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Kealoha's Taste of the Islands & Mai Tai Lounge!, Chino, , CA (restaurant) |
TikiVato
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 266
From: Whittier, CA
|  Posted: 2011-12-15 10:18 pm Permalink
Name:Kealoha's Taste of the Islands & Mai Tai Lounge!
Type:restaurant
Street:12206 Central Avenue
City:Chino,
State:CA
Zip:91710-2422
country:USA
Phone:
Status:unknown
Description:
Formerly known as Honolulu Harry's. Opening January 2012. I just received an email from Preston Kealoha. It read as follows:
" Honolulu Harry's Is Reopening as Kealoha's Taste of the Islands & Mai Tai Lounge!
Preston is back and is very excited about the upcoming opening of Kealoha's Taste of the Islands and Mai Tai Lounge! Many of your old favorites will be returning to the menu. New dishes will be added and will soon become your favorites too!
Follow our progress on our newly designed web site
www.kealohas.com
If I am in town, my brother and the wives plan on going on opening night for a taste of their Mai Tai. We plan on taking pictures and noting any remodeling that is completed. Hopefully they will have a new handcrafted recipe that will satisfy our purist taste buds.
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TikiVato
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 266
From: Whittier, CA
| Posted: 2011-12-22 2:51 pm Permalink
I received the following bulk email from Preston asking for ideas or requests for his menu:
We would like to thank you for the many wonderful comments you shared with us since we announced our upcoming opening in January 2012. If you have any special requests for menu items or any other suggestions, please forward your ideas to: contact@kealohas.com
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TikiVato
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 266
From: Whittier, CA
| Posted: 2011-12-29 09:00 am Permalink
I received another email from Preston. He is looking for entertainment ideas and has employment opportunities for those looking for a job. Here is a synopsis of what he had to say:
Thank you for all your wonderful suggestions regarding what you would like to see returning to the menu in January of 2012. Your feedback is very much appreciated.
We are currently in the process of planning our entertainment for Kealoha's Taste of the Islands & Mai Tai Lounge. Please forward your suggestions to contact@kealohas.com
Employment Opportunities
Beginning the week of January 2, 2012, we will be accepting applications for energetic individuals who would like to join our staff. Please apply in person on Monday - Friday between the hours of 2:00 - 4:00PM
Visit our Web Site
kealohas.com
to download an application.
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TikiVato
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 266
From: Whittier, CA
| Posted: 2012-03-10 7:00 pm Permalink
I received an email from Preston announcing the opening of Kealoha's Taste of the Islands & Mai Tai Lounge. They will open on Thursday, March 15th at 4:00pm. I hope to be there with my brother and our wives. I will post some pictures and report on their Mai Tai. Hope we see some fellow TC ers there.
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nui 'umi 'umi
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Posts: 380
From: La Mirada Atoll
| Posted: 2012-03-10 7:27 pm Permalink
I wanna check out the tiki factor. As Honolulu Harry's I enjoyed the "island vibe" at Hono Harry's. There was not a lot of tiki although you could get a sorta tropical drink in a tiki mug, I intend to post a full report the day after the grand opening. Got my fingers crossed!
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tobunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 12, 2008
Posts: 896 | Posted: 2012-03-10 9:12 pm Permalink
Aloha Tiki Vato!
Mahalos for posting this, just saw it today!
We visited Honolulu Harry's once before, but it's a little off our beaten path. We'll definitely check out the new establishment... according to their website, the mai tai lounge is open late, so we just might be able to make the opening night (off work at 8pm, so we probably won't be out that way until 9pm-ish...). Maybe we'll see you there!
[ This Message was edited by: tobunga 2012-03-10 21:13 ]
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TikiVato
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 03, 2009
Posts: 266
From: Whittier, CA
| Posted: 2012-03-15 7:50 pm Permalink
My wife and I went to Kealoha's only to discover that they had not received their ABC license. We left. My brother and his wife will be going there for dinner. He will post a review later.
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nui 'umi 'umi
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Posts: 380
From: La Mirada Atoll
| Posted: 2012-03-16 12:31 am Permalink
Very disappointed that the Mai Tai lounge was cut off. My wife CeCe had an appetizer (coconut shrimp) that was such a generous portion she had to take most of her entree home. I had ahi poke for starters (broke da mouf!) .My entree was the Mahi mahi, a steal at 18 bucks. Preston Kealoha is from Oahu and the restaurant definitely has an island vibe . Preston told us he expects the abc license to arrive any day now. He has been approved but you gotta have the certificate on the wall.
Tiki factor is low. There are some cool Ku lamps in the lounge. Mai tai's will be served in 3 faced bucket mugs (no name on the mugs) and I spotted about a half dozen nice mugs on the empty liquor shelves but I don't know how or if they will be used. All in all we enjoyed the visit. It's a bit out of the way for us but we intend to return and try out the drinks in the lounge. As Preston described the Hawaiian style Mai tai he is going to serve in the Mai Tai Lounge (I think the beachbums million dollar mai tai is as good as they get) I promised myself to get back there and have one of Preston's with some poke just as soon as Preston gets the lounge up and running. Sorry, no pix, I left my camera in the car.
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nui 'umi 'umi
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Posts: 380
From: La Mirada Atoll
| Posted: 2012-04-22 1:26 pm Permalink
Went to kalohas and sat in the Mai tai Lounge. Tiki factor has increased since my last visit (4.5 on a scale of 1-10). Pupus were excellent, an authentic Hawaiian band was playing cool tunes and songs. The mat tai that the owner Preston Kealoha had been telling me was ono was indeed very good and not overly sweet that is typical of Hawaiian tropical drinks.It is served in an extra large bucket mug-gotta be 16 /18 oz.s. our waiter said they use 3 oz.s of rum in each drink. In such a large mug the ratio of rum to pineapple and other stuff made the drink on the weak side for those of us "purists" that prefer the T V's or DTB's Mai tai. Again the island vibe and aloha spirit is high due to the efforts of a very friendly staff and the lovely decor in the entire restaurant. I don't think they will ever have ,to quote BBBen 'layers of Tiki" but I liked it for what it is'
Btw, prices are low to moderate , I missed happy hour cuz I had to stop at a thrift store on the way to Chino. Things evened out though cuz I found a Yap storyboard, a small slit drum from Bora Bora, and some other cool tiki stuff.
Cheers
[ This Message was edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2012-04-22 13:43 ]
[ This Message was edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2012-04-22 13:45 ]
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nui 'umi 'umi
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Posts: 380
From: La Mirada Atoll
| Posted: 2012-12-22 12:49 am Permalink
We can't get our here as often as we'd like cuz of the distance to Chino coupled with Friday evening traffic. Now there is a Hawaiian band on Saturday. Means CeCe and I will be getting out there more often. Tonight Preston Kealoha was giving me the lowdown on upcoming events at his restaurant/lounge. on Jan 25 he'll be bringing in a band direct from the islands. On Jan 27 there is a genuine luau planned. He gave me names and details but I had already consumed a very tasty Mai Tai and slammed down a cold longboard. So in the interest of accuracy I'll wait until I see the official blurbs before I pass em on.
Once again, Kealohas is light on tiki but the grinds are ono,the drinks are tasty, and the place definitely has an island vibe.
Cheers
Here's a pic of Kealoha's Mai Tai-not one for the "purists"but tasty nonetheless.
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