Korean Twist – Boolkogi Taco

3.5
If you want more gourmet styled tacos with emphasis on Korean flavors and vegetables, go here. If you’re looking for down & dirty homey emphasis for meat, go fly to California for Kogi …
It’s not a bad taco, in fact their soft taco shell is one of my favorites because when you bite into the shell it has that soft springiness that kind of screams as fresh. The vegetables are really a refreshing bite, but the sauce overtakes your tastebud immediately with tangy spiciness that sets up for you to savor the meat of your choice. Their spicy pork is also spicy, so you’ll get an amplified kick to go with the porkiness, or you can enjoy the sweet bulgogi beef. Either way, I found it strange that the meat felt more crumbly, as if it was grounded or finely chopped. At the end, it’s a satisfying taco that I think that could benefit from a heavier sauce to make it feel hearty — otherwise it’s a good choice to have a taco while still having plenty of veggies (relatively)

This is more like a Korean Mexican fusion place. Full of flavor and different combinations. Tried the spicy chicken burrito many times and always found them loaded with meat and taste.
The spicy pork burrito is also very good.
They also do half chicken half pork rice plate which is a good combination.

Can you ever go wrong with a burrito special for $ 5.50? Especially in downtown Portland! Spicy. Pork. Burrito. Sweet and spicy pork, lettuce mix, cilantro, fried rice with corn and that wonderful sauce that had just the right bite at the end of it. I had people commenting on how good the food looked. And yes, it was so good. The sauce and the meat laced with hints of cilantro throughout the whole meal, maybe some lemongrass as well? Whatever, it made my day.
It’s a nice «twist» on the burrito. Korean Twist also does tacos and I’m sure if the pork was this good, I can only imagine how the bulgolgi is. Yes, of course there are vegetarian options as well… but those folks are missing out. Somehow, I got there and there really wasn’t a line at all. I got lucky.
Enjoy.

Awesome specials and friendly staff! Great veggie options with tofu! Yakisoba is delicious, burritos are quick and filling for lunch pickups. Kimchi is a great side, its spicy and keeps well.

Food here is absolutely delicious. I don’t know what they marinate their meat in, but I wish I could buy a bottle of it at the store. I’ve eaten here plenty of times and I’ve never had a bad meal.
Definitely highly recommended

The gal making the food was kind, thoughtful and professional. The three tacos are a great deal. While they ARE made with the ‘mini’ soft corn taco shells, they are LOADED with fillings and are very tasty. A great addition to the mix of carts in this area and the owner is a sweetheart.

The guys who work this food place are very nice! I wanted some tacos and some egg rolls. The tacos were super yummy! The sauce is awesome! The egg rolls were cooked when i ordered them. Very fair prices and very fair people. Came here during a work trip and I would come back.

Bulgolgi Burrito was juicy delicious! It was thoroughly marinated in every bite. My friend had a slightly experience with her Tofu Burrito, because the sauce flavor dripped away from the tofu, but was able to enjoy the sauce in the rice.
Perfect for a quick lunch order on the go. For us girls, the burrito was so big that we saved the other half for the next day’s lunch and I’m the type that finishes my plate.
Kimchi was spicy and juicy and eggrolls were nice and crispy and are a nice addition to finish up with a mouthful of sweet and spicy.

Decided to try something new and get away from my usual types of food. So, I stopped in at this cart to sample the flavors.
The menu is pretty straight forward. 1) choose a meat 2) choose how it’ served (burrito, burrito bowl, etc.).
I opted for the bulgogi burrito bowl which is essentially bulgogi beef, some salad, and rice put together without the tortilla. The beef was actually pretty tasty and the rice wasn’t half bad. For me personally, there was too much sauce on the whole thing and the salad wasn’t very interesting (pretty much lettuce and done). It tasted ok and did fill me up but overall I just wasn’t that greatly impressed.
I think I will have to give it another go-​round and try something else and perhaps I can update my review. Different strokes, different folks, but this day I wasn’t totally feeling it. Given that it had some redeeming qualities and I’m open to trying something else here on a second chance date, I’m giving a 3 star rating for now.

