Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck

So, today the Kogi taco truck was going to the parking lot of the Temple City City Hall from 3:00 - 5:00 PM and my sister and I thought it would be a good idea to go and try it to see what all the hype was all about. By the time we got there and parked, it was about 2:50 PM. We started walking and we were like, "where is the truck?" and my sister was thinking that they changed the location last minute and I told her they were probably just running late. I mean...there were SO many people just forming a line to no where!

Here is the line that we were in...

WAIT!...it is wrapping around?! Holy cow!

HAHA! Alright, seriously...how long were you people waiting for this truck that was not even there? And then there were the sheriffs with their crazy Segways just hanging out...making sure that there was no chaos with the crowd. Either that or they were there because there was another event at that park. The City of Temple City and Parks and Recreation were celebrating Multicultural Day. There were booths with food and games and entertainers in the gazebo. OH! And I forgot to mention the FREE Hershey's Chocolate! AHAH so great! Well, hopped into line and we stood there and waited. Then 3:00 rolled around, and we continued waiting with no sign of the truck...until finally...

WOOHOO! The truck has arrived. I thought it was amusing how some people were cheering when they saw it. I also thought it was interesting that before the truck got into the lot, they went around the block and the sheriff on the Segway was speeding across the park trying to catch up to it lead them into the lot. Thanks Segway man for your awesome maneuvering and dodging the kids in the park. And then after 3:15 PM, people were able to start ordering.

Here are the people in the front of the line getting ready to get their food. JERKS! I was just jealous that I was not up there in the front with them XD

And here is the menu. I took this picture so my sister and I could figure out what we wanted to order since we had to wait a very long time anyway.

So as we were waiting, the line behind us was building. Then the event people started walking around asking what was the line for. After that, this other lady started asking who had tried the Kogi tacos before and asking for recommendations. I started listening and it seemed that a lot of these people, like myself, had not actually tried it, but were curious and came out. 4:00 rolled around and the girls behind us were like, "I heard they were going to stop orders at 4:30!" and at this point, we STILL were not close to the front. Then someone started pointing and they were like, "OH NO! A COOK CAME OUT!" and he had this mega phone. We all knew why he was out there and and anxiety level totally shot up 150% for all the people around us.

OH NO! The cook is telling people that they might not be able to get their tacos?! I would hate to be him... DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER!

Despite him coming out, the line was still as crazy long. Then 4:30 ish came around and they were still taking orders and I said, "well, they should stay here a little longer since they were late, right?" and everyone seemed to agree. And then there it was...RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!

OH! So close! ahah. I liked this picture. The black and white look made it look kinda...vintage

And yes I was THAT bored in line that I was messing with my camera functions and taking random pictures. At this point, my sister and I had been in line for like over 2 hours. Then I checked the time and it was like, 4:50 and there were 2 groups in front of us. I was totally panicking because I had this gut wrenching feeling that we would not get to order after waiting THAT long. Then I heard the couple order in front of us and then, "THERE IS AN $11 ORDER LIMIT." WHAT? $11?! My order had to be revised and my sister and I had to order separately, but what was to be cut off from the list?! I sacrificed the Kimchi quesadilla, but that was really hard to do because I totally smelled it.

YAY! Finally got my order in! 5 tacos: 2 short rib, 1 spicy pork, 1 chicken, 1 tofu - $10.95. There is the receipt!

Me and the back of the truck

So we both ordered and hopped into the pick up line and snapped some more pictures because we had to make the now almost 3 hour wait totally worth it. Then the girl that was behind me came and then her friend came running after saying, "OMG I was the last person and they cut everyone off behind me!" As I continued listening, she said that they were stopping with the orders at 5:00 and so everyone else had to leave. It was funny too because the one girl was like, I will kill anyone who is thinking of cutting in front of me and those poor guys that were behind her really did not get their tacos XD Needless to say, there were many angry people, but all I will say is that...I AM REALLY HAPPY I WAS NOT IN THAT GROUP. I am not rubbing it in...I honestly am not (and some of you KNOW why I was glad to get those tacos).

Still waiting to pick up food. Posed by another sign because it is now 5:20ish and I still have not gotten my tacos?!

And then at 5:30 PM, we finally got our tacos! YAY!!! and then we drove all the way to my aunt's house to eat them. And how were they? Shall we take a look?

Tacos: Tofu taco to the left, chicken taco to the right

Tacos: Spicy pork at the bottom left and 2 Korean short ribs above that.

