‘Wong’ Gets It Right

Roast Honey Glazed Spare Ribs ($15.95)

If anything speaks to just how much Michael Wang loves the food industry, it’s this: He has a background in banking and finance, but after taking a part-time restaurant job while going to grad school, he never left.

Instead, he rose through the ranks at the Waikiki restaurant where he used to work, and then opened his own joint, House of Wong, on Kapahulu Avenue last year.

Wang is happy with the change.

“We like this location very, very much — it’s a good neighborhood,” he says, adding that he likes being able to serve more locals in addition to visitors. “We’ve already settled in and we are here to stay.”

Wang describes the type of cuisine that House of Wong serves as traditional Cantonese-style Chinese. He mixes that with genuine hospitality. “When customers come here and they smile, it makes me very happy,” he says.

SWEET AS HONEY

One of its most popular items is Roast Honey Glazed Spare Ribs ($15.95), a tender, neatly seasoned offering. In order for this dish to be at its prime, it requires ample preparation time. The eatery encourages customers to order the item about four hours in advance.

If ribs aren’t your thing, there’s Fukin Tofu in a Basket ($14.95), which features seafood, meat, dried scallop, mushrooms and other vegetables — all atop tofu. Note that this item is not yet on the menu; it’s an ongoing special.

House Of Wong Restaurant

477 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu
732-0818
Daily, 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. (including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)