Jong Ga Korean Restaurant

Yes they closed because the owners decided to retire. We used to go here every other week or so. Waitresses move to other locations like the renovated (post fire) On Dong. She told me they decided to retire.
This was the best Korean Food on the island at really good prices. I can’t find anything that comes close to this in Hawaii. Really sad they closed. They also had the best BanChan/​Tsukemono. I always had their dolcet BimBim Bap and its good. That’s saying a lot because I’ve eaten the original ones in JeonJu, South Korea.

As of this date Mar. 14, their neighbor Golf Tech told me they are closed, don’t know if they moved or if it is permanent —
They had the best seafood pot, kim chi jun, pork belly and I was looking forward to another visit, boo hoo! too late!
The last time I was there, they bussed in a bunch of Korean tourists and I was thinking they would have to live up to something authentic or Koreans really complain long and loud!

The best Korean home-​style cooking in Oahu! A hole in the wall joint with not much ambience, but the food they send out of their kitchen are what my aunts and grandmas cooked for me growing up in Korea.

The best place for authentic Korean food in Hawaii period. Everything is delicious and priced well. I always likes to take my family there when we crave for Koreans. one star off because one waitress can’t handle all of the customers when busy. they need to hire atleast one more person.

Just left this restaurant. I went in to place an order to go, didn’t even tell the waitress what I wanted and was told they cannot accommodate me because they were too busy??? Wtf? I could’ve ordered a bowl of rice for all she knew.

The décor and atmosphere is a little lackluster but I think this place has one of the best stone pot bibimbaps on the island. The pot seemed to be heated to a way higher temperature than usual because all the rice was super crisped up (and I let it sit so I can get everything crisped up). Tons of veggies too. The cherry on top is that the price is really reasonable.
My husband had the soon du bu combo with a fried corvina which he very much enjoyed. I’d definitely come back for the stone pot bibimbap!

The lady was nice. The parking attendant was nice. The place was small, dinky and creepy. I do love authentic Korean food and the food was decent but the entire time I was paranoid if a cockroach will crawl up my table. Oh, a huge mosquito did manage to kamikaze straight into my hot tea and drown. I guess that’s close enough… One thing I know for sure, I won’t be going back.

We picked this place because of it had 4 stars and it was closeby. You must pay for parking which is $ 1/​hr. My husband and I were the only ones there. The service was fast and the food was delish! They started with an array of Korean veggies. I ordered the combo special #2 and my husband got the chicken liver special. I didn’t taste his dish, but he said it was good. They don’t have a big drink menu.

My parents insisted that they MUST have a dose of Korean food during our week-​long trip to Hawaii, so after reading thru Unilocal reviews I decided that we’ll try out Jong Ga.
Now, I grew up in LA where (delicious) Korean food is EVERYWHERE. Did Jong Ga satisfy the crave for Korean? Yes. But I wouldn’t say it was the best or anything. There’s only one waitress, who must’ve been on a break before we were seated because she was so blaise about serving us. There were no other customers in the restaurant at the time, so I can’t excuse the bad service.
We ordered the Kimchi Stew, which fed the four of us comfortably. The kimchi in it was pretty solid. There was a funny/​terrifying moment half-​way thru the meal when my sister started choking… because the kimchi was too long. Probably her fault for not chewing all the way, but just beware if you have younger kids who tend to eat too quickly.

Had a double date here, our friends were raving about this place and the hubby and I was soo excited to try it out. This is a hidden jewel for sure near Ala Moana. We probably were the only nonkoreans — surprised they spoke English.
Had the corvina, bbq chicken, bibimkoosoo, soondubol… damn it was sooo DELISH! Seriously the vegetables that came with it was great, the kimchi was yuumy! The water too has a special something! oh my! I never had such great Korean food, but… we did think it was a little bit pricier than other places. I do have to say, BEST korean food I ever tried on the island!

