One of the firsts Hawaiian-themed restaurant in Manila. I did not know what to expect when we would say Hawaiian food but you could imagine how the ambiance would feel like. I think this is the first time I’ve eaten in a Hawaiian restaurant so I don’t know if it really should be hot and spicy or is it a fusion of western and asian food. The restaurant is full of tikis which could be scary for some kids but we were glad that it did not affect Aidan. The waiters would greet you with an “Aloha” welcome and wave a “Mahalo” good bye. The initial feedback from the people that have eaten here is not that positive (see Eye Candy’s Polu Kai reaction). The “tiki” ambiance creates excitement in the dining experience but the food, indeed, needs improvement. I’m sure it would still improve after two months in operation.
Here is the menu so that you can prepare yourselves on what to expect when eating here.
Soup, Salads and Appetizers
Grilled and Main Courses
Pizza, Sidings and Desserts
BTW, just a word of caution, I’ve eaten in most of the Serendra restaurants and you should expect about 20% premium in most of the restaurants here. I’m not sure if the intent is just to attract the upper middle class or rich crowd; or the Serendra rent is really more expensive than most establishments. Check out the food and a detailed look at the restaurant. I’m sure you have eaten here if you have been in Serendra, so let me know how is your experience.
A Big Aloha would greet you as you walk in the store. Wood and Tikis (those nasty looking faces) are the overall theme for the restaurant.
As starters, we had this…
Devil Shrimp (P195). Indeed, the hottest shrimp dish in town! We liked the taste of this seafood, crunchy and chewy shrimp but don’t expect a Si Chuan type hotness. We loved this sizzling dish and this has been the best menu item that we have tasted.
To satisfy our cravings for more food, we had to order more.
D Polu Kai Baby Back Ribs (P730). They say it was grilled “falling off the bone” and I say, it is definitely not so. My friend recommended it that is why we agreed to pay P730 for it but we were disappointed. With its price, you are better off eating in Tony Roma’s and without being disappointed with the tastiness of its meat. It is like bland meat coated with “their own secret special sauce” (which is very good) but the meat was not well marinated (i think.).
Crispy Creamy Fish (P330). Pan fried fish fillet with sze chuan peppercorn cream sauce served with garlic pilaf and vegetables. The fish lacks taste and freshness. Lets leave it at that.
Not to be outdone is the dessert,
Polu Kai Fried Banana (P170). Fried banana in caramel syrup served with ice cream. We found it easy to make at home but after eating the desserts in Mezzaluna, this won’t stand a chance.
As you go out, these tikis would greet you, “Mahalo! “
CONTACTS:
Polu Kai @ Serendra Piazza
(I don’t think you need to reserve since there are plenty spaces for walk-in guests.)
FYI…This isn’t the first and only Hawaiian-themed restaurant in Manila…there’s Hula-hula Restaurant in Alabang.
yeah, hula2x in alabang is great.
i love their platter meals. so far, i’ve tried the bora2x and japanese. definitely must-tries 🙂
I believe “mahalo” means “thank you.” 🙂
My cousin works in this restaurant. I haven’t tried eating there, but I’ll forward this link to him.
actually, the restaurant serves pacific rim cuisine and hawaiian cuisine is a fusion of japanese, mexican and american cuisines.
Hula-Hula serves a variety of sushi rolls, w/c is a bit weird for a Hawaiian resto but is something different and it tastes good too. It’s cute that they serve most of their dishes in bamboos too. Oh they have great seafood too! Oyster Oyster, the resto beside it is also great. They’ve got a tasty milkfish, and, of course, diff. kinds of oysters!
i saw the menu of hula hula and it kinda serves filipino food. i dunno. but that’s just what i think
yep. hawaiian is really a combination of japanese, mexican and american cusines.
you should’ve tried the Loco Moco. It’s the hambuger patty with fried egg served with rice. It’s a local hawaiian fare. Every corner store has it, it’s their staple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_cuisine
check this out! it’s like a crash course on what “hawaiian cusine” should be…
hi mish! I think i know you…were we in the same camp when we were still kids?
hi anton! you’re right about the baby back ribs.. had dinner there last night and for P730 not only is it pricey its not even worth the price 🙁 we enjoyed the grilled squid though very tender and tasty 🙂
Just came from a Sunday lunch at Polu Kai with my Husband and son. We eat out a lot, and appreciate good food. On arrival, the staff were so friendly, then we sat next to the fish tank which my son loved, also he loved the masks!! As for the food, for the food type served it was no pricier than any other restaurant of similar qaulity, and portions were big. My husband said his ribs, which were so tender that they were practically falling off the bone, were the best he ever tasted, my son loved the fish and chips, and the Tuna and salads were great. I am glad we took a risk and went here, as i do often take advice from your site, think you got it wrong this time though buddy!
ken? wats ur full name?
mish! check me out here!
https://awesome.blog/awesome/2006/09/what_a_spankadv.html
Hi Yas! I’m glad that I was wrong. It’s better to be wrong and be surprised positively than the other way around.
Frankly, one of the risks for doing reviews on the first few weeks of operation, is that we should acknowledge that the resto could improve. Usually it stabilizes as they reach their second month.
Thanks for the feedback on this so that the review is quite balanced. One thing I love about my blog is that my readers contribute to make the post more objective and accurate. So for that, thank you!!
Anton
hahaha=) saw you ken!
It was unfortunate that during my lunch visit last Saturday, the power went down not once – but twice!! The manager on site was kind enough to serve us with free ice cream! I loved the salad and the fish and chips! 🙂
Hi Didi! I heard what happend at Serendra last Sat. I’m glad that the manager was kind and accomodating. I heard that Meralco was doing some repair work for the damage done last week with the typhoon.
I’m also glad that you like the food. =)
Hi, i just want to ask for your landline number.the restaurant have a good ambiance and really nice food.
hi,im a student of Lyceum of the Philippines University i just want to ask for the landline of Aloha Polu Kai, Serendra, and the hula hula restaurant. we need to have those number plsss send the contact info. and the location of those restaurant i’ll wait for the response tnx
HULA HULA resto is the BEST! ate at polu kai & was really disappointed!
i liked their fish & chips! yumm.. 🙂
the service in polu kai is very bad! the staff was rude, the manager was rude. i will never eat there again. by far the worst restaurant service i have experienced
same with some of the people here, i didn’t really enjoy eating there. although i liked the crispy creamy fish. the food is good naman eh. it’s just the service that sucked. i even blogged wrote about it in my blog and at munchpunch.com, and i got a response from the polu kai management about 12 days later! they apologized for the bad service and said they were gonna do something about it bec apparently, a lot of people are noticing it already. 🙂
i like the asian salad po polukai specially the dressing!!!!!!!!!!i would like to congratulate the oner and the staff of polukai!~!!!!good job guys!!!!!!!!!
http://utotmopink.blogspot.com/2008/12/fine-dining-at-serendra-piazza.html
let me share my experience at polu kai 🙂
merry christmas!
had dinner last nyt at polukai and yes i agree you’ll remember the ambiance more over the taste of the food…
🙁