Team Manila Machine (photo courtesy Heather Wong)

After rolling 2,500 lumpia by hand (by hand!), and after browning and braising 150 pounds of pork belly, Team Manila Machine was indeed a bit ragged and tired following last Saturday’s LA Street Food Fest. But our efforts at the Rose Bowl that day didn’t go unnoticed.

Aside from the positive feedback from the thousands of people who waited in line at our booth, The Manila Machine was also fortunate enough to win the praises from some of Los Angeles’ most discerning palates. With a judging panel consisting of Chef Susan Feniger, Chef Walter Manzke, LA Times Assistant Food Editor Rene Lynch, Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, The Manila Machine’s Pork Belly and Pineapple Adobo was announced as the runner-up for “Best Nouveau Street Food“! (It’s a little known fact that pineapples are used in different pork adobos throughout different regions of the Philippines. The Manila Machine version is actually based on a dish I had on my uncle’s farm in Badoc, Ilocos Norte a few years ago.)

Our pork belly was second only to the Pork Spareribs of brick and mortar establishment Sedthee Thai! Many congratulations to Sedthee Thai restaurant, but we at The Manila Machine were very humbled and ecstatic to be announced as runner-up winners as well (we were told it was very very close). Heck, it was just cool having our name announced on the Rose Bowl’s JumboTron by the Mayor himself:

Team Manila Machine and the Mayor

Nastassia and Susan Feniger

Marvin and Walter Manzke

On top of everything else that night, we went effing crazy when we saw the following tweet from the one and only Jonathan Gold:

Formidable Pork Belly!

In all honesty though, accolades aside, it was really humbling to have such highly-regarded chefs, such as Susan Feniger and Walter Manzke, and a Pulitzer prize winner in Jonathan Gold, taste and appreciate Filipino food.

Thanks to everyone at LA Street Food Fest for giving us the opportunity to serve Filipino food to the masses!

–Marvin: Team Manila Machine

Last week comedian, Jo Koy, stopped to have lunch at The Manila Machine. When we first spotted Jo from inside the truck, we weren’t really sure if it was actually him. So in our excitement, we yelled out “Tiiiiing Tiiiiing!” from The Manila Machine window. And sure enough, Jo looked up at us and smiled. He was a good sport and realized we were fans of his rather than crazy stalkers–though maybe we’re both.

If you’re not familiar with Jo Koy, you should be. He’s a proud Pinoy and regularly appears on the E! channel’s “Chelsea Lately” show. He’s probably best known for his Comedy Central special “Don’t Make Him Angry”:

Jo pretty much had his fill of The Manila Machine menu that day, and among his favorites were our Tapa and Longanisa sliders, and of course our now world-famous Ube Cupcakes. But you don’t have to take my word for it, check out Jo’s own tweet about The Manila Machine:

Although Jo referred to me as “Chef Marv”, I am by no means a chef. I’m just an idiot food blogger that likes to cook Filipino food. But we were glad Jo enjoyed himself and the good eats at The Manila Machine. Now you know.

Thanks Josep!

The Manila Machine will be taking part in the Six Taste food and wine tasting on July 23, 2010, starting at 7PM.

This event is the first in the Six Taste Wine Series and will be held at Far Bar LA, an Asian-themed lounge and restaurant. Tickets are available now at www.sixtaste.com for $49.

Guest sommelier Santos Uy, owner of wine bars Mignon and Bacaro LA in Los Angeles, will pair and present wines at the event. The five-course tasting menu includes The Manila Machine’s world-famous Ube Cupcakes, as well as signature dishes from Gerry’s Grill and
more. Far Bar LA’s lounge will be opened for a mixer after the wine tasting event, with a live DJ and cocktails.

The Six Taste Wine Series is focused on distinctive pairings of food and wine. Filipino food is from the country of the Philippines, and is heavily influenced by Malay- Indonesian, Spanish, Chinese, and American flavors. Filipino cuisine paired with wine is a rare combination that is struggling to find a place in mainstream food establishments.

