food truck Archives

In British Columbia

Takenaka Food Truck: Japanese Izakaya on Wheels in Vancouver

August 23, 2020

Takenaka Food Truck has hit the road serving up Japanese Izakaya in Vancouver. If you love places like Suika, Rajio, Kingyo, or Raisu, you’ll also love Takenaka Food Truck.

They have been very very popular since they just opened, so be prepared for a bit of a line up, but it’s worth it. Takenaka Food Truck is usually located outside a brewery on Fridays to Sundays. It is always best to follow them on Instagram to see where they will be next.

We were invited to check out a few items from their food truck menu.

Chicken Karaage

The crispy chicken karaage is mixed with their special spice mixture. It was beautifully fried, so it had a nice crisp exterior. The chicken was very tender and full of flavour.

Ebimayo

The ebimayo is made with large plump tiger prawns in a rich and creamy Japanese chilli mayo. We felt like there was a bit too much batter to it, so it took a way from the prawns.

Snow Crab Roll

This roll has snow crab meat, avocado, and tobiko wrapped in rice and seaweed. It was a solid roll and you can really taste the quality.

Wagyu Shabu Shabu Udon

This bowl of comforting udon has thinly sliced boiled beef, radish sprouts. seasoned boiled egg, yuzu zest, Sanuki udon noodle, and their original udon broth. It was a pretty good bowl of udon and that wagyu is really soft and tender.

Wagyu Foie Gras Aburi Nigiri

This has a slice of wagyu nigiri topped with foie gras, truffle salt, and SANSHO sauce. It was so damn good! It was fatty and so tasty that it just melt in your mouth.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we find this is a fantastic option for Japanese Izakaya if you’re ever at a brewery or special event. The food is fantastic and pairs so well with beer. Highly recommend you check it out.

Best to go early before the large rush arrives so you aren’t waiting in line for too long.

Website:
https://takenakavancouver.com/menus/menu-food-truck/

In British Columbia

Santapan Indonesian Grill: Food Truck in Vancouver

July 21, 2020

Santapan Indonesian Grill is the latest food truck to launch in Vancouver. They are currently just waiting for a few permits before hitting the road, but we got a sneak peak of the truck and the menu.

Once they get all their permits, they are planning to be in Kitsilano on West 4th. As they have a commercial kitchen to prep all their food, their dishes and drinks are available for pick up and delivery through UberEats, DoorDash, and FanTuan 饭团.

Sustainability is top of mind, so all their bowls and utensils are compostable/recyclable. The menu is simple and customizable to your taste. love how they use healthier ingredients like fresh vegetables, olive oil (instead of canola), Himalayan pink salt, organic chicken, and no MSG to name a few.

Bali Bowl

The Bali Bowl is the works with coconut rice. It also has romaine lettuce, carrots, edamame, cucumber, green beans, baked potato, radish coins, boiled egg, and standard sauces (Peanut Parti, Sumatra Spice, and Surabaya Citrus).

It’s bigger and more filling compared to the salad. The coconut rice is so good and fragrant. Everything was cooked perfectly.

Gado Gado Salad

The Gado Gado Salad is the works on salad. It also has romaine lettuce, carrots, edamame, cucumber, green beans, baked potato, radish coins, boiled egg, and standard sauces (Peanut Parti, Sumatra Spice, and Surabaya Citrus).

It’s the healthier option compared to the Bali Bowl. Still tastes great.

Roti Wrap

The roti wrap has everything in a whole wheat wrap minus the baked potato. If you’re looking for a grab and go option that isn’t messy, this is it. It’s handheld with no mess. You’ll probably be about the same fullness from the Bali Bowl too.

Chicken and Steak Skewers

Both the chicken and steak skewers are nicely seasoned in bite-sized pieces. During our visit, we did find it was a touch overdone as we would have liked it to be softer and tender.

Tempeh Skewers

This is the vegan option if you do not want any meat. It’s essentially fermented soybeans. It’s not bad at all. Good texture and flavour to go with your meal.

Indo Ice Coffee

This drink has cold brew coffee, coconut milk, and lightly sweetened. Very light and refreshing. The layers are very distinct and the green pandan syrup give is an excellent aroma that pairs with the coffee.

