Forked Up

PORK SHUMAI

LEGEND SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
100 N. Beretania St. #108, Honolulu
Phone number (808) 532-1868
website legendseafoodhonolulu.com

Everybody has a dim sum place they swear by. But Legend is a more popular pick than most — the perpetual line outside attests to that, and for good reason. Four or five dim sum carts circle the room like sharks at lunchtime, only they’re the ones getting accosted by hungry patrons. Of the many (many, many) things to try, we like the classics: Legend’s shumai is just right, packed firm with pork and shrimp, but not so that it becomes a homogenous chunk of meat like at lesser places. When you do the basics right, it follows that everything else is even better.

GOPCHANG BOKKEUM

SORABOL KOREAN RESTAURANT
805 Keeaumoku St., Honolulu
Phone number (808) 947-3113
website sorabolhawaii.com

Gopchang bokkeum. Sounds (slightly) elegant, right? This Korean intestine dish has got to be one of the tastiest and chewiest things on Sorabol’s menu, and comes with hearty helpings of garlic, green onion, peppers and more. Protip: It pairs well with soju (and lots of it), as this dish tends to be on the spicier side due to the added gochujang mixed in. More good news is that gopchang is known to be high in iron and vitamins, so eat to your heart’s content. Also on the menu is gopchang chigae, which is basically the same dish in soup form.