L&L Hawaiian BBQ serves up island specialties in Plano

There’s Texas BBQ, and there’s Hawaiian BBQ.

The two are not synonymous.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ originated Hawaiian barbecue cuisine. Since opening doors in Honolulu in 1952, the specialty restaurant has grown to more than 200 locations worldwide, and the Plano spot is easy to find on Preston Road — just look for the crowd.

For the past 13 years, Winnie and Jack Soo Hoo have served more than 40 menu items, including BBQ chicken and beef, kalua pork, garlic shrimp and specialty pork tocino (a type of Filipino cured meat made of beef, chicken or pork) — all items traditionally served at Hawaiian luaus and feasts.

“Hawaiian barbecue blends all kinds of Asian ethnic fares,” Jack says. “During and after the war, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese migrants working island farmlands brought their foods together, and that’s what we provide here: The best of their best.

“We opened in Plano years ago because the L&L Hawaiian BBQ concept was exploding internationally in Japan, China and the Philippines, and nationally in California, New York, Florida and Virginia. These specialty dishes have really caught on here, too.”

And no Hawaiian barbecue menu is complete without SPAM® dishes.

SPAM® is huge in Hawaii, Jack says. A top seller at the Plano restaurant is SPAM® musubi, which is a slice of SPAM® atop a block of rice with special sauce and wrapped in seaweed. Jack says other signature favorites are barbecue beef and short ribs, and chicken katsu, which is breaded fried chicken dipped in a sweet-savory sauce mix.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ also imports beverages directly from Hawaii. Choose from passion orange, strawberry lilikoi, mango orange, pass-o-guava nectar, lilikoi passion and tropical iced tea.

Jack and Winnie are catering masters. For family gatherings and special events, they accommodate high volume and offer special pricing on large orders.

This year, the Soo Hoos plan to revive their annual L&L Hawaiian BBQ traditional luau festival, which has been on hold the past two years. In the restaurant parking lot, the couple hosts Polynesian hula dancers both locally and from Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Oklahoma. Pacific Islanders sell Hawaiian shaved ice, tropical wares, tattoos and souvenirs. The 2022 luau festival date and details will be announced soon on L&L’s Facebook page.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ

Get your island fix here in Plano at L&L Hawaiian BBQ. Open daily 11 a.m.-8 p.m. 8400 Preston Road, Suite 200. 972-712-3888. Visit HawaiianBBQPlano.com or email the Soo Hoos at DallasHawaiianBBQ@gmail.com.

 

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