Ever since our friends AJ and Elson created The Manila Machine video and theme song last month, many of you have been asking about a possible song download for that catchy and infectious ditty. And even though the original video included just a small taste of that Manila Machine jingle, people were still going crazy over it.

Well, thanks to Elson and The Soul Barkada, you can now download The Manila Machine song in its entirety FOR FREE! In fact, Elson has even made the lyrics available on his website as well.

So Manila Machine fans, if you’ve got a fever, and if the only prescription for that fever is more Kulintang, then head on over to Elson’s website for the FREE DOWNLOAD of The Manila Machine theme song. Hoy!

Congratulations once again to the People’s Champion, Manny Pacquiao, for his dominant victory over Antonio Margarito this past weekend. Despite weighing 17 pounds less than Margarito at fight time, Pacman once again proved why he’s the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. As usual, Manny got raw with his Southpaw style and made a mess of his opponent’s face.

Speaking of messy faces, our Southpaw Sisig Sandwich was a huge hit (pun intended) as well this past week. It’s a mess of a sandwich to eat, what with the bits of pig face, sriracha, banana ketchup, and runny egg yolks dripping every which way, but it’s a TASTY mess of a sandwich. Since everyone loved the Southpaw so much, we may have to include it every now and then as a special (shhhhh!) on The Manila Machine.

So be on the lookout for the Southpaw–it’ll hit you when you least expect it.

In anticipation of our Champion, Manny Pacquiao, possibly capturing his eighth world title in eight different weight classes (Pacman already has the record at seven, mind you), The Manila Machine will be providing our customers a couple of “Pacman” deals and specials all week this week.

Firstly, if you show up to The Manila Machine wearing any Pacquiao clothing or gear, we’ll give you a dollar off of any purchase of two or more items. So show up in your best Pacman garb (your favorite Manny t-shirt, that Pacquiao track jacket, or how about those Tier Zero Pacman quickstrikes on your feet?) and you’ll come away with some delicious Filipino eats on the cheap.

Also, in homage to the Pacman’s devastating left hand, we will also be serving forth our devastatingly delicious special known as “The Southpaw” AKA “The Sisig Sandwich“. The Manila Machine’s Sisig Sandwich features our signature Sisig (citrus-marinated Pork Jowls), sriracha mayo, crumbled chicharon, onions, a fried egg, and a drizzle of banana ketchup and sriracha–all on a toasted full-size pan de sal roll. All of this yummy goodness is served open-faced because, well, that’s what happens when you catch a left-hook from the Pacman–it opens your face (Ha! Get it! See what I did there?!!).

The "Southpaw", AKA Sisig in Sandwich Form

With the citrusy and fatty Pig Face, crunchy pork rinds, spicy sriracha, sweet banana ketchup, and a runny egg yolk, the Southpaw Sandwich is like a punch of flavor right to your mouth. And hey, speaking of pig face, don’t forget about our Sisig T-shirts for sale on The Manila Machine:

We all should.

So come on out to The Manila Machine this week as we celebrate the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. Show your Pinoy pride by cheering for the Pacman and stuffing your face with Pig Face! And who knows, there may be some other Pacman surprises in store…

On Saturday November 13, from 6pm to 8pm, The Manila Machine will be at the Hilton Pasadena Hotel for the Pacific Media Expo (PMX).

In addition to The Manila Machine, PMX will also be featuring tasty eats from other Asian food trucks. Other trucks in attendance throughout the weekend will be: Takoyaki Tanota, Nom Nom Truck, The Dumpling Station, and Kogi BBQ. PMX also boasts the only all-you-can-eat Pocky Bar in L.A. You can also test your culinary fortitude by watching The Asian Food Challenge on Friday, November 12, 2010, sponsored by Filipino-American grocery chain, Island Pacific.

PMX is America’s first major trade show dedicated to Asian-Pacific popular culture and entertainment media and will be taking place November 12-14, 2010. PMX is an industry event sponsored by the Pacific Media Association. The 3-day show will feature honored guests, live performances, panel discussions, autograph sessions, Asian cinema and animation video rooms, art exhibitions and one of the country’s only exhibit halls dedicated to Asian media and pop culture.

So come on down to PMX on Saturday November 13 for some Asian pop culture and Filipino food!

Although we’ve been in business for four whole months now, Team Manila Machine is still pleasantly surprised by the love and support our fans and followers give us on a daily basis. We love serving Filipino food to our hungry and happy customers, and it’s always flattering when we’re complimented on our food and service.

