Panya Bistro

Awesome food. Pricey. Crowded.
I actually loved the food here. Ordered the pad thai, mango mouse cake piece, and a panna cotta for later. The pad thai was ordered with chicken and it was very good. I like that they use bigger noodles than other places. The portion is a good size and is the flavor is so fetch. LOL yes I said fetch. That means its YUMMY! The dessert is just as good. Another thing I really enjoyed was the spinch chicken salad with bacon dressing. Sounds risky but so delicious. The bacon dressing is wonderful.
The prices though are like whoa. Idk if everything is worth the price here…

Love the new location at Hokua!
We had such a great time — girls nite out! It was busy and so, we decided to sit at the bar. There was a lot of action happening — I think it was only the 2^nd night of being open, so understandably the crew was still working out some of the kinks. No big deal because at the the same time, everyone was super friendly, smilie, and apologetic if things weren’t going super smoothly. Customer service — the golden key to making any situation better and the Panya crew was very gracious.
Meanwhile, for our group — we had a fun time! Drinks were generous and delicious. Their bartender Tre, was great company and kept things lively and entertaining. Food was yummy we had the garlic bread with smoked salmon, tako legs, fries and summer rolls. And oh, the desserts were a special treat — mini cups of tiramisu, chocolate banana pudding and mini cream puffs. YAY!

I stopped in one day because I love crème brûlée. It’s my absolute favorite dessert, followed by tiramisu and chocolate soufflé…
Anyhow, they sell crème brûlée in the bakery for (I believe) $ 4.95 – and best part is you can get it to go! When you order it from the pastry shelves, they take it out and bring it to the kitchen very quickly to brulee the sugar layer on top. It’s super good and freshly made. They have a bunch of other yummy looking desserts that you can also get to go.
I can’t give the full 5 stars, because I’ve never dined into the bistro. I’d honestly be a little hesitant to reading some of these other Unilocal reviews about the service.
PS: They’re moving locations soon.

LAKSA. That’s all that needs to be said. Spicy, Coconuty, Amazeball Laksa. I love this location because I can have a sit down lunch in Ala Moana shopping center at somewhere that’s a little less crazy and away from all the madness on the strip of the mall or the upstairs and downstairs food/​restaurant areas. Sadly however, they are closing :(No more mall Panya. They will be reopening at the old PF Changs in Ward end of April.
Besides the laksa, I like the crab salad crostinis and the karaage chicken and the japanese cheesecake. Club sandwich is a complete disappointment though. Deli ham, american cheese, lightly toasted,…meh. Not bad, but nothing good either. And definitely not worth the $ 13 price tag (w/​fries). When I eat out, I want it to be better than what I can make at home. Stick to the Laksa.
This place is sort of pricey and from the sign on their counter, it sounds like their new location will be even more upscale. Goodbye Panya Ala Moana. I will miss you.

Panya Bistro will be closing the Ala Moana location on 4÷27÷13 so get your laksa fix in before it’s too late! The server told me they will reappear in the old PF Chang’s spot in Hokua in mid-​July.
I never really was a fan of Panya. The green curry is good, but not better than many of my favorite Thai restaurants. The fried chicken is good, but nothing that really wowed me before. The salads are good but pricey. The desserts are great but I’m not a big dessert fan. I’m not really a noodle/​slurp-​my-​food kind of gal so I never ordered the laksa. I like to chew my food, not drink my food.
However, the SEAFOOD LAKSA has converted me into a fan. I’ve never had this anywhere before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I loved it. Shrimp, fish cake, fish #ballzzzz, half boiled egg, in a spicy coconut-​curry broth with rice noodles. (normally you get two types of noodles). It was as delicious as it looks:

