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Five Star Smiles

Columns Veg'n Out

September 23, 2012

Story By: Terri Hefner |

What makes buffets so popular is obvious: There’s so much to choose from, so everyone is happy. But if you don’t eat meat or fish, your choices can narrow considerably on most buffet lines. You want to get your money’s worth, but just how much rice and salad can you stomach? Well, turn that frown upside-down.

“We have an open kitchen. We can cook something for them specially. We can arrange it without any meat or fish,” Five Star International Buffet general manager Shin Yano assures non-meat eaters. “Also, if people have an allergy, like to peanuts or shellfish, we can create something special for them.”

With a multitude of buffet items to choose from (about 30 at lunch, with even more on weekends, and nearly double that at dinner), even if you don’t care to special order something, the spread should more than satisfy vegetarians with its taste-tempting variety of vegetables, salads and fresh fruit, many of which are locally sourced.

The buffet costs $19 for adults, $12 for children at lunch, and $48/$24 for dinner. But this is no ordinary buffet. “International” offerings include Japanese (Five Star was founded in 2003 by Noriyuki Kato in Japan), Thai, Hawaiian, Western foods and more, as well as an eye-catching dessert line that will have those with a sweet tooth drooling in anticipation.

And just for grins, happy hour (2-5 p.m.) is not to be missed, with its special a la carte menu and half-price wine, beer and mixed drinks (excluding bottles of wine and Champagne). Cheers!

Smiling yet?

Five Star International Buffet

Royal Hawaiian Center
2201 Kalakaua Ave.
380.9300
Open Daily
Lunch: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Happy Hour: 2-5 p.m.
Dinner: 5-10 p.m.

Honolulu, HI 96815

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