Manila Machine - Chicken Adobo on Wheels

The Manila Machine, a Filipono gourmet food truck launched last month by two food bloggers, Nastassia Johnson (Let Me Eat Cake) and Marvin Gapultos (Burnt Lumpia). Their innagural service at Downtown Art Walk, sold out rapidly as demand for their Chicken Adobo and Lumpia far exceeded expectations.



The Manila Machine has been mostly on the East Side for the first weeks of its operations, so when I saw that it was stopping by the Hulu offices on Olympic near Bundy on Thursday I leaped at the chance to check it out for myself. Johnson & Gapultos were manning the truck and dishing out the food quickly to the hungry online video workers.

I got their signature Chicken Adobo (pictured below) which is chicken braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay and black pepper and served alongside steamed jasmine rice. ($5). The chicken was served on the bone with the skin on and was tender and flavorful. The vinegar came through as the strongest note in the taste. It was not spicy at all. The jasmine rice had a nice flavor to it.



I also got one of the sliders (pictured below), which made up half of the menu. I opted for the beef tapa pan de sal slider. It was described as sweet calamansi beef, achara slaw, and spicy sriracha mayo on a pan de sal roll. ($3). The beef is several chunks, rather than a patty. The slider was easy to eat in just a few bites and was enjoyable although not as tasty as the adobo. I think both could have used some extra hot sauce, something I will ask for next time.



The menu is pictured below and you can see their full menu on the Manila Machine website here. Apparently the truck is so successful that it has already spawned an imitator. The Manila Machine will be participating at the LA Street Food Fest at the Rose Bowl on July 24th. You can buy tickets here.



I had never had Filipino food before, so I can't speak to the authenticity of the food, but can vouch for its deliciousness. You can watch a piece that local Fox LA affiliate did about them here.

In order to find the Manila Machine, check out their website and/or follow their twitter account for the latest updates.

Starry Kitchen - Tofu Balls are Back, Adios Malaysian Curry Chicken

Starry Kitchen opened three months ago in California Plaza downtown as a lunchtime option offering a rotating choice of four proteins in wraps or sandwiches with flavorful pan Asian flavors (think Malaysian curry chicken). The downtown location represents a migration from an operation that founders Nguyen and Thi Tran originally ran in their North Hollywood apartment last fall. Note that dinner service begins next Thursday.

The Trans have gone legit and they have a menu that changes every week. In order to showcase the extent of the menu and to provide variety to their customers, a dish is rotated off of the menu each week, and a new one rotated on, with the departing dish to return after a few months vacation. Today is the last day for the popular Malaysian chicken curry and the accompanying coconut rice, so hurry downtown if you want to try it, else you will have to wait a few months.

The Malaysian chicken curry (pictured above) was tasty and came with Korean glass noodles, a sesame slaw and coconut rice (a $1 upcharge from standard rice). The chicken was flavorful and I added some sriracha sauce to give it an added kick, which made it even better. The sweetness of the coconut rice tends to mute the spiciness of the curry. If you want additional spicy, the pickled chilies pictured at the bottom of this post are available to add to any dish. The japchae were well cooked and complemented the chicken and rice well. I really didn't need the slaw, but then again I don't get excited by slaw.

The infamous crispy tofu balls (pictured above) returned from a long hiatus this week and demand was high for these neon green crispy treats. Customers had been clamoring for their return and their wishes were granted. On Monday when I had lunch at Starry Kitchen, perhaps half of the customers ordered the tofu as Nguyen excitedly told people in line about its return. I preferred the Malaysian chicken to the tofu balls. The crispy exterior was fun to crunch on but it was just not as flavorful as the chicken.

At Starry Kitchen you order at the counter, receive a number and one of the staff will bring your food to your table. The staff and owners take pride in their product and are excited evangelists. The menu is on the blackboard (pictured above with Nguyen in the yellow shirt) and the crowd of eager lunchers can stretch out into the plaza at peak meal times. On Monday they were having a free soda day, which was a fun and unexpected bonus to the adventure of eating at Starry Kitchen. The genuineness of the proprietors comes through in their cooking, menu, and attitude: they want to feed you and make you happy. Starry Kitchen is what Chego should be, but fails to be.

Starry Kitchen is a feel good story but more importantly a happy belly story. To get the full backstory, read about their origins in LA Weekly.

Starry Kitchen is open Monday - Friday 11 am - 3 pm and will begin offering dinner on Thursday & Friday nights starting on Thursday May 27th.

Parking: Starry Kitchen will validate so parking is only $3 for 2 hours, which should leave you plenty of time to check out nearby Angel's Flight. $3 is a huge bargain downtown and is even less expensive than parking on the street at a meter.

Starry Kitchen is located at 350 S Grand Ave (California Plaza). Phone: (213) 617-3474. Website: www.starrykitchen.com