Mama Woo’s BBQ

I went to maa mama woos to pick up a take out order, soon I walked in mama woo tells the other customer to watch your purse! There was only me and the other customer, I felt so insulted, I will never eat here again plus it’s shitty koren food!!! I just to let u know it was mama woo herself who did this not a employee!!! That’s how she treats her customer!!!#

mama woo’s is our new favorite Korean restaurant.
the food gods placed me there one summer day when phở thinh was closed, and I was too hungry to consider braving the traffic for other options. mama woo and staff patiently answered all of my questions and were able to provide me with a GF, allergy free meal. the sides were delicious, and they offered brown rice as a substitute for white. there were a lot of options & combinations for the take out meal that I was picking for my anything goes hubby, and he loved the non-​standard sides, especially the fried ones.
mama’s food quality and taste is fantastic, her prices are competitive, and her customer service is top notch.
bring cash. parking is tight.

Their Loco Moco is great! They give you a lot of food for a cheap price! Also, there are so many veggie choices! They don’t have many parking stalls, so almost every time I go, I can’t park…

Mama Woo’s Korean BBQ is the typical Hawaii Korean BBQ. Very small place, with REALLY CRAPPY PARKING. If you get parking, consider yourself lucky because there are only about a dozen parking spaces, with half of them marked «reserved». This can be a problem because there are 2 other restaurants & a nail salon sharing the parking.
My wife got a Kal Bi (short rib style) & Meat Jun combo, Mom gets Bi Bim Bap, and i get the Tong Kal Bi (for those of you that may not know this is their «Big Bone Kal Bi»).
Wife said her combo was okay (3 stars) & Mom’s Bi Bim Bap actually looked really good (4 stars). My Tong Kal Bi, which is listed on their menu as one of their «House Specialties» @ a price of $ 17.50. WHAT A DAMN RIPOFF! ZERO STARS! Flavor was meh at best, meat quality was poor because it was too chewy, and they don’t give much (my wife’s combo plate with the short rib style Kal Bi looked like she got more meat than I got, and to top it off it had better flavor & was very tender).
Most of their side dishes are pretty typical. Don’t know if it changes any, but they had 2 eggplant sides, 1 was deep fried & the other was marinated in some kind of sauce with other veggies. Don’t get the deep fried one! The marinated one was actually really tasty.
This place is nothing special, so don’t expect to be impressed. Word of advice, JUST DON’T GET THE TONG KAL BI!

Many other better Korean places to eat. Trust me. They charge for water! and bad customer service. Why go here when there are many other Korean places 4 stars and up. Their sides taste very old too, very stale.

Standard local style take out Korean food. Not bad but given the choices we have here in Hawaii not great either. Really disappointed in what was certainly microwaved bbq chicken and kalbi. Yummy’s and of course Gina’s is a much better choice in this genre, given the customer service here. Maybe it’s just the «Mama» part that threw me off, my mamma is nice so I thought Mama Woo would be nice too. Marginal restaurant, although I thought that I might have gone back out of convenience, but their customer service needed some work, so in the end that changed my mind about the place.
Mama Woo Kinda Mean
I asked if I could take a seven month old Honolulu magazine that was reading while eating lunch. It had some articles about schools that I wanted to share with my wife. Mama Woo was not being a nice mamma and waved me off, refusing me and was really dismissive about it. They could have made a return customer out of me with just one small inconsequential kind gesture, it probably wasn’t even their magazine to begin with.
To their credit, they said thank you when I left, however it seemed to me like they had been reading these reviews and thought that good service means be as rude as you’d like but if you say thank you then all is fine. It certainly is, I am fine with never eating here again.

I ordered the bbq chicken and meat jun combo. The bbq chicken had a thick sauce on top which I did not care for. I prefer bbq chicken to just be marinated then grilled. The meat jun was decent. I would go back again but wouldn’t order the chicken or ask for no extra sauce. The food was prepared rather quickly which was nice. I would go back to try the other dishes.

Food– the kalbi is really good! I love it. The rice is so good to. I know that may be an odd statement but the way it’s prepared and the texture is the best restaurant rice I ever tasted.
Vegetables– I must say her vegetables are ono. So good and fresh. The best I have tasted yet.
Service– mama woo needs to smile more. Sometime it feels like we being rushed to pick our 4 vegie sides.
We go here when we crave for kalbi. I feel satisfied and full.

