Pro Hot Korean Completes the Korean Taco Trifecta

Pro Hot Korean Tacos

Earlier this week, we received reports that Pro Hot Korean (on 56th btw. 5+6th) was offering a Korean taco special this week and next (9/7-9/17). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ve professed my unabashed predisposition towards Korean tacos during my previous assessments of Café Duke and Bann Next Door. Not to be outdone, the demurely humble Pro Hot Korean joins in on the suddenly chic Korean taco trend with their version of galbi, bulgogi, and spicy chicken filled tacos.

At $4.99 for two, these appear to be priced at a bargain – but how does it compare to its predecessors? We take on the tacos and get a feeling for the fillings after the jump.

$4.99 actually nets two tacos, roughly the same size as Café Duke’s (which were 4 for $8.95). My inner fat ass, worried that only two tacos wouldn’t be enough for lunch, decreed that I take on two orders for a total of 4 tacos at $10 and change. I opted for one order of the galbi, and one of the bulgogi, though I later learned that you’re allowed to mix and match your tacos within a single order.

Pro Hot Korean Tacos

An early adopter helpfully pointed out that the tacos are cooked to order, so be prepared for about a 10 minute wait. This method of preparation is probably preferable to the pre-fabricated lunch kits that Pro Hot Korean usually provides.

Each order arrives with two small soufflé cups of indistinctly flavored salsa, conveying a merely benign level of heat. Rabbit food in the form of jaundiced iceberg lettuce and tasteless tomatoes only serve as distraction from the main attraction. The tacos are sufficiently apportioned with flavorful meat, though the quality of the protein can be deduced by the slight greasiness and chewiness. However, these are the only Korean tacos I’ve sampled to date that utilize the authentic taqueria style double wrapped corn tortillas– a major plus in my book.

Pro Hot Korean tacos

I was more than satiated after downing my double order – next time, I’ll probably stick to a single order and supplement with a small side order of dumplings or soup. And next time I’ll definitely try the spicy chicken tacos. To be frank, Pro Hot Korean’s tacos don’t match the pleasing piquant flavors of Bann Next Door or Café Duke’s plentiful portions. But they’re adequate, inexpensive, accessible next week (Café Duke’s availability is still subject to the weather) and likely closer to your office than Bann Next Door.

Related:
Pro “Deli” Loses the Bagel, Goes 100% Korean w/ Best New Bi Bim Bap

9 Comments

  • so to summarize

    if you patronize pro hot korean go for a half-and-half and forego the tossed salad and the meat is good even if you double wrap it

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    I had them yesterday too. So-so. Yes, the meat in them was good – but as mentioned crappy iceberg lettuce, supermarket tomatoes and a couple onions/cilantro. Better off just getting an order of galbi, etc – much better value. Novelty of eating Korean food in a flour tortilla wears off quickly when you realize you need to eat much more for lunch than what you just ordered…

  • i thought you were supposed to eat the tacos with the lettuce and tomato… so it’s not a side salad but actually the rest of the taco?

    • dean, whatever you do, don’t look up toss salad on urbandictionary.com

      for the love of god, think of the children

  • I was there last week. They had a sign saying they are extending the tacos through this week. :)

  • Good deal for 4.99, but not worth a repeat in my view. The picture above is no longer representative. The tacos are now made with flour tortillas (gringo style), only one cup of spicy salsa which adds nothing in terms of flavor (i think it’s an unsuccessful attempt by them to meld some korean flavor (gochujang?) into Mexican salsa), and there’s way more iceberg lettuce in these things than should ever, EVER go into a taco. The galbi is pretty good, but that’s about where the good ends. Some unsuspecting types might think this is the real deal “Korean Taco,” and that’s a shame cause they fall far short of the Korean Taco riff that’s offered by Bann Next Door.

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