Whatcha Fillin’

I’M FILLIN’ GREAT
⁵⁄₅ Stars
I have always loved these delicious waffle cakes since they were on a food truck. Now that they are at one stable location with daily hours it’s even better. I can get them when I want and not have to check where their truck is located. They are now located within the WZ Family Entertainment Center and sell their amazing savory and sweet waffle cakes. On their menu they also have savory rice cakes available. I’m excited to try those out; they were out of Mochi rice when I went.
I have tried several of their waffle cakes and my favorite is their French Kiss. Once I heard they were open again, I had to get one of their savory French kiss waffle cakes. I enjoyed every bit of it. It has a fluffy and soft waffle shell filled with oozing hot cheese, juicy ham & grilled onions. I loved it, just as I did before. I am definitely coming back for more and bring my friends here to have a sample for themselves.
Just a reminder, it’s free parking up the ramp to the right of the place. There is also street parking. I parked on the street because I didn’t know there was free parking. I asked and it is free to park up stairs if you want to come by.
When you place your order, it is all made fresh so it will take about 10 minutes before you receive your delicious waffle cake. They said they will be getting a number to call so that you could make phone orders to shorten your wait. That is such an amazing idea. I will definitely be calling in my orders on my way there from now on. If not, you could always play games while you wait.
They workers were very present, focused and open. They have great customer service with big smiles and open to all questions.
Overall, this place deserves a ⁵⁄₅. Great food, great location with free parking & awesome service.

This place is located INSIDE the arcade. It took me a sec to figure that out. I bought all four flavors and my favorite in order was Baby Cakes, followed closely by Hot Stuff, then French Kiss, and Nuts About You was last.
I love anything with lilikoi so Baby Cakes was right up my alley. I really liked Hot Stuff, it reminded me of a jalapeño popper but less spicy.
You can’t go wrong with the batter they use, I hope to see a corn chowder, and perhaps a sweet one with apples perhaps and fresh whipped cream would be a nice touch.
I also had a coffee and I appreciate that they made it the perfect drinking temp, not too hot!

The one word that best describes my experience at the new Whatcha Fillin’ location is awkward.
Let’s go back for a second. I am a BIG Whatcha Fillin’ fan. When they were a food truck, my boyfriend Jake and I would head over to their spot on Monsarrat often to get our waffle cake fix. They were also always my first stop at Eat the Street. When the owner decided to close up shop and sell the truck, I was truly sad.
Fast forward to when I found out that they were opening up again — this time under new ownership at a permanent location inside the Kaimuki Winner’s Zone. Yup, inside a Winner’s Zone. I was already skeptical at this point, but I was more excited that my waffle cake dreams could once again come true.
We walked in and the place was completely dead. There wasn’t anyone to greet us at the coffee bar or at the Whatcha Fillin’ counter, which is the first thing on your right as you enter. We took a look at the menu for a few minutes and then stood there for a while longer wondering when someone would appear to take our orders.
A Winner’s Zone employee finally emerged. He took our orders and rang us up while another employee appeared and began making our waffle cakes. These little morsels are pretty cheap! You can get a savory or sweet one for $ 4, or even any of their rice cake specials for the same price. The good thing about a permanent location? They take cash OR credit!
We ended up waiting at a nearby table for about 15 minutes for the cakes. While they are smaller than they used to be, they still pack the same great flavor. I ordered the «French Kiss,» which is a gooey mixture of caramelized onions, ham, gruyère cheese, and a dash of mayo. I also picked up the «Nuts About You» cake for dessert — a DELICIOUS combination of Nutella, peanut butter, and bananas. It’s even topped with a dollop of chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar. After all was said and done, I was stuffed.
Jake tried the «Get A Shroom» special along with the «Hot Stuff,» which was just as delicious as I remember it – filled with creamy cheeses and diced jalapenos.

A couple more people came in to order cakes while we were eating, but it doesn’t look like they get a lot of business during the day. I can say that I probably will never dine in again. I didn’t like the atmosphere a quiet, empty game room provided. However, I would totally be back to pick up my waffle cakes and go.
PARKING: Street parking only. There are a few metered stalls right in front of Winner’s Zone.

