1 Plus 1 Cafe
Have you ever noticed that the restaurants with the strangest names have the best food?
1 Plus 1 Cafe is a fairly new Chinese/Vietnamese style restaurant located in the Waiakea Center Pavilion next to Walmart. The Waiakea Center Pavilion also holds a food court and Hilo Bay Cafe.
The inside is very nice and clean, and there is a large playful fish in a tank to greet you. It was about 11:30am, and there were about 5-6 other parties enjoying their food.
Most of the time I come here I order the Roast Pork Mein since they make some of the best roast pork I’ve ever had, and their broth and noodles are equally excellent. The roast duck is also so good here, so I ordered the Roast Pork & Roast Duck Mein ($7.95), the best of both worlds!
The roasted meats come in the soup yet the skin on both the duck and pork are still very crisp and crunchy. The meat and fatty portions of the roast pork are are so tender and full of flavor. The roast duck’s skin has a beautiful light crisp to it and is flavorful with very tasty tender meat. The meats help to flavor the well-balanced broth, which is great on a rainy day. The noodles are thin and have an “al dente” texture to them, which I enjoy. There are also some vegetables floating around, more at the bottom below the noodles. The portion is nice and big and it fills me up every time.
For dessert, Hilo Homemade Ice Cream is served here. You can choose from Green Tea, Chocolate, or Vanilla.
Hilo Homemade Ice Cream really deserves its own post, and I will post about them next time I visit their original location! I just couldn’t help ordering a Green Tea ice cream for dessert, though.
Unlike many other green tea ice creams, the green tea flavor in this one is very intense and like higher quality ice creams, much creamier. It was a perfect ending to a great meal. 
1 Plus 1 Cafe
315 Makaala Street Suite 110
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-6288
November 9th, 2005 at 12:29 am
Hi James,
Yes, there are quite a number of places with strange names huh? It’s like U-Choice Inn here (at Daiei Kaheka). The noodle soup looks delicious and although I really don’t care for duck, I’ll take the crispy skinned roast pork anytime!
Green tea ice cream is my all time favorite. Thanks for reminding me. I think I will make some more this weekend!
November 9th, 2005 at 8:07 am
The Roast Pork & Roast Duck Mein looks so good. Good broth, heh. I hope it’s the same owners as the One Plus One Cafe here in Moili’ili. Sure would like to try the Roast Pork & Roast Duck Mein. Will have to look at the menu. Here’s hoping. I’ve only had their crispy fried chicken wings. I was surprised that they gave 10 pieces. Other places usually give 6 to 8 pieces. In an interview with one of those TV news guys, the lady owner explained why they picked that name. She pointed to herself and said, “one” and then pointed to her husband and said, “plus one”. How cute is that……
November 9th, 2005 at 5:16 pm
hey I’ve been there. But, I was craving L&L so I passed it by. I’ll have to give it a try.
November 9th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
oh, how i miss hilo homemade’s green tea ice cream…there is nothing better! except for maybe their haupia flavor….
November 10th, 2005 at 10:32 am
Reid, lol, I’ve been there and wondered about the name too. There was this one restaurant in Hilo (now closed) called “Soup or Roll” – I always got a kick out of that one. Mmmm.. I wish I knew how to make my own green tea ice cream! So refreshing.
Lance, I never knew there was another 1+1 cafe. That’s so cute how the owner explained. I wonder if it’s the same for the one in Hilo. Might have to check that place out one day!
Mikey, ahh shame on you, you should’ve went here
BTW, nice site you have! Good to see other CSS lovers.
monika, i never had their haupia flavor… but i will try that next time! my all time favorite from hilo homemade is their ginger flavor… the taste is soooo fresh and crisp!
November 12th, 2005 at 11:38 am
The One Plus One Drive Inn in Moilili doesn’t carry Mein. Stood there an checked the menu over and over since I was carving for the Roast Pork Mein. They only carry Saimin. You’re so lucky. I guess I’ve got to wait until I get back to Hilo to try it.
November 16th, 2005 at 11:15 pm
I love 1 Plus 1 Cafe in Hilo!!!! Sooo good their soup! and their noodles are cooked just right!! I love the shrimp covered in mayo and served with walnuts too!! So good! … the One Plus One Drive Inn in Moili’ili is totally different from the one in Hilo. One Plus One Drive Inn (on Oahu) serves mostly local style plate lunches while 1 Plus 1 Cafe (in Hilo) serves mostly Chinese/Vietnamese food. I tried One Plus One Drive Inn’s food once… forgot what I ordered… but remember it being “jus alright.” It must’ve been.. since I forgot what I ordered!
November 30th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
[...] I should admit now that I’m not a Pho expert (I’ve even been misprounouncing it for some time!), so it is quite hard to gauge what a good pho should taste like. With that said, I can tell you that I did enjoy this pho. Everything tasted fresh. The soup was very flavorful and had a distinct anise flavor… stronger than what I had at 1 Plus 1 Cafe or Hilo Rice Noodle Shop back in Hilo, but I liked it. The beef was served nice and rare, and the meatballs were very tender and had a good flavor. The garnishes were given very generously and the basil was very fresh. [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
I love 1 plus 1. I go there constantly… I get #70 roast chicken, the best value in Hilo, a town not so known for cuisine value. The #70 is a whole chopped crunchy salty chicken. I also get the beef pho, which is superb – a really good, deep flavored broth the way Pho is s’posed to be. I am also completely addicted to House Special Chow Funn – with shrimp and pork and veggies. Their roast meat trio is great too. I have gone every week since this location opened as Pho 808. I am always so worried they will go broke or close.
— as an aside, I also go to Nings in Pahoa town– with its excellent Sweet & Sour Seafood Salad #9… a heap of seafood, with fresh herbs and veggies… also try green curry and the Mee Kaa Ti – kafir lime leaf spiked peanut sauce on noodles…