The smell: Smelled like Korean BBQ (DUH!). SO GOOOOOOOD!
The look: DELICIOUS! Soft tacos topped with Korean BBQ?! Ingenious! Though I thought that it would even better with more salad/veggies on the top.
The taste:

(1) Korean tofu - this is an interesting taco because who would have thought of putting tofu on a corn tortilla?! It could have had a stronger Korean tofu soup kind of taste, but it did not. It kept that tofu taste, so if you are not that big of a fan of tofu, this may not be your cup of tea.
Me eating the tofu taco

(2) Chicken - Tasted like spicy chicken! My only complaint about this one was that, though the chicken was not dry, some of the charred pieces were hard and felt like little chicken rib bones. That was the only thing that bothered me, but the taste was pretty awesome and I really wanted to eat Korean BBQ.

Me taking a bite into the chicken taco

(3) Spicy pork - could have been spicier, but it was good. Moist and delicious. Even better than the last 2!

Me holding the spicy pork taco

(4) Korean short rib - OMG this was the best! It was like little pieces of kalbi without the bones! It was really good and greasy like real tacos XD ahah SOOOOO GOOOOOD

Overall, I would do this again (since I am really sad about not getting that kimchi quesadilla), but I don't want to be the person that does not get the tacos. How can you ensure that? Get there really super early or make a friend hold your place XD ahaha I would probably be that friend holding a spot. ahaha

Though I think that making korean BBQ and making tacos at home might be just as good and I do not have to wait in such a horrendous line O_o But, as a first time experience thing, it was kinda fun.

Shinsengumi Yakitori

Okay, so I have eaten here HOW MANY TIMES?! and I finally remembered to bring my camera XD But before I start talking about the food, what is yakitori?

Yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered grilled bite sized pieces 0f chicken or offals, usually barbequed over charcoal. Usually seasoned with salt or a tare (soy based) sauce.

May 28th, dinner at Shinsengumi Shabu Shabu/Yakitori in Monterey Park.

111 N. Atlantic Blvd., #248
Monterey Park, Ca, 91754
(626) 943-7956

Outside of the restaurant - giant Sumo and a TV that talks about the ramen, which they do not serve here

Place setting - plate, napkin, and wet nap

Happy hour: M-Th 6:00-8:00 PM, $1 Sapporo beer; Pitcher $5

$1 beer - KANPAI - CHEERS

I don't usually buy beer, so this deserved a picture.

So to start, we ordered some appetizer things from the menu.

Tuna carpaccio topped with thinly sliced onions and salad greens - $7.80
Seared Tuna with salad dressing and some veggies. I thought it had a refreshing taste. The onions were very thinly sliced and had a very mild flavor and very sparse salad greens. There could have been less dressing. My sister thought it was just tuna with dressing and my mom wanted the tuna to be fattier.

Agedashi tofu - $4 something
Fried tofu in a soy based sauce. There is grated ginger and daikon on the side topped with green onions, seaweed, and bonito. Very tasty.

And then...TO THE GRILL!

Asparagus wrapped in pork belly - $3
Crisp asparagus with pork belly (like BACON)

Chicken thigh and onion - Shio and Sauce - $2.50
Thigh meat (or dark meat) is so tender and paired with green onions?! nom nom

Yaki onigiri - $2
The outside is like eating the stuck on rice on a hot pot and the inside is like piping hot rice. So simple, but really amazingly tasty. The special onigiri has chirimen in it.

Crispy chicken skin - YUM - $2.50
Yeah some of you might think it sounds gross, but I love this stuff XD I will only eat chicken skin on wings and drummets and like this XD

Ox tongue and flap meat - $2.50
Ox tongue is fatty, but delicious and grilled?! OMG yum. add some shichimi on that and the flap...*DROOLS*

Enoki mushrooms wrapped with pork belly - $3
Could have used more enoki. I was only tasting the pork belly, but it was still good...just lacking on the enoki

Grilled shitake mushrooms - $3
Why are these so delicious grilled O_o

And lastly, dessert!

green tea creme brulee
Creamy and delicious. You would think that the green tea would not work with it, but it was really good and not powdery like you might expect.

Overall, very tasty and fun! It is pricey so be prepared to spend $50+ for 2 people and $100+ for 3, since the skewers are small and you can eat a lot XD

Beth's Cafe - Seattle, WA

So, it has been a while since I have blogged, so why not start again with a pig out spot? My friends and I stopped in Seattle on our way back from our road trip and I really wanted to try Beth's Cafe, home of the 12 egg omelet. I saw it on the Travel Channel's Pig Out Paradise and on Man vs. Food, so I was curious if I, too, could finish this massive platter.

