Aloha Kapolei, great name for a question about a resort there, btw!
I have eaten at both AMA AMA and Monkeypod several times as we have stayed at Aulani for 3 different trips. I agree that the reviews are sometimes harsh toward the Disney eateries. I frequent tripadvisor.com often and the funny thing is most of them bash Aulani for their food prices. I think their prices are pretty much what we see in all our time spent in Hawaii and for that matter at any nicer place here at home in central FL. DH and I have only eaten at AMA AMA and the lounges for all our meals so I cannot personally comment on the other dining locations at Aulani.
Overall both DH and I prefer the food we have had at Aulani over Monkeypod Kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I've had items at both that weren't my favorite but after trying several dishes and drinks at Monkeypod we weren't overly impressed overall. There were a couple of items we tried at Monkeypod that were excellent: a flatbread pizza with garlic and Hamakua Ali'i mushrooms as I recall, and a poke trio. Very nice. Their Mai Tais have a fabulous lilikoi foam but are strong enough one would be happy they were walking not driving after having one!
We found the service at Monkeypod to be VERY spotty. Had really poor service the first time but to their credit they did finally get us someone who would actually wait on us. I do not recall them comping an app or anything for our exceedingly long wait for service after being seated.
AMA AMA does have a far superior view as it is ocean front. As I mentioned earlier, we actually prefer breakfast and lunch there. Dinner was fine but I didn't find it outstanding the time or two we did dinner there. I have talked to lots of folks that thought their dinners there were fabulous. For breakfast DH loves their upscale version of loco moco and I love their ginormous bowl of oatmeal and fruit. And their french press of 100% Kona coffee is divine. For lunch they have a huge (shareable) chopped salad with all sorts of yummy ingredients and a furikake seasoning that makes it extra yummy. Can't recall what DH loves most for lunch but we have not had a breakfast or lunch there that we did not find very good.
My recommendation bottom line is to try both. Monkeypod has an aloha hour that can be nice (as does Olelo Room at Aulani btw) and is a very easy walk across the street from Aulani so it shouldn't be too bad a walk from MKO. If you cannot get that dinner rez you want OP, go for breakfast or lunch. I think you'll enjoy it!
