Lung Fung Chinese Restaurant

I know there are 2 different kind of reviews for here– some don’t like it and some do.
I guess I fall into the ‘like it’ file.
If you were a Michelin reviewer going around the world — you would not start going to Chinese restaurants sporadically placed near Honolulu. In general– most of the restaurants are just above Panda Express — Lung Fung falls into my category of better than most Panda places.
Here’s a few of my findings;
Orange Chicken was the best I had from a place like this — super orangeyyyyy!!! Great sause!
Beef Broc on par and I still like it.
Sweet Sour spare ribs– better than many places I’ve been to, but I in general don’t like spare ribs but preferred other stuff on the menu.
Shrimp was just tastey– I like shrimp.
Noodles!!! Just made the way I like them. Keiki loved those the best! Not mussshy, fried in oil could be tasted but still wonderful.
Fried Rice is 1 of the best that I have tasted. Not flat like some fried rice– made with nice pieces.
Fried gau gee were not that great– they got mushy.
Even PF Changs down by Ward had a few decorations that one could find as tacky– if that was the bar, here is definitely in the tacky range too– you can guess that they are a family type restaurant that doesn’t have the budget of corp. McD that changes the scene every few months on clockwork to generate the most amount of money.
I can see too how the staff would be seen as ‘gruff.‘
English is not their first language. I’m been going here very infrequently for years. But the last time I was there, the guy said, «Locals like the hot mustard.» I could have been upset as, yeah– I’m not born here but lived on Molokai and Hon. for over 16 years. Anyone coould be upset by some comments like this– I could have taken it the wrong way but it was not worth the argument– what would I win? ‘more spit in my soup.‘
One thing I like is how they do great marketing– they are on entertainment book, email deals and other things.
I prefer take out but eating there is just fine.
I’ll be back but not going out of my way too much to be there in a hurry. I stilll like it, if I’m close — I’ll stop in for a bite then.

The chef is a self starter. We got there early. Chef was there and took us in, setting the table, water and bringing menus. All the other help has been caught in traffic. He took our order even though he couldn’t speak a word of English. The meal was fantastic. I highly recommend this fine dining establishment.

Beyond excellent! Loved every dish except the hot and sour soup which was too hot (too much vinegar).
Will definitely come again.

Excellent food. Great service. The steamed fish with ginger was great — with large portions. Green beans were very good. I took away one star because they had no asparagus for the shrimp & asparagus. I substituted broccoli which was good, but the portions were small. We would go back.

We got take out a month or so ago for our family of 6. Every dish was disgusting and way overpriced. Chinese food is very popular with our kids so this was a huge letdown.

We stopped by on our way to Hanauma Bay and we’re not disappointed. The shrimp was spicy, just as we ordered it. Noodles were a little oily but tasted great. Friendly owners

I love Lung Fung.
Maybe it’s the nostalgia I feel whenever I eat here. Brings back fond memories of coming here with my dad and brother when I was younger. My fave dish back then was their stuffed duck (still delish btw!)
We’ve been coming more often recently and have had great experiences each time. Love the food and the friendly staff. Love the one waitress who always tells us, «See you tomorrow!»
Some dishes we enjoy are the lemon chicken, minute chicken, steamed fish and mapo tofu to name a few.
If you want delicious Chinese food served with a smile, come and give Lung Fung a try! They also have some pretty good looking lunch specials!

Service was slow although it was very busy. The tasty food made up for the slow service. They need to make a better effort of making sure all of the food is served around the same time. Nothing worse than one if the main dishes coming out after everyone is almost done eating. When it’s busy someone should be making rounds filling water, replacing tea pots and the shoyu bottle because the waitresses are too busy taking orders and serving tables.

Great food and great service. The green beans were fabulous. So was the shrimp fried rice and chow fung noodle with beef.

So apparently the business is under new ownership, and based on the reviews prior to today, they are headed in the right direction. We had the garlic eggplant, steamed fish with ginger, and char siu fried rice. Everything was delicious– and the service was very prompt and friendly. The more you chat with the staff the funnier they get! Really great family place.
Definitely try something you haven’t eaten elsewhere– the broccoli beef is better than panda, for example, but the best dishes are more authentic (and the pot roast pork and taro, if you like taro, is a wonderful example)!
It’s honest family food and genuine service. Seriously recommend.

