About Our Neighbor Broken Rice

Broken Rice is our next door neighbor on Waialae, which lucky us because their food is amazing!

The owners wanted to create a Vietnamese restaurant that was more than just Phở, so they wanted to specialize in broken rice dishes.  To answer what everyone is thinking, Broken rice, is a Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains. During the milling process, rice grains are damaged while removing the husks. It is as nutritious as the equivalent unbroken rice. Also, can argue a bit tastier than unbroken rice because the broken rice soaks up and highlights more flavors in a dish. Do not worry, their delectable homemade soups are still an option on the menu.

Although many restaurants may preach the same story, they cook everything homemade. It’s a true mom and pop restaurant that has a fresh approach to cooking. If you are wondering why it takes a little longer to receive your food, it is because everything is made to order and meticulously crafted. Ron, son of the owners, explains how his mother handcrafts every dish herself before serving. “If the lettuce is not up to her standard, she will not use it. She will not serve anything but the best. She treats every dish as if she is serving her family at the dinner table”.  We respect their eye for quality and service. At the Surfing Pig, this is something we cannot stress enough, what we call “Extra Aloha”. Below is one of their signature broken rice dishes-

The Shaking Beef- $19

Cubed rib-eye steak, garlic, soy sauce and served with vegetables

If you order their house soups (Phở), before adding all your shameless amounts of sriracha and hoisin sauces to the mix, be sure to experience the true flavors of the broth. The broth is their own family recipe, which is cooked for about 2 days to allow the flavors to really burst (You may not even want to add your hot sauces after all).

Broken Rice plans on introducing the community to more Vietnamese dishes that are not so main-stream. They are BYOB with no corkage fee.  So be sure to check out our neighbors when you are strolling down our block!