But we’re most flattered when people go out of their way to help us in our quest to bring Filipino food to the masses. For example, customers have done everything from holding parking spots for us (without us even asking or knowing), to suggesting new places to park, to hooking us up with certain contacts for private events. But perhaps tops on our list is when a couple of friends of The Manila Machine recently produced a Manila Machine video as well as wrote and composed a Manila Machine theme song.

You read that right folks, there is now a Manila Machine video and theme song. The video below was produced by our friend A.J. Calomay of Xylophone Films, and the song you hear in the video was written and performed by the Los Angeles-based soul/funk/R&B band, Elson and the Soul Barkada.

The footage in the video was cobbled together from the past few months, and includes some background information about the origins of The Manila Machine–Southern California’s First Filipino food truck.

We would like to give a huge THANK YOU to A.J. and Elson, who volunteered for this project and took time out of their busy schedules to work on it. Thanks so much A.J. and Elson!

For more information about A.J. Calomay and his editing skills, check out his editor showreel here, or go to Xylophone Films.

For more information about Elson Trinidad and his music, check out his website here. Elson and the Soul Barkada performs regularly around Southern California. You can check ‘em out on Twitter: twitter.com/soulbarkada and on Facebook www.facebook.com/soulbarkada.

Enjoy the video and music:

In addition to our dinner and lunch stops this week on Wednesday and Thursday (see our schedule over there to the right of this page —->), The Manila Machine will also be having a monster weekend as we will be slingin’ our brand of SARAPNESS all across Southern California.

On Friday October 8, The Manila Machine will be parked on campus at UCLA. We’ll be serving both breakfast and lunch as we’ll be parked at the Court of Sciences from 7:30am-2:30pm.

It’s a little known fact that Filipino food makes you study/work harder. So if you’re a hungry Bruin on your way to class or work on Friday, make sure to stop by The Manila Machine for some Filipino grub.

If you’ll happen to be in the city they call Long Beach on Saturday October 9, you’ll be able to find The Manila Machine at the Long Beach Street Food Fest from 10:30am-5:oopm.

To purchase tickets to the LB Street Food Fest, click here.

“Manila and Long Beach, together now you know you in trouble”

And finally, we’re closing out this week in style as we’ll be taking part in L.A. Beer Week. On Sunday October 10, The Manila Machine will be parked and serving at Verdugo Bar from 3pm-7:30pm for the L.A. Beer Float Showdown II as presented by Food GPS.

This year’s Beer Float Showdown will feature four teams (Boneyard Bistro, Ladyface Alehouse, Simmzy’s and Tony’s Darts Away) that will each create a single beer float. Attendees of the Showdown will get to taste each float and vote for a winner. Hmmm, if The Manila Machine were entering a beer float (and we’re not), I’d say a Maui Coconut Porter/Ube Ice Cream Float sounds mighty fine (and if anyone jacks that idea, know that it originated here, unless the float turns out terrible, in which case I disavow any knowledge of said Maui Coconut Porter/Ube Ice Cream Float).

The L.A. Beer Float Showdown II starts on Sunday, October 10, at 5:30 PM. Tickets cost $25 in advance via PayPal or $30 cash on the day of the event, including admission and all four beer floats. 50% of all proceeds benefits Share our Strength.

Filipino comic (and actual Manila Machine follower), Rex Navarrete, will be performing his stand-up act at the Ontario Improv all weekend from September 23 to September 26. Rex’s first show will be tonight at 8pm at the Ontario Improv.

If you can’t make tonight’s show, Rex will also have two sets on Friday 9/24 at 8pm and 10pm, two sets on Saturday 9/25 at 7pm and 9pm, and a final show on Sunday 9/26 at 7pm.

And for a few lucky Manila Machine fans and followers, we will be giving away free Rex Navarrete tickets for his Ontario shows this weekend. To get a pair of tickets to see “The Goat Whisperer” himself, just drop by any of The Manila Machine’s stops this weekend for some Filipino eats (though the tickets probably will be gone after our Friday lunch stop), and let us know what your favorite Rex Navarrete album is. Simple right?

But act fast Filipino food lovers! We are only giving away 2 tickets for each of Rex’s five shows Friday-Sunday at the Ontario Improv (limit 2 tickets per customer). That’s a total of 10 tickets (or 5 pairs for you mathematicians out there), so they’re gonna go fast! So come by The Manila Machine for some Filipino food, and you might also find yourself coming away with a pair of Rex Navarrete tickets.

And remember, like Rex says, “Filipino food will sustain you, you will love it, you will live by it!”

The inaugural Los Angeles Craft Beer Crawl will be taking place this Saturday September 25th from 3pm-8pm. Although attendees of the beer crawl will be able to sample over 50 craft beers across seven different bars and restaurants dispersed throughout Downtown LA, attendees will also be able to enjoy Filipino food from The Manila Machine!

