First up – Cocktails. While we were waiting for our table, we decided to get some drinks before dinner. There is no such thing as happy hour prices at this place. I ordered 2 Grey Goose/Sprite and 2 Grey Goose/Cranberry and my bill came out to be about $50 after a tip. OUCH!

Next – Appetizers. There was about 10 guys in our party so we decided to order some appetizers first. We ordered two pizzas, the Margarita and some kind of vegetable pizza. Both were very delicious and tasty. We also ordered some Pork Belly dish. That dish was delightfully tasty however the portion was not that huge.

On to – Main Dishes. Most of the group ordered all separate things however my roommate and I ordered two of their more popular dishes, the Porkchop and the Duck Breast.

My roommate order the Pork Chop. It was a VERY generous serving size. It came with some greens and some couscous. The pork chop was very tender and quite tasty. It was seasoned really well and cooked to a good tender liking.

Heritage Porkchop

I decided to go with the Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast. The duck was on top of some beans and squash. The duck itself was quite fatty however it was expected. The fat actually held in all of the flavors. At first bite, I was surprised at how tender it was. The overall flavor was good mixed with the beans and squash. It was really good.

MAPLE LEAF FARMS DUCK BREAST

Overall, the experience was pretty good however the check was not so pretty. With the appetizers and a few drinks thrown in there, each person in the party easily average $100 for their bill. The restaurant itself was on the nicer end. The decor was well done and the open kitchen was a nice touch. This restaurant felt like it belong in a bigger city like New York or Los Angeles. It is a welcome surprise to the Orlando area. I can’t say this will be a frequent spot however I would go back again.

Tako Cheena Entrance

My roommate and I decided to venture out to a hot spot located on Mills off 50 near downtown Orlando known as Tako Cheena.  This place came highly recommended so I was quite excited to try this place out.  From the outside, this place sticks out with the red paint and metallic sign.  At first glance of the inside, there was not much to it.  There were about 8 tables with a walk up counter and the kitchen open to the viewing public.

Tako Cheena Menu

On to the selection of the food.  We weren’t sure what to get however with some recommendations from a friend, we decided to go with quite a few items.  I ordered three tacos – Chinese BBQ Char Siu Pork Belly Taco, Tom Yum Mojo Shrimp Taco, and the Indian Yellow Curry Crispy Tofu Taco.  My roommate ordered Thai Penang Curry Chicken Burrito, Beef Empanada, and a Korean Beef Taco.

From Top to Bottom (BBQ Pork Belly, Mojo Shrimp, Yellow Curry Tofu)

First up was the Chinese BBQ Pork Belly taco.  On the first bite, there was a burst of flavor mostly from the BBQ and the fat that came on the pork.  The vegetables that came with it was a good compliment of flavors to the pork.  Very tasty.  Up next was the Mojo Shrimp taco.  This caught me by surprise a bit as it had a sweet flavor to it.  The shrimp were cooked well with the marinated sauce.  Another tasty choice.  Last up was the Yellow Curry Tofu.  This one was my favorite taco as the curry flavor was greatly fused with the fried tofu.  After a few bites, I totally forgot that I was even eating tofu.

From Left to Right (Thai Penang Chicken Burrito, Korean Beef, Beef Empanada)

Next up were my roommate choices.  Up first was the Korean Beef taco.  Holy crap, on one bite, there was a huge burst of intense marinated flavors.  It was a mix of spicy and sweet.  It was so good that I was licking the sauce off my fingers.  Next was the Beef Empanada.  There was nothing great about this however the shell was soft and the beef had some flavors to it making it enjoyable.  Finally, it was on to the Penang Chicken Burrito.  One word to describe this: AMAZING! There are so many delicious flavors packed into this burrito that I’m not even sure what was all in here.  There was hints of Thai Peanut Sauce, Penang Curry, and some other spices that made it both spicy and flavorful.  This was by far the best dish of the evening!

Overall, this place was excellent.  I give it an A+.  It blew my expectations out of the water.  The decor was subtle yet modern.  The workers there were extremely nice.  The vibe was great.  They describe themselves as “restaurant meets food truck” and that it certainly is.  It is great comfort food and I would definitely go back again.

You can find them on the Take Cheena website here

Korean BBQ Taco Box Truck

Over the last 6-9 months, these so-called food trucks have been appearing more and more around different parts of Orlando and Central Florida.  These trucks have always been popular in some of the bigger cities like New York or San Francisco but it finally made its way to Orlando.  I decided to venture out one Friday night to one of the more popular trucks called the Korean BBQ Taco Box.  I am a huge fan of Korean food so I had some high expectations especially with some of the feedback that I have already gotten from friends.

Galbi Box

I decided to go with their most popular box, the Galbi box.  Basically it is short ribs marinated in their secret sauce.  The box also came with a side ginger salad, two fried cheese rolls, onion pancake, and a chicken wing marinated in a special sauce.  The food was SENSATIONAL!  The short ribs were tasty and cooked to a tender liking.  The ginger salad and cheese rolls were a good compliment to the ribs and the chicken wing was delicious as it had a little sweet and spicy flavor to it.

Overall, this place exceeded my expectations in many ways.  The food lived up to the hype and the people that worked there are really nice and friendly.  They are trying to build a community among food trucks and it seems like they are on their way to doing something great.  I would highly recommend giving this place a try but I am positive you won’t be disappointed.  If you want to know more about their locations each week, you can follow them on Twitter @KoreanBBQ_2011