Hawaii Banchan Company

I'm adding to the old review and I'm quite late on the review...apologies. This New Year I decided on trying the sashimi platter that they had on their site. I could choose between a few fish so I decided on ahi, salmon, and hamachi. I ordered two abalone too but some of the platters come with it. Otherwise it's an additional price. Being New Year's in Hawaii, it's important to eat fresh fish!! This platter was $80 and it didn't disappoint. It was made with care and the fish was fresh and from the auction that morning. Abalone was a great addition to the platter. We were in 4 (not big eaters) so there were leftovers for dinner too! The platter was so beautiful and presentation was superb. I also got my delicious kim chee from there. This location gets their kim chee from the motherland so I ALWAYS get their kim chee. It's delicious, spicy as you want (they sell the extra spicy) and it doesn't affect or interact badly with my stomach like American kim chee brands!! I added hazelnut coffee as well as some banana milk. All Korean brands that you don't find here. However the star or New Year's Day was definitely the fresh fish. Thank you for this worthwhile New Year's dish!!

A lot of interesting Korean groceries here. And except for the hot food in styrofoam trays, everything is imported from Korea! I got to try some real Korean kimchi. It's sour with good umami flavor. I'm not a real Korean so I prefer kimchi that is a bit more fresh and not as aged, but I can see how some would like it. I also tried their japchae made in house. Not bad, but definitely not the best I've had, not enough sesame oil for my taste. They also have the popular fried strawberries snacks for sale. I also got a frozen musubi and some abalone congee to try. (The congee is really tasty!) There's also the famous fancy hotel kimchi for sale here if that's what you're into. All the products look interesting!

Finally had a chance to stop by the Hawaii Banchan Company! From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by a clean, bright, and well-stocked store that immediately made us feel welcome. This small business specializes in Korean goods and has limited parking stalls in front of the store.We explored the wide array of banchan (small side dishes), drinks, marinated meats, kimchi, and snacks. The selection of banchan was particularly noteworthy, with options that cater to every taste.We decided to pick up a few snacks and banchan to try. The sweet potato chips were perfectly crispy and lightly salted, making them an addictive snack. The Korean pouch drinks were a fun and refreshing treat, especially the watermelon flavor, which was sweet and hydrating, and the hazelnut coffee, which had a rich, creamy taste with just the right amount of sweetness.The stir-fried fish cake banchan was a standout with its savory flavor and tender texture, while the soy stir-fried anchovies offered a delightful crunch and a perfect balance of sweet and salty. Both dishes were seasoned to perfection and made for excellent accompaniments to our meals.The staff at Hawaii Banchan Company were friendly and efficient, providing excellent service.

Clean, bright, and inviting.. That was my first impression. They have a number of fresh and frozen items. I came here to try the banchan. Spent a few minutes looking in the stand-up refrigerators for teagu. Didn't see any, so I asked the lady who was stocking some dry goods. She showed me something that she said was similarI asked if they brought it in, and she said no. We ate two of the banchan items that we purchased. One was the cucumber Kim Chee. The flavor was flat, and the cucumber was soft.Also bought the fish cake Kim Chee.The texture was good, but it also fell flat in taste. The lady was pleasant and was fast in ringing me up. She also put Mt items in a plastic bag, so to prevent leakage. Come and try what they offer. You be the judge. Enjoy

Always fun to discover new Korean places in town. Came here bc banchan house was closed on Sunday and glad we did. The best way to describe this place is like a dean and deluca of Korean grocery. Small boutique with lots of interesting straight from Korea items. Very clean and the proprietor was so friendly and helpful. He explained that many of the items were from a famous department store shinsegae. We came here bc we wanted to make our own bibimbap at home after a disappointing takeout from ireh the week before. Was not disappointed!It's right next to where the old VERC used to be so there's parking there. Definitely go and visit for a calm, clean, quiet, non-hectic shopping experience. If you buy the special $85 kimchi from the famous chosun hotel please write about the experience!

