I'm not a connoisseur of Korean food at all - let's just get that out of the way up front. My experiences are limited to an occasional piece of Korean BBQ from the past here and there. I did have a Korean roommate in my house senior year in college and he cooked for us a couple of times (the short ribs on the grill around graduation were fantastic - good times), but a few of the things were too hot for me, like his homemade kim chee. I'm not talking about too spicy, just literally too hot - like scald your throat and peel your stomach lining hot.
So when I started to read about this new food cart in downtown Portland called Koi Fusion, which meshed Korean and Mexican flavors, I really had no idea what to expect. However, the reviews were favorable and I was intrigued, so it went on the list.
Then on their Twitter feed Koi Fusion mentioned they were trying out a new item for the week, the K-Burger. It was a burger infused with bulgogi flavors and topped with kim chee.
Intrigued, I walked up to the cart on 6th and College for lunch the other day. I decided to get the burger and some tacos, so I ordered the spicy pork, the spicy chicken, and the bulgogi beef tacos.
When I was handed the burger they asked me to let them know how it was and on their Twitter feed I saw they wanted real honest feedback, like they were deciding whether or not it should be added to the menu, so I gave it a good taste test.
Yummy. The meat was perfectly cooked and had a nice sweet bulgogi flavor. The kim chee added a nice balance of kick to the sweet without being too hot, which was something I was a little cautious about. Would I get it again for $6? Definitely. On top of the fact it was good, it was also pretty good-sized - definitely a solid meal all by itself. And that's what I told Koi Fusion when I dropped them an email.
The tacos were excellent too. They came on fresh corn tortillas (seriously, does anyone know where I can buy these?) with generous helpings of meat topped with fresh vegetables, including onion and a slice of fresh cucumber. They were so full it was hard to wrap them up and eat, but that's never a bad thing. I topped each taco with a little bit of the green chile sauce they had out plus freshly squeezed lime - again, excellent. The tacos were $2 each and the three of them was the perfect amount.
They also sell a couple other kinds of tacos and burritos - and yes, I'll be going back at some point to try everything.
Well, not all at once. Probably. Maybe. Depends on how hungry I am...
Two thumbs up to Koi Fusion, a fresh mix of flavors that will open your palette!
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