Ono Kimchi

Heard and read some great reviews of this place so decided to check it out. Walked in and the place was empty, minute or so later the Korean lady (assume owner/​operator based on reviews) peaks out from the back. She is talking on the phone and I wait, without hanging up she asks what I want. «Poke salad please»
«How much you want?»
«Uh just one…»
«Minimum order ½ lb»
«Umm I’ll take the smallest, I just want a poke salad like the menu»
20 minutes later… (Still talking on the phone) «ok here’s yours (handing me a poke container).
«Sorry but I wanted a Poke Salad! Like on the menu.»
She then gets a sandwich container and lines it with some Romain lettuce then dumps out the remaining poke from the batch she just made. «OK this is more now!»
«Uhhh I just wanted a poke salad like the menu (pointed to picture on wall), so how much is this?»
«It’s more than ¾ lb»
«Ah no how much does that cost?» (Thinking I have been here longer than 25 minutes, I just want to eat something)
«Let’s see… (using calculator) 14.95»
«Are you serious! I just want a poke salad for lunch like the menu… it says 8.95 or something»
«You want this?»
«Well maybe if you were not on the phone and listened to your customers you would have got it right» (she is still on the phone…)
Walked next door. The girls were eating but you know what? They stopped wash their hands, asked me what I wanted and if I wanted any samples. 3 minutes later I am walking out with a fantastic poke salad that cost 8.36.
The spooky part? That was not even the worst part of my experience. During the owners conversation on the phone she kept mentioning how she doesnt like and can not stand «the Chinese.» «They ruin evrrything»
You should watch what you are saying when other people are around! Better yet get off the phone and provide some customer service!

first of all the owner is a very nice lady. visited at lunch and ordered the saba plate lunch. the cost was over $ 12.00 so i thought it was pretty steep. also bought a small kimchi container to take home. the saba plate lunch was ok. the kimchi though tasted bland. maybe because there was no msg but it didnt taste like the kimchi i was used to. it was missing the salty fish sauce taste. overall i think ill go somewhere else for my kimchi.

Overall Impression:
Fairly good food, but I’m sorry to say that the service was very poor. Also, the food is expensive-​not worth the price at all.
Average price: $ 12 – 15
Positives:
–food is healthy
–the lady who runs this place is nice
–the food tastes pretty good
Negatives:
–poor service
–Very slow
–little parking
–no place to sit down and eat
–no AC so very hot
–few menu items
I feel badly about saying this because I know that only one lady runs this place all by herself, but I feel I have a duty to describe my experience and at least warn anyone who comes here of what may happen.
My wife ordered a bi bim bap. First off, the bi bim bap was very expensive at about $ 13. And this one doesn’t come with meat. The lady who runs the place said, «white rice or multi grain?» My wife chose multi grain. The lady then said, would you like the egg? The picture of the bi bim bap has an egg. My wife said sure, of course.
30 minutes later, our order was finally ready. We were the only ones in the shop. The lady charges us $ 15. We asked why she charged us $ 2 more. She said, the multi grain rice and egg are a $ 1 each extra. When we told her that she didn’t tell us that in the beginning (nor was it on the menu) and we otherwise wouldnt have ordered those things, she said «you just try it, you’ll like it.»
Not only is $ 1 expensive for an egg, but to charge us for it without telling us and then tell us to «try it» when we state that we don’t want it, is a little too much for me. I was thoroughly upset. This place isn’t terrible, but I won’t be coming back after that terrible experience.

Please read my previous review.
Since then, I’ve taken 2 very discerning lady friends here: both have been floored by the quality and quantity! Since then, the neighborhood seems to have cleaned up a bit and the owner is visibly relieved.

Their Kim Chee fried rice is so delicious. I also love their homemade sides such as the cucumber Kim Chee and the pickled wakame.

Best kimchee and poke on Oahu. So much to say about this place.
First, the food is great. She has trays of dried aku (chewy saucy fish jerky) that she makes fresh all the time. Different ingredients and flavors, so come in frequently. The poke is made fresh for you right f’in there. Like onions, she’ll add lots. Don’t? She won’t. Doesn’t get any more fresh. There must be 30 different kinds of kimchi and other pickled and fermented Korean delights.
She’s also super health conscious. No chemicals, additives, MSG, etc. Real kimchi is very healthy, but it’s easy to take shortcuts and add a bunch of salt and MSG unnecessarily. She doesn’t do that.
The lady who runs the place, Jean (sp?) is super nice. She’s like your Korean grandmother you never knew you had. Have something going on in your life? She’ll give you advice.
I can’t recommend Ono Kimchi enough. It’s the best Korean food on Oahu, and you should seriously do yourself a favor and pop in. Also, rad Korean martial arts movies on the tv while you wait.

