Seattle's Chinatown-ID Dragon Fest 2014 w/ Food Reviews!

This past weekend was the McDonald's presents Seattle's Chinatown-ID Dragon Fest and I was so glad that I went!

I couldn't pick between two ice cream flavors, so naturally, I got both!

 

Here's a look at the event and of course..some food pics!

Day time on Saturday

 

Night Market on Saturday Night

 I didn't spend much time at Dragon Fest on Saturday since I went to the Mariners game, but on Sunday, I was there the whole day working, but of course, I had to try some food places!

My first stop was the My Sweet Lil Cakes food truck that makes, as it says, sweet cakes, but in stick form which I loved the idea behind. The workers there were also very friendly.

 

 

It took awhile for them to open, but when they were ready, they had the Free Range Chicken & Waffle w/ syrup and butter ready to go!

 

 

As you can see, this piece was a fried batter of goodness drenched in syrup and butter. I wouldn't recommend eating too many of these, but one is definitely enough to indulge yourself! I loveeeed this!

 

Inside of the chicken & waffle on a stick.

Here's my friends Chicken & waffle (It looks way better and more like a waffle than mines! Haha)

 

 

I also then ordered their Red Velvet pancake with cherries inside. This one wasn't quite ready and I had to wait 30 mins for it, but I honestly didn't mind because it gave me tummy time to digest the chicken and waffle so I could really enjoy this one. Doesn't it just look amazing!?! drooools 

 

 

Inside the pancake  you can see the cherries.

For a mid meal break, I then went ahead and got some ice cream bars! I love Full Tilt Ice cream (local to Seattle) and especially their Salted Caramel one. When I saw that they had it in bar form, I had to get it!

 

Buttt, when I saw that they were 2 for $5.00 and had an Orange Rosemary Honey flavor, I knew I had to get both, and both I did get!

 

It probably wasn't the best idea since at the end they started melting a bit, but I was able to finish them both off fine! I didn't care too much for the chocolate dipped on top of the bars since it took away from the natural flavor of the actual ice cream itself but once I finished the chocolate, I could taste the ice cream flavors. I really enjoyed the subtle hint of orange and honey on that bar (couldn't really taste too much rosemary). The salted caramel wasn't as salty as I thought it would be (slight disappointment) and  parts of the bar was iced over, so not smooth ice cream but weird iced bits that were crunchy and not what I was expecting. Still good for a hot day, but could have been better!

=)

 The last thing I ate, I wasn't even going to eat, but once I saw that it was El Salvadorian food with pupusas, I had to try it!

 

 

I  had the Crazy Pupsa with everything in it and a side of their version of horchata (made not just with rice but with nuts too!)

 

 

 

 

side of pickled cabbage

 

The pupusa was nice and hot, they put it on the grill once I was there. It is like a pancake stuffed with a lot of ingredients, or if you're familiar with the Korean Pajun (pancake) it is kind of like that. Another way I can think of describing pupusas is if it was like a tamale in pancake form but less dense. The flavors all melded together and the pickled veggies were a nice cooling touch to the salsa and heat of the pupusa. 

The horchata was different than most I've had that were just rice and spices since this one also had peanut in it as well (hence the more brown color). I really liked this a lot and it reminded me of a few Asian drinks that have peanuts in them.

 

Overall, this was a successful event and I was glad I was able to eat such good food and try some new things! I love Summer time in Seattle and can't wait to go to more events!

 

Do you like going to festivals and fairs in your home town? What are you favorite ones? If I ever am in your area during your summer, I'd love to check them out!

Malay Satay Hut: Restuarant Review

Growing up with the occasional Malaysian food (my mother's family is from Malaysia), sometimes I get cravings, especially for items that remind me of the different trips I have taken to Malaysia. When my family gets a particular craving, we will go to one of the only, more authentic, Malaysian restaurants in Seattle, and that is Malay Satay Hut.

 

Located at the outer edges of the International District, Malay Satay Hut brings a slice of Malaysian flavor to the area. Ever since I was a little girl (I want to say around 15 years ago), my family and I would come here more frequently. However, over the recent years, we just never went back (not sure why?) Maybe the food quality wasn't as good or it just fell off our radar, but more recently, we have been going back and have been enjoying it.

 

 

As you can see, their menu has a lot of options, and these are just a couple pages.

The interior is reminiscent of wood and long houses in Malaysia and has pictures of a local resort, street markets and this cheerful one of a man making the every popular Teh Tarik aka Pulled Tea (I love getting this when I was in Malaysia!)

 

We started off with a favorite, Roti Canai (a buttery, crispy soft layered bread of sorts) with curry (In Kuala Lumpor, I remember having it with the sugar crystals for breakfast and that was bomb!).

The roti was good and nice and light, but the curry alongside it was only so-so. As you can see we only had one potato piece per order and the curry itself was a little salty.

 

My cousin and I both wanted the Teh Tarik (pulled tea, black tea with cream and sugar) and I have to say it was pretty decent, for not being from Malaysia. It obviously isn't the best Teh Tarik I have tasted but it definitely satisfied the craving for the tea.

