Simply Ono

Delicious fresh poke. Seared Ahi and lomilomi salmon. Thank you so much for the wonderful treats!!!

No no

I love their laulau and spicy poke combo. Its everything I want and nothing more. I haven’t found any other place that offers this kind of combination — it seems to be a one of a kind. At a price point of $ 10 — I’m also very satisfied with the amount of food. Quantity for value!
Just remember when you order — say the entrée, (brown/​white) rice, (toss/​mac) salad.
They offer a great daily rotation of food. Accepts credit cards Mon — Thurs. Friday is cash only. Not on campus on the weekends, holidays, school breaks, etc.

Previously, as a college student, I did not have many suitable places to eat. Sure, you could walk across campus to Paradise Palms and get something from the slew of selections they have there. You could also get something from the Campus Center’s cafeteria’s heavily overpriced food. However I like to spend my money on value (big portion at value price).
That having been said, when you want a big portion of onolicious, local Hawaiian food to eat, this place is where you need to hit up!
Food: The menu changes changes every day with Friday containing an addition of whatever’s left over during the week. Every day this food truck changes what they have for fish, poultry, and pork/​beef dishes. Check the menu online to check whether they have what you like that day! I love Thursdays and Fridays. Thursdays is turkey day with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and turkey. Fridays are full of Hawaiian style plates from laulau and kalua pig to spicy poke and chicken long rice. Yum!
The service is friendly, fast, and efficient. Generous portions are given and the server is always able to recommended a dish; even when its busy. This lunch stop shows the spirit of aloha which exudes with every bite from its dishes. Salüd my fellow Unilocalers.

Simply Ono was simply boring. I had the shoyu chicken and the lady there slopped some way too home made looking shoyu chicken onto some rice, with a side salad, and sent me on my way. The chicken was just lots of bones and fat from the skin. There was nothing really interesting about it. I knew I should have ordered the poke and lomi lomi plate. Come to think of it, maybe it was a bad order. I guess it was aggravated by the fact that the lady didn’t seem to be in a good mood that day. There were no other customers and it was the lunch hour, so as a vendor, I would have been in a bad mood too.

Located at the front of the campus on the way up from the parking structure and school, this lunch wagon has some hits and a few misses. I’ve tried almost everything on the menu and really appreciate the herb chicken, seared ahi, corn chowder. Portions are decent to generous depending on the worker. Credit cards are ok (one of the first food options to take credit cards if I remember correctly).
Whats preventing a higher rating than 3 stars? I recently found hair in my soup on one occasion and also the fact that the lady who works there ranges from being not nice to extremely rude. I know she’s trying to run an efficient operation but showing some professionalism will go a long way.
All in all I will return to this place since it’s got mostly great taste and generous portions and an affordable price.

They have two locations on UH: The wagon parked in front of Krauss Hall and another in biomed, having two locations helped glad I didn’t have to walk all over the place.
The portions are pretty good for the price, they always have some sort of chicken, fish, pasta, and specialty item available. One of the few places that offers a 3-​bean salad. Personally i’m not a fan but kudos on the offering, occasionally I see someone ask for it. The mini is actually pretty big, and the regular could last you two meals depending on how hungry you are.
The staff is relatively friendly, at least i’ve never had any complaints.
They do have a website
not the fanciest website around but they do list what they will be having for the day so I can decide on whether or not to go elsewhere. Most of the time I end up there anyway.
As for food everything is pretty good. The fish could be better but you can’t have it all.
They’ll ask you if you want white rice or brown, and tossed or mac or 3-​bean salad.
My personal favorites are:
1) Spicy Ahi Poke: Its not even a question, if they have it, i’m ordering it. You can go wrong with a $ 7.50 poke plate.
2) Herb Roasted Chicken and Chicken Adobo: Nice flavor, never disappointing. Typically $ 7.50
3) Kalua Pig and Cabbage: Emphasis on «and Cabbage», sometimes they don’t make it with cabbage and yes there is a difference.
I would give them 5 stars but they posted up Beef Wellington on their website once and didn’t have it when I got down there, sad panda. It has yet to appear on the menu again.

Tried this place’s food stand at the Kaneohe Air Show the other weekend. Was near the end when everyone was packing up, so I was not expecting them to have much. Luckily, they still had poke bowls left. Yes, the food at the air show was expensive, but hey… you get free entertainment, so I won’t complain too much. Paid about $ 7 for my poke bowl, if I remember correctly. So let’s get to the food.
Waited in line for a little and finally got my plate. Had a fair amount of poke on top, spicy ahi if anyone was wondering. And probably about 2 scoops of rice… definite local style, no need that much but they give it to ya anyways. Taste was alright, had a decent spiciness to it, not enough for a spicy addict like me, but it sufficed. The ahi they gave had a lot of the gritty/​stringy parts left… which I’m not a fan of, but it was probably the last of it, so kind of my fault. Still, the poke wasn’t overly salty and the rice was still semi-​fresh tasting and didn’t get all hard and nasty. So A-​OK to me… after a long hot day in the sun watching jets that is.
Fit Tip #2 — Don’t skip the carbs. In the past, lots of people went with low carb diets thinking carbs are what make you fat. In actuality, only fat and protein are readily converted into fat deposits in the body. Carbohydrates are primarily used as fuel, either immediately or stored as glycogen in the muscles to be used later. If you wanna have energy to do stuff all day, eat carbs… though I don’t mean like 38 donuts in the morning.

