Cheaper meals a short walk from Aulani?

[luv2sleep]

Is there anywhere to walk to quickly from Aulani to get a less expensive off site meal? Or must you get in the car and drive?

 

[Live4Surf]

Monkeypod is right across the street and delicious! They also have live music and a great happy hour. Here is the link.

http://www.monkeypodkitchen.com/ko-olina/

We never had trouble getting a table and we were a party of 7. The Saimin was unbelievable! I'm still talking about it and trying to find a noodle house that replicate it back on the mainland!

 

[MissLiz]

Another vote for Monkeypod! We did Happy Hour three times while we were there. We would split a couple pizzas and appetizers that were half price.

 

[luv2sleep]

It looks like these a couple of places to eat there when you walk are there sidewalks? I'll be walking with children.

 

[SevenWonkas]

Ko Olina is very pedestrian-friendly! This is a nice thread on passporter about the complex with monkeypod.

http://www.passporterboards.com/for...tion-club/278926-shopping-complex-aulani.html

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[DenLo]

There are several restaurants nearby at Ko Olina Station as well as at Center. Here's a link to the Ko Olina website regarding dining - http://www.koolina.com/experience/dining

 

[Mrmouse4me]

If you want a cheaper meal - walk to the ABC Market - in the same center as the Monkeypod. They have ready made sandwiches & meals and they will also custom make sandwiches for you. We tried a hamburger, quesadilla, and hot dog; they were all very good.

There is also a pizza place across the street from that center. They have pizza by the slice or whole. I think the lunch special was 2 slices & a drink for $5 or $6.

We tried Monkeypod for happy hour and got 3 appetizers (1/2 price), a pizza, and two beers. With tax & tip it was about $80. Personally, I would not consider it an inexpensive meal.

It is very easy to walk across the street. Take the sidewalk from Aulani to the light, press the button and wait for the signal. It's a very nice, paved, and I felt totally safe out there.

 

[Mrmouse4me]

Also check out the food options around the pools. Ulu has a great breakfast & lunch option. It's a hot plate for $10. each. for really big servings. 2 kids could easily share.

Breakfast had scrambled eggs, bacon, and other things...
Lunch changed each day but I think it was also $10
One of the offerings was a salad, rice, & beef tips in a brown gravy. It looked home-made and while I was standing there a guy came back for another plate because his wife "tasted" his... then they needed another plate!!!

Also check out the Mama's shack, next to the shave ice station. They had really nice coconut shrimp plate with fries for $11 (I think) and we also tried a polish sausage / hot dog for $6. I think....
The chicken pieces/fries plate had really nice looking chicken, didn't look like nuggets. But we didn't try it.

 

[JoeA]

If you want a cheaper meal - walk to the ABC Market - in the same center as the Monkeypod. They have ready made sandwiches & meals and they will also custom make sandwiches for you. We tried a hamburger, quesadilla, and hot dog; they were all very good. There is also a pizza place across the street from that center. They have pizza by the slice or whole. I think the lunch special was 2 slices & a drink for $5 or $6. We tried Monkeypod for happy hour and got 3 appetizers (1/2 price), a pizza, and two beers. With tax & tip it was about $80. Personally, I would not consider it an inexpensive meal. It is very easy to walk across the street. Take the sidewalk from Aulani to the light, press the button and wait for the signal. It's a very nice, paved, and I felt totally safe out there.

Have to agree with this. My wife and I visit HI about once a year and I can't begin to tell you how many meals we've eaten from ABC. The food options aren't that bad and the food quality is decent. We'll grab something decent, buy a good bottle of wine, and eat down by the lagoon or on our patio.

We really enjoy the low key, quite, and inexpensive dinners. And I'd much rather spend my money on adventures then on dinner!

 

[SevenWonkas]

Have to agree with this. My wife and I visit HI about once a year and I can't begin to tell you how many meals we've eaten from ABC. The food options aren't that bad and the food quality is decent. We'll grab something decent, buy a good bottle of wine, and eat down by the lagoon or on our patio. We really enjoy the low key, quite, and inexpensive dinners. And I'd much rather spend my money on adventures then on dinner!

We've been to Ko Olina twice (2011 and 2013), at the Marriott Vacation Club property. We didn't make it to the ABC store in 2011, but were pleasantly surprised how reasonable many of their prices were when we went last year. (Reasonable for a convenience store in a tourist area). The premade dinners (like meatloaf and potatoes) were reasonably priced and looked like it would feed two adults. We never bought any food from there (we had 6 people and had stocked up at Costco), but won't count it out for future trips. The prices on men's Hawaiian shirts were good too!

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[luv2sleep]

Thank you all! Very helpful!

Also check out the food options around the pools. Ulu has a great breakfast & lunch option. It's a hot plate for $10. each. for really big servings. 2 kids could easily share. Breakfast had scrambled eggs, bacon, and other things... Lunch changed each day but I think it was also $10 One of the offerings was a salad, rice, & beef tips in a brown gravy. It looked home-made and while I was standing there a guy came back for another plate because his wife "tasted" his... then they needed another plate!!! Also check out the Mama's shack, next to the shave ice station. They had really nice coconut shrimp plate with fries for $11 (I think) and we also tried a polish sausage / hot dog for $6. I think.... The chicken pieces/fries plate had really nice looking chicken, didn't look like nuggets. But we didn't try it.

