With Cantina Mobil being the only food truck circulating Sydney streets for some time now, it is definitely exciting to have a second truck, Eat Art Truck, making its way through the city. Wednesday this week saw Eat Art Truck officially launching at Queen’s Square. There was a bit of a delay with the opening but that didn’t really defer the massive queue that stretched for at least 10 metres well before they opened. However, I’m sure the calibre of the head chef has something to do with it. Stuart McGill is ex-sous chef of Tetsuya’s after all.
The concept of Eat Art Truck is to have the food truck in operation whilst an artist would work on their artwork on the other side of the truck. I was told that live artworks would happen at least once a month. Phibs had the honour of kicking things off; and what an impressive work of art it was! The only problem we found with the live artwork was the amount of paint fumes we inhaled, and I don’t think it’ll go particularly well with food.
After a little over 30 minutes of waiting, the crowd cheered as the door of Eat Art Truck opened.
The menu is sectioned off into Intro EATs, Main EATs, Sweet EATs, Drinks and EAT meal (where you get 2 of the cheapest intro EATs, a main and a soft drink for $25). I noticed that the menu had “Menu A” on it, so I’m not too sure if there will be a rotation of various menus; surely something to keep an eye out for.
Service was extremely efficient and once you’ve placed your order, the wait for your food wasn’t that long.
There was a little stuff up with my order. One of the staff come out and tells me that they’ve accidentally deleted my order on the system but will have it made straight away; they even went a little further by refunding half of what I paid because of their mistake. They really didn’t need to do that because we didn’t mind too much and it was understandable that there will be a few hiccups on the opening night but we appreciated the kind gesture.
First up was the chicken sembe ($5). Not knowing what sembe was, I later discovered that is Japanese rice crackers. However, this version of sembe seriously kicks ass! All I need to say is.. Crispy. Chicken. Skin. Drizzled with a mild chilli mayo, kind of like the Oporto’s Bondi Burger sauce. Delicious!
The kingfish ceviche ($10) was a dish I was pretty excited for. C’mon, you really can’t go wrong with ceviche… Tender cubes of fresh kingfish is lightly tossed with lime/lemon juice, chilli, cherry tomatoes and spanish onions. With every biteful, you get an explosion of flavours and the bed of crisp tortilla corn chips slightly soaks up the wonderful juices. So simple, yet so amazing.
Ant’s choice of main steers him in the direction of the BBQ beef bun with slaw ($12). You have a choice of mustard or hot sauce, he went for the hot sauce option which had the right amount of heat. Soft bun and chunky pieces of smokey and tender beef. Absolutely perfect. I had a bit of food envy here. A slightly picked carrot and gherkin was also provided on the side.
Confit spatchcock ssam ($12) borrows Korean influences to create this messy-to-eat lettuce wrap. Shredded pieces of spatchcock, which appears to be marinated in ssamjang, is also heavily drowned in a chilli oil. Deep fried vermicelli noodles top the ssam and provide much-needed crispness.
A couple of fresh juices were on offer so we chose the apple and pomegranate juice ($4) which is kinda of like a blended fruit shake and not a juice. I am surprised to find pomegranate arils in this drink.
Always having the need to end a meal with a dessert, we ordered the only dessert on the menu. Annindofu ($6) is an almond milk jelly, topped with seasonal fruits (pine and toasted coconut chips. The light creaminess of this dessert ends our meal perfectly.
As I look around, I loved seeing people sitting just about anywhere to enjoy their meal. This is what street food is about.
More trucks please!
Love the menu Phuoc…everything looks amazing. Oh! and that chicken skin!
Holy crap for street food that looks awesome. Everything sounds so good, especially the sound of confit spatchcock ssam! Do you know if they are only pop up locations or do they stay there for a bit just at certains days and times?
Brings back great memories, we loved how spicy the beef bun was, we’d like to share this in our Twitter account @sydneyfoodtruck and Facebook page!
You had me at Crispy Chicken Skin! I wonder where they are tonight? Fantastic review!
Food from Eat Art Truck looks amazing. Love the concept of live artwork on the truck too. Hope I can get some food truck action when I am in Sydney in November for Radiohead!
yay! i was hoping someone would post pictures for this food truck 🙂 the BBQ beef bun with slaw looks good. id go for the mustard sauce 🙂
Peter: My mouth waters when I think of the chicken sembe. I hope you get around to trying it soon
Tina: This sure is some fine, high end street food, I was so amazed that so many people were lining up for it. Food trucks will move along from one allocated area to another during the allocated time slots; this is mainly due to council regulations, as fair as I’m aware, certain locations are permitted to trade during certain times eg Hyde Park can only operate after 9pm
Food Truck Sydney: Fire away 🙂
Ramen Raff: Thanks!