We went as a family for an early lunch. The bi bim bap was oily. It was odd. It was like someone had put a few extra tablespoons of oil in it. I’ve never had this happen anywhere before and is the reason for 3 stars. The meat jun was good but I still like Yummy’s better. BBQ chicken was nice with just enough sear. The small vegetable plates were all very good.

Pretty good food and service considering there was only one waitress. Granted it is a small place. Food took a little while to come but i assume it was being made at that moment and not already sitting around. We had bulgogi, meat jun, and some kim chee stew and your usual assortment of vegetables. Is it kim chee or kim chi? I know meat jun is local, but it was good nonetheless.
This place seems like the real deal when you walk in and only hear korean and where the owners or workers are taking a break and chatting with each other outside. Even looking at the bill after, i didnt know what was what since it all was in korean haha
I would definitely come back again to try other new dishes!

Place totally reminds me of Korea! The smells, the Korean chatter, and the spicy food. Place is super authentic!
A few friends and I decided to be adventures and decided to try Jong Ga. It was a Saturday night before Ginza opened. Ichiriki was busy with no seating available. I think it was the smell that draw us here and of course my Korean friends…
Anyway glad im friends knew how to speak because the mama-​san couldn’t speak a lick of English. We ordered a bunch of dishes and the main dish was a spicy beef stew served family style. It was great.
The alcohol was out of this world… It was bitter sour milky liquid drank from a bowl… what the… It got me so wasted. I could remember the rest of the night. YEAHH Awesome!

You want to find a hole in the wall place only Koreans go to? This is the place. My friend Myong C. alerted me of the term, «yobos» which I guess means local Koreans here. This initially confused me because «yobo» in Korean is the more intimate word you use for your spouse (like «honey»), as in «honey, take out the %^& trash!!!» Just kidding. We no use language li’dat in our ohana. OK, so the yobos go here, as it turns out. I’ve been meaning to try this place for years since my Korean friend told me that this was a good place to go get kalgooksoo (Korean chicken broth noodle soup).
Today, however, I was jonesing for some al jjigae. That’s Korean for pollack roe stew. Essentially it is soon tofu but with less of the soft watery tofu and with pollack roe pieces in it.
Well I went in and yes, only yobos were around. No English was spoken, just Korean. That is some good evidence that this place serves homestyle Korean comfort food, as Val Y. so eloquently put it. Btw, have you read Val’s review of Sensually Yours yet? Stop now, put a hold on this review, and go there. Do not have any food in your mouth when you do, or your screen may be splashed with rubbish consisting of liquids and bits of food.
The place has a deeper menu than most Korean places. I don’t think I even saw meat jun in it, which is a telltale sign (meat jun is not Korean, yo!). Al jjigae is not common at most Korean places; neither is true kalgooksoo. I ordered the al jjigae for $ 13.95. It’s a bit pricey for stew but if you try and buy frozen pollack roe at an Asian market somewhere, you’ll understand that it’s not cheap.
The banchan came out in 6 banchan saucers. It was a nice mix and displayed neatly. There were three different kimchis, anchovy, bean sprouts and some fish cake. I was given the option of mixed rice, which consisted of red beans mixed in rice which gave it a purplish tinge to it.
When the al jjigae came out, it looked pretty much like daenjjang jjigae (Korean bean stew like miso) except with like 4 – 5 huge pieces of pollack roe. Man, did it ever rock my homestyle fix. It was like mama made it back in the old country. OK, so «the old country» means L.A. Koreatown (or the SF Valley after we moved) and I have never once called my mother «mama», just «um mah». Yobos everywhere, pollack roe, three kinds of kimchi, comfort food, what more could I ask? Well, maybe just the check. So it wasn’t completely like home, then, eh?

