Mai Lan

I CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW EXCEPTIONAL THIS FOOD WAS. not only that, sam, the owner is in the kitchen and works as a server. He is so incredibly kind. I happened into this restaurant by accident, and was SO blown away i went there two days in a row while on vacation. it’s my first time in hawaii and there was no other place i wanted to try or go than here. Sam made the experience so special, as the second time i went my friend brought her baby. sam held the bottle so me and my friends could eat. he stuck by our table to explain how the food was cooked, the ingredients, and a little bit about himself. this place offers such quality and sumptuous food AND a heartwarming social experience that no high end restaurant could provide. Especially on vacation i want to try good food, but, as a social traveler, i want to try good food with a background and i love that this experience provided the opportunity to get those two ideals satisfied in spades. I sincerely wish i had more sway in the food review space because this place should be BOOKED AND BUSY all the time. Both times i went there was no wait and a fortunate perk is that there’s PARKING. thank god. PLEASE TRY Mai Lan. You will absolutely not regret it.

The food was delicious! You can taste the freshness of the ingredients when eating the food. Have to rank this as #1 of my favorite spots for Vietnamese restaurants.

The tastes of the curry crab and shrimp soup are far beyond my expectation. The last picture tells the how good they are.

This place has its own parking by the gas station. We were seated right away when we walked in. We ordered a lot of things that I forgot the name of. I didn’t take a picture of the menu to go back to and figure out the names. but everything we ordered was delicious. On top of that, service was excellent. Our server was very nice and attentive. Will definitely come back here again when I am on the island.

This place is legendary, but you have to order the right stuff. Get the Curry Crab, it's one of the best dishes you will ever have. It's going to be messy, but oh so good. Probably enough to share between 3-4 people. Get rice with it and/or get a baguette. We also got some sautees green veggie, also delish. I wouldn't get the other stuff as that is more run-of-the-mill Vietnamese food and if you want that, there are other places which will be better. However if you are looking for a unique dish, you MUST try the curry crab. Must Must. If you are visiting Honolulu , you have to try this once. The place itself is a bit older but go for the Curry Crab, not the ambience.

Crab curry costs $88 and they didn’t tell us ahead of time… It’s ok because it really did taste good. BUT!!! There was a string of hair in the spring roll, and the waitress only offered to take half off?? So disgusting 🫠 Everything we ordered today tastes good, but that string of hair…just stay away. 😓 (Look at the cockroach experience from another customer!!) I rareeely give 1 star to restaurants because I believe business owners work hard and try their best to keep their business running. But this attitude, this sanitary level?? nahhhhhh