Ono Kimchi. .. hmmmmmm. .. what to expect from a name like that? Great kimchi? Fantastic plate lunches? Crappy service with great food?
Let it be known that I’m a HUGE Sam’s Deli fan on Nuuanu and although I did have some guilt about cheating on them, sometimes you have to step out to see IF the grass is greener on the other side.
Well, in this case … not so much. Guess I’m a creature of habit. Since it was a Korean joint, I expected plate lunches with sides/​banchan. .. NOPE. Totally different set up here.
We tried some kimchee (duh), daikon, and the spicy dried fish. The kimchee was OK. YA, YA, I know you’re thinking … What does that haole boy know about kimchee??? I’ll admit, I’m no expert, but when I was on deployment to S Korea, we had some literally right out of the clay pots just dug up … NOT for the faint of heart mind you. It’ll light you up!!! That is what I expect (and enjoy) out of kimchee… flavorful, HOT, fermented, yummy cabbage goodness.
The daikon was VERY GOOD though. I would go back just for that.
The ahi jerky was also FANTASTIC. Comes in spicy or mild. I would gladly enjoy this on top of a bowl of rice any time.
They also offer a variety of plates/​meals, but it seems like you have to call ahead/​order ahead for these.
The service was GREAT. The woman there (I’m assuming she’s the owner) happily explained the ahi jerky (as well as her other kimchee products). Hell, she even offered us a sample (I know right ???).
They’re situated right in the middle of Itchy Butt and Keeaumoku Seafood, so you can satisfy all your cravings.

Best kimchee ever! (well, store bought anyway). The lady who makes the kimchee staffs her store too. She told us which ones were ready to eat now, and which ones should wait for a little while. That works out if you weren’t planning to eat it right away. She also had a lot of different types.
The only issue I had was that there is limited parking and you can only park for 15 minutes.

The level of variety in Kim Chee this place was a little overwhelming as I walked into the little store and saw TWO cases FULL of kimchee in a wide variety of contents. I can only assume the lady that helped us was the owner and she was so sweet and helpful. She pointed out to us which kimchee was «ready to eat» and some that «still needs time to get good». We also learned about the poke and other various seafoods available if we order ahead of time. We made a mental note to definitely come back and try her other food too.
We got a sizeable container of won bok kimchee and it was SO YUM. I’m not the biggest fan of kimchee but I really liked this one. It was tasty and crunchy and fresh, and according to the owner, made with no MSG. You can also tell that she takes a great deal of pride in the food she makes as well when she’s talking about it, so can’t wait to go back to try more varieties and the rest of the menu she has available!

Nice little hole in the wall, located makai of Cartwright Field.
I walk in and see a display case with all kinds of dried seafood and a couple of large refrigerators with containers of kim chee and other Korean delights! Yum, yum! I LOVE KIM CHEE!!!
This place has got every possible style of Korean home made Kim chee, among other things! They even have a display case, like a bakery, of smoke fish, including salmon and ahi.
After speaking with the owner for about an hour, I left with about 10 different varieties of Kim chee and fish. My family enjoyed the home made taste and the seasoning of the smoked fish. I enjoyed the spicy Kim chee myself, served over hot rice!
They have several stalls in the small parking lot in front of the store, as well as metered street parking nearby. They also take credit cards. If I’m not mistaken, they also have some kind of plate lunch they serve, but I think you have to pre-​order, as it seems you may be waiting for awhile if you don’t!

The owner answered all of our questions politely and with enthusiasm. She provided free samples of ready made products like fresh poke and made our bento from scratch with all fresh ingredients in plain view so that we could it all. We ended up with two of the largest bentos that I have ever seen and with yielded 2 ½ meals each. Everything was fresh and delicious and prepared in about 10 minutes. The dried fish was really delicious and hard to stop eating. We look forward to returning to try more. We enjoyed our wait for our food reading magazines about local food & sustainable food production with great recipes, too. I did not even know these publications existed on Oahu and she gave them to us to take home. What a great experience.

I recommend the place for people who are into healthy foods.
The place is very tiny and I was not sure in the beginning whether to shop there. However, I talked to the lady (I believe that she is the owner) and I liked her because she was all about the HEALTHY NATURAL foods and knew what she was doing.
She cooked a FANTASTIC mahi mahi for me, gave me an extra free kimchi, and a sample of noodles.

this place is very clean and the lady working was super nice. the poke here is some ofthe best on the island, its always fresh. forget safeway and foodland go get Poke at places like Ono Kimchi!