Unilocal 365 Challenge 2015 #62/​365
Legend:
WZ = Winner’s Zone
WF = Whatcha Filin’
— — — — — — — — -
Rachel and I loved this place when they were on Monsarrat, so we were sad when they closed. However, when we recently saw that they were opening up a new, non-​food truck location, we knew we would have to come by.
If you’re looking for Whatcha Fillin’ while driving by, you probably won’t see it, because the only thing that marks them being inside WZ Entertainment is their small logo on the window. So just remember that they’re inside the new WZ Entertainment on Waialae. WZ & WF! In my opinion, the fact that they’re inside a Winner’s Zone is weird. Not to knock WZ or anything, but I feel like ever since there was that crackdown on those «Sweepstakes games», WZ’s reputation isn’t great. I feel like a criminal walking through WZ waiting for my food. ANYWAYS…
When we walked in, there wasn’t anyone manning the WF station, so we stood there for a few minutes, until someone in a WZ shirt came by and told us the guy (Travis) was in the back so he would take our order. They also had two tip jars, which they used to select which special waffle cake they would make next week! One was «Bacon for More» which I’m pretty excited about, but I don’t remember what the other one was.
We ordered four waffle cakes in total:
French Kiss
–Caramelized onions, mayo, ham, gruyère cheese
Hot Stuff
–Cream cheese, cheddar cheese, diced Jalapenos
Get a ‘Shroom (This week’s special)
–Marsala wine-​sauteed mushrooms, with orzo and parmigiano-​reggiano
Nuts About You (Sweet)
–Bananas, Nutella, peanut butter
They took about 15 minutes in total to make so we walked around WZ and waited on a table near the door. When we finally got our cakes, I was ecstatic. I got to try all four of them (two for each of us) and my favorite was the Get a ‘Shroom. The mushrooms were super tasty, and the combination of the savory insides with the sweet waffles was amazing. My second favorite was the Hot Stuff, it was nice and spicy, and I like that.
Parking: Street parking only as far as I know. There’s a chance that there’s a garage/​parking lot up the ramp but I’m not sure.
If Whatcha Fillin’ wasn’t inside WZ Entertainment, I would probably have given it a 5-​star rating. I just can’t help but feel weird that I’m sitting in there. Otherwise, it was a great experience, and I would probably go back again if I had the craving for some waffle cakes.

Went there one Sunday night with 3 of my friends. We thought we’d each try a different thing so we could taste the range of their menu. I decide on the salmon/​rice one. I was told by the lady making them that the rice balls would take an extra 5 minutes which was fine by me. So she has her cashier give us these free play cards and suggested we check out the arcade that they are located in while we wait.
Service turned out to be a HOT MESS. Several waves of other people came in after us and our orders got taken away by them because they waited at the counter instead of walking around the arcade. My friends finally wizened up and did a stake out at the counter too til they got their orders. One of my friends heard her name called out again while eating her waffle. Weird… she only ordered once. In the meantime, another poor customer was standing there repeatedly trying to follow up on her missing order and the lady would not give her the unclaimed one sitting there.
As for me, I waited more than half an hour, not an extra 5 minutes. The woman didn’t start making the rice cakes until maybe a full 30 minutes after. The time I saw her start the rice cakes, I did a stake out at the counter too, since that appeared to be the thing to do to get your order. I could see she was struggling with them. They wouldn’t compress. So she kept adding more oil to fry them. But more oil made the rice fragment. I mean I am not an expert rice ball maker or anything, but it made me worry that maybe this was the first time she had made them.
After a while she noticed me standing there and asked «Yes?!?» in a really irritated tone. Like hey, I get that you’re frustrated with the rice balls, but don’t take it out on me! I told her I was going to wait right here because the «extra 5 minutes» has now mutated to an extra 30 and I didn’t want my order to walk away. She rolled her eyes at me and sassed me that I got it wrong, she never said it was an extra 5 minutes, she said that it would take 5 minutes for the rice to cook before she could even put it in the waffle maker. I was surprised by her explanation that one rice ball takes 40 minutes to assemble and I guess my face showed it coz she barked at me «Just get a refund then!» Whoa. O-​kay. There was no «I’m sorry for the wait, I’m trying my best» or «Could I offer you a waffle one instead?»
She calls her poor young cashier over to give me my 4 dollars of hunger and aggravation back. Right when my friends and I were about to split, the cashier comes to us all apologetic and tries to give me a ***finally*** cooked rice ball to try to make up for my disappointment. I really didn’t want it anymore at this point, but that girl was just so sweet and sincere in her apology that I thought she deserved some courtesy right back, so I accepted it.
The rice ball honestly wasn’t bad, but not worth the 40 minute wait. It also came in a paper bag. The oil seeped through the paper and onto the table. The rice also stuck to paper so I had to scrape it off the paper with a plastic fork, which of course made the paper bag fall apart. It would have been easier if they put it on a plastic bag or maybe a paper plate instead. Oh well.
All in all, the food was decent but the service was atrocious. The one star in this review goes out to that sweet cashier. Thank you. Your boss lady could learn some class and customer service from you, coz frankly, I’m really not «fillin’ it».

