Kin Kin’s Little Truck Eats & Snacks

Having driven right by this restaurant… er, truck… many times on my way to work, it’s a wonder I never stopped by it. Who doesn’t enjoy the experience of a food truck? I was finally prompted to because my girlfriend wanted to give it a shot after picking up a few things in Chinatown Food Market, which Kin Kin sits in front of.
Anyway, since we wanted to go in the middle of winter, I thought it would be a good idea to call and make sure they were operating (since a lot of food trucks don’t, right?). Their website also says to call and verify hours of operation. So I tried calling, and a girl inside Chinatown Market answers. I asked if the food truck was open, and she’s like, «Food truck?» I said, «Uh…yes? Kin Kin Little Truck?» She said she thought I must have the wrong number.
So I then uh, looked for another number to call since apparently the one on the website was a dead end. I tried the one on Unilocal and it asked me to leave a message. Anyway, we just ended up going and they were open.
My girlfriend was less impressed with her banh mi than I was with the safe bet: shrimp fried rice. They’re apparently unreachable here, and they just didn’t give me a drink I asked for (I wasn’t charged for it either), and my girlfriend (who is well versed in Asian and Asian-​American cuisine) didn’t like hers. I did, however, find the fried rice to be abundant and I like the thick oiliness of it. My girlfriend (who is from a Chinese family, if you’re wondering about her qualifications) has taught me that you’ll find this oily texture as a means to cater to the American palette, and traditional Asian preparation is not like this at all. I guess, to some extent, I have developed a typical American palette, because I thought the rice was yummy.
Anyhow, it was fine. You get pretty generous portions for what you spend. Among all fast-​foody Asian-​American places I’ve tried though, I like Hunan Garden on 1 Highway the most.
Food: ³⁄₅
Reachability: ⁰⁄₅
Portions: 4.5÷5

Cute little food truck right outside the Asian grocery store. I had pad Thai and the portions were quite generous, good flavors, decent price and a drink to go with for $ 8. Good value.

Although there aren’t many reviews on here for this food truck — the few that are on here had good things to say. So, I decided today would be the day to try it out. We called earlier in the day to see if they would be open, since that’s what their website said to do. After calling and not getting anyone to answer the phone, we risked it. I met up with my boyfriend during his lunch hour at the bright orange truck. I saw that the employee inside the truck was Asian, so I took that as good sign. Turns out that it didn’t really matter.
I got the BBQ pork banh mi. I was not impressed whatsoever. In fact, it kind of disgusted me. It was dripping with mayo that I saw the employee scrape out of a giant jug. Honestly, I couldn’t really taste anything else but the mayo. I didn’t completely finish it because my stomach couldn’t handle it.
My boyfriend stayed on the safe side with shrimp fried rice, and he claimed it to be some of best he’s ever had. I disagreed, but he has admitted that he’s not as well-​versed in Americanized Chinese food as I am. Regardless, his food was more appetizing than mine. I had what was left of his, as the portion size was more than enough for him.
I also got a strawberry bubble tea. Or at least that’s what I ordered. I ended up with something redolent of a strawberry shake and no boba to be found. It was not blended well with chunks of ice filling every sip. I only had a third of it. It was just way too much like a shake, and not a good one either.
My boyfriend tried to pay with a credit card, but they require you to go inside the market to do so at a register. To save time, I ended up using cash I had on hand to pay for it. The fact that the truck wasn’t a separate entity from the market made me immediately wary. That means it’s unlikely there’s any consistency, if it’s just a random employee from the market working the food truck.
While the woman working seemed nice enough, she didn’t completely get the order right. I asked for an order of fries to go with my banh mi, and she either didn’t fully comprehend what I said or forgot because I never got them. Same goes for the bubble milk tea my boyfriend ordered. It was probably a good thing though since the «bubble tea» was awful. We didn’t bother with ordering them again because we simply didn’t have time to wait another 15 minutes for her to prepare them.
I really wanted to share the same opinion as the other reviewers on the quality of the food, but I hate to say that I do not share the same perspective. It’s incredibly unlikely I will ever return.
Overall: ¹⁄₅
Food: ¹⁄₅ — The shrimp fried rice would bump it up a little, but it’s in my opinion that it’s very difficult to mess up fried rice if a restaurant touts themself as an Asian restaurant.
Service: 1.5÷5
Atmosphere: ¹⁄₅ — It’s a food truck, what do you expect?

A bright orange little food truck parked outside of the Chinatown Market. Don’t ignore it. If you are visiting the market, save this stop after as a reward.
We were here at noon on a Wednesday but they had ran out of spring rolls already. Their menu was quite limited. We grabbed a banh mi, 2 egg rolls, and the woman kept telling us to order the $ 7 meal: rice, grilled meat, and a bottle of soda.
The banh mi was delicious. The meat was soft and flavorful. The bread was soft inside and crispy on the outside. The veggies were crisp. I could still taste it now. The rice plate was the same concept but instead of the baguette, it was served with rice and a fried egg. The nuoc cham sauce was sweet and garlicky.
I was disappointed with taste of the egg rolls and the lack of spring rolls. I’ve had better egg rolls. The meat tastes bland and freezer burnt. So it seems like they pre-​make the egg rolls, fry them, then serve. I didn’t enjoy it.
A small picnic table was in front of it but due to the cold, we enjoyed the food in our heated car. The friendly service, low cost, and flavors will bring us back.

