Young's Kal Bee

I must admit, I had the pleasure of dining at three highly-rated Korean BBQ restaurants this week, and this place truly stood out as the best. Unfortunately, yesterday they were closed, so I visited Soons instead. However, the food there was quite disappointing. As the saying goes, “You pay for what you get!” If you’re looking for delicious food and generous portions, I highly recommend Young’s. This place is simply unbeatable!

Always very friendly and hospitable. The Big Bone Kalbi (juicy and tender and Onolicious) is my favorite, followed by Meat Jun (the best in my humble opinion and the sauce is wow) and Bibim Bap (perfect balance of vegetables). Call ahead to order or you’ll be very hungry after waiting for your cook to order meal!!! My family always comes here when visiting Hawaii.

So let’s start with the positives. The Meat Jun is unique to Hawaii. Yes it’s a Korean restaurant but you won’t find it else where. The dish is beef, battered and deep fried with a dipping sauce. This is another hidden gem on Oahu. Locals know and love this place! The negative is there’s no dine in. :( But you can find plenty of parks to eat at. If you’re in town, stop by! This place may not be there for much longer…

Found this place on Reddit for good local recommendations. This is a tiny place where you never go in. You order take out ahead of time or right at the opened door. It seems to be super popular and well known and the award stickers in the window can probably attest to that. The staff is very kind and the service was quite quick. We had the kal bee and meat jun combination plate. We had no clue that meat jun was a beef fritter so we were going in blind. Both meats were sweet and were very tasty, but I think I would lean towards the meat jun if I had to only choose one. The sauce dripped into the rice below the meats and even made that taste better. The salads that come with the meal also were given some love instead of just plain cabbage being served. Overall, my only negative is the place was quite pricy. Yes it’s Hawai’i so the cost is higher than the mainland, yes it short-ribs, but the inflation seems to have hit here pretty hard. Everything else about this place deserves high praise.

All I can say is BEST MEAT JUN in Hawaii. You will not get any better than this. Only place I think comes close is Kim Chee 3 but they also use a different sauce. You will be first welcomed by the sweetest young lady who owns the place and her husband. They have had this business for over 20 years. I am sure they will also return to dine in , in a few weeks. All thier Korean flavors are just intoxicating , you will only want more but alas your stomach will be full... so come back again real soon.

Yes to this place for there Meat Jun, Kalbi and BBQ Chicken. Located in Aiea Town Center right below the Anytime Fitness. You order first then sit down. I believe it’s a husband and wife team who make these amazing plates. I will say that everytime I go there it is crowded. Keep in mind, last good order taken is 7:20pm. The meat jun has a lot of flavor, it has also won Hawaii’s Best a couple time.

I love this place 1 of 2 of my favorite Korean food spots here on Oahu, Hawaii. The only thing missing in dine in. Only take out!! But does not take away from the friendly service and delicious fool. My favorite bbq chicken and Kalbi plate w/ Beansprouts and cabbage. Winner!!

Had the kal bi plate for lunch it was delicious probably the best I've ever had. It is a bit pricey but worth it once in a while takeout only