Decided to try Mama Woo’s out since I live in the area and saw it on Cheap Eats. Guy Hagi u lie. It was the worst meal I have ever had!!! Got the chicken katsu, kalbi combo and mochi chicken and meat Jun combo. Katsu and mochi chicken tasted like it was fried in the same old grease. Mochi chicken was more like a shoyu nugget, where is the mochi flour? Katsu was inedible. My boyfriend was so pissed he wanted to go back and get a refund. We ended up throwing it all away since the kalbi tasted like it was turning bad. Never again! Boo to u Mama woo!!!

First off I’m a sucker for any funny or interesting sounding place like ‘The Dragon Upstairs’ or ‘Mama Woo’s BBQ’. Since I was in the mood for some Korean BBQ we pointed the car down King Street and made our way there quickly because it was 9:30PM and luckily Mama Woo keeps her kitchen open until 10:00PM. I went for the Bibimbap and hubby had the big bone Kalbi. Both were pretty tasty and came with at least five different sides of veggies and rice so we had extras to take home. Not bad at all if you’re in the need for some quick Korean BBQ late night.

The meat jun was very very delicious not oily or eggy one of the best I had in Hawaii. And the spicy chicken wings are da bomb very crispy & not too spicy perfect I give mama woo’s bbq 5 star I live in town & its very hard to find very good Korean take out but dis small corner pocket place is Da Winnas!!!

One of our absolute fav Korean food places to go… we’ve been going here from when they were located in Hawaii Kai, followed them to Windward Mall, and now to King St.
They have the best tasting Korean food! You can skip the rice and ask for all veggies. You can mix and match till you are happy. The family meals are the best deals! You can get spicy, mild, or something in between. Quick and friendly service… you can also call your order in, if you want to rush in and out.
I love that we can take home a large tub of Kim Chee for under $ 8 and it will last… even when I use it to make kim chee dip. So yummy! They even have homemade taegu!

I’ve only had one thing from Mama Woo’s but it was a very delicious 5-​stars: the Spicy Chicken Wings! My friend brought them to a party and after eating one I hovered over the buffet line to see if I could snag a few more. Ever since that party weeks ago my mind lingers back to those chicken wings about twice a day. Just so we’re totally clear, they’re nothing crazy complicated, just your basic frozen chicken wings, deep friend and covered in a slightly spicy Korean sauce. These little deep fried darlings totally bring me back to small kid times when my parents would make me home lunch for field trips. They would always make deep fry chicken, cover it in a homemade shoyu garlic sauce and wrap it in foil. Lunch couldn’t come soon enough as I ate my chicken with an ume musubi and frozen Hawaiian Sun can juice.
Fast forward to today’s Mama Woo’s visit when I called ahead to order a take-​out plate of 24 wings for $ 20.95. We took them to a party with friends and once again I hovered over them like a hawk. The bad news is that everyone loved the wings. I’m pretty sure that if left to my own devices I could easily finish off a 24 piece set by myself with fingers licked clean. I dare not try to make these at home myself because they’re not the healthiest fare and no good could come of adding easy access to my fave chicken wings into my life. I am happy to settle for the goodness of Mama Woo’s and commit to ordering take-​out whenever we have a potluck occasion.
CASH ONLY!

Parking is a beeotch! Went around the block (basically a tour or McCully). If you see a parking spot in the street … take it! This was recently rated as the best Korean take out so my expectations are high! Mama was there so I ordered Mama’s Special. Kal Bi, Bulgogi, Mandoo, BBQ chicken and chicken wing … A little bit of everything. There was so much food I could not see the bed of rice. All of it is fantastic So much so that I am feeling the onset of food coma

Not even three hours after I got off the plane and my folks wanted to take me here. I guess they know the panda loves to eat.
It’s a family-​run business that has the feel of a hole-​in-​the-​wall establishment. One small entrance on a one-​way busy street. Miss it and you gotta circle around to try again. But lots of Korean food to try for science.
KIMCHI STEW ($ 9.50): A year-​round favorite that my Korean friend also used to make for us. This one was pretty good, nice and hearty. Lots of kimchi in my helping. The stew comes in a container separate from the rice and sides.
MAMA’S SPECIAL ($ 11.50): Combines most of the proteins into one dish. Personal favorites were the BBQ chicken and kalbi.
MOCHIKO CHICKEN ($ 9.50): Balls of mochiko chicken. Lovely sweet-​savory glaze. My overall favorite item; outstanding crunch and very flavorful.
Solid spot. Score one (or three?) for the panda’s parents.