They do have their lunch specials for non-​yobos but why don’t you venture a little and go deeper into Korean cuisine? Overall, due to the sentimentality of the food, I give it 4.5 stars. Luckily for Jong Ga, Unilocal rounds up!
The location is a bit tricky. It’s behind Side Street Inn on the makai side but parking can be accessed via an alley street that intersects Piikoi, where Buti Groove is (turns out it is Kona St. but there are no signs). Parking is free for 75 minutes (why not 60 or 90?) on weekdays, $ 2 per hour on weekends. If you cannot afford the parking on weekends, just park at that shopping center where Nijiya Market, Dae Chun and Payless shoes are and discretely walk away. Maybe walk in the direction of Nijiya Market and when the security guard is not looking, make a mad (yet subtle) dash across the street. Or put some Nijiya Market plastic shopping bags on your dash. That should do it. See, I’m there for you.

I used to go to Yummy’s and upscale for me was So Gong Dong.
But my korean friend started taking me to these hole in the wall korean places that only koreans know, and would have to order in korean (not really) but seems to help.
So now Jong Ga, Frog House and Million are my favorite korean restaurants.
Sorry Choi and Sorabol.

Great Korean food! My favorite place to get soon du bu and grilled mackerel!

We dine at this place several times and this is the first time we put in a review. The food has been good (for sure better than those fast food kind in food court), the service was good too. We usually order noodles, stone pot rice, the usual stuff. They have been tasting all good. But since we had better somewhere else on the island, and those better ones are 4 stars, so this place would be 3 stars by comparison.
One thing I do want to mention is that this place use a lot less MSG than some other places. As a person who has intolerance to MSG, this is a good thing for me that they don’t pour in MSG crazily though I could still taste a little bit (especially for the dishes that are soup-​based or having lots of sauce).

Comparable to my favorite food in Korea.
Very authentic. Long wait — but worth the wait.
I loved it– seriously the Bossam had the best kimchi I had on the island. Tastes like love.

This is my first review. Here it goes. Little did I know that a small Korean restaurant was hidden back there. Of course this was the second option after Ichiriki was too busy and had a 45-​minute wait. I ate here once and the food was great. Food was tasty and the menu had a variety of dishes not on your typical, local Korean restaurant menu. Definitely would return again…
WARNING: The hours posted are till 1:00 AM but they close whenever they want. It was 11:30 pm and even though the lights were on, we were seated, and served water, they were closed. We got weird looks and they were talking in Korean, so I didn’t understand what was going on. Hungry and uncomfortable, we decided to leave because it seemed like they weren’t happy to have us there.
For the future, one thing to keep in mind is that SIGNS POSTED ON THE DOOR DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING.
THANK YOU to the parking attendant who gave us our money back for parking. Otherwise that would have added to the bad evening.

The food in this restaurant is what I would describe as Korean comfort food. The Korean menu here is more for those interested in eating healthy and delicious Korean food; something from the old country. It is not vegetarian but there are an assortment of healthy selections to try.
Before I go on. It is better to go with someone that is familiar with Korean comfort food or else you will end up eating what you normally eat in a Korean restaurant; and that would be ashame. With the right selection I think you will be… comforted!
You have to also understand the Korean culture. The wait help may seem rude but it is a cultural thing and nothing personal. Just go there with the frame of mind that you are there to enjoy Korean country cuisine.
You absolutely MUST order the black rice. It is a combination of black rice and beans. It is very healthy and good with your lunch or dinner selections.
Now this may sound gross to many of you, but order the goat soup. It is absolutely fabulous! The base soup is great and the pot it comes in is full of Korean vegetables and herbs. This soup is healthy, delicious and known to give males that extra… BAM!!! This is what most people are eating. Did you know that Korean are great lovers! BAM!!! But any of the «soup cooked on the table» dishes will be a good choice.
Whatever you order in combination with the soup is up to you. The Korvina is a good choice if you like fish.
This place is not an Iron Chef «20» in taste, presentation and originality; but for Korean comfort food, it is right up there with the best.
Sometimes you don’t want to be WOW’D…you just want to be comforted.