Street food is conquering the world. The tidbits once abhorred by jetsetters and fashionistas as trash and junk now dominate the TV Food Network’s prime shows hosted by acclaimed chefs from food capitals all over the planet.

Street food reflects the culture and lifestyle of a city and its people, and is often inexpensive and easy to prepare using the barest kitchen implements. In my travels overseas, I seek out street food and rely on them for adventure and survival.

Among the most memorable are takoyaki in Osaka, wonton soup in Kowloon, thick ful soup in Cairo, crunchy falafel in Amman, smokey grilled lamb innards in Athens, cheese and olives in Mainz, tiny grilled langonisa in Mactan, empanada in Batac. You get the picture: food that’s handmade, cheap, tasty and could be consumed without cutlery.

BEWARE OF FOOD-BORNE AILMENTS – Despite all those years of enjoyable foraging through the sidewalks of many continents, I shirk at the thought of eating street food in Metro Manila, where most food vendors handle their goods with bare hands and keep raw and undercooked food unrefrigerated for hours, The heat, the humidity, the flying and crawling insects, the air filled with germs and bacteria – all frightened me enough to make my kids swear they’ll never patronize a sidewalk stall.

HOME-COOKED BANGKETA FARE – Not wanting my kids to miss out on delicious food, we eventually found a way around that over-protective precaution. My children grew up eating street food quite often, yet they never once got food poisoning or stomach ailments from this indulgence. The secret? They only ate street food at home, never in the streets.

A TRIO OF BALLS – Our first home venture involved fish balls, squid balls and kikiam, the holy trinity of skewered bliss sold straight from their hot deep fryers at virtually every busy street corner and school gate all over the metropolis.

These are sold chilled or frozen at public markets and supermarkets, in ¼ kilo, ½ kilo and 1 kilo packs, and do not have to be thawed before cooking. They can go straight from the chiller to the fryer.

START WITH COLD OIL – Contrary to western cooking methods, fish balls should never be dropped into very hot oil or they will never expand. The extremely hot oil will immediately cause a hard crust to form on the surface of the balls, preventing the air bubbles trapped inside from expanding and making the balls bigger and lighter.

Place the cold balls in the warm or cold oil over low heat, cook slowly to let the oil heat up gradually. Patience is key. The heat may be turned up to brown the surface once the balls have expanded to their maximum size.

Before frying the second batch of balls, allow the oil to cool down a bit before starting the process all over again.

SECRET’S IN THE SAUCE – All fish ball vendors have their secret sawsawan, or dipping sauces, which often come in pairs: one red and sweet, the other is brown with a tangy spiciness. Both sauces are thick, the better for them to stick to each ball.

Fish balls have become so mainstream that bottled fish ball sauces are now sold at supermarkets alongside oyster sauce and catsup. However, it is cheaper and more rewarding to make your own sauce with ingredients already in your shelves.

For the red sauce, the main ingredient is banana catsup, which will provide the thickness, color, light chili heat and some sweetness. Add chopped onions and minced garlic and thin with water, beer or any soft drink. Taste and adjust seasonings.

For the brown sauce, start by dissolving brown sugar in a little water in a pan over low heat. Keep stirring until dissolved and watch to prevent scorching. Add a packet of chicken powder or a bouillon cube, one crushed red hot pepper, black pepper, crushed garlic and chopped onion. Stir in some soy sauce and a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken the sauce. Lastly, add vinegar to taste. Adjust thickness by adding more water or cornstarch mixture.

BE AUTHENTIC – The small oval paper trays used by sidewalk vendors to serve fish balls are sold at supermarkets and at small stores in public markets. They are cheap as short bamboo barbecue skewers are used to spear and eat the balls with.

My children and their friends used to get a kick out of eating fish balls with all works in our very own home. We’ve also served them at family gatherings, birthdays and other festive occasions.

LUMPIANG SHANGHAI – The supermarkets have taken the guesswork out of making Lumpiang Shanghai; they now offer freshly mixed ground pork, carrots, kinchay, spices and binding all ready to be stuffed into lumpia wrappers and fried.

