CATHERINE- FAST FOOD OR EATING OUT? -
Thursday, September 24, 2009
FOLLOW THE TRUCK IF YOU'RE STILL HUNGRY.
Trying a new type of food that you are not familiar with is a difficult task most of the time, especially if you are nit-picky. Don’t you agree? It’s either you will like the food or you will waste money on something you wish you had not ordered. Last weekend, my cousins and I went to Baccali’s Café and Rotisserie, which is located in Alhambra, for dinner to catch up with one another. It was my first time there and the menu had so many different selections. I was told that Baccali’s Café and Rotisserie was known for their rotisserie chicken, which seemed quite obvious because of the name. Although, I wanted to try something different and was not able to make a decision, so my cousin’s boyfriend suggested that I try a baked seafood pasta. I went along with his suggestion and it turned out that the baked seafood pasta was not what I had pictured it to be. It turned out as a soup porridge as opposed to noodles mixed with seafood all around. I decided to give it a try and eventually did not like it. My facial expression showed my cousin’s boyfriend that I was not satisfied and he felt terrible. In return, he paid for my baked seafood pasta.
As we headed back to his place, we saw a Kogi truck on the freeway that ended up becoming a chase since dinner did not satisfy me. Kogi was written on three sides of the truck and was founded by Mark Manguera, who thought about Korean BBQ on a taco one night as he was eating Mexican tacos and drinking a beer. Besides Manguera, chef Roy Choi was classically trained and made Kogi tacos tasty. The Kogi truck in particular is a Korean BBQ taco stand that ventures off to at least three different cities a day for about three hours at each location. Isn’t this amazing? Who knew that Korean BBQ taco trucks would head out to different areas and reach out to people about their tacos. Furthermore, these tacos trucks would twitter out to everyone the time and destination every hour and respond back to individuals quickly. I thought that this was really impressive. They had the best Korean tacos with a juicy sauce and other mouth-watering selections that captivated everyone. What made them so unique was the way it tasted, as if you were actually going to go eat at a Korean BBQ restaurant.
The tacos were honestly different from Del Taco and Taco Bell. What fascinated me was the way Kogi invented tacos with kimchi (spicy cabage with varied seasonings). Whoever knew that their would be kimchi tacos sold to the public. This was definitely a highlight! In addition, tacos were two dollars and burritos were a few dollars more. I say these tacos were far better than the 89 or 99 cent tacos from Del Taco and Taco Bell. I was quite familiar with Kogi due to the fact it made a big scene this past April in Cerritos. Police cars were surrounding the intersection and telling everyone to go home. Aside from that, the lines were tremendously long which surrounded the building and there was a certain limit you can only purchase. The moment the Kogi truck stopped, I rushed in line and was lucky enough to be the second customer. There I ordered four short-ribbed tacos and got it right away. The night became a long adventure that extremely satisfied my stomach and knew that Kogi would not disappoint me. Later on, I thought about what’s next to come? Filipino Tacos? Japanese Tacos? Indian Tacos? Someone might invent a new type of taco that will be the next big hit, roaming different cities.
PANCIT
Everyone in the United States always celebrates his or her birthday with a special dish every year, whether it may be a family tradition or something that just has to be on the kitchen table. Pancit (a noodle dish of Asian cuisine) is a very important dish in the customary Filipino tradition, especially when it is someone’s birthday and of course on New Year’s Day. What I think makes pancit so unique, is that it can be incorporated in many ways. Other types of noodle dishes, such as pad thai, chow mein, crispy noodle are among many of the other cultures. The most common ingredients pancit includes are noodles, carrots, head cabbage, onion, garlic cloves, green onions, chicken broth, black pepper, chicken bullion, soy sauce, lemon juice, and boneless chicken breast. You can also substitute some veggies, if you dislike particular ones as well as other types of meat. It was also said that pancit originated in China and was brought to the Philippines by traders. Long ago, the wheat noodles used in China were not available in the Philippines, so the Filipinos used the resources that were available such as rice and mongo-bean starch. Nowadays, you can purchase ingredients at a local supermarket nearby your place to make your scrumptious pancit at home.
Typically, my mom would cook a tray of pancit for my birthday every year or specifically order from a Filipino restaurant. Every time she cooks this dish at home, my little sister and I would write down the directions step by step and carefully watch. She would always mention to “eat a lot” of this since it represented longevity (to live a longer life to celebrate more birthdays) and good health, according to my grandmother. Whenever I eat pancit, I never forget my pandesal (salt bread) and the squeeze of lemon to add flavor. In my opinion, the salt bread substitutes the rice and the pancit becomes the main dish. I believe pancit informs us Americans culturally by having this traditional dish signify an important part of our culture and on important dates each year. Pancit defines my Filipino culture significantly since this dish has been common for several years. Moreover, there are several types of pancit, such as bihon, canton, malabon, miki, palabok, sotanghon, and many others that vary from really thin noodles to very thick noodles. Not only does pancit come in a variety of forms and sizes, it can also be made in any other traditional way, whether it may be Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and so on. Pancit can be found in Filipino restaurants and fast food places, such as Goldilocks, Red ribbon, Jolibee, and Pinoy Pinay. This Filipino dish is a quick and easy process and usually only takes a couple of minutes to prepare. Seeing this dish on special occasions makes me proud for the reason that it brings great significance in my family and culture. Lastly, this dish is filling and is definitely worth trying.
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