MUKJA

If you want some great authentic spicy Korean food I would definitely recommend coming to this place!! Food was fantastic. I went here to get dinner with my friend around 6PM, we got the tteokbokki, soy garlic chicken bites, and the kimchi bap. We also got the Korean pear juice, which I never tried before, they were reallyyy refreshing. The owners were very friendly, I asked for cheese on top of the tteokbokki because that’s my preference, and they added it and melted it I think with a torch. The cheese took it to the next level, and also helped me out with the spiciness of the dish. The soy garlic chicken bites were generously coated with sauce and I loveee to have lots of sauce on my food. It came with pickled radish on the side that I liked better than other places, I think they let it marinate/pickle for longer… Oh and the kimchi bap, I think this was my favorite dish. Kimchi was very crunchy and flavorful. The flavor of it was in every spoonful of rice, for me there was a perfect kick of spice, and the egg was cooked to be like in between over easy and over medium, exactly how I like it. I had to write a review of this place because it is a spot that I will likely go to again!!!

I usually just get the kimchi fried rice, but this time I added the fried tofu — and it was amazing! The tofu was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and it went so well with the kimchi flavor. I’ll definitely get it again next time.

Mukja is a great place for authentic Korean food with some fusion menu items. The bibimbap had a great combination of veggies and meat, while maintaining its authentic taste. Bibimbap often tasted too sweet for me in other places (which it shouldn’t), but the bibimbap here wasn’t too sweet! The rosé tteokboki also tasted exactly the same as the ones I tried in Korea, which exceeded my expectations. One thing I would love though in the kimchi fries would be for more crispiness and maybe a spicier sauce? Other than that, this place is amazing ^^

So glad I came across Mukja amongst all the other options in Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod. It was fresh, flavorful and a hint of spice. The bulgogi was nicely cooked and so flavorful! All the ingredients came so nicely together. The veggies were fresh and had a nice crunch. The bowl originally comes with carrots, but since I have a dislike for the vegetable, I asked if they were able to switch it out for another, and they said they can definitely accommodate that. The staff who took my order was really nice. Didn't you wait for long for my food either. If I was ever in Portland again, I would definitely get food from this food truck again!

I would like to call your attention to the loving manner in which the aluminum takeout container was crimped. It's shaped like a flower. That's class. That aside, the bibimbap was top notch. Will definitely be coming back for more delicious Korean food.

Mukja is sooooooo good. Authentic Korean dishes are here. Tteokbokki is my soul food and this is by far the best one in town. I got rose tteokbokki. It was very creamy and has a spicy kick to it. The ricecakes are made out of flours so it’s very chewy and love them so much! Spicy gochujang chicken bites were also so good. It would be a match for draft beer, and am very sad I didn’t get a beer there! Definitely check out if you want to try some nostalgic Korean food! ❤️

The bibimbap was great, the sauce a tad bit more sweet than I prefer but still good! The gochujang chicken bites were great as well. Definitely recommend 😊

The Spicy Pork Bibimbap was great! Large portions with a lot of variety on the plate. All of it tasted great!

Food cart in the asylum food cart. Excellent Bibimbop. Mine included japchae noodles like my mom does. The sauce is added so if you don't like spicy then tell them before. It was perfect for me once mixed. Also got dukbokki and it was children approved. Lots of fish cake. Not stingy with the good stuff. We loved it.

Located within the Hawthorne asylum I decided to give this place a try. I was really excited to try the beef bulgogi. Sadly I think it was missing kimchi and maybe pickled onions, and had some random ingredients that I wish were not there, specifically lettuce and peppers.

Really turned off by the lack of friendliness. Not busy, a guy standing in the window waiting for somebody to order. Expected to tip at the beginning so you feel obligated to support these trucks not knowing what kind of service you will get. Took 30 minutes for my one order of bibimbap. No notice or apologies for the delay. Finally the buzzer went off, received the food with a glare and silence from the server. I said thank you with no response. This to-go bibimbap is same price as if you went into a sit down restaurant but without any banchan or hot tea. Inside the Hawthorne Asylum food truck plaza.

Korean food from a food cart. Bim Bim Bap is $15, other dishes are around $12. No ban chan (side dishes) and prices aren't the cheapest but, the food tastes good. The Soy fried chicken is a pretty good sized portion for the price. It's about 15 smaller nuggets. It's not as crunch as I expected but the flavor makes up for it. I don't usually like spicy dishes so I was interested in trying their non-spicy version of rice cakes (Tteok-bokki). I got the one with beef and mushrooms, it ran for $2 more because of the beef/shroom add-on. It was rather on the sweet side, beef tasted pretty much like bulgogi. Rice cakes were well cooked. Overall, pretty solid food.

Leaving a 3 star review feels a little too low but 4 feels too high so I'm kinda stuck here. I enjoyed the meal and ate until I was full which is a good sign. The food itself is very average though. Simple ingredients combined in a bowl with a spicy sauce on top. The food itself doesn't really have any flavor that you can taste over the spicy sauce. I would like to see the food seasoned more and less of the sauce on top so it's more balanced. The sauce itself is also not really flavorful- just spicy. Nothing bad to say. Love the location inside of the Hawthorne Asylum. Fun place to hangout and get some drinks. Food came out quickly but it was also pretty slow when we came. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again but if my partner ordered it again I'd gladly eat off of her plate.

one of my fav places to go in portland! always so delicious and fast. i love the hawthorne food carts

Absolutely so good, stop it right now ! The cheese pull could of gone further but I wanted to eat and didn't want to cause a scene haha

Super tasty! I have been dying to try tteokbokki but I don't tolerate spice well, when I saw that this place had soy tteokbokki with veggies and beef that wasn't spicy at all and it was delicious! I will definitely be back!

Excellent Bibimbap. The spicy pork was nicely seasoned and the veggies were fresh. The gochujang sauce was a little sweet for my taste but this is an easy recommendation.