To stretch the budget and make more lumpia from a small amount of filling, we sometimes add panko (Japanese bread crumbs), mashed or grated potatoes, chopped or shredded leftover meats and an extra beaten egg as binder. Serve with fish ball sauces.

MEXICAN LUMPIA – Using the same supermarket mix, we make Mexican-style appetizers by adding mashed cooked kidney beans, hot chili peppers and grated cheese. We serve fried Mexican lumpia with a topping of fresh salsa (chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro seasoned with lemon juice and Tabasco) and a mound of fresh avocado slices.

http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=3582&sid=3&subid=18#.UUZPqNZTaSo

Nowadays, food trucks have suddenly become all the rage. Thanks to that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it end credits scene from “The Avengers,” shawarma shacks have become so popular in the United States that they’ve practically made eating street food on a curb look cool.

Meet the Bros. Joey Reyes, Rammy de Claro, Gab Sobrepena, and Paolo Layug with their customized food truck. Not in photo: Abe Castro

Thankfully, we Pinoy foodies won’t have to hop on a plane to New York or Los Angeles to experience that kind of scene. Even though the now-ubiquitous “Jollijeep” shacks have proven themselves indispensable for penny-pinching yuppies everywhere, we sometimes wish for a nice little upgrade from the usual budget meals to go.

Cashing in on the food truck trend is a group of 20-something entrepreneurs that aims to offer “a different shawarma experience.” If you happened to be in the Glorietta 3 area last December, you’ve most likely caught a glimpse (or whiff) of Shawarma Bros’ late-night fare at Cucina Andare (“Kitchen On-the-Go”), Manila’s first food truck market organized by the same people behind Mercato Centrale at The Fort.

Brainchild

Shawarma Bros is the brainchild of Ateneo buddies Rammy de Claro, Gab Sobrepena, Abe Castro, Paolo Layug, and Joey Reyes. After months of brainstorming, Layug, who’s from the US, suggested starting a food truck business here in Manila. Since all five guys love Persian food, and really liked the concept of the halal carts in New York, they decided to create their own spin on the popular street meat.

HEALTHYOPTION “Least sinful” (but no less yummy) offering, Chicken Shawarma Plate (P150).

What’s so different about Shawarma Bros? For one, it caters to people who prefer shawarma eaten with rice instead of in a wrap. Also, it’s not the usual meat-on-a-spit food kiosk, which probably might puzzle passersby who are used to ogling the meat while it’s vertically roasting and dripping juices.

Another thing is that the partners themselves are usually found slaving away behind the grill, which probably accounts for the increasing number of female foodies flocking to the truck.

Having started operations just last December, Shawarma Bros joins the rest of Manila’s food truck pioneers at Cucina Andare. This food market is pegged as the high-end Mercato—a classy, eat-and-run type of joint, if you will.

They’re very conveniently parked at the heart of Makati’s business and commercial hub, where nine-to-fivers can pig out after work and graveyard-shifters can sneak out to for a filling midnight snack. Apart from Shawarma Bros, there’s a wide selection of treats to sample, from Chef Broosy’s Asian fusion meals to Mio Gelato’s artisanal ice cream to Guactruck’s Filipino-Mexican fare.

PERSONAL FAVORITE Lamb Steak Plate (P200) with 3 different sauces to choose from: garlic yogurt, cheese and spicy tomato.

Finding Shawarma Bros’ food truck is easy. Just look for the bright yellow-and-orange bodykit (created by Atoy Llave of Atoy Customs) with the menu painted all over in big, bold black letters. That—and the tantalizing, smoky scent of grilled meat—would be pretty hard to miss.

On the menu

Shawarma Bros’ menu is straightforward. You can choose from chicken, beef and lamb shawarma served with biryani rice and drizzled with any two of the three sauces: garlic yogurt, cheese and hot tomato. Using a secret marinade concocted and taught to the Bros by a certified chef, all three types of meat are perfectly seasoned and cooked in a way that should sufficiently clog your arteries just by looking at them. Other menu offerings, like pita pockets, are in the works.

