Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Koi Fusion

(Please read part 2, posted January 2012)

Koi Fusion, located at D-Street Noshery on SE 32nd St. and SE Division St., serves their take on Korean-fusion street food. Koi Fusion offers on-the-go-friendly items such as tacos, burritos, sliders, and quesadillas. Another notable item: sweet potato fries, a relatively new menu item to Koi Fusion.

UPDATE: Koi Fusion has several food carts/trucks out there. The D-Street Noshery pod closed in 2012, but check Koi's website for where they are currently at!




A favorable review on Koi Fusion's Bulgogi tacos
Menu
Koi Fusion was at Last Thursday on NE Alberta, and the first thing I saw upon approaching the truck: large numbers of Asian people eating their food. A few were eating burritos and seemed to be enjoying them. But I just needed a smaller taste of what Koi Fusion has to offer. Going off a positive review from The Oregonian, I went with a Bulgogi taco, topped with kimchi ($2). They asked if I wanted it hot or mild. No flinching here...I went with hot.

Bulgogi taco (spicy) with kimchi
Perhaps I should have just gotten the big burrito. The taco was good, but not as awesome as I had hoped. I liked the kimchi that they put on the taco because it drove home the point of their culinary point of view: they sell Korean-inspired street food.

I would have wanted the taco to be steamed a bit more to add some softness, then double up the taco for more volume in the dish. The vegetables were cut very nicely (professional quality), refreshing, and provided the color/texture contrasts I love so much in food. The cilantro was especially well-received by me, since it's a cooking staple in some parts of Asia. Good flavors on the bulgogi beef, but much like my experience at Yogio, I would have liked a bit more flavor on the meat to really get me talking.

There's no denying Koi Fusion is popular with locals and foreign (Asian) tourists. But for me, it's just another food cart that has respectable food.

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