Ko Sisters Seoul Food — Restaurant in Portland

This place used to be good, but seems to be a complete mess lately. Here is a list of the things that have happened on recent visits: Went there to order a Tofu Burrito, and they were all out of tofu, and it was still early in the evening. A pretty important ingredient to keep in stock, given all their vegetarian options rely on tofu. I went somewhere else instead. Went there again another time to order a Tofu Burrito, and this time they were all out of tortillas, also early evening. Again, a pretty important ingredient, since one of their main items is the korean burrito. This time I ordered a Tofu Bibimbap instead, and they gave me one of those little electronic buzzers. I waited, and waited, and waited...probably 15 or 20 minutes, sitting in the food cart pod seating area, in sight of the Ko Sisters cart. Finally I went up to them to check, and they said the buzzers weren't working, and my food had been ready for a while. They had made no attempt to call my name, or find me, or anything. I took what I thought was my Tofu Bibimbap all the way home on my bike, only to find when I opened the container that they had made the Beef version anyway, and as a vegetarian this meant I had wasted my time, money, and the food. They are very often closed at random times during their listed open hours.

There's a much better Korean fusion cart at the Mississippi food cart pod up by Skidmore, go...

Dare I say, the best Korean food in Portland?

I waited to give my review after my second time visiting. I tried numerous options on their menu including, the half/half fried chicken, duk bok ki (spicy), corn dog, seafood pancake, red bean buns, etc.

You can taste the love in the food. While I can do with a bit more heat from the spicy options on the menu, each dish still had the signature warm, enveloping heat that I yearn for in Korean food. Every bite felt as if my own mother was in the kitchen. Comfort food at its best.

The chicken was tender, crunchy, and well coated in sauce. The rice wasn’t over-cooked mush. Hell, the seafood in the pancake was even extremely tender... Do you know how difficult that is to achieve with octopus? I will admit that the red bean buns were a bit dry in the center, but the flavor was still spot on. Everything I have had from Ko Sisters makes me wish the food truck was located at the end of my driveway.

The staff always greeted me with a smile. I will return. This place deserves a much better location in its pod. Much love. Can’t wait to have my next...

3.5 stars: Food was reasonably tasty and service was fast & friendly. So why only 3 stars? I'm Korean and never have I had a meal served with so little vegetables. I ordered the spicy pork dish which comes with rice, mac salad, 1 deep fried mandu, and 1 deep fried kimbap. I wish instead of the overly sweet mac salad they'd offer the option to substitute kimchi. I couldn't make much headway in the meal because it was basically carbs and protein. Kimchi or some kind of namul would've been a perfect accompaniment as it is traditionally eaten with the meal. I'm glad this food truck has so many good reviews but I think it does a disservice to Korean cuisine because Korean food is anchored by colorful and fresh vegetables and there was none to be found on my plate. I had to bring it home so I could eat it with vegetables here. It's on me since I ordered it knowing full well there were no veg offered with this meal. I just didn't realize how hard it was to get down. And I think $3 is a lot to charge for a little container of kimchi when the meal is already $13 + $0.50 for the credit...