Best Hawaiian Restaurant in Las Vegas! 🥢🥟🍲

Hello everyone. Today we're visiting a restaurant that came to our attention from word of mouth. We were lucky to stumble upon this little bistro. It's been around for just a few years, but it's clearly a local hidden gem. This family-owned restaurant makes everything they serve from scratch. Las Vegas is known, among other things, as the ninth island, as Vegas has one of the largest populations of Hawaiians outside of Hawaii. So there's no shortage of restaurants catering to the Hawaiian palate. Today we stumbled onto an Hawaiian-Chinese fusion that is a rare find. It's small and quaint, and they really have that aloha spirit you find in truly authentic Hawaiian island restaurants. Make sure to stick around to the end, as we'll uncover a special offer the owners are extending to our viewers. Hawaii is its own small melting pot of cultures, and as such has a rich cornucopia of culinary history. Around the 1850s, the islands exploded with pineapple and sugar plantations, and the demand for workers brought forth mass migrations from China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. Each of these groups contributed their own unique thread to the rich tapestry that is the Hawaiian cuisine of today. 808 Cafe is a shining example of Chinese-Hawaiian fusion living in harmony with each other, and we're so happy to have found this wonderful restaurant. Before we begin, a little trivia question. What is the meaning of 808 in the name of this restaurant? Stick around to the end of the video to find out. Okay, we're starting off this meal with a cold refreshing beverage. Here is the iced lemon tea and home-brewed lemonade. They're both decadently good, and from the unique flavor, you can tell they make them in-house. The lemon is fresh, tart, and sweet. It's fantastic. We started off with crab rangoon. Many Yopers noted, and I have to agree with them, this is probably one of, if not the best crab rangoon I've ever eaten. The wontons? Wow. Crispy, light, and not a hint of greasiness. The filling is nothing short of spectacular. There's some very unique flavor combinations going on here. The interior has a strong curry flavor that marries perfectly with this amazing homemade dipping sauce. The sauce is not just your typical sweet and sour sauce, but more of a duck sauce, the kind you used to find in Chinese restaurants when I was a kid. They pack a slight wallop of spicy red chili, just enough to wake up your taste buds. Then the cream cheese cools them down as it washes over your tongue. Small in stature, but epic in flavor, these little rangoon are tremendous, and you'd be crazy not to try these. In the days when the island workers toiled away at the plantations, they would make for themselves this style of food called a plate lunch. It consists of a protein as well as typically white rice, and of course, the ubiquitous macaroni salad. Today, we ordered the Hawaiian stew, plate lunch style. Served with carrots and potatoes, this rich stewed meat is really packed with deep, rich umami flavors from being slow cooked for hours in tomatoes and savory brown roux. We're really loving this fantastic dish. The meat is so tender, and there's no lack of flavor here. This chili oil, I think it's the best I've ever tasted. Our server let us know when we asked for it that it's homemade. The chili is so well flavored with salt, and I can't figure out what else, but it almost reminds me of the deep, rich taste of a chocolate mole. I could eat this on everything. The beef is for sure the star of this dish, but the white rice goes so well with it. It reminds me of its European cousin, beef burgundy. You should definitely get this when you're here. Though most plate lunches traditionally come with white rice and macaroni salad, you can substitute either chow mein or fried rice for considerable upcharge. The rice and chow mein are a little bland and lack a salty component that would make them suitable to eat on their own, but are good with the various dishes they serve here mixed with them. If you wish to eat them on their own, they have salt, soy, and vinegar at the table, and as I said, some of the most intoxicating chili oil you'll ever taste. Disclaimer, I really hate macaroni salad. It reminds me of the kind of thing your aunt that can't cook would pick up on the way over to your potluck. But sadly, at the end of the event, it was barely touched. I put it in the same category as green jello moles. But all that being said, I still enjoyed this dish a great deal, and I highly recommend it. Fried gaugui is a local treat loved by Hawaiian natives. Crispy fried wontons stuffed with a mixture of pork, sometimes shrimp, and vegetables. How could this not be intoxicating? The sauce is a sweet and sour mixture, but here, it's not too sweet, more on the sour side. It's also not a thick sauce, more of a watery consistency. I've had these many times before at Hawaiian restaurants when I spent a considerable amount of time in Hawaii years ago. These are a great version of gaugui. My good friend Monica I grew up with is from Oahu, and she was addicted to these. In fact, she made them almost every time