Hong Yeon 홍연 Is the Hot New Jjajangmyeon Spot in Town

Mō‘ili‘ili’s new Korean-northern Chinese restaurant has a $10 jjajangmyeon grand opening special through the end of this month.

17 hours ago

Andrea Lee,

I’ve had a jjajangmyeon-shaped hole in my heart since Eastern Paradise closed in December, so I was excited to see a new Korean-northern Chinese restaurant on Instagram. Hong Yeon 홍연 opened on Sept. 10 in the former Maple Garden space on Isenberg Street. Its grand opening special of $9.99 jjajangmyeon through the month of September is a good incentive to try it.

On opening day, I’m there at 5:30 p.m., but the restaurant is packed and everything is sold out. Seeing that the Korean community has come out in force, Frolic’s Thomas Obungen and I try again the next day at lunch.

At 11:30 a.m., I manage to get a table; people filing in after me have to wait. The tables are filled with mostly older Korean folks—clearly, word of mouth has spread. And everyone is eating jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork).

Photo: Andrea Lee

Lunch specials are available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays only. Twelve combos, all $24 or $26, come with your choice of jjajangmyeon or jjamppong, a spicy noodle soup loaded with seafood. We get one of each to try with tangsuyuk ($24).

Photo: Andrea Lee

Since it’s only Day 2, service is understandably slow. The jjajangmyeon arrives, but because the camera eats first when you’re writing for Frolic, we wait for the rest of the food before digging in. That wait time leaves the noodles clumped together, though they separate after vigorous mixing.

Fortunately, the jjajangmyeon is still very tasty. The handmade noodles are chewy and bouncy, the black bean sauce savory with the right amount of sweetness. The diced onions are especially flavorful, and cubes of beef hide in the sauce.

Photo: Andrea Lee

When a sizable plate of tangsuyuk arrives, we ask if this is two portions—turns out it’s just one. So we each get a big bowl of noodles with a big plate of tangsuyuk, which is great value.

At Hong Yeon, the tangsuyuk and its sauce are served separately. It’s very, very crispy when done this way. But the sauce is quite sweet for my taste, and you really have to dunk the tangsuyuk in it—without it, there’s no flavor. The breading is thick, and the meat inside rather dry and tough.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

The jjamppong is lightly spicy and full of squid, octopus and mussels. The noodles are the same as in the jjajangmyeon. It’s good, but doesn’t stand out next to the jjajangmyeon.

About 100 other dishes on the menu include mapo tofu, sizzling rice soup, handmade dumplings, five-spice braised beef and other cold dishes, stir-fries and noodles.

I would come back for the jjajangmyeon, hands down. And I’d be willing to give the tangsuyuk another try. Lunch is a better value because it’s enough food for two meals for $24; at dinner, the jjajangmyeon is $16 and the tangsuyuk is $32. Plus, the $10 jjajangmyeon September special only applies to an à la carte bowl, not the combo.

Photo: Andrea Lee

Hong Yeon closes between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., at least through September, and is closed on Mondays. There’s an adjoining parking lot, though it will likely fill up at peak hours. There’s also lots of street parking.

Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., 909 Isenberg St., Mō‘ili‘ili, (808) 367-1909, @hongyeonhawaii