Southeast Asian cart KC Taste brings bulgogi to the biergarten

Jun 19, 2023

Diners who stop at one of Madison’s newest food carts, KC Taste, will most likely meet Kong Chua “Phia” Vang, who connects with customers through his tasty food and friendly face.

As the oldest of 12 children, Vang learned how to please the palates of others early in life, and as such, the KC Taste menu is diverse. He makes a mix of Asian cuisines including Thai, Laotian, Hmong and Korean dishes, some with an American twist.

Kong Chua “Phia” Vang hangs the day’s menu on the outside of the KC Taste food cart at The Biergarten at Olbrich Park.

Born in Laos at the tail end of the Vietnam War, Vang and his family, who are Hmong, crossed the Mekong River into Thailand as refugees soon after the U.S. officially withdrew from the war in 1975.

In 1988, at the age of 17, Vang and his family immigrated to Sacramento. Immediately, Vang began working in restaurants, then moved to Madison to be closer to relatives who had already settled in the area. He worked in manufacturing, and eventually landed in the pharmaceuticals industry. And while Vang always had restaurant life in the back of his head, it was his sampling of abundant mobile restaurant food on frequent visits to Thailand and Texas that spun his mind into action.

When Vang saw a trailer for sale recently, he made his move. Sitting in the heat on a sunny morning just a few weeks after launching KC Taste in June, Vang noted the low overhead in his decision to start with a cart in Madison as a way to dip his toes into the restaurant business here.

“You also don't need many employees because it can be just you, or your wife or your family, who work in the cart,” Vang said of the family nature of his business. “And you can manage your own time. I like to go back to Thailand and go on vacation in the wintertime.”

Guests wait for their food outside the KC Taste food cart at The Biergarten at Olbrich Park.

Despite getting a relatively late start for the 2023 Madison outdoor vending season, Vang was able to secure a spot near the Biergarten at Olbrich Park as part of Madison’s Carts in the Parks. The program, hatched during the pandemic to help keep Madison’s growing population of street vendors in business, gives Vang a home base of sorts. He takes up residence in the east side locale many nights from 5-8:30 p.m., where he gets to tinker with the menu.

The beef bulgogi ($15) is loaded with tender chunks of steak, peppers, onions and carrots marinated in a combination of soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, topped delicately with sesame seeds. Vang doesn’t use the to-go container as an excuse to present the food any less neatly, gently plating the mix over a bed of rice.

Clockwise from upper left are crab rangoon, beef bulgogi, pineapple fried rice and kimchi fries from the KC Taste food cart.

There are also fusion street dishes Vang has cooked up with his daughter, Anna. She suggested Vang come up with a few things to sop up the suds in the bellies of patrons who might have had a few adult beverages before visiting his station in the Olbrich Park parking lot.

Kimchi fries ($12) combine Sriracha and nacho cheese drizzled on top of fermented veggies and aforementioned spuds, while the pad kra pao fries might trigger a patron to wonder aloud why basil isn’t tossed into every cone of french fries in the city.

On a blazing hot Wednesday evening in mid-July, Vang and his wife Chue could be seen happily scooping out panang curry ($11.95) during Concerts on the Square. Surprisingly creamy, yet tangy and spicy, with just enough lime to zing the tongue, this curry is sublime.

When the line dies down a little, Vang is eager to throw on a smile and chat about your summer or whatever else is on your mind. He just loves being around people. Feeding his neighbors from wherever he’s parked is just one way to open the door, be it along the mouth of the Yahara River looking toward a Lake Monona sunset, or on the Capitol Square surrounded by blankets.

Chue Vang and Kong Chua “Phia” Vang prepare food orders in the KC Taste food cart at The Biergarten at Olbrich Park.

“I’m very motivated to get more involved in my community to get them to know me,” said Vang. “I might support them too, if they need support. That’s what inspires me.”

It’s another advantage to having a movable restaurant: being able to cook directly in the communities being served, all across the city and beyond. Just catch him before the line gets too long.

Let's Eat is a budget eats column about delicious food in the Madison area that doesn't cost a lot. To submit an idea for coverage, contact food editor Lindsay Christians at [email protected].

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Currently vending regularly at Olbrich Biergarten, 3527 Atwood Ave.

(608) 284-8918

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