Say ‘chao’ to this new, contemporary Vietnamese eatery

Honolulu’s newest eatery offering Southeast Asian cuisine is officially open for takeout.

Chao, located doors away from Paradise Poke in Nu‘uanu Shopping Center, announced a few days ago on social media that it was opening today for takeout only from 12 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. While both its hours and menu are currently limited, Chao delivers when it comes to big flavors.  

We’re told that the restaurant space was vacant for 10 years and required a full buildout, according to Chancelor Kim, one of the business’s managing partners.

“We’ve been wanting to do a concept like this for the last three years,” he says. “‘Chao’ means ‘hello’ and ‘welcome’ in Vietnamese. We want to be very welcoming to everybody.”  

The restaurant is focusing on takeout this week and will be open for dine-in service next week. Lunch and brunch will launch in the following weeks, in addition to late-night cocktails, according to Kim.  

Right now, the takeout menu includes drinks — Vietnamese iced coffee ($6), Jasmine iced tea with sea salt foam ($6) and iced lemon Jasmine green — banh mi, small bites and a chef’s special. Customers are encouraged to preorder online.

Creamy and strong, the Vietnamese iced coffee is sure to jumpstart your day or be the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. The Jasmine iced tea with sea salt foam is unsweetened and refreshing; we loved the foam’s frothiness and slightly savory flavor.

The eatery gets the bread for its banh mi sandwiches from Daily Bread, but all sauces are made in house, according to Kim. The roast pork banh mi ($16) features French bread stuffed with crispy roast pork, pate, house mayo, pickles, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño and house soy. The pork boasts that signature crispy skin, and the bread has a nice crunch and texture.

The lemongrass chicken banh mi ($14) includes the same veggies between French bread. Though both sandwiches were flavorful, the roast pork’s crispy skin was our favorite.

Chicken rice ($19) is currently featured as a chef’s special. Served hot, this dish features poached chicken, chicken fat rice and cucumber ginger scallion, served with house chili (for dipping) and a savory broth. The chicken itself is tender and juicy — not dry in the least — and something we’d definitely order again.

“All of our broths are made from scratch; we sous vide it (the chicken),” Kim confirms.

The restaurant, which has around 68 seats, will eventually be open for lunch — you can look forward to pho — dinner, daily rotating specials, weekend brunch and late-night cocktails, according to Kim, who says they’re aiming to be open until 2 a.m. on weekends.

“We wanted to do a neighborhood bar that has good food,” he says.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

CONTACT
Chao
Nu‘uanu Shopping Center
1613 Nu‘uanu Ave., Honolulu
Chaohawaii.com
Instagram: @chaohawaii
Open for takeout only, from 12 to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.