LA Street Food Fest (Part II) and Orochon Ramen (Little Tokyo, Los Angeles)

Finally got around to finishing this post. A little recap of the LA Street Food Festival:

So, we stayed at the LA Street Food Festival until five, which was the closing time. They were pretty strict about shutting everything down right away. It’s not really worth driving all the way out to LA for only a few hours, so we decided to head to Little Tokyo to browse around and work off a few of the calories we had just consumed.

But anyone who knows us well knows that we wouldn’t go very long before finding something else to eat. We walked to Kinokuya bookstore above the Marukai and took a pit stop there. Some of us took our time looking at the magazines and books, while Sam, Auntie Linda, and Joseph waited outside at a table. Of course, Sam claimed that Orochon Ramen was “staring at him” from across the plaza.

Turns out Orochon Ramen is where Man v. Food’s Adam Richman (from Travel Channel) tried their spicy challenge. So, if you look at the menu, the spicy scale goes from 1 to 7 (seven being the least spicy, and one being the most spicy). Even spicier are “Special 1″ and “Special 2.” None of us has the guts to take on the challenge, but we were excited to be eating at the same restaurant (especially Linda, whose a die-hard fan).

Orochon Ramen’s shio ramen was very satisfying after a long day in LA. And characteristic of LA, Orochon serves massive portions; we fed four girls with one bowl (plus an extra order of noodles). The broth isn’t quite as nice as many other ramen restaurants, but the spiciness is really nice (we ordered a 4). We also tried the spicy fried rice, which had a slow, eventual bite to it. It’s the good kind of heat–slightly masochistic and very addicting.

While we weren’t going to try the challenge, we definitely egg’d on the guys at the table nice to us to give it a whirl. It was pretty amusing watching them sweat and try not to show that they were suffering.

After dinner, of course, you have to have dessert. There was a little shop in the middle of J-town where Joseph kept looking into the window or asking if Jen ordered something there. When we left to find a restroom, Joseph said, “Can we come back after dinner?” So as soon as we started heading back, Joseph requested we re-visit the little dessert shop. We managed to snatch up the last of the red bean pastries. They were delicious.

Needless to say, we were pretty stuffed by the end of our food-filled Saturday. It’s interesting, because I’ve never really appreciated living so close to Los Angeles. There are times when I feel frustrated by the congestion and traffic and dysfunction of LA’s urban sprawl. But when it comes to food, there’s really no other place in the world like it. And I’m thankful that I got to spend the day with people who love eating as much as I do. (Thanks to Diana, Sam, and Crystal for the photos!)

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Orochon Ramen

123 S Onizuka St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1766

LA Street Food Fest

Lines. Long lines. That was basically the theme of the very first LA Street Food Festival at the LA Center Studios. I’m really glad I wasn’t the one driving, because Linda had to brave the stop-and-go traffic on the way to the venue, plus fight for parking on the hectics streets surrounding the event. By the time we arrived (around 1:30 or so), the line into the festival was already wrapping its way around several blocks.

Fortunately, due to special circumstances (thanks Justin and Heather!), we got in without having to wait in line. After we paid our $5 general admission, we were ready to launch our plan of attack. We decided to divide and conquer–Sam and Joseph, Crystal and me, Linda and Jen, Heather and Justin…Diana somehow managed to float around from line to line. We also cooperated with Justin’s sister, brother-in-law, and parents. Apparently, most of our fellow festival-goers used the same methods, so I suppose we were all “foodies in arms.”

Not only that, but I ran into one of my Biola friends, Sara. We spent some time together in line, catching up on each others’ lives and reminiscing about our orientation week at Biola (when we first met). While we were talking, one of the promoters for Mobi Munch, who heard that we were from Biola (he’s a fan) and gave us lots of coupons for yummy fried chicken. Being a Biola alum definitely has its perks.

Anyways, the best part of the festival for me was getting to try a little of everything. I felt bad for anyone who came, say, as a couple, and had to split up to stand in multiple lines; they didn’t have anyone to talk to whilst waiting. But since we had a large group of people, it was great fun to wait in line and have food brought directly to us. One moment, Joseph and Diana came over with tacos from Komodo. And then ten or 15 minutes later, Justin came over with goodies from the Grilled Cheese Truck saying, “Here, take a bite.” Each line was a conquest, and the food items we brought back were like the spoils of war.

