Modest eatery bestows big eats

Oyster Sauce Chicken Noodle ($6.99 special until Oct. 15, $8.50 regular) with cake noodle ($1 more)

Hoy Tin Kitchen, a hole-in-the-wall Chinese eatery in Liliha, may be small in size with just five tables inside, but it’s big on taste, portion and value. Its menu also is extensive, with approximately 125 dishes to choose from, plus party packs and pans.

Formerly known as Hoy Tin Chop Suey for more than 40 years, the owners of Canton Seafood Restaurant in Honolulu took over the neighborhood Chinese restaurant in June and renamed it Hoy Tin Kitchen.

“Hoy Tin is more of a casual, local-style Chinese restaurant,” says manager Lin Fan. “We have a lot of local favorites, and we’re well-known for our good prices and portions. We kept a lot of Hoy Tin’s food, and we added some of the popular dishes from Canton Seafood, such as Fried Flounder with Lemon Grass.

Lucky Jai ($7.99 special, $9.99 regular)

“We also kept the original name, Hoy Tin (meaning ocean sky), because it was already very well-known and had a very good reputation. We have a lot of regular customers, including longtime area residents and workers from nearby businesses.”

For those on the go, Fan says you can simply call in your order, then drive up to the convenient “pickup stall” right in front of the restaurant, and someone can bring your food out to you.

JOIN IN ON THE CELEBRATION

In celebration of Moon Festival (Oct. 4), Hoy Tin Kitchen is offering a few specials through Oct. 15. Enjoy Lucky Jai ($7.99 special, $9.99 regular), a vegetarian dish that is especially popular during the holidays. The dish overflows with tasty vegetables, including black fungus, black mushroom, won bok (Chinese cabbage), snow peas, bean curd, long rice, carrots, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. Manager Lin Fan explains that in addition to being healthy, Jai also is a symbol for good luck. There also is Oyster Sauce Chicken Noodle ($6.99 special, $8.50 regular) that diners also can substitute with cake noodle for $1 more.