Restaurant Matsu — Restaurant in Maui

I've been coming to Matsu's ever since they were located in the Maui Mall (where Thailand Cuisine is now.) I'm sure they're happier in their new digs as they don't have to follow mall hours & rules and probably have cheaper rent.

ATMOSPHERE: Divey, dinky little wooden building in Kahului Industrial Park. Signs abound for every pet peeve of theirs. It's a self-service restaurant, so order at the counter, have a seat, and the food is delivered. The customary request is to take all your items to a cart near the counter when you're done, like a cafeteria.

The only thing I don't care for is that they use a lot of styrofoam and disposal plastic products for dine-in service. Such a waste!

MENU: Ramen, udon, soba, don bowls, sushi, local plate lunches.

FOOD: Shoyu Ramen This is what started me on my ramen rage, circa 1990. It was my very first shoyu ramen experience. The broth is a traditional dark shoyu, with a hint of ginger. The noodles are thin and chewy with an eggy-flavor that I love. Toppings are fishcake, green onions, and a razor thin slice of charsiu. Honestly, the best-tasting shoyu broth on Maui, but it's just a tiny bit too small in portion size for me. It could also use more topping options like a soft egg and bean sprouts.

Tempura Ramen This is my favorite dish here. It's served with the shoyu broth which is dark and savory, with thin noodles that are always cooked perfect. It comes topped with green onions and fish cake. The fresh tempura consists of two shrimp, green beans, sweet potato and eggplant. My only gripes are that the portion size of the ramen is a bit below average, they don't give enough broth as you are constantly trying to ration it while eating, and it doesn't come with any charsiu. The tempura makes up for the small amount of ramen. That shiny 5th star is close but oh so far.

Miso Ramen I tried this on a whim, being that my ramen palette has expanded to more than just shoyu, especially when dining off of the rock. I've had a tasteless version at Ramen Ya, but this one has a very good & strong miso flavor, and perfectly cooked noodles. I didn't care for the generous amount of sliced white onions that are apparently part of the broth. Other odd toppings were carrots and won bok, but unfortunately no bean sprouts. There was a half boiled egg which wasn't fresh as the yolk had the gray ring on the outside. I don't think any Maui establishment knows how to make that to-die-for soft egg. If you've found one, please let me know! Overall, I love miso soup and miso butterfish, but miso ramen is just not a favorite of mine.

California Roll Nobody comes close to a flavorful Cali roll like these folks. The vinegary rice, fresh avocado, cucumber and mayo mixture just melts in your mouth. Another plus is that you can buy these in as little as 3 pieces to accompany your lunch.

Spicy Ahi The 6 small pieces were very fresh, but I didn't care for the spicy sauce as I could taste Tabasco in it, rather than being a creamy sriracha. I'd rate it a 2 on a 5 heat scale. Priced nicely at $4.50.

RESERVATIONS: Not taken. The busiest times are weekday lunch hour. They probably do equal amounts of dine-in and takeout.

SERVICE: Staff are friendly and food service is quick.

TIPS: Plate lunch portion sizes are on the small side.

Call ahead for takeout as they can get pretty busy at lunch with all the other businesses nearby.

FACT: They used to own the now defunct Izakaya Matsu in Azeka SC (Kihei).

OVERALL: The best tasting and most traditional shoyu...

We have visited Matsu a couple of times already and the restaurant does not disappoint. They have limited operating hours so plan when to go there. There is ample parking and they even have a ramp making it wheelchair accessible, a nice addition to improve service. They have limited seating so if you have a big group with you, some waiting may be required. For time efficiency, they have call ahead service so for those on a short lunch break can still enjoy Matsu's fresh tasty food. The Combination A meal we had was a very reasonable $10 per order and was filling enough for an average appetite person but can be shared. The Beef Tofu meal was definitely filling and it was so good. The flavor of the meat was wonderful, I also chose the salted cabbage which worked perfectly with the beef tofu, rice and the picked ginger. I believe it was $9.75 for this meal and again, a great deal for your pocket.

When you first walk in, place your order at the counter where the menu is located, place your order and pay. Your receipt will have a number which is your identifier when they come out to deliver your food at your table. You can pick where you want to sit, just pay attention when they call out your number. If you want to just have water, you can help yourself at the water station were the pitchers of ice are as well as the water dispenser with the hot and cold option. They also have the other supplies there like the forks and spice/seasonings. They have a washroom there which could be a treat because not all small restaurants have them....

We always pass by this place and decided to try it today. The inside is pretty run down and a bit on the filthy side, but sometimes places like that can suprise you. My boyfriend asked the woman at the counter what their specialties were and she said the fried chicken was what everyone asks for. We got an order of fried chicken and curry chicken. It was a to go order, so they gave us a big box for it. We didn't realize that the main reason for that was because the curry chicken was ALL sauce and no chicken. It spilled all over the box and all over the other parts of it (Rice, mac salad). The fried chicken was greasy fried breading with hardly any chicken too. So much grease that it pooled at the bottom of the box. The chicken looked old and I couldn't bring myself to continue eating it. Don't waist your time and money when you can get better food at a fast...