Giovanni's Shrimp Truck - Haleiwa, HI

One of the "must" visit food joints in Hawaii. I was totally excited about garlic butter shrimp and hoped that I wasn't going to get disappointed since it was hyped up so much.

My fiancé and I came right past lunch time so the line had dwindled down. We ordered 2 plates but one was honestly enough to hold our stomachs. The shrimp plates didn't take too long to prepare, I would say a good 5-10 minutes, assuming it was made on the spot (since shrimps doesn't take that long to cook anyways).

One important thing to point out, there are a lot of flies there. If you're not afraid of them buzzing around, you can definitely sit at the benches and enjoy your shrimp plate. But let me tell you this, once you open up your plate of goodies, the flies would be hovering around you. Nonetheless, the garlic butter shrimp was ok, nothing fantastic about it. There were about 10 shrimps along with 2 scoops of rice, the rice was way too soft. They spooned a good amount of the garlic butter sauce on top of the rice which made it even more soggy, wasn't very enjoyable. The shrimp itself tasted a bit soft, like it was floured up and then cooked in butter for a long time.

Overall, it was a disappointment. Oh, and the head of the shrimp is not attached. That's like the best part when you just suck the brains out (tmi?). It's a place you want to visit to say you at least tried it, but I wouldn't return.

Lemon Butter Shrimp (front), Garlic Butter Shrimp (back)

Verdict:
Food ~ 2.5 out of 5
Price ~ 3.5 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck
66-472 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712

Memorial Day @ Red Hook Ball Fields

This past weekend J and I spent it together and just tried to take it easy. We went to Red Hook where the soccer games took place and had delicious authentic food. Trucks were set up to serve the Hispanic community and now it became something more than that. If you want some real tacos and ceviche, this is where you want to get it.

There wasn't much trucks and stalls this weekend probably because of the holiday. But that didn't stop us from getting great food and enjoying the weather.

I heard about pupusas and knew we had to try it. It's basically a patty cake with meat/vegetable/cheese fillings. I've never tried pupusas and was extremely excited about it.

J and I got the pupusas along with a meal that included chicharrons (fried pork bits) for $9. Not a bad price. Pupusa are made from corn flour and shaped into a round patty filled with your choice of anything on their menu. The longer they have it laying on the grill, the crunchier the texture will be, but if they're in a rush the pupusa would be cooked just right and still have that soft corn bread texture, I prefer the former. The cabbage was really good and the chicharrons were nice and crunchy meaty goodness. I liked how they threw in some onions and cilantro, can't forget the lime - all together, it was delicious and a true hearty meal.

For munchies, I got some Fried Plantains ($3). I thought they were flavorless until I got further down, it was salty but quite addicting.

J ordered the Horchata ($2). Definitely not my thing, I tried it twice and it was still not my thing. The initial sip was fine until the aftertaste hits you and you get that awkward feeling in the mouth. Like, a beautiful looking female suddenly opening her mouth and sounded like a guy kind of awkwardness.

One of our last dishes was the Ceviche de Camerones ($7). Extremely refreshing on a hot sunny day. We were sitting on the bench and just watching and enjoying the people playing soccer in the field. The next thing I know, I see a lady pushing a cart of...churros! I have to get it since it's been so long and we needed to be in the spirit! I mean, since we're there already, might as well right?

It was a wonderful day.

Might be a little breezy but the sun was always trying to peak out. This little date in the park was really relaxing. I rather have this with J anytime than a hectic barbeque (unless we don't have to hook and clean up).

Red Hook Ball Fields/Vendors

Clinton St & Bay St
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Weekday Lunch: Bian Dang Truck

Thanks to my new app which I got recently, I can tell which food trucks are around me. Such a useful tool to sure a hungry stomach. I found that Bian Dang, a Taiwanese cuisine, truck was around the neighborhood so I walked a bit. Giving the nice weather, too nice since the sun was blairing down.

The line was insanely long when I got there, probably more than 10 people. But, I was determined to get me some Taiwanese lunchbox!

After waiting for 15 minutes, my order took less than 3 minutes to reach my hands. That's pretty quick, I started to get a bit worried but I might as well hope for the best.



I got the Chicken Leg over Rice with Meat Sauce. Holy...it was a big portion.

Delicious meat sauce that is just clinging on the rice.

Amazingly crispy skin. How can you have chicken without the skin?! That's illegal!

The coloring on the chicken looks heavenly. The meat sauce was quite different than what I expected. Then again, I never had Taiwanese meat sauce before. The meat sauce is on the sour side and I found that it's from the pickled cabbaged they used. Extremely tasty because it's not the usual savory flavor you would get, a little kick of sourness is definitely unique.

What I do regret is not getting their tea egg. It probably would've went perfect with the entire meal, although I did have a problem finishing it. The prices for the truck is $1 less than if you get it at their storefront.

Bian Dang Truck

Various Locations - check their twitter

New York, NY

Dessert Works: Wafels & Dinges

This past Friday morning, I heard my co-workers talk about waffles on a truck and I just had to ask if they were talking about Wafels & Dinges. They were like yea, they're usually around here on Fridays. I knew then and there that I wanted to try it. I've heard many good things about Wafels & Dinges and here's my chance to finally try it since it's only a block away from my building.

When lunchtime came, I zoomed out of my office and went to get lunch and then swing by the truck to get my waffle which will serve as my dessert.

When I got there, there was already a line. I should've expect it. But the line moved quickly and I was so excited when it was time for me to order.