My sister had a Groupon from Hot Deals Hawaii for $ 30. So she asked me to go with her and try this place
We got there when they first opened at 11 am. we where the only people in the restaurant at the time.
Here’s what we had:
$ 16.95 Honey Walnut Shrimp: The typical shrimp with Mayo and batter.
$ 14.95 Chicken Fried Rice with Salted Fish:
$ 16.95 Clam with Black Bean: (Clams where big a juicy!)
Food Grade: A
Service Grade: A (considering we where the only on there at the time)
Overall Impression: B
Overall this place is good but with the Groupon its a bit expensive.

Worst Chinese restaurant I’ve been to and I’ve tried many, many Chinese restaurants.
Sig other decided to surprise me with a Groupon. You see, he’s trying to follow in my footsteps of saving money… the only problem is that he doesn’t really check Unilocal.I check Unilocal.
It was pretty crowded when we got there at dinner time, so I figured maybe this place just has hits and misses. We flip through the menu. I glance through Unilocal and tell him, «Honey Walnut Shrimp has bad reviews, let’s get something else instead… maybe garlic shrimp?» He tells me he wants Honey Walnut Shrimp. I tell him I don’t want both of us to be dissatisfied based on the reviews I’m reading.
We banter a bit about the rice. Sig other points out there is a rice charge listed in the menu, I dismiss it saying, «Nope, that should only be if there is an extra person. We have two plates of entrees, we should get two bowls of rice included! Who eats entrees without rice? To charge $ 1.75 a bowl on top of entrees is ridiculous!»
The waiter comes over and by his demeanor, I think he’s the owner. I exclaim, «We’ll have 1 garlic pork chop and 1 garlic shrimp!»
The waiter mentions, «The tastes will be similar. You should get the Honey Walnut Shrimp, it’s very popular» Sig other gives me a small smile. «Ok, sure, we’ll try it.» «Do you want any rice with that?» «Yes. Oh! Just wondering is there a separate charge for rice?» «Yes.»
Expletives were running through my mind with pauses of, «This food better be good. It better be good.»
We got the Honey Walnut Shrimp ($ 14.95 or $ 16.95… I can’t remember). It looked decent, portions were small though. I took a bite. It was incredibly greasy and full of the taste of old oil. I barely touched it. Sig other on the other hand happily snacked on the walnuts, «I like the Walnuts. I like to order this to eat the walnuts.» «Are you kidding me? Let me just make you some at home!»
The Garlic Pork Chops arrived. It looked good, but it was a very small portion that was tough, FULL OF FAT and BONE, and the taste of old oil. It was so bad, I took two bites with a few scoops of rice and told sig other, «I’m sorry. I don’t do this, but I just can’t eat any of this. It’s terrible.»
We both barely touched the food. I ate so little, but wasn’t hungry for the rest of the night. I had lost my appetite… the food was that horrible. The best thing about that dinner was the fact that sig other wanted to surprise me. It’s the thought that counts, right?

