Battle of Two Manapua: Sing Cheong Yuan and Royal Kitchen

Can Battle Manapua ever have a winner? In this classic, Melissa Chang and Frolic reader Chad Yamamoto go head to head with their favorite baked manapua.

Editor’s Note: Two great manapuas of Chinatown went up against each other on every point imaginable—size, meat-to-bun ratio, flavor, even meat-cutting methods—in this video post originally published in September 2022. The result? See for yourself.

Years ago, I made a list of my Top 5 manapua in Hawai‘i. My favorite char siu bao is Sing Cheong Yuan, for many reasons. Frolic reader Chad Yamamoto, however, passionately disagreed so much that he wrote his own rebuttal blog claiming Royal Kitchen is the best.

SEE MELISSA’S RANKING: Our Top 5: Manapua

SEE CHAD’S RANKING: Our Top 5 Challenge: Manapua

Note that these rankings were published on our old website, which was formatted differently, so you can’t see all the photos, but you can still get the idea. Now here we are, many years later, and Chad and I are still clinging to our favorite meat buns. A few places on our Top 5 lists have even closed (R.I.P., Char Hung Sut and Libby Manapua Shop), but our best ones are still feeding the masses.

So what do you think? These shops at opposite ends of Chinatown are both longtime family-owned businesses, and each has its own style of baked manapua and its own legion of diehard fans. Is it Sing Cheong Yuan or Royal Kitchen? Let us know in the comments on the video and our social media!

SEE ALSO: You Voted: Here’s Your Top 5 Manapua on O‘ahu

Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery, 1027 Maunakea St., (808) 531-6688, singcheongyuan.com, @singcheongyuanbakery

Royal Kitchen, 100 N. Beretania St., (808) 524-4461, royalkitchenhawaii.com