Jakarta Jelly

This dink has organic Indonesian cold brew coffee, coconut milk, grass jelly, and lightly sweetened. It’s a unique drink that you don’t see often. This drink has the addition of the grass jelly.

Final Thoughts

I love seeing the new wave of food trucks opening in Vancouver. Santapan Indonesian Grill gives us a new twist on Indonesian flavours for the West Coast all packaged in a compact food truck.

The sauces can have a kick of spice to it, so if you want a different spice level, definitely ask them for their recommendation.

If you see them rolling around town, definitely give them a try.

Website:
https://www.santapan.ca/

In Food Carts

NaMì Food Cart: Vietnamese Cuisine on Wheels in Downtown Vancouver

February 26, 2020

NaMì Food Cart is located in the heart of Downtown Vancouver right by the City Centre Station on the Canada Line. It’s bright and blue so you can’t miss it. They specialize in Banh Mi and vermicelli bowls as those are their 2 main types of items they offer.

We were invite to check out a few of their signature items.

What are the hours?

It can vary, so best to check out their website for the weekly schedule.

Chasu Pork Belly Banh Mi

This banh mi comes with pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, mayo & pate, pork belly, hoisin glaze, and spring onions. The pork belly has a good portion size and the flavour was really nice with the hoisin glaze. It didn’t feel too greasy either.

The price is a tad high, but then again, this is located in Downtown.

Garlic Beef Vermicelli Bowl

Garlic Beef vermicelli bowl comes with shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, mixed herbs, garlic beef, vermicelli, and a Vietnamese herb dressing.

There is quite a bit of dressing that comes with the bowl, but good thing it’s on the side. The garlic beef has a very strong taste of garlic which is nice for this bowl, but it felt greasy because of all the oil in the herb dressing.

The herbs were very nice and vibrant to freshen up the bowl. Make sure to grab a bit of everything to get all the flavours in one bite. The pieces of beef could be a bit bigger and meatier.

Final Thoughts

The menu item seems a bit fusion to fit with what Vancouverites are looking for. The food quality was good for a food cart as a grab and go option. The price is a bit high compared to what you would find at a Vietnamese restaurant especially for Banh mi.

It’s great for the area as it give people more options in the Downtown core. Plus, working in Downtown, I know how important it is to get something quick and delicious.

Location:
Granville St &, W Georgia St (Weekdays)

Website:
http://www.namivietnamese.com/

In American

Poomba’s Smokehouse: Pulled Pork Sliders

November 9, 2014

Poomba’s Smokehouse is a food truck in the Fraser Valley. This mobile eatery served up Carolina style smoked pulled pork to guests at the Fraser Valley Food Show. It was one of the more appealing items in the food section.

They show up at a lot of special events in the Fraser Valley, so you always have to keep an eye out on the Facebook page to see where they will be next.

Pulled Pork with Slaw for those that don’t want something gluten-free. It was good! Less the carbs and more protein. The pulled pork was good and it was slathered in yummy BBQ sauce.

Baby Poomba Pulled Pork Slider with Chips was simple and reminded me of a cute lunch. The side of chips reminded me of Lays potato chips. The pulled pork was juicy and tender.

Overall, it’s decent BBQ, but I’m still on the hunt for mouth-watering BBQ. The truck is always on the move, but if you are at any special events in town, they may be there.

We Rate Poomba’s Smokehouse:

Location:
Varies

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Poombadapig

In British Columbia

Vancouver Food Cart Fest 2014: Last Day Today

August 31, 2014

Vancouver Food Cart Fest gathers about 20 of the top food carts in Vancouver. It happens every Sunday near the Olympic Village till August 31st. If you haven’t made it down there yet, it’s their last weekend! It runs from 12pm till 5pm. Entrance is free to Vancity and Car2go members, this year it is also free with a non-perishable food donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Or else, you have to pay $2 for the entrance fee.

