---

Ducky’s a different
kind of drive-in

If it were not for the new state sport, gas-price spotting, I might never have noticed Ducky's in Manoa.

I had to do a double-take after eyeing the boards at the Aloha gas station just past Manoa Marketplace, and in that quick glance I couldn't help but notice in the periphery the sign of the yellow duck, and its motto: "Trust the duck: Add some spice to your life."

I wasn't sure what that signified, but the sight of tables and Han'gul signage indicated a Korean restaurant that might be worth stopping for, if not for the meal of my life, then at least to satisfy my curiosity, but only after a pit stop at the pump.

Ducky's turns out to be a restaurant that is a different entity to different people. By day it's a quick, no-nonsense purveyor of standard, serviceable Korean plate lunch fare. Those plates are also available by night only for those in need of a quick takeout dinner. The tables are reserved for those prepared to indulge in a large but humble yakiniku feast. They need all the space they can get to accommodate all the "panchan," the customary array of mixed vegetables and appetizers.

It's pretty friendly here, with everyone sniffing around to see what others are ordering. Women might also share their "purse" chair with another tableful of women.

Trendy Japanese chain restaurants such as Gyu-Kaku and Toraji have borrowed flavors of the Korean grill, as the two nations share a long, common history conducive to culinary intermingling. But you're more likely to find Korean patrons at Ducky's, where the atmosphere is not hipster modern, but garage casual, and the food is uncorrupted by fusion philosophies.

---

NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM The yakiniku grill at Ducky's fills up with slices of pork, onions and other traditional fixings.

---

DUCKY'S STARTED as a mere takeout window, but over the years grew a makeshift roof and bamboo-curtain walls to provide guests with a shady and, more important in Manoa, a dry place to sit back and relax. It's a cozy, intimate space, and if you don't look down, you might even forget that the floor is plain old asphalt. In other words, those who must dine in style should go elsewhere.

Your first impulse will be to look for the kalbi ($7.50/$5.75 mini), spicy chicken ($6.75/$5.25) or meat jun ($6.75/$5.25) plates. That would not be a bad idea, and almost seems preferable when looking at the option of paying $25 to $35 for the yakiniku courses. But divide the latter sums by the four people one order will serve, and it starts making sense at $6.25 to $8.75 per person.

You might want to start with other courses, such as a mild tofu pot stew ($10), catfish stew ($25) or grilled, salted prawns ($15). Just stay away from the mandoo ($5.75) with the mushy, straight-from-the-freezer interior. The popular dumplings are not a priority here.

Newbies should stick to the single yakiniku order because it's more filling than one would expect. It starts with a mound of lettuce and sesame leaves for wrapping other ingredients; a tray of panchan; miso paste, sesame oil and salt, and chili pepper-soy sauces; and what appears to be about four pounds of cook-it-yourself raw meat, mostly pork. There is a beef option, but the staff is in the process of changing the menu, so there might be other additions as well.

They tend to push the pork belly because it's almost a guarantee that diners love to eat fat. It's just the idea of fat that is somewhat off-putting, so I went with the lean loin.

The un-marinated pork is the picture of minimalism, a potential star with the appropriate treatment, dressed up with sesame oil, miso paste, fresh grilled garlic and onions and accompanying veggies, whether slivered daikon, green onions, kim chee or bean sprouts, and sheathed in that lettuce wrap.

It's pretty clear when newbies enter, because they never know where to start. Luckily, servers are accommodating, to the point of cooking the food for guests who appear to be most helpless.

---

Ducky's 2955 E. Manoa Road / 988-9809 Food Service Ambience Value Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays Cost: Less than $10 per person