Broke and Hungry: An LA Food Festival Review

New Roads seniors, Isabella Carbonari and Marlee Turner, take a trip to the Hungry Neko Food Festival to taste some delicious food while adhering to the budget of two nearly broke 17-year-olds.

Since the beginning of our senior year, we have been searching for adventures across Los Angeles. Concerts, festivals, events: anything that gives us something to look forward to at the end of long weeks of tests, homework, and college applications. When we came across an ad for a food festival, we knew we had to try it out — because, who doesn’t want an excuse to try lots of delicious food? — and since then we have become food festival regulars. On November 5, the Hungry Neko Food Festival was hosted at Party Beer Co. in West Adams, featuring a variety of local Asian food vendors. From Sunny Blue, an omusubi restaurant we are very familiar with, to Mume Farm, serving a variety of baked goods and products made of Ume (Japanese plum), it was set to be a great time. However, we found ourselves with a familiar problem: we don’t have an infinite amount of money to spend. While our adventures have been fun, they have not been cheap, so this time we approached the festival from the perspective of two high school students on a budget. We set out to see if we could still enjoy the event while staying under $60 ($30 each). And, most importantly, try affordable, local food that tastes good. We developed criteria for rating each vendor: taste, visuals, creativity, and price. Here are our results:

RAKKAN Ramen:

Price: $10

Order: Vegan Garnet Miso Ramen

Rating:

Taste: 8

Visuals: 7

Creativity: 5

Price: 8

Bella:

When I received our ramen in a tiny little bowl with some plastic utensils stuck in it, my hopes weren’t high. I didn’t expect it to be bad, per se, but I can’t say I was prepared for how delicious this dish was. As a pescatarian, I have tried my slew of vegetarian/vegan ramen, most of which have been slightly bland and disappointing. This one blew my mind. It wasn’t too elaborate: miso broth, ramen, corn, shiitake mushrooms, and soft tofu but it demonstrated the beauty in simplicity. The broth was incredibly flavorful with lots of savory and umami tones that worked perfectly with the noodles. The mushrooms had this smoky flavor which combined beautifully with the soft, muted tofu and sweet corn. Every ingredient worked in harmony to elevate the meal and, I will confess, I didn’t really give Marlee a chance to eat a lot of it. My only critiques are that the broth was a bit oily for my liking and the corn probably could’ve been cooked a little more to really bring out that sweet flavor. Rakkan Ramen somehow has the nerve to only have locations in Downtown and Redondo Beach which is an absolute injustice, if you ask me (I mean, who exactly is that convenient for?). Probably worth the trek, though.

Marlee:

I love ramen. If any of my friends are ever craving it, I better be the first one they call. Upon arriving at Hungry Neko, I was adamant about trying Rakkan ramen, located towards the front of the space. After looking at the menu, my expectations were lowered, as the only vegan options were miso based, which is, unfortunately, not my favorite flavor. We landed on the vegan garnet miso ramen, which includes mushrooms, corn, and tofu, in addition to other classic toppings. I was pleasantly surprised by the price, as I’ve been known to spend around $20 on a good bowl of ramen. When we were handed our little container of steaming noodles, the price began to make more sense. It looked fine, but it wasn’t visually anything special. Due to a lack of seating provided by the festival, Bella and I sat on the sidewalk just outside of the venue. This seating arrangement was indeed unconventional, but the flavors made it all worth it. The mushrooms were incredibly flavorful, exceeding my mushroom-hating expectations. The miso broth had a great flavor and wasn’t too overpowering, serving as a great addition to the delicious tofu and corn. I can’t say this is the best ramen I’ve ever had, but I plan on finding the restaurant and trying it again.

Sunny Blue:

Price: $5 each

Order: spicy salmon (Bella) and miso beef (Marlee) and miso mushroom

Rating:

Taste:

Miso Beef: 9

Miso Mushroom: 7 (Marlee) and 9 (Bella)

Spicy Salmon: 9

Visuals: 6

Creativity: 6

Price: 6

Marlee:

Walking to Main Street to eat Sunny Blue’s omusubi literally shaped my middle school experience, making the restaurant oddly nostalgic. The menu at this event was limited, which was disappointing as my favorite variety: Tokyo Tori, filled with sweet and sour orange chicken, wasn’t available. I settled on an equally as delicious option, miso beef, and I was met with the flavor I knew and loved. There honestly isn’t much to review aside from the taste- the dish is not visually striking, and the creativity is no more than the classic omusubi that can be found at Japanese restaurants all over town, although I don’t view either of these things as negative in any way. We were met with a slight mishap, resulting in me receiving the wrong order of miso mushroom… and at this point, we all know how I feel about mushrooms. The issue was resolved quickly, giving us the opportunity to try a third flavor. I’ve tried just about everything on the menu except for this one, and unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever be getting it again. The mushrooms came in large pieces, making them hard to ignore, and the miso was quite strong. If you’re like Bella and a fan of these two flavors, I’m sure you’ll love it, but if you’re even slightly apprehensive, I’d recommend the Tokyo Tori or Sunny Blue Curry. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sunny Blue, and I will continue to spend money on these delicious rice balls, although I can’t guarantee that I will be straying away from my regular order any time soon.

