Food Diary

September 12, 2017 Archel Arindaeng

We survived the last 626 Night Market of the year! Despite the heat, we got to try many vendors and of course, we stayed hydrated with the endless amount of drink options. This event was better than ever, with drone racing, a giant screen where you can play Just Dance, fire beats by various DJs and performers, and the best food in SoCal!

Here's my recap of some of the food and drink I got to try!

Yellow Business knows how to create a beautiful dessert! Matcha green tea ice cream with a puffle waffle, absolute perfection. topped with a koala cracker, pocky sticks, strawberries, sprinkles and chocolate syrup. I also tried the chocolate ice cream with graham crackers, wafer sticks topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and chocolate syrup. The ultimate sundae.

Nitrolado - Honey Jasmine ice cream made with liquid nitrogen topped with a matcha churro pop! Their cup had a flashing light at the bottom too, so cool! Visit their shop in Garden Grove and try their new churro bowls!

Jichan's Onigiri-ya - Who knew something so simple can taste so good! Best rice balls ever from Jichan's Onigiri. Order them all to make a perfect meal! Karaage Onigiri, Sake Yakionigiri, Onsen Onigiri, and Chibi Teriyaki Spam Onigiri

Flavour Fusions - A bucket full of UNICORN LOVE - cotton candy milk, sugar, spice and everything nice. Don’t forget to try some craft soda too! Pick your favorite flavor and they add fruit and jello toppings, your drink isn't complete without a jello syringe! I love carrying around their flashing buckets.

Jasmine’s Sweet Treats - TARO💜BABY // They sell yummy drinks in a baby bottle! Can you believe this was a small!? This was perfect to carry around while eating our way through 626 Night Market.

Blue Butterfly - I couldn’t decide with one to get, so I ordered them all // CUTE BOTTLES & PRETTY DRINKS, perfect for the scorching weather. Lychee, Watermelon, creamer and butterfly pea flower, cheese foam and oolong, milk tea with jasmine green tea, butterfly lemonade, rainbow strawberry. They cater events too!

Lobsterdamus - Lobster is my weakness, especially when they’re grilled// lobster in a nest of noodles from @lobsterdamus! The lobsters are kept alive until your order, so you know it's fresh. The Cajun butter mixed with charred flavor made it taste amazing! They cut the lobster in half and the claws are cracked so you can get to the meat a little easier. We also got to try the lobster nachos, just cause one lobster wasn't enough.

Ensaymada Project - Maple Bacon Ensaymada, ask them to warm it up before you eat this filipino pastry. it’ll melt in your mouth like pure sweetness. This dessert is dangerously good!

ChicknSkin - 🐔 THE ORIGINAL: crispy fried chicken skin complete with dipping sauce, no need to feel guilty haha. This savory snack is so addicting!

MORE PHOTOS

OC Night Market // August Roundup

September 1, 2017 Archel Arindaeng

Food adventures are the definition of a memorable summer night out. Although I've been to OC Night Market numerous times, each experience is always different. There are new vendors to try, things to watch, people to meet, it's just an amazing place to be. From cosplay contests, to gaming tents, it's not all just about the food. Make sure to add this event to your summer bucketlist for next year, it's definitely worth it!

Here's my August Roundup for top 12 vendors at OC Night Market, enjoy! Hope you're not too hungry :)

The Bonks Lab - Refreshing Filipino drinks in a large ziplock bag?! Yes please. I got to try "Oh My Buko" buko pandan with coconut shreds, #pandan jelly & milk. Of course I got my favorite Ooo-beh: Ube sweet purple yam milk with Halo Halo ingredients. Drinking from bags is a common thing in the Philippines! They brought it to Socal with a laboratory theme.

Momma Fung Buns - Don't want none, unless you've got buns, hun! Magical unicorn buns are taking over the night market and reinventing a dim sum classic! Inside you can get are uni-pork, cosmic chicken curry, and sun kissed veggies. Stop by and get your freshly steamed pastel colored buns!

Honey Honey Drinks - Blended with real fruit and honey as a sweetener, Honey Honey smoothies are 100% quality! You can taste the difference when it's all natural flavors. The source their honey and honey comb locally and are proud about supporting local farms. I tasted their matcha and mango drinks, and loved the edible honeycomb they included on top as a garnish!

