Is Chef Chai Still Open? Mystery Diners Update (Honolulu, HI)
Current status
As of September 2026, Chef Chai is listed open on chefchai.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
Last verified
What the source shows: Chef Chai's own website, checked 2026-09-09, lists an August 2026 events calendar, current menus, and a working reservation/ordering widget.
- Season / episode Season 8, Episode 13
- Original air date
- Address 1009 Kapiolani Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814
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Note on this show: Described as staged/scripted by Wikipedia's article, citing a 2012 realityblurred.com report. Surface this note on every record.
What happened after Mystery Diners?
On the Season 8 episode "Bad Credit" (Mystery Diners, aired 2015-01-07), Chef Chai, chef-owner of his namesake restaurant in Honolulu, noticed multiple voided tickets on the register and contacted investigator Charles Stiles for help; mystery diners went undercover to watch how the register and voids were being handled during service. According to Wikipedia's article on the program, citing its sources, the show's own end-credits disclaimer allows that certain events may have been staged or re-enacted for dramatic effect, and a television critic quoted in the article judged the show's scenarios implausible and unconvincing. Chef Chai, a Pacific Rim and fusion dining room on Kapiolani Boulevard, was checked directly on 2026-09-09: its website listed an August 2026 events calendar, a full slate of dinner, beverage, and dessert-tasting menus, a working reservation system, and recurring Full Moon Concert and happy-hour listings, along with pages for private events and a photo gallery. Only the restaurant's own site was checked for this record, so this review treats the finding as a single, dated source rather than independently confirmed elsewhere. No ownership change, closure, or relocation was found in connection with the Kapiolani Boulevard address since the 2015 broadcast, and no third-party listing consulted contradicted the restaurant's own current information.
Featured on Mystery Diners
- Show
- Mystery Diners
- Season / episode
- Season 8, Episode 13
- Original air date
- Episode title
- Bad Credit
- What was featured
- chef-owner noticed multiple suspicious voided tickets on the register
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- Chef Chai
Frequently asked questions
Is Chef Chai still open in 2026?
As of September 2026, Chef Chai is listed open on chefchai.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
What happened to Chef Chai after Mystery Diners?
On the Season 8 episode "Bad Credit" (Mystery Diners, aired 2015-01-07), Chef Chai, chef-owner of his namesake restaurant in Honolulu, noticed multiple voided tickets on the register and contacted investigator Charles Stiles for help; mystery diners went undercover to watch how the register and voids were being handled during service. As of September 2026, Chef Chai is listed open on chefchai.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
Where is Chef Chai located?
1009 Kapiolani Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.
What season and episode of Mystery Diners featured Chef Chai?
Season 8, Episode 13 of Mystery Diners, first aired January 7, 2015. The episode is titled “Bad Credit”.
What do reviews say since Mystery Diners?
Only the restaurant's own site was checked for this record, so this review treats the finding as a single, dated source rather than independently confirmed elsewhere. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.
Is Chef Chai still using the Mystery Diners menu or branding?
Chef Chai, a Pacific Rim and fusion dining room on Kapiolani Boulevard, was checked directly on 2026-09-09: its website listed an August 2026 events calendar, a full slate of dinner, beverage, and dessert-tasting menus, a working reservation system, and recurring Full Moon Concert and happy-hour listings, along with pages for private events and a photo gallery. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.
Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.
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Visit info
- Address
- 1009 Kapiolani Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814
- Venue type
- restaurant
- Official website
- chefchai.com
- State hub
- TV restaurants in Hawaii
Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources
- chefchai.com — http://www.chefchai.com/
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Record md-098 · last verified .