Ono Korean BBQ – Kalihi, HI

How did I not know about this new Korean BBQ joint opening up in K-town?? I was on the hunt for dinner one night and found this place last week. It’s called Ono Korean BBQ and they opened up in Palama Supermarket’s old location. That shopping center is really opening up some great food joints with more to come. I saw a sign for a new Chinese dim sum take-out place coming soon. Anyway, Ono Korean BBQ is a lot like Yummy’s in terms of take-out plates. They have a very clean store with nice seats and tables. They also have more soup options even though I still went for the Yuk Gae Jang. The prices are a bit higher than Yummy’s but I believe they give great portions and the quality is there. I only had a soup this time but I do plan to return soon and will share more then.

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Yuk Gae Jang – $10.99 (with rice and 4 vegetables, you can get the soup on its own for cheaper)
Although it is bright red, it was not spicy at all. They even asked if I wanted it spicy and I said yes, lol.

141001-02It’s the little touches that count. I appreciate them wrapping up the soup container in it’s own bag to prevent spillage.

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141001-04From left to right:
Mayonnaise Potatoes – The potatoes are cooked great. The seasoning is sweeter and not as garlicky as I would like. I wouldn’t get it again.
Choy Sum – Definite favorite of the 4. Cooked perfectly and tastes great.
Bean Sprouts – Nothing special, a bit bland.
Cucumber Kimchee – I didn’t like this initially but grew to like it. It is marinated with slivers of onion and carrots.

141001-05The soup – one of the best I have had. I was never a fan of yuk gae jang before but this one was great. Also, they give you so much stuff! Very generous portions.

Ireh Restaurant, Keeaumoku, HI

Ireh Restaurant! Gosh I hadn’t been here in a while and now wonder why! They specialize in vegetarian food but have many other dishes as well! Very healthy Korean cooking, and delicious. I used to come here to eat their topokki or the rabokki. So topokki is the rice cake sticks in the sauce and veggies…they also offer a version that is topped with cheese. Rabokki is the same dish but with ramen noodles added. I love that one. One time, I asked if they could make it rabokki with cheese. They said no. Why? I couldn’t tell yah. I should just bring my own cheese and sprinkle it on top…ha okay I probably won’t.

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140723-02They are a bit sparse in terms of ban chan. This was it, kimchee and this onion/pepper vinegar pickled side. I like both and I’m fine with the lack of ban chan…although I wouldn’t take this little from other Korean restaurants!

140723-03Oh yes, metal silverware is the only way to eat Korean food!

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140723-05Kimchi Hand Cut Noodle – $11.95
Hand cut noodles, the noodles are made with sesame leaves. You can totally taste it – it was very good!

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Bean Noodle – $10.95
This is what I wanted to come for! One of my guilty pleasures is watching mok bang, and one of those people eats this a lot. I was so curious about the taste! This white broth is basically a really thick soy milk. I knew it was going to be a bit bland…but I had to try it at least once.

140723-07Sliced cucumber, boiled egg and a light sprinkling of peanuts…and some noodles peeking through!

140723-08So how was it? Delicious! Much better than I thought it would be! Yes, the flavor is a bit simple but it has a clean taste. I can see why people would eat this while they are sick, very mild and easy to eat. It has just a slight taste of ground sesame/peanuts. I think the combination of this dish with the kimchi hand cut noodles helped us feel properly full. Give them a try! I also recommend their pan fried dumplings, so delicious! I saw that the price of the dumplings are now $11.95, a bit pricey but give it a try at least once.

Bibimkooksoo – Palama Supermarket

Dang, my favorite jajangmyun is no longer being served at Palama Supermarket! It looks like they revised their entire menu and carry a lot less stuff now. I would say they now only serve very typical Korean BBQ take-out dishes which saddens me. I hope they one day carry these noodles again. Since I was already there, I got their bibimkooksoo. I gotta say, it was a pretty good deal! They give a lot! Check out the pics.

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Street Food – Seoul, Korea

So yesterday, I showed you the bad things that can happen when you eat street food. Let me share a few pictures of the GOOD things that can happen! While the corn dog was a set-back, I would still try street food!

