Affordable Splurge: Hangang’s $26 Korean Lunch Sets

Honolulu’s other buzz Korean lunch deal bundles an entrée, soup, stone pot rice and plenty of banchan.

May 7, 2024

Stacy Lee,

Editor’s Note: Two weeks ago, Affordable Splurge featured Korea Garden’s $25 Lunch Specials. Here’s Honolulu’s other buzz Korean lunch special.

Photo: Mari Taketa

What: Lunch Special Set
Where: Hangang Korean Grill House
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Price: $25.95
Parking: Behind the restaurant; enter from Waimanu Street
Fullness factor: 11 out of 10

It’s a good sign when the table is too small. Hangang’s $25.95 lunch prix fixe covers even a generously sized table with a main dish, sides of bubbling chige soup and stone pot mixed rice set in a wooden stand, and 10 small plates of banchan. The Hangang lunch set has been around for a while, but for flavor, value and sheer volume, it still awes every time.

It begins with a bounty of banchan, each with a different flavor and texture: the house kim chee, crunchy bean sprouts, spinach sprinkled with sesame seeds, savory-sweet fish cake, braised potatoes and tteokbokki spicy stewed rice cakes. Daily assortments showcase different banchan. On one day, you might get tasty strips of beef and mushrooms simmered in soy; or pink shreds of pickled radish that serve as a pleasant palate cleanser. A pitcher of warm barley tea is set on the table to sip between bites.

The Hangang lunch set includes nine small plates of korean appetizers or banchan

Photo: Mari Taketa

The lunch set unfolds with a stone pot of mixed rice with beans and chunks of kabocha. It’s a yummy accompaniment to the assortment of banchan—but remember to scoop the rice from the middle to let the edges develop a crackly, toasty sear against the sides of the very hot pot. And pace yourself. Entrées and chige soups are on the way.

Your choices for these include a choice of soon dubu chige or soft tofu soup, kim chee chige or doenjang (Korean miso) chige. Entrée choices are kalbi, bulgogi, barbecue chicken, grilled saba or grilled yellow croaker.

When the soups make their appearance, there’s barely enough room on the table. We stir a raw egg into our soon dubu chige and spot clams and baby squid in the mix. The broth of the kim chee chige is tangy and rich with plenty of softly aged cabbage and pork, and the doenjang chige packs a light spice.

chopsticks holding Kalbi shortribs from Hangang lunch set

Photo: Mari Taketa

Finally, we crowd the banchan to the center as our main dishes arrive. The whole croaker, golden and perfectly grilled, is moist and well-seasoned. The pieces of bone-in kalbi are tender on a mound of white onions still sizzling on a cast-iron platter; they’re as satisfying and tasty as the fish.

Halfway through our entrées, we can’t eat another bite. Take this as a lesson and remember to pour some barley tea into your rice pot, let it soak a minute, then scoop some toasty rice porridge into your bowl before you get full. We get takeout boxes for our leftovers and realize there’s probably enough for another meal. Now that’s an affordable splurge.

Photo: Stacy Lee

Tips:

If you’re not used to Korean chopsticks, each table has a drawer at one end with wooden chopsticks and extra napkins.
If you want to explore items beyond the lunch specials, try the kalbi jjim or braised kalbi, a mix of short ribs braised with vegetables, off the à la carte menu. If you prefer seafood, try the seafood and green onion pajeon pancake for a crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside yumminess. There is also a $25.95 cold noodle and spicy pork combo that, while delicious, isn’t as spicy as you think.
The restaurant can get quite busy during peak lunch hour, but if you need something, there’s a call button at every table. Service is friendly, so sit back and have more banchan while you wait.
Hangang takes lunch reservations, but only for parties of 4 or more.

1236 Waimanu St., (808) 200-1114, @hanganghi