Flavorful filipino street food

If you’re craving Filipino street food, look no further than Kenjiro’s Island Grill. The biz officially started last May, according to owner Sayuri Aguilar.

“I left my former job after I gave birth to my son, Kenjiro, in 2020,” Aguilar says. “I figured it’s over two years, so it was time to do something new. My husband and I have a passion for eating and cooking, so we figured, ‘Why not share it?’

“Every time we have friends over, people always request this type of food,” she adds. “The (Filipino) food that we make here is not necessarily the ones that people cook at home. It’s rare that you find (this street food) here in Hawaii.”

One of the business’s signature dishes is the chicken Inasal ($10 for a quarter thigh), which comes with Jasmine rice drizzled with Kenjiro’s famous yellow sauce.

“That particular recipe took me two-and-a-half months to perfect,” Aguilar says. “Our rice tastes like garlic fried rice, but better.”

You can find a variety of meat sticks sold a la carte at Kenjiro’s, ranging from barbecue pork ($4) and beef ($5) to barbecue chicken ($4) and pork belly ($5).

“Even though they are all skewers, they all have different marinades, so they won’t taste the same,” Aguilar says.

If you want a little bit of everything, get the Kanak Attack plate ($30), which comes with two cups of Jasmine rice drizzled with chicken annatto oil with fried garlic on top, three barbecue sticks (chicken, pork or beef), three pieces of pork belly and a quarter chicken thigh. The plate can easily be shared among two or three people, per Aguilar.

Other popular dishes include pork sisig ($18) — choose between mild or spicy — and grilled pork tocino ($17).

“Our pork tocino is a little different; we cure it for seven days in pineapple juice and add some spices to it, so it’s on the sweeter side,” Aguilar explains. “Pork sisig is chopped up pork belly, and it’s a little spicy since it includes Thai peppers.”

Kenjiro’s Island Grill is currently in front of Residence Inn by Marriott Oahu Kapolei from 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays-Mondays and Fridays, but the biz also does pop-ups around the island. Follow the biz on Instagram (@kenjiros808) for updates.

Kenjiro’s Island Grill

Various locations
Phone: 808-462-6444
Instagram: @kenjiros808
How to order: In person only
How to pay: Cash, Venmo, credit cards, debit cards and PayPal accepted