 

Now for our main courses. We of course love the Hainanese Chicken rice. My mom and my aunts will make this specifically for special occasions (like Chinese New Year) or sometimes on some random weekend, but they don't make it often because it takes a lot of work. You have to cook the whole chicken a specific way to make sure the flavor and texture is right. Then you have to take the fat from the chicken to use to flavor the rice and you have to cook the rice Juuuust right. Eating this at a restaurant is a nice treat because we get the great flavors without the work! Their rice was especially good. The texture wasn't mushy or too dry and the chicken flavors were perfect and it wasn't too salty. The chicken was nice and firm without being to chewy, yet it was nice and moist. This dish was on point!

 

 

We had another Malaysian (and my personal favorite) dish called Nasi Lemak which is a flavored coconut rice dish with eggs, peanuts, anchovies, and some type of curried meat ( I think this is lamb) and some sambal (a type of chili paste/condiment). I mainly like this dish for the coconut infused rice and when you mix it with the different sauces, it just makes for a flavorful combination!

 

 

We then had Fish Head Curry which I didn't really care too much for, besides just to have the okra. My mom really enjoyed it so it must've been good. I just wasn't in the mood for fish this day!

 

 

We had a salt & pepper frog leg dish. Not really sure that this is a "Malaysian" dish, but Malaysia cuisine has a lot of strong influences from Chinese cuisine so this may just be that typical salt & pepper combo used in a lot of Chinese dishes. This was a little too 'fresh' tasting for me. It was definitely better the day after. I just don't think the frog legs had enough time to soak in the salt to add flavor to the meat. Definitely not one for the faint of heart (especially when you tell people) but they really do look like mini chicken wings! The texture is similar too, just a lot more chewy.

 

 

This next dish is something translated to Buddha Taro Bowl, or Buddha Yam Pot which is basically fried taro (to act as the bowl) with stir-fry veggies and seafood in the center. I personally like the fried yam/taro part the best, I don't care too much for the items inside, except maybe just the shrimp. The presentation on this is definitely fun to look at though!

 

 

One of the last dishes we had was the Belacan okra, which is by far one of my most favorite dishes of all time! #1) I love okra, #2) I love shrimp and #3) When both are combined with onions and the belacan (which is a fermented shrimp paste that is fried) just makes for the most aromatic dish that is intense in tasty flavor. If you're not into 'fishy' items or are picky about it, this is definitely different than that and just smells and tastes amazing!

 

It was good coming back to this restaurant and I plan on going back again soon! My mom had already brought home food to-go from here including another one of my favorites, Char Kuey Teow, which is a wide rice noodle stir fry dish with a thick gravy. The owner even remembers my mom from coming that long ago and they talk about going 'back home' all the time and sort of reminisce also. Everything is reasonably priced, nothing super cheap, but nothing too expensive either. I would probably avoid rush hour times at lunch/dinner, but other than that, our service was good and we got our food in a timely manner.

 

Have you ever tried Malaysian food before?

Mobile Food Truck Rodeo 2014

Despite the pouring rain, I was still at the 2014 Mobile Food Truck Rodeo that featured a 'Taco Libre' battle of the tacos showdown (even though I didn't really see any tacos or eat any). Besides that, I still got to try some yummy food! Here's a look below!

I've had these donuts before (last year I believe) but I tried a different flavor profile: Cinnamon and Caramel. The little donuts are freshly made and fried in front of you with the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top and topped with the caramel sauce. These were very hot and fresh, but the only down side is that some of them were a bit doughy--as if they weren't cooked inside long enough. But for $4 at a food truck event, it isn't too bad a price since everything else is pretty pricy.

My main meal was a Shrimp Sandwhich at Papa Bois, which is Caribbean inspired? I think? I may be wrong..

The sandwhich is on a French baguette (like the Vietnamese Banh Mi) but it is toasted. Inside the sandwhich was a pickeled onion, some sort of cole slaw type cabbage and the marinated shrimp.

At $12, it was a bit pricy but the sandwhich was good. It was nice and hot and had a spicy/smokey flavor to it.

Here's a look of the people baring the rain to get some Food Truck food!

I needed a drink and I wanted to try something different, so this Soda Jerk stand looked promising with their different flavored sodas.

I tried their Lime Cilantro Jalapeno soda and quite liked it. It definitely reminded me of Pho noodles though, especially when I squeeze the lime into the broth, which is weird to say but if this product wasn't sweetened, it would definitely be a Pho veggie version of Pho. I did enjoy it though, but once again, found the 12 oz size to be pricey at $3.00.

Below are items my friends ordered and tried out.

Coconut curry w/ Tofu (this was a bit too sweet for me).

Shwarma (my friend only tried it since the Avengers had it. haha.

Garlic Fries with Hummus and a Yogurt dip. These fries were hella salty! You def need to dip them in either the hummus or yogurt.

This Gourmet Grilled Cheese food truck had a consistent busy line so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. It was also pricey for what you ordered so I decided on the original grilled cheese with grilled onions and bacon.

I have to honestly say that this wasn't anything special and quite disappointing, especailly for the $7 I paid for it. The bottom yellow cheddar cheese, as you can see, wasn't evne melted all the way and still kind of hard and the bacon wasn't as 'thick' as I thought it would be.

Lastly, here's a look at the Luchador wrestling ring!

I love food truck events and am glad to have tried different food trucks. I probably would have enjoyed myself much more if there wasn't any rain! However, I look forward to future food truck events in the Seattle area!

Do you like food trucks? What types of food would interest you in a food truck?? Let me know!