That’s right folks, Southern California’s first Filipino food truck will be parked along the beer crawl route! Pulitzer Prize Winning food critic, Jonathan Gold, actually hand-picked The Manila Machine to appear at the LA Craft Beer Crawl, so we are excited and thrilled to be a part of this special event.

And since Filipino food and beer are a natural match, get ready for some Manila Machine sliders and/or Sisig to pair with your favorite artisinal brew.

The Manila Machine will be parked in front of the Seven Grand bar during the beer crawl, but keep checking our Twitter feed for updates during the week.

Tickets for the LA Craft Beer Crawl can be purchased here. A portion of the proceeds will also go to Heal the Bay, a non-profit organization dedicated to making Southern California waters healthy, safe, and clean.

For more information on the LA Craft Beer Crawl, or to purchase tickets, check out the LA Craft Beer Crawl website here.

Our “Behind the Scenes with an L.A. Food Trucker” series on Serious Eats wraps up this week with the final blog post: Part 5: Your Questions Answered. This last part in the series addresses some of the most frequently asked questions of The Manila Machine. Have a gander and see what our answers are to hard-hitting inquiries like “Where do you go to the bathroom?”

If you missed Part 1 of our guest series on Serious Eats, you can read it here.

If you missed Part 2 of our guest series on Serious Eats, you can read it here.

If you missed Part 3 of our guest series on Serious Eats, you can read it here.

If you missed Part 4 of our guest series on Serious Eats, you can read it here.

And lastly, many thanks to  Serious Eats editor, Erin Zimmer, and the rest of the Serious Eats staff for allowing us to share our story with their readers!

In case you haven’t heard by now, The Manila Machine will be teaming up with Chef Andre Guerrero for the Taste of FPAC event on September 9, 2010. Not only will we be working in conjunction with Chef Guerrero, but we’ll actually be parking at Chef Guerrero’s critically acclaimed eatery, The Oinkster.

Chef Guerrero will be serving mini pastrami sandwiches, Belgian fries and ube milkshakes, as well as a few secret off-menu items. As for The Manila Machine, we’ll be providing a tasting menu of our Sisig, Pork Belly and Pineapple Adobo, Carabao Wings, Beef Tapa Pan de Sal Slider, and ube cupcakes.

Mmmm. Ube milkshakes and Ube cupcakes. Together at last.

The Manila Machine is very very proud to be a part of this event. Many many thanks to Chef Guerrero for allowing us to park at his restaurant, and many more thanks for the advice and insight he has provided to us as well. Thank you also to FPAC board members Nerissa Silao and Winston Emano for setting up this whole event.

To purchase tickets to Taste of FPAC, click here. For more information on Taste of FPAC, continue reading below:

FilAm ARTS is equal parts excited and proud to announce renowned chef Andre Guerrero as host, and his popular acclaimed restaurant, The Oinkster as host venue for our “Taste of FPAC” Filipino foodie event Thursday, Sept. 9 @ 2005 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock.

Doors open @ 6 p.m.

The event, which benefits and kicks-off the 19th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, uniquely pairs two leading elements of the contemporary Filipino American food movement, in an historic evening spotlighting two distinct takes on comfort food — with a Pinoy twist — made in Los Angeles.

The Oinkster, lauded by and featured on Food Network and named one of “Los Angeles’ 99 Top Restaurants” by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold, has been called the leading practitioner of “slow cooked fast food.” It represents the latest in a long line of successful, critically-acclaimed restaurant concepts from the multiple award-winning Guerrero, hailed by Los Angeles Times Magazine as one of the City’s Top Chefs.

Chef Guerrero promises a special sample menu featuring some exclusive, off-menu items, but will certainly include his house smoked and cured Pastrami, Belgian French Fries (named “Best in LA” by LA Weekly) and the famous Oinkster Ube Milkshakes.

That alone would be enough to make mouths water, but the evening also presents a specially selected tasting menu prepared by The Manila Machine, Southern California’s first Filipino food truck and already a popular draw in the competitive world of mobile food culture.

Limited tickets for FilAm ARTS’ “Taste of FPAC” are $50 which is inclusive of food and non-alcoholic drinks for the evening.

Proceeds benefit The Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture, also known as FilAm ARTS, a multi-disciplinary community arts organization whose mission is to advance the understanding of the arts and diverse cultural heritage of Filipinos in the United States. FilAm ARTS presents the annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC). The largest showcase of its kind in Southern California, the 19th Annual FPAC takes place this year September 11-12, 2010 in San Pedro, California.
ART + CULTURE = COMMUNITY

TASTE OF FPAC

$50 – SINGLE ADMISSION