Holy shit batman. Those chicken tacos were KABOOOM BLLLAMMMOOO DELICIOUS!
For real. The chicken taco was oozing with sauces and flavors. Amazing.
Seaweed chicken wrap… mmmmm good.
Get them spicy… if you like spicy.

I never thought I would find a vegetarian bibimbap burrito on a menu… but this place had it!
I definitely give five stars for creativity, as this is as fusion as it gets. Now, as I’ve stated in previous reviews, fusion can either go really well or end up tasting a bit off.
I didn’t dislike my burrito, it was good, but I wouldn’t say it’s my absolute favorite fusion dish.
Food trucks are awesome though, and many of the other menu items look fantastic. The side of kim chi was just the right amount of spicy… also, you get a lot of bang for your buck. Next time I’m in Portland, I will return!

As I pointed out in my review of Bulkogi Fusion, the other Korean fusion cart in this pod, these two carts are doing similar things but their food is vastly different, and they’re equally excellent. Korean Twist is fresher, more saladlike inside their burritos and tacos (in a good way). The tofu is not sautéed or sauced. Working downtown, I find myself craving one of these burritos… like I am today.

I’ve now been here 3 times and today’s experience pushed me to Unilocal…
The first time I came here I only wanted something quick so I ordered some pot stickers. I saw them pouring a bag of what looked like LingLings from Costco into a deep fryer. They were really stale tasting and chewy :(
The second time I ordered the yakisoba, which was good. I mean nothing to rave about, but it was good quality food and I’d order it again.
Today i’m falling back disappointed. I ordered the special, the burrito bowl with teriyaki chicken. What I received was a salad, with a small scoop of brown rice and a small scoop of spicy pork. Note that I ordered teriyaki chicken. This was good, for a salad with meat I didn’t order but i’m pretty disappointed. I doubt the same ratio of lettuce to rice to meat is what you’d get if you ordered the actual burrito.
Will I eat here again, probably. I love Asian food and it’s right outside of my work…

This place has some tasty bulgogi, several more traditional style Korean plates, and then the fusion tacos and burritos.
I had a bulgogi burrito. It’s essentially their bulgogi plate rolled into a flour tortilla: beef bulgogi, rice, salad, and a spicy dressing. The thing is huge and only $ 6, so if you’re hungry and mobile it’s not a bad way to go.
I also had potstickers, which were, well, what you’d expect.
I do wish the burrito had some kimchi to add some crunch or spice (you can add it for extra cost). I was missing that signature Korean zesty heat. That’s too bad because there is another Korean fusion cart in this pod called Bulkogi Fusion, which makes a burrito called the beef Bibimbap Burrito that is over-​the-​top delicious. Full of bright Korean flavors. Kimchee, pickled veggies, beef. I don’t know about other menu items, but in a head to head burrito contest, I think Bukogi Fusion is much better.

Their daily specials are unbeatable! Bought myself a burrito bowl for $ 5 for lunch and was stuffed until the evening.
Their boolkogi meat is perfectly seasoned with a touch of sweetness… my mouths watering as I type. Service is relatively quick compared to the surrounding food stands and prices are among the best, so if you’re downtown in need of a quick, cheap and delicious lunch… this is the spot: D.

Their spicy pork burrito was a special the day I went, so they sold out of spicy pork. A lot of people in line in front of me didn’t have time to wait 15 – 20 mins for a fresh batch of the spicy pork, but I’m so glad I had the time to kill (I actually ran an errand).
15 minutes and $ 6 later, I was handed a massive spicy pork burrito with kimichi and was happily on my way home.
PRO TIP: Definitely ask for kimchi inside your burrito. Worth the $ 1.
This burrito was so good and so massive that I was totally full about halfway through (!), but kept eating until I finished the whole beast because it was just too tasty to put down (!!). Self-​control issues aside, I think it’s safe to say that this is one fantastic burrito and was well worth the time and money.
According to James O., the Alder location is even better… if so, I may have to award the imaginary 6^th star.

