Hula’s Chinese Bar-B-Q

Happy Tuesday! I’m still adjusting to the time change. It is so hard to justify getting out of bed at 6:45 am when I know in my head that on Saturday it would have been 5:45 am. I digress.

Last week, I posted about my fabulous weekend in Chico, CA and mentioned my favorite hangover cure, Hula’s. My very first time at Hula’s, I had absolutely no idea what to do. Napa doesn’t really have anything quite like it, so I was extremely thankful I had a seasoned Hula’s vet with me to show me the ropes. Now, young grasshoppa’, I pass this valuable knowledge along to you for whenever you travel to Chico.

First things first: if you’re going on a Sunday, do NOT go at 1 pm. Everyone and their mother will be heading over from church, and the line will look something like the photo below. Under normal circumstances, it only takes about 5-10 minutes to create your bowl, have it cooked, and be back at your seat to dig in. The line pictured below took us over AN HOUR. Hangry is an understatement.

Once you finally get to the food, you have some tough decisions to make. What protein(s)? To noodle or not? Which veggies? And eventually, what combo of sauces?! Seasoned vet note: take two bowls. Use one to periodically smash the contents of your bowl down; you’ll fit more stuff in there!

The noodles are my absolute favorite.

Seriously the thickest, most delish noodles ever.

I always noodle, tofu, zucchini/squash/broccoli, and create a sauce combo consisting of soy sauce, cooking wine, teriyaki sauce, and garlic oil. I feel like I should also mention that my sauce combo is literally 15 spoonfuls of sauce (approximately 5 soy sauce, 5 teriyaki sauce, 3 cooking wine, and 2 garlic oil)– and sometimes even more. You cannot have too much sauce when you make your Hula’s bowl. Trust.

Pre-sauce party.

The sauces reach the brim of the bowl!

Once you pack everything into your bowl, you slide your tray down the counter and wait patiently for one of the chefs to stir-fry your food.

These guys rock! Be sure to tip them!

And then, if you’re awesome, you top your freshly cooked bowl with pineapple chunks, grab a pack of chopsticks, and head back to your table to dig in!

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth.