The Fashionably-Forward Foodie: 678 Hawaii- Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong

PSY is everywhere in this place!

678 Hawaii is now one of my favorite Yakiniku places in Hawaii. They opened up about 4 weeks ago, and are one of the hottest places on the market to go to. Service is impeccable, the place seats many parties and the wait is short, not to mention it's also a very clean restaurant. The owners have their numerous staff working hard and fast.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind about this place is the service. This probably has to be one of the best places in Hawaii with A+++ service. I cannot stress this enough! We barely had to lift a finger to eat here. The wonderfully-nice staff (our waiter Jason, included) were always at our table cooking for us and making sure we were absolutely happy. The side dishes were always replenished quickly. Grill plates were changed often and when we were ready to eat our Kalbi, they changed the type of grill plate, so the meat would cook better. They were literally at our beck and call! And, if we needed something ASAP and no one was able to help us (which NEVER happened), we would be able to press a button on our table and someone (or two or three) would show up to ask you what you needed. They all wear the same watch and if any of the tables press their button, their watch lights up, buzzes, and shows what table called.

Food-wise, you pay about $50-60 depending on what combo you want- Pork or Beef. You can't get a mix of each- either one or the other. It may seem like a lot of money, but you get much more for what you are paying for, not to mention, the service!! Trust me, you walk out very full and satisfied. Bring a large group, split it, and you pay even less for LOTS of food! It's a win-win situation here. I had the most pleasant experience.

Another thing- they have a vacuum nozzle that you pull down to your food while cooking. It sucks up the smoke from the grill, so you don't walk out smelling like Yakiniku itself! Awesome, awesome, awesome.

CORN CHEESE. AMAZING. And, they keep refilling it, so have all the corn cheese your heart desires! I did! FYI, Banchan is All-You-Can-Eat. The Banchan includes salad, your choice of 3 types of Soondubu, Cold Black Noodle Soup (without the noodles), Green Onion Pancake, Sweet Potato, Corn Cheese, Kim Chee, Onion, Egg and much much more! Besides the Corn Cheese, the Green Onion Pancake is amazingly light and crispy and their Sweet Potato was delicious.

Two things:
1. They bring you a sauce for your meat which is almost like Ponzu with some peppers in it to add a bit of spice. If you want the Salt and Pepper Oil, just ASK. They have it, but don't automatically bring it!
2. No water. Their "water" is the green tea that is already on the table when you sit down. It's refillable, so drink up!

Parking- Park in the back of the restaurant by Club Rock-Za. Stalls 71-90 are free!! Or there is also Valet for 678 Hawaii.

Reservations? You can't reserve for parties less than 4. But honestly, we went on a Friday around 8pm. The hostess said the wait would be 15-20 minutes, so we went to move our car into one of the free spaces, came back, and she had called our name already! The restaurant is really large, so they move people in and out very fast.

If you haven't eaten here yet, plan to! You will not be disappointed!

PS- We were such noobies here, but Jason, our waiter, was the nicest guy EVER. He has a Korean accent, but was so patient with us and explained everything. If you are lucky enough to have him as your waiter, you will walk out a happy (and full) customer!