Kin Kins is now located in the rivermarket outside the asian market. They make bahn mi sandwhiches and other specials. This place is a gem. affordable low key food truck thats got the most amazing bbq pork bahn mi sandwhich. used to have tonkatsu that was amazing also the bubble tea is pretty good some flavors ok but just ask the lady she will tell you which are good. Also you can get a whole duck

I always see this orange lunch truck in front of the Chinatown Market so when I chance I checked what they have for lunch now. The first thing that I saw was a banh mi bbq pork sandwich so I ordered two to go. When I got it, it was a little different than the banh mi’s that I’ve had elsewhere. The bread was soft insread of crusty. There were more veggies in it, like lettuce and tomato, and I believe they put mayo on it too. The pork was similar to the red colored chinese char siu style bbq pork, which isn’t bad at all. These ingredients together, make it taste like a BLT sandwich with a slight asian touch. Best banh mi I ever had? No, but not bad. Oh, I don’t remember seeing and Mexican-​Asian hybrid creations on the menu anymore so might want to look up their current menu before you get disappointed that they don’t have an asian burrito.

I came to Kin Kin’s on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon. Every food joint in the River Market was packed, so I walked just across the street to Kin Kin’s, which was deserted.
The family working there were very friendly and helpful, explaining the menu and offering me a sample of the Tamarind drink, which was delicious.
I ordered the teriyaki tacos. They were a little small and on the expensive side for street style tacos, but I honestly didn’t care. They were AMAZING! They were small, but packed with flavor. A great balance of sweet and spicy, with a pleasant fresh crispness from the fresh onion and carrot garnish.
I only tried the tacos, but they were so good I can’t imagine ordering anything else. I’ll most definitely be back soon!

Confession: the sight of a food truck makes me salivate like Pavlov’s dog. Of course that doesn’t always mean you’re getting a good meal, and truly, today I did not. Hell, no. I got a GREAT meal.
Showed up at 10:00 prompt which was their opening time. I’d skipped breakfast and was ready to fill the void. The thought of chicken teriyaki tacos sounded darn fine but they said they needed to do a bit of prep first. I was OK with that and the lady working the truck helped me grab the next door grocery store’s wi-​fi and I worked while they assembled my three tacos.
What flavor, and presentation! See the photo: pickled carrot and red onion, sesame seeds, cilantro, jalapeño wrapped in single flour tortillas. The chicken teriyaki was mouth watering good and delivered a strong burst of flavor that when mixed with the vegetables was simply spectacular. Came with a green sauce that complimented the tacos perfectly. Normally I’d say $ 6.00 for three tacos of that size might be pricey, but the lingering savory flavor is still with me a good hour later. Just enough burn in the jalapeño to remind you where you were. I’ll take that quality any time I can get it.
The folks working here are as nice as can be. Had a lengthy conversation with the wife of the duo. Hispanic, married to a Chinese man, hence the fusion going on. Not looking for fusion food necessarily. Call it what you want, but a meal this good is totally satisfying no matter what it’s called. I will definitely be back when I’m in the area. They always say eat before you shop for groceries so now I’ve found a nice combination that allows just that.

There were some pros and some not so pros to Kin Kin’s.
I like the offering of both Mexican and Asian food. Variety helps appease most people. I was pretty excited that they had steamed buns. I started to order one, told them never mind, and ordered a different one. There was a misunderstanding and I ended up with both. Not such a bad thing unless you are my expanding waistline. I also ordered the meal with a steak taco, small burrito, and beans.
I started with the larger steamed bun. It was actually baked which is not a good thing as the bun dries out quite a bit. The inside was delicious and it came with a very strong teriaki sauce. The sauce helped counter the dry bun, but was a little too strong.
The smaller buns come in an order of three and are bbq. The filling was not very pleasing. It reminded me of the nasty bbq you can buy in a tub at the grocery store. These buns however had a nice sweet taste and were deliciously moist.
The taco and burrito are pretty basic. The meat is tasty with a touch of seasoning. The taco comes with lettuce tomato, and cheese. The burrito is just the meat filling. They also come with a side of hot sauce that looks quite scary but is really delicious and mild on the heat. This is served as a meal with refried beans which appeared to have been refried over and over and over again. They were extremely pasty and not too exciting with flavor.
The price is good. The service very friendly.
It wasn’t a terrible experience. Some things I definitely wouldn’t try again, some things I would happily try again.

I love Mexican food! I love Asian food! Bring the two together into one truck, and I am fat and happy!
Permanently parked in front of China Town Food Mart in the River Market, this place is sure to be on my regular lunch rotation. The friendly staff, the unique menu and the opportunity to sit outside all combine to make a great work-​day lunch spot. I mean, sometimes you’ve just gotta escape the cubical, or so I’m told.
A few things: This place has been described as fusion, but I don’t quite think that’s the case. From what I’ve seen of the menu, you have the opportunity to get Mexican food or Asian food, but there’s no strong combination of the two cuisines. I mean, my burrito had carrots and radishes in it (like a spring roll!) but ultimately it was still just a burrito. A delicious, delicious burrito. Maybe after they’re more established they’ll start mixing things up, but for now just plan on getting dang tasty food from those two cuisines.
Oh, cash only for now. I bet that changes soon, but that’s the current situation.