UYE @ Dong Yang Inn: Korean Brunchtime

Alycia P is the epitome of friendly Unilocaliness! Even though she gave her own UYE 3-​stars it surely deserves 5-​stars! FTW! To be brave enough to throw a UYE in Wahiawa and get a fab turnout of new & old-​school Unilocalers was quite a feat. Trust me Alycia, this UYE was awesome-​sauce and I’m completely stoked to have you & your BF as part of the Elite crew.
Yes, the food was a bit hit or miss but what was most important was the good company. What an awesome way to spend my Saturday lunch! And how often do you get to see my 7-​month old baby try to assassinate me by toppling a giant pile of boxes? (You can try and try to get rid of me Baby Isabel, but I’m here to stay!!!) She’s a calculating little ninja!
Oh and my can of Coke was only $.50. Yes, I still can’t stop talking about that one…

This review is 5 stars for Alycia P.‘s organizing of the event. Honestly it was so much fun meeting and talking to fellow Unilocaler’s that I didn’t notice anything about what Alycia P. said in her review so it says a lot to the work that she put in before we got there. Can’t wait til the next one.

I love Dong Yang! Growing up with this place was such a blessing. Thank you to Alycia P. for throwing this awesome event. The Unilocalers always make UYEs a ton of fun.
Good food, good company, good Saturday.
I really appreciate having a UYE outside of downtown/​waikiki for a change. Next stop, Kapolei!

I am in complete agreement with the other reviews.
5 stars for the event. I had a wonderful time, and was so happy that my first Unilocal event was in Wahiawa. Those of us not living in town appreciate having the Townies come our way from time to time. Thank you, Alycia P., for putting this event together. You did a great job, and I am so happy to have met you!
3 stars for the actual restaurant. I lived in Wahiawa for 4 years and love Korean food, but had never felt the desire to eat at this restaurant. I’m glad that I had reason to give it a try, but can’t say that I will return. I won’t avoid it, but with so many other choices out there…

Thank goodness we went to the gym instead of having breakfast this morning! My first UYE and first visit to Dong Yang and it won’t be my last!
After frequenting Wahiawa in the past, I can see how this place can be missed. It is across the street from McDonalds in a little shopping center (if you would call it that). Looks small from the outside, but it is quite spacious inside. We had the side of the restaurant to ourselves.
Right after they brought us water, they brought us each a bowl of kim chee. It was some good kim chee. Nice and spicy. After we ordered they brought us out a bowl of soup. Think chicken broth with pieces of fried egg in it. It couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes after we ordered that the parade of plates came out.
I got the Meat Chun of course. 2 layers of deliciously fried thick meat on top of a bed of rice with veggies and a scoop of mac/​potato salad. It was all glorious. It says something about the food when the table becomes silent.
Thank you Alycia for introducing this wonderful gem hidden in Wahiawa to us. We will definitely be back.

I was super-​excited for my first hosting of a UYE, but I have to say that even I was disappointed in Dong Yang. My food was fine, and the service was okay, but I feel like today was the first day I really realized just how nasty Dong Yang Inn is inside. The floors look like they never take the time to deep-​clean them, and the tables I had the waitress clean off and set up were still sticky even after she wiped them down. I felt bad for the Unilocalers I was about to meet since I didn’t want them to have a bad experience.
There is one thing that was redeeming about this UYE though. And that was the Unilocalers. Everyone was friendly, funny, and interested in socializing. It was a great conversation UYE, but I felt like the Dong Yang I had built up in my mind didn’t meet my expectations at my UYE. The three stars I gave are for the Unilocalers I met, they are great peeps; but Dong Yang took away the other two stars. They need to clean up their restaurant before I ever go back again. Seriously, I saw a dead cockroach laying under one of the booth tables before my guests arrived. And that hit the nail in the coffin for me. No more Dong Yang’s. Period.
I just want to personally apologize to all my guests for the uncleanliness of Dong Yang. Hopefully you enjoyed your food and/​or the hospitality. I know I definitely enjoyed meeting and chatting with all of you and I hope to see you at future (in cleanlier locations) UYEs. Mahalo!

5 stars for Alycia and all the Unilocalers who turned out.
3 stars for the Food which was hit and miss which happens most places.
It was a fun time!