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Ondong, a closer look
 Walter Rhee on OnDong! |
 Ondong on Yelper's! |
Snooze you looz! Just go out and do it!
Aloha!
3/29/11 - There's quite the interesting culinary genre out there, and one I've only recently become familiar with. We've all heard of newbie Nihao on Keeaumoku St., the Chinese restaurant famous for house-made noodles, right? It was kinda strange seeing a Chinese place opening smack-dab in the center of Korea-moku, but I was soon to find out that there has long been a clear and defineable type of food fusion brewing between the Chinese and Koreans - I don't think there's a specific name for it, but here's a few definitions I've heard thrown around the grapevine:
Chinese with a Korean twist
Korean-style Chinese food
Korean-influenced Chinese cuisine
Basically, it's Chinese food, but with dishes that have been adopted by Koreans and, over the years, changed slightly to meet the need. Sometimes, they even call it "Northern Chinese Cuisine." After all, Korea sits right next to the Northeastern part of China, and, like so many other countries, have been influenced greatly throughout history by its behemoth neighbor to the West. The term, however, brings about confusion for many, as Northern Chinese food types, though encompassing much more, are no doubt centered upon and most famous for Mandarin/Beijing cuisine, including the elaborately-designed Imperial dishes like Peking duck, braised mutton, and beggar's chicken, oftentimes presented in giant, ornate images of peacocks, pheonixes, dragons, etc. No, it wasn't the cuisine of the masses, but I guess the rich and powerful are the most influential wherever you go, yes?
On Dong restaurant on S. King St. does describe itself right on their window as featuring Northern Chinese cuisine, but of a type very different from the one explained above, for sure!
Just another non-descript shop you've probably unknowingly passed many times before. Don't worry about finding it anymore, though, as it now sits sandwiched between two new anchor-type stores - big, bright, super-flashy Panda King (yeah, the fast-food Chinese giant with the drive-thru window!) as well as the also-big, also-bright, and also-flashy Jin Din Rou Noodle House, another curious fusion, this time of Taiwanese noodles and Japanese owners and tendencies (but that's for another day!).
The small building has a parking lot in back, which is accessed from Cross-street Kaheka. These days, the lot is oftentimes full because of neighboring Jin Din Rou (don't even think about using Panda King's lot, either!), but there's usually adequate metered parking found on Kaheka St. itself.
Once inside, it looks like any other neighborhood Chinese restaurant begun 20-plus years ago! That's right - despite me not so much as hearing of this particular genre before, On Dong has been serving Korean-influenced Chinese cuisine for well over 20 years!
Though I can't speak nor understand Korean or Chinese, I can tell when a person is speaking either of the two, and it's very apparent that Korean is the language spoken by the owners. Patrons, as well, are majority-wise Korean, with a smattering of locals, too. And when a few small plates of banchan arrive, you'll be looking at the menu and thinking "Where's the naeng myun and pajeon?"
You all know kim chee and takuan (danmuji in Korean), but the third free starter consists of chopped onions and a black substance that, for the life of me, is so dang difficult to explain! I mean, there's degrees of salt, degrees of sweet, and degrees of bitterness, and despite its bold look, is not bold at all in taste, but is actually on the blander side. Upon first glance as well as bite, I would have guessed squid ink, but it is actually a paste derived from black beans. And these black beans are an important item to remember, because On Dong is most popularly known for, as is every other Korean-influenced Chinese restaurant, a dish that utilizes this very sauce as an essential component within.
It's called za zang men. Or jia jiang mian. Or zha jiang mein. Jajong myeon? How 'bout local-style, or the simplest route possible - ja ja mein? I've not seen a single food type spelled so many different ways! Whatever the case, I'll stick with the local version for any further descriptions, if you don't mind!
This is not actually how the dish usually arrives, but here I was at a photo shoot with a certain up-and-coming magazine (I won't say anything more on the matter right now!), and the restaurant was nice enough to separate the elements for us.