While beef is their bestseller and chicken the “healthy option,” the Lamb Steak Platter is the Bros’ specialty as well as their personal favorite. We have to agree. Some might be daunted by the gamey, greasy texture (and hefty price tag) that lamb is known for, but in this case, the meat is so tender and flavorful that you’ll most likely find yourself craving for seconds. Not bad for a P200 meal. Don’t forget to try their house iced tea, too.

Reception has been pretty good. More than good, actually, as they’ve already gained a loyal following ever since their debut at the Manila Auto Salon in late November. “A lot of people come back for the lamb, actually,” observed Sobrepena, and for darn good reason.

Flagship brand

Shawarma Bros is actually the flagship brand for the quintet’s startup company, H2004 Ventures, which De Claro dubbed as a “food truck creation firm.” Understandably, they’re very hands-on with their “baby,” what with all five Bros manning the truck when able.

Now that the demand for their rice meals has considerably risen (plus, the guys still have their respective day jobs to juggle), they’re hoping to have enough manpower by the time they start their envisioned expansion and day-to-day operations at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Until then, shawarma lovers will have to be contented with getting their shawarma rice fix only in Glorietta on weekends, served fresh and hot by the Bros themselves. Judging from the remarkable turnout so far, not to mention the occasional giggly tweets about the “cute servers,” that’s not such a bad thing.

Check out Shawarma Bros and the other food truck pioneers at Cucina Andare at the Glorietta 3 Park (the area with UCC Garden Café, fronting Shangri-La Hotel Makati and 6750) every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m.

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Devotees of the Black Nazarene wave at the camera during the yearly procession in 2011. THOTS URPIANA

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) “strongly advised” devotees who will attend Wednesday’s Black Nazarene procession to bring their own food and avoid eating from street stands.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said street food and snacks, which he called “unsanitary,” are exposed to dust particles and other pollutants.

Saying the advise would help avoid unfavorable incidents and injuries, Ona encouraged devotees that bringing their own water would also prevent dehydration.

He also discouraged them from bringing their own children along as the mobbed procession on Wednesday may expose them to various risks.

“Devotees are also advised not to bring along children during the Feast of the Black Nazarene to avoid injuries due to stampede and jostling. Also, small children or infants who are most vulnerable to diseases can easily get sick in these crowded environments,” Ona said in a statement on Tuesday.

DOH emergency health teams will also be on standby with the National Capital Region Medical Team stationed at the Quirino Grandstand, Ona said.

Ambulance teams from public hospitals such as San Lazaro Hospital and Philippine Orthopedic Center will also be available.

Ona furthermore advised the public to approach emergency medical teams on standby in the following locations in case of incidents:

• Quirino Grandstand near Museo Pambata
• National Museum
• Post Office/Liwasang Bonifacio
• Metropolitan Theater area
• Mercury Drug near Quiapo Church
• City State Hotel along Quezon Boulevard
• 7-11 Quezon Blvd North Bound
• UST Lerma
• Palanca Street near Ayala Bridge

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/01/08/894679/doh-nazarene-devotees-avoid-street-food

Fish balls are a common food in southern China and overseas Chinese communities made from surimi ,漿(魚 yújiāng). They are also common in Scandinavia, where they are usually made from cod or haddock. Terminology 蛋The term 魚 (literally “fish eggs”) is used at street hawker stalls and dai pai dong 丸in Hong Kong, while 魚 圆(yú wán) and 鱼 (yú yuán) are more commonly used in Singapore and

Malaysia. Jump↑ back a section Production Fish balls made in Scandinavia are similar to meatballs, only with fish flesh instead of pork or beef. Meatballs made in Asia differ significantly in texture from their European counterparts. Instead of grinding and forming meats,
meat used for making meatballs is pounded, which lends a smooth texture to the meatballs. This is also often the case for fillings in steamed dishes. Pounding, unlike grinding, uncoils and stretches previously wound and tangled protein strands in meat. Jump↑ back a section Regional variations Steamed rice rolls with fish balls Fish balls and kwek kwek (hard- boiled quail eggs fried in batter) in the Philippines Fish balls with vermicelli sold in Bukit Batok, Singapore Swedish fiskbullar, here served with dill sauce and pasta Kaeng khiao wan luk chin pla: Green curry with fish balls Faroe Islands In Faroe Islands, fish balls are called knettir and made with ground fish and fat. Fuzhou In the Fuzhou area, “Fuzhou fish )丸鱼州ball” (福 is made from fish and has minced pork filling within the fishball.

