The next stop on my journey around San Francisco food trucks was KoJa Kitchen. They claim to be a Korean/Japanese fusion truck (and I assume where the name KoJa comes from), so I was eager to give it a try because I am definitely a fan of Asian flavors. They seem to have a fairly permanent location at Spark Social SF which seems to be a “block party” location with a bunch of food trucks. Although I went for lunch, so it wasn’t really a party, and it just seemed like more of a place for people to grab some lunch in the Mission Bay neighborhood.
Their speciality is the Koja, which is kinda like a burger, but made with rice “buns”. I guess it’s similar to the ramen burger craze that was going around a few years ago where the buns were made from ramen noodles. It’s also not really burger like, as there isn’t really a patty per se, but just a meat filling. (Although the vegetarian one does say patty, so call it what you will.) I definitely had to give it a try, but I had a difficult time deciding between the original Koja with beef short rib or the braised pork Koja with a miso-coconut braised pork filling. Luckily, their umami fries side also had the pork on it, so it made my decision easy: The original Koja with the umami fries.
I started with the fries, and they were quite tasty, even if the fries themselves were slightly undercooked and could have been a bit crisper. The pork was tender, but it was slightly on the sweet side being braised in the coconut. The additional toppings did balance things out a bit, but a bit of spice in the pork really would have livened it up quite a bit. It was really moreish though, so I was eager to keep eating. The Koja was also tasty, but again, it was really on the sweet side. The sauce with the short rib was almost too sweet, and really needed something to help balance it. The beef was slightly chewy. The rice “buns” were really good, but didn’t hold together well, so by the time I got to the end, I’m glad I had a fork!
The food was really enjoyable (even if slightly on the sweet side, but I guess I’m in America so it should be expected), and I definitely would go back and have it again. It was one of the more original food trucks I’ve seen with the selection of food, and it does seem like they are really passionate about what they do. I definitely have quite a few more to try before coming back, but if someone I knew wanted to hunt down the truck and try it out, I’d be on board!
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: Try one of the Kojas as they really are something unique!
These look awesome; interesting ingredients with great presentation! Bummer that they were on the sweet side… Will you please re-review if you visit them again and find something less sweet?
(I’ve been loving your food truck reviews, by the way.)
Thanks Jamie! You’re amazing!
And if I do, I’m sure I can edit it and add it in! It was really cool, I was thinking those rice “buns” would be a great way to serve things at home!