Hidden gem: Sistah Truck

December 15, 2016

Grant Shindo,

Kimchee fried rice burritos, bibimbap bowls and wagyu mushroom cheeseburgers? Taxpayers of Hawaii, take heart: All this is parked just outside the state Department of Taxation on Punchbowl Street, courtesy of Eunju Jo and Mila Bang.

Friends since middle school in South Korea, the two dreamed of one day running a food truck together. Eventually Jo moved to Hawaii and attended Gros Bonnet Culinary Academy, while Bang moved to California. Six months ago they reunited in Honolulu and voila! They got a big yellow food truck.

Jo and Bang started serving up their Korean food and Korean-inspired local dishes in Kalihi in September. With feedback from customers, they tweaked their menu and built a following.

Find the Sistah Truck in front of the Department of Taxation weekdays during lunch.

One day when they were paying their taxes, a security guard suggested they hit up downtown with its thousands of office workers and heavy foot traffic. That sounded good: Despite their following, Kalihi had little foot traffic and the rent was relatively high. Jo and Bang took the security guard’s advice and moved.

They’ve been serving up weekday lunches in front of 830 Punchbowl since then.

The wagyu mushroom cheeseburger ($11) is a thick, juicy patty generously topped with caramelized onions, mushrooms, cheese, pickles and a creamy thousand island-esque dressing.

We heard about the Sistah Truck from local foodie Malia, aka @koreankitkat, who swears by their wagyu burger and chicken katsu. It wasn’t long before Maka Kahawai and I showed up to try the wagyu burger, bibimbap bowl and spicy pork plate.

The burger is their best seller. The soft, pillowy bun is piled high with toppings and drips with sauce. You definitely need two hands and a stack of napkins. We both loved this and would gladly order it again.

The spicy pork plate ($8) is full of flavor and not all that spicy. The ladies love their eggs and even snuck one in this plate lunch.

The spicy pork plate ($8) is full of flavor and not all that spicy. The ladies love their eggs and even snuck one in here.

The spicy pork plate with kimchee fried rice (+$2) is full of flavor. Sweet and spicy flavors accent every bite. And for $8, it’s a steal.

The Sistah Truck's Eunju Jo and Mila Bang. These two ladies are very friendly and they cook up some great food.

The Sistah Truck’s Eunju Jo and Mila Bang: friendly ladies who cook up some great food.

Looks can be deceiving with the bibimbap. But once you dig in, the crunch of the vegetables and the marinated beef steal the show.

The bibimbap bowl ($8) didn’t look like much but the combination of flavors and textures made for a great lunch. The egg helps bring it all together.

Be on the lookout for their daily specials and combos. Some of the really interesting dishes on rotation: pork kalbi and kimchee fried rice burritos with house-made adobo salsa.