Now that the Angry Korean Lady has closed the doors of Ah Lang, diners who love a one-woman show may find solace at Sara’s Cafe, a haven for homestyle Korean cuisine.

Here, Sara Kim oversees all, from cooking to serving and cleanup, and there’s no need to cower because she’s not angry about it at all. In fact, she’s a sweetheart, if somewhat scattered from dashing here and there trying to accommodate everyone.

Don’t feel slighted if she doesn’t acknowledge your presence right away or if she runs off in the midst of taking your order. On a busy night, she’s hard at work at the stoves and tending to take-out customers as well as in-house diners. Even when the place is empty, she may be engrossed in prep.

On a weekend night, while we waited … and waited, I remarked, “I don’t think I have the patience to come back here.” But after a single bite of her seafood pancake ($14.99), accompanied by an invigorating vinegar, Thai chili and pickled onion sauce, I said I would definitely be back, just earlier, and on a weekday.

Kim was trained as an opera singer in Seoul, but after arriving in Hawaii 25 years ago, she had no time to pursue her dreams while making a living and starting a family.

Today, running the cafe is a necessity for the single mother of two. “Nobody takes care of me,” she said. “I don’t have a husband and I need to pay rent.”

She opened her cafe, in the Kualana Hale senior residence near the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Beretania Street, two years ago after spending eight years running a small Keeaumoku coffee shop. She’s not the least bit stressed by being center stage at all times. “I was singing since I was little, so I’m not afraid to do something in front of people, like singing or cooking,” she said.

Being inside her cafe is comparable to being at your auntie’s house. It’s made up to look homey, though the tables are stickier than you might find at a residence.

There’s room at a counter to gab over B.Y.O.B. beers while watching the work going on in the kitchen. The difference is, you’re not obligated to pitch in.

The menu is the same day and night, and though certain dishes are marked with stars, Kim said they’re meaningless because she considers all the dishes to be her specialties. One of her daughters added the stars, she said.

I didn’t know that when I went in, so of course I looked to the stars for guidance, only to find the meat jun ($8.99 mini, $10.99 regular) tough and the mandoo ($8.99) to be the commercial variety. Still cooked fresh, and a time saver, but not her own recipe.

The seafood pancake, with generous slices of octopus, is one of the stars of the menu, along with spicy fried chicken wings ($14.99) with the wicked sting of Thai chilies, tempered in part by a candied honey shell. This is the place for chili lovers to test their endurance. If you can’t take the heat, regular fried chicken wings are $12.99.

The hot stone pot rice ($12.99) bi bim bap is not as Instagram-ready as it would be at a place where there are multiple hands to carefully arrange each sliver of sliced beef and vegetables, but it manages to hit the spot as a great comfort food to accompany all of Kim’s pupu. These include a platter of barbecue chicken ($7.99/$9.99) or kalbi ($10.99/$14.99) with a Korean soy sauce-onion marinade that strikes the perfect balance between salty and sweet.

For those trying to trim meat from their diets, the Korean-style hamburger steak ($8.99/$11.99) is one option. The patties are quite light, with tofu added to the mix of beef and pork.

Garlic shrimp ($7.99/$12.99) is one of the most homespun of all the dishes, heavy on garlic and drenched in liquefied butter.

I didn’t see any desserts on the menu and have always left too full to ask.