• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

NC Triangle Dining Food Blog

The Best Restaurants and Bars in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill

  • Home
    • Blog
  • Best Restaurants and Bars
    • The Best Restaurants in Raleigh, NC
    • The Best Restaurants in Durham, NC
    • The Best Restaurants in Cary – Apex, NC
    • The Best Restaurants in Chapel Hill – Carrboro, NC
    • Best Food Specials and Deals in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill
    • The Best Bars and Lounges in Raleigh, NC
  • News
    • Coming Soon to the Triangle – New Restaurants and Bars
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Cary and Morrisville
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Chapel Hill and Carrboro
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Durham
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Raleigh
    • New Restaurants and Bars of the Triangle, 2022 Edition
    • New Restaurants and Bars of the Triangle, 2021
  • Index of Reviews
    • Cary – Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • Chapel Hill and Carrboro – Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • Durham Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • Raleigh Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • NC Video Reviews
    • Travel Reviews
  • Food Photos
    • Food Event Photos
  • About
    • NCTD Blogger- Ron Wen
    • NC Triangle Dining Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
    • NC Triangle Dining Blog Policy
    • Working with NC Triangle Dining
    • NC Triangle Dining Blog and Social Media Statistics
  • Home
    • Blog
  • Best Restaurants and Bars
    • The Best Restaurants in Raleigh, NC
    • The Best Restaurants in Durham, NC
    • The Best Restaurants in Cary – Apex, NC
    • The Best Restaurants in Chapel Hill – Carrboro, NC
    • Best Food Specials and Deals in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill
    • The Best Bars and Lounges in Raleigh, NC
  • News
    • Coming Soon to the Triangle – New Restaurants and Bars
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Cary and Morrisville
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Chapel Hill and Carrboro
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Durham
    • New Restaurants and Bars in Raleigh
    • New Restaurants and Bars of the Triangle, 2022 Edition
    • New Restaurants and Bars of the Triangle, 2021
  • Index of Reviews
    • Cary – Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • Chapel Hill and Carrboro – Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • Durham Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • Raleigh Restaurant and Bar Reviews
    • NC Video Reviews
    • Travel Reviews
  • Food Photos
    • Food Event Photos
  • About
    • NCTD Blogger- Ron Wen
    • NC Triangle Dining Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
    • NC Triangle Dining Blog Policy
    • Working with NC Triangle Dining
    • NC Triangle Dining Blog and Social Media Statistics

Ko Kyu Na’mean Rolls Into Durham with Great Ethnic Eats

Home » Restaurant & Bar Reviews » Durham » Ko Kyu Na’mean Rolls Into Durham with Great Ethnic Eats
June 6, 2015 by Ron Wen

Ko Kyu Na'mean, Durham: A more permanent and delicious option for Asian-Mexican eats!  Don't miss the short rib sammiches and sides

Front of Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Front of Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

So when is a food truck not a food truck? When it moves into a bricks and mortar store-front like Ko Kyu Na’mean! Like other popular food trucks in the Triangle (Baguettaboutit, Only Burger), Na’mean is the first store-front for the very popular Ko Kyu. Known for it’s spicy fusion of ethnic flavors along with a bit of quirky irreverence, Ko Kyu had launched a Kickstarter to find a more permanent home in late 2013. Fast-forward to early 2015 and after a soft-launch, Ko Kyu Na’mean quietly opened up to muted fanfare. I had to stop in and check out their new spot, read on my friend!

Counter at Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Counter at Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

If you’re headed out to Ko Kyu Na’mean, understand that right now they are only serving lunch Monday to Friday. This storefront is tucked away in the back of a quiet plaza, just look for their red and white sign next to the NC Beer store. When I arrive, the place is packed with sidewalk tables full of folks happily munching away on lunch.

Menu at Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Menu at Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

Inside, the space has got that Ko Kyu food truck feel. Menu in black with press-on white letters, brightly colored graffiti walls and an old-school boom box overhead pumping out some classic tunes. The menu has eight or so sandwiches, a handful of sides along with some specials on a pinned up piece of paper. I’m here with my friends Lauryn and Rose so we spread the Ko Kyu love out and order up a bunch of items for sharing.

Graffiti wall at Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Graffiti wall at Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

Up front at the Ko Kyu Na’mean counter you’ve got self-served drinks including a Julio orange and toasted almond horchata, yum! We get our playing card on a stand and grab a table in back. It doesn’t take too long for our food, maybe 15 minutes and it’s served casually on aluminum plates. We’ve got two short-rib sandwiches, a chicken sandwich along with pork belly (Pressed short rib, baht mi, ko.f.c and belly banh). Sides of furikake potato chips, kimchi cucumber, cream of broccoli soup and a ginger-roasted broccoli-cauliflower accompany our mains. As you can tell Ko Kyu owner Flip, likes to get a bit creative and playful with his menu and space!

Pressed short rib sandwich at Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Pressed short rib sandwich at Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

As we dig into the meal, I’m reminded of how long I last ate at Ko Kyu food truck and you’ve got the similar mix of ethnic flavors (Mexican, Asian) that Ko Kyu is known for.  Short rib is a popular item for them and it shows off well in the panini and baht mi which is blinged out with peanut sauce and sriracha butter (very Thai).

Belly banh at Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Belly banh at Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

The soup has some crumbled bacon on top, delicious and I love the kimchi cucumber which reminds me of a northern Chinese dish. The belly banh looked delicious but it didn’t quite do it for me which was odd since I usually love pork belly and banh mi. And boo, but I didn’t make it to the fried chicken sammich!

Pozole soup at Ko Kyu Na'mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Pozole soup at Ko Kyu Na’mean in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

Flip comes out later and offers up a taste of his pozole (spicy hominy soup) which is excellent and looks fantastic with a radish slice on top. With all this food, we needed to digest and caught up with Flip and his work with Ko Kyu over the past year. This space had been part of the kitchen canteen for his two food-trucks and they had finally taken next steps to open it up for the rest of the store-front. And he had done a soft-opening (super quiet) to work out the operational kinks and make sure he could deliver on his food expectations.

Stuffed Ko Kyu first-timers Rose and Lauryn- NC Triangle Dining
Stuffed Ko Kyu first-timers Rose and Lauryn- NC Triangle Dining

So it was a great lunch visit to Ko Kyu Na’mean especially when I got to share the meal with two Ko Kyu first-timers. With the Ko Kyu food trucks and their new storefront you’ve now got three options to try out their spicy deliciousness. I would love to see Ko Kyu become the equivalent of the East Side King food trucks out in Austin! Congratulations Flip on taking it to the next level and stop on by if you’re up for some salacious and sumptuous eats, sandwich-style…

 

Ko Kyu Na’mean

4823 Meadow Drive

Durham NC 27713

919.699.4667

Location on Google maps

Related

Category: Durham, Restaurant & Bar ReviewsTag: Asian Restaurants
Previous Post:La Rancherita in Raleigh Earns a Passing Grade for Mexican
Next Post:The New Doherty’s Irish Pub in Apex!

Sidebar

Subscribe to NC Triangle Dining

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

New Reviews!

  • A Visit to the New ZincHouse Winery & Brewery in Durham
  • Shake Shack, Chapel Hill – Burgers and Fries, Done Right!
  • Best New Restaurants and Bars in the Triangle, 2022 Edition
  • A Look Back at the NC Triangle Dining Scene, 2022

Categories

Inspiration

“Do a little better each day.”

– Thomas Keller, French Laundry

Popular Posts

Copyright © 2023 · NC Triangle Dining Food Blog · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme