1 Plus 1 Cafe LLC 315 Makaala Street, Hilo, HI 96720

"Always enjoy my visit to 1+1. The girls are always friendly. I especially enjoy the service I get from Ace. She is always friendly. Always feel she is part of my family. When I lost my home and belongings to the volcano, she was so very caring. She bought our lunch that day and offered me use of her vehicle. She is awesome!!"

"I dined in at 1 Plus 1 Cafe.  Their practices are quite alarming not just from a business standpoint, but also a public health one.   Easy part of this review, then the serious part of the review follows. Note -- Rice does NOT come with entrees.  It is purchased separately at $3. Note re Fees on the Invoice -- There were two separate $.50 surcharges messily handwritten on the receipt, so could not read it.  Might have been for the sides of hot sauce I requested, but I was not notified ahead of time. Price for hot sauce is not on the menu. As many other Vietnamese Google reviewers point out, this restaurant is NOT Vietnamese and the pho broth is not traditional Vietnamese, neither Northern or Southerrn.  I'm an East Asian, not Vietnamese, but have made pho in the homes of Vietnamese families from scratch (it's a long process, but the herbs and spices are distinct). The workers are Chinese, and the cooking approach is Chinese.  I get island standards, but this is just another indication of low quality, shady practices. The "tofu and vegetable mix" entree at $13 arrived as 95% cabbage. Where is the "vegetables mix?" Wholesale prices for cabbage are less than $0.75/lb.  Let's say there's half a pound on the plate, even to be generous...that's a 3400% markup providing a dish that is not even or barely accurately described (okay fine, there was 2 slices of carrot and 2 pieces of bokchoy leaf). That's like paying $34 for an item from the dollar store that cost $1 to manufacture. The typical standard for restaurants to markup from their wholesale to dishes is 300-400%. So an average dish of rice and mix veggies that would cost you $5 to make at home should cost no more than $20. Of course, the fancier the restaurant, the higher the markup since you're paying for the experience more than the food. What's a greater public health issue is that the cabbage was not thoroughly cleaned, and there was much dirt and a small slug on a piece of cabbage.  I farmed veggies in Hilo, and the worst ones for slugs wasn't the kale, but the cabbage and bok choy, and when peeling them, so many slugs hide in between the leaves of the cabbage, the far inside several leaves. Be careful about rat lungworm disease exposure at restaurants that don't care about cleaning their veggies before serving. Majority of the debilitating infections come from ingestion of smaller, baby slugs."

"This is not Vietnamese cuisines, the beef pho tasted just like boils water add some salt and the beef. The bean sprouts are rotten. It's terribly experienced. One more time it's not vietnamese cuisines. it's chinese"

"The food is good for a fast food Vietnamese restaurant. Our meals came out quickly with not much waiting. We ordered chicken fried rice, garlic shrimp, and rice, ½ chicken fried with red rice and beef pho soup. See the pictures below. Our waitress was attentive and provided excellent service. We will most likely stop by again for lunch if we are in the area."

"Crab ragoons very crispy and delicious on the outside. The inside was like Velveeta mixed with cream cheese and no crab. Still tasted alright but very cheap on the quality of the inside ingredients. The duck sauce was good for dipping. The summer rolls were good if you like them, I'm not a big fan. The garlic shrimp was fried, and seasoned perfectly to my taste. The salad and rice was also good. It was simple but had just enough flavor. Overall great service and tasty food."