‘ŌlenaHi by Chef Ron Simon — Restaurant in Honolulu

Today I had the pork belly Bahn mi bowl with the olena rice, pickled daikon and carrots and a royal purple and yellow calamansi and pineapple tea!! Y’all! It was amazing!! I wanted to take a picture but after I had that first bite I was transported to a culinary heaven and I couldn’t take myself out of the moment to take a picture…sorry, not sorry. Auntie Rose, who is the owner (along with her husband, the chef, Ron,) gave my daughter a complimentary pea tea out of the kindness of her heart. Great people and amazing food! Even though I was decently full after my meal I felt energized and not bloated which is sometimes a problem for me if I eat certain foods but, I felt amazing all day after eating there. They only cook with the best, high quality meats and produce and you can tell in how you feel after eating and in the flavor. Please if you’re wondering wether or not to dine here just stop reading now. You will NOT be disappointed! In fact, you will have your new favorite restaurant! I think I’m going to have to make another trip down from the North Shore to town JUST to eat there...

I looked up ‘good food by the airport’ and this place came up. I’m sort of disappointed they disrespected this restaurant with ‘good’… this place is GREAT, AMAZING, WORTH A TRIP TO HAWAII FOR! Ha! The food was fresh, super tasty and the service was phenomenal. Rose was so sweet… sharing her opinion about what we would like and even ran to the car to check to see if we liked it, give us a ‘palate cleansing tea’ and a chocolate chip ‘cookie for your flight’. Our ‘fish and chips’ was made with mahi mahi which tasted like it was swimming in the ocean this morning… bbq brisket bowl was delectable, sweet, tangy, melted in our mouth… everything was delicious down to the pineapple Cole slaw they put on top as a ‘garnish’. We also had. ‘Filipino lemonade’ made with Calamansi!!! If you want really really tasty Hawaiian/asian fusion without the frills - COME HERE! I’ve done Michelin stars when necessary but for me it’s the ‘hole in the wall’ ‘slap yo momma’ meals I prefer. I told my agent who took my bags and showed her pictures - she said she was going while on her...

Just vacationed again in Hawaii and wanted to post an update. You have to check out Olena (aka OlenaHi) by Chef Ron Simon. I ordered food twice from them during my vacation last week in Oahu and even swung by to order food from the Grab & Go for my plane ride home. I went there a few years ago on my last visit and Olena’s food was delicious this time around as well. Their food is freshly prepared (made with healthy minds and hearts) and is not processed. I would highly recommend all their dishes including their grass fed burgers, soft and tasty beef stew, gluten free pork belly dishes, and soba noodle salad (so good and clean feeling to eat). You have to order their drinks (like their calamansi / pineapple lemonade, Thai coffee - all really refreshing) and poi deserts (brownie / banana and chocolate chip are irresistible) to top off your meals. Absolutely recommend Olena’s. I’m looking forward to visiting them many times again when I get back to Oahu. So worth it and pleasant...