One of the many stalls in a food pod, Korean Twist does up some pretty good burritos. I can only speak to the spicy chicken burrito. Nice service and a good burrito. Love the covered seating area off to the side. Fair prices, too.

Korean Twist Boolkogi (bulgogi?) Taco is a solid average food cart in the 5^th Street pod between Oak and Stark in downtown Portland. After several visits and sampling many of the items on the menu, I’ve typically found myself going back to the bulgogi burrito. Its got a good combination of well seasoned meat and just enough filling to set my afternoon right.
If you’re eyeballing the rice bowls, ignore the lackluster white rice and spring for the brown — its much better tasting and adds a great texture to the food. Potstickers are average with no real killer qualities. I’m a Yakisoba addict, so I like theirs, but it doesn’t curl my eyelashes. Eggrolls have always come out a little overcooked for my taste as they tend to crumble when bitten into. The biggest disappointment to me is the kimchi. Its OK as an ingredient in other things but lacks the flavor profile and spice to carry itself as a side.
At lunch the wait can sometimes be arduous. I’ve waited up to 15 minutes for food on a busy day. That being said, the chefs are pretty friendly and provide good service. All in all I keep going back for that bulgogi burrito… everything else is a little meh.

For sure, it can be a daunting task to pick a food truck suitor for lunch in this city, as it does not fail to offer many canidates. But if you find yourself on this block however one needs simply to follow the aromas of grilled meats straight to this little joint.
Appreciated the straight forward menu.
‘Pick a meat’ (If only life were this easy) bulgogi, spicy pork, spicy chicken.
Here comes the two-​step… ‘how do you want it prepared?’
–Taco
–Burrito
–Burrito Bowl
–Yakisoba
–Potsticker Bowl.
Ordered the bulgogi bowl with brown rice. Very satisfied with the choice, paid $.50 extra for the rice choice. Slathered with complementary Sirarcha I enjoyed my sudo-​burrito bowl. Besides the surcharge for brown rice (can anyone explain to me why brown rice all carries an extra charge?) the price point was perfect, 6.50. I’ll be back Mr Twist to sample your spicy pork!

Korean tacos are nothing new in these parts, there are as many as 7 other places in truck or food stand form throwing down kimchi quesadillas and bulgolgi tacos. Among them is Korean Twist, one of the only stationary Korean taco stands and located at the infamous 5^th & Oak food stand corner of SW Portland.
Their bulgolgi (or boolkogi … stupid romanization standards) tacos are relatively decent and at $ 7 for 3 tacos with a combo (salad and rice) don’t exactly break the bank either. Each taco comes with a few slabs of bulgolgi, dressed by a bit of coleslaw and cilantro. Often times there is too much slaw on the taco and that’s where Korean Twist tends to miss the boat a tad. It’s not anywhere near Koi Fusion (
) and it might not even trump it’s sister location on 10^th & Alder (
).
The $ 5 kimchi quesadilla is sure to win a few folks over. Fermented kimchi with a little bit of cheese and some zesty salsa picante slapped together in a tortilla tag team is done rather well here. As are their bulgolgi burritos, plump and full of flavor, and widely preferred over their tacos. Tired of bulgolgi? Try the spicy pork for a bulgolgi alternative. I wouldn’t recommend going with either of their yakisoba or fried rice plates — you are at a Korean taco joint after all. Just as one wouldn’t order a hamburger from a Chinese place just because it’s on the menu.
What I do like about the cart are the people. The service is so friendly that I still find myself back here whenever I’m at this corner. I’m still holding out the hope they up their KTaco game.