Koo’s Catering Truck - Tustin

November 9, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 3 Comments

This will just be a quick review of the Sweet Rice Pan Cakes called Hotteok from Koo’s Catering Truck in Tustin that is located just in front of Freshia Market. I’d heard about this truck from O.C. Weekly back when they had the cheap eats 2008 and tagged it as something I’d like to try out. Friday night after we had dinner at Mini Cafe in Santa Ana the Mrs. and I trekked down Red Hill to Koo’s. As we entered the parking lot I was expecting to see a catering truck, since I have seen pictures of said truck on Yelp, but instead of a truck there was a small cart that an Asian man and woman were sitting/standing at waiting for customers. I’m assuming they just use the cart now since it’s probably less expensive then a whole truck.

Koo's Catering Truck - Hotteok

Regardless I ordered two of the only thing they sell, Sweet Rice Pan Cakes and brought them back to the car for the Mrs. and I to try. The first thing I noticed is that although they didn’t appear to be hot from the outside, the pancakes were nearly molten hot inside! Mrs. DanGarion took the first taste and declared it inedible, she didn’t like the fact that the pancake tasted like it was undercooked. But she tends to be a little less adventurous then myself and can be picky about her sweets. I took a bite and I really enjoyed the chewy consistency. It’s hard to describe exactly how the pancake tastes since I’d never had something like it before, but the flavors were very familiar, a slight sweet brown sugar flavor and maybe just a little cinnamon. It’s probably not for everyone but I enjoyed the doughy rice pancakes and was happy to get to eat not only the one I ordered for myself but also the one that the Mrs. didn’t approve of!

My rating

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Mrs. rating

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Koo’s Catering Truck
14551 Red Hill Ave.,
Tustin, CA 92780

Their hours in Freshia Market’s parking lot are weekends only,
Friday 5pm-10pm and Saturday and Sunday morning to night.

Tags: Breakfast, Cheap Eats, Dessert, Korean, Tustin

KyoChon Chicken - Stanton

October 17, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 2 Comments

The first time I heard of KyoChon Chicken in Stanton was during their grand opening, my mom is very involved in all things Stanton and she met the owner. Next I was able to try out the wings when they were at the annual Taste of Stanton charity event earlier this year. With my day job, I’m usually in Anaheim, Garden Grove, or Ontario, but I only usually go out to lunch once a week, so it took me awhile to finally have an actual meal from KyoChon. I’d already tasted the chicken in the past and read previous reviews including the one by Edwin at Monster Munching, so I pretty much knew what to expect. KyoChon Chicken is located inside the food court are of the Freshia Market in Stanton

KyoChon Chicken

; there are 4 or 5 other fast food places as well as an opening soon Mr. Pizza. Unfortunately for me, most of their menu doesn’t make a lot of sense since I don’t read Korean; by they have pictures which also include some English! I placed my order and was handed a pager, I was worried that the wait was going to be long, but it didn’t seem too busy. As I waited a woman approached me and offered me tasting of a new product they were working on, a wrap! “Hah, they recognized me from my website and know I’m a food connoisseur, I’m an Internet celebrity!” I thought. But in actuality I probably just looked bored and she was being nice. I tried the wrap, which consisted of a spicy chicken strip, lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheese, and a little bit of white sauce, it wasn’t anything amazingly special, but it was good.

KyoChon Chicken - Wrap

I took a picture of it for prosperity, so I can be the first to inform you of their possible new item!

After about 15 minutes my pager went off and I picked up my food and I went back to the office. I ordered the #4 Bento, which consisted of; chicken fried rice, chicken bulgogi, salad, french fries, and hot sweet sauce chicken (2 wings and 2 sticks, although the menu says 4 wings OR 2 sticks) ($8.50).

KyoChon Chicken - #4 Bento

It was a HUGE lunch, but I didn’t end up eating it all anyway. I pretty much skipped the fries, I’m not a big french fry fan and there was too much other good looking food. The chicken fried rice was rather bland; I only had a little bit of it.

KyoChon Chicken - Fried Rice

The chicken bulgogi was good,

KyoChon Chicken - Bulugogi

had a nice mixture of chicken, peppers, carrots, and lettuce, it reminded me of the spicy chicken or pork that you can get from Busy Bee. The salad consisted of thin shredded cabbage salad topped with some white and red sauce; it was ok for what it was. The chicken wings and sticks were really good, they weren’t that warm by the time I got them home,

KyoChon Chicken - Bento Box

but that’s my own fault; the hot sweet sauce more then made up for the cooling down of the food, as my mouth has still not forgiven me, my lips are still burning a little!

Service was good, but it’s pretty much like fast food so there isn’t much to say most the time when it comes to service. It was cool to get to try a possible new product.