Hong Kong Yellow Fish Ball (Street Food) There are two kinds of fish balls in Hong Kong. One is smaller in size, yellow in colour, made with cheaper meat, and is sold on a bamboo skewer with five to seven fish balls. These fish balls are usually sold at food stalls. Many stalls support themselves just by selling this kind of fish ball, similar to hot dog stands in the United States. The fish balls are usually boiled in a spicy curry sauce. It is one of the most popular and )食熟頭representative “street foods” (街 of Hong Kong.

[1] They are completely different from those white fish balls of the restaurants in terms of texture and flavor. White fish balls are a little expensive to produce and it requires too much effort for the chef to produce every morning to make sure the quality of the fish balls. Therefore, mass production of hand-made fish balls is quite difficult. To lower the cost in fish balls production in order to cater the large consumption of Hong Kong people, the yellow fish balls sold at the street food stores are made of little fish ingredient but more proportion of flour. People might realize that the texture of street fish balls is very different. Actually, they are not really eating fish but something else, such as fishflour. The ingredient “” counted less than 20% of a whole fish ball and they are all produced by machines in large quantity

[2] . The fish used to make the fish balls in the factories are not very carefully selected and lots of flavoring monosodium glutamate (MSG) are added to make it delicious. The street food stores ordered fish balls from the fish ball production companies. Almost every store created their own recipes of curry satay sauce and this made their fish balls unique from others. History Diet is never only used to allay one`s hunger and slake one`s thirst. Since the factors likeeconomic situation, geographical location and religion are varied among different countries, the diet of each place would have their own special characteristics. ,YouAs “ are what you eat” the uniqueness of each area simply reflects the cultural background of itself. In Hong Kong, the first fish ball was made and sold by the hawkers. Hawker was a common occupation between 50′s to 60′s.

Generally, people would not want  to be a hawker until they had no other choice. Although the society changed a lot, fish ball still closely related to Hong Kong people in terms of the occurrence, the changes, the selling methods and the productions of fish ball. The changes between years Before 1960′s, people turned their occupation to hawker when they were facing financial difficulties.

However, since 1972, Hong Kong Theimplemented “ Hong Kong Cleanup” action (動運港香潔清) so as to establish the sense of belonging of local people and to keep a clean environment. After the improvement of Hong Kong`s public spirit and the environment,
the clean and hygienic problems caused by hawker became a focus. From 1979 onwards, the government stopped giving out licenses to hawkers with the reason of road blocking, and requested the hawkers to handover licenses by compensating money in order to inhibit the number of hawkers. In the year of 1995, the government established 2 new policies which officially prohibited the existence of hawkers and fined the people with a licenses. In year 2000, despite the fact that the government has loosen its hand towards the supervisory of hawkers in New Territories, the recent incident caused by arresting hawkers shows their determination in executing this policy.

[3] The development of histories related to hawkers would directly affect the development of fish ball. The ban against hawkers had changed the operation mode from vendors to street stalls. Nowadays, most of the people would prefer to buy fish ball from the street stalls rather than from vendors. Ingredients of fish balls Fish balls ingredients are basically fish and sometimes flour and flavorings such as salt and sugar. The proportion of fish and flour depends on the quality and types of fish balls to be made. The white fish balls found in some traditional Hong Kong restaurant are made by fresh fish only. While the street fried fish balls are made by cheap fish and mixture of flour in order to reduce cost from the whole sale business. In the past, the fish used to made fish balls are in wide variety and good quality. But now the supplies become tensed for some reasons

[4] . The commonly used fish to make fish balls now etc鱔門和魚仔或、棍are 九. Fish ball, the most popular and most common street food, was founded between 50 s and 60 s. At that time, as to reduce the cost, the process of making fish ball were most likely mixing and frying the remaining materials of 丸魚白州ChouZhou fish ball 潮 or stale fishes. Nowadays, fish balls sold in Hong Kong are mainly imported by wholesale businesses. Therefore, the texture of fish ball does not have too much difference