Some of the participating food carts include:

Blue Smoke BBQ
Aussie Pie Guy
Chili Tank
Didi’s Greek
Dougie Dog
Festro the Rolling Bistro
Finest at Sea
Guanaco Salvadoran Cuisine
Holy Perogy
JJ’s Trucketeria
The Juice Truck
The Kaboom Box
Le Tigre
Mogu Japanese Street Eats
Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck
PazzaRella
Roaming Dragon
Soho Road
Street Meet
Tacofino
Taser Grilled Cheese
The Reef Runner
Vij’s Railway Express
Yolks

Not all of them are there at the same time, but you can always check with the Vancouver Street Food App to see who’s there.

Le Tigre is there and they serve up modern Chinese food. They always serve up some pretty amazing food, so I just had to stop by to have some.

BBQ Pulled Pork Steamed Bun has BBQ sauce, leaf lettuce, cabbage slaw, and fresh herbs.

Crack Salad has cauliflower, brussel sprouts, lemon juice, cracked chili, capers and parmesan. It reminds me of the brussel sprouts from The Flying Pig. This was a tad oily, but it was really good and addictive.

Johnny Pops was there and they are one of the most popular little carts there. They have delicious artisan popsicles. Most of the fruits and ingredients are locally sourced and made in Vancouver .

Mixed Berries and Mint Popsicle was absolutely fantastic. Great for the hot summer weather and packed full of flavour.

Some food carts definitely have long lines and with the hot summer weather, it can be a bit of a pain. Since the Food Cart Fest is open till 5pm, try avoiding the busy times around noon. I came here around 2pm and the lines were quite manageable.

There are white tents in the centre to eat your food in the shade. On hot busy days, everyone wants be be under there. You may need to stalk people for tables.

Website: http://www.foodcartfest.com/

In Downtown

Fat Duck: Sinfully Delicious

July 9, 2014

Food trucks are mighty delicious and one of my favourites are Fat Duck Mobile Eatery. They are now outside Waterfront station, but can move around during the week. If you do happen to pass by, make sure to stop and have a sandwich.

They serve up sandwiches and tacos.

Le Cochon ($10) has pork belly, braised pork, cabbage, scallions, spicy pickle slaw, swiss cheese and chili mayo. This sandwich was dripping in fat and flavour. Really good! It a bit messy to eat, so make sure to have lots of napkins.

With the sandwich, you get chips! The chips are thickly cut and very very crunchy! Yummmmmmy!

Duck Confit Philly Style sandwich has marinated mushrooms, pickled red onions, scallions, swiss cheese and truffle/parm mayo. My coworker loved it. It wasn’t great for her diet, but sometimes its nice to indulge.

Since last year, they have changed up their bread and menu items. One thing they still do well is making mouth-watering sandwiches with a punch of flavour. Follow them on Twitter or check them out on the Vancouver Street Food App to find out where they will be next.

We Rate Fat Duck:

Location:
Varies

Website:
http://fatduckmobileeatery.ca/

In Filipino

Fliptop Filipino Fusion Food Truck: Flippin Fantastic

June 17, 2014

Mags and I were finding a place on Main street to eat lunch and then we stumbled upon Fliptop Filipino Fusion Food Truck. It’s one of the newer food trucks to hit the town and we just had to try it. They are usually on Main street on Saturdays, but it may change, So check out their schedule before going to the location.

Their menu has a good amount of items and everything sounds delicious. I personally love Filipino food, so I was very excited.

The aroma coming from this truck smelled amazing.

Flippin Adobo ‘Fili’ Cheesesteak ($12) has shaved prime ribs sauteed in Adobo sauce, melted provolone cheese, smoked chipotle aioli and crispy leeks served on a hoagie bun.

This was so good and there was plenty of meat. It was very tender and full of flavour. Highly recommended.

Long Silog Rice Bowl ($12) has cured pork sausage, fried egg, slaw, crispy leeks, garlic fried rice and a sriracha aioli. It was a good portion size and Mags enjoyed it so much, she bought a second box for her boyfriend.

Calamansi ($3) is what we washed our meal down with. Mmmmmm goood!

Overall, it was great. The wait wasn’t too long and the food tasted SO GOOD. I would highly recommend this food truck. If you see it, so grab some food!!

We Rate Fliptop Filipino Fusion Food Truck:

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FliptopTruck

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FliptopTruck