It was surprising how many people showed up for the festival–I guess I didn’t really know what to expect. So many people were waiting outside the venue for hours, and when they did finally get in, they only had time to get in line for one or two things. The street food festival really seemed to capture the things that I’ve learned to appreciate about LA (I know, Ariel, I don’t love LA nearly as much as you do): we have so many different kinds of people and access to so many different kinds of food. And California cuisine is all about fusing foods together or adding a twist to the traditional. Food trucks are very trendy right now (you know how LA hipsters can’t resist a good trend), and LA food-lovers were willing to wait hours in line to eat from their favorite mobile food vendors. Plus, the weather was beautiful and sunny.

That being said, here’s the full list of the grub we managed to grab (in no particular order; thanks to Diana for the photos!):

1. Mama Koh’s Chicken

Semi-spicy Korean chicken wings. Small size, but very tasty. And they were cool enough to let us take a picture with their food when we failed to take the photo BEFORE eating ours. That’s how hungry we were.

2. Komodo

I’m not sure which ones Sam and Joseph tried, but Crystal and I were given the Komodo Signature, with “top sirloin … homemade guacamole and Cotija cheese,” and the Asian-marinated chicken with rice and mandarin oranges. The concept sounds strange, but they were quite possibly the best thing I ate all day.

3. The Grilled Cheese Truck

This was the “cheesy mac and rib,” which is what you get when you combine classic macaroni and cheese and bbq pork in a grilled cheese sandwich. It was messy and gooey and tasted better than it looked. My brother and I will have to track down this truck sometime so Garrett can see what it’s like to mix two of his favorite foods (that’s grilled cheese and mac ‘n cheese, for those of you who were going to ask if he’s suddenly started eating bbq pork). We also tried their dessert melt with banana, Nutella, and marshmallow. The Grilled Cheese Truckdefinitely had one of the longest lines at the festival. Fortunately, someone else stood in it, not me.

4. Baby’s BA Burgers

By the time we got near the bright pink truck (the line put us pretty far back), they had already run out of the “Cougar” (aged beef, St. Andre cheese, black truffles), so we settled for the “Original Beauty” (swiss, grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms, jalapenos) and the “Mamacita” (pepper jack cheese, guacamole, tomato, grilled onions, jalapenos). Normally priced between $5 and $9, they sold their burgers as sliders, meaning they were probably about a quarter of the size than normal. I would probably have to try them again to decide if I like them or not, but the ones we had at the festival weren’t worth the long wait. We did score, however, with our yummy sweet potato fries.

5. Sabor de Bahia

It took a little searching to find this one. Jen brought these back and we didn’t know what they were. Apparently, they were from Sabor de Bahia, a Brazilian catering company that specializes in food from the state of Bahia. These guys (above) are called acarajé, and they’re a falafel of sorts, characteristic of Nigerian and Brazilian cuisine. Acarajé are stuffed deep fried fritters, a little spicy and very flavorful.

6. Sweets Truck

Okay, so I didn’t eat this one, but Sam did. I think he had a couple “shooters”: a red velvet cupcake one and some sort of banana custard. Justin bought a cake/lollipop thing covered in milk chocolate. It looked yummy, but was too small to share, so we gave it to his sister. I just wanted an excuse to post this really cute picture of Crystal.

7. Fishlips Sushi

After retrieving our sweet potato fries, we went searching for Diana, who we found in the Fishlips Sushi truck line. She bought two crunchy rolls, which they made on the spot, in their truck. I actually didn’t get to eat this one either, but everyone else who tried it seemed like they liked it.

8. Dogzilla

Poor Linda had to wait about two hours in this line for these “Japanese style” hot dogs. I’m not really a hot dog fan myself, but adding avocado, nori, onions, bacon, teriyaki sauce, cheese, and furikake to the hot dogs, and wrapping them in King’s Hawaiian bread rolls made them pretty tasty.