The parking lot area, walking to the front door and I have to say that alley was really scary at night...

So, we walk in and the place is pretty tight and small. Lights were dim. Pictures all over the walls. The scent of oil filled the room. It reminded me of the dorm cafeterias in college where you sit there and eat and leaving reeking of the food you ate (not like the deliciousness of Korean BBQ smell). I thought that the waitress was kinda gruffy and not so nice because we thought she told us to follow her, but I guess she did not and she was like...annoyed I guess.

Anyway, when we got seated and got our paper and crayons, we decided to share the 12 egg omelet because both my friends said I would not be able to finish it. Those were fighting words, so I was determined to eat as much as possible even if it made me sick. We waited and doodled and waited some more and then finally, the woman came to take our order: vegetarian 12 egg omelet and a plate of french toast.

It is like a folded yellow blanket on a platter. Look how tiny the toast looks!

Me and the 12 egg omelet.

French Toast

Upon taking the first bite of the omelet, I started doubting if I could even eat half of the order. As I continued eating, I knew I could not eat as much I was thinking because it all tasted like butter. It was really greasy and heavy and my stomach was going to have a party in the potty if I seriously forced that thing down. Not that it tasted bad...it was just a bit much, though the best part of the omelet were the uber crispy hashbrowns. SO GOOD! The french toast was ok. I thought it was a little soft for my liking and really oily.

So, in the end, I was only able to eat less than 1/2 of that 12 egg omelet and my other friend ate about 1/4, which was probably more eggs than she could handle.

And then, I started picking at what was left, trying to get all the hashbowns and leaving the rest on the pizza platter XD ahaha. Should have packed it back, but I was not going to eat that again so I opted to waste it since we were going on the road again.

If you are ever in Seattle and have cravings for omelets late at night, then this is the place to go. If you are just visiting the area, I think Beth's Cafe is cool to stop by once just to try it out and take in the atmosphere. I did like the paper and crayon supplies they give you and how they hang up the pictures. Overall, the experience was pretty neat and unique.

Beth's Cafe

7311 Aurora Ave. N.

Seattle, WA

(206) 782 - 5588

Tortillas Plus Recipe

So, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I made homemade flour tortillas for work. 72 in total, but still not enough to feed everyone. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Directions:

(1) Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix water and oil in another bowl.
(2) Slowly add water to flour mixture and stir well; dough will be sticky.
(3) Knead dough into a ball. Adding flour to your hands helps reduce the amount of dough that gets stuck to your hands.

Ball of sticky dough

(4) Break the dough into 12 even pieces.

I had already rolled out 4

(5) Flour your board and rolling pin and roll out until thin (or of you have a tortilla press, press until flat). You might need to constantly flour everything, which was the case for me.
(6) Pan fry with a little oil until both sides are done.

TADA!

(7) Serve hot or use it to make quesadillas or tacos.

Hope you like this recipe. I found it online. I liked it because it was simple and I had everything in my house.

Ocean Bo, El Monte

Okay, so as an early Mother's Day celebration dinner, My family went to Ocean Bo (Hoi Bo) in El Monte. They sell dim sum during the day (fast and inexpensive), but at night they have pretty amazing dishes and fast service. Personally, I think that it is great that there is a dim sum place in El Monte among all the Mexican restaurants in the area.

For the meal, each table ordered what they felt like eating. No need to worry about getting a set meal with things the kiddies won't eat. Makes life a little easier and the meal cheaper, especially since we had 3 tables. Anyways, to the food!

Sweet and sour fish filets

Fried shrimp and crab paste.

Oyster omelet

Duck and Tofu
This is not roasted duck. It is marinated and cooked in a sauce.

Beef brisket hot pot

Spicy garlic eggplant - MY FAVORITE!

Garlic sauteed large pea sprouts

Chinese steamed sponge cake (ma lai gao)

Look at the three layers! YUM

Everything was really good and everyone was really full. I am only sad about the fact that I forgot to take a picture of the soup, the salt water chicken, and the fried rice. I totally forgot about them until it was too late. Sad.

Also, if you did not know, this is the same as NBC in Monterey Park. The owner of the El Monte branch bought them out. I also found out from one of the lady's that used to work at NBC that the owner of Ocean Bo used to be their old dim sum chef and left to run his own place...and now he owns it XD What a turn of events.

Ocean Bo Dim Sum Express

3499 Peck rd, #1
El Monte, Ca 91732
(626) 452-1818

NBC

404 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, Ca 91754
(626) 282-2323