Kaaloa's Super J's — Restaurant in Hawaii

6/16/2023

Super Js 83-5409 Mamalahoa Hwy Captain Cook, HI 96704

This place has been featured in at least two Food Network shows and now I understand. Jaye is an energetic, friendly, articulate and talented cook. What she brings to a small local food menu is her method of making them taste fantastic; which is slicing the ingredients small to bring out the flavors. She told me she slices the Suisun salted salmon small so you can't see it but you can really taste it in her Lomi Lomi salmon which simply consists of the salmon, tomato, onion, green onion and salt. Same for the pork Lau Lau, which instead of chunks of Kalua pork shoulder, it's finely shredded and sliced. One down side is that the fat content in each one will vary. My first one was quite lean and second one was richly fatty. So I guess you have to order at least two!

I went there on a Friday afternoon about 1 and there were two people in line in front of me. She takes the order then quickly fills them from prepared or nearly prepared dishes. I ordered two pork Lau Laus and Lomi Lomi Salmon, the only thing she needed to make was the Lomi Lomi Salmon which she made to my salt taste by adding more tomato.

I asked her if she has a Butter Fish version of the Pork Lau Lau, which many local versions contain. She told me no because it's hard to get and some people don't like it. But she is willing to include it during “wrapping day” if I brought some in.

The place is small, seats about 20, and it was almost full when I left. Turn over is fast. The locale is rural, about a half hour on a narrow windy road South from Kailua and 2 hours from Hilo. So if you are in Kona, make the drive. Value is also good. I will repeat and already have, I'm bringing a...

IMO when traveling the formula for a great vacay is meeting new folks, alluring locations, and memorable/tasty foods. Interestingly our friends who had recently been to the Big Island recommended this place. We decided to give it a go.

J’s has one of the most spartan menus I’ve seen…it’s like pork & chicken (with a few sides & desserts) cooked in or with a leafy plant. I wish I could explain better…all I know it was scrumptious! I’d categorize it as uber homemade. While I’ve sampled other Hawaiian foods many times this stood out because of its slow cooked nature & its saturation of flavor. These were subtle without any extremes. In ways it felt like sampling a new, tasty wine. After each bite you take a pause and attempt to figure out the taste signature. I’ve traveled the world and have had everything from insect candy to fancy steaks, yet J’s had me pause and wonder in the sensation my tongue just experienced.

Expect counter service & bus your own dishes in a very charming 3rd world like environment. It felt like your average roadside restaurant you’d find in Thailand or Polynesian. Everything is in your face and organized into a dizzying array of order. In so many ways this added to its charm. It felt authentic. I’m unsure if it was the owner who we met and served us, but she was so friendly.

Apparently this place had a number 2 rating on Yelp for best Hawaiian food in the nation. All I know is, it was amazing! I don’t think that rating is far off from the bullseye. The food was prepared in a way I had never experienced. Give it a go and you might be as...

Customer service 10/10 Value for money 10/10 Quality of experience 10/10

You have to dine here or you are missing 50% of food culture of Hawaii!

Honestly I try to really experience local food and traditional eating wherever I go despite my own preference.

I went for traditional Hawaiian at a couple places and honestly did not care for them because of my personal taste. I thought okay this is what they eat, very interesting and I thought about culture and the stories behind the eating.

It is until here that I realized imu cooked Lau Lau and Hawaiian dishes can be THIS good. Like honestly, it is perfect!

If you can't eat pork they have the chicken option but please do the cabage pig and Lau Lau if you can.

They work wonder with the rice and the Lou Lou can be eaten with the taro leaves together.

This place is family owned and it honestly feel like their kitchen. Very humble place that works wonder.

They would also talk with people if not too busy and they don't mind sharing a thing or two about island life.

And my gosh the desert. If you can give them all a try. They are not guilty delicious but just properly good.

The price is very reasonable. We ended up spending 30 dollars for a meal because the 3 entree is enough for us two but we are not big eater. Order a serving and see how it...