Workaholics - These colorful Korean dumplings from Workaholics were BOMB! They're colored with natural dyes so you don't have to feel guilty eating this rainbow food. Pictured above is their activated charcoal pocket with Spicy BBQ Pork, purple cabbage pocket with beef bulgogi, and spinach & yellow bell pepper pocket with wild mushroom #vegan

Rakken Tacos - These guys have TWO booths at each night market, meaning their demand is through the roof. That's how you know their stuff is good. I got to try their LOADED Crab Fries smothered in yummy garlic aioli. Perfect option for seafood lovers.

Sweet N Hollow - Next level ice cream cone alert! Fresh baked cinnamon sugar chimney cone, with nutella filling, vanilla ice cream, Oreos and sprinkles on top! So good. The owners were inspired on their trip to Europe, so they brought back a popular dessert for all of us to experience.

Shake Ramen - What’s in my cup? Ramen noodles, shoyu sauce (soy), some spice and garlic, pork belly, and all the sides!! After you order, they layer everything up and seal it with a plastic top. Shake it till everything's mixed up and it's ready to eat! I love that I can eat ramen on the go! Shake Ramen is a food truck so go check out their schedule to try it yourself!

Flavor Fusions - Yummy craft sodas are the perfect way to wash down all the food you're eating. I tasted the Thai green cotton candy soda with a sprite and the raspberry soda. You get to keep the light-up bucket that flashes through the night.

Egghausted626 - Pretty layered drinks are definitely Instagram-worthy! Pick up the Sunset Passionfruit Soda and Moon Night Lychee Soda and take some pictures before you mix it all up and enjoy! Pair it with a super cute minion black truffle cheese tamagoyaki, a Japanese omelette.

Chana-mana Thai - One flavor wasn’t enough, so I decided to try them all! Chanamana Thai's flavored chicken wings were simply AMAZING. Their five flavors are garlic, tom yum, sweet n sour tamarind, sriracha, and parmesan peppercorn. Their wings are served in cute take-out boxes and they stick origami cranes as a topper!

Lucky Ball Korean BBQ - Your night market experience isn’t complete without a magical light up drink in a UNICORN FLOATIE. The best part is that you get to keep this cup holder forever! You can choose from different float designs and then you pick your choice of lemonade. I tried the watermelon lemonade and it was super refreshing.

Cafe 949 - Treat yo’ self with a whole grilled lobster and garlic noodles and wash it down with some Vietnamese iced coffee! They grill/torch the lobsters right in front of you, so you know it's fresh.

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Pacific Food and Wine Classic

August 27, 2017 Archel Arindaeng

The Event

Set in beautiful Orange County right on the sandy shores of the Newport Dunes Resort, it’s the perfect setting to have a summer festival. Spanning two days, Pacific Wine and Food Classic is a weekend perfect for foodies! With various food and drink vendors, you’ll leave the event full and happy. Tickets were all-inclusive, which meant unlimited food and drink! With VIP weekend passes, we were able to enter the event an hour earlier than GA. There was also a VIP only section with special tastings and an exclusive lounge. What I loved about having a two-day pass was that we didn’t have to rush through all the vendors. We were able to take it slow, taste almost every offering, and connect with chefs and restaurant owners. When we needed a break to digest, we sat right on the sand and watched paddle boarders paddle by while sipping some rose. They also had cooking demonstrations throughout the day. Classy jazz music and good vibes from all attendees filled the air, it was the perfect chill weekend. The whole weekend experience was exciting and memorable, I definitely had a culinary adventure that I’ll never forget.

The Food

Pacific Wine and Food Classic featured the best of Orange County. Many restaurants from around the area came to showcase their top dishes and provide samples to taste. There was something for everyone, all types of dishes were served from appetizers, main dishes to desserts. The Chunk N Chip collab with Patron was my favorite! Yummy alcohol infused ice cream sandwiched between gourmet cookies was perfect for the hot day! If you're a taco lover, there were various vendors with specialty tacos waiting to be eaten. Here are some photos of the food offerings:

The Beverages

Even though wine is in event title, the event was pretty generous in beverage offerings. After checking in, we received a branded cup for all the sample pours throughout the day. We got to taste Patron in the VIP section, had some stouts and ales, mixed drinks from Bacardi and Absolut Elyxx, and of course, every type of wine imaginable! Imagine all the different pairings.

We had an amazing time! Thanks for having us at Pacific Wine and Food Classic, see you next year. Cheers to the good life!