L&L brings Hawaiian cuisine to Castro Valley

On a slow Sunday night, I decided to pick up some dinner for my little brother and I at L&L Hawaiian BBQ. I had previously eaten food from another franchise of L&L Hawaiian BBQ and was curious about whether this one lived up to the same expectations.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ is located right across from the Castro Valley Boulevard Safeway, in a little corner in the small strip mall that also hosts Baskin-Robbins and RadioShack.

Upon walking in, bright orange walls, L&L Hawaiian BBQ merchandise, and tropical flowers greeted my roaming eyes. The menu had many options, including loco moco (consisting of hamburger patties covered with brown gravy and topped with two eggs), Kaula Pork (smoked flavored shredded pork mixed with cabbage) and chicken katsu (crunchy deep fried boneless chicken).

I ordered chicken katsu, Hawaiian BBQ chicken, and spam musubi for takeout with an order total of $21.72, a decently priced dinner for two.

After a ten-minute wait, my food was hot and ready with complimentary macaroni salad and sauce for the chicken katsu.

The first bite of the crunchy chicken katsu gave me the flavor of well seasoned and succulent chicken, but after eating half of the portion they served, my mouth felt dry. As for the the Hawaiian BBQ chicken, it was seasoned well with a nice grill on both side and a cabbage salad underneath; both plates were served with portions of rice. The spam musubi, on the other hand, didn’t live up to my expectations. The portion of the thinly sliced spam to the one-inch layer of rice gave me the feeling of eating a plain bowl of rice.