Is $ 16 for a bowl of noodles asking too much? That is the only reason I have avoided this place far too long. Panya’s house specialty, Laksa, a Malaysian/​Singaporean noodle soup looks so warm and inviting. You only live once right? Since I don’t want to live a life of regret, I gave in to temptation and ordered it despite my hesitation to dole out twenty bucks for it (if you include the tip).
This soup dish looks spicy with all that red color peppering the dish. Spiced just right for me, I would say it’s a medium-​hot heat level where you don’t start to feel the burn until your almost done eating the dish. This interesting concotion of curry, coconut milk and savory broth was delicious. Filled with two types of noodles, thin and medium, it had a nice assortment of toppings: two kinds of fishcake, shrimp, corn, green onions and a half boiled egg. Glad I tried it but the priceyness will keep me away I’m afraid.
I do like to stop in on occasion to grab a bite or two of the self serve pastries. Most of the pastries hover around $ 2.50 each. Pretty pricey for a small piece of bread, which is why this place is a rare occasion treat for me. I do like to get the mini hokkaido bread which is $ 1.85 a piece. Is it me or does the hokkaido bread not taste as good as it used to? Am I getting jaded in my old age? Who knows.
But I do know my next quest is to try the laksa in Chinatown where the price is half at Triple One. If they are still there by the time I check it out that is.

LISA: Hey, want to meet up with us for breakfast! It’s Ava’s birthday!
ME: Sure! Where are we going?
LISA: Uhhhh how about _​_​_​_​_​_​_​?
ME: No way, it’s 2 ½ stars on Unilocal!Do you want to die!!!
LISA: Oooooh. Where are we going to go?
So where does one go for breakfast on a Saturday with four little kids in tow that’s not Zippy’s or McDonald’s? Thankfully there’s this awesome app that I use called « Unilocal» (you may have heard about it) and I deduced that Panya offers breakfast! Hooray!!!
Breakfast and bakery opens at 7:30 am and we mosied in at 10 am with our herd of kiddies. We ordered pancakes for the children, my BF got a salmon fried egg croissant sandwich and I decided on the ham and cheese french toast. I loooove french toast and in my head I envisioned the most spectacular breakfast on Earth! Unfortunately my french toast was NOT SPECTACULAR, and in fact was an unappetizing monte cristo sandwich. I really did my best to give it a chance, but even I couldn’t manage to fake a smile through this breakfast catastrophe. It was so oily and the flavor just wasn’t interesting enough to get me past the first two bites. The one bright note in our dining experience was that they serve Illy coffee and it’s delicious!
Moral of the story? When it comes to breakfast at Panya, stick to the standard breakfast items that even a fool couldn’t mess up like scrambled eggs, bacon or pancakes. Aaaand order a nice big cup of coffee!

oh my god, i can’t believe i just paid freaking 16 bucks for a bowl of noodle soup ! :(
the chinese in me wants to come out and slap me silly.
we passed this place 100 of times and were curious why this place was always packed.
finally we came and tried the laksa (15.95 $), taiwanese beef noodle (13.95 $) and the gyoza (4 pics 6.95 $)
i have to admit that the flavors of all the dishes were good, but the prices are just too high !!!
how about a kamaaina discount?

5 words: *Fried Baby Octopus & Chicken Karaage.*
Ok, 2 more: *Happy Hour!*
Nuff said!

I must begin by saying that I was a little disturbed when my mother-​in-​law told me after our meal, that the restaurant refused to seat them before our entire group was there. It’s disturbing because my in-​laws are 80 years old, and my mother-​in-​law uses a cane. It was 5 p.m. on a weekday, and there were a lot of empty tables. Please. Even if it’s a violation of your restaurant’s policy, give the seniors a break for Pete’s sake. For me personally, that’s a reason to never come back here again.
We started off with the chicken wing appetizer. Very small portion for the price. Meh.
I ordered the philly cheese steak sandwich with fries, which was decent. I think they use frozen fries, but they were hot and crispy upon arrival.
My husband ordered the fried pork chop with black pepper sauce. The sauce was heavy and thick, and didn’t do the pork chops justice. It would have been better served with ketchup.
The won ton noodle soup that my niece ordered looked really good. It got me craving won ton noodle soup, but I think I’ll go to Chinatown to get my fix for a fraction of the price.
The best part about Panya is their desserts, mainly the Japanese cheesecake. You just gotta try it. It’s a lot lighter than New York Cheesecake.
31 Unilocal Challenge: #3/​31