140508-01Okay, this is gonna make me look like I only want sausages but CHECK IT OUT. Five different meats on a stick. It was DELICIOUS. I believe this was in Myeongdong.

140508-02I always see this on Korean TV shows so I had to give it a try. It’s an odeng food cart, the Korean version of Oden. This is fish cake, it’s the only thing I got this time because we were between meals. Was good!

140508-03Sundae. My gosh, I was so disappointed by this. I got it at the E-mart next door to our apartment and it was terrible. The ones in Hawaii are much better but I am sure it’s because I got it at a chain grocery store. I gotta try a good one from a food joint next time.

140508-04I didn’t get to try this food stand but I thought it look super cute. There were a lot of these types of carts in the Myeongdong area…I really want to go back to Korea SOON.

Yakiniku Don-Day – Honolulu, HI

Yakiniku Don-Day is a cute Korean BBQ joint located behind the Keeaumoku Supermarket. It’s a unique one because it boasts both indoor and outdoor seating. Folks generally opt for outdoor eating – there’s a huge tree in the middle of the eating area and you are surrounded by wonderful stringed lights. I really recommend you give this place a try! They have good food and good service too. They actually cooked for us the whole way through! Usually my service starts off with them throwing stuff on the grill and then like leaving us to fend for ourselves at other places. Let’s get to the pictures!

140316-02Ban chan is EVERYTHING.

140316-03I give Koreans props for their food – mainly for the side dishes! So much effort is put in, I appreciate that.

140316-04Another ban chan and the dipping sauces!  Check out the edges of these dishes, they have been burned once too many. Hell hath no fury like a dish scorned – what am I saying?

140316-05Ooooohhh – we went with the bulgogi pack. It was delicious! It comes with chicken, pork and beef prepared bulgogi style. The pork was definitely the highlight.

140316-06Can’t eat yakiniku without some tofu stew and rice, yum!

140316-01Hello pretty girls on our water bottle! We also ordered yogurt soju – it was so good!

140316-07We had to drink it all, I don’t know how many shots I had…lost count!

The bathroom situation is…interesting. It’s inside of the restaurant. There are two doors, one for women and one that is unisex that also says Employees Only. Yeah weird. I tried to open the door for the woman’s bathroom but it was locked so I was waiting. The staff then told me to go right into the unisex bathroom so I did. Typical bathroom – toilet and a urinal and their entire stock of alcohol. Yes. And umm…one brand of beer had many cases and they were already past their best used by date…that’s all.

I thought sitting outdoors would allow me to not smell like BBQ after dinner. Unfortunately, I still smelled strongly of BBQ. There wasn’t much wind around and when there was, it blew the smoke into our faces…lol.

Homemade Korean Goodies

Hey folks. As I write this, I am at home hacking up a storm. I am coughing and my nose is like a dripping faucet. Sorry for the TMI – so while my brain is somewhat lucid, I don’t think my coworkers would appreciate me spreading germs at work. Yesterday was definitely the worst of it, I must have slept all day. I hope that today is the end to the worst of it. Hope you all are doing well! I heard the flu is going around so take care of yourself! Luckily, I think I only have a cold. Anyway, I wanted to share some banchan I got to try from my friend. This stuff was brought straight from Korea (don’t ask me how) from her in-laws. How lucky am I to get to try it? Very!

140310-03Here is the kimchee. Um. If you know me at all, you’ll know that I am a kimchee freak. I couldn’t really eat this. It was already very old and sour…and I think if you eat it, you will have to make it into some kind of pork stirfry or stew. I hope the kimchee is still good, I still have it but haven’t been able to eat it!

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140310-02Garlic! Check this out. My friend said that they use specially bought garlic…which are huge…and DELICIOUS. I don’t know how they made this but it had no raw taste! It was very crunchy and delicious. And how did they find garlic without the inner root?? Oh wait, do I just use junk garlic? Hehe…anyone know what this garlic is called in Korean?

