Second Son Kimbap

I like this place but I wish they would use salty eggs [whole, scrambled, and cut into strips] rather than just the egg white. I really thought they put feta cheese in the Kimbap but it was just scrambled egg whites. Overall, good deal and pretty tasty. Although it has nothing to with flavor, I wish they could continually use the yellow pickled radish, as it reminds me of the way my mom used to make it. ;)

First let me just say — I’m in a relationship with a 1^st generation Korean-​American who also happens to have a mom with absurdly remarkable culinary skills in the Korean cuisine. I also have been to many excellent Korean restaurants in Buena Park, CA where we resided nearby prior to moving to the PNW. Their kimbap is decent and I would stop by if already in the area.

Second Son Kimbap makes a good kimbap that’s flavorful, light, and a great deal. Particularly if you’re bored with the usual cheaper foodcart options, this might be just the thing.
I’d never had kimbap before coming here. It’s rolled with seaweed and rice like sushi, but the fillings are cooked meat and vegetables, rather than raw seafood. I’ve ordered the bibim kimbap a couple times now, and it comes with rice, cucumber, zucchini, shredded carrots, spinach, scrambled egg, a bit of red pepper sauce, and meat. As for the meats, I’ve had the standard ground beef, as well as the salted pork belly. Both are good, though the meatiness of the pork belly gives it the edge between the two. The flavors inside the roll are pretty balanced between the meat, rice, and veggies, and the seaweed wrapper gives it a nice, salty savoriness. They have two sauces on the side to put on it. One’s sweet and has a bit of spice, while the other is a little hotter. Both are good, though use them in moderation so as not to overwhelm the flavor of the kimbap, itself.
Each kimbap comes with a free side, which is awesome. I like the spicy red kimchi, which has intense hot-​and-​sour flavors and a nice bit of garlic to it, as well. It’s a great side in concert with the savoriness of the kimbap. Just don’t eat it before a bit date or interview, though, because it’ll definitely linger on your breath.
Second Son is an incredible value. For just $ 4, you get a small meal that’s fresh, healthy, and balanced. It’s made to order, too – if you think of a combination that’s not listed, just ask, and the owner/​cook will put it together for you, making that deal all the better. Even the priciest rolls are only $ 6, so you can’t go wrong.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend Second Son. Particularly if you’re looking to try something different than the usual foodcart offerings, their kimbap is a fine meal. If you’re trying to save your pennies but don’t want to compromise on healthiness, flavor, and quality, it’s all the finer.

It was a long wait and the reviews had me excited. I ordered the messy vegan. It was good but not anything i got super excited about, the kimchi is fu**ing bomb though, so if you love kimchi you should check it out. I just felt the roll was low flavor and i had to add a lot on it in sauce and stuff.

Really great rolls, great service, and good prices. Very fresh food in a great location!

Good flavor and price. Got the bibim roll and red napa kimchee, yumm!

Nice place to pick up some kimbap. Usually the only place I see kimbap is at the Korean supermarket which only offers one flavor so it was a nice change to be able to customize the rolls. Unlike Japanese sushi, the Korean version doesn’t have any raw meat so you can keep it out of the fridge for a few hours and I usually like to bring it for lunch the next day. I tried both the original (pickled radish, carrot, spinach, egg white, meat) and bibim rolls (cucumber, zucchini, carrot, spinach, egg, and red pepper sauce) just $ 4 each, and I couldn’t really pick a favorite. Perhaps the original if I was really forced to but both were pretty good. You start by picking the type of roll, then meat, and then side dish. I only tried the beef but they had spam, pork, and tofu options too. Sides are from the local Choi’s Kimchi Company and they give you a large serving of it so I was quite happy. If you like your food extra spicy, they do have some sauces in the front and I got the extra spicy one to douse my rolls in.

The pricing is ridiculous for the amount of food you receive. Just the right proportion of Kimbap goodness for a damn food price! Nice service, delicious food to match. Only con was that I received the wrong protein (ordered tofu, received spam?), but thankfully I wasn’t picky to get back up because as soon as I smelled that sesame oil, I devoured it.

This humble little cart is like a biblical David slaying the goliath of your hungry flattulent gut with it’s tasty treats. Kimbap like you’d find in K-​town, cheap and fast to boot. The real star for me was the white Kimchi, but everything they offer is stellar. Not sure if their name is a Game of Thrones reference, but I like to think it is.

This place was so good and has affordable prices. The rolls are made when you order so it can take awhile. I went here the other day and there was only one guy working… felt a little bad for him.
I really wish I had gotten more than one order because it was so good that I was sad when I had finished.

What I like about this place is that it’s very simple, delicious and cheap. The «Korean sushi» as some call it, this place serves up pretty standard kimbap with different combinations of spam, egg and beef. If you like kimbap then you like kimbap, and that’s that. Nothing majorly creative about this place but there’s no reason to be. Relatively healthy choice of food here and not heavy. If you’re searching for a quick, simple and cheap meal this place is worth a go.

This place is sooooo good!
When I ordered, I was told that there would be a 20 minute wait. 20 minutes for 2 orders? Okay… I didn’t really care, I wasn’t in a hurry. But once those 20 minutes were over, I did not regret the wait.
I ordered the original and the bibim, with one side of danmooji and one side of kimchi. There was a total of 20 rolls for $ 8. The beef inside was really flavorful. Even my little brother, who normally shrugs and has no comment on almost everything he eats, has commented on how good the beef was. Both the original and bibim are good, but I prefer the original (once I eat something spicy, I just feel the spicyness and not think about the rest of the taste ;-;). OH! I really liked the danmooji. The crunchy-​ness and the sweetness made it really fun to eat.
This is a great place to eat at, best for lunches. I would definitely come here again!

