It’s back! Kam Bowl ready to launch

Nadine Kam photos
Kam Bowl’s famous oxtail soup. I would like to see more peanuts and anise.

BY NADINE KAM

Kam Bowl restaurant quietly opened its doors with a blessing and trial run of its meal service today, ahead of its official opening day Jan. 27, when it will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast and lunch through Feb. 2.

Beginning Feb. 3, the restaurant hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The restaurant moved into the space once filled by Kenny’s Coffee House, in the Kamehameha Shopping Center, across the street from the original Kam Bowl bowling alley that closed in 2007.

It was sad to see an island institution like Kenny’s close. Living in the neighborhood, I often had breakfast there. When these restaurants close, they’re often replaced by much more contemporary cafés that often leave us with more lost than gained.

So it’s great to see something of a merging of the two kama’aina brands, a sort of “best of” arrangement that will see the return of Kenny’s Chinese chicken salad, and Kam Bowl’s oxtail soup.

I’ll be back when the restaurant hits full speed in about three weeks, when a grand opening celebration is planned. Call the restaurant at 841-0931 for more information.

Credible kalbi outside of a Korean restaurant.

Lup cheong fried rice comes in $7.50 or $9.50 portions with choice of one or two, respectively, eggs prepared your way. Here, scrambled.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.