I have seen Elite Yelper Gabriel P. checked in here and I just thought it was Pacific Center connected to Ala Moana but it's downstairs in the next bldg after the Uraku Bldg which house Pho Dynasty. If you remember the old China House, it's downstairs and not up the ramp. There were ample parking spaces.It was a clean and spacious fairly new Banchan store. Everything was from Korea and some of items can be pricey and add up like my first purchase of $100! They have all kind of snacks, Kim chee, abalone porridge (one porridge the man said it's from a known restaurant not factory) , dried strawberries and mango, candy, frozen desserts, frozen items that you may not find in your H-Mart or Palama Market. I still want to try their frozen sushi. I found the purple sweet potato bread that I was searching for, frozen musubi. I bought Hottae made with puff pastry! The only problem that I had was many of the instructions were in Korean so it was hard to figure out the cooking time. I need to ask someone and that is probably why I still have some items in the freezer. They have unique products so I recommend to make the trip. I now know they are in the convenient location and I already stopped by twice in a month or two.It was the chop chae that the lady makes was really good! She makes it daily with some other items like Kim chee fried rice and other sides. I just love the taste and black mushrooms she put in the chop chae. It was so tasty and even my mom mentioned it was good with good taste. It was generous portion for $8.99! Restaurants may charge $15-$17 for chop chae! I will definitely keep coming back for this! I even had to call to make sure she had some left. I come later in the afternoon but probably during lunch time or earlier is the best time! This is different from the Banchan house. Here doesn't have too many variety of ban chan that you see served in the local Korean restaurant, but more variety of Kim chee and other items from Korea. They have a bit of everything else. I'm not a Kimchee person but I do like porridge and chop chae. I recommend checking out Hawaii Banchan Company. You might find something that may interest you!

Very clean Korean grocery store. Though I wanted kimpa (Korean rice roll), it was sold out: they told me to come by noon. So I got marinated Bulugogi, radish kimchi, fish cake and pumpkin porridge. I enjoyed everything and portion is generous. I will go back there to try some other things.

This is a small shop just across from the Ala Moana mall. The store is super clean and organized. There are refrigerated food items plus unique snacks to choose from. The cashier is super friendly so if you're in the area, it doesn't hurt to drop by and take a look.

My wife just read about this new business in The Weekly Korean Informational News (Kyocharo), otherwise we wouldn't have known of its existence.They're located in the building to the right of CBB Bank on Kapiolani Blvd. You can't see it from the street; it's only visible once you enter the parking lot. They currently open 7 days per week from 10 am to 7 pm.We arrived there soon after opening this Sunday morning. A lady with a little girl were leaving as we entered.It's a relatively small store, clean and brightly lit. While the name is "Hawaii Banchan Company," they have other, non-refrigerated food items in addition to banchan (Korean side dishes).The gentleman behind the counter was helpful in answering our questions.We mostly went there to see what's available, not necessarily to buy. We still need to go through our existing stock of banchan.We ended up purchasing: Spicy Raw Seafood Sauce, Honey Biscuit 8 Pack (yakgwa), Dried Strawberries, a dish of various frozen raw seafood, and a couple of other items.The dried strawberries were a really nice treat!After we got home, my wife worked her magic combining the seafood and sauce with other ingredients to come up with a savory cold-noodle dish with seafood.It's always good having another option for Korean food shopping!We will definitely go back and try their other foods, especially their kimchi and other banchan! :)https://www.facebook.com/raymondkaya808/

Went to check out the store and ended up buying some peppers and garlic stem kimchi the peppers were a bit on the sweeter side and the Garlic Stem Kimchi was spot on! i believe they import their Kimchi from Korea the store is nice and clean. I'd like to try some of the other items next time. Parking is pretty good right in front of the store, the staff well they seem a bit distracted with their phones but not too bad.