9. Coolhaus

Diana was actually most excited about this truck. The Coolhaus truck was compact and super cute. Originally designed as architecturally-inspired ice cream sandwiches, they come with different ice cream flavors and cookie flavors, wrapped in an edible wrapper. I had chocolate cookies with refreshing lemon ice cream, but ended up ditching the cookies after my first few bites. Diana had brown butter and candied bacon ice cream with (I think) chocolate chip cookies (correct me if I’m wrong, Di).

10. Extras – empanadas, garlic fries, extra Coolhaus ice cream, fried chicken, Thai food

Basically, I don’t know where these came from, but Justin had a habit of going and bringing us back surprises. Like a huge case of canned IZZE drinks. Or this chicken empanada and garlic fries. The fries were really good, especially with the garlic sauce. Justin came back bearing a full plate of free quiche and cookies from Egg Monsieur. On top of all that, Justin also managed to sweet talk the Coolhauslady into giving Diana free, extra ice cream because she loved it so much, and scored a couple of lemon meringue lemon peel shots (which honestly tasted a little burnt).

Right before everything closed, I also got free fried chicken (it tasted strongly of rosemary and other spices) from the Mobi Munch truck. I’ll have to ask Sam for some of his photos; he let me try his chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce, and he also ordered green curry and some sort of fish dish. The Thai food truck took WAY too long though.

Overall, it was a good day. At least for my tummy.

“Things I WISH I had eaten” LIST:

- FrySmith: Raja fries (Fire-roasted poblano chiles, caramelized onions and shawarma-marinated steak with Jack cheese)

- Gastrobus: pulled pork and skirt steak sandwiches

- Buttermilk: EVERYTHING

- Flying Pig: braised pork belly bun, grilled beef short rib taco, spicy pork taco, tamarind duck taco, saba and parsnip fries with black garlic aioli (maybe that’s where the garlic fries came from?)

As Uncle George used to say, “But wait! There’s more!” Stay tuned for more on our food-filled day in Los Angeles.

Sugar Rush Cafe (Walnut, CA) - Updated

Following up on my post about Sugar Rush Cafe in Walnut, my parents and I went back to try out their signature breakfast dish: "The Sugar Rush" Cinnamon Raisin French Toast. According to the menu, it's eight pieces of cinnamon raisin bread dipped in a vanilla batter, served with homemade syrup and candied bananas and fresh strawberries.

With the bananas and vanilla, it actually reminded me a little of my dad's bananas foster crepes. I don't like sweet breakfast foods as much as my dad and brother do, but it was still really tasty. As always, I ordered the roast beef and provolone sandwich - it was delicious. As always.

Home-cooked: Thai Prawns in Green Curry

I love to eat, but cooking is another story. The time I could have spent learning to cook in high school was taken up by basketball practices, tournaments, leagues, fundraising, church fellowship, homework and studying. College was more of the same, except basketball got replaced by the school magazine.

There are a lot of skills I wish I had started developing earlier, like cooking and sewing. But now that I'm working, I actually have more time to try and learn new things. My good friend and former floor rep at Roehampton sent me a recipe recently for thai prawns in green curry. Rachael made this for me once, but I wasn't sure if I could replicate it again.

To make a long story short, the recipe was really simple and it came out very spicy and flavorful (as Thai food should). My roommate Ariel tried it and ended up eating a whole plateful of curry and rice. For being one who rarely cooks, I feel very accomplished that I didn't completely ruin it. Now I'm looking forward to mom's almond jello for dessert.

The Dim Sum Truck

LA is known for its diverse cuisine and ever-changing trends. Those of us living in Socal are so spoiled; we’re exposed to international fare from every culture and locale. One fashionable food trend is the taco truck. It seems like we’ve always had the traditional Mexican taco truck, but the trend really picked up when Kogi Truck–selling Korean BBQ tacos–showed up on the scene.

It’s brilliant marketing if you think about it. Hungry Twitter users can follow the Kogi Truck on their phones so they know where to get in line. Of course, LA eaters are all about the latest trend, so they’re happy to join the almost cult-like community of Kogi fans. Soon after, imitator trucks began popping up everywhere.

If it works for Korean BBQ, one might reason, then the business model should also work for any other “exotic” food–say, dim sum. Hence, the Dim Sum Truck. Their menu boasts all the traditional goodies: siu mai (dumplings), har gau (shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (BBQ pork buns), lo mai gai (lotus leaf rice), cheong fun (rice noodle rolls), and daan taat (egg tarts).

