Sashimi and Korean Comfort Food at Kyung’s Seafood

At Kyung’s Seafood in Honolulu, a sashimi platter can share the table with smoky kalbi, egg-battered meat jun, a bowl of poke and a lively spread of Korean side dishes. It is a combination that sounds almost too generous for one small neighborhood restaurant, yet it is central to the meal here.

The restaurant occupies the first floor of a corner building, with a dark, cozy, air-conditioned dining room that stays focused on the food rather than fuss. Kalbi cooking can announce itself before you are through the door. Inside, the room is intimate, welcoming and often animated by regulars who know what they came for.

This is a place to order broadly and let the table fill in. Raw fish, grilled meat, fried dishes, rice and banchan all make sense together, with each plate offering a different reason to reach back in for another bite.

The sashimi combination is a natural starting point. A commonly ordered small platter includes ahi, salmon and hamachi or yellowtail, cut in notably thick, generous slices. One frequently cited version comes with 24 pieces, enough to turn a side order into a serious shared plate.

The fish is prized for its freshness and texture: tender ahi, buttery hamachi and salmon with a soft, almost melt-in-the-mouth quality. The salmon has shown visible fat marbling, the sort of detail that makes a plain-looking slice feel especially rich once it reaches the table.

Rice, soy sauce and wasabi give the platter its simple supporting cast. An extra bowl of rice has also been offered, a useful addition when the sashimi is being divided among a table that has also ordered several Korean dishes.

Fish availability can shift. If salmon is out, the platter may arrive as an even split of ahi and hamachi instead, which is worth keeping in mind for diners with a particular favorite.

Mama’s Special Poke gives the seafood menu another direction. It combines ahi with fish roe or masago and onions, and has appeared in both mild and spicy versions. It is the sort of bowl that works well in the middle of a table, where everyone can take a little between bites of barbecue.

The minced spicy tuna is another option for people who like to assemble their own bite. Mixed with masago and Hawaiian red salt, it can be wrapped with Korean seaweed and rice. That little seaweed-and-rice ritual makes the dish more than a scoop-and-share appetizer.

There are other seafood paths beyond raw fish, including sashimi salad, garlic ahi tuna belly and spicy squid. A seafood soft tofu stew has included mussels, shrimp, clams and an egg, bringing a bubbling, more substantial counterpoint to a cool sashimi platter.

Kalbi is one of the key reasons the restaurant’s Korean side of the menu holds its own beside the seafood. The ribs are thick and plump, with a smoky, juicy finish, and some combinations bring rice alongside. A plate of kalbi next to sashimi may sound like a lot of contrasts, but it gives the meal a pleasing back-and-forth: rich grilled meat, clean raw fish, then rice and pickles to reset the palate.

Meat jun is another recurring order. Thinly prepared meat is enclosed in egg batter, making a savory, tender dish with the gentle richness that jun fans look for. It is easy to see why it is regularly paired with sashimi rather than treated as an either-or choice.

Oyster jun takes the same basic idea in a seafood direction, with oysters enclosed in crisp fried egg batter. Large mandu are available when the table needs another substantial plate, especially if the group has been grazing through seafood and banchan.

Fried chicken wings come in mild and spicy versions. Their golden, crisp exterior and juicy interior make them a particularly good candidate for sharing, while the spicy version has a noticeable kick. This is not a menu that insists on a single culinary lane.

The complimentary banchan can turn a meal into a small spread before the main plates have fully settled in. Cabbage kimchi, pickled or seasoned radish, onions and macaroni salad are common arrivals, sometimes joined by pickled jalapeños.

The macaroni salad has its own following and deserves a pause rather than being treated as background filler. Alongside the bright bite of kimchi and radish, its creamy, familiar comfort gives the table a very local sense of abundance.

The initial side-dish spread is included with the meal. Additional replenishment has been available for a charge, so the first round is best appreciated as its own well-stocked assortment rather than assumed to be endlessly refilled.

Kyung’s has the warm, unassuming manner of a mom-and-pop restaurant, down to family members occasionally helping in the dining room or chatting with guests. Servers are friendly and quick, and menu guidance is a regular part of the interaction. For a first visit, that is useful: the range from sashimi to stew to jun is broad enough that a recommendation can help a table find its balance.

The small dining room is not built for disappearing into the background. Regulars, shared plates and the steady movement of food give it an everyday neighborhood rhythm. A strawberry soju drink has been served freshly blended, and soju slushies have also appeared on the drink side of the experience.

Happy-hour service has included pitchers, meat jun, fried mandu and poke, though those offerings can change. The more lasting appeal is the ability to sit down for a casual meal and build it plate by plate, with something cool, something sizzling and something pickled always within reach.

Tables are limited and the room can fill quickly, particularly around dinner and busier periods. Calling ahead or making a reservation is useful when planning a visit, though the restaurant does not need a grand occasion to justify a meal.

Parking is primarily street-based and can be difficult near the restaurant. Free spaces have been found on nearby residential streets, while at least one diner has reached Kyung’s on foot from Waikiki.

Takeout sashimi is also part of the restaurant’s routine, an appealing option when the goal is simply to bring home thick-cut ahi, salmon or hamachi and let the rest of dinner take care of itself.