I went to her house for dinner as a starter. I'm pretty sure the gaugui here at 808 didn't contain shrimp, but it packed plenty of porky goodness, and were very satisfying. I love this delicate sauce they make, very different than I'm used to. I also love these with Chinese mustard as well, but no mustard today. Garlic miso chicken is one of the most popular things they serve here. I heard it started off being offered as a special, but due to its popularity, made its way to the permanent menu, and I can see why. It's delicious. I've rarely met a fried chicken that I don't like. Even though I'm Italian by nationality, my mother was raised in the south, and therefore, fried chicken is in my blood. This is another plate lunch special, and therefore, it comes with rice and macaroni salad. Again, I wish I'd known about the upcharge substitutions available. Oh well, next time. And there definitely will be a next time, since this food is so darn good. And this chicken. Well, as they say, winner winner, chicken dinner. In case you don't know, miso is a rich fermented paste made from soybeans, and it has such a unique flavor, I really can't describe it, but it's treasured in Asia because of its rich umami taste. Hawaiians seem to love their mayonnaise, so this miso comes mixed on this plate with mayo. This fried chicken is made with thigh meat. They leave the skin on, so it's not just boneless white meat chicken. It's that wonderful texture you can only get from the crunchy skin. I believe this dish is from the food in Hawaii that comes from the Japanese influence. There's so much going on in this dish. I love the sautéed garlic that's been browned in oil, infusing its garlicky goodness and crispy bits, then poured across the top. The green onions are not merely a garnish, but they add that wonderful flavor that we love to this miso chicken. Macaroni salad, well, as I noted before, I'm not a fan. Ah, one of my favorites, honey walnut shrimp. These large prawns, almost the size of my hands. These are very different than most I've had. They're very crispy, and the batter is light and has a great crunch to it. There's no grease at all in these, and the flavor is very clean. I would almost say that the coating is fluffy, if that makes sense. The mayo sauce, not overly sweet, and there doesn't seem to be any honey in the sauce or sweetened condensed milk, as there usually is. The sauce was good, but maybe more mayo-based than most I've had. Perhaps this is the Hawaiian influence in the dish. The shrimp are such good quality, really fresh, juicy, plump. I love the walnuts. They're nice and candied, but not overly sweet. The flavors here are all very refined and classy. I would definitely recommend this walnut shrimp. I think you're going to love it. The origin of chow fun is unknown, but we do know that the Chinese brought this dish to Hawaii, where it became very popular. It's all about the charred wok hay in this dish. I can make or break it. If the noodles are broken, it wrecks the dish for me. If the beef is bland and tastes boiled rather than seared to the point of almost tasting burnt, it misses the mark. You can definitely see the Chinese influence in this chow fun. The beef has been perfectly velveted to make it tender. The rice noodles and protein are wonderfully charred to give that beautiful wok hay. However, in the process, the noodles became very overcooked. Unfortunately, this is not the best rendition of this dish I've ever tasted. It's a shame because the beef is very good, as well as the flavors, but being Italian, I hate soggy noodles. I love the bean sprouts and green onions. The noodles, being overcooked, dissolve instantly as you chew them. I like them to put up a bit of a fight. Everything else we've had so far is great, and I can see why people love this place. Once again, this chili oil is gold, but this is one dish I wouldn't recommend. Laksa dates back to the 15th century and is believed to have come from either Indonesia or Malaysia. It's a stew that usually consists of noodles, protein, and in this rendition, curry. Creamy, rich, soothing, and a good amount of spice. 808's Chicken Laksa is a wonderfully rich and powerfully flavor-packed soup that you just want to dive into and lose yourself. We chose the chicken today, and as you can see, it's positively wonderful. It's a rich, golden curry. A good friend I grew up with, Ari, made a laksa very much like this. He and his family moved to our town from Malaysia, and I learned a lot about Malaysian cooking from him. This reminds me of egg curry his mother used to make. So I learned to make this dish when I was young, and there's nothing better on a cold winter's day than a good laksa. These soft-boiled eggs, still a little runny, go so well with the noodles. The noodles are perfectly cooked, an absolute delight to chew through. I love the bean sprouts and green onion too. They give it a nice fresh texture that compliments all the warm notes in the broth. This was a highly enjoyable dish, and I definitely recommend it. This is perhaps one of the finest versions of salt and pepper fish I've ever had. It's made with a wonderfully fresh sole, and the seasoning