Local Boy Saimin

I got the saimin with everything in it and it was good. Just good. It lived up to my expectations but didn’t exceed it, which I think could be easy to do with saimin. Get a large if you’re hungry because there isn’t a lot of noodles. I might ask him to put more noodles in it next time and just pay extra.

The first thing I noticed was their hours of operation sign posted. It said, «Sunday open 10am — 8pm, or whenever get slow» or something to that extent — I can’t remember the actual hours. I thought that was so cute and so Hawaiian!
We ordered the saimin combo that included all the toppings (spam, egg, potstickers, char shiu). The saimin was decent but nothing special. As stated in a previous review, the soup was served lukewarm. The only utensils they offered were plastic soup spoons and wooden chopsticks.
There was a very laidback feel to this spot. The workers were casual and when they run out of ingredients they just replaced it with something else. It’s located in a very quiet area though and a little creepy at night.

We were driving to Kona Brewing Co. for dinner and took a wrong turn and I happen to see Local Boy Saimin so I pointed it out to my husband and he’d rather eat anything than pizza if given a choice, so we gave it a try. The saimin was pretty good, a lot better than what we had in Hilo. If you want a comforting bowl of noodle soup, come here.

I think I would like to first start off by saying that the consensus among our group of four is that we would definitely go back.
Our goal for our vacation on the Big Island was to find saimin shops and local food. Local Boy Saimin was recommended to us so it was one of our first stops.
Mind you, we’ve only been to this place once and doesn’t mean our second experience would be the same.
The food: The soup was a bit lukewarm and the noodles were a bit soft. Of course, on a super hot day, lukewarm would be nice if you’re in a hurry.
The service: Was not fast but we weren’t in a hurry and we enjoyed hanging out under the umbrellas outside.
If you like saimin you will enjoy this saimin more than if you were to try it at a «drive-​in», «café» or «fast food joint».

This is a hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant in the Old Industrial District, near the corner of Kuakini Hwy and Kaiwi Street. The menu is Saimin, Saimin, and Saimin. They have about 8 different varieties. The also have chicken or beef BBQ’ed on a stick and $ 2.00 hamburgers. The place has 2 tables inside and 3 picnic tables outside.
Food quality is great. They make their own noodles and the topping are standard stuff — spam, char siu pork, egg, etc.
If you’re into saimin, this is the place to go. Local style, laid back, eat with the construction workers.
The saimin comes in small, medium, and large … we had the medium, next time I think I’ll have the large.