The lid cover for my waffle. The guy on the truck said if I bring the lid back, it'll score me a free topping. Awesome!

Brussels Wafel w/ dulce de leche, nutella, strawberries, walnuts, and whipped cream

Are you salivating?
I love how ginormous the waffle was and all the toppings were so generous also. The waffle was extremely crisp on the outside and soft like a pillow in the inside. Tasted like how a real waffle should be.

If I ever see Wafels & Dinges on the street, I'm definitely not going to pass away the chance to get a waffle. It tasted so heavenly.

Wafels & Dinges
Food Truck has various location, please check website.
(866) 429-7329

Street Eats: PARKED! Food Truck Festival

This past weekend I attended the PARKED! Food Truck Festival that was held at the South Street Seaport with J. Found out from BigAppleNosh that it was literally happening on Saturday, and since it involved food, J and I must be there!

We got there around noon, the place was already packed with people. The sun wasn't giving any mercy either, I think I got a little burnt from waiting on those lines. I mean, I love how convenient it was that majority of the food trucks were there but I so did not love the long lines!

We browsed around a lot and only ordered a couple of things. Good thing there were a handful of trucks we already tried before so it was easy to "move on" to the next one. Overall, it was definitely fun and I was glad I got to spent some time with J.

Photos credit to J.

Kielbasa Hero

Grilled Cheese with Tomato and Bacon

Mandarin Jarrito; Brisket Slider; Short Rib Taco

We also had Dip'n'Dots. I absolutely love this type of ice cream cause it's just so fun to eat. Whenever I see it, and I make sure to have J look out for it also, I would get it. I had to stand in the shade to eat it since it tends to melt fast. Another dessert we had was shaved ice from The Shaved Ice Shop, this was a return visit for us. We had it at Hester Street Fair (which is still happening now!), and loved it. But it was a bit of a disappointment this time since they used a small bowl to hold the ice instead of the cool looking flower looking cup.

I left satisfied and stuffed. There are a couple of places I did try and would definitely want to track down the truck and eat it again.

Weekday Lunch: Eddie's Pizza Truck

I'm so glad I didn't bring lunch into work today because Eddie's Pizza Truck was parked literally right outside of my building. This isn't the first time they were here but all the other times I would always have lunch. Believe me, it was very tempting but I had no choice.

But today, it was my chance. I trek down and ordered my first bar pizza ever. They have a lunch special that was only $10 which consist of a pie of bar pizza with any one topping, salad or cookie, and soda or water. I think that's quite a bargain, cause pizza around the FiDi area is not cheap at all. Lucky me, I didn't have to wait on line since there was no line to begin with. I ordered myself the lunch special with mushrooms, salad, and a coke. Man, the soda bombed my healthy streak. The wait for the pizza to cook was probably around 5-7 minutes, not too bad.

Hopping on the elevator all giddy, I just couldn't wait to eat it. I opened the box and it was like "whoaaaaaa."

I think they did a pretty good job with my mushrooms. I mean, I don't want my entire pizza to be covered in mushrooms even though I do love them. The crust was extremely good, as thin as a tortilla which is absolutely fantastic. I loved how the cheese overrides the crust, a good pizza should be packed with cheesy goodness.

It's an adult sized personal pizza. Nothing compared to the Pizza Hut personal pies. This will knock it upside down because the quality is that much better. If you have some time to spare and want some good pizza, give Eddie's a shot.

For info on where the truck is, either follow them on twitter or check it out on their website.

Eddie's Pizza Truck
New York, NY
(917) 439-7522 

Frying Dutchmen

This food truck sells fries on the go. The only way you can find them would be following them on twitter, check out their website, or just plainly be lucky and bump into them in the streets.

It was a hot day when J and I ordered from this truck, they apparently were stationed at Union Square for maybe an hour and was planning to change locations. Good thing we caught them before they leave. They had over 15 types of sauces on their menu and not only did they have regular potato french fries, but also sweet potato fries. We wanted the combination but they told us they were out of sweet potato. I was quite disappointed but the heat was making it too uncomfortable for me to even care. Eventually, we got our fries and 2 types of sauces.

The two sauces were Vampire Repellent (Roasted Garlic & Nutmeg Aioli) and Dave's Roasted Poblano BBQ Sauce. I personally liked the BBQ sauce a lot more than the Vampire Repellent, I mean it wasn't that bad but the garlic and nutmeg with fries was just too weird for me. They have a heck more sauces that might suit each person.

I probably won't be coming back to the Frying Dutchmen just because I find that Pomme Frites are a heck lot better.

Frying Dutchmen
Various Location in NYC
(646) 397-1379

Drink Up: Kelvin Natural Slush Co.

Walking down 14 Street, I spotted the Kelvin truck. I've heard they serve some heck of a slush and the weather was perfect for a great slush like that. Although getting it dead hot on a summer day will just make the ice melt faster, which is no bueno for me. Lucky enough, J and I got this at night... absolutely perfect.

Kelvin's slush is quite simple, you get to choose from 3 different types of flavors and get to add-in a fruity puree to give your entire drink a fresh kick. J and I opted for the special of the day - the Arnold Palmer. Iced tea slush and lemonade slush.

Arnold Palmer

Definitely a nice refreshing drink. If you like slushies then this is the truck you need to find. Just the right amount of sweetness in it to quench your thirst in the summer night.

Kelvin Natural Slush Co.
Various locations in NYC.
(646) 200-5083