Chodang restaurant
451 Piikoi St #110, Honolulu, HI 96814
Monday-Sunday :
8AM - 1AM
(808) 591 - 0530
I first discovered ChoDang when I mistakenly ate a “rigged” cookie while attempting to review the Allen Stone concert. By the time I realized what had happened, I was pushing my way through the crowds amidst applause and the appearance of the man of the hour finally reaching the exterior of The Republik much to my relief. Stone crooned the lyrics of his popular single “Unaware” as I leaned against the various graffiti art plastered atop their walls and evened out my breathing. As I calmed myself, I couldn’t help but notice I was hungry (“rigged” cookies will do this to you), so texted my fiancé who had been left alone near the front of the stage who agreed to find food. It was now Matt (my fiancé), Jen (my dear friend), and moi outside trying to figure out where to eat. Never mind the fact that we all paid about thirty dollars a person to see Stone who we weren’t even watching. Jen suggested ChoDang since I had been wanting to eat Korean food for the longest time (FYI Kailua has no legitimate Korean food; Ohana BBQ is not Korean), so we all agreed and headed down there.
ChoDang is located in the little plaza or mall area on the side of Ala Moana where Payless, Nijiya Market, Taiyo Ramen, and Eggs’N’Things is located. If you are trying to find the restaurant for the first time, you may very easily miss it since it’s situated in between Eggs’N’Things and Taiyo Ramen with an inconspicuous sign though the various lights of the storefront will surely attract passerby at night. In any case, it only took us about ten or so minutes after leaving The Republik to arrive at ChoDang, and while it was perhaps around ten or eleven at night, the restaurant was decently crowded.
While not the fanciest of restaraunts, ChoDang, like many other Korean restaraunts focuses more on the quality of their food rather than the quality of their exterior and interior as can be reiterated by ChoDang’s bright orange paint, simple but sturdy wooden tables, and various menus littered about the restaurant alerting customers to specials and popular foods. It didn’t take us long to order, and the woman attending us (who we assumed was the owner) promptly served us water, utensils, and our orders in probably the span of thirty minutes (most likely a lot less).
If you’ve never eaten at an authentic Korean food place, one of the first things that will arrive at your table besides water and utensils is “ban-chan” which is Korean for side dishes and is the little bowls or plate of various vegetables or other sides common to Korean cuisine. You can either snack on these while you wait for your meal or actually eat them in accompaniment to your meal. Regardless, ban-chan is amazing. I ordered a Kalbi soup for my fiancé and I to share while my friend ordered Kalbi. Both of our dishes came with a bowl of rice and we promptly dug in. As much as I complained about eating Korean food as a child, the first spoonful of rice, Kalbi soup, and ban-chan really hit the spot for me. Not only was the taste similar to the soups my maternal grandmother used to make for me, but it was my version of comfort food. Nothing was over or underseasoned, and the waitress always checked up on us so we were never without ban-chan or water. The best part? All of the food we ate was more than affordable for what we received. The total for our two dishes was thirteen dollars not including tip.
Overall, I definitely recommend visiting ChoDang if you’re in the mood for authentic Korean food. The service is hit and miss (I had to visit a second time in order to get photos which can be evidenced by my white muumuu—no I didn’t get hitched, promise) depending on the hour you visit and the waitress you get, but honestly the food is totally worth it. Plus, the food is seriously cheap for what you get and you can’t go wrong with cheap Korean food.