Kamaaina lunch special ‘tough to beat’

Sweet & Sour Pork with Pineapple (part of Kamaaina Lunch Party Menu; $11.95 per person)

Located in Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, Seafood Village has been serving visitors and locals alike for more than 20 years. That’s a long time for any business, especially in the notoriously challenging restaurant industry.

So what gives Seafood Village such staying power? “There is a comfort and familiarity at (Seafood Village),” muses manager Yao Ming Guan. “It’s almost like coming home — something that’s familiar, something that’s always been there, something they (customers) are very comfortable with. That makes gathering together great fun.”

Given its Waikiki location, a majority of its customers tends to be visitors, but on the weekend, Guan says, that changes. “We get a lot of locals here celebrating anything — retirements, weddings, birthday parties.”

Minute Chicken Fried Noodle (part of Kamaaina Lunch Party Menu)

The reason so many locals flock to Seafood Village for special occasions, Guan says, is because its Kamaaina Lunch Party Menu is “tough to beat.” For $11.95 per person (minimum 10 people), the menu features a range of some of the restaurant’s most popular items. (And if the Kamaaina Lunch Party Menu doesn’t have what you’re looking for, you can always select whatever you want from the extensive regular menu and add it on.)

“We haven’t changed the menu in a long time, and people love it. It’s got all of the favorites,” Guan says.

The menu includes four types of dim sum: Steamed Barbecue Pork Bun, Shrimp & Chive Dumpling, Pork Hash (Siu Mai) and Seafood Dumpling.

Assortment of dim sum (part of Kamaaina Lunch Party Menu)

Then there’s Sweet & Sour Pork with Pineapple, featuring lightly fried pork swimming in a tangy-and-tar sauce accented with sweet pineapple.

Another party menu offering is Minute Chicken Fried Noodle. “This is a local favorite,” Guan says of the dish. “It’s crispy minute chicken served over a thin noodle that we crisp up in the wok in a savory shoyu-based sauce.”

If that’s enough to have you planning your next party at Seafood Village, know that you can even host it in your own private room: The restaurant has various private dining areas that can accommodate up to 60 people; and larger parties have the option of renting out the entire space.

Seafood Village Chinese Cuisine

Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa
2420 Kalakaua Ave., Waikiki
971-1818
Daily, Lunch: 11 A.M.-2 P.M.; Dinner: 5-10 P.M.