Phoenix Public Market

So I've been told I have very restless feet and a bottomless pit appetite ( and as you can tell from my numerous blogs, that's not a bad assumption haha). Nonetheless, on most of my days off, I like turning my city into my own little playground, with so much to see,do and explore not to mention to consume, it's always an adventure to me.
  Today I hit up the lunch trucks parked in front of the Phoenix Public Market in downtown phoenix, and although I'm very familiar with lunch trucks ( it's pretty much a way of life growing up in Hawaii ),I have yet to try any until today.  With over half a dozen trucks to choose from,  ranging from pies to pizza pies and unlikely choices to go with in between, there was Alot of variety. The first truck I went to was Taste Rite!. Their specialty is po'boy sandwiches.  I try to try different things whenever I eat at a new place and at the moment I just wanted a snack to hold me for a bit.  One thing that sounded really good to me was the Rosemary garlic potato tots covered with pot roast gravy.
      The tots were freshly cooked to a perfect crisp and smothered in homemade pot roast gravy with vegetables and pieces of tender meat and fat and loaded with fresh Rosemary and garlic that complimented and completed this amazing side snack. Satay Hut was the next spot I checked out, which they specialized in Dutch Indonesia cuisine.  I went with an order of  satay babi pork loin and satay daging top round beef skewers (kabobs). Charred and grilled and made to order, I definitely enjoyed this.  With almost the taste of teriyaki but with it's own spin on it and a complimentary side of spicy peanut sauce, which gave it a little added kick, as well as the meat was tender and juicy and not dry at all, overall my experience was a good one.
  Before I headed home, I stopped at fractured prune donuts to get my sweet tooth fix on.  Oh my, they have flavors I have never seen nor tried and I was excited like a fat kid in a candy store haha.  I choose the banana cream pie ( banana glaze, powdered sugar and nilla wafers) and for the truly adventurous and fat kid in me, I also picked the bacon bomb( maple glaze, cinnamon sugar and bacon ). I'm definitely coming back to try some of the other unique flavors they got.
Tune in next time and continue  to follow my foodie adventures and maybe even go out and check out some of the places I have mentioned and let me know how your  experience was.. OK, peace!
           Feastm0de

Lenny's Burger Shop

I'm very much into nostalgic things; things that triggers happy memories from my youth and whatnot.  That's what the feel you get walking into Lenny's Burger Shop, with the old school diner look, jukebox playing ( of all songs,  Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen!!) and the aroma of burgers on the flat top grill.
    I remember sitting in the living room as a kid and throwing on my dads records, whether it was Sam Cooke, Otis redding orAretha Franklin..such great memories.  While I sat and reminisced about yesteryear, I ordered a Cowboy Burger for lunch.  What a delicious creation haha. A fresh ground beef burger loaded with bacon (of course),fresh onion rings and BBQ sauce.  Yee-haw!  I definitely recommend this place and with so much to try, deciding on what to order will be the only hard part of this eatery.  Last time I was here I tried the southwest pastrami burger.  The Mexican burger loaded with green chilies and onions I've been told is as amazing.
There's also chili dogs, a variety of loaded French fries and of course shakes and floats, which I may pick up in a minute to complete my feastm0de. Well that's it for now, until my the beast in my belly awakens again

Paradise Hawaiian BBQ

When you're a hardcore foodie, like I am, you tend to get crazy cravings and from the constant foodporn pics I see, to recipes I get sent to me throughout my social media sites, you can see why I'm constantly hungry haha..
   As of late, I've been wanting some fresh seafood and in particular, either mahi mahi or garlic shrimp, which isn't an easy task since I live in the desert and the nearest ocean is a bit far. Then I remembered a place I ate at a while  ago that I can get some great garlic shrimp.
Now,obviously I'm sure if I went to some place like red lobster I could get some garlic shrimp or seafood, but I'm not that big into fancy places nor do I want to spend more than I want to.  You see, growing up in Hawaii, I've grown accustomed to our laid back lifestyle, and including the food, which is usually a creation of a variety of ethnic recipes. Many times, up in the north shore side of Oahu, I would hit this place up called Giovanni's, which uses locally grown ingredients and they are world wide known for their amazing version of grilled sauteed garlic butter shrimp accompanied with a heap of white rice and mac salad. Melt in your mouth is the best description.
  So off to Tempe, Arizona I went with the family to hit up once again, Paradise Hawaiian BBQ. And yes, I ordered 2 different plates because I was hungry haha.  The garlic shrimp plate was fresh and perfect and just like the way I got it back in Hawaii. 8 plump shrimp drenched in amazing garlic butter sauce and cooked to perfection. The other plate I ordered was a 2 combo plate of chicken katsu ( chicken breaded with Japanese bread crumbs ) and grilled teriyaki beef, with my 2 scoop rice, mac salad and Kim chee on the side, I left there full, content and happy. Hmmm I wonder what I'll order there next time? Just about everything is delicious. I guess we will see. Well until next time, wherever my feet decide to take me, you can bet food will be involved haha... Feastm0de!

