Jacques I.
Yelp
I only would've known about this place from Yelp, fortunately. O'BOP is located in a Shell station at the intersection of 148th and Main in Bellevue. I was surprised to learn that it was in a gas station because, really, who would've known there was a Korean joint inside?
Just like at a convenience store of a gas station, you order your O'BOP bowl at the counter. There is plenty of signage, indicating what O'BOP is, menu items, prices, etc... You can even ask for a free sample, which we did, and were surprised to find that the free sample is actually a small bowl with the rice, salad and noodles, in addition to the protein you're requesting of getting a sample of. I thought they would just give me a sample of the meat, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that they provide a mini version of the bowl. It's a great incentive to get people to try one of the bowls, and after doing so, we knew we one for ourselves.
I got mine with the Pork, or the Po Bop. It comes with white rice, salad and sweet potato noodles, in addition to the three sauces they use. You also customize your spice preference, and it's from 1 to 10, 10 being the spiciest. I tried 8 and must say that it could've been spicier. If you're a spice fan then knock it up a notch or two! But the bowl itself was solid. The pork was juicy, tender and flavorful and loved the spicy sauce on it, even if it wasn't as spicy as I would've preferred. Of the sides - I really liked the sweet potato noodles, so would ask that they give me that instead of the rice. With that said, there was way too much rice in the bowl, which I didn't finish. And in comparison, there was not nearly enough salad in the bowl. But overall, this is a hidden gem in the Lake Hills neighborhood IN A GAS STATION! Who woulda known? Plus, if you fuel up of $10 or more for gas, all of the bowls are a dollar off. But it's cool if you don't need gas anyway because the bowls are all less than 10 bucks! I think the most expensive is the Beef Bulgogi for only $7.99! For casual, quick Korean BBQ on the go, O'BOP is worth trying.