Bella:

I’ll admit, I approached Sunny Blue from a slightly biased perspective. If you have not visited either of their locations on Main St or Washington Blvd, you are missing out. Originally, Marlee and I each ordered one omusubi, but after an order mix-up, the restaurant gave us an additional serving for free. We ended up with Miso Beef (which I left to Marlee to try and review), Spicy Salmon (my all-time favorite), and Miso Mushroom (the unexpected extra). While I thought the presentation could’ve been spruced up a bit, you really can’t go wrong at this place. The Spicy Salmon was packed with flavor and the beautiful textures are unmatched. It is truly such an enjoyable rollercoaster of flavor: the salmon, followed by the sesame of the rice, the saltiness of the seaweed, and all rounded out by the punch of spice that enhances the taste, instead of destroying it. While I expected my go-to omusubi to be good, what shocked me was the one we accidentally ended up with. The Miso Mushroom was such a delicious creation. Thickly sliced mushrooms drenched in an umami miso sauce balanced with the rice was so. freaking. good. Thank God for Marlee not liking mushrooms or miso because I got to devour basically all of this. $5 for a ball of rice may be slightly absurd, but I promise the hit to your wallet is worth it. Go and get yourself an omusubi from this place right now.

Mume Farm:

Order and Prices: Pecan Tart ($3), GF Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies ($5), GF Chocolate Dipped Maple Matcha Cookies ($5)

Ratings:

Almond Cookies:

Taste: 8

Visuals: 6

Creativity: 6

Price: 5

Matcha Cookies:

Taste: 6.5

Visuals: 8.5

Creativity: 8

Price: 6

Pecan Tart:

Taste: 8

Visuals: 8

Creativity: 7

Price: 6

Bella:

As someone who lives in a gluten-free household, Mume Farm, a staple at many LA farmer’s markets, made me incredibly happy. Not only was everything gluten-free, but a lot of it was vegan and packaged in such a cute way. Immediately when looking at the extensive selection of baked goods, the mini Pecan Tarts caught my eye as I am a HUGE pecan fan. I’m not majorly into cookies, however, almond butter is always a “yes,” so I decided to add those to my purchase. They did not disappoint. While the tart was smaller than my palm, it was heaven in three bites. The crumbly crust, the sticky, sweetness of the filling, the crunch of the almonds: absolute autumnal perfection. Truly an ideal treat for any fall day. The almond cookies were crumbly, nutty, and chocolaty: really everything you could hope for. While they were a little too rich and slightly dry — between the biscuit-like cookie and chocolate and almond filling — I still thoroughly enjoyed them, though the mini tart was definitely my favorite.

Marlee:

I am always excited to try new desserts, especially when my at-home rotation becomes a bit onerous. Although I prefer to have mostly gluten-free/vegan baked goods, I’m not very experienced in making them myself, so Mume Farm was a great opportunity to expand my palate. As a huge matcha fan, I was instantly sold on the chocolate-dipped maple matcha cookies. I have attempted my own matcha-flavored confections before, and after trying these, it is confirmed that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. The cookie itself, while a bit powdery, didn’t have an overwhelming matcha taste, and coupled with the rich dark chocolate and gold leaf decorations, were a delicious treat to bring home. I also tried the chocolate almond butter cookies, which were just as good as they sound. Almond butter is one of my favorite things to cook with, and now I have a new recipe to try and replicate.

Kuramoto Shavery:

Price: $14

Order: Mixed Berry Crêpe

Rating:

Taste: 5

Visuals: 4

Creativity: 3

Price: 4

Bella:

The minute we walked into the event, Kuramoto Shavery caught my attention. They feature a massive picture of a berry crêpe posted on their tent and that was enough to convince me that it was a necessary stop for dessert. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. Not only did the product they gave us after paying an absurd $14 look nothing like the example photo, but it was also incredibly difficult to eat, due to the lack of utensils or a plate being provided. Instead, we had to take the weirdly cold crêpe into our hands and take a bite out of the bottom. My mouth was met with the shocking chill of frozen blueberries, some oddly melted whipped cream, a single slice of strawberry, and a concerningly chewy crêpe. In retrospect, maybe we shouldn’t have bought a crêpe from a restaurant dedicated to shaved ice but I blame the misleading images.

Marlee:

All afternoon, Bella and I had seen people walking around with massive and delicious-looking servings of shaved ice, and we knew we had to stop by Kuramoto Shavery. We ordered one mixed-berry crepe to share, because although it had already been a long day, who isn’t a fan of crepes? Before today I would’ve affirmed my love for this French treat, but after our experience at Kuramoto, I am conflicted. The crepe itself was cold and a bit rubbery, which didn’t help the fact that the dish was incredibly difficult to eat in the absence of utensils. Additionally, the fruit inside resembled none other than an unblended smoothie, with frozen blueberries to affirm this claim. While I did enjoy the fruit itself, it didn’t hold up very well as a filling. Visually, it was fairly disappointing, barely resembling the picture that we’d based our order on. Considering that this was the most expensive thing we’d bought all day, I can’t say I’d recommend the crepes from this vendor, although other festival-goers seemed to be enjoying their shaved ice.