If you like recycled Bruce Lee movie props as décor, food utterly lacking flavor, and mediocre service, then you have stumbled upon your new favorite Chinese joint! I tried this place tonight for dinner with my boyfriend, and it quite literally left a bad taste in our mouths. I’m a HUGE fan of divey Chinese places, so it’s not like I have a prejudice against the cuisine. Actually I’m such fan that the meal tonight was all the more tragic.
We waited about five minutes to be seated even though they had 5 waitresses circulating and the place was ¾ empty. Still hopeful, we sat down and thanked our waitress when she offered us water and tea. Ten minutes later the water arrives along with menus (still no tea). We ordered the spring rolls and our entrées and finally got tea after another 5 minutes. The tea was barely more than warm water it was so flavorless. The spring rolls came out warm and crunchy. They lacked filling besides a few sprigs of carrots and cabbage. The accompanying sauce tasted like a McDonald’s BBQ sauce mixed with shoyu. The spring rolls were simultaneously a disappointment and the best part of our meal.
My boyfriend had the cashew chicken. The chicken was really low quality and rather chewy. The vegetables (carrots, celery, and bamboo shoots) were all overdone and mushy. Some cashews were cooked, others raw. The whole thing was bland. I had the General Tso’s chicken (typically a favorite of mine). The chicken was breaded like one would do for sweet and sour, which is all wrong for General Tso’s. I could’ve ignored that if the flavors were good, but, unfortunately, it was just a raw, overpowering combination of spicy and sour. The heat was good, but there were zero other flavors to make that heat delicious. It was a lazy rendition of a dish I usually cherish. Both of us barely finished a third of our meals. I’d be embarrassed to serve such that quality of food, and I am by no means a chef! ;)
My boyfriend asked our waitress for the bill, and she told him no because I still had food on my plate, so I obviously wasn’t done eating yet. Excuse me?! A customer asks for the bill and you refuse to bring it out?! She treated him like he was her grandkid who wasn’t allowed to get up from the table till he’d eaten all his veggies. We waited another fifteen minutes till we were able to ask a different waitress for the bill. She struggled with redeeming our groupon but was at least quite polite. I will never return here with or without a groupon – 37% off disgusting food is still a total waste… and worse than that: a waste of a chance to eat at one of the countless delicious Chinese places in Honolulu!

Lung Fung’s Clam in Black Bean sauce is amazing & fresh. The Manager, Eddie, and all the staff were very accommodating & friendly. Great local gem!

Whew.
Have to remember how expensive this place is.
5 entrees take out, $ 70! Ouch.

I haven’t been to Lung Fun Chinese Restaurant in over 25+ years! My sister suggested that we go here because they always have a Groupon available ($ 15 for $ 30 gift certificate).
Here’s what we had:
Honey Walnut Shrimp: The typical shrimp battered in corn starch, fried, and tossed with mayo and walnuts. The dish lacked flavor and was bland. Grade: C–
Hot Sour Soup: The soup was bland and lacked flavor. Little ingredients in the soup, which made it taste like we were eating cornstarch water. Grade: C–
Steamed Fish and Tofu: I asked the waiter what kind of fish it was and he said it was snapper. When the dish came, it looked like Swai (a kind of catfish/​talapia). It was certainly not snapper. Nonetheless, the dish was pretty tasty. Grade: B+
Chicken Fried Rice with Salted Fish: This is a family favorite, and was perhaps the highlight of the meal! Traditional fried rice with chunks of salted fish. Grade: B+
Salted Cabbage with squid: Sinchoy cabbage with squid was exteremly bland and flavorless. Grade: C–
I sooo wanted to like this restaurant becasue it brings back so many memories as a keiki. Maybe my food palate has changed?
Food Grade: C
Service Grade: B
Worth the Money Grade: C (Food is a bit on the expensive side)
Overall Impression: C

Lung Fung has one of the best pot roast pork with taro (kau yuk) that we ever tasted. It’s not an easy dish to make and had our share of failures. The pork is very tender and there is a perfect blend of five spice and star anise, just the right amount of sauce so the pork and taro are not drowned out. The pork and taro fully absorbed the favors and you can tell they took time and care to make sure it’s done right.
The other dishes were quite average, the e mein with veggies noodles was slightly under cooked, the snow peas slightly overcooked, was missing the crunch. Too much shoyu or oyster sauce used which makes it too salty.
Assorted Meat with Tofu Casserole didn’t have enough tofu! The taste was ok.
The portions are average and the menu is a bit on the pricey side, expect to pay around 10 — 15 per dish.
We are coming back just for the kau yuk!

