jagalchi — Restaurant in Honolulu

jeongmal mas-issneun ( I wrote it in korean but it doesnt work on yelp lol) The phrase you'll be saying when you have a meal here trust me! I found this place a few years back when I was "homesick" from my time when I visited Seoul, South Korea. I never go to another Korean place other than here every again (non-yakinuku type).

I used to be a regular at chodang and ah-lang (Angry Korean Lady..~ so sad she closed down), but if you are really looking for a real Korean meal that will leave you full and satisfied Ja Gal Chi is the right place.

HOURS: 7:30-10:00 PM ( More like 930/945 because "sometimes" (not often) they do close early when there are not many people coming in,

PRICE: Pretty reasonable because the portion is family style so expect $10+ on most dishes. For popular dishes after 3:00 PM it's $3 more to the listed price (see the menu) nevertheless its worth it!

LOCATION: Parking can get crowded during lunch as that's when it gets a little busy, but other than that there ample parking, the area is literally surrounded by other Korean based eateries as well.

SERVICE: There are different halmeoni working at different times and each of them have their own personalities, there's one that just does her job which is ok.. but the rest there so nice and always check up on you, like if you need more rice, sides, and water, without feeling ashamed for asking for refills (especially when you are a non-Korean like me :P)

KEY TIP: -If you are coming here alone, best to order just one main dish! trust me! order one more and it will just be too much, mind you they give you rice and lots of side dishes that you can constantly get refilled.

-They have the purple rice here!! the best! So good! -You get 7 different side dishes that are refillable (not always the same with each visit still a plus! but one thing you know you will always get is KImchi

FOOD: So... Yeah.. the menu is overwhelming! which does has its pros and cons, lots of options and choice but hard to decide, here are my top picks that always keep me coming.

• Spicy Pork!!* Get this! it's so good! flavorful, cooked amazingly, good ratio of veggies and just goes well with the rice and sides! If come here alone this is the dish I order! You won't regret it!

Bibim Naengmyeon (Korean Spicy Cold Noodle) Perfect for those hot days, so good! and just the right amount of spice that is not too overpowering, very flavorful! Has an egg apple slices, and cucumbers on the dish, this dish also comes with the sides and rice, you'll leave with a full belly! Also, this doesn't have the ice chunks that some places do, so even better!

Meat Jun If you're like me meat jun is literally a staple dish lol, it goes well with everything! the meat jun here has thick meat and so expect to chew a little bit more but it's delicious, ask for gochujang (Hot pepper paste) on the side! it goes well as a dip

Pancake They are all good! (Seafood, Kimchee, the dipping sauce goes well with it and it's always crispy

Soft Tofu Soup (Spicy/Mild) You can order this with choice of beef/pork, kimchi, mushroom, or veggie.

Stir-fried Squid With Vegetables or combo version that has spicy pork with it too The squid is good as expected its chewy if you ever went to FAMOUS KAHUKU Shrimp on the north shore and had spicy squid there it's exactly like this, so good thou!

Beef Knee Soup Tedon Soup If you love tendon like I do you'll love this, granted that it is a little bland but they give salt on the side, for you to add for your taste if they don't give it just ask.

FAST FACTS: Don't order Bi-Bim-Bap, the reason being is your basically getting the sides and rice for free anyway, best to order something else and try other things.

CONCLUSION Either you're coming here alone or with a group of friends, the food is always good and you'll leave satisfied and be wanting more, heck maybe bringing home some...

Went during lunch time with my sister after stumbling across on Tik tok. Absolutely loved the vibe here, we were the only ones in the store and the server even asked us what music we’d like to listen to! So fun! I’ll be listing everything we ate and giving my opinion! Bossam - super yummy & light! If you aren’t familiar with it, give it a try with others! Very different but a lot more traditional in aspect.

Seafood Jun - delicious, very flavorful, sauce was yummy, serving size large and in charge!

Corn cheese - love the smokiness from torched mozzarella, very creamy. Great pairing if you’re gonna eat something savory.

Tteokbokki - delicious, flavorful, GENEROUS.

Since we came during lunch time, we will def be back for all the things we didn’t get to try! Sizes are hugeeee, at least shareable amongst 3 hunnnggrry people or 4 - 5 smaller appetites. Def bar style & relaxed, great social gathering spot for some friends to kick back, eat yummy food, & drink. 10/10...

I heard really good things about the food here so I took my sister here for my birthday. I also made sure to call ahead to save a seat for the two of us around 8 p.m. we were sat right away which surprised us since it was a a pretty full house. we sat there for 30 minutes and not a single person greeted us, we did not get menus, we didn't even recieve water or put in a drink order. we tried to flag someone down just to get more utensils since the utensil jar was empty but we were ignored. We made eye contact with the staff multiple times and we even saw a table that was sat way after us getting their drink and food order taken and brought to their table. The tables around us were being served food and drinks 2-3 times without anyone making an attempt to check on our table. While we were there we tried not to be impatient but we ended up leaving after getting ignore too many times.

I was really excited to try this place but the service was...