ChoGa-Jip 초가집 Hawaii — Restaurant in Honolulu

I’ve eaten there twice, once on a Saturday night and once on a Friday night. The place was somewhat busy, though not crowded.

I prefer to sit at the bar when I eat because I typically eat alone. Back when it was Masil Pocha, there were usually other people eating and drinking at the bar, but that is no longer the case. I also didn’t see/hear the former karaoke rooms being used. This situation may change as time goes by.

The menu is quite varied and is an improvement over Masil Pocha’s. It’s a good place to eat with friends and the staff is very attentive and professional.

I have to admit that I have some concerns about its ability to survive with two other Korean restaurants easily within walking distance, though the nearest competitor is often rather crowded and loud, while the other is about a block away and you’d have to walk past a homeless camp on a dark sidewalk to get there at night. No other restaurant that has opened in Chogajip’s location has survived, but I hope that they will be the exception.

Chogajip’s biggest advantage is that they open earlier than their competitors, making it the only sit-down restaurant in the area where you can have breakfast. Another advantage is that it isn’t loud and crowded, yet. So, you can have a relatively quiet breakfast, lunch or dinner with friends and not have to worry about getting the staff’s attention.

It might be awhile before I go back, since my friends from the Masil Pocha days aren’t around anymore and it feels rather lonely for me eating there alone. But, it’s a great spot for...

We ordered the Dakbokkeumtang (닭볶음탕), a Korean spicy braised chicken stew typically made with chicken, potatoes, carrots, and a spicy red pepper sauce. And trust me, I know exactly how this should taste. Unfortunately, the chicken was extremely dry, and lacked any real flavor. And its a tang (so it really makes no sense that a chicken can be dry inside a soup? )

To make things worse, after paying, lady kept passive aggressively lectured me what a normal tip looks like. — even though I had already left what I believe was a fair and reasonable tip for the level of service. It's not like I'm a Japanese tourist and either forget to tip or don't know the American tip system. It wasn't like I tipped poorly, but the constant pressure made the experience very uncomfortable. What kind of place does that?

I also took home some leftover Jok-bal (braised pig’s feet) and tried it the next morning. It had a strong porky smell — the kind you get when the meat isn't fresh — which shouldn't happen after just one night. Clearly, it wasn't fresh to begin with and it was probably made few days prior.

As for the side dishes (banchan), they were very mediocre. Given the sit-down restaurant setting and the price point, I expected much better quality. Honestly, there are small bento and take-out shops that serve far fresher and tastier banchan than this place.

Overall, very disappointing experience in both food quality and service & attitude. I won't...

Walking by with my family, we decided to try Choga-jip. Upon entering, the restaurant opens into a large, open seating area on the right, with karaoke rooms lining the left side. The kitchen is located further back. We were quickly seated in a karaoke room, which felt a little unusual, but we settled in and began reviewing the menu. ​The menu features a variety of typical Korean dishes, and we ordered several items to share family-style. ​When the side dishes arrived, we were immediately and pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were. I particularly enjoyed the kimchi; it wasn't the sour type and had a wonderfully complex flavor that is hard to describe. The seasoned potatoes were my second favorite. Honestly, we requested a refill for almost every side dish! ​For our main courses, the seafood soft tofu soup contained a generous amount of seafood and a whole hard-boiled egg. The meat pancake (Jeon) was tender, savory, and had very little fat. The Japchae (glass noodles) was also delicious, although it was slightly wetter compared to other versions I've had. ​The servers visited our "room" regularly, but the room also had a call button just in case. ​The restaurant wasn't as busy as I expected. I suspect this might be because the exterior is quite dark and could seem unappealing or even sketchy to passersby. Despite the exterior, this is surprisingly a very good place. We definitely need to come back and try more of...