Six Taste’s event will be the first public event in Los Angeles to meld Filipino food with wine in a modern environment. And The Manila Machine is proud to be a part of this one-of-a-kind event.

In case you missed it this morning, The Manila Machine was featured on Good Day LA on Fox 11 to help promote the upcoming LA Street Food Fest.

Also featured with us on Good Day LA were Cup Cakes A Go Go, The Gastrobus, and Ta-Bom. We had a great time showing off some of our signature dishes, and we were especially happy to feed Fox Weather Anchor, Maria Quiban, again (she’s a loyal Manila Machine follower!).

Check out the clip below to see just a sampling of the great food that will be available at the LA Street Food Fest (and to see Maria go crazy for some Pinoy eats). The Manila Machine is featured towards the end of the clip.

We are so excited that we will be a part of the festivities on July 24th! L.A’s First Filipino food truck, The Manila Machine, will be serving tasting portions of Pork Belly and Pineapple Adobo, Lumpia, and Ube Cupcakes–all on the field of the Rose Bowl. We hope to see you there, so purchase your tickets soon at http://lastreetfoodfest.com before the event is sold out!

The Manila Machine cover story in Asian Journal

In the latest edition of the Asian Journal MDWK Magazine, The Manila Machine is featured in a fantastic full-page cover story. Asian Journal reporter, Joseph Pimentel, provides an excellent look at L.A.’s First Filipino food truck.

Here’s a snippet from Pimentel’s write-up:

“Capitalizing on the growing trend of gourmet food trucks that has taken Los Angeles by storm over the past year, Fil-Am food bloggers 27-year-old Nastassia Johnson and 32-year-old Marvin Gapultos went from their laptops writing about these trucks to creating The Manila Machine, bringing traditional Filipino cuisines to the LA street food craze.

Johnson and Gapultos said the goal is to introduce traditional Filipino flavors to a mainstream public not accustomed to seeing or tasting Filipino food.”

To read the rest of Pimentel’s article, click here.

But to see the actual Manila Machine cover and pull-out section, pick up a copy of Asian Journal on L.A. newsstands now.

L.A.'s 1st Filipino Food Truck

It’s funny how things work out.

When we first set out to bring Filipino food to the masses via The Manila Machine, Nastassia and I also figured that we’d be updating this blog on the regular. You know, since we’re supposed to be food bloggers and all.

But as it turns out, starting a food truck leaves little time for writing, let alone even opening a laptop. And you know what? We’re fine with that. We may be the first food bloggers to ever start their own food truck, but we’re even more proud that we were the first to open a Filipino food truck in Los Angeles.

We’ve been fortunate that people have continued to follow our orange truck around town and have continued lining up as soon as we open our windows. It’s been a crazy ride so far, but Team Manila Machine will continue to represent to the best of our abilities and bring Filipino cuisine and culture to our faithful followers. Thanks everyone!

After only one month since our official launch, we’re obviously still learning the ropes of this truckin’ business. But we’re having fun, and we’re ecstatic that we’ve been able to serve good food to the good people of L.A.

I’d like to go on and on about The Manila Machine menu and how tasty everything is, but like I said earlier, there’s little time to write–Truckin’ ain’t easy. But instead of listening to me ramble on about our menu, how about you read some Manila Machine reviews from some other (less biased) bloggers:

LAist: The Manila Machine: Pinoy Delights Take to the Streets of L.A.

Allen the Gallivanter: Ube Cupcake

Julie Wolfson’s Posterous: Manila Machine + Frosted Cupcakes=Heaven

Sofiaist: One of my favorite new food trucks, The Manila Machine

So Yeah: Manila Machine – Los Angeles

Caroline on Crack: Manila Machine Food Truck

When Adobo Met Feijoada: The Manila Machine

Franklin Avenue: The Manila Machine Food Truck

The Minty: Introducing the Manila Machine

Noms not Bombs: The Manila Machine

Gastronomy Blog: The Manila Machine – Los Angeles

If I left anyone off, I apologize!

–Marvin: Team Manila Machine