OKDONGSIK Hawaii

“OKDONGSIK is the kind of place that makes you remember how powerful simple food can be when it is done with restraint. The dweji-gomtang is the reason to come. Clear pork broth, rice, thin slices of pork and almost nothing hiding behind it. No heavy hand. No salt bomb. No cheap trick. Just a clean, balanced bowl that somehow feels light and deeply comforting at the same time. On a hot day in Waikiki, the cold kimchi noodles were also just right. Bright, refreshing, tangy and enough heat to wake everything up without turning lunch into a dare. The kimchi was great, the gochuji paste was a nice ” — C E