King’s Korean BBQ – Honolulu, HI

King’s Korean BBQ is a cozy little Korean BBQ joint located in the same lot as Sweet Home Cafe and Kozo Sushi in Moilili. We’ve done lunch orders here a few times since it’s close to us!  I love to support this joint over Gina’s (she is so mean!) since it is run by a really sweet Korean couple all on their own.  Their portions are good and the prices are reasonable.  Check out the pics!

140107-01Mini Kalbi Plate ($9.00) – Pretty good price I think!  Their mini plates comes with two scoops of rice and two veggies. Continue reading

O-Bok Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

O-Bok Restaurant is a little mom and pop Korean restaurant located in the heart of Manoa.  I’ve been here a few times and have received mixed service.  My very first visit was terrible and I got bad treatment from the old man who runs the front.  The past few times I have gone, I have received good service from him so I can’t complain.  As I was looking for the yelp link for this post, I couldn’t help but notice all the recent one star reviews for the restaurant.  It makes me feel sad if what the posts are saying is true.  I honestly thought the old man was the owner of the restaurant but judging from some reviews, I guess he just works there.  A fair warning for everyone who goes to this restaurant – he’s not the friendliest guy but I think he’s a good guy.  He brought us our drinks right away, we got the right amount of banchan and the food came quickly.  Let me share some pictures!

131202-01Delicious banchan!

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Ahi & Vegetable

Sometimes I have to go to downtown for meetings and I always look forward to it!  I used to work in downtown over 10 years ago (scary!) and all you downtowners know, the food is awesome there!  Well aside from Kalihi right?  Fort Street Mall is one of the biggest winners.  One of the mainstays of Fort Street Mall is Rada’s Piroscki.  I don’t know if anyone remembers them but they were a super hole in the wall place run by some really efficient older Filipino ladies that sold the best pirosckis and fried squid.  Well they moved locations since then but I was so happy to see they still exist.  It looks like they combined kitchens with a Filipino restaurant.  I cannot express how disappointed I was when I tried it this time.  The filling was still good but the pastry covering it was terrible.  It tasted like rancid oil, really rancid oil.  I even bought one for my coworker and told her she had to try it!  My credibility was slashed!  If anyone of you do frequent Rada’s, please tell me it was a bad day!

Anyhow, for lunch this day – I decided to go to Ahi & Vegetable.  This place wasn’t there when I used to work in downtown but they run a super great shop!  Great raw fish sets for a good price and the staff is so fast!  I just wanted to share the lunch I got.  Jalna will laugh again, here goes:

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Spicy Ahi and Natto combo!  Hahaha it was so good.  This place is run by a Korean owner so they included Korean seasoned choy sum.  Yum!  And yes, this was very good!  I didn’t mix the two together though, that would be pretty weird.  Our coworker was laughing at me too wondering how I could get into natto so late when people usually grow up eating it.  I should just become a walking ad for natto.  Now I have two co-workers who are constantly eating natto…lol

Million Restaurant – Honolulu, HI

Is it Millions or Million?  I swear it was called Millions before?  No?  Anyhow, Million Restaurant has been my go to Korean restaurant for a few years now.  I enjoy them because the restaurant is clean, the service is on the most part friendly and the food is good.  The prices aren’t too shabby if you aren’t doing yakiniku.  Their parking is limited but the street parking is free after 6pm I believe.  I love their regular bi bim bap (no hot stone pot), cheaper that way and I don’t need the scorched rice.  I LOVE their Kalbi Tang (Kalbi Soup) and I also love their banchan.  Sometimes you score and get raw crab like we did this night.  I am pretty sure I am allergic to raw crab because my mouth and throat gets very itchy – but I still eat it.  I do silly things like that.  Here are the pics!

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Banchan.  My favorite is the savory egg custard.  I could eat that alone and be satisfied.

130913-02Bibimbap with a side bottle of kochujjang

130913-01Kalbi Tang!  So good.  Two big kalbi rib bones, daikon, long rice, egg, thin slices of meat…you can’t go wrong.  Ahhh I want some kalbi tang…