OKDONGSIK Honolulu — Restaurant in Honolulu

Ok dong sik - 屋同食 in Chinese characters. What a name with a wonderful meaning - a place where everyone dines together. I never knew that pork soup could be this flavorful and clear at the same time, and this place got it down, no wonder it's their signature dish!

I've always wanted to try this place, and finally, got to come here for a Friday lunch. Good thing I checked online that they take reservations. At 11:30am I booked for 2 people for 12:15pm. We only had to wait a few minutes after we checked in.

Not table, all counter seats, but at the far end there's a section of the counter being able to accommodate a small group.

I was surprised to see that they don't really have any open flame cooking. The soup pot was heated over an electric stove on the counter, so is the grill pan for the pancakes. But they do have a commercial deep fryer. This shows that great food can be cooked without a flame!

Of course we gotta try their Dweji-gomtang which is their signature dish - a clear and savory broth with rice and thin slices of pork. It's light and satisfying. The pork wasn't gamey, and I love how it's sliced thin, and my goodness their gochuji made in-house was so amazing that I could use it on everything! I didn't leave a single trace behind. They also had a thermometer gun to measure the temperature of the soup - talk about precision!

Then we also tried the lard donkatsu. Oh that's yummy too. The pork was fried perfectly, and they set a timer for frying, and also one for cooling down before cutting. Again, the precision is commendable. The pickled daikon went really well with the pork, and their tonkatsu sauce was really good too! But if you were to compare other spots that specialize in Japanese tonkatsu, then I think I still prefer one of those.

We also order the ok donggeurangttaeng - of course I had no idea what this meant without the description. Meaty seafood cake, it wasn't what I expected. It tasted more like an omelette to me. I couldn't taste much seafood. I don't know. I'm not sure if I'll order this again.

I can proudly say we did order half of their menu lol (because the menu only has 6 items haha)

I really love counter seating. Got to see how the chefs prepare the food and the tools they use too. I can't imagine the pressure they might get from being watched the whole time though!

The service was wonderful. We got refills with kimchi and we got extra gochuji after I expressed how much I enjoyed it. A bunch of hardworking people behind the counter.

I like the decor too with the wooden accent, adding some warmth to the chic design of the space. Also love the paper chopsticks holder and the hefty flatware and drink ware! Can tell it's good quality too!

I would definitely come back to try their other half of...

For those that are adventurous in flavors and experiences when you talk about restaurants this a really great option for exploring and going beyond about culture in the fine dining scene.

Being Hawaii a nest of Asian influence you can explore Korean flavors here OKDONGSIK Honolulu. This restaurant has other locations , one in New your and one in Seoul , Korea.

if you do not know has a Bib gourmand (highlights restaurants that serve delicious food at a more moderate and accessible price point, focusing on well-executed, recognizable, and hearty dishes rather than innovative, high-end fine dining)

I did my reservation for resy and when I arrived punctual as the culture is the welcoming at the entrance .

Location :

The experience when you enter is amazing , the concept is made with wood in a minimalist design they have a really interesting open kitchen as a chef counter dining experience .

We wait just 2 minutes to have our seats . They offer their signature kimchi with Gochi-ji sauce.

My order was for two

Dweji-Gomtang: clear pork broth with abundant meat it was even more meat thinly sliced that enhance more the experience than the rice . Flavor was simple to accentuate the flavor . It was a really nice portion for $18 dollars

Lard donkatsu : that was a pork loin cutlet deep fry that was juicy and had a really nice golden brown color the tempura . The cabbage salad was thinly sliced that was really nice to eat and the tonkatusu sauce (Worcestershire flavor) adds the tanginess for a really nice pair. I add two shrimps for 2 dollar they were in tempura and in a perfect time cooking for consistency .

they were attentive but serious , it was difficult to ask details about the concept and cooking methods but they tried to do the best possible for resolve any question

Price point was really affordable $50 per 2 persons .

I really enjoyed this experience this is the type of places that provide the difference between eat food and...

Just had an amazing meal at Okdongski in Honolulu!

Here is the food we enjoyed...

Dweji - Gomtang - pork broth with sliced pork and rice: The broth was clean and meat was cooked perfectly. The napkin holder gave an illustration on how to enjoy the pork. Deliciously satisfying!

Lard Donkatsu - pork cutlet: Very crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Yum Yum!

Cabbage Kimchi Noodles - chilled noodles in a cabbage kimchi broth: Very thin noodles in a refreshing broth. Tasty!

Mini Pork Dupbob - diced pork over rice with scallion garlic sauce: Diced pork with a scallion garlic sauce that they torched with a flame. So good!

Ok Donggeurangttaeng - seafood cake: Seafood filled cake served with a pickled daikon. Delicious!

Naeng Jeyuk - slow cooked chilled pork: Oh so tender and delicious with the homemade gochijong. Scrumptious!

Maesil Ade - Korean green plum drink: You need to stir up the drink before sipping. Wonderfully refreshing!

Homemade Kimchi: Delicious and not too spicy.

We arrived at 430pm (they open at 5pm) and line was already forming outside.

SERVICE was impeccable! So much attention to detail and our dishes were clearly explained to us so we knew what we were eating.

ATMOSPHER: Clean, modern, and warm. The restaurant is counter serve seating with only 18 seats

I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys authentic Korean cuisine and pork that is not fatty. I have actually eaten at the same restaurant in Seoul Korea (NOTE: this restaurant also exists in Seoul, Tokyo, NYC... and a pop up in Paris as of the date of this posting). We left feeling very satisfied and will definitely return and make this a goto restaurant...