O’Kims is definitely one of those hole in the wall places that is hard to access. There is no parking so you either have to strike it rich with Chinatown street parking or park at a municipal lot. This shop is very small and it’s set up essentially for take-out. We did a lunch order for the office a few months back and I enjoyed it! If they had a parking space for quick in and out stops for take-out, I would be coming here way more often! I hope you can give them a try, it’s a small shop and they change their menu monthly. They even have vegan options! Let’s take a look at some of the food…

Kalbi Steak – Short ribs with sweet shoyu seasoning, roast root veggies, purple rice, green salad and kimchi.

Kimchee Fried Rice with Egg Nest

Jidori Chicken Ginseng Risotto

I didn’t get this dish but the ones who did didn’t seem to enjoy it too much…

Seaweed Salmon – Slight poached salmon with nori and panko on top, Korean remoulade, tosazu gelee, pickled cherry tomato, nori chip, green salad, purple rice and kimchi.

I tried two dishes! I enjoyed this! The fish was cooked perfectly, not dry at all. At first I thought the fish was a bit small but it was actually the perfect size. The deep fried nori chip…hmm…definitely not needed or memorable.

Confited Pork Belly Brulee – Confit pork belly with sesame leaves and miso sauce, pickled onions, apple & ginger jam, green salad and kimchi.

I really enjoyed this dish, the pork was delicious and I love the deep fried leaves on top of the pork belly. Although, I think when I got it…it may have been deep fried kale? Either way, it was delicious and complemented the pork really well. What I appreciate about O’Kim’s is how high quality their food is and the little touches and details they add to their dishes. Highly recommended!

I have to apologize for some of these posts, I am posting pictures from meals months ago at times so my details on these meals may be minimal. I preface this post with that because…this is one of those posts. This was my first time trying Thank Q Pocha and I think to rally up business, they started offering half-off menus during the weekdays. This may have changed since then but this is the deal we got! Here are some pictures:

Kimchee Fried Rice with Cheese

If you’ve been following Korean food trends, cheese is huge. It’s pretty cool to see the melted cheese surround the fried rice, it’s a nice way to offset the spiciness of the kimchee fried rice. Do I still make better fried rice? Yes. (hahaha)

Thank Q Bulgogi Plate

I think? Nothing special, it’s just a stirfry.

Kalbi Ssam

It’s the wraps you make when you go eat Korean BBQ, only they do it for you and you don’t have to smell like Korean BBQ smoke after eating this. It was good!

Braised Pork Belly Stew

I think? Lol, sorry for this post…I’m pretty sure this is what it was. Pretty good, I love anything served in a stone pot.

Chicken Wings

Meh – I didn’t eat these. Just wanted to show you how they are served up.

I have my first paper due on Tuesday and I haven’t worked on it. I started it but I am nowhere near where I would like to be on a Sunday night. This paper is a bit more loose and introspective which I assume is why I haven’t had the motivation to finish, my procrastination was in full gear this weekend. Wait, I’ll back up on that. I did head out to the library yesterday (on a Saturday!) to start researching for hopefully my research for my master’s. It didn’t go well. I did borrow two books but dread the smell of moldy books, sorry if I’m in the minority on that one.

I also worked on my chapter notes for Tuesday’s class and somehow didn’t fall asleep until past 3 am last night. And! I got up at a very reasonable hour to do my laundry. The weather was crazy this weekend, pouring cats and dogs one minute and then sunny the next. We live in Hawaii for sure. Anyhow, fast forward to tomorrow night where I’m rushing to finish my paper. Ah, the life of a procrastinator.

Anyhoo, I’d like to share a special picnic meal I got recently from Red Stand. Red Stand is a cute little Korean shop that opened up in the Samsung Plaza lot on Keeaumoku. Small and super cute place. They open at 7am to serve up cute musubis and breakfast sets. I thought for the quality of the food, the prices were okay. The staff there were very nice. They also serve up food in the restaurant but it is a very small place and they share parking with 4 other crazy popular restaurants. Good luck on that one. It was so cute to see a little cart stationed at every table with the portable gas grill ready to go. They basically serve up Korean street food at your table, I’m looking forward to coming back here again for dine in. For this post, I’ll be sharing the Red Box Deluxe for $9.00.

Their very very high quality bento takeaway box. Very. I don’t know how long they can sustain serving their sets in these great boxes. I still can’t bring myself to throw it away.

They seem to enjoy eggs and seem to include it in almost all their sets. Isn’t this such a cute little set? Perfect for an outing. I like that they wrapped up the soup so well – leak proof! You can choose miso, kimchee or corn soup. I went for miso soup.

I wasn’t looking forward to the eggs initially but was pleasantly surprised by them. They weren’t as overcooked as they look here and were perfectly salted. The salad was good, it was a basic mix but they threw in some bacon bits and sliced nuts. The dressing was your basic vinaigrette.

The tuna kimchee triangle musubi. Fresh made by them – nice furikake rice. Very good.

TTEOK KALBI RICE BURGER – you can choose from bulgogi or tteok kalbi. If you are given those choices, ALWAYS CHOOSE TTEOK KALBI.

I apologize for the caps. I just wanted my point to be clear. This is definitely best warm so if you have it later, try to nuke it a bit if you can. The patty is so delicious and juicy. It’s exactly what it sounds, rice serves as your “bread” and they add a mayonnaise type sauce, burger patty and lettuce. The lettuce isn’t really needed but it’s okay. If you have a chance, check them out! It’s a very cute store and the food is pretty good.