They’ve gone downhill, and seem to be gaining speed.
While they still occasionally attempt more ambitious offerings, their execution rarely matches their ambition.
They also only offer old favorites, such as the seared ahi (one of the few dishes I might still risk), but rarely now.
Even routine standards like hamburger steak are more reminiscent of the salisbury steak from a bad tv dinner. Think rubber slipper, boiled until spongey soft; its strangely non-​beef flavor mostly masked by a copious pool of gravy which seems to be primarily comprised of the ingredients salt, gelatinous thickener, and brown. Thank goodness for Sriracha — lots and lots of Sriracha.

Baked mac and cheese all the way. Definite guilty pleasure, yummmm.

This place was ok. It’s been sitting south of the crosswalk on Punchbowl these days, so I decided to check it out. The lady is nice enough, and the service is quick.
But I didn’t really care for the food. I ordered a mini-​plate of garlic sauteed ahi with brown rice and tossed salad. My ahi was gray and already had that slimy covering like it had been sitting since this morning. Not much flavor to speak of as well.
Normally I expect to have food from the lunchwagon cooked to order. But the food here was pre-​prepared, which means it wasn’t as great or as fresh as it could have been. I can understand if that’s the M.O. of Simply Ono since it seems to be a one-​person operation, but I don’t really intend to go back unless I’m in a pinch for time.

When I was a student at UH, this used to be my favorite place to get lunch. The walk was somewhat far from Shidler, but it was well worth it. There is not one thing I can single out from their menu because everything I’ve tried tasted so good.
The food usually comes in two sizes, a mini and a regular. The mini is enough to feed one person. But if you want more for your money, you should definitely get the regular. The regular used to last me two lunches. And the regular is only $ 1 more than the mini!
I really do miss eating here :(

(Eat the Street experience)
I got the Spicy Ahi Bowl ($ 5): a creamy blend of ahi tuna and onions over a bed of warm white rice. I shared it with my parents and a friend who came with me to this event.
The freshness of the ahi was undeniable, and the sliced onions provided a slight bite. However, all four of us felt the dish was overly creamy (losing the beautiful light to dark magenta color of raw tuna), lacking spice, and too warm overall. Yes, everyone, fish in this manner is best served cold/​refrigerated. The rice here likely played affected the temperature of the ahi. The protein here could have been seasoned a tad more as well.
At least I heard rave reviews about Simply Ono’s warm bread pudding with creamy vanilla sauce ($ 3). Also, Simply Ono had a baked macaroni and cheese dish at Eat The Street (with pancetta, fire-​roasted red peppers, edamame, and mascarpone cheese). I’ll think of giving Simply Ono another try in the future.

Simply Ono may just be another lunch truck in any other neighborhood, it is a much welcomed culinary addition at the UH Manoa. It offers a good and interesting selection and rather reasonable prices which make it a good food option.
The menu varies, however it will generally include a seafood item, two specials, a pasta, chicken, salad, sandwich, and soup options. There are general staples to their menu, however it does vary and change depending on what’s available. I’ve found their Okinawan pork and their furikake ahi to be welcomed and flavorful highlights and the other items simply ok.
The okinawan pork is distinct flavors with sweet and salty flavors of well cooked and tender pork. While the furikake ahi is what you might expect, however well cooked, especially considering this is food truck where food tends to get overdone.
Prices are rather reasonable with affordable options for the broke college student’s budget while other options for the well-​paid professors. All in all, the good selection is quite reasonable and what I would come to expect of other trucks or food options.

Simply Ono has a hidden gem on the bottom of their menu. The $ 3.00 bread pudding. If you could bottle that sauce, they would make loads of dough. I was hoping the portion would be a little bigger but I guess it was a decent enough size. But the bread pudding itself had a nice chewiness to it and that sauce just made it that much better. I also tried their chocolate covered bacon which I would highly recommend you skip. I’ve had chocolate covered bacon in the past and this was a soggy melted mess. Even though it was refrigerated the bacon itself was either a cheap cut or not fried enough. I took a bite and it was so chewy. Not cripsy and chocolatey. I was expecting a sweet salty treat and it was neither.

