Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

The Valley of the Sun, and all that is tasty therein
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immersivemachine
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Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by immersivemachine »

Just gonna throw down the gauntlet. I think the Kalbi at Hapa beats any other that I've had in town, including any KBBQ. (The crispy grilled Ribs at Comiendo Con Memo might be my runner up.)

At Hapa, the Malasadas are also awesome, the Garlic Shrimp is solid, and the Poke is above average. I think the Kaluah Pork is pretty boring. But the Kalbi! Super tender, but just wrapped in the smoky grill flavor. Best in town. Come at me!
Kalbi plate
Kalbi plate
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Hapa Food Co.
www.hapafoodco.com
5235 E Southern Ave #107
Mesa, AZ 85206
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Skillet Doux
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by Skillet Doux »

immersivemachine wrote: Sat Nov 11, 2023 7:25 pm Best in town. Come at me!
Ha! Well, despite the occasional professional obligation, I prefer not to dabble in bests. (And if I did, I feel like Sizzle's galbi might have something to say about it.) But yeah, this is absolutely one of my favorites, and Hapa Food Co. in general is probably my favorite Hawaiian joint in town right now.

You actually beat me to it. I've been sitting on all of the materials for a Hapa post for a while now.

Hapa - Galbi and Chicken.jpg
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Here's one of my photos of the kalbi, alongside one of my other favorites at Hapa, the garlic chicken. The garlic chicken is kind of ridiculous. It is everything I claim to hate. It is mega sweet. It is drenched in sauce. It is piled with a metric crapton of jarred garlic. And I love it all the same. It is the most beautiful kind of excess and I can't go without getting some.

Hapa - Poke.jpg
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The poke is a total sleeper. This is suuuuuuper no-frills traditional Hawaiian poke. Lots of sesame oil going on, some furikake, scallions, a touch of spice. Extremely satisfying and so, so good with plain old white rice.

Hapa - Poke Nachos.jpg
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But, I mean, if you have to gild the lily, you could do worse than the poke nachos. It's basically the same thing over super crispy fried wontons drizzled with spicy mayo. Again, it's kind of like the garlic chicken — good excess. I think they might not be on the menu, but it's sort of a known secret menu item. They'll make it anytime, AFAIK.

Hapa - Meat Jun.jpg
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They have some good rotating specials as well. The meat jun is probably my favorite. It's super thin marinated slices of beef wrapped in gently scrambled egg with a sweet soy dip. They don't seem to make it very often, so definitely nab it if you have the opportunity. You can come back for the regular menu items anytime.

Hapa - Malasada.jpg
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And the malasadas, yeah. I prefer the ube, but both are just awesome. It's all about getting them fresh. Don't take a box home. I mean, do that too, but make sure you eat some piping hot. That's when they shine.

The only thing that drives me nuts here is I SO wish they did potato mac rather than a pure creamy mac. But this is purely a matter of personal preference. Everything here is so good I shouldn't even be mentioning it.
-Dom
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immersivemachine
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by immersivemachine »

The poke nachos is officially on the menu now.

I personally prefer the unfilled Malasadas, but I'm kinda anti-filled-donuts too. Just give me the delicious fried dough item and I'm a happy dude.
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Lunchbox
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by Lunchbox »

I'm here to pile on... Lunch at Hapa today was great.
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I ate my weight in Kalbi. It's damn near perfect.

The garlic shrimp are also, like Dom said earlier, ridiculous. I want to not like them but once you peel one out of its shell and get some of that garlic and oil back on the flesh, you just want to keep going back for more.

The Poke nachos were good but I wanted a little more oomph so I tried adding a little soy sauce. I usually use the low-sode green top at home so the full bore red top they keep at the tables was a little too much for it. (I've also been dabbling in artisanal soy sauce {#bandname} lately so my palette is fuqqed for Kikkoman). But the quality of the tuna was stellar. I don't know where they get their fish but it is top tier. Our order showed restraint with the furikake (I also love saying the word furikake) but it could have used a couple more dashes to put it over the top. But I'm being nitpicky here, it's a great dish. Order it and enjoy it.
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And the malasadas are just a warm hug from Hawaii... I love just about anything Ube and these do not disappoint. #AlwaysOrderDessert
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Wilbur
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by Wilbur »

Another set of thumbs up on Hapa's kalbi.

It is a long drive, but we ate the malasadas first, while they were hot, as recommended above.

And then we took care of the kalbi and chicken. Both were excellent.

We should have replaced the macaroni salad with rice, as none of us care about macaroni salad, but the rice was good quality with the kalbi.
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LaPan
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by LaPan »

DAMN. My waistline curses all of you!
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Nightbloom
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by Nightbloom »

Jumping in to agree about the Kalbi--the best! And, as a Sizzle regular for many years, I'll even say I prefer Hapa's Kalbi to Sizzle's Galbi. [I said what I said, @skilletdoux! Both are sweet and tender. Both get a good char from a flame grill. But, Sizzle's Galbi has a grill fuel flavor that once you notice it [FU Donny] you can't untaste it. I usually skip it now when I'm at Sizzle--try the Seasoned Boneless Short Rib instead ;)--and I drive across town to Hapa for my Kalbi fix.
I'm also a sucker for the Poke Nachos, though I can't get on board with the overwhelming flavor of jarred garlic in the crispy shrimp and chicken dishes.
Another one not yet mentioned, worth a try, is their Pork Spare Ribs. snagged this pic from their IG grid
Snagged this photo from their IG grid
Snagged this photo from their IG grid
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They're great and I wish they got a little more play on their specials board! Not so great that you need to drop-everything-and-cross-town-to-taste-them great, but if they're running this special when you're there, definitely grab some. They're a little sweet, perfectly tender, and have a great char; and way way tastier than the [imho] disappointing Pelehu Ribeye special they run so often. The ribeye is just a grilled steak with some dry seasoning, if I remember correctly. Compared to all of their other dishes, this one is a miss; and with just subtle seasoning, I find its lacking in flavor.
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by CallMeDude »

I have visited several times and each time did not disappoint. My go to has been the kalbi and the garlic chicken. I really like the kalbi and the garlic chicken is my comfort food. Their malasadas are legit. Please help me keep this place open. We need places like this.
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Lunchbox
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Re: Hapa Food Co.- Best Kalbi in Phx

Post by Lunchbox »

Oh man. Best ribs yet that I've had from them last week. The char, the marinade, the sweetness. Gotta go back soon. Such a great dish.

Pic from my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5B6hY0Peod/
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