Delicious, absolutely so good. I had never tried Kimbap, and DH and I are vegetarian. There are ample vegetarian/​vegan options here, plus they seem very willing to accommodate you with custom rolls. DH doesn’t like egg, so he got The Messy Vegan. I got the original with tofu as the protein and sweet pickled radish as my side. The egg wasn’t so powerful that DH couldn’t try mine, but we both preferred The Messy Vegan. Very yummy sauce in it. It reminds me a lot of veggie sushi, but warm. The roasted seaweed is delicious.
The price is fair. I would not call it a lot of food, though, so if you come starving you would be best served to order two. Otherwise you may leave hungry. Additionally, the cart is very cute and clean. I see regular patronage here in our future!

One of the best food carts in Portland, hands down. Much of this is because the of the price and amount of food you get.
I personally like the Spicy Kimchi Kimbap with the addition of the salted pork and a side of more spicy kimchi. Total price is $ 5 for a full roll (eight pieces,) and a decent amount of kimchi. Despite that it’s extremely filling.
I also highly enjoy all the Speciality Rolls too, with the Bo-​Brine being the best of the lot. I always do either the spam or the pork belly to add a bit of extra saltiness to the rolls.
The hardest part about coming to Second Son is not getting two or three orders. I always think that one isn’t going to be enough, until I actually get through it.

I love kimbap, I even make my own sometimes. Most of the time I get it from the Asian grocery store. I ordered the original and it was one of the best kimbap I had in a while. It’s very comparable to the ones you get at the food carts in the streets of Seoul. Here they make it to order. Tastes fresh, flavorful and delicious with a side of hot sauce or fresh spicy kimchi!
Cheap light meal, beautiful presentation, friendly service. One of my favs!

I had the spicy tofu Kimbap.
It’s like sushi, but not with fish. Pretty inexpensive for the amount of food you get.
Service was friendly and quick.

My boyfriend loves this place because he loves salty things. The Kim baps are Korean sushi rolls usually made with veggies like kimchi and daikon. At this stand they’ve added meat to the mix. They have bulbugi– sautéed beef and pork belly. The pork belly is a bit salty for me and I enjoy the bulbugi more, but the bf likes his salty. I like a roll called the Korean zombie which has pieces of crispy ramen rolled into the mix. It’s really good! Texture and flavor is all there! I like this place because it gives me the illusion that I’m eating something healthy AND yummy! If you don’t like the Kim bap, there’s. Ways other carts around that you can have instead while your significant other stuffs their face with Kim baps.
Bonus: all the rolls come with a side of daikon or kim chi!

One of the best food carts in Portland!
Excellent QUICK Service, FRESH Ingredients, Gourmet Taste, Cheap Prices & LARGE Portions!
you can’t go wrong!

Kimbap basically translates to sushi roll («kim» is dried seaweed and «bap» is steamed white rice). Each roll here is made to order and can be customized upon request.
And help me, there’s spam here. The infamous canned luncheon meat item from Minnesota that has become part of Hawaii lore.
All rolls are $ 4. For $ 8, you can get a two-​roll combo with a free drink.
I tried the Spicy Kimchi Kimbap on this visit. You’ll have your choice of marinated ground beef or grilled spam, plus Choi’s red napa kimchi wrapped in nori with sticky white rice. Playing the indecisive card, I got half beef and half spam.
All rolls come with a complementary side of kimchi or danmooji (Korean pickled radish).
Nam mentioned the kimchi wasn’t too spicy, so he offered to add some more red sauce (probably using gochujang) on each roll. It’s like he already knew me and my broken taste buds. How caring of him…
Awesome flavors in the beef, as expected. The spam was there, but the gochujang all but drowned out any spam saltiness I expected. It’s not a bad thing because Korean flavors are awesome.
To seek more traditional flavors, I’ll probably try the Bibim Kimbap next time, which has spicy red rice, marinated ground beef, egg whites, cucumbers, carrots, spinach, and Romaine lettuce.
In reality, you can’t go wrong here. This cart is currently open six days a week from noon to 9 p.m., closed on Tuesdays. Check out Stumptown Kimbap and give Korean-​fusion sushi a try!

I love Japanese sushi, and I love Korean bibimbap, so it’s only natural to combine the two and get the best of both! Welcome to the world of kimbap rolls (kim=seaweed, bap=rice).
This brand new cart in the A La Carts pod is a one-​man labor of love with Nam (the owner) focused on doing only one thing: making the best, fresh, healthy kim bap for your lunch, dinner, and snack needs. At at only $ 4 a roll, it’s pretty darn affordable, too.
Since they just had their grand opening, I was only taste a couple of their rolls (the spam kimbap, original kimbap, and kimchi kimbap). All were well balanced in flavor, as filling as a standard sushi roll, and hand made on the spot with fresh ingredients (the kimchi is from the local Choi family who make some of the best kimchi I’ve ever tasted — he also sells the Choi kimchi by the bottle).
Although I would like to eventually see a little more variety (maybe a daily special of a hearty meat/​noodle dish), right now I can understand them focusing on getting the kimbap part running smoothly before expanding the menu.
The only thing I didn’t get to try was the bibim kimbap roll, but I’m sure to be back later to give it a try!