"Sure, I've got a lot of experience," joked Woo, manager at Seoul Jung. "It helps cleanse the system."

It also satisfies the appetite and warms the palate. This dried pollack soup is one of five new dishes — each priced at $6.95 — that Seoul Jung chef Kwang Hui Kang has developed in an attempt to lure in kamaaina.

"A lot of the other local Korean restaurants offer their own $6.95 specials," said director of sales and marketing Trudy Taniguchi, who has been with the Waikiki Resort Hotel since 1979. "But we're the only restaurant that offers a dish that's made with sashimi, vegetables and rice."

More Japanese than Korean, the dish is called hae dab bap, which sounds more like a dance than something you would eat, giggled Taniguchi.

"It's like the Japanese donburi or a cold rice salad," she said. "It's even topped with tobikko (flying fish roe), which is a typical Japanese garnish."

Not at all Japanese is the ko choo jang sauce that's just a tad bit spicy, Woo said, while spreading her thumb and index fingers a few centimeters apart to indicate the level of heat.

"We call it the Korean ketchup," Taniguchi noted.

"Except, it has more kick than the average bottle of Heinz."

The accompanying kim chee side dishes also pack some heat, enough so to inspire a gulp of cold Oolong Tea or ice water after just a few bites.

Available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the other three lunch-special options feature tofu stew, Korean miso stew and grilled sanma (river fish).

"We're trying to drive up our lunch business among kamaaina," Taniguchi said. "We just introduced these specials last week and we've already seen more local Korean residents come in for them."

Located on the second floor of the Waikiki Resort Hotel, Seoul Jung is divided into two distinct dining areas: one section allows diners to order "prepared" dishes from the a la carte menu, while the other gives them a chance to cook their own yakiniku meals.

Guests can choose to grill such meats as kalbi ($17.75), bulgogi (marinated slices of prime beef), strip loin ($19.75), chitterlings ($16.75), tongue ($15.75), mountain tripe ($19.75), brisket ($16.75), liver ($16.75) or beef brisket ($16.75).