EatingOxford: Hawaiian Food Now Available in Oxford

Aloha Thai owner Supon Sriphone

Oxford offers an eclectic mix of culinary options ranging from Mexican to Japanese to Creole and more. But you probably never expected a Hawaiian restaurant to pop up on Jackson Avenue.

Supon Sriphone, moved to Oxford two years ago, and worked as a cook for Rice & Spice for one year. Three months ago, he decided to break out on his own and open Aloha Thai-Hawaiian Restaurant at 2580 Jackson Avenue West.

“I cooked at Rice & Spice for a year, but I didn’t like to see people having to wait in line for their food,” said Sriphone.

“I was the second person to open a Thai restaurant in Richmond, Virginia,” he said. “It’s called Mom’s Siam by the Virginia Commonwealth University; I love cooking for University students.”

While he’s no longer involved, the restaurant in Virginia is still open and doing well, according to Sriphone.

When asked why he decided to offer Hawaiian food alongside his Thai menu, Sriphone said that he cooked in a Hawaiian kitchen for 10 years and really enjoys barbecuing and creating Hawaiian dishes.

Aloha Thai Island Combo

Additionally, after cooking Thai food for many years, he realized that some customers are interested in options that are less spicy. “They ask me if I have something less spicy or more American,” said Sriphone. “That’s why I added a Hawaiian menu to the Thai menu.”

Never had Hawaiian food? Sriphone compares it to mixing two cuisines together. “Hawaiian looks like something American and Asian mixed together, because a lot of people living in Hawaii are from the Philippines and Japan; it’s a lot of barbecue, beef, fried shrimp, fish, macaroni salad, steamed rice, and more,” he said. “Right now, about 40 percent of our customers order the Hawaiian food and 60 percent order the Thai dishes.”

Aloha Thai noodles

Popular Hawaiian dishes you’ll find on the menu at Aloha include Spam Moco (grilled Spam served with house gravy and two eggs); Hawaiian BBQ Mix (BBQ chicken, BBQ beef and kalbi short ribs); Kalua pork with cabbage; and Spam Musubi (Spam and rice wrapped with seaweed).

Sriphone said the most popular Thai dishes at Aloha are the Pad Thai, fried rice and spicy basil. “Most people are used to these dishes,” he said. “We also have a Thai lunch special that includes soup and spring roll.” The Thai section of the menu includes a variety of appetizers; rice and noodles; Thai curries; soups and salads; entrees and desserts.

Aloha Thai Spam Moco

For Sriphone, the most important thing is to provide a family-friendly atmosphere where everyone at the table can find something they enjoy—something spicy, something mild, or something they’ve never tried before.

Aloha Thai Hawaiian is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday noon to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and Sunday noon to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. To find out more, visit Aloha Thai-Hawaiian on Facebook or call 662-202-6661.

Aloha menu (page 1)

Aloha menu (page 2)

Liz Barrett Foster is the EatingOxford editor for HottyToddy.com, an award-winning business journalist and author of the recently published Pizza: A Slice of American History. Liz ran the popular restaurant information site EatingOxford.com from 2009 to 2015. Liz can be reached at liz.foster@hottytoddy.com.

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