It hasn’t even been two full weeks since business owner Jessica Uao relocated her restaurant, Jessica’s Kitchen, from ʻAiea to Kapolei. However, she says her new location in Kapolei Commons, in the former space of Mad Bene, has already been flooded with her “regulars.”
“Our regular customers have been coming in,” she says of the new space, which opened on Sept. 3. “During my 17 years working in (restaurant) business, they have been supporting me. They said, ‘Yay, it’s closer to us.’ I’m looking forward to bringing in this community.
“The ʻAiea location was so small, and it was hard for customers to find,” she adds. “I really wanted a bigger location.”
Jessica’s Kitchen — the Kapolei eatery is now called Jessica’s Restaurant — was located in Westridge Shopping Center in ‘Aiea for 16 months, according to Uao. The restaurant was, and still is, known for its all-day breakfast, along with local-style Filipino favorites.
“We’re not authentic Filipino,” Uao says, referring to the restaurant’s cuisine. “We just have local-style dishes — like longanisa, bangus — that people want.”
“A lot of the dishes we serve is local favorites; we cater to the local community rather than just the Filipino community,” adds business co-founder Chris Masiclat. “We want to have something for everyone — including tourists that come around — something that’s more of a comfort food, something a little big different. It’s more fusion, more new-age style.”
Local-style Filipino specialties include sizzling pork sisig ($25.99), lechon kawali ($25.99), pork adobo ($23.99) and bangus ($26.99).
“Bangus is a fried, boneless milkfish,” Masiclat explains. “The one that we had in ʻAiea was a little bit smaller. We decided to get the really large one (for this location); the flavor will speak for itself.”
“If you order my bangus, it will fill up your plate, it’s big,” Uao adds.
Many entrees come with side dishes, such as white or brown rice, fried rice ($5) and the eatery’s popular adobo fried rice ($5).
“We’re really well known for our portions,” Masiclat says. “The pork adobo omelet and lechon kawali are very good.”
Speaking of breakfast served all day, customer favorites include fresh corned beef hash loco moco ($23.99), chicken and waffles ($25.99) and the Jessica Moco ($28.99). The latter features a homemade hamburger patty topped with fresh corned beef hash brisket, two eggs and gravy.
“The best thing about the Jessica Moco is that it’s not canned meat, it’s not canned corned beef,” Masiclat says. “This is a homemade dish. We actually take the full corned beef brisket that’s cooked and shredded. A lot of the food that we make is fresh; a lot of it is local. It does take time, and it does come from the heart. It’s not just something we purchase at the store and throw together.”
While Jessica’s ʻAiea location was open for about a year and four months, Masiclat says they “quickly outgrew it.” Especially on holidays, the ʻAiea restaurant would be packed, resulting in a longer wait time for customers.
“We probably had about 1,500 square feet in the ʻAiea space,” he says. “The biggest letdown for the ʻAiea space was that we didn’t really have sufficient space for all of our guests. We would have certain chef specials on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day; everybody wanted to come and try our food, and celebrate with their family.
“We’re not known for rushing people or trying to kick people out just to turn the tables,” he adds. “One of the biggest things we’re excited for here is the space. We can serve more guests with an even bigger kitchen, expediting the process to be more efficient.”
He notes that the current Kapolei space has a 200- to 250-person capacity.
“We don’t kick out customers, even though they stay for hours,” Uao adds. “Some places just drop your check and they want you to go. I don’t want that; I don’t want to rush my customers. They can stay as long as they want.”
While the restaurant still features its signature breakfast and local-style Filipino favorites, the menu now includes Italian dishes, ranging from pastas and flatbreads to seafood entrees.
“Since we moved in here and I had all the equipment anyway, we might has well do Italian food,” Uao says. “My current chef was a chef at an Italian restaurant; he’s very knowledgeable.”
She recommends trying the Gorgonzola chicken gnocchi ($35.99) — which features a Gorgonzola bleu cheese cream sauce — smoked salmon fettuccine ($36.99) with sweet onions and capers, and garlic shrimp linguine ($39.99).
“I just love the chicken gnocchi,” she says. “I have some fish, surf and turf, jumbo shrimp and chicken. And of course, I have eggplant (parmesan linguine) for people who don’t want to eat meat.”
“If you want something with a kick and you like clams and seafood, the seafood fra diavolo is very good,” adds Masiclat, referring to the dish that comprises spicy San Marzano marinara, shrimp, clams, mussels, garlic, and basil.
Other entrees include a 12-ounce herb-crusted prime rib-eye ($50.99), king salmon ($38.99) and surf and turf ($59.99). The latter features a 12-ounce, herb-crusted prime rib-eye and sauteed jumbo shrimp scampi served with au jus and horseradish, along with garlic butter mashed potatoes.
“We have a good, well-tested Italian menu,” Masiclat says. “When it comes to appetizers, there are some things we’re going to be adding.”
If there’s one thing Uao has learned from nearly two decades in the restaurant industry, it’s the importance of listening to customer feedback.
“We have definitely listened to the community and what the community wants,” Masiclat says. “With Jessica’s experience in the restaurant industry, we really take that feedback to heart. We work with our chef to give everybody what they’re looking for. That’s one of the biggest things that helps us continue to move forward — just being open minded with the community, what they want and what they’re looking for.”
At the time of our interview, the business was still waiting for its restaurant sign. The space has been in the works for about five months, according to Masiclat. The eatery is also is still waiting for its liquor license, and once it gets it, it will feature a late-night bar menu. The restaurant aims to be open until 2 a.m.
“There’s not really anywhere in Kapolei for late-night options,” Masiclat says. “Probably the closest would be somewhere in Waipahu for a late-night spot. More than likely, we’re going to be serving food up until 10 p.m. and then we’ll have a full-on pūpū menu past 10 p.m. Folks can enjoy karaoke, live music — there’s so many possibilities here, in comparison to the very little space that we had in ‘Aiea.
“Jessica has definitely been very successful with her menu,” he adds. “The atmosphere and environment that we have here is going to be so much better.”
The restaurant is currently open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For updates, follow the business on Instagram.
CONTACT
Jessica’s Restaurant
Kapolei Commons
4450 Kapolei Pkwy., Kapolei
jessicaskitchen808.com
Instagram: @jessicasrestaurant808
Open daily, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
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