Ono Kimchee has been on my to-​try list ever since a patient of mine had recommended it last year.
They’re open daily from 7am-​9pm (per their take-​out menu).
— Call ahead, since it’s usually a 15min wait for your food or poke order. It’s a one-​woman show.
— No dining area. Take-​out only.
— Everything is MSG-​free.
Located right next to Ke’eaumoku Seafood.
Kenny F. and I were both craving some good kimchi to go along with our soju one night, so we paid owner Jan a visit. She was so sweet and friendly that we ended up walking out with a pound of spicy poke and a large container of kimchi. She even threw in a beautiful ripe mango for free!
— Prices varies depending on the size and type of kimchi you want.
— For baechu/​cabbage kimchi, it was $ 6.50 for the small container, $ 10 for the large. We got the large container, since it was a better deal.
— Although we both agreed that the kimchi was tasty, it just wasn’t as sour (fermented), nor as salty as I’d hoped for.
I also think I got more picky about how I like my kimchi, after having kimchi in Seoul. I will be back to try out the other kimchi varieties for sure.
In addition to the traditional cabbage kimchi, there’s many other varieties all packed and ready to go.
2 huge refrigerators full of an assortment of kimchi and other pickled vegetables.
— Cucumber kimchi stuffed w/​chives and sea asparagus
— Chonggak kimchi (baby radish kimchi)
— Kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi)
— White Cabbage Kimchi
— Dongchimi (white radish water kimchi)
— Mustard leaf
— Sea Asparagus & Chives
— Chives Kimchi
— Pickled Garlic Kimchi
— Pickled seaweed
***also has ready-​to-​go seasonal banchan/​side dishes avail as well***
SPICY POKE (market price, ours was $ 19 per pound):
All poke and sashimi are made-​to-​order. I asked for «extra spicy» and Jan delivered — with fresh chopped habaneros!
The ahi was so fresh and delicious! The nuttiness from the chopped kukui nut paired so well with the naturally-​salty sea asparagus. The extra pinch of sea salt was perfect and very much appreciated (I hate bland poke).
Jan also makes her own FISH JERKY (aku, ahi, tako, salmon & hamachi).
Different flavors of fish jerky:
— ginger
— kimchi
— bulgogi
— sweet glaze
I’m a dried aku fan, so definitely will be back to try that!
There’s a pretty extensive menu ranging from plate lunches to kimchi jjigae. Catering and sashimi platters are also avail.
Rice Plates & Seafood Plates menu
Soups, stews, seafood bowls and fresh sashimi platter menu
Donburi Bowls & seafood burgers too!
As mentioned earlier, there’s no dining area, so it’s basically only take-​out.
Call ahead and allow a 15 – 20 min wait for food orders, since it’s just a one-​woman show.

While I was waiting for my sashimi platter next door I came to check out this little store in the corner. The place seemed clean and all sorts of kimchi lined up in the side fridges; big blocks of tuna in the front fridge along with rows of seemingly dried ahi. I wasn’t quite sure what this store was about, the kimchi had no price tags, and the outside sign stated all kinds of lunch Bento and platter prices. Yet I didn’t smell any cooked food inside.
So I finally got to speak to the owner Jan, a seemingly quiet reserved Korean lady who was very passionate about her food. She was super friendly and offered us samples of dried fish. They were okay but it was not my favorite. so instead of selling her lunch Bentos or her kimchi, she started telling us that she makes the best poke in the entire island. Sensing her enthusiasm, I asked If I could sample it.
I guess I must appeared sincere because she started taking out a big chunk of tuna and making it from scratch in front of us. She added all sorts of things including Hawaiian sea salt, sesame oil, spring onions, ginger, birds eye chillies, & seaweed. The result, amazingly delicious poke, probably the best I’ve had in Hawaii, no joke. It was so good we immediately asked to buy the rest of her creation, total about 1.3 lbs. It was slightly more expensive than the normal poke you would get at the supermarket, but it’s definitely worth the price. I think we paid $ 22 for the amount we bought, and I would come back again next time I want some freshly made, superior poke. The owner Jan told me to call her in advance next time I’d like to place a poke order so she can make it for me (she only makes them when her returning customers place an order). All my friends who tasted the poke asked about it. This little corner store was an unexpected pleasant surprises of that week.

