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!

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!

Late Post: Big Boy's Filipino Food Truck: review

Food Truck Event 092113

This past weekend, I attended another food truck event. Since I'm on a restricted nutrition plan, I had to see what was the healthiest item I could possibly eat. It was sort of my 'cheat day,' but I made sure to not eat anything to fatty or deep fried!

The first stop I went to was to Crisp Creperie and I ordered their Proscuitto and Brie crepe w/ almond butter, arugula, and apples.

It was indeed a fairly big crepe and it cost $12. The pricing is a little higher than i'd like for a crepe, but I wanted to try it so forked up the cash.

I will say that the crepe was very good though. They weren't stingy on the ingredients either (and I would hope not since I did pay $12 for it). The only downside to this is the crepe dough/pancake thing itself. I wish there was a little seasoning to it instead of tasting like plain flour. Even a little pinch more salt or something would've been better. Other than that, I did enjoy this crepe and unlike other crepes i've had, I had to use a knife and fork to actually cut it and eat it up.

The other item I tried (just a small piece from what my dad ordered) was from Outside the Box, which is basically a Paleo diet sort of food truck where they don't use any processed foods and supposed to have more healthier foods.

We tried the Pork Belly , and I was a bit confused of the fact that it was on the menu since pork belly is not really healthy at all. I guess is just that is local and better raised swine? I'm not sure. Anyways, this item came on a bed of kale and we did expect something more than just a few slices of meat on greens. It was also a really long wait for this item so may not really be worth it

The pork belly was $8 for 4 slices. The flavor was decent but the meat wasn't overly tender. I wasn't too impressed with this and would have rather tried a different item from them.