The Dim Sum Truck also offers some special items, like “mushu pork tacos” and “peking duck wraps.” Some items will be available daily while others will be offered as specials. From the looks of it, you’ll never know for sure what yummy goodies they’ll be offering. It doesn’t look like they’ve launched yet, but I’d definitely be interested in trying out their dim sum.

To me, dim sum just isn’t the same without the round tables and hot carts and loud Chinese families trying to talk over each other. But sometimes, you just crave a good char siu bao; maybe it’ll remind people of Hong Kong–you can get your fix right on the street. To find out more, you can follow them through Twitter and on Facebook, or check out their website.

Tranquil Tea Lounge (Fullerton, CA)

Katie and I wanted to meet somewhere in between our houses--a place where we could sit and chat for awhile. I'd been to Tranquil Tea Lounge once or twice, but I'd only had tea. We got there at 3:30 and were surprised at how crowded it was. A large group of Asian high schoolers had the corner lounge couches, but we were able to get a small table, though we were uncomfortably close to the table next to us.

The cafe is run by a brother and sister, so when things got busy, the service was slow. I actually had to go ask for menus, and then the food and drinks took a long time. Fortunately, we weren't really in a rush. And they're both really friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable (and attentive when it's not crowded), especially when it comes to the different teas.

Located near Wilshire and Harbor in the middle of Fullerton's trendy downtown, Tranquil tea lounge is very comfortable and chic. There's usually plenty of seating, convenient power plugs, and they encourage you to hang out and use Downtown Fullerton's free wi-fi.

I hadn't eaten anything all day, so I ordered the "Tranquil Tea Trio": half of a prosciutto sandwich, a caesar salad, and the "Juicy Watermelon" herbal tea. The sandwich had prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula, and sun-dried tomato pesto; it wasn't the best I've had, but it was still satisfying.

Katie got the macaroons (Earl Grey, green tea, and chocolate) and the Mauna Loa, a strange combination of white chocolate, almonds, macadamias, pistachios, and tea--a little too nutty for my tastes. It was my first time trying macaroons, and Katie's too.

They told us that they actually make the macaroons themselves, but we didn't really know what to expect. Their texture is similar to that of the meringue cookies that Katie made; the texture is a little bit sticky. Inside, there's a little bit of creamy filling too. I liked the subtle Earl Grey, and Katie favored the chocolate (which I didn't try). The green tea was nice too, but a little stronger flavored.

As far as teas go, I love loose leaf tea, and the option to smell all of their different options. They have a massive tea list, so it's a little bit of a challenge to decide which tea you want to try. I've had the Geisha's Kiss and the Lotus Blossom, which were both really good. The tea is a little pricier than a drink at a boba shop, but they give you a tall glass and another small carafe. Overall, Katie and I enjoyed our time together, and I always love good tea.

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Tranquil Tea Lounge

106 W. Wilshire Ave.

Fullerton, CA 92832

(714) 869-3577

www.tranquiltealounge.com

M-Sat: 9am-9pm

Sun: 11am-6pm

Shin Sen Gumi (Fountain Valley, CA)

Shin Sen Gumi is one of my favorite ramen joints, but their restaurant has very limited seating so I don't go there very often. But Diana and I had time to kill after our women's fellowship meeting at church. Diana hadn't been there since 2006 (or something ridiculous like that), so we were both really excited to go for lunch.

We got there at 1, meaning we missed the crazy long wait that happens around the lunch rush. Usually you sign your name on their list and then wait outside, but we only waited a minute or two. They seated us at the counter on the yakitori side of the restaurant. I love how they yell at you when you come in and leave the restaurant, and I love that they only really serve ramen (as opposed to most Japanese restaurants in the U.S., where they serve a little bit of everything).

Anyways, I don't like their broth quite as much as some other ramen places, but their noodles are definitely my favorite. You can order the hakata ramen with soft, regular, or hard noodles, and they have the best consistency out of all the ramen noodles I've had. I'm never disappointed when I go to Shin Sen Gumi.

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Shin Sen Gumi Ramen

18315 Brookhurst St
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

(714) 962-8952