This is great! So if we are at Aulani for the day we can probably just eat breakfast and lunch either in the room or near the pool.

What about dinner? Is there anything reasonably priced on site for dinner?

 

[abthomas]

We just returned from Aulani and found that the Ulu cafe was great for quick breakfast. The breakfast platter (adult $10) was plenty for two to share. We then also purchased a keiki platter ($7) for my 11 yr old. It also comes with water bottle or milk. There was also a large yogurt fruit granola parfait for $7 that was quite filling. I saw many families each with their own meal and a lot of uneaten food. The dinner meals were also quite large and could be shared or saved for leftovers. We bought keiki meals a few times. The cast members never questioned our ages. Only one in our party was under 10. Also in the evenings they have fresh baked pizza. A large cheese was $18 and plenty for our family of four. They also have a meat based one and a Hawaiian one for a few dollars more.
Also at Monkey pod my 11yr old ordered the keiki pizza which was plenty for her and actually had a few slices left over for us to sample. They didn't mind that she ordered off the keiki menu. My 7yr old shared an app and fish tacos with me ($7, $21). So we tried to save $$ that way.
One night my dh got burgers and penne/meatball meals from Island County Market. Each entree was less than $10 and quite filling. The penne was plenty for two meals each.
The refillable mugs were handy as well and a nice souvenir. There are 4 different styles so that was perfect for our group.
We also ate at Mamas (hot dog and coconut shrimp). They were fine as well.
There are several options and we were not disappointed. Have fun. We miss being at Aulani!

 

[luv2sleep]

We just returned from Aulani and found that the Ulu cafe was great for quick breakfast. The breakfast platter (adult $10) was plenty for two to share. We then also purchased a keiki platter ($7) for my 11 yr old. It also comes with water bottle or milk. There was also a large yogurt fruit granola parfait for $7 that was quite filling. I saw many families each with their own meal and a lot of uneaten food. The dinner meals were also quite large and could be shared or saved for leftovers. We bought keiki meals a few times. The cast members never questioned our ages. Only one in our party was under 10. Also in the evenings they have fresh baked pizza. A large cheese was $18 and plenty for our family of four. They also have a meat based one and a Hawaiian one for a few dollars more. Also at Monkey pod my 11yr old ordered the keiki pizza which was plenty for her and actually had a few slices left over for us to sample. They didn't mind that she ordered off the keiki menu. My 7yr old shared an app and fish tacos with me ($7, $21). So we tried to save $$ that way. One night my dh got burgers and penne/meatball meals from Island County Market. Each entree was less than $10 and quite filling. The penne was plenty for two meals each. The refillable mugs were handy as well and a nice souvenir. There are 4 different styles so that was perfect for our group. We also ate at Mamas (hot dog and coconut shrimp). They were fine as well. There are several options and we were not disappointed. Have fun. We miss being at Aulani!

Great info! In the beginning I kept hearing how expensive it was. Glad there are reasonably priced options.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

Just noticed in the same center as pizza corner, taco place, etc. there is a Korean BBQ place. Haven't seen that mentioned on these boards. Anyone been there??

Thank you!

Natalie

 

[aclov]

Monkeypod during happy hour went there a couple of times, ABC store seemed to have good options but did not eat anything bought beer and lots of souvenirs, Mama's shack had great shrimp and fries!

 

[jerseygal]

Monkeypod and PizzaCorner were VERY GOOD! Don't forget about half price appetizers in the early evening from I believe 4 to 5:30.

We grabbed shrimp and fries or chicken and fries from Mamas and it was very good cheer2:.

There were Premade Salads at Ulu Café which we noticed, but didn't try.
At Ulu, there was a hot entrée, every day different, didn't try it though, which was about $14.00 I believe, which included something like chicken or steak, rice or potatoe and I believe vegetable. It did look pretty good. Many seem to be eating that.

Walking with children is EASY and safe as there are sidewalks and a light at the corner of Aulani. IMO, light turns quickly so we didn't linger crossing the street which is BUSY!

Hope that you ENJOY as much as we did!

 

[SevenWonkas]

Just noticed in the same center as pizza corner, taco place, etc. there is a Korean BBQ place. Haven't seen that mentioned on these boards. Anyone been there?? Thank you! Natalie

We went to the Korean BBQ place on both our trips to Ko Olina so far (2011 and 2013). We enjoyed it. The price was fine, along with the food. Nothing gourmet, but the novelty of getting a plate lunch was fun. when we went, the people eating there appeared to be nearby workers, as opposed to tourists.

they have a facebook page, where the menu is posted in the photos.

https://m.facebook.com/koolinabbq?_rdr Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[tbay]

When eating at ulu did anyone notice a gluten free option
We have one member of the family with celiac