Five years ago I wrote a story for the now defunct Honolulu Advertiser about Columbia Inn closing in Kaimuki.

Its closure was a shock to regular customers and employees, many of whom found out by reading a note taped to the door.

The space sat vacant for a long time, and I always wondered why a new restaurant didn’t move into that huge space in the Kaimuki Shopping Center.

Then I got conflicting reports about restaurants that had moved into the space. One was a drive-in serving unique plate lunches; the other was a traditional Vietnamese restaurant dishing out bowls of pho.

So which was it?

Only one way to find out!

Here’s what my recent dinner looked like:

Lychee sorbet

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We finished the meal with dessert. While we didn't try the house specialty of milk pudding and molasses, we sampled the lychee sorbet. It was more like eating straight-up lychee and not sorbet — and that wasn't a bad thing.

Pho 27 Vietnamese Cuisine, 3221 Waialae Ave. in Kaimuki. Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Phone: (808) 738-0027.