[5]. In recent years, fish balls are sold with different hot or curry sauces. Prices of Fish Ball Selling Price In general, the current market price in 2012 ranges from $6 to $9 per stick (with 5 fish balls); from $ 15 to $20 per small bowl (with 10 fish balls); and around $30 per big bowl (with about 20 fish balls).
Based on the current situation, we calculate that the price per fish ball is about $1.5, which has increased by 50% compared to 5 years ago. For some stalls, the price of fish ball even increase more. For instance, in Tai Wai, there is a 60% increased in fish ball price from $5 to $8 within two years.

[6] Wholesale Price When we look at the wholesaling price of fish ball which is $16/kg (about 80 fish balls)

[7], it is known that the cost per fish ball is only $ 0.2. By selling a fish ball, the stall owner can gain $1.3. According to 味the owner of Jinwei津

[8] , a famous fish ball stall operating its business in Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay, he said that the number of fish balls sold per day is 15,000. So it is estimated that the net profit per day from selling fish ball is almost $20,000, which is quite a pleasing amount. Unprevailing Price Some stalls in Hong Kong are selling fish balls at an unexpected high price to tourists. For each
bowl of fish balls selling to the customers, the number of fish balls can be different, just depending on the types of customers, i.e. local people or tourists. According to a reporter of SUN Life, he visited one of these stalls in Mong Kok and reported that an Australian tourist paid $40 for a big bowl containing 25 fish balls; while a local people paid $20 for a small bowl but having 30 fish balls.

[9] Obviously, the stall owner is cheating the tourists unethically. This stall only sells ‘a bowl of fish ball’ but no ‘fish ball on a stick’. In this way, the customers can hardly discover the truth that there is no standardized amount of fish balls sold. Indeed, the stall workers just randomly put the fish balls inside so the amount of fish balls contained in each bowl varies from time to time. Even though for two separate local customers, they are still given different amount of fish balls with the same price. Rent The main reason of the increasing
price of fish ball recently is because of the continuous and crazy rise of rental cost. Particularly, the rent is extremely high in some tourist-prone areas such as Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. One of the example is the fish ball stall located in Yee Woo Street, Causeway Bay. The rent in 2010 increased to $300,000 per month.

[10] Although there was a huge flow of customers buying the food from this stall, the revenue earned was not able to cover the rental
cost. At the end, the stall had no choice but forced to shut down. In some special occasion, such as flower market, the rent for fish ball stall is even higher. According to the reporter of Sharp Daily, the weekly rent of a fish ball stall increased from $380,000 in 2011
to $510,000 in 2012, which is raised by 34%.

[11] Based on the market situation in 2012, the net profit for each fish ball sold was approximately $1.1, that means the stall owner needed to sell at least 70,000 fish balls per day in order to break-even

[12] . With the consideration of labour cost, ingredient cost and other expenses, the stall owner estimated that he has to sell a stick of fish ball in every 5 seconds to break-even. Target customers The targeted groups of customers include lower class, working class and middle class. The price level is still acceptable and affordable by
these groups of people. Most of the working class people get used to eat fish balls after work or after dinner. They care less on the
manner and hygienic issues. They neither mind to eat on the street nor try the seemingly unhygienic street food. On the other hand,
due to the low quality of fish ball ingredients, perceived bad eating manner and bad hygienic operating and eating environment,
those high income class people or celebrities seldom or never buy the fish balls from the stalls on the street. They need to protect their social status and avoid breaking the shared norm or values created among the collective groups in Hong Kong, as described in the sociological imagination. Once they break this social norm, they will be appeared in the news or magazine in the next few days. For instance, Fiona Sit

[13] , Ken Hung and Vincy Chan

[14] were once being captured by the paparazzi when they were eating fish balls on the street. From this example, we can see that the social media inserts a great influence on shaping human behavior and social norms. It indirectly conveys a message that high social status people such as the government executives, CEO of public company or the famous celebrities should not buy and eat the fish balls on the street. Otherwise, their social status or public image will be seriously harmed. Innovative way in engaging fish ball business To cope with the challenge of rising rental cost in Hong Kong, fish ball stall owners try to use different strategies to increase
their profit margin. In 2004, there was a person called Ng Han Wai, who successfully innovated a fish ball vending machine and started his business in 2004.