Cherry blossom noodles cafe

I'm usually out and about on my day off,  and with having the perfect weather today, a hint of warm with just the right amount of cool breeze, I sure didn't want to let a day like this pass by staying home.  As usual, my belly eventually started talking to me and it was time to eat.    I knew exactly where I was going to eat at since I was in the neighborhood.
    Along camelback road,  across from one of my favorite shops to pop in for a visit ( just blaze:your one stop shop for graffiti, smoking paraphernalia, tattoos and art gallery ) is cherry blossom noodles cafe.  A friend of mine recommended one of her favorite spots to eat at when she lived here in Phoenix and so we met up last year and I could easily see why.  Cherry blossom noodles cafe is not just your usual Asian dining spot.
Yes, they sell delicious Asian dishes ranging from udon and soba noodles ,to ramen noodles, Japanese Bento box lunches and of course sushi in many varieties ,but they also have fresh seafood dishes as well as Italian pasta dishes too,  so there is so much choices to fill anybody's craving.
   Today I went with a hearty bowl of Cha su ramen. In a big bowl of hearty broth, filled with ramen noodles, veggies and Chinese barbecue roast pork, and loaded with unreal flavors, I definitely got my fill on.  The only problem I have with cherry blossom noodles cafe is deciding what I'm going to order haha.  I haven't had a bad experience here yet and considering it's usually packed when I go there, and that my friend has probably been here at least a few other times, i do recommend others to check it out and hopefully their experience is a good one and that they leave with full bellies

Salsitas

Sometimes i can't get enough of Mexican food haha  especially Tortas. If you never had a torta before, you are missing out.  Basically, it's a Mexican sandwich but layered with so much flavor.  I first fell in love with tortas when i lived in New Mexico and now that i live in Arizona   where it's predominantly Hispanics, i can still get my torta fix. Layered between two soft and flaky pieces of bread is Oaxaqueño queso, lettuce, ham, red chilie beef, and breaded fried pork cutlet. Salsitas is one of my favorite spots to get tortas as well as other Mexican favorites of mine.  The portions are perfect and the prices are more than reasonable. For under $8, you will definitely leave pretty stuffed.  Well, i know i am full and this couch of mine seems to be calling my name haha.. Stay tuned for there's more food spots to be Discovered and familiar places ill be hitting up again soon.
          Aloha!.. Feastm0de

Aloha Festival 2015

The Aloha Festival here in Tempe, Arizona was simply amazing. Being born and raised in Hawaii, everything I love, miss and reminds me of home, was included in today's festival. The place was packed but well worth it. The live music, a wide variety of vendors of everything Polynesian and a wide variety of food stations were scattered throughout the Tempe beach park. The food, yes definitely the food we have got to speak about.  For starters,  I had a meat Jun plate lunch.  A typical Korean dish of egg dipped seasoned beef and fried to perfection accompanied with rice and mac salad. I also ordered a side of manapua,  a steamed bun filled with Chinese roast pork and to cap off a delicious meal, shave ice ( please don't get it confused with snow cones lol this is the fluffier and softer version of it) with lilikoi passion fruit and li hing mui watermelon flavor; The perfect combination of sweet and salty and cold enough to cool you down. This was my first year attending this and I know ill definitely come back next year.  Next to just jumping on a plane and visiting Hawaii, it was nice to have a little slice of paradise brought to Arizona.  I wish they had more events like this but for what it's worth, I had a great time and judging by the mass of people that were there, the turnout was spectacular. Aloha for now until my next food mission haha.. Feastm0de!!

Melt

It's nice and beautiful day,  70 degrees with a decent breeze. The best way I know how to enjoy this day is taking a stroll trough Roosevelt row, near the heart of downtown phoenix. I love the atmosphere over here with small shops ranging from clothing and fashion -book stores and music stores to my favorite thing:food spots haha. Amid a quiet side street,  with amazing graffiti pieces decorating the block, is one of my favorite ice cream spots :melt!  What really drew me to this place and considering I've been here a few times already, what brings me back again is the unique and amazing flavors they have here. Added to the fact  that it's freshly made, reasonable and great scoop portions, and last but not least, it's ice-cream (duh, it's a no brainer lol) I found my ice-cream heaven.  I personally haven't seen places, aside from bigger known franchises, that create unique flavors as here. The last time I was here, I got pumpkin pie and red velvet.  Today I went with hot fudge brownies and the cookie monster (vanilla ice-cream blended with Oreo's, chocalate chip and vanilla wafer ). I also recommend the horchatta flavor and birthday cake flavor,  flavors are indescribable, try it for yourself instead. Oh to add the icing to this incredible expierence, where else do you get ice-cream served in a Chinese takeout box topped with a fortune cookie?  This place of course! Unique and well worth the trip here.  Your taste buds will thank you later

Republic Ramen

There's no denying that Asian food is an very popular choice when it comes to dining out.  I myself am part Asian (Chinese,Japanese,and Okinawan ) and as well as growing up in Hawaii, I've had my fair share of different varieties of Asian foods ranging from Thai- Korean and everything in between.  One of the most simplest,affordable and common Asian food is ramen.  A typical Japanese soup consisting of broth, vegetables and noodles.  Most people has had the instants type that you can find in most supermarkets, I prefer the authentic type where it simply doesn't take less than 5 minutes to prepare and cook.  Hawaii for one,has raised the bar and broke stereotypes of what ramen is and how it's prepared. Living thousands of away from home, now in the state of Arizona,  sometimes I crave pieces of home and parts of it that I miss, mostly the varieties of food. In the heart of Tempe, Arizona  close to the ASU campus, I found my home away from home. Republic ramen is the real deal with its authentic flavor and atmosphere. I opted for the MISO ramen noodles. From the first sip of the broth,  to the first slurp of my noodles, I was in food heaven.  A hearty bowl ( and amazing size portion, I must add) of ramen noodles with MISO broth, vegetables and roast pork ($7.50) is definitely highly recommended for those who love ramen noodles and have a healthy appetite. I also ordered a side of pork and vegetable gyoza to complete my order.  With 8 types of ramen to choose from as well as other noodle choices such as udon and soba, there's something for everyone.  Come check it out if you're in the area or if you have a fixing for ramen or simply just hungry, I guarantee you that you'll leave stuffed