If you think that pretty much every other new restaurant you’ve been hearing about is Korean, you may be right. We stumbled on this four-Korean-restaurants-in-12-days phenomenon while researching for the next roundup of New & Coming Restaurants (coming soon, promise), a newsworthy enough nugget to merit its own coverage.
We’re using the term Korean restaurants inclusively, wrapping in a Tokyo-based chain specializing in the Japanese take on Korean barbecue, a la Han no Daidokoro—which, by the way, also opened its second eatery in Honolulu, albeit way back in December of last year.
Lani Sot
Hawai‘i’s first sotbap restaurant is still in soft-opening mode on the second floor of Kaka‘ako’s Salt complex, in the corner space that housed Butcher & Bird. The specialty is rice bowls, Korean style—crispy-edged and topped with spicy pork, garlic shrimp, mushroom, eggplant or other choices; plus dishes including spicy baby back pork ribs. Six sets on the soft-opening menu are $25 and include banchan sides and the soup of the day. A total redesign gives Lani Sot a cool gray-and-white color palette anchored by dark woods, and limited indoor and outdoor seating.
Open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., 324 Coral St. #207, Kaka‘ako, (808) 260-4949, @lanisot_at_kakaako
MooBongRi Soup & Yakiniku
This Korean-American chain with franchises from California to Georgia took the place of the former McCully Buffet in late March. Its specialties: Korean barbecue (yes, there are new grills on the tables) and soondae or blood sausage, offered in various soondae plates, a soondae intestine pot stew and spicy soondae soup. Other dishes include Mugifuji pork, noodles, bibimbap, sizzling and stir-fried dishes, beef offal to grill and other Korean favorites. Lunch specials pair kalbi with naengmyeon cold noodles or seafood tofu stew for $25…