What’s Cooking: Aloha Manapua opens first full-service eatery in Waimalu

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — A local eatery serving a blend of Chinese and Hawaiian food has opened its first full-service, sit-down restaurant in the Waimalu Shopping Center.

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Aloha Manapua General Manager Christy Tong and Chef Qinhai Li joined HNN’s Sunrise to discuss the new location and its lunch specials.

The Waimalu dining location

The Waimalu location is a new 2,500-square-foot space with grab-and-go options, dedicated dine-in seating and an expanded menu that includes:

Consolidation of local outlets

The full-service restaurant is part of a broader consolidation under the Aloha Manapua brand.

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The company has brought multiple neighborhood establishments under its banner, including Island Manapua at Manoa Marketplace and the former Honolulu Kitchen in Waipahu.

Aloha Manapua was started by Chef Li, who began training in Fujian, China, at the age of 16.

He brings his decades of professional Chinese culinary experience to the menu by offering dishes such as cold ginger chicken with scallion sauce, seafood gau, pasteles stew, and mahi mahi with garlic cream.

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Aloha Manapua is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To learn more, visit their website or Instagram, or call (808) 888-0424.