[15] The first fish ball vending machine was located in Sha Tin MTR station. Customers can get a cup of fish balls by inserting a coin of $5 or using the Octopus card which is quite convenient. All the processes are machine-automated to ensure good quality of hygiene.
From this innovative way of selling fish balls, we can see that Ng had changed the way of doing business from traditionally rationalized and humanized mode (fish ball stalls) to newly rationalized and mechanical mode (fish ball vending machine). Under this new system, everything is done electronically with standardized selling and processing procedures. Human error can be greatly avoided. The rent for these machines are definitely lower than the street stall’s. According to Ng, each machine sold about 80 cups of fish ball per day, together with the revenue from advertisement and franchisee fee, he estimated that it only took half and a year to break-even. Unfortunately, he tried to commit suicide in 2005 due to some personal reasons, causing all his business come to a standstill. White Fish Ball White fish balls are bigger in size, made by fish only without other mixture of flour and are boiled till done. As a result of the
ingredients and cooking method, these fish balls are white in color. A good fish ball should have the elastic (bouncy) and fluffy texture
and strong taste of fish. They are made with more costly fish, and has a considerably different texture and taste. This kind is usually eaten as compliment with noodles at Chiuchow-style noodle restaurants,

[16] and at some cha chaan tengs, which also provide beef balls )丸(牛 and cuttlefish )丸魚balls (墨. Readily available in traditional
markets and supermarkets, the fish ball is also a popular ingredient for hot pot. Traditional Hong Kong fish ball )店蛋魚號字restaurants (老 [17] they all agree goodthat “ fish” is a key to make good fish balls. They insist using certain kinds of fresh fish and not 棍adding flour. 九 fish are said to be good to make the fish ball having )味strong taste of fish (魚. However, these fish are now becoming rare

and hard to catch. Other fish such fish衫as 紅 are becoming more expensive. These traditional restaurants are all facing the same problem, limited specific fish supplies and increasing ingredient cost. The cost of these fish supplies increased two to three fold in recent years. White fish balls from traditional fish ball restaurant are regarded as true fish ball with higher quality, because they are made of and only fresh fish, the true ingredient only. These fish balls are normally )打hand-made (手 by the owners with traditional techniques. The price of these fish balls is usually higher. With the same ingredients, handmade fish balls are still far better than machine-made ones.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/112835-fishball-philippines-streetfood

]]> http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/01/manila-philippines-fishball-philippines-streetfood/feed/ 0 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2012/12/manila-ph-first-look-food-truck-market-opens-in-makati/ http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2012/12/manila-ph-first-look-food-truck-market-opens-in-makati/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:00:29 +0000 MFN Editor #1 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/?p=35435 By Reporter | ABS-CBNNews.com

Food truck market opens in Makati

MANILA, Philippines – Christmas shoppers took a break from the holiday rush to check out the opening of the metro’s first food truck market at the heart of the Ayala commercial center on Friday night.

Several food trucks, along with other specialty vendors, parked in front of Glorietta 3 for the opening night of Cucina Andare, inspired by the food truck craze in the United States. The relaxing Glorietta Park, flanked by the towering Makati Shangri-La Hotel and 6750 Ayala Avenue building, turned into an instant food haven as Filipinos took advantage of the cool Friday night to eat and dine al fresco under a clear night sky.

Organized by the people behind the hit Mercato Centrale weekend market in Taguig City, Cucina Andare opens every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Cucina Andare co-organizer Anton Diaz noted the San Francisco-inspired ambience, where food trucks are reinventing the food scene. In his blog, he said this latest venture is inspired by the Off the Grid Food Truck Markets in San Francisco.

Chatting with ABS-CBNnews.com at the opening, he said some of the vehicles were imported from New York and converted locally into food trucks. One even had a small dining space inside the bus for customers.

But it wasn’t all food trucks at Cucina Andare, as many vendors found in Mercato Centrale, as well as new home-based food businesses are participating in the food truck market.

