Kim Jong Grillin’ (KJG for short) is a famous food cart in Portland, OR that serves Korean food. The brainchild of Han Ly Hwang, the cart has been in operation for 15 years, which in food cart years is like a century! Currently located at the Heist on SE Woodstock, KJG is on their 3rd location (at least). I started going to his cart maybe 10 years ago? when it was down on Division. Then he moved to W. Burnside for a few years, which was nice because it was closer to me. Now posted up at the Heist, which is hands down the best food cart pod in town. KJG serves up Korean dishes like Bibimbap, Japchae, Kimchi Fried Rice and also cheeky crossover favorites like the Munchwrap (legendary!) and a hot dog. Meat choices are galbi short ribs, bulgogi, spicy chicken and spicy pork. Let’s get into the food!

The legendary Munchwrap with bulgogi (you can also get it with spicy chicken or pork): shredded cheese, crunchy tostada, daikon and sprout banchan chopped lettuce wrapped and toasted in a flour tortilla. Besides being legendary, and cheeky, this really is a perfect lunch meal. It comes with a delicious dipping sauce. This is from 2 years ago when it wasn’t on the regular menu and it was an occasional special that people would wait in line for for an hour or more! This was my first time securing one. Now it’s on the menu and you can get it anytime! I can’t stress how incredible this wrap is. It really is perfection in a tortilla. All the flavors work perfectly together and it is intensely crave-able.

Bibim Box with Galbi short ribs. This is one my favorite dishes of all time. I really love Korean food and KJG is a big reason for my love and exploration of Korean food, plus there have been a lot of really great Korean restaurants and food carts that have sprung up in the last decade. Wok-fried japchae and rice, your choice of meat, sunny side egg*, and chopped lettuce with gochujang, kimchi, daikon, & sprouts on the side. Again, just a perfect plate of food. All the meats go perfectly in the dish, but Galbi ribs are one of my favorite meats of all time. KJG absolutely nails galbi short ribs. Can’t recommend this dish enough.

2 hot dogs from KJG. This is from January 2025 when the Portland Mercury was doing the “weiner week” where restaurants would craft a special hot dog. The special is on the right, the standard KJG Hot Dawg is on the left, and that’s the one I will talk about. Zenner’s hot dog on a banh mi baguette with sesame sprouts, spicy daikon, kimchi mayo and pickled mango. First off this is a really incredible hot dog, elevated but still everything you want on a hot dog, and very crushable. I had eaten everything on the menu before I finally tried this hot dog, and I get why people put this on their best list of hot dogs (nationally no less!). If I’m going to eat a hot dog, it needs to be elevated and high quality, starting with the meat. Zenner’s Sausage Company down the street on Woodstock makes the best sausages I’ve ever encountered.

Snow Cheese KFC Munchwrap collaboration with FRYBABY, another excellent cart at the Heist which serves up KFC (Korean fried chicken). I will post about FRYBABY in my next blog post. FRYBABY and KJG collaborate often and they are always events to attend! Some of the longest lines I’ve ever seen in Portland are when these two collab, so you know it’s something special! Normally I don’t stand in lines, but I will for this. This was from January of this year. It’s the same munchwrap I showed you early but with the famous “snow cheese” sweet and savory cheese powder blend covered fried chicken. I’m not sure if anyone besides Sunny knows what exactly the blend is, but it is delicious, crave-able and has (in part) made him a star in town.

KJG is a real standout cart in town. Some of the best food in town, cart or otherwise. Han has single-handedly inspired my love of Korean food and now I seek it out and it has turned into one of my favorite cuisines. The first time I ever had bibimbap or japchae was here. Go check it out! Along with all the other incredible carts at the Heist, it’s really a food destination down there. Happy eating!