Ai-Ling: I’m sure the food trucks will still be around in November as they inititative is apparently going to be going on for 1 year. I hope you get to track them down 🙂
Tastyfoodsnaps: Not a problem, I hopeyou get around to trying it out soon.
whoah look at all the food! I think I would have a problem with these food trucks though – I would want to order everything on the menu but I only have so much stomach space!
I think that’s the fanciest ssam I’ve ever seen! Is the chicken sembe rolled in cracker crumbs or you get rice cracker shards in the dish? And the kingfish ceviche sounds perfect for, er, summer. lol. Must go hunt down the trucks soon!
The Food Trucks are so awesome – they are going to go great guns once the warmer weather comes & ppl love sitting around eating out. Can’t wait to try one out asap.
Food is our religion: HAHAHA Yeah I had the same problem too, it’d be easier to order as you go if the lines were shorter (although apparently on the following Friday night, there wasn’t much of a line up) but yes, it’ll be a simple case of “I’ll have one of everything please” 🙂
Helen: Umm from memory, I don’t think there are crackers in this dish, it’s just chicken skin that’s been deep fried to a crisp.. Oh and there’s some crushed peanuts in there too! Lol that (ceviche and summer) didn’t cross my mind, I was too busy scoffing it down, but you are right!
Miss Piggy: I know! I can’t wait until they all roll out.
Crispy chicken skin?? Yes, please! That sounds like so much fun. Viva la Food Trucks!
Crispy chicken skin with mayo. Deep fried vermicelli. Meat in a bun. I thought these trucks were to provide a healthy food option.
I don’t mind. They look delicious.
But yeah, paint fumes and food probably don’t go so well together.
Great photos Phuoc! I’ve got that BBQ beef bun still on my mind. I love the Sydney food trucks, good, cheap food that’s also tasty, and half the fun is tracking them down or hoping they’ll be in your area!
SarahKate: Food trucks seriously need to start coming out quicker
Detective Chow: lol ummm I don’t know if they were suppose to be healthy but I think it is pretty healthy considering some of the food offered by trucks in the States
Maria: Thanks! Yes me too, though I really want to try the pulled pork bun that Raff tried a couple of nights after the launch.
oh my, a whole plate of chicken skins, is that even legal?!
Wow, I’ve been wanting to visit the Eat Art Truck, and your review just made me want it more!
I definitely agree…lets get more trucks in Sydney. That almond milk jelly dessert looks soo tasty!
Billy: I’d say so… Mmmm crispy chicken skin *drools*
JasmyneTea: Go get yourself to it pronto! 🙂
Angela: I hope you’ve managed to track them down too 🙂
I really wish the trucks would roll out a little quicker. Those crispy chicken skins look evil and delicious! I definitely like Ant’s choice of the BBQ beef bun, looks soooooo good.
ive heard about this but i wasnt sure what was going on (as per usual) … it looks immense!! besides the food how awesome would it be to watch them create an artwork on the truck too!!
Sara: You and me both! Since the launch I had a BBQ beef bun to myself, as well as the pulled pork bun, and can safely say that both are amazing! I hope you get to try one out soon.
Rhonda: It is pretty cool watching the live artwork, but not when you can smell the paint fumes.. :p Awesome food like this doesn’t particularly go too well with paint fumes.
just had my first experience with the cantina mobil truck and it was awesome. the chicken sembe from the eat art truck looks like my kinda thing though – will be trying to stalk this truck next!
How fantastic are the food trucks? I can’t wait til more come out. I’m impatient for them though! 😛
Excuse Me Waiter: Cool! Yes, chicken sembe is awesome. I hope you track them down soon 🙂
Lorraine: Tell me about it! We want more…
I am loving all this truck action. We have a couple in Adelaide but i’ve never been in the right place at the right time. At least I can enjoy them vicariously through your blog, Phuoc!
Awesome stuff! Planning on checking them out for Tuesday lunch! I’ve been dying to try the pulled pork bun but now you’ve got me wanting to try that chicken sembe and kingfish ceviche as well. Would it be too much food if I ordered all 3 for myself at once!? haha ^^’
man, this is makin miss the amazing food trucks in California. So many to choose from. I’m so with you on that beef bun with slaw!
Christina: I’m lucky to have one of the food truck locations near uni so I can visit them during my lunch break. Hope you get to track them down one day 🙂
Riley: Cool! Yes, the pulled pork bun is really awesome. It’s possibly my favourite item on their menu. I’m salivating now just thinking about it! Never too much food I’d say ;P
Adrian: One of the saddest things is that I didn’t get to try any truck when I was in California. I saw them, but by that time I was full already! So glad that I can get a taste of the food truck here in Sydney.
Food looks great I’ve yet to come across a food truck. Is there a dessert one around yet? 🙂
Y: If there is one, I’m so there!