Kong

A nice sneak peak for those of us too intimidated to fight the crowds to hit up the actual restaurant just yet, this pop-​up provides a tantalising taste to give you some idea of what the fuss is about. The roti wrap was tasty (but messy — sorry pants) and the set-​up of the Rue & Co project carries a very cool vibe. Now onto the main thing sometime soon!

Stopped by here at a time of night when not many good places are open and was happy to see the selection and the availability of good seating. The buns looked very good and that seemed to be what most people were having sop I suspect I will try those next time, but I opted for the wings. I know I am outing myself as a crude American, but I love good wings and I hadn’t been able to find any since landing on antipodean shores so I was happy to see them at Kong. Korean wings are especially good as they tend to be both tender and crispy.
They have two kinds: a garlic sweet kind and what they call «crazy horse.» Now crazy horse sounds quite wild so I naturally inquired what is it exactly about these wings that justifies such an extreme appellation. The very helpful young woman taking my order explained that the sauce was created to appeal to every part of my taste buds, presumably, by stomping around my tasters as a wild equine. The idea of a maverick wing in my mouth sounded both weird and exciting so I decided on the crazy horse flavor. The wings were excellent and the sauce was quite nice, if not at all crazy or the least bit horsey.
Verdict: the wings are good, the service was quick and the location was convenient. I suspect I will go again if I am in the neighborhood. You should too.

I tried Kong as a part of its Rue & Co setup. As I scanned down the menu the shredded pork rotti caught my eye. It took a little while for the order to come through given there was no none else really in front of me. But when it did I wasn’t disappointed this thing was packed full of the good stuff and topped with a smattering of kimchi. It was fresh and for the amount that you actually got very good value — will be back here and might even try something else on the menu… meh who am I kidding!

Part of the Rue & Co pop up, Kong offers wraps, bao, wings or a mixed ssam box for those of us who like to play with our food. I went with the bo ssam box because I like being able to mix flavours and textures together. I ordered the pork (there’s tofu too) and it worked well sandwiched inside a lettuce cup with a generous pile of kimchi on top. The pork was the highlight. Great value and very filling, though eating it crouched over a low table reminded me that this is very much «fast food» and not a café experience.
For a quick (ish) meal during the day that can be eaten al-​fresco, or taken back to your office, Kong offers some variety to this end of the CBD,

Sometimes I wonder if Korean is really my thing. I want to like it more, and I’ll probably keep trying it until I find something that sings to me, but for now I haven’t found it. So I guess I’m prefacing this review as not written by a lover of Korean food.
That aside, I was eager to try Kong BBQ’s pop up ahead of the main restaurant opening. The tiny trailer kitchen space isn’t doing anything justice here. The staff were clearly struggling when we went up to order, so I can imagine the teething problems are amplified with a new business being trialled in a trailer.
Everything on the menu sounded good. I ordered the chicken roti wrap with chilli paste and pickled vegetables. The roti was ok at the start, but got soggy most of the way through from the chilli paste and I found myself dripping with fluorescent chilli sauce that was neither hot nor flavoursome. I don’t mind a bit of mess if it’s worth the trouble. The pickled vegetables were cold and the chicken wasn’t really warm enough to off set. It wasn’t horrible, but not something I’d eat again.
There are other options aside from the wrap, including a lunch type set with everything separated — for take away and freshness, I’d go for that if I was to try it again. But for now, I think I’ll hold off for the full dining experience.