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Home-cooking in the kitchen

Columns Lite Bites

August 17, 2014

Story By: Yu Shing Ting | Photos by: Nathalie Walker

Since opening 13 years ago on University Avenue, Kit n Kitchen has built a loyal following of customers. Many of its patrons dine-in daily, and some eat there multiple times a day.

The locally owned, family-friendly neighborhood restaurant offers a unique menu of Eurasian dishes. “My background is spaghetti and pizza, that is what I’m good at,” explains owner Kit Yiu, who was an original chef at Angelo Pietro before leaving to start his own business. “So, I was trained in a Japanese/Italian restaurant, but also, I’m from Hong Kong and grew up there when it was under British (colonial) rule, so a lot of the cooking was a mix of European and Chinese.”

Kit n Kitchen offers an ongoing special in which diners can pick an appetizer (Mini Sesame Shabu-Beef Salad, Mini Chef Pizza, Mini Grilled Beef Chimichurri or Mini Pan Seared Eggplant) for just 99 cents with the purchase of two entrees.

“A lot of families love it, especially when you have two adults come with their kids,” says Yiu. “The kids get a pizza for only 99 cents.”

For those who love personalization, Kit n Kitchen also offers a Create-Your-Own-Spaghetti and Create-Your-Own-Pizza menu.

The establishment’s Kung Fu Noodle Soup menu also features a variety of options. Choose your soup base (classic shrimp or Szechuan spicy), noodle (Cantonese thin noodle, rice vermicelli or lo mein), and two toppings (such as beef ball, fish ball, shabu shabu beef, beef brisket stew, ox tail, fried egg, beef tongue and more).

Yiu, who moved to Hawaii 25 years ago, notes that he likes to prepare his dishes on the healthier side, cooking with only a light amount of oil and butter. He also utilizes local ingredients as much as possible, such as locally grown eggplant and romaine lettuce.

Last September, Kit n Kitchen expanded to Pearl City. Both locations offer the same breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, and BYOB with no corkage fee.

Kit n Kitchen

UNIVERSITY
1010 University Ave.
942-7622
Lunch daily, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dinner daily, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Breakfast Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

PEARL CITY
1029 Makolu St.
294-5888
Open daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Breakfast Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

kitnkitchen.com

Pearl City, HI 96782

Honolulu, HI 96826

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