Some of the food trucks are operated by established names in the businesses such as Brothers Burger and The Big Chill, whose GuaTruck offers a healthy alternatives as most of the vendors opted for easy-to-cook fare like shawarmas, tacos and burgers.

Shawarma Bros. proved to be among the popular trucks for its shawarma and rice combos, while the converted Volkswagen Combi was a hit for its surfer vibe.

Also a hit among the foodies was Schmidt’s, whose gourmet hotdog creations, included a Japanese-style dog with curry and nori, and a hotdog sandwich topped with Caesar salad and bacon strips.

Adding to the relaxed atmosphere was a special performance by indie artist Johnoy Danao, who performed cuts from his album as well as a cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow.”

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/12/16/12/first-look-food-truck-market-opens-makati

Manila, Philippines – Ever dreamed of owning your own food cart business? Now you can! From the makers of the award-winning game Card Drop, comes the most exciting resource and time management game in the App Store. Sell a variety of the world’s most popular streetfood–from french fries to fishballs–and work your way towards becoming the next Streetfood Tycoon!

Key Features:
* Unlock dozens of items & upgrades
* Sell streetfood in 4 different locations
* Earn coins & upgrade your food cart to the max
* Unlock “celebrity” customers
* Compete with your friends via Game Center
* Unlock over 30 game achievements
* Full-color high resolution cartoon graphics
* Guaranteed fun for the entire family

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (Universal app)
* Supports retina display
* Requires iOS 4.2 or later
* 33 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Streetfood Tycoon 1.0.1 is Free and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. Streetfood Tycoon is completely Free-To-Play but some game items can also be purchased using real money. If you don’t want to use this feature, please disable in-app purchases from your device settings. Streetfood Tycoon Does Not require an internet connection to play.

Kuyi Mobile is an independent game development company based in Manila and focused on creating a new breed of mobile games. Our mission at Kuyi Mobile is to create fun and engaging games people of all ages can enjoy. Copyright (C) 2012 Kuyi Mobile. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Guactruck is the first LA-inspired food truck in Manila.

A new weekday, late-night food market that opened in Makati aims to evolve into a food truck festival similar to those held in San Franciso and Los Angeles.

“A lot of people are doing food trucks now,” said food blogger and co-organizer Anton Diaz.

During the recent launch of Distrito, as the “moving market” is called, Mr. Diaz predicted that in the next three months, 10 food trucks would be added to the current roster of three. “It’s starting to get big [here],” he said.

At present, the Makati night market consists of Guactruck, a “design-focused” food truck serving Filipino-Mexican dishes; the Cream Truck by Fruits in Ice Cream; and Mio Gelati Mobile, which offers home-made Italian ice cream. Aside from these three food trucks, there are food stalls and a handful of product vendors.

Food trucks have been a social experience for food enthusiasts in the United States for the past few years and its popularity continues to rise as seen by the increase of food truck festivals hosted by different cities.

“We want to do a moving market that we can set up anywhere,” said Mr. Diaz, who explained that the concept is to highlight the specialty of each big city.

Distrito, for example, celebrates “uniquely established Makati restaurants” such as Villa Cafe, a Kapampangan restaurant that features dishes by chefs Sau del Rosario and Jam Melchor.

Focusing on Makati’s best, explained Mr. Diaz, is what distinguishes Distrito from Mercato, the food market in Bonifacio Global City, also organized by his group. Both food markets, however, share common vendors (Auntie May’s, an establishment famous for its escargot, is one of them).

Cuisine aside, Mr. Diaz said that his inspiration was really the food truck itself. As a matter of fact, he’s been doing a series on food trucks on his blog, Awesome Planet (www.ourawesomeplanet.com).

Located in the open parking lot bounded by Amorsolo and Legazpi streets, Distrito is open Wednesday to Friday, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. The food market will be in Makati until the end of December before moving to another location, which, as of this writing, is still under wraps. Mr. Diaz did reveal that his group plans to go around Makati and eventually end up in Santa Ana Park.

“We really want to do a food truck festival, bring all trucks together and bring a different experience to different places,” he said.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Arts&Leisure&title=Movable-feasts&id=42467