I cannot tell you how much of a pleasant surprise it was to find that On Dong actually does their own noodles daily, in-house, as they don't so much as make single mention of this very important fact anywhere - not on their walls nor on their menu! I know that such is commonplace in China, Korea, Japan, and throughout Asia, where noodle houses have been around for so long that many simply continue the tradition as standard practice, without even thinking otherwise. Here in Hawaii, however, such time-tested practices are definitely not the norm, and are very much appreciated!
And these house-made noodles are some of the very best I've had anywhere on the island! Made from wheat, which is so often the case with noodles in Northern China, they are chewy, springy, and soft yet not mushy; they encompass body and have taste in themselves while accentuating their complement of sauces - most definitely, the real deal!
You can order the sauce alone or with seafood and vegetables added, as we chose to do. Like the small amount of sauce used in our chopped onion banchan above, its taste was very mellow - one of the most mellow I've ever seen used in any noodle dish, actually! Like I said, its flavor is somehow very difficult for me to explain, I guess since it's rather foreign to me, and it's nowhere near the salty, slightly sweet, very strong black bean sauces of China that we all grew up with here in Hawaii.
Because of its color, many describe the dish as black noodles, which, as you've seen, is simply not the case. For this reason, it is oftentimes confused for certain types of naeng myun, which contain noodles that are actually black, and not just from the sauce!
Whatever the case, it's the noodles themselves that really steal the show, and for that, I'd definitely come back and sample Ondong's version of ja ja mein again! The dish has been around in Korea for so long, it's actually a comfort-type food many of my Korean friends have been enjoying since they were kids.
You can also enjoy these same noodles in another dish called cham-pon, which utilizes a spicy seafood broth:
For those preferring a bit more of a taste punch and still want to experience these fresh-made noodles, this is the dish for you! A perfect blend of flavors, it is salty, sweet, spicy, and surprisingly smooth, not at all too hot nor strong despite its deep-red appearance and coming with a very pleasant taste over-all. Once again, there was a bit of confusion with the name, as the dish derives from Japanese chanpon (which itself derives from China!), which is a ramen dish using lots and lots of vegetables.
Along with ja ja mein and cham-pon, there is another item that, when combined with the other two, can collectively be called "The Big Three" at Chinese restaurants featuring this strong Korean component. Here it is:
It's called tang su yook, but basically, it's sweet sour pork that is battered, deep-fried, then topped and bathed in an Asian-style gravy and vegetables. And lemme tell you what - dis' buggah was ono!!! The golden-fried strips of pork were soft, tender, and delicious in and of themselves,
but with that tasty gravy soaking into the batter, the dish was taken to a whole 'nother level!
Similiarly, there's another item using very much the same preparation style, only utilizing chicken:
And once again, it was absolutely fantastic! I'm really beginning to love this place!
After living in Beijing for several months, there's a couple of aspects I really appreciated about these particular types of sauces - number one, copious amounts of diced garlic, and number two, a thinner, runnier body that never gels up into clumps, oftentimes portraying a void of any cornstarch whatsoever. There wasn't nearly the amount of garlic here at On Dong, but regarding the second aspect, it hit the mark perfectly. The taste was smooth and natural, encompassing a bold, rich taste without being overly salty.
According to Yelp buddy Will L, there are currently 4 of these Korean/Chinese restaurants in Honolulu, along with Nihao, Eastern Paradise, and Mandalay. And where is his "Go-to spot," in his own words? For this particular genre, it's none other than On Dong! Will L, I must say, I'd have to agree!
Hey, hope you're having a great day! We're counting down to Vegas in just a few days, and I'll definitely be doing some posts while there. I'm not the biggest fan of the place and haven't been there in over 10 years, but my mom has been asking me to go for sooo many years and my wife hasn't been there yet, so I figure it's the right time. God knows I probably won't ever go back unless accompanying mom or something like that! Yeah, I'd rather be exploring India, Mongolia, Vietnam, or somewhere else much further away, but it'll be only a few days, it's cheap, and there's lots and lots of good food and tip-only drinks there, so it's aaalll good!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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