They have THE BEST repeat: THE F***KN BEST SABA IN HAWAII. Crispy. Yet juicy ;) plus the lady that works there is so sweet! I wish she was my mother D; if you want some authentic Korean home cooking come here and don’t forget to try her cucumber kimchee as well :)

Ok

Jan at Ono Kimchee is the sweetest person and is obviously very passionate about her kimchee and everything she makes.
A friend recommended that I go down to check out Jans shop. I bought a large container of baby daikon kimchee and a small container of stuffed cucumber kimchee. Broke da mout! Jan then threw in a fresh-​made kimchee sushi roll and a slice of her HUGE and fantastic dark chocolate brownie (with major walnuts). OMG, so good! No MSG! We also bought a slice of Jans lemon bar — out of this world.
You can bet Ill return for more kimchee as mine runs out! Jan also serves lunch specials each day shes open. Worth the trip!
PS, I just read the other reviews on Ono Kimchee. Interesting reactions. Many people rely on others to be happy. Thats a set-​up for disappointment from the get-​go. Learn to be happy with yourself and you will be happy in any situation.

Although I love the sweeter, local version of gak-​dug-​ee and oi keem chee, Ono’s has very authentic kimchee. Like many yobo establishments either you should start flinging around some heavily accented hanguk-​mal or yes, the proprietor will often times snub you. You can always take the token Korean along with you. If you want superb service, take along someone who can ask questions in the native tongue or flash them your best Louis Vuitton wallet, no knock off please. Koreans know knockoffs and we all know why.
As a local Korean I honestly don’t condone this rude behavior. It’s a sort of,“tell us what you want and get out” attitude that is so unappreciated by us locals. It’s a very arrogant attitude some places abide by but some don’t. Please give Ono’s a try and here’s why.
Sometimes the owner is there. Sometimes it’s an underpaid, cash paid, minimum wage sad sack of shit. Mercy for the owner, please.
A previous Unilocaling customer asked about prices and the counter help didn’t answer. It’s partly because the different sizes of containers are different prices. The won bok kimchee priced lower than the cucumber or turnip varieties. You might try pointing to the specific container and ask.
OR you can be like me and say, «How much for a gallon of Oi?» Heads snap in your direction immediately. Consider sharing a gallon and cost with a bunch of people. A gallon will last my family no more than a couple of weeks so I’m luckier than most… I think?
The more you buy, the cheaper it is. No one in their right mind will pay more than 20.00 for a gallon of craftsman made kimchee, give or take a dollar or two. $ 11.00 for a tiny container is ridiculous. I would have given her a, «don’t give me that shit» look, laugh sarcastically and walked out. And believe me, to benefit the next customer, I have done it.
Their wonbok kimchee needs to age two or more days in the fridge. They sell it «raw» because a lot of people like it like that. The flavor and salt have not developed but it’s OK for panchan. Take out only what you need with a clean, dry utensil or the rest will rot in short order. Cut to bite sized and place in an airtight container ready to be eaten, as is. Or top a bowl of naeng myun or pi-​pbin-​pbap. Not bi bin bop.
After a week, you can make Korean pancakes with it and another week you can use it in chige. That’s pretty much the tried and true, well orchestrated order of kimchee madness. Serve it in the way and time that it was meant to be used. i would never buy kimchee and make doobu chige with it unless it was at least 2 weeks old.
Their cucumber kimchee is very good. The turnip kimchee is just ultimately superior. But as I have said, it has to age for a couple of days. That raw garlic taste will have mellowed and the richness of flavor must peak.
You can order ahead and they will make it «meh-​wah» (hotter than the one in the fridge case) and they will also probably make it with the best ingredients. Nothing chaps the ass of a Korean cook more than if you thought their kimchee was blaze’ or ho hum. Say, «Oh this one looks «ma-​shi-​so», (delicious) do your customers like this one?
They will start to cluck like a chicken at a hen party with you about how customers like another one better, they sell a lot of that one, etc.
Now having shared this insight it saddens me to say, the combination of an initial snub, reluctance to tell you the prices, 11.00 for a little tub of Kimchee, whoever that counter help was… she was telling you to get out.

Wanted to get some good kimchee so decided to check out Ono Kimchee. We walked in and the owner didn’t even acknowledge us. There’s a big fridge with containers of all kinds of different kimchee… much more than just the standard wonbok and cucumber. I couldn’t tell what some thing were, but there were no signs and no prices. When I asked about how it was priced, she wouldn’t really give me an answer.
We ended up getting a small container of wonbok kimchee and a tiny little container of turnip kimchee. I was shocked when she rang us up for $ 11 (I was expecting more like $ 6 – 7 for the amount of kimchee we got). She saw the shock on my face and immediately started trying to justify it – «Oh, but no MSG! All fresh! Lots of people say they like it!» Okay, lady, it better be good…
Took it home and was instantly disappointed. Tasted «chemically» and had little taste. It was barely spicy at all… I wanted a little more kick. Don’t think I’ll be returning.