Since Bro was headed back to the Bay Area on Wednesday, he decided on a last family dinner at Kim Chee Restaurant in Enchanted Lake. The restaurant features a vegetable bar that's all you can eat included with your entree or alone for $14.90. It's some of the usual banchan seen at other Korean restaurants like bean sprouts, shoyu potatoes, macaroni salad and chop chae but also other items like green salad, soup, fried rice and spicy chicken. For $14.90, you literally can make a whole meal just at the vegetable bar.
The restaurant is also BYOB and they provide you with stemware so I uncorked a Castello di Amorosa Dolcino which was an off-dry Gewurztraminer which I felt would pair with sweet, salty, spicy flavors usually found in Korean food.
My "banchan" plate...
Mom selected the Fried Teriyaki Butterfish - there are videos playing on two screens showing the chef doing his kitchen prep work and cooking and when he demo'd the butterfish dish, it appeared to be fresh butterfish he was slicing...
The Mrs selected the BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef mixed plate...
While I opted for the Meat Jun, Chicken Katsu plate...
Bro chose all Meat Jun (though I didn't take a photo).
As you can see, the plates are artfully presented like a fine dining reataurant and the Chef's wife (Sarah) who runs the front of the restaurant was as engaging and cheerful as I've seen greeting all diners (and regulars by name). Since the Mrs was seated inside of the booth, Sarah got a couple of plate of banchan for the Mrs so Mom didn't have to get out of the booth (extra brownie points). The meat jun was also the BEST meat jun I've sampled anywhere - very tender and not a lot of fat and marinated to perfection - so much so that I didn't even need to use the dipping sauce (and Bro agreed with it being the BEST).
At the end of dinner, we were served a slice of carrot cake (when's the last time you were comped dessert at a Korean restaurant?)...
Because we had a little wine leftover, I asked Sarah if she drank wine - she almost seemed a little insulted... "Of course I drink wine!"... We'll be back as I'd like to leave her a full bottle of wine at our next visit... and we do have to also sample the bi bim bap... and cold kook soo... and mahi mahi jun...
Kim Chee Restaurant1020 Keolu DrKailua, HI 96734(808) 261-5719
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