I recently saw that Whatcha Fillin’ got their hours settled I had to get over there soon. I was walking home the other day after learning work early trying to decide what to for lunch. What sealed the deal? While browsing instagram I saw they had posted a picture of the special and BOOM I was sold. I pretty much ran the rest of the way. This place is inside of WZ Entertainment on Waialae across from Tamuras which happens to be walking distance from my house. SCORE! I ordered the special which was called So Corny & was their take on on the reuben sandwich, stuffed with corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese & Russian dressing. I also decided to order a sweet one called Nuts About You that is stuffed with nutella, bananas & peanut butter. They were both absolutely to die for! The special was oozy gooey & was like eating a reuben for breakfast. As a native New Yorker who grew up eating Reuben’s I definitely give this my seal of approval — made me feel at home! The Nuts About You was also super tasty; a take on a banana & peanut butter sandwich almost, it made my belly warm & happy. I was by myself and could only splurge so much but they had some other amazing flavors on the menu that I will be back to try for sure: French Kiss stuffed with caramelized onions, ham, mayo & gruyère cheese, Baby Cakes which is like a New York style cheesecake & topped with lilikoi drizzle and the Hot Cakes, filled with cream cheese, cheddar & jalepenos. They also have rice cakes on the menu which sounded relish. They are soy sauce glazed mochi rice filled with salmon belly, ginger miso or chile oil sauce & furikake. My boyfriend was so mad I didn’t bring him back one, whoops! Everything on the menu is $ 4 which is a STEAL for how delicious I found the food to be. Be prepared to wait 10 – 15 mins for your order as everything is made when you order so to os hot & fresh. The workers were super friendly and they actually refunded me for the special because they felt it was messier than they like to sell it. I couldn’t believe it because the food was amazing but I appreciated the customer service & that they prided themselves that highly on their product. I can’t wait to come back here again & try some more tasty waffle cakes!

Took the day off today and decided to try this place after my sisters read about it in Dining Out. Since they close at 2pm, I couldn’t get here yesterday. There is street parking fronting the shop/​arcade and parking in the bldg off Waialae.
Will add a review of the food when I get home!
Ok, home now. Cut a wedge out of each one so I can sample the wafflie goodness each ine has to offer.
First, the French Kiss. The wedge I cut was a little small, so I got mostly waffle. It was an awesome first bite. (I’m a waffle purist and like them plain as the come) Dug out a bit of filling, had a bite, and found it quite sweet. Not expected.
Second, The Hot Stuff. Halapeno’s and cheese, you can’t go wrong, but again, a little on the sweet side. Not my fave.
Third, The Baby Cakes. What was this again?
Fourth, Nuts About You. Nutella, bananas and Peanut butter. Need I say more?
Fifth, So Corny. Their take in the Reuben sandwich. This was today’s special. Corned beef, mayo, onion maybe, Has to be the second favorite of this order.
Overall, pretty damn good. I would like the savory ones to be MORE savory and not so deaserty and sweet. The waffle is sweet enough as it is.
I’d go back for the #4.
I do have one suggestion. EAT IT THERE! It loses it’s glory when it starts to cool off.
Enjoy! Mk