Kalbi Express

The Portions here really suck. I got the chicken and Kalbi combo. It consisted of 1 small piece of chicken and 1 thin strip of kalbi with several sides. Paid $ 14 with a medium drink. I was very disappointed. Never ate there again. This was 6 or 7 years ago.
I think this place was called Yummy’s before. Still the same owner, I think. They probably revoked her franchise license…
Yummy’s is a chain of Korean barbecue restaurants back on Oahu.

Asked for bbq chicken NOT to be overcooked. It was like shoe leather. Sides nothing to write home about. I miss Yummi on Oahu.

Nothing fancy, just great Korean Barbecue Plate Lunches sure to satisfy anyone looking for affordable take out for lunch or dinner. Located at the Waiakea Food Court, they are one of the very few food venues in the cafeteria style pavillion serving some of the best kalbi, barbecue beef or chicken, even chicken katsu served hot and fresh over a heaping bed of rice and generous side options. This hole in the wall is one Hilo’s go to take out for fast plate lunch style dining that never disappoints. The portions are huge and the mini’s aren’t so mini! Well worth the $$

Ordered kalbi combo plate with korean chicken
Kalbi was good but they only gave us two strip
I don’t know what’s so korean about the korean chicken: it was salty for me
They put lots of sauce in the rice
Kim Chee and Mac salad is a bit bland
Potato salad was a better choice
Overall it was a good experience as a tourist but most likely wouldn’t eat it again unless it’s just kalbi

Found a roach floating in my jun sauce. Gross! I question their prep quality. Food was good but c’mon, nobody wants to see a roach in their food. Who knows where that’s been.

One of the better Meat Jun’s I’ve tasted on the Big Island. Had the mini-​plate, and it was plenty enough. The food court where the restaurant is located, though, seems so dirty. When I stopped by, it was not crowded at all, and all of the tables were extremely dirty from people who ate there earlier. Looked for a rag to wipe my table, but there was none. Ruined a decent experience. If you are taking out, then this is the place to stop off.

We stopped at Kalbi Express on the last night of our trip to Hawaii. We were driving down from the volcano park and on the way to the Hilo airport. We didn’t have time for a sitdown dinner at a fancy place, so we decided to stop at this place. It’s in the back corner of a shopping center in a little food court that has a couple of different Asian places. However, of the three this was by far the most busy. I have the combination plate, which is several different meats with several side dishes. All of the meats were quite delicious, well seasoned and very flavorful. The side dishes are more variable, depending on how you feel about kimchi and seaweed.
Overall, I thought this was a great place to stop in for a quick meal, and its proximity to the airport makes it ideal to swing by before your flight to the mainland.

Typical local-​Korean plate lunch place. Order at the counter and choose your veggies to complement the meal. I tried the Korean chicken and fish jun and enjoyed both. The Korean chicken is boneless, lightly breaded, and covered in sauce. I would’ve liked more breaking and less sauce. Weird, I know, but I think it would’ve improved the texture. I guess that’s not what you’re usually thinking at this type of restaurant. The fish jun was typical — good, but nothing outstanding. The veggies were also good, but the cucumber kim chee was mushy. For $ 10, there was a lot of food, and it was enough for two of us to share for lunch.

Our go-​to place for dinner when mom doesn’t feel like cooking or we’re out and about. Lots of good food, the sides are just as amazing. Staff is knowledgable and friendly.

Kalbi Express is the best place to eat in the Waiakea Food Court. Their prices are reasonable and they give plenty of food! I always go back for the Korean chicken plate (or a combination plate with Korean chicken inside). The Korean chicken is boneless, seasoned perfectly and is just so delicious! I like to get the mini plate because one mini plate will last me two meals, but the only difference between the mini and regular plate is the amount of vegetable sides they give (two versus four).
Their vegetable sides are also very good. There’s a large variety to choose from (including kim chi, mac salad, noodles, tofu, corn, etc.) and it makes the plates even that much more satisfying.
If you’re in the Waiakea Food Court looking for some food, it’s a hands-​down, no-​brainer that Kalbi Express is the place to choose.

My wife and I ate there. The food was good, the kalbi ribs has a lot of flavor, fish jun was also good. They provide you with many choices of side dishes. Overall the portions are good prices are a bit high.

Korean food has shot up the last time I recalled. A seaweed soup costed $ 7 and a regular meat plate would set you back $ 6, back in the late 1990’s. Those days are long gone. Currently, it has gotten pricier. And I live on Oahu, so coming to Hilo for a vacation weekend, I was kind of sticker shocked to find this place going higher than places on Oahu. It’s crazy, but its the cost of doing business.
Thai food is my favorite, but Korean food is my 2^nd favorite. Coming to Hilo, I thought I knew where I was going, until I stumbled upon Kalbi Express, which was staffed with high school kids. At least, they looked like high school age. I got the seaweed soup. That’s usually my staple when I do Korean. The meat dishes tend to be slimmy with oil and grease, so it’s a bit more health conscious to go with the soup. The soup looked kind of gross, since it wasn’t as bright green the seaweed is supposed to look like. It was dark green/​black swimming in soup. The taste convinced me that looks can be deceiving.
The kim chee was pretty decent and the potatoes was average.

This is the first place my honey took me to when he picked me up at the Hilo Airport. I was STARVING from a long day of travels and needed some good old sustenance-​stat! The food that they were pumping out looked fresh and smelled divine. I got the mini Kalbi plate that came with 2 sides. When they handed over my «mini», it weighed a TON! To my surprise, my mini came with three huge ribs, kimchee, and chap chae. Delish! And way cheap for $ 6!
If this is how we were going to eat for the next 9 days– I’m in big trouble. I’ll be living at the gym when we go back to mainland :)

3.5 stars
Kalbi Express is located in a food court with no mall attached to it. After a long day at Volcano National Park, we stopped here to get some grub before turning in our rental car and heading to the airport.
I got the 3 item combo with kalbi, chicken, meat jun (thinly sliced marinated beef dipped in egg and flour), 4 side dishes, gyoza, and rice for $ 8.95. A little expensive, but you get a big box stuffed with yummy food. I was seriously contemplating bringing the leftovers back to Honolulu with me, but decided the other passengers probably wouldn’t appreciate the smell of kimchee in the plane.