10 Mobile Restaurants Featured at Thursday Food Truck Festival

Organizers of the weekly , now in its third week, are promising Thursday’s event will be the largest one yet.

The gathering, held Thursdays at Union Landing and now referred to as “Union City Eats,” will feature 10 trucks specializing in a variety of foods, from American and Korean BBQ to Filipino, Indian and Thai cuisine. See below for a detailed list of participants.

New to Thursday’s lineup are  and the Yumsilog truck, both of which specialize in silogs, a traditional Filipino breakfast. “Silog” is an abbreviated suffix for dishes traditionally served with garlic rice ("sinangag") and fried egg ("itlog"), with a tomato wedge on the side.

Also making their Union City debuts are House of Siam on Wheels and MoBowl. The former is the mobile version of San Jose restaurant House of Siam and features traditional Thai fare, along with Thai tacos and other offerings. The latter specializes in unique rice bowls such as Five-Spice Pulled Pork and Peanut Pesto Chicken.

“Thursday will be just as good as the first one,” said April Bibbins, a promoter for Fremont-based Food Truck Mafia. The company, which also runs , is partnering with the to host the weekly summer events.

The first event, held July 1, featured seven trucks and drew more than 1,000 visitors, according to Dana Hernandez, executive director of the Union City Chamber of Commerce.

Last Thursday, however, the event drew lower numbers. Bibbins chalked it up to a number of competing events in the region the same night. Despite fewer attendees, the turnout was still great, she said.

“It’s been going really well,” said Bibbins, whose event company also hosts food truck gatherings in Newark. “Doing Newark SummerFest helped us, because we’ve been promoting Union City at all of our events.”

“In Union Cty, a lot of people like the grass area (next to Wal-Mart) and tend to stay longer,” Bibbins said.

“I have not heard one negative comment about the events,” Hernandez said. “Attendees like that we have tables out there. They feel comfortable with their families and say they stay longer than they expected to.”

Thursday’s event will also feature a DJ and vendor booths from local businesses, Hernandez said.

In addition, the first 100 visitors will receive a “Shop Local” reusable bag stuffed with promotional items from local businesses, Hernandez said.

Bibbins said that future events will maintain a 10-truck maximum so as not to compete too much with one another and still keep a number of options for guests. When a trucks cannot make it to an event, a different one will be brought in in its place.

“We want to keep it a close-knit family,” she said.

Per usual, Thursday’s dinner service runs from 4:30 to 9 p.m.

Here's a rundown of who's rolling into town. The lineup is subject to change. (Correction: We initially reported that MoGoBBQ would not be present at the event. According to their Twitter page, the truck will be serving food today.)

BBQKalbi

• BBQ Kalbi features a Korean fusion menu that ranges from Kalbi (beef) to Spicy Pollo (chicken) to Kimchi quesadillas. Their unagi (eel) burritos have been a favorite at the Union City events.
• Follow them @BBQKALBI

Grill Stars

• American BBQ is the game of this gourmet truck. On Thursday, Grill Stars will "unleash the burger beast" with a variety of burgers and mysterious special item called "The Shake, Rattle and Roll."
• Follow them @grillstars
• Extra: See our video feature on Grill Stars on Union City Patch.

House of Siam on Wheels

• A mobile version of the House of Siam restaurant in San Jose, the truck specializes in Thai cuisine and includes Thai tacos, Pad Thai, Yellow Curry Chicken over rice and more on their menu.
• Follow them @hosonwheels

MoBowl

• It’s in the name. MoBowl specializes in rice bowls that are served with small salads. Menu choices range from Five-Spice Pulled Pork to Peanut Pesto Chicken. An Umami Tofu option is available for vegetarians.
• Follow them @eatmobowl

That’s Sweet! Dessert Truck

• Cupcakes — yummy, specialty cupcakes — are the stars of this gourmet truck. Flavors range from Salted Caramel and Maple Bacon to Red Velvet and Chocolate Vanilla. While it may sound perfect for a dessert, don't wait too long — their cupcakes sell out fast.
• Follow them @ThatsSweetTruck

Tikka Bytes

• Absent last week, Tikka Bytes is scheduled to make its return, offering Indian street food served in an American way. The menu features rice bowls, burritos and a "Naanwich," a sandwich served on Indian flatbread. But watch out — when they say "spicy," they really mean it. Other Indian dishes like Tikka Masala and Shahi Korma are also available.
• Follow them @TikkaBytesTruck

Twisted Chill

• Appearing for the third time in a row is Twisted Chill, which offers self-serve soft-serve with eight rotating flavors and more than 20 toppings. Toppings include fresh organic fruit, candies, cereals and more.
• Follow them @chilltruck

Whole Bowl

• This truck specializes in noodle entrees, including Vietnamese noodle soups, vermicelli bowls and Pad Thai. If you're lucky, you might even get a sample of their spicy mac-and-cheese. And if you're smart, you'll buy a whole bowl (no pun intended).
• Follow them @WholeBowlTruck

The WOW Truck

• New to Union City Eats but not new to Union City is the WOW Silog Truck. This truck specializes in silogs, a traditional Filipino breakfast served with garlic rice and fried egg. Their menu includes sweet sausage (longanisa), BBQ Chicken, cured pork (tocino), Spam, corned beef and more.
• Follow them @TheWOWTruck

Yumsilog

• Similar to The WOW Truck, Yumsilog also features a variety of silogs, including tapsilog (tapa), tosilog (tocino), longsilog (longanisa), Spamsilog and bangsilog, which features bangus, the Filipino milkfish.
• Follow them @yumsilog

Check out the highlights from the first Gourmet Food Truck Festival in .

The Gourmet Food Truck Festival continues every Thursday through August.

• July 14, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• July 21, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• July 28, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Aug. 4, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Aug. 11, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Aug. 18, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Aug. 25, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Location: Wal-Mart, Union Landing Shopping Center, 30600 Dyer St., Union City.