Eastbound and down! The stars aligned today and the MSG150 crew headed out for our forth adventure this week. I think that's a record. When we started our quest back in November we set out to eat in at least two spots in our path per week and, except for the holidays, we have more than succeeded. A number of folks have called us crazy (some of them because of MSG150). Some have said it could never be done. Some said we'd get tired and quit. But... we're gonna do what they say can't be done. We've a long way to go and a short time to get there. Somethin', somethin', watch that Bandit run.
Address: 656 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Hawaiin
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 1/25/2008 @ 13:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 10 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes, but none added... its just what is in the premade sauces.
Where is the owner/chef from?: From Seattle, but a 5th generation Chinese-Hawaiin
Number of tables: 15
Number of occupied tables: 13 (86%)
Number of business lunch tables: 10 (76%)
Number of "local" tables: 3 (23%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon
Luncher: Emmett
Lunch: Lunch Special with Sweet & Sour Spareribs - $4.99Fortune: You will soon follow your heart's desire
Rating:
Emmett's Review
Kau Kau started off well. They had a fish that we could look at while we waited, that apparently is quite big. We also had to wait for 10 minutes, something that we're not accustomed to. Regardless, our patience yielded a good size table near the door and we quickly scoured the menus.
They have lunch specials that are pretty crazy - soup, fried rice, some bbq pork, and another meat of your choice for $4.99. Compared to Ga Ga Loc next door, who are you kidding? The soup arrived, it was chicken noodle, kind of bland, but I enjoyed it.
Next up, our meat arrived. I had the sweet and sour short ribs. The sweet and sour sauce was a little icky sweet, but the short ribs were nice. The bbq pork on the side was also quite good, dipped with a little mustard and sesame. The fried rice rounded out the meal nicely.
All told, Kau Kau great bargain for a great amount of food. I didn't feel so well afterwards, and not because I ate a particularly large amount, but rather, the meat hits you with some force. I'd come again.
Luncher: Geary
Lunch: Lunch Special with Roasted Duck - $4.99Fortune: Your lover will be true to you.
Rating:
Geary's Review
Kau Kau is a large, nicely decorated restaurant. It is always crowded for lunch with a good mixed crowed. We had eight today and had to wait for a seat. They said it would be ten minutes and it was (kudos). The service was efficient and friendly. The man seating us was an owner. We learned from him that Kau Kau, Hawaiian for "eat eat", has been in his family since the 1950s. His family is from Canton originally, but are fifth generation Hawaiian.
They have a large dinner menu, but a fairly fixed lunch menu: your choice of eight meats plus soup, fried rice, and (just in case your meat wasn't enough) a side of BBQ pork. The soup was a simple chicken noodle and was nothing special. It was nice to have some soup on a chilly day though. The rest of the food was great. The fried rice is the best we have had yet. It had large flavorful bits of BBQ pork and nice crispy sprouts. My choice of meat, the BBQ duck, was delicious as was the BBQ pork. Both were moist and tender with lots of smoky flavor. Double yum!
Luncher: Adam
Lunch: Lunch Special with BBQ Spareribs - $4.99Fortune: Sing and rejoice, fortune is smiling on you
Rating:
Adam's Review
This is another Meat-in-Window (MIW) joint. I love the MIW. The lunch special with fried rice, steamed vegetables, BBQ pork, and a meat option. Because of previous experiences with MIW joints, most people were going to get the duck as their meat option. So, I decided to get the BBQ spareribs (yes, this pig has ribs to spare). And yes, this was an all-pork lunch because the fried rice had pork in it too
Lets start with the fried rice. I'm going to go ahead and toss this out there: this was the best fried rice I've ever had. There, I said it. It was full of flavor and chunks of meaty goodness. This wasn't cheap-lunch-plate-filling fried rice... this was honest-to-goodness fried rice. Delicious.
Also delicious: the pork. The BBQ pork was savory but not overly-salty... which is a problem that often plagues BBQ pork. This BBQ pork was plague-free. An excellent addition to this lunch special.
The BBQ spareribs were pretty good. The sauce on the ribs were good. My one complaint is that I wanted more!
Cheap eats. Delicious food. Seattle landmark. Get your meat-lovin' ass down here.
Luncher: Doug
Lunch: Lunch Special with BBQ Spareribs - $4.99Fortune: You will enjoy peace and harmony in your home.
Rating:
Doug's Review
Great value for the money.
Luncher: Jeff
Lunch: Lunch Special with Roasted Sidepork - $4.99Fortune: The time is right to buy yourself something nice.
Rating:
Jeff's Review
Kau Kau is exactly the type of place most people hope to discover in the ID. It’s a tucked-away family run place, with long roots to the community. It offered an excellent value and food that was great. If stereo-types are a way to begin an evaluation, this place exceeds on meeting every expectations. Massive fish tank with rare cool fish, Hectic environment, Roast ducks hanging for patrons to view, Bi-lingual menus, etc Best of all, the place was busy – always a good sign.
I had the Pork Side which came with soup, fried rice, and steamed vegetables. I believe they actually messed up our order and forgot me. When the waitress realized she was about to be short 1 meal – she hurried to get my lunch ready ASAP. I didn’t wait too much longer than the others, a testament to their efficiency.
My Pork was great. The rice was fantastic. The vegetables were average. The soup wasn’t the hot and sour I was hoping for. Nevertheless, it was good. It was a complete meal for $4.99. An outstanding value!!! Even though I spent most of this reviewing the place, not the food – please don’t misunderstand. This place is great and worth a visit. I think every member of our team had a good lunch.
Luncher: Joey
Lunch: Lunch Special with Roasted Duck - $4.99Fortune: You need not worry about the future
Rating:
Joey's Review
I give a 3 this time, but I’d usually rate Kau Kau bbq as a 4.
Luncher: Laurent
Lunch: Lunch Special with Roasted Duck - $4.99Fortune: You are never bitter, deceptive or petty.
Rating:
Luncher: Michael
Lunch: Lunch Special with Roasted Duck - $4.99Fortune: You are independent politically
Rating:
Michael's Review
A fantastic lunch combination. Flavorful BBQ pork and duck along side the best fried rice i've had in months. A splash of color provided by steamed carrots and broccoli. All for less than 5 dollars a plate. This is the kind of lunch place we've been looking for. Kau Kau is a win.
Kau Kau Photos
Kau Kau
Big Fish
To Go Counter
Chicken Noodle Soup
BBQ Spareribs Lunch Special
BBQ Duck Lunch Special
BBQ Spareribs Lunch Special
Sweet & Sour Spareribs Lunch Special
Roasted Sidepork Lunch Special
2 comments:
i have been coming to Kau Kau for years and always was greeted some what cautiously.. i tip heavy and always have a laugh.but today was so upsetting..on 2-14-08 i order my food as usual to go this time and did not receive my BBQ pork NO problem i felt at the time i will just let my friends at KAU KAU know that they miss it on my next visit..on 2-28-08 @ approx 1:46 i told the mgr (young black hair glasses) that i didn't recieved my full order all all employee look at me like i had blew the place up!! i have never been so humiliated in my life ..this open a pandora's box..i have sent forks and other utensil back for being dirty i have seen the waitress use dirty table clothes and more which i contacted my health dept about..again all this is because they did not want me to have a couple pieces of pork..
whoever that anonymous guy is is cwazy... i never had to send back a dirty fork... what a forking jerk off. Doesn't he (excuse me or she) have a forking tongiue to lick the forking thing off?
Post a Comment