As we rush about our daily lives, we rarely notice details in the scenery, and when something suddenly changes — an empty lot appears, or a skeleton of a building starts taking shape — we struggle to remember what was there before.

When a sign for “Yakiniku” appeared on Keeaumoku Street, I assumed a new restaurant had moved in. A lot of good restaurants have appeared in the area and disappeared quickly, and I always feel sorry for those restaurateurs whose dreams did not work out as planned in part because of factors beyond their control, such as a lack of parking.

In this case, it was just the signage that was new. The restaurant remains the same, and once you’ve parked and walked to the door, you can read, in much smaller eye-exam chart-size alphabet, Lulu Rara.

Compared with other yakiniku restaurants, the menu here is small, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

The main options are there: kalbi ($21.99), brisket ($17.99), seasoned tripe ($17.99), intestines ($17.99), beef tongue ($17.99) and sliced rib eye ($17.99).

We went with what proprietors consider the best, the ahn chang, or skirt steak, wherein the meat is fatty and flavorful.

“Customers say they don’t even have to chew,” is what we were told.

Well, we did have to chew, but it didn’t take much effort for beef so flavorful and sweet that it needed no extra help from accompanying hot sauce, sesame oil with salt or miso paste.

Unusually for a yakiniku, and likely to be a sore point for many, the customary, complimentary banchan appetizers — to which we feel entitled — come at a price to those who do not order a minimum of two yakiniku meat selections. Of course, two people rarely settle for one meat entree alone.

The banchan includes the requisite kim chee, daikon, pickled jala­peños and more, but one item you don’t usually see is a steamed egg dish similar to Japa­nese cha­wan­mu­shi, at four times the size. I loved it. Which was dangerous. We were so smitten by the small dishes that we forgot the beef cooking on the grill. Luckily, the beef strips are cut fairly thick, so all was not lost. They were still moist and juicy on the inside.

To that we added pork belly ($17.99) and shrimp ($17.99) on the grill.

For those who prefer lighter fare for lunch, there is mool naeng myun ($9.99), a chilled beef soup with buckwheat noodles, or hot kim chee ($7.99) or bean paste stew with beef and clams ($7.99).

The stew pots are small, no more than 5 inches in diameter, so big eaters might find it hard to justify coming here when other Korean restaurants offer banchan to complement every order. For me the quality is high, the owners are courteous and I don’t need the extra bites, so I’ll definitely be back.

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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.