I keep forgetting that they don’t have Korean BBQ plate lunches on the mainland so when my vegetarian friend from SF came down, all he wanted was Korean BBQ. At first I was confused. Wut? But u don’t eat meat…
Then I forgot about the bazillion vegetarian sides and the zucchini jun!
I ordered the meat jun plate, loved that they had kimchi pancake as a side. Meat jun was good, juicy meat the egg batter was a little dry but loved the dipping sauce. Loved all the sides, everything was fresh and crunchy, just how I like my vegetables.
Service is the same I feel like with all the Korean BBQ places… just kinda like, efficient but not personable. Which is fine with me! I CAME HERE TO EAT.

Excellent. Highly recommended. Had the special and the zucchini jun. Friendly and helpful staff and willing to accommodate special orders. Good sized portions. Good value for the price.
Go here

AMAZING LOCAL KOREAN FOOD! ! I always come here to satisfy my Korean cravings. Just had the bi bim BAP from there and it was delicious. Veggies are always fresh.
The service is really good too, mama woo is very nice and courteous.
Oh, their fountain drinks are also rated 5 stars!!! So crispy

I had a craving for Korean food that was fast and cheap — yet not somewhere generic like Yummy’s or Peppa’s. It was suggested to me by many people over the years that Mama Woo’s was the bomb and that I should try it out. Since I am now in town most of the time, I hopped into my car and went on a lunch adventure.
Upon entering I had a dumbass moment. The lights were on, it was 1100am, and Mama Woo was inside. I pushed the door, and it was locked. I stared at Mama Woo and the place was empty. I looked at the sign and it said it was open at 1030am. Mama motioned to come in. PULL not PUSH dummy! *slaps own head*
Anyways, besides that embarrassing moment, the restaurant is cute and clean. There are an array of unique banchan that you don’t find anywhere else at a fast food Korean joint. I was excited to see turnip leaf kim chee and picked that, along with regular cabbage kim chee, potato and her fried eggplant.
The turnip leaf kim chee was wonderful. Perfectly spiced and reminded me of when my mom makes it. I ate it up. The regular kim chee was decent. The shoyu potato was a bit too sweet for my taste, and the fried eggplant everyone raves about was a little stale? Not crispy like I’d thought it would be and got stuck to my teeth. It was weird and too sweet for me as well.
I ordered the Mama Woo’s special to have a taste of everything. It consists of kalbi, bulgogi, bbq chicken, a mandoo and a Korean spicy chicken wing. The kalbi, bulgogi and mandoo was good. I thought the BBQ chicken was a bit too sweet again for me. Too much sugar in the sauce. I did not try the spicy chicken wing yet.
I do absolutely love that the plate was humongous! She gave loads of food and I couldn’t finish it, thus why I didn’t get to try the chicken wing yet. I get to save the rest for dinner! Pretty decent amount of food that can be split into two meals for a decent price!
Parking is limited in a very small lot, but I found street parking which was plentiful.
Mama was kind and smiley. Not sure about the other servers in the other reviews that were cranky and rude. If I ever have a craving again I’d go here simply for the banchan and the amount of food for the price.

I eat at this place all the time and if I don’t get there as often as I would like, I am sad.
Seriously, the food, customer service and cleanliness are all impeccable !
The sides are so tasty that you can never decide on what to try. Trust me, it’s all good. Best Kim Chee I have had in years.
Bulgogi, chicken, Kal-​bi, hamburger steak… try it all and it will not disappoint.
I am gonna try the BiBimBap next time since I loved it when I was in Korea.
If you go here, tell Mama that Patrick (the guy on the white road bike sent you).
Patrick :-)