teng time

A while ago I went on a diverse bit of a foodie adventure made possible by a little social media.  It was entirely unexpected and delightful.  My adventure ended slightly past midnight on a Thursday night, enjoying a Kogi Spicy Pork Taco over the kitchen counter.

It started with an impromptu dinner party at my friend’s apartment, still inviting friends over the phone while chopping garlic.  We planned to make salmon with salad and garlic bread.  Of course with our scant cooking experience my friend and I had no idea how to actually make the salmon.  What can I say, my desire for eating good food usually trumps my desire for cooking mediocre-at-best food.  Naturally we turned to the Google.

And stumbled upon this video from YouTube:

Thanks Rita! We didn’t follow the recipe at all, except for the oil, garlic, salt and pepper part and to cook each side about 5-6 minutes.  We really made this “Simple Salmon recipe” bare bones simple.  Half expecting to cut into a stiff piece of overcooked salmon you’d find at a third rate casino buffet, I was delightfully wrong.  It was actually pretty great.  Simple and delicious.  And totally within my limited culinary prowess to make again.  Our friends loved it and thanks to YouTube and some improvisation it was a hit.

My awesome plating skills honed from years of watching Iron Chef and Top Chef.

After dinner we accompanied another friend to Panda Inn in La Palma.  She used to work there back in college and needed to pick something up from a friend.  Most people compare it to PF Chang’s.  We didn’t dine there that night but we went back last weekend to see how it compared.  Here’s a diagram showing how I would describe it.

Just shy of the real deal.

It is what is is, Americanized Chinese food but they do it well without taking it to the extreme.

Panda Inn is best known for their white chocolate dipped fortune cookies.  They are wrapped in various bright colors of foil.  It got me thinking about how fortune cookies are truly an American creation, served in Chinese restaurants all over the country, but not in China or Taiwan.  And the irony that they chose white chocolate, which does not even contain real chocolate (cacao), was amusing. While I much prefer dark chocolate, the cookie was still good.  We swapped fortunes and laughed at the most ridiculous ones.

While driving home, my friend got a call from her sister who had been notified via Twitter (@kogibbq) that one of the Kogi taco trucks was going to be in our neighborhood.  Yes, our bellies were full and it was 11pm- bedtime for working folk- but we could not pass up the opportunity of trying the much-hyped Korean bbq style tacos.  The fact that the Kogi truck had mostly eluded this food-loving group of friends since its rise in popularity in early 2009 was surprising enough.  Los Angelenos had been chasing these trucks down in impressive numbers (with impressive lines-1 to 2 hour waits!) as documented by LA Times, Newsweek, and NPR.

That night the Kogi truck was parked on a side street in an industrial park, next to Toyota headquarters.  The line was a mish mash of diverse patrons, young and old, some already prepared with lawn chairs for a taco picnic.  Others were content to plop down on the curb and chow down.  The taco truck experience is definitely a social one.  It’s best enjoyed with a group of friends while you wait in line.  I probably wouldn’t visit the Kogi truck by myself unless I had a killer craving.  There are those who complain about the long lines, but I think it’s all a part of the social experience.  You might see some familiar faces in line or even make some new friends.  It also gives you an opportunity to decide what to order, talk enthusiastically about the food inside out which is like foodie foreplay.  I think its a perfect marriage for Kogi to use Twitter, a social media tool, to engage people to meet up for some social eating.  After about an hour wait, our group chose to have our goods to go since it was so late.

My goods: one spicy pork taco, one Korean short rib taco, and sliders (basically the short rib taco on mini buns with special sauce):

Had the spicy pork taco for a late night snack over the kitchen counter.  Packed the rest up for lunch the next day.  The anticipation did not disappoint me.  Spicy pork taco was my favorite, a good amount of spiciness and great crunch and flavor from the cabbage slaw.  A perfect late night snack to round off my foodie adventure 2.0.

Kogi means meat in Korean.  If you know me, how could I be disappointed?