Usually found parked on the side of an unassuming street, the Kogi Korean BBQ food trucks have been serving unique Korean and Mexican fusion flavors since 2008 across the Los Angeles area. The truck offers a dining experience that is so familiar, yet entirely unfamiliar in all aspects. Its take on Mexican cuisine with traditionally Korean elements is an unique experience, but it didn’t live up to the high praises set by its previous online fame.
The Kogi food truck is owner and chef Roy Choi’s take on Mexican food as the Korean and Mexican communities interacted in downtown Los Angeles. His menu includes items like Korean BBQ tacos, burritos, sliders with marinated and grilled meats, often paired with Korean-inspired toppings such as kimchi and special sauces. He also offers vegetarian and vegan options.
We visited the second food truck that was opened, which operates in the San Gabriel Valley, including Diamond Bar. The food truck currently visits its Diamond Bar location (1345 S. Diamond Bar Blvd) every Wednesday from 5-9 p.m. We ordered one of each taco option offered, which was spicy pork, chicken and tofu tacos (although they have a short rib option on their website that was not offered at this location). Additionally, we got an order of the kimchi and sweet chili chicken quesadillas, which came with four individual quesadillas each and the chocolate tres leches cake.
The tacos had a familiar taste of sweet and savory meat mixed with a toasted tortilla. The tofu option disguised itself perfectly among the proteins as we could not tell the difference between them. Next, the kimchi quesadilla was a vegetarian option that had a very strong and distinct kimchi taste. As people who enjoy the spicy and sour blend of flavors the fermented cabbage dish offers, we found the quesadillas delightful as the flavors worked extremely well together. However, the flavor was extremely strong and we found ourselves unable to finish the entire serving.
The sweet chili quesadilla does not fall far behind either, as the caramelized onions offer a nice crunch to go along with the tangy seasoned chicken. Finally, despite its appealing name, the chocolate tres leches cake was the biggest let down of the meal. Although the taste was not bad, its appearance differed greatly from the one on the official Kogi website and was on the smaller side. Additionally, it tasted more like toffee than chocolate. This explains the unanticipated crunch but it wasn’t true to the description at all.
The first Kogi truck had a humble beginning, struggling to attract customers despite weeks of parking at different locations. That is, until they started contacting food bloggers in Hollywood that launched them into social media stardom. Since then, Kogi has opened three more trucks that now visit set locations in the Los Angeles and Orange County area.
Overall, we give Kogi food truck a rating of 3.5 out of 5 as it’s a tantalizing experience for Korean/Mexican fusion, but it wasn’t as good as we expected. Its unique flavors are definitely worth a try but we don’t see it becoming a staple in our everyday lives.
