Koko Teriyaki
In Irvine, H Mart's largely Korean food court adds a Japanese noodle and bento shop
Sometimes, simply being good in the right location can be a great business choice, and that’s the case at the ever-changing H Market Eatery food hall inside Irvine’s H Mart: In 2025, largely Japanese (read: Korean-influenced Japanese) noodle shop Koko Teriyaki replaced Korean hot dog and lemonade stand Myungrang Hotdog, surprisingly achieving a net improvement in the process.
While we didn’t dislike Myungrang, we’re rarely interested in eating hot dogs, but can more than occasionally be tempted by Japanese-style curries, noodles, and bento boxes – all on Koko Teriyaki’s short menu. Food items here average $15, including lightly spiced pickled radishes and a solid bowl of miso soup: Rice bowls with chicken, beef, spicy pork, sukiyaki, or chicken/beef mixes are $13-$15, yakisoba with chicken, beef, spicy pork, shrimp, or chicken/shrimp mixes are $15-$17, curry rice or udon bowls are $15 each, pasta with chicken kimchi, beef kimchi, or spicy pork kimchi are $16-$17, and bento boxes with chicken, beef, spicy pork, or chicken/beef/pork combos are $17-$20. Five smoothie flavors (strawberry, mango, matcha, Thai tea, or taro) are $5.50 each.
While we have only scratched the surface of that menu, the items we tried were both tasty and a good value for their prices. Koko’s $15 bowl of curry udon was a substantial portion of thick, appropriately chewy noodles with plenty of sliced chicken and a right-down-the-middle curry sauce that no one would find offensively thin, thick, weakly flavored, or overly spicy. Side dish spiced radishes were unexpectedly complex – a nice Japanese-Korean fusion – and the miso soup was nice, as well. Even after adding boba for an additional $1, the matcha smoothie was still less expensive than at many boba tea shops, and every bit as good.
When Koko Teriyaki first opened, we didn’t feel a need to rush over, but now that we’ve visited, we’d certainly come again. This is another nice addition to the H Market Eatery, which thanks to Koko, Omori, and Yuchun has improved bit by bit since opening.
Stats
Price: $-$$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2025
Addresses
3825 Alton Pkwy.
Irvine, CA 92606
949.265.8581
Instagram: @koko.teriyaki