PORTION OF ORIGINAL POST 2/24/14: I finally tried OEC Cafe after it came highly recommended by two of my foodie friends. My foodie-coworker raved about their muffins but admitted that she had not tried much of their lunch service. So we made a date and off we went to OEC to try their daily specials. This relatively new cafe is located on the ground level of the HGEA building on Queen Street in downtown Honolulu, behind the post office. There have been several eating establishments in that same spot over the years, most recently an Italian place. Given the small square footage of this very clean and trendy-looking cafe, "dine in" means sitting outside in the courtyard at one of the tables under the trees.
In addition to the three daily lunch specials, OEC offers just a few more items given the small staff. Besides the co-owners, an assistant was just hired and is being trained to help dispense the completed orders. The everyday items include Roasted Chicken Salad, BLT sandwich, and a Tri-Sandwich (half each of ham/cheese, tuna salad, and egg salad sandwiches on Japanese-style bread). The sandwiches are between $4 and $5 and the daily specials are between $8 and $9.
I ordered the Vegan Special, which was comprised that day of spinach soba with soy dressing on the side, tofu with a miso paste and a small inari sushi. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the noodles were perfectly cooked! I love noodles and really appreciate a chef who doesn't boil the noodles until the order is placed. The care the chef took to prepare my simple but tasty dish, instantly made OEC Cafe my new favorite restaurant for lunch!
My coworker had the Chicken Stew with Rice Pilaf. She was in heaven as she tasted the creamy white stew, which she compared to "a very upscale chicken ala king." She let me have a taste of the rice pilaf. It was perfectly seasoned and would have been delicious all by itself. The specials come with a slightly tart side of potato salad and a small green salad (with the exception of the vegan special).
I ordered the Vegan Special, which was comprised that day of spinach soba with soy dressing on the side, tofu with a miso paste and a small inari sushi. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the noodles were perfectly cooked! I love noodles and really appreciate a chef who doesn't boil the noodles until the order is placed. The care the chef took to prepare my simple but tasty dish, instantly made OEC Cafe my new favorite restaurant for lunch!
My coworker had the Chicken Stew with Rice Pilaf. She was in heaven as she tasted the creamy white stew, which she compared to "a very upscale chicken ala king." She let me have a taste of the rice pilaf. It was perfectly seasoned and would have been delicious all by itself. The specials come with a slightly tart side of potato salad and a small green salad (with the exception of the vegan special).
You must also try their muffins, which changes weekly. So far, I have only tried the apple-almond muffin ($1.50) but I plan to try other varieties if I can just get there before they sell out. This week's muffin offerings include blueberry, orange-walnut, and sweet maple-yam-chestnut. My other foodie friend also recommends their yogurt for breakfast. She said that it has just the right amount of fruit and granola. Oh, and give the cheesecake a try, too. It is light and creamy goodness on a thin graham cracker crust ($2).
Since my initial visit, I have gone back to OEC a few times to try more of their fare and I have yet to be disappointed. My boss was very impressed with the Roasted Chicken Salad and compared the quality of the toppings to something you would find in a fine dining restaurant. When I told him that the owners once worked for Morimoto, he replied that it was no surprise. With its clever name - OEC is a play on "oishii" or "delicious" in Japanese - I hope they will be around for a long time. I highly recommend OEC Cafe!
OEC Cafe
345 Queen Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 888-9328
Phone: (808) 888-9328
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