Koco Bell — Restaurant in Idaho

On 11/3/21, I visited Koco Bell in Meridian for the first time as part of a Yelp Elite Event, which was an invitation to stop by for a free Original Kimbap and to test my skills in playing the Dalgona Candy game made popular by the Netflix TV show Squid Game. I bought three additional menu items. While waiting for my food, I enjoyed a hot complementary cup of traditional Korean Ginger tea, which is sweetened with honey and has great flavor.

Owners Steve and Mariela Kang opened Koco Bell as a food stand in Boise in the spring of 2020. They quickly built such a large following that they moved into a brick and mortar space, which opened in July 2021. Steve does the cooking; Mariela, who is from Argentina, runs the front counter. Both are gracious, friendly and happy to answer questions. Wait times are short.

The name of the restaurant is a playful combination of a whimsical reference to Korea combined with bell, a reference to the wind chime aka “wind bell” traditionally hung from the corners of Buddhist temples. The clapper part of the bell is often in the shape of a fish.

I haven’t had much Korean food and none of it has been street food, so everything was new to me. I ordered the following:

Original Kimbap ($6.20) - Egg, yellow pickled radish, ham, carrot, and crab, wrapped in seaweed. This is best described as a Korean version version of sushi. I’m not sure if this was supposed to come with soy sauce or a dipping sauce of some sort, but mine did not. I would have liked it better if it had.

Tteokbokki with cheese ($6.50) - simmered rice cake noodles cooked in a spicy gochujang (chili paste) sauce, topped with cheese. This was a daily special. If you haven’t had them before, rice cakes have a chewy texture. I enjoyed.

Korean BBQ Box - Spicy ($10.30) - Rice, BBQ pork, bean sprouts, carrot, onion, pepper, cabbage, yellow pickled radish, and kimchi. On a scale of 1 to 5, I chose a spice level of 3. It was a generous portion well seasoned BBQ pork over rice. It’s enough for two servings or more. This was my favorite dish.

Hotteok ($3.75) - Sweet pancake stuffed with dark brown sugar, cinnamon, ground walnuts and sunflower seeds. I enjoyed it.

Dalgona Candy - Korean Honeycomb Toffee. This is candy made from melted sugar, frothed up with a pinch of baking soda. It is pressed flat before pressing a shape into the middle, such as a circle, triangle, or umbrella. The goal is to pick out the stamp shape using a needle without breaking it. Some shapes are easier than others. I believe there were two additional shapes at Koco Bell, a heart and a square. Koco Bell gave me the option of picking the shape I wanted or choosing a mystery box. I chose a mystery box and got a circle, which Is supposed to be one of the easier shapes. The most difficult shape is the umbrella. I haven’t watched Squid Game but don’t want to give any spoilers. Suffice it to say, I would not have moved on to the next round.

Whether you’re already familiar with Korean food or just looking for a new dining experience, I recommend Koco Bell.

Address: 13601 W McMillan Rd. - Suite 104

Hours: Monday - Thursday 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM Friday - Saturday 11:30 AM to 8:00...

Don’t give up! Koco Bell did not close up shop and leave us without delicious Korean food. Owners, Steve & Mariela Kang, sold their place on the corner of Five Mile and Ustick and bought a brick and mortar shop in the Albertson’s shopping center on the corner of McMillan and Eagle (13601 W McMillan Rd, Boise)

My Korean meet-up group bought Koco Bell’s Kimbap (Korean version of sushi) to share. It was my first time trying Kimbap and Koco Bell’s food. The Bulgogi Kimbap was my favorite and most flavorful. When I moved here a year ago, one of my first thangs to do was find ono Korean food. Coming from SoCal, I was spoiled, so really wasn’t expecting to find much out here. Well, I found Han’s Chimaek chicken first – blown away, it’s da kine. Now, I am a fan of Steve & Mariela’s, too.

First try, got the Korean BBQ Box. It is moist, flavor-ladened pork on top of rice, bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, onion and peppers. Comes with a side of kim chee and yellow pickled radish. Everything was perfect – complimented each other with flavor and texture, and generous portion sizes and priced fairly. I also got the Classic Hotteok for dessert. I wouldn’t have known to try this dish, but just recently found a youtube video how to make it at home. This version has 3 different type of nuts in a sweet, brown, syrupy sauce – wrapped in a bun made of rice flour and bread flour. The ‘american’ version has powdered sugar on the outside, but seriously you don’t need it. The sweetness is perfect as is.

While waiting for my food, Mariela told me to help myself to free sweet tea. There are a few small tables against one wall, not large enough to accommodate a large party. One of their customers did the artwork on the walls and one did a framed illustration of their old stand. Check out the photos of Steve making the hotteok with the Korean cooking tool. Man, I couldn’t wait to eat it! The hotteok, not the tool. Sorry, English wasn’t my best subject in school – can you tell?

So happy this place is close to home. I’ll know when I reach ‘regular customer’ status when I walk in and they yell, ‘Norm!’ and start prepping my food without me telling them...

It’s necessary, especially in Idaho, to have American-styled Asian food. But if you ask any authentic Asian restaurant, especially Korean for original recipe, most Will accommodate. We can’t make money off your palettes.

My mother is traditional Korean cook. When we owned our own restaurant in mountain home we had to alter flavors for the small town tastebuds. But were able To keep the original recipes for those that has been to Korea or that know Korean food. She went there with her friend the other day and was very pleased. She was given Korea hospitality, fresh food, and original and traditional made food. It’s next to impossible to find good tteokkboki. (Spicy rice cake.) And kimbap. And bulgogi.

As a start up, you have to cater to your audience. Idaho isn’t ready for full authenticity but if you are familiar with Korean food then you know how to order. As the restaurant grows, I’m sure they can accommodate to teach y’all how to order more easily.

Great job Koco! My mothers Nick name is...