Lunch Ladies go cuckoo for KoKo Korean
The Lunch Ladies found much to love with the menu at Koko Lunchbox Korean Restaurant in Provo.
Gabby ordered the Sweet Beef (Bulgogi) Box and Kimchi at Koko Lunchbox Korean Restaurant.
Jennette enjoyed the Spicy Pork Box with Kimchi and, of course, a Diet Coke at Koko Lunchbox.
The Bibimbop Box was Janell's lunch choice during a visit to Koko Lunchbox.
Ever since our beloved Spicy Corea closed we are always on the lookout for good Korean restaurants to add to our list of spots to frequent where we can get some of our favorite Korean dishes.
The number of places we can get some tasty bulgogi and delicious jap chae is thankfully growing.
This last week we were actually headed to a Thai restaurant for lunch, only to find that it too had closed down! Sad day! But luckily Jennette had a backup plan. She had recently heard about KoKo Lunchbox, a Korean restaurant behind Fat Cats in Provo, and thought we should give it a try.
Completely unfamiliar with it, but as previously stated, always on the hunt for more Korean cuisine, we were more than eager to give it a go! We made the quick drive over to the building we recognized from a past restaurant review of another now closed establishment, and headed in.
We liked that it was a casual, order at the counter, type of restaurant, and also noted the rather inexpensive prices for Korean food! The $7-$8 range wasn’t bad at all, and adding on kimchi was only an extra buck; we could get behind that.
We took our sweet time deciding what to order. There weren’t a ton of options, but for us, Korean food is something special, not to be taken lightly. So we apparently weighed our options the same way some people do when deciding what to name a child or what to study in school.
The guy behind the counter was super polite in waiting for us to make our long-deliberated decisions and eventually we placed our orders.
Here is what we went with:
Jennette: Spicy Pork Box $6.99, Diet Coke $2.00, Kimchi $1.00
I love spicy food! So when my fellow lunch ladies and I were scanning the menu board and discussing what to order and I saw Spicy Pork, I knew I had to try some. Each menu item either comes in a box or a bowl — the difference is the box comes with salad. I ordered the box because I wanted to try the salad, and that was a good choice because the dressing was very light and tangy and delicious. The Spicy Pork is a mix of pork, cabbage and green onion in a Korean Barbeque sauce. The pork is served with noodles and rice. This was a wonderful combination. I forgot to order some kimchi with my original, but I quickly rectified the situation and added the kimchi to the end of my meal. Koko Lunch box does serve Diet Coke so I, of course, had one to top off my wonderful meal.
Janell: Bibimbop Box 7.99
So we found a new Korean place. I was so excited. It was quick and not too expensive. It is in a great central location and pretty quiet (for now). I chose to have a bibimbop box. It had fresh beef, an egg, carrots, zucchini, bean sprouts, and a salad, all laid on a bed of rice. I was provided with bibimbop sauce, which I poured over the top just to add that right level of spice. The food was fresh and packaged in the perfect eat-there-or-take-it-back-to-work box. My meal was light for the perfect afternoon meal. With summer right around the corner, grabbing a KoKo’s lunch box and heading to the park would be the best way to spend a wonderful lunch break.
Gabby: Sweet Beef (Bulgogi) Box $7.49, Kimchi $1.00
This box comes with bulgogi, rice and jap chae noodles, plus a side salad. The meat was tender, flavorful and just a tiny bit sweet. It came with sautéed carrots and onions mixed in as well as sesame seeds on top. I loved it being served on a bed of rice and alongside some fantastic jap chae noodles. The noodles were cooked fabulously. They were firm, but pliable, and had a great sauce and flavor. The salad added a crisp, fresh contrast to the savory seasonings of the main meal, and the dressing provided was just a little tangy and super delicious. I also, of course, had to add a side of kimchi to round out my Korean meal. And man I am glad I did! It was some really strong kimchi, and some of the best I have ever had! I loved every bite of my meal and can’t wait to go back and try some of the other menu items!
We enjoyed our food that was brought out fresh and delivered with a friendly smile. We liked that we could have grabbed our convenient lunchboxes and headed out to any number of locations. We also liked that the food was affordable and authentic. Basically, we feel like Provo needs more joints like KoKo’s, so feel free to show them some love so they are one of the great ma and pa locations that actually gets to stick around!
– KoKo Lunchbox: 1175 N. Canyon Road, Provo. Open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4-8:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Closed Sundays.