Simply Ono hooks it UP. If you’ve got an insatiable appetite after being in class or you want to share, this is a college student budget’s dream. When you walk past the cart their smell is sure to make you salivate even if you’re not hungry.
They always have a great selection of really local comfort foods from chicken adobo to garlic shrimp to meatloaf and spaghetti. I think I even saw turkey and gravy listed. It’s really mind-​blowing how they’re able to cook up fantastic dishes (and so MUCH of it) in that tiny little truck. And when they don’t have the truck, they’re still out there under an awning and serving up plate lunches. I’ve had their garlic chicken and they actually give entire legs and thighs. It was really succulent and moist, it was too much for me to finish. If you’re just looking to get comfortably full, I suggest splitting with someone.
There’s a reason there’s a line of people from all walks of life – professors, construction workers and students – this food is mighty tasty and CHEAP. And they’re so friendly, who can beat that? Out of all the choices, this is definitely one of the top 3 places to eat on campus.
Unilocal challenge: #23/​365

After six weeks of passing by this place before class I was finally able to try it. Now that summer school is almost over, I’m quite sad I won’t see it around anymore. Located right across the street from the School of Law library, and right before the John Young art museum is where it’s at.
First time, only got a bowl of soup, corn chowder (3.50 small bowl, $ 5.00 large bowl), I liked it. Not too heavy on the creaminess, and not too watery either. It was a bit different, has carrots inside, not something I’m use too…
Next time, seared ahi with wasabi aioli ($ 7.50). Their ahi is very fresh, and it is seared the way I like it (slightly cooked on the outside, raw on the inside), and it isn’t dry either. You can definitely taste the shoyu/​wasabi sauce it’s kept in. It isn’t too overpowering either, so you’ll still taste be able to taste the ahi. It also comes with either white or brown rice, along with either toss or mac salad. Their toss salad has a really good dressing, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s somewhat similar to an oriental type of dressing.
Their menu changes everyday so check their website:
I’ve already got my third visit choice picked out already!

If you’re looking for a healthier meal from a lunch truck, order from Simply Ono. They must rove, because although this specific post states that they’re at UH, as I walked down punchbowl street, I saw a blue truck parked right next to the library, and wouldn’t have known that it was the Simply Ono truck until I saw their logo on the back of the woman’s shirt!
I had to order it today because I know they will have a ridiculously long line at the truck food rally this friday night, and I’m so glad I ordered!
Seared Ahi — 4 star — for $ 7.50, the ahi was very fresh, but cold because they have to keep it refrigerated. Their soy sauce with a tinge of wasabi blended very well with the ahi. There’s a choice of brown, white or garlic rice. I wanted to eat more healthy, so I ordered the brown rice, which was a little hard, but made a healthier meal.
I am still on my quest to find out who makes good mac salad. However, the mac salad was ok, but the mac noodles were a litlte hard and there was too much mayonnaise — though I’m very very picky when it comes to mac salad and certain other foods — as the hunt goes on.
I was going to order the prime rib, but being such a heavy meal, I’ll have to save that for dinner at the lunch truck rally, if they don’t have a long line. She mentioned that she’ll be bringing the white truck with the logo at the food truck rally instead of the blue one so she’ll be easy to find.

So, being too lazy to make my own lunch this morning, in addition to being too lazy to walk any amount of more than 100 feet from work, I settled on the green lunch truck parked out by the State Capital on Punchbowl Street this afternoon. See, I work right around that area and there’s probably 3 – 4 lunch options in 100 yards and in opposite directions. So, I made the quick and lazy executive decision to have lunch at the green truck.
It was noon and after mulling over the options (many of which included Filipino food), I settled on the Club Sandwich. «Sold Out. No Mo.» Hmmm… I hate that, it makes me think harder. The wheels had to really grind this time, but I finally picked their somen salad. It was already made and the as the man picked it up and handed it to me he said, «If you lookin’ fo’ one light lunch, dis not it.» He was right. After handing over my $ 6 to the lady they handed me the bag and the buggah was heavy. I dragged myself back across the street, weather being really humid because of the morning rains. I finally got upstairs to my desk and unwrapped the package and popped open the styrofoam lid. A massive somen salad stared me in the face. Actually it was mostly the toppings. I moved some of it around and it seemed like the kamaboko was like half a stick of shredded kamaboko. Several eggs seemed to make up the shredded scrambled eggs. There was also a large chopped chicken and cucumbers. It was huge. I poured the sauce all over it and it was on.
Ho, bruddah grind da whole ting. For $ 6, it was more than a bargain. Most of the rest of their menu hovers around the $ 6-​$ 7 range as well. Man, I’m still full.

I sometimes try to bring lunch from home, but if I ever do not have enough time to prepare my meal, Simply Ono is the first choice for me to eat on campus.
They give generous portions, and this is important for a college student! They are also very friendly and have a great menu day to day
If you are ever at UH campus I recommend going there

«Next victim!» shouts the man in the truck.
Those words are music to my ears since I am next to order.
Simply Ono has been a delightful change to my usual Taco Hut or overpriced bento from Campus Center food court. Most of their plates are under $ 7 and the portions are generous! I agree with the reviewer before me that some items are hit or miss, especially the sauteed mahi. It was a little bit dry and not enough sauce. The rice to fish ratio was way off as well! Regardless, they have an extensive menu that will keep me entertained.
With campus food going up next semester, I hope Simply Ono keeps their prices low since I predict myself visiting that truck a lot =)