Service, atmosphere, then food.
It was my first time to a Chinese place in Hawaii Kai. I wouldn’t have known they were here if I wasn’t trying to stay away from Chinatown during Chinese New Years. I have to say. it has been a while since I received the traditional service. A dining companion and I had made reservations for Chinese New Years and we happen to arrive almost an hour and 30 minutes earlier than the reserved time. Thankfully, the host was nice to kindly take us in earlier despite of their busy time. The restaurant was traditional as far as decorations, linens, chairs, table. It was like going back in time when I was a kid and Papa took me to a family gathering on Sunday for a traditional Chinese breakfast.
I had little expectations about the service due to the mixed reviews of this place but decided to give it shot anyway. When we were seated, our server gave us water and tea right away. It did take a little bit to get our order in. If you’re particular about your food and you’re trying to venture out on new dishes, I wouldn’t recommend coming here. Our server was not able to tell us detailed information of what was specifically inside the dishes. I had a very picky eater for my companion. Alas, my partner had to stay with the dishes he was fairly familiar with. But over all our server was polite and was attentive with what we needed (water refills, napkins, utensils, to go boxes and check).
After probably about 30 minutes which was a decent wait because of their busy restaurant, our food arrived and I was very happy with the food quality. I enjoyed their fish with ginger. The fish was perfectly soft and the sauce was very very tasty! We had also ordered Beef with Broccoli and Beef Vegetables. Both met our expectations as far as quality of their soft beef and they were not hard to chew on and tastiness of the sauce, unlike other places.
The verdict? I would definitely come back here again. They do get busy and would recommend to make your reservations if you’re able.

There seems to be some pretty good reviews for this place but I think I tried this for the first time under the wrong circumstances. I was here for a friend’s 90^th birthday party a couple of weeks ago and the party pretty much occupied the entire restaurant. I’m thinking the entire 9 course meal was all prepared in huge batches so the quality of the food may have suffered a bit. The food wasn’t bad but it was kind of just so-​so.
The dishes I remember…
Chicken salad
OK.
Rainbow tofu soup
This was so-​so, kind of bland and I had to add some shoyu to add a bit of flavor. The soup did come out hot though.
Crispy duck skin with bun followed by the Roasted duck
The buns were tasty, soft and lightly chewy. The duck skin that went in it was a bit over cooked I think. It was way past crispy, heading towards charred leather. The roasted duck meat was also overdone and pretty dry.
Beef broccoli
This was OK. A decent amount of beef in there.
Steamed fish with ginger sauce
The sauce was good, the fish was pretty mushy though. I think it was frozen cod.
Honey walnut shrimp
I’m allergic to shrimp so wasn’t able to taste this. Others on table said it was good, though. I did get to have some of the candied walnuts and they were good.
Choi sum with black mushroom over noodles
The regular dish had some shrimp in it and because there were 3 of us on our table that were allergic to shellfish, they made a special plate without the shrimp in it… very nice of them.
This dish was a bit bland overall.
One thing I did that garnered strange looks was take one of the empty serving plates and mixed together a bunch of the leftover food and ate that with a big spoon. I put in the leftover chicken salad, beef from the beef broccoli, rice, some of the steamed fish, and topped it all off with candied walnuts. I also added shoyu and chili paste. That was hearty. :)
One thing that I found funny…
At the end of the meal, they brought out the standard Almond float dessert. Basically almond jello served with fruit cocktail. The funny part was it was pretty much all almond jello with a few pieces of fruit. Besides the almond jello, mine had only 2 pieces of pineapple. Others bowls around the table were pretty much the same.
In all fairness, I should try this place on a regular night so if I do, I’ll update this.

In the heart of Niu Valley, next to Gyotaku, is a hidden gem Lung Fung! Never went to this Chinese restaurant much before Groupons. Then the more often I went here, and tried different foods the more I wanted to go back. I don’t care too much for some Chinese restaurants because sometimes salt/​msg makes up for lack of flavor. But not Lung Fung, you will never go home and want to drink a quart of H20! Their food is always tasty, restaurants in that area come and go however I guess they have been there for a long time.
The stuffed duck is one of my faves, deliciously filled with barley, water chestnuts & some sweet delectable fruit, dates possibly? The gau gee is always a go to, nicely stuffed with filling, crispy served with the perfect sweet & sour sauce, instead of boring mustard & shoyu. Chinese chicken salad, jellyfish salad, egg flower soup, lemon chicken, hot & sour soup are all excellent too!
Always great customer service, but when you go ask for Nancy! You will see why. When leaving the last time I said «see you again» she said in her adorable voice, «OK see you tomorrow», Oh I wish! :)