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Nonstop eats: 678 Hawaii

We were overdue to try this newish Korean yakiniku place on Kapiolani


By Diane Seo
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Let's give it a taste (1 of 18)

Let's give it a taste

We were overdue to try 678, a newish Korean yakiniku restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard (at the old Migawon space). With two Koreans among our Nonstop crew (Myong Choi and myself), we figured we could at least assess how 678 compares to other Korean BBQ places in town and determine whether the buzz is justified. So here we were, on a Monday evening, ready to feed ourselves into a yakiniku frenzy.

As a follow-up to that outing, I returned to 678 on Christmas Eve with my family, fortunately with a reservation. By about 7 p.m., the place was jammed with people lined up on the sidewalk waiting for a table.

Photo by Eric Baranda

 
678
1726 Kapiolani Blvd
808-941-6678

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Annoddah_Dave 81 pts

DS:  Was the ventilation system good?  A lot of times you come out of those places smelling like the fuud that was being cooked!  I guess the key is to go with a big bunch of friends and family, then everybody smells the same.

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DianeSeo 94 pts

 Annoddah_Dave It was pretty good because they have these funnels that drop down from the ceiling to suck up the smoke right from the grill, so when I got home, I smelled a little bit like BBQ, but not too much.

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Melissa808 268 pts moderator

Are they open for lunch? I should walk over.

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DianeSeo 94 pts

 Melissa808 Yes, they're open for lunch and have a lunch menu with good-priced chigaes. I also saw one table order a kim chee rice dish that was shaken up in a little box. I'm ordering that next time.

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WillL 34 pts

I'm definitely going to take my parents here visiting from L.A. in a couple of weeks.  Let's see if it passes my grumpy dad's L.A. Koreatown standard grumpy test.  

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DianeSeo 94 pts

 WillL You know, before Christmas Eve, I wouldn't have considered taking my mom there. But after I saw her digging in to that steamed egg and then the kalbi, I realized there is a broad appeal to all age ranges and backgrounds. I'm curious how your dad will like it.

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MyongChoi 80 pts

I drove by there on Christmas Eve and like you said, the sidewalk outside was packed! Glad you were able to get in early with a reservation. While 678 isn't at the top of my list of Korean bbq places, I wouldn't mind a visit back. Just not in a rush to do so.

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DianeSeo 94 pts

 MyongChoi That's funny that you passed by the night we were there. It was totally jammed in there, with both Koreans and local families (non Koreans). Something changed about it from the first time we were there. Go try it again and let me know if you get that as well.

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About Diane Seo

Diane Seo is the editor and chief operating officer of Nonstop Honolulu. She also is a contributing editor for Modern Luxury Hawaii and Ala Moana magazines. Prior, she served as managing producer of Metromix Honolulu; manager of The Honolulu Advertiser's TGIF section; Managing Director of New Media for the ATP, which runs men's professional tennis worldwide; a senior editor at Salon.com and a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times.

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