chinese Cultural Plaza, Lee Ho Fook’s cake noodle is what you imagine when someone wants this at a potluck. Perfectly crispy on all sides with a compressed and creamy interior that soaks up whatever gravy is poured on top, this is exactly what I consider a good cake noodle. In this case, it was served with perfectly braised beef tendon. The textural contrasts kept us going in for more and more bites. Lee Ho Fook’s cake noodle was our clear favorite.
$15.50, 100 N. Beretania St., Chinatown, (808) 536-6077, leehofookhonolulu.com
Photo: Melissa Chang
Kunia Chinese Restaurant
The Crispy Gau Gee Mein with cake noodle plate provides the largest portion for the price, with massive pork-filled parcels served on the side to maintain ultimate crispness. The noodles were thicker and looser than the other plates we tried and unfortunately lacked a crispy exterior or browning of any sort. Gau gee was good—juicy and crispy. Overall, a decent flavor and value.
$17.45, 94-673 Kupuohi Pl., Waipahu, (808) 678-2889, kuniachineserestaurant.com, @kuniachineserestaurant
Photo: Melissa Chang
Golden Duck Restaurant
Golden Duck got the most recommendations from commenters on Melissa’s post. At this crowd favorite, we went with the ever popular Minute Chicken Cake Noodle. The chicken is seasoned very well and pairs nicely with the noodles; it can stand by itself. But like Kunia Chinese, the noodles were also a bit lacking in that seared crispiness that a traditionalist like me wants from cake noodles. While it didn’t take me back to a garage potlucks of the 1970s, it is still a tasty plate of food.
$17.95, 1221 S. King St., Makiki, (808) 597-8088
Gregg Hoshida (@oldmanfood) and Melissa Chang (@melissa808) are longtime regular contributors to Frolic Hawai‘i.
