Where Customer Satisfaction is Guaranteed

Step inside Ho Ho Chinese Cuisine on any given day and you’re sure to find dozens of diners happily feasting from plates overflowing with freshly prepared items from the all-you-can-eat buffet. You’ll also see a steady line of people filing in and out of the Kapolei restaurant, beginning as early as 6 in the morning, just to pick up their dim sum orders.

What you won’t find at Ho Ho’s? An unsatisfied customer. That’s because the owners of the 6-year-old Chinese eatery have made it their No. 1 priority to continually dish out high-quality, tasty food while keeping prices low.

“Many people know we are the buffet restaurant,” says employee Crystal Chan, “but right now we have more people who know we also sell a la carte, dim sum and party trays.”

Like the daily buffet, the sit-down menu is a literal smorgasbord of Ho Ho’s most-loved specialties: crispy gau gee, Chinese chicken salad, pot stickers, abalone soup, minute chicken, char siu and roasted pork, steamed basa fish fillet with green onion and soy sauce, sweet-and-sour shrimp, eggplant with garlic Szechwan sauce, deep-fried tofu and more than 20 noodle and rice dishes, all less than $10.

In fact, the most expensive item on the menu is the Peking duck, which is still a steal at $14.95 for half and $28 for the whole bird.

“And we also make three types of pie,” adds Chan when asked about desserts, which sell for $9.95 each on the dim sum menu. “It’s all homemade and sometimes we serve in the buffet line on the weekends. A couple days ago a lady came in, and when she tried it she told me that’s the best pie she’s ever tried, that it’s so soft, like ice cream.”

That statement is a true compliment to Ho Ho’s chefs, who are up before the sun rises preparing pork hash, gin dui, pepiao and a dozen different manapua for the dim sum crowd.

And it seems they’ll be getting even busier in the coming months, because Chan says they have started receiving reservations for graduation parties in May, June and July.

“I think people are planning for graduation already,” Chan states. “We already have some graduation party (reservations) coming in, but we’d like to get more.”

Private party reservations must include between 200 and 300 guests and start at $10.95 per person for lunch (10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) Saturday and Sunday, and $17.95 per person for dinner (5:30 p.m. to closing) Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is highly recommended to call in advance to beat the last-minute rush.

Party-goers can load their plates with beef broccoli, orange chicken, kao yuk, sweet-and-sour spareribs, salt-and-pepper shrimp, choice of steamed fish and fried chicken wings from the buffet spread.

“We also have the two kinds of crab at dinner time: Steamed slow crab with butter on the side, and fried Dungeness crab with salt-and-pepper garlic,” Chan adds. “Since we started offering the salt-and-pepper garlic crab, we’ve gotten very busy.”

Parties of 200 or more people will receive a free 40-pound roast pig, which Chan says will be left intact on the buffet line until it’s time to eat.

“We will leave it for the host or the guests to take a picture, and then after that we will slice and chop for the customer,” she says, adding that the free pig is only available at dinner.

But if something on the menu does not suit your specific taste, Ho Ho’s staff will help lay out a party menu to satisfy even the pickiest eater.

“For private parties we let the customer make their menu,” Chan explains. “We keep the seafood the same, but, for example, right now we have the beef broccoli, but if you don’t like the beef broccoli, change to Mongolian beef is OK.”

Certain restrictions do apply. For example, Chan says they cannot offer allyou-can-eat portions of Peking duck, but will work with customers to arrive at the best compromise possible.

“And because right now the economy, you know, some people right now cannot afford the private party, instead they can do take-out for the party tray or the Meal for 10 menu,” Chan adds.

There are four different Menu for 10 options ranging from $118 to $228 in price and offering items such as egg blossom soup, char siu egg fu yung, sweet-and-sour fish fillet, shrimp canton, roast duck, kau yuk, salt-and-pepper crab legs and gon lo mein, depending of menu choice.

Party trays come in small (which can feed eight to 10 people) to jumbo (50-75) sizes and must bes ordered two days in advance.

Cost depends on size and number of orders, but folks in the Kapolei area will receive free delivery service on orders of at least $100. For orders of $400 or more, Ho Ho’s will deliver to Ewa Beach, Kunia, Waipahu, Mililani, Wahiawa, Pearl City and Aiea free of charge as well.

“In Honolulu side, probably need more than $400. Go too far,” Chan says with a laugh. But making the trip to Oahu’s “Second City” for Ho Ho’s Chinese cuisine is well worth it.

Ho Ho Chinese Cuisine

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