is magnificent. It's fried in a lighter-than-light batter, perfectly salted, and then topped with several different types of chilies. I can see little serranos diced and fried with lots of garlic, as well as red arbol chilies. There's something so satisfying about toasted garlic. It just makes everything better. The fish is perfectly cooked, just to the point of being done, allowing the freshness of the sole to burst forth. The coating on the fish isn't at all stodgy. It's crispy, and seems to somehow almost magically avoid picking up any hint of grease at all. Look how beautiful it is on the inside. I have to say, I'm getting addicted to this chili sauce. I could eat it on everything, and I think I will. I'm taking some home with me. Our server, Dennis, tells me it's $10 for just eight ounces. Anyway, do yourself a favor and get this salt and pepper fish dish. It's tremendous. While this black pepper beef dish has it all, what stands out most is the charred notes of an insanely hot wok that sears into flavors of the beautifully velveted beef. Velveting beef is a method that the Chinese have used for countless years to tenderize impossibly tough cuts of meat into an almost velvet tender texture that melts in your mouth. This is done by soaking them in a mixture that usually contains baking soda. The beef in this dish is remarkably tender, and so flavorful. It's almost the texture of a wonderful filet. The soy and oyster sauce greatly enhance the flavor of this dish, and a good amount of pepper and garlic bring it to another level. The green and red bell peppers, as well as the onions, bring on an almost magical taste, since they too have been kissed by the breath of a wok. This beef almost melts in your mouth, and you could probably cut through it without a knife. There's so much cracked black pepper in here, it's almost shocking, but in a good way. Not a crazy amount of spice, so almost anyone would be able to tolerate eating it with ease. The white rice also goes well with this pepper beef. They're the perfect team to tantalize your taste buds. As you already know, we have a chili addiction, and crave even more spice. So, time for more of that insanely good red chili. It's the perfect compliment, and just what the doctor ordered. Another winning dish. Wow, what a fantastic dish. As I've told most of you before, there's really no such thing as fermented black beans. In fact, it's soybeans that are fermented until the aging process turns them black. The fermentation process also makes them incredibly rich, and gives them an intense umami flavor. This savory umami taste is what sets up a craving, and makes it impossible to take just one bite. You have to have more. I absolutely love black bean anything, and this fish is no exception. The fish itself, also wonderfully fresh soul, and therefore it has absolutely no fishy taste whatsoever. It's as if it just jumped from the ocean to the wok, and into your plate. I was half expecting to see a bait and tackle and fishing pole in the corner. The sauce is addicting, and you want to have plenty of white rice standing close by to accommodate it. It's almost a fish stew that goes perfectly with the nice starchy grain. There's so much garlic and black pepper in this dish, but the black bean fish is perfectly seasoned, making it hard to discern its exact ingredients. A masterful job by the chef. I'd be happy to get this dish anytime, and you should order it when you come here. You're going to love it. 808 Cafe, it's a shining example of why Vegas is called the ninth island. When we moved here, we didn't expect to find so many Hawaiian restaurants, but now we know why, given Vegas's significant Hawaiian population. It's a great place to experience Hawaiian food in that aloha spirit. With the exception of the chow fun, the macaroni salad, as well as the greatly overpriced upcharge for the chow mein and the fried rice, 808 was a total delight. With the salt and pepper fish and the black bean fish, 808 Cafe knocked it out of the park. And then the rangoon. What more can I say? It was the best I've ever had. I'm still dreaming about it. We enjoyed 808 Cafe, and we'll be back soon. Who knows? Maybe you'll see us there, and make sure to tell them Let's Eat Vegas sent you. And finally, thanks to our Hawaiian members who recommended 808 Cafe. One of the unexpected perks of our channel is to hear all the recommendations we receive from our subscribers. Please keep them coming. As promised, here is a special offer we told you about at the beginning of the video. When you dine at 808 Cafe, be sure to tell them Let's Eat Vegas sent you and receive a free edamame appetizer. And finally, to our trivia question, the 808 in 808 Cafe refers to the telephone area code for the Hawaiian islands, including the Windward and Leeward Islands, as well as Wake Island. It was assigned on August 8, 1957, about two years before Hawaii became our 50th state. I know we're all guilty of watching YouTube videos and not participating. As a reminder, please like, comment, subscribe, or even become a VIP member. It means a lot to us, and it helps us grow and to bring you more reviews. Until we eat again, bon appetit.