It was Girls Nite shoe shopping at Ala Moana, and after 2 hours of walking and trying on shoes, we were getting hungry.
Friend– «Let’s go Panya’s»
Me” — Baked goods? I’m starving!“
Friend– «Oh no, they have everything, even a bar»
Me — «Let’s do it then!»
When you walk in, you are tempted by a plethera a glistening pastries, but look further, and it has a small modern bistro atmosphere with a full bar.
We sat down, not sure what to order, we ordered a bunch of appetizers. There menu is so eclectic, we ordered the
— Chicken Spring Rolls, which were a good size, 6 pieces, Nice flakey wrap, fresh and not greasy.
— Cube Steak (Don’t be decieved) It was the best dish we had, tender pieces of steak with marinated sweet onions.
— Pad Thai with Tofu (but you can order it with shrimp or chicken) VERY good.
— Garlic green beans-​Had to have our staple vegetables, not bad.
— My least favorite, although good, was the Crostini with Salmon. It was more like a Lox and crusty bagel chip, with nothing melted on it.
And we washed it down with their home-​made Red Sangria which was very strong and tasty.
— I have to minus a star for service, although our server was very nice and on it, service was SLOW, which okay for that night, since we had a lot of talk time to catch up on.
Other than that…
Thumbs up to Panya Bistro!

I have a hard time going past a Panya and not going in to buy at least one pasrty. Yes, that’s the truth. I’ve never tried the bistro area yet, but plan to sooner than later.
My kids love the usual stuff, hot dogs roll with ketchup, I prefer the one with mayo. A good ham and cheese roll is always a good choice. Vegetarian curry buns are great too! There was a pretty tasty coffee brownie too.
Pricey, but worth it. I’ve never met a pastry there that I was disappointed with.

For some reason I always forget about this place when thinking of a place to go. But it is pretty good! Been here a bunch of times. VERY small/​cramped dining space though. Not intimate or cozy at all. But they have a good-​sized menu and decent happy hour snacks… good for lunch dates when at Ala Moana.
There’s a list of 6 or 7 $ 5 martinis which are dangerous for happy hour (but the food on happy hour special here is no where near as good as Pearl). I think their happy hour ends at 6pm, unsure of exactly what time it starts.
*Try the fresh apple martini… it is my fave. Super good.

The food is surprisingly good! I’ve never had laksa outside of Singapore, and I’d have to say the laksa they serve at Panya was pretty good. I also tried he salmon salad, and salmon sandwich on french baguette, both of which were good.
My experience with the service hasn’t been the best. The servers seemed pretentious and I got the feeling that the cashiers are constantly talking smack in cantonese. The food is also a little pricey.
The pastries they have in the front look appetizing, but I’m not a fan of pastries and therefore haven’t tried very many.

Panya has been a go to place for cake for me. I like purchasing the cake to go and eating it later after a good day’s worth of shopping. Actually, I’m writing this review as I’m enjoying the azuki cake right now. My boyfriend and I both think that the cake is sweet but not too sweet. I’ve bought a whole cake before too but I don’t remember the name of it. I’ve never been disappointed by the cakes from panya. Because the cakes have always been good, I’m looking forward to trying the actual food at the bistro too! The pictures of the noodles look really promising :)
*** I drafted the review on my phone, I ate the guava cake afterwards and I prefer it over the azuki green bean cake. Both flavors were really good and tasted real – not artificial like how some places like to go about making their food.

Happy hour here is worth mentioning. Panya has a special happy hour menu from 3 – 6 everyday, all day on Mondays, with drink and food specials. There is a specialty drink list which includes various cocktails, imported beer and wine, all for $ 5. Domestic beer is $ 4.
The specialty cocktail list was pretty impressive, with different martinis and mojitos on special for $ 5. We drank the mango martini, and it was delicious!
Must have pupu item when there: Gyoza! One of the best and a good sized portion. This is included on the pupu menu. We ordered two of that plus spring rolls and fried chicken. To make our menu a little more healthy, we ordered the spinach salad off the menu, which is another one of my faves.
I’ve been here for lunch and it’s ok but I really enjoyed happy hour bc of the prices! How can you go wrong with a $ 5 drink and food menu? Try it if you’re ever at Ala Moana.

I really like this place. It’s décor is adorable. I’ve been here once with a friend and another time with my mother, and I have been satisfied TWICE. :)
First off, they have a HUUUGGEE selection of food. You can get anything from salads to burgers to pasta to loco moco! I swear, I love it. And the portions they give are enormous. I have lunch for tomorrow in the fridge as I type.
EDIT: Their pad thai is incredible. Get. It. Now.
Why 4 stars then? Well, I have to say they are a little slow with service. They are friendly enough, but not as much as I would want. When I dine, I want to feel like a welcomed guest. I guess I felt welcomed, but the interactions seemed forced and the staff did not seem happy to be there. More like nonchalant. The motions were there, but not the feeling behind it.
Anyway, I love the food. and the NYC cheesecake was to DIE for. So I wish I could give this a 4.5.
PROS:
–yummy food
–huge portions
–great selection of food
CONS:
–service was just ok
Dishes I Recommend:
— Miso Soup
— Pad Thai (with Chicken)
OVERALL: I RECOMMEND IT! AND TRY THEIR CHEESECAKE!
…oh and i have yet to try happy hour. did i mention there’s a bar? :)

Six years ago, I was introduced to curry laksa, which is a coconut milk-​based soup with noodles. I LOVE noodles and coconut milk’s pretty rocking, so needless to say, it was love at first taste.
I heard the Panya at Ala Moana does an awesome laksa so I decided to try it out. It didn’t stand a chance against the laksa I fell in love with. The soup was simply not hot enough and a little grainy. The noodles were too soft and the shrimp overcooked. It was decent but definitely not awesome.

Good. Clean. Food.
I came here with my family on black friday. We woke up so early and battled the most crowded place on earth, Ala Moana, and we needed some grub to recharge. On recommendation from my mom and sister, we waited patiently as they opened up at 730. Believe it or not, even Panya drew a line before opening! CRAZY STUFF.
We sat down, and I was quite impressed with the interior. The chairs were comfy, the bar looked quite gorgeous with back lit panels, and the lighting made the ambiance pretty chic but practical.
The food is quite the star here. I’m accustomed to the awesome pasteries panya produces, but the breakfast here was delicious. I had the Panya Omelet and it was FABulous. It had turkey, ham, green onions, and a couple more things I couldn’t remember. It comes with 4 pieces of white or wheat panya bread toast, and several slivers of fruit. The omelet was clean, very little oil, flavors put together well and most importantly, I left the place without having the feeling of BLAHHHHHH, which is the last thing you need on a big shopping day.
The selection on the menu isn’t very wide but you’ll definitely find something that you will love! :) The only slight downside to this place is the service. It is a bit on the slower end and our waitress gave my sister rice when she requested wheat toast. Other than that, this place is a sure fire way to start your day. :)

The food is great here!
Surprising because they have a variety of items on their menu that come from different cuisines. Usually that can mean that the food may be suspect… but not here!
Their staff is very friendly and efficient.
What we enjoyed:
–Shrimp Scampi: SOOOO GOOD! Not the same as what you would get at an Italian restaurant with a buttery sauce. Instead it’s fresh large shrimp pan fried dry with garlic served over rice. To top it off it comes with a sweet and spicy garlic dipping sauce. You cannot eat the shrimp unless you use the dipping sauce… it’s what makes the dish.
–Miso Udon: So yummy! The miso adds a great taste to the broth of the soup.
–Double Apple drink: very refreshing.
–White chocolate guava mousse dessert: Great! It’s a light dessert, not too sweet.
They also have baked goods in the front of the restaurant but we didn’t get a chance to try anything. Next time!
Restrooms: They have separate restrooms for men and women. There is one toilet in each restroom. The women’s restroom was clean and the décor was modern.