Truck Stop
Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 11:05PM 
A couple of weeks ago I went to Truck Stop with my Mum and a friend, Shaun. It is a summer street food event at Canary Wharf organised by Street Feast and Tweat Up to bring together “over 20 of the UK’s best food trucks”. (There were probably 21, and of varying quality, but who’s counting?)
The pick of the bunch appeared to be the kimchi burgers from Kimchi Cult, judging by the line which at peak hour snaked all the way across the site and back again. I didn’t try them; after an hour wait you are only going to be disappointed.
We arrived early, which was lucky. It was massively oversubscribed so lines got out of control from about 7pm. Fortunately we had already started on the trucks we were most interested in.
First stop, Yum Bun, and our instincts didn’t deceive us; it was the best thing we ate. Not that everything else wasn’t great too, it was, but this was definitely the favourite.
The Yum Bun truck was serving Asian-style steamed buns with a range of 3 fillings to choose from. We went for 4 between 3 of us: 2 of the slow roasted pork belly, hoi sin, cucumber and spring onion; one of the Japanese fried chicken, tartare mayo, lettuce and chilli dressing; and one of the Portobello mushroom, miso glaze and toasted walnuts. That was an error. We should have got more of the mushroom – they were divine. A big juicy bundle of umami goodness all wrapped up in a fluffy, white cloud. Yes, please.
In fact we should have just got more. Full stop.
Next on this list was Vanduke, little brother of Naamyaa restaurant, David Thompson and Alan Yau’s new venture, which is modelled on a Bangkok café. We were reeled in by the promise of some sweet and sticky Jasmine tea smoked ribs.
No rice, thanks, we don’t want to fill up on carbs …
Yes, more ribs, please. Why not?
What’s that? Morning glory? Well, I’ll never say no to that …
Oh, pickled you say? Yes, even better.
The ribs were sweet, as expected, and deliciously tender, though they could have been stickier. Still finger lickin’ good though. The pickled morning glory was a lovely accompaniment too, the crunch and acidity a good counterbalance to the sweet and tender ribs.
Lines were getting bigger now, but we were pleased to see that the Rainbo truck wasn’t yet drawing the crowds. We shared a Rainbo box, which included 2 of each type of gyoza – chicken and coriander, pork and pickled ginger, shitake and tofu – with edamame beans and crunchy asian slaw with caramelised peanuts. A bargain for £6.50.
Still hungry, I went in search of somewhere with a short queue. It was a choice between a Mother Trucker burger from Original Fry Up Material, which had a queue of about 20 people, or a shawarma, which had a queue of two. Not a good sign, Mother Trucker it had to be.
20 minutes later I arrived with 2 burgers and a bag of hash browns (they’d run out of fries). It was a great burger, well worth the wait – a good balance of grease and gourmet, with great sauces. And I was finally satiated. Mission accomplished.
Verdict? Wood Wharf is a great venue, surrounded by water and high rises. Sitting on the grass with beers in the sun I had to keep reminding myself that I was in London. The food I had was great too, but they really do need to sort out the ratio of trucks to people. Either that, or sell less tickets.
There’s two more nights planned this summer. I suggest you get there early, fill up on food while the queues are short and then move onto beers. But do go, it is a lovely night out in our fair city.
Truck Stop: Wood Wharf (entrance via Montgomery Square), Canary Wharf, E14 5HQ; first Thursday and Friday in July, August and September 2013; £10 in advance, which you get back in drink tokens, or £10 on the door.
Reader Comments (7)
Sounds delicious, I want all of it in my tummy now!! xx
We went to this too! Sad we didn't see you - also had the Ranibo Gyozas, really lush, as well as a Big Richard hotdog. The only thing I'd add about Truck Stop is to get 1-3 beers at a time as it takes so long to get served at the bar!
Loved your review sweet,
Missy
xx
Thanks for your comments, ladies :)
Missy - yes, good point. I think cause we did most of our drinking at the beginning we didn't notice this so much.
You told it exactly how it was. Maybe the answer is to go early with a portable microwave ( do such things exist?) and do the rounds of all the favourite trucks , then lay it all out and eat our way through everything without having to queue any more !!
Ha! Do you remember my maths teacher, Ms Walton, used to say I was a lateral thinker? I must've got it from you. :) x
YUM!
Those buns look delicious! I have had a few buns like this recently, a nice spin on the traditional BBQ pork bun because the filling can be fresh. The best I've had was at Momufuku Noodle Bar in New York, crispy pork belly goodness! Those mushroom ones sound amazing.
x
Hey Cha, apparently the Momofuku in Sydney does them too. I'm quite keen to try it when I'm back :) xx