Mikawon & Vons Chicken Korean Restaurant / 한식당 미가원 & 본스치킨 — Restaurant in Honolulu

I arrived in Hawaii for a holiday and was craving Korean food, so I found a restaurant nearby called Mikawon, which seemed pretty good. We were seated quickly and my family and I were happy to wait after we had chose something from the menu.. until I noticed they gave other people and families cups and water within a few mins of being seated.

After 15-20 minutes, the man who seated us walked past us multiple times and avoided eye contact with us completely. There was one point where he was leaning against a bar standing there with pen and paper doing absolutely nothing. We tried to get his attention but he quickly turned busy taking orders from people who came at least 10-15 mins AFTER us. So we sat there waiting for another 20 minutes, while my family got impatient and were treated like a minority. No other waiters would acknowledge us either and would ignore us. One older waiter would look at us, and then look away and ignore us. After about 10 minutes of waiting we decided to leave, when the older waiter finally walked up to us and asked "Are you leaving? Are you leaving?". He asked as he had already started taking the menus away from the table whilst half of my family was still seated at the table. But Yes, we were leaving. I should also include that the restaurant did not appear busy, and had a lot of empty tables. (I've noticed other people have had a similar experience).

Before we left, it had already been about 40 minutes of just sitting there without even being acknowledged. Rating this place solely based on the experience since we never even got the chance to taste the food. I hope that if my family and I returned to visit at some other time, we won't have the...

To the point: bulgogi, slightly overcooked. Japchae, needed more sesame oil/flavor. Fish roe soft tofu stew, over cooked, inedible. Banchan (4 items) Kimchi, slightly too salty. Bean sprouts, flavorless. Lettus/salad, flavorless. Potatoes, decent (wife said they were too sweet but at least it had flavor). Might give this place a 2nd chance for the chicken wings, hopefully they're better. Service, understaffed. One waitress for the whole place (she worked her tail off delivering all the food and clearing tables, but was still very fast).

Long version: the bulgogi was either overcooked or too lean of a cut of beef. Flavkr was good, but the meat could have easily been tenderized before hand by marinading it in a tenderizing solution (take a tip from the cheap Chinese restaurants that know this simple trick). The JapChae was just slightly on the dry side and needed a little bit more sesame flavor. Both could have been solved with a little more sesame oil. The Fish Roe soft tofu stew was a disaster (and I don't say that lightly because I can pretty much eat anything my wife doesn't). The fish roe was so dry and overcooked that it had the texture and dryness of sawdust, and it contaminated the broth with that dry gritty texture. I ate the tofu with the tainted broth out of spite. Clearly, she should have ordered a more TRADITIONAL Korean soup dish, as this one seemed to be outside of their expertise. The accompanying appetizers/banchans were...

After watching this place grow and evolve..heard food was Ono...finally I went. For take out. First and last mistake. Try to be friendly with owner, staff and cook... I understand there's orders in front of me and you're busy.. So automatically Tip on takeout.. But after 3 tables were sat and served before me, and 17-20mins go by, yeah.. Not happy... (Wasn't a line to get in, empty tables)And then you, the owner, yes Ms. I'm talking to you, you ignore me. I try politely to get your attention. You're busy, so you don't hear me. Is it because I'm white?!? I watched as my take out box was looked over and over and over again as other orders were being served. I tried to talk to people, telling them I think that's my order. Nothing... Finally a young gentleman, didn't get his name but thank you, finally made eye contact with me... He informed you about me. About my order. Once you and the cook realized what happened, you chummed it. I got scraps and half assed food. I saw it all through the curtains. So thank you for the awesome customer experience and the slop job. I will tell all my tourists and friends to visit Me's BBQ on Uluniu St. It's cash only, closed on Sunday's, but they never forget their customers...and the food is better!! I can say this bc I've been to both now... Quality, taste, presentation with the colorful sides.. Me's BBQ. Hashtag that beaches...