Ja Gal Chi Restaurant

Reviews

• Eric T.

  star star star star star 3 June 2026

  Came here for a date/dinner with my wife! Decor is simple and very very homey.
  
  Sat on the side with a little aquarium hanging off by our table. Was offsetting at first but later it felt like I was dining at an ocean center or sort.
  
  Order Steamed pork(Jaeyuk Bo ssam) and Moolhweo(fresh sashimi in cold sauce water). Both were awesome and plentiful and good value. Awesome food and taste!
  
  Def will come again!

• Erika H.

  star star star star star_border 30 May 2026

  I'm always on the hunt for soondobu and this was my next venture! I also saw that they have a lunch special which made their prices cheaper. I came here by myself for lunch and the korean aunties were so nice!
  
  I ordered the soondobu and they just asked me if I wanted spicy or mild, so I said spicy. Low and behold, their soondobu turned out to be seafood soondobu. I like regular beef soondobu so I was quite sad but ate it anyways. It was pretty briney and since it was a seafood soup, there were broken bits of clam and I bit down on some clam shells which made the experience pretty unpleasant. I loved their purple rice and banchan!
  
  I would come back here for their other soups since their rice and banchan is so yummy :)

• Donna O.

  star star star star star_border 29 May 2026

  This place was here for years and have gone through many owners. The two lady servers have been working here for years.
  
  I always wanted to try this place for lunch for the past few years but finding parking stall was a bit challenging. Spero Spera also share this same parking lot but during lunch time it's nearly impossible to find an open stall so I haven't been able to come for awhile.
  
  A couple of times I tried coming with a co-worker and there was no luck finding a parking stall. I almost parked in that one stall for the flower shop and the lady came out to put back the orange cone on their stall and told me I can't park there. I looked to the right where there were some stalls in front a building with no windows and only a door but she told me, no, it was for the other business.
  
  So I gave up trying for awhile. Years ago, I was craving for Korean food for breakfast and I remembered Sorabol was opened for breakfast. That was the time it was opened for 24 hours but not any more.  I was in town early after dropping my parents at the airport,  the lady at Sorabol let me ordered from the lunch menu instead of ordering one of the Korean soups they serve for breakfast. Another morning, I wanted to eat Korean chicken for breakfast, but the restaurant didn't let me order from the lunch menu so I searched in yelp and found that Ja Gal Chi  was opened at 7:30 am  for breakfast.  They have brunch menu from 7:30am - 2pm and I was able to get anything off their menu  for breakfast! ( of course not the happy hour menu at that time).  I guess since I try not to eat  much egg products that I was happy to eat Korean food for breakfast!   I know sometimes my body pays for it when I do eat Meat jun (meat dipped in egg) but it's not so bad since it's the egg white part I'm supposed to have an allergy to.
  
  Many available stalls were open during the early breakfast hours so I've  been coming for breakfast when I can. They have a few front reserved stalls for their customers and some shared stalls in their parking lot.
  
  I think I came six times already for breakfast! The food was good and they offered  some unique items. The only thing I wished they serve is seaweed soup with your banchan. Some restaurants offer soup.
  
  They used to offer a Mixed jun plate of fish, meat and zucchini which I wished they still have. Now it's ala carte! Korean purple rice was served here which I enjoyed.
  Mandoo was large and can be prepared steamed or pan fried. Meat jun was good but I had better. Fish and zucchini jun were good, cold noodles soup  was refreshing and can order with kalbi on the side, I enjoyed the spicy pork and chicken was okay too.
  
  If you're in town near Keeaumoku St and Young St and craving for Korean food especially from 7:30am or later, you can give Ja Gal Chi  a try. They have a Happy Hour special after the brunch menu ends at 2pm!
  
  Thanks for reading =)

• Addie L.

  star star star star star_border 18 May 2026

  Since the last review in 2012 there some changes but also some things that are the same which is a good thing.
  
  The big change is the price increases.  It's totally understandable with the increasing cost of doing business in Hawaii, menu prices are going up unless you are non-profit or a complete maniac and don't mind losing money year after year.
  
  For example, the soft tofu soup, soon du bu was a screaming bargain at $5.25 which included purple rice and sides in 2012.  Seven years later, it's now $8.99 which is still a relatively good deal considering the cost of the same dish with it's peers.
  
  The taste is pretty much the same for the soft tofu soup.  Notice that the main difference is their version doesn't have an egg like it's peers.
  
  Still worthy of a visit, brings back old memories when I worked across the street.

• Sophia M.

  star star star star star 18 May 2026

  I had a craving for cold noodles this morning so I did a Yelp check and found this place. They open at 7:30am-11pm daily! I am definitely coming back to try more lunch specials at these prices!
  
  At 10am on a weekday, this business had 1 table occupied. The lady was on the phone in search of her workers. Ha! She was frazzled but still very nice....like an aunt. I ordered my noodles and asked which spicy soup she would recommend for me to take home. She looked at my face then made a recommendation. Lol. I accepted and she busied herself with my order.