Reader Top 5: Best Meaty Fried Rices on O‘ahu

The protein-laden picks of a man who’s eaten 93 fried rices on O‘ahu—and counting.

June 6, 2024

Kyle Tatsumoto,

I grew up in Kāne‘ohe but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked as a banker for 36 years. In 2019, I retired and came home to Hawai‘i. For more than two years now, my friend Darryl Lee and I have been going to the pool for exercise on Wednesdays, and on Mondays, we go to breakfast.

So I’ve now sampled 93 breakfast fried rices in Honolulu. Friends sometimes ask me to rank them; now Frolic has asked. First off, it is very subjective, based on my personal tastes. In general, I prefer fried rice that is dry, with a lot of meat. That means, as a rule, Chinese restaurant fried rice doesn’t score very high: Although generally dry, it usually doesn’t have a lot of meat in it. Secondly, there is no such thing as a “bad” fried rice (at least based on my experience). On a scale of 1 to 10, the worst fried rice I’ve run across is a 5.

Finally, the best fried rice, hands down, is at Side Street Inn, but they only open for lunch on weekends and never for breakfast. See? I told you this ranking was subjective. Here are my Top 5 Best Meaty Fried Rices.

No. 5: Jack’s Restaurant

honolulu's top 5 best meaty fried rices includes this one from jack's restaurant

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

Jack’s Restaurant in the ‘Āina Haina Shopping Center is a pretty divey place that you would definitely not take a date to. But you should order the standard bacon and Portuguese sausage fried rice, and it gets extra points for the killer warm biscuits Jack’s serves with every breakfast.

820 W. Hind Dr., (808) 373-4034, jacksrestauranthonolulu.com

No. 4: Rainbow Drive-In

one of honolulu's top 5 meaty Fried Rice on paper plate

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

Skip the Loco Moco and Mix Plate and get the fried rice, but it’s best to get there by mid-morning, before the hordes of tourists and birds arrive and before they run out of fried rice. This one is not overly meaty, but the seasoning is perfect. And it’s Rainbow Drive-In.

Multiple locations, rainbowdrivein.com, @rainbowdrivein

No. 3: Asahi Grill Kaimukī

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

This Lup Cheong Fried Rice is at the Asahi Grill Kaimukī on Wai‘alae Avenue, which is not to be confused with the Asahi Grill on Ward Avenue. The two are not related—the Ward eatery was sold by the owner, who opened the second Asahi Grill, and both kept the original name. It’s the Kaimukī Asahi Grill that has lots of lup cheong, and larger pieces of it, in its fried rice.

3008 Wai‘alae Ave., (808) 744-9067, asahigrill.net, @asahi_grill_kaimuki

No. 2: Kapi‘olani Coffee Shop

one of honolulu's top 5 best meaty fried rice

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

The original Kapi‘olani Coffee Shop was opened in 1949 where the Hawai‘i Convention Center is located. It moved to the Kam Bowl bowling alley, then to the Waimalu Shopping Center, keeping the Kapi‘olani name with each move. The Lup Cheong Fried Rice has a sufficient amount of lup cheong and very good seasoning.

98-020 Kamehameha Hwy, (808) 488-7708, @kcswaimalu

No. 1: Shiro’s Saimin Haven

Photo: Kyle Tatsumoto

The Original Shiro’s Fried Rice, with a combination of char siu, luncheon meat, pork adobo and spices, is unrivaled among meaty fried rices. The old-school vibe, with Shiro’s original “Dear Hearts” poems on the walls, doesn’t hurt either. And in keeping with the name Saimin Haven, Shiro’s offers more than 60 different versions of saimin and even allows you to create your own. It’s touches like this that make my favorite fried rice on O‘ahu even better.

Multiple locations, shiros-saimin.com, @shirossaimin

Honorable mention goes to the following restaurants: