The first thing that stands out about Big Monster Sushi Food Truck — besides its extensive menu — is its unique name.

“Most other parents call their kids ‘little monsters,’ but we thought our business would be like a big baby,” explains Mai Kaewpikul, who owns the business with her husband. “We thought we’d name it ‘Big Monster’ because we’re going to put all the love and care into our business and food, like we’re taking care of a baby. We’ll put all of our energy into it.”

Big Monster Sushi Food Truck opened in Koloa, Kauai, in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic.

“My husband and I moved here from Chicago about three years ago,” Kaewpikul says. “He had worked as a sushi chef there, and he was offered a job here. When the pandemic hit, the restaurant we worked at had to close. We took the opportunity from the crisis to open our food truck.”

When creating the food truck menu, Kaewpikul says they were inspired by her husband’s experience as a sushi chef.

“Everything is locally sourced,” she says. “We get almost 100 pounds of ahi every day from fishermen because we have two locations — our food truck and our restaurant.”

Kaewpikul recommends customers start their meals with the soft shell crab tempura appetizer ($10). Other popular dishes include the Samurai roll ($16) — shrimp tempura, avocado and cucumber topped with salmon, tuna, spicy mayo, unagi sauce, tempura bits, tobiko and scallions — and the Big Monster roll ($16), which features shrimp tempura, crispy unagi, avocado, cream cheese, Sriracha, wasabi mayo, unagi sauce, tempura bits and scallions.

For those looking to spice things up, the Snow Man roll ($15) is the perfect option.

“This roll has hamachi, avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, tobiko, Sriracha and squeeze of lime juice,” Kaewpikul explains. “It’s for customers who love raw fish; it’s very refreshing.”

Besides the food truck, Big Monster Sushi has a restaurant in Lihue, but the menus are different.

“We opened the restaurant about a year after we opened our food truck,” Kaewpikul says. “Besides sushi, our restaurant also has Thai food.

“We’d like to thank our customers,” she adds. “When we opened, all the local people supported each other — not only our truck. We want to thank the Kauai community; we love you guys.”

Big Monster Sushi Food Truck

3477 Weliweli Road, Koloa
bigmonstersushi.business.